headroom/tests/test_cache_control_move_bust.py
Tejas Chopra 48201345be
fix(proxy): keep cache_control bounded + stable so the freeze overlay stops busting (#1852)
Follow-up to #1850. Two residual cache-bust sources, both
`cache_control`-related:

1. **Guard too strict.** `overlay_cached_prefix` decided "is this turn
an append-only extension?" by comparing whole message dicts — including
`cache_control`. Clients (Claude Code, litellm) move the cache
breakpoint to the newest message every call, so a marker landing in the
frozen prefix made the guard fail, the overlay skip its replay, and the
raw freeze forward ORIGINAL bytes over the cached COMPRESSED prefix →
partial bust (the ~42% residual on the a10 run, `prefix_change=0`). Fix:
run the append-only guard on **content only** (strip `cache_control`
before comparing) — content is what the provider's cache keys on.

2. **Marker accumulation.** The overlay replays the markers that rode on
each turn's then-newest message, so `cache_control` blocks pile up
~1/turn; Anthropic hard-errors at >4 total. Fix:
`normalize_message_cache_control` strips every message-level marker and
re-places a single ephemeral breakpoint on the last block (one
breakpoint caches the whole prefix; cache is content-keyed so re-placing
never busts). Wired into the Anthropic handler after the overlay.

**Per-provider (deliberately scoped):**
- **Anthropic**: `cache_control` markers → both fixes apply.
- **OpenAI**: AUTOMATIC prefix caching, no markers → overlay
(byte-identity) only; normalize is NOT applied (Anthropic markers on an
OpenAI request would be wrong).
- **Bedrock**: serves Claude via the pipeline but has no
cachePoint/freeze-replay path → not affected; a cachePoint analog would
be needed if caching is expanded.
- **Gemini**: explicit Cache API (`cachedContent`), no inline
markers/freeze → N/A.

> Stacked on #1850 — review that first; the diff against `main` includes
its overlay + `has_new_ccr_markers` work.

## Description

Keeps the freeze overlay's cache-safety intact against real clients that
relocate the `cache_control` breakpoint each turn, and prevents
`cache_control` blocks from accumulating past Anthropic's 4-marker
limit. See the two fixes above.

Closes #<!-- none --> — follow-up to #1850 (no separate issue).

## Type of Change

- [x] Bug fix (non-breaking change that fixes an issue)
- [ ] New feature (non-breaking change that adds functionality)
- [ ] Breaking change (fix or feature that would cause existing
functionality to change)
- [ ] Documentation update
- [ ] Performance improvement
- [ ] Code refactoring (no functional changes)

## Changes Made

- `headroom/cache/prefix_tracker.py`: append-only guard in
`overlay_cached_prefix` now compares **content only** (ignores
`cache_control`); new `normalize_message_cache_control()` collapses
message-level markers to a single ephemeral breakpoint on the last
block.
- `headroom/proxy/handlers/anthropic.py`: apply
`normalize_message_cache_control` after the overlay (Anthropic only).
- `tests/test_cache_control_move_bust.py`: reproduces the moved-marker
bust + proves both fixes.

## Testing

- [x] Unit tests pass (`pytest`)
- [x] Linting passes (`ruff check .`)
- [x] Type checking passes (`mypy headroom`)
- [x] New tests added for new functionality
- [x] Manual testing performed (local, see below)

### Test Output

```text
$ pytest tests/test_cache_control_move_bust.py -q
.......                                                                   [100%]
7 passed in 0.19s

# broader cache-safety suite (overlay + cross-turn + CCR deferred + openai/anthropic cache-stability + helpers)
$ pytest tests/test_cache_control_move_bust.py tests/test_cache_prefix_overlay.py \
    tests/test_cross_turn_cache_safety.py tests/test_proxy/test_anthropic_ccr_deferred_injection.py \
    tests/test_proxy_handler_helpers.py tests/test_proxy_openai_cache_stability.py \
    tests/test_proxy_anthropic_cache_stability.py -q
91 passed, 2 warnings in 29.98s

$ ruff check .          # ruff 0.15.17 (CI-pinned)
All checks passed!
$ ruff format --check . # ruff 0.15.17
1057 files already formatted
$ mypy headroom --ignore-missing-imports
Success: no issues found (changed modules: prefix_tracker, anthropic, openai, helpers)
```

