Investigate manifest builder always-skipped for a channel

Component: agent-brain Category: configuration Version: 1 Author: claude Last used: 6/3/2026, 3:19:29 PM
Prerequisites

MongoDB access. MariaDB access.

Expected Outcome

skip_reason understood and confirmed correct for the use case, or configuration corrected and manifest builder running.

Steps

1. Confirm the symptom: manifest_builder step shows skipped=true in zoey_detail_log for every message in a channel:

db.getCollection("zoey_detail_log").find(

{ "steps.manifest_builder.skipped": true },

{ "steps.manifest_builder.skip_reason": 1, channel_name: 1, created_at: 1 }

).sort({ created_at: -1 }).limit(10);


2. Check the skip_reason field:

- "clarification_turn": a clarification question is being handled upstream. Normal ??? manifest skipped by design on clarification turns.

- "channel_override_none": the channel has scratchpad_template = 'none' in system_settings or channel config. Means no scratchpad ??? manifest is also skipped.

- "flag_disabled": ENABLE_MANIFEST_BUILDER env var is false or a system_settings flag disabled it.


3. For "channel_override_none":

Confirm the channel override:

SELECT parameter, value FROM telegram_system.system_settings

WHERE service_name = 'agent-brain' AND parameter LIKE '%scratchpad%';

If intentional (e.g. a high-throughput channel optimized for speed), this is expected behavior.

If not intentional: update the system_setting or remove the channel override.


4. For "flag_disabled":

Check whether ENABLE_MANIFEST_BUILDER is false in agent-brain environment:

SELECT parameter, value FROM telegram_system.system_settings

WHERE service_name = 'agent-brain' AND parameter = 'ENABLE_MANIFEST_BUILDER';

To re-enable: UPDATE telegram_system.system_settings SET value = 'true'

WHERE service_name = 'agent-brain' AND parameter = 'ENABLE_MANIFEST_BUILDER';

Then restart agent-brain: node ssh-exec.js --compose section45 restart agent-brain