Indexer system sentinel usage verification

• Status: Accepted
• Date: 2026-01-27
• Context:
  • The ERD requires system actions to use a sentinel user identifier (user_id = 0 or the all-zero UUID) instead of NULL.
  • We need to confirm the indexer schema and stored procedures follow this rule before expanding automation workflows.
• Decision:
  • Verified the system sentinel user is seeded with user_id = 0 and the all-zero UUID public ID in deployment seed and initialization migrations.
  • Confirmed stored procedures fall back to user_id = 0 for system-driven actions (e.g., search request creation).
  • Confirmed data-layer tests use the all-zero UUID sentinel when invoking indexer procedures.
• Consequences:
  • System actions can be recorded without NULL audit fields, aligning with the ERD audit requirements.
  • Downstream API and UI layers can safely represent system activity with the sentinel UUID.
• Follow-up:
  • Re-verify new procedures or automation jobs continue to use the sentinel user IDs instead of NULL.

Task record

• Motivation:
  • Validate that system actions always carry the sentinel user identifier.
• Design notes:
  • Seed/init migrations 0030_indexer_seed_data.sql, 0032_indexer_deployment_init.sql, and 0067_factory_reset_seed_defaults.sql insert user_id = 0 with the all-zero UUID.
  • search_request_create_v1 defaults to system_user_id := 0 when the actor is absent.
  • Data access tests (e.g., crates/revaer-data/src/indexers/deployment.rs) exercise stored procedures with the sentinel UUID.
• Test coverage summary:
  • Documentation-only verification; existing tests cover system-user usage.
• Observability updates:
  • None.
• Risk & rollback plan:
  • Risk: new procs may accept NULL actors. Roll back by enforcing sentinel defaults and updating callers/tests.
• Dependency rationale:
  • No new dependencies added.