[Proposal] Exclusive Workspaces for Snapshot Isolation Across Conversations

[kripper]

Summary

The /workspace directory is currently mounted and shared across all conversations, which is convenient for collaborative work but introduces a critical issue:

When restoring a snapshot (refer to issue #6163), the entire workspace is reverted. This inadvertently overwrites ongoing changes in other conversations, which can lead to data loss or workflow disruption.

To address this, we propose creating a workspace that is exclusive to each conversation. This exclusive workspace will ensure that snapshots and restores are isolated per conversation without impacting shared resources.

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Technical Design

The proposed solution revolves around segregating workspaces into isolated and shared environments:

1. Per-Conversation Workspaces

   • Each new conversation will begin with an exclusive, empty workspace mounted as /workspace.
   • This workspace will be tied to the conversation and will be included in snapshots/restores.

2. Shared Workspaces

   • A separate shared mount point (e.g., /archive) will be introduced for files that are not included in snapshots.
   • Users will have the ability to manage and optionally grant write access to this shared folder for inter-conversation collaboration.

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Implementation Proposal

We will define two distinct mounts inside the sandbox environment:

1. /workspace:

   • Exclusive to the conversation sandbox.
   • Fully included in snapshots and restores.

2. /archive:

   • Shared among all conversations.
   • Managed independently by the user and excluded from snapshots.

On the host machine, the file structure within the OH repository will look like this:

workspaces/
	75bc4c6729c1119ab33856f9d1fd51f26be4ce1fc0b97426cca3063c2228db34/
		(workspace files for session 75bc4...., mounted as `/workspace` inside the sandbox)
archive/
	(files shared with/by the user, equivalent to the current 'workspace' folder)

• Access Control: Users can choose to isolate conversation sandboxes completely by restricting write permissions to /archive.

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Alternatives Considered

1. Instruct OH to work outside /workspace
   • This approach would require users to bypass /workspace, which is counterintuitive and contradicts the purpose of having a dedicated workspace.

By implementing this design, we maintain the intuitive usage of /workspace while ensuring snapshots remain conversation-specific, thus preventing unintended overwrites in shared environments.