clawdbot/docs/queue.md

summary, read_when

summary	read_when
Command queue design that serializes auto-reply command execution	Changing auto-reply execution or concurrency

Command Queue (2025-11-25)

We now serialize all command-based auto-replies (WhatsApp Web listener) through a tiny in-process queue to prevent multiple commands from running at once.

Why

• Some auto-reply commands are expensive (LLM calls) and can collide when multiple inbound messages arrive close together.
• Serializing avoids competing for terminal/stdin, keeps logs readable, and reduces the chance of rate limits from upstream tools.

How it works

• src/process/command-queue.ts holds a single FIFO queue and drains it synchronously; only one task runs at a time.
• getReplyFromConfig wraps command execution with enqueueCommand(...), so every config-driven command reply flows through the queue automatically.
• When verbose logging is enabled, queued commands emit a short notice if they waited more than ~2s before starting.
• Typing indicators (onReplyStart) still fire immediately on enqueue so user experience is unchanged while we wait our turn.

Scope and guarantees

• Applies only to config-driven command replies; plain text replies are unaffected.
• Default lane (main) is process-wide for inbound + main heartbeats to keep the primary workflow serialized.
• Additional lanes may exist (e.g. cron) so background jobs can run in parallel without blocking inbound replies.
• No external dependencies or background worker threads; pure TypeScript + promises.

Troubleshooting

• If commands seem stuck, enable verbose logs and look for “queued for …ms” lines to confirm the queue is draining.
• enqueueCommand exposes a lightweight getQueueSize() helper if you need to surface queue depth in future diagnostics.