## Real Behavior Proof

- **Environment:** local (`.venv`, Python 3.12), ruff 0.15.17 / mypy
pinned to CI versions.
- **Exact command / steps:** `tests/test_cache_control_move_bust.py`
drives the REAL tracker + freeze + `overlay_cached_prefix` +
`normalize_message_cache_control` across multiple append-only turns
where the client moves the `cache_control` breakpoint each turn.
- **Observed result:** with a moved marker in the frozen prefix, the
content-only guard keeps the overlay replaying (forwarded prefix stays
byte-identical → no bust); `cache_control` blocks stay ≤4 across many
turns and content is never altered. The reproduction test fails without
the fix and passes with it.
- **Not tested (this PR):** the end-to-end a10 SWE-bench run is the
field observation motivating fix #1 (~42% residual, `prefix_change=0`);
not re-run here.

## Review Readiness

- [x] I have performed a self-review
- [x] This PR is ready for human review

## Checklist

- [x] My code follows the project's style guidelines
- [x] I have performed a self-review of my code
- [x] I have commented my code, particularly in hard-to-understand areas
- [ ] I have made corresponding changes to the documentation
- [x] My changes generate no new warnings
- [x] I have added tests that prove my fix is effective or that my
feature works
- [x] New and existing unit tests pass locally with my changes
- [ ] I have updated the CHANGELOG.md if applicable

## Additional Notes

Stacked on #1850; land that first. Docs/CHANGELOG untouched (behavioral
cache-safety fix; no user-facing surface change). N/A: no screenshots
(no UI).
2026-07-06 17:05:34 -07:00

