Test the newest git-annex build (OsPath); BeeGFS export/EBUSY issue fixed by it

[yarikoptic-gitmate]

Problem

bin/ci/install-git-annex-daily.sh asked con/git-annex for build-ubuntu.yaml runs with ?status=success. That is the whole run's conclusion. The test-annex (nfs-home) job there has been red on every run since 2026-09-23 (con/git-annex#293), so no run qualified as successful. As a result:

• the git-annex cells kept installing old builds that lack OsPath;
• the 2026-09-28 scheduled run (36417303910) installed 10.20260901+git47 from 35576118792, and BeeGFS 7.4.6 got git42 from 34820527339;
• the build flags were … S3 WebDAV Servant, with no OsPath.

Changes

1. Install the newest build, and check its flags

• bin/ci/pick-git-annex-build.sh (new) picks the newest master schedule/workflow_dispatch run that still has an unexpired git-annex-debianstandalone-packages_* artifact.
  • That artifact is uploaded only once build-package succeeds, so its presence is the real signal. The run's own conclusion is only logged.
  • pull_request builds are skipped, since they carry unmerged patches.
  • Every run it considers is logged with its artifact count.
• test.yaml: the matrix job runs the picker once, with actions: read, and passes the run id to every cell, so all cells of a workflow run test the same build.
  • The step is continue-on-error; if it fails, each cell picks for itself.
• bin/ci/install-git-annex-daily.sh:
  • takes that run id, as a positional argument or GIT_ANNEX_RUN_ID;
  • writes the build URL, the package name and the git annex version header to the job summary;
  • fails if a flag in EXPECT_BUILD_FLAGS is missing. The default is OsPath; "" disables the check.

2. Known issues, now that an OsPath build runs

• evals/known-issues.yaml: beegfs-annex-export-busy is removed, not left in place as known. A recurrence should turn the cell red, and non-OsPath builds are now refused anyway.
• GOTCHAS.md:
  • the "BeeGFS / git-annex test" section records the resolution and the evidence below;
  • the generated block was regenerated with bin/ci/known_issues.py gotchas.

Results (run 36475373813 on 5291abf)

The picker chose con/git-annex run 36399800528 (schedule, 2026-09-28…, run failure): 1 package artifact(s). Every git-annex cell installed 10.20260901+git71, whose build flags are … Servant OsPath.

Cell	Old build, no OsPath (run 36417303910)	OsPath build (run 36475373813)
BeeGFS 7.4.6 / git-annex	❌ 8 failures (export and import ×3, … of subdir ×3, git-remote-annex exporttree ×2), 24× Device or resource busy	✅ pass 838 · fail 0, all 26 test groups pass
BeeGFS 8.1.0 / git-annex	❌ 3 failures, then hung at conflict resolution (removed file) until the timeout (exit 124)	✅ pass 838 · fail 0, 6m6s
NFS / git-annex	✅	✅
Loop vfat / ext4 / git-annex	432/700, known (loop-annex-diskreserve)	unchanged, known

• On both BeeGFS cells, known_issues.py reported 'beegfs-annex-export-busy' did not reproduce -- fixed?.
• The upstream changes between git47 and git71 touch nothing in the export or rename paths, so the OsPath build flag is the difference. The upstream BeeGFS bug report also says these failures go away with OsPath.
• One thing to watch: on 7.4.6 several tests stalled together for about 9.5 minutes and then passed. The suite took 22m instead of about 6m.

Fix found by this PR's own first run

The first push picked 35319817132 (09-18, no OsPath), even though 11 newer runs came first. The new flag check caught it: the cells went red with lacks expected build flag(s): OsPath instead of quietly testing an old build.

• Cause: gh api inside while read … <<< "$runs" shared the loop's stdin.
• Fix: iterate over an array and give gh </dev/null.
• Result: the next run picked the newest build on its first candidate.

Testing

• bin/ci/shellcheck.sh is clean on 26 scripts, and run-checks.sh known-issues and unit pass.
• The picker was run against the live API, and the flag check was tested against five cases: flag present, flag missing, check disabled, a look-alike substring, and several expected flags.
• CI results are in the table above.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

https://claude.ai/code/session_013n9Q2igij49kxdtiakUzYv