190 lines
7.1 KiB
Python

"""Reproduce the residual cache-bust: client MOVING cache_control defeats the
prefix overlay.
Real clients (Claude Code, litellm) move the cache_control breakpoint to the
newest message every turn — so a message that was marked last turn is unmarked
this turn (its dict bytes change). The first overlay fix compared *raw* message
dicts for its append-only guard, so a moved marker in the frozen prefix made the
guard fail → the overlay skipped the replay → the raw freeze forwarded ORIGINAL
bytes over the cached COMPRESSED prefix → partial bust (the ~42% residual seen
on the a10 run, with prefix_change=0).
These tests pin the exact scenario, prove the content-only guard fixes it, and
document the remaining piece (marker accumulation > 4 → needs stable placement).
"""
from headroom.cache.prefix_tracker import (
PrefixCacheTracker,
PrefixFreezeConfig,
overlay_cached_prefix,
)
def M(role, text, cc=False):
m = {"role": role, "content": text}
if cc:
m["cache_control"] = {"type": "ephemeral"}
return m
def _toklen(m):
return max(1, len(str(m.get("content", ""))))
def _compress(m):
c = str(m.get("content", ""))
return {**m, "content": c[: max(1, len(c) // 2)]}
def _freeze(original, frozen):
# content_router freeze model: frozen prefix = ORIGINAL bytes, rest compressed.
return [(original[i] if i < frozen else _compress(original[i])) for i in range(len(original))]
# ── Unit reproduction ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# Last turn we forwarded the compressed prefix; the client had marked msg1.
PREV_ORIG = [M("user", "READ foo:\n<big>"), M("assistant", "ok", cc=True)]
PREV_FWD = [M("user", "READ foo:\n<compressed>"), M("assistant", "ok", cc=True)]
# This turn the client MOVED the marker off msg1 onto the new last message (msg2).
CUR_ORIG = [M("user", "READ foo:\n<big>"), M("assistant", "ok"), M("user", "grep:\n<big>", cc=True)]
# Freeze forwarded ORIGINAL bytes for the frozen prefix + compressed tail.
OPTIMIZED = [M("user", "READ foo:\n<big>"), M("assistant", "ok"), M("user", "grep:\n<compressed>")]
def test_marker_move_would_fail_a_raw_dict_guard():
# This is the exact condition the old (raw) guard tripped on: the frozen
# prefix differs ONLY because cache_control moved off msg1.
assert CUR_ORIG[:2] != PREV_ORIG
# ...but with cache_control stripped, the content is an append-only extension.
from headroom.cache.prefix_tracker import _strip_cache_control
assert _strip_cache_control(CUR_ORIG[:2]) == _strip_cache_control(PREV_ORIG)
def test_overlay_replays_despite_moved_marker():
out = overlay_cached_prefix(OPTIMIZED, CUR_ORIG, PREV_ORIG, PREV_FWD)
# The content-only guard lets the replay happen: the forwarded prefix is now
# byte-identical to what the provider cached (compressed), NOT the freeze's
# original bytes → cache hits instead of busting.
assert out[:2] == PREV_FWD
assert out[:2] != OPTIMIZED[:2]
assert out[2] == OPTIMIZED[2] # compressed tail preserved
# ── Cross-turn: client moves the marker every turn, provider keys on full bytes ─
def _client_convo(t):
msgs = [{"role": "user", "content": f"turn-{k}:" + "X" * 300} for k in range(1, t + 1)]
msgs[-1] = {**msgs[-1], "cache_control": {"type": "ephemeral"}} # mark ONLY the newest
return msgs
def _cache_read(fwd, prev_fwd):
# cache_control-AWARE (worst case): a moved marker changes the block's bytes,
# so it breaks the byte-identical prefix.
if not prev_fwd:
return 0
matched = 0
for a, b in zip(fwd, prev_fwd):
if a == b:
matched += _toklen(a)
else:
break
return matched
def _drive(use_overlay, turns=5):
tracker = PrefixCacheTracker("anthropic", PrefixFreezeConfig(min_cached_tokens=0))
prev_fwd = None
results = []
last_fwd = None
for t in range(1, turns + 1):
cur = _client_convo(t)
frozen = tracker.get_frozen_message_count()
fwd = _freeze(cur, frozen)
if use_overlay:
fwd = overlay_cached_prefix(
fwd,
cur,
tracker.get_last_original_messages(),
tracker.get_last_forwarded_messages(),
)
exp = sum(_toklen(m) for m in prev_fwd) if prev_fwd else 0
act = _cache_read(fwd, prev_fwd)
results.append((exp, act))
counts = [_toklen(m) for m in fwd]
tracker.update_from_response(
act, sum(counts) - act, fwd, message_token_counts=counts, original_messages=cur
)
prev_fwd = fwd
last_fwd = fwd
return results, last_fwd
def test_moving_marker_busts_without_overlay():
results, _ = _drive(use_overlay=False)
assert any(exp > act for exp, act in results[1:]), "moving marker should bust the raw freeze"
def test_moving_marker_no_bust_with_overlay():
results, _ = _drive(use_overlay=True)
for exp, act in results[1:]:
assert act >= exp, f"cache bust under moved marker: expected {exp} read {act}"
# ── fix-2: Headroom owns cache_control placement (realistic block content) ────
from headroom.cache.prefix_tracker import ( # noqa: E402
_strip_cache_control,
normalize_message_cache_control,
)
def B(role, text, cc=False):
"""Anthropic block-style message (cache_control lives on a content block)."""
blk = {"type": "text", "text": text}
if cc:
blk["cache_control"] = {"type": "ephemeral"}
return {"role": role, "content": [blk]}
def _markers(messages):
return sum(
1
for m in messages
if isinstance(m.get("content"), list)
for b in m["content"]
if isinstance(b, dict) and "cache_control" in b
)
def test_normalize_strips_all_and_keeps_one_on_last():
# 5 accumulated markers (the pile-up the overlay would produce).
msgs = [
B("user", "a", cc=True),
B("assistant", "b", cc=True),
B("user", "c", cc=True),
B("user", "d", cc=True),
B("user", "e", cc=True),
]
out = normalize_message_cache_control(msgs)
assert _markers(out) == 1 # bounded — no >4 error
assert "cache_control" in out[-1]["content"][-1] # on the last block
assert _strip_cache_control(out) == _strip_cache_control(msgs) # content untouched
def test_normalize_stays_bounded_across_many_turns():
"""The accumulation that would 400 Anthropic is now capped at 1 every turn."""
conv = []
forwarded = []
for t in range(1, 12):
conv = conv + [B("user", f"turn-{t}", cc=True)] # client marks the newest
forwarded = normalize_message_cache_control(conv)
assert _markers(forwarded) <= 4 # never exceeds Anthropic's limit
assert _markers(forwarded) == 1 # exactly one, on the last message
def test_normalize_is_noop_when_no_block_markers():
plain = [B("user", "a"), B("assistant", "b")] # no cache_control
out = normalize_message_cache_control(plain)
# places exactly one breakpoint (so the prefix gets cached), content stable
assert _markers(out) == 1
assert _strip_cache_control(out) == _strip_cache_control(plain)