Prevent infinite loops in distributed watchers by bypassing adapter in self* methods

[Copilot]

In distributed setups with multiple Casbin instances using watchers to synchronize policy changes, calling policy modification methods within watcher callbacks creates infinite loops: policy update → DB write → watcher notification → policy update → ...

Changes

Modified InternalEnforcer methods (src/internalEnforcer.ts)

• Added optional useAdapter parameter (default: true) to all *Internal methods
• Adapter calls now gated by if (useAdapter && this.adapter && this.autoSave)
• Affects: addPolicyInternal, addPoliciesInternal, addPoliciesInternalEx, updatePolicyInternal, removePolicyInternal, removePoliciesInternal, removeFilteredPolicyInternal

Updated ManagementEnforcer self methods* (src/managementEnforcer.ts)

• All self* methods now pass useAdapter=false and useWatcher=false
• Added JSDoc explaining their use in distributed watcher callbacks
• Affects: selfAddPolicy, selfRemovePolicy, selfUpdatePolicy, selfAddPolicies, selfRemovePolicies, selfRemoveFilteredPolicy

Added comprehensive test coverage (test/selfMethods.test.ts)

• Verifies self* methods bypass both adapter and watcher
• Confirms regular methods maintain existing behavior
• 17 new tests covering all policy operation types

Usage

In a watcher callback, use self* methods to update local cache without triggering DB writes or notifications:

watcher.setUpdateCallback(async () => {
  // Updates in-memory model only - no DB write, no watcher notification
  await enforcer.selfAddPolicy('p', 'p', ['alice', 'data1', 'read']);
});

Backward compatible - existing calls to *Internal methods use default useAdapter=true.

Original prompt

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This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>Prevent infinite loops in distributed watchers by bypassing adapter in self* methods</issue_title>
<issue_description>Goal: Modify the Enforcer to allow updating the policy in memory without triggering the Adapter (database write) or the Watcher (notification), even when autoSave is enabled.

Detailed Implementation Plan:

Modify InternalEnforcer methods:

Update all internal modification methods (e.g., addPolicyInternal, removePolicyInternal, updatePolicyInternal, addPoliciesInternal, etc.).

Add a new optional parameter useAdapter: boolean to these methods.

Set the default value of useAdapter to true to ensure backward compatibility.

In the method body, wrap the adapter call logic (e.g., this.adapter.addPolicy(...)) with a check: if (useAdapter && this.adapter && this.autoSave).

Update ManagementEnforcer (self* methods):

Locate all self* methods (e.g., selfAddPolicy, selfRemovePolicy, selfUpdatePolicy, etc.).

Update their implementation to call the corresponding *Internal method passing false for the new useAdapter parameter (along with false for the existing useWatcher parameter).

This ensures that calling self* methods will strictly update the memory model only, bypassing both the database adapter and the watcher notification.

Documentation:

Add JSDoc comments to these self* methods explaining that they are intended for in-memory updates in distributed setups (e.g., inside a Watcher callback).

Expected Outcome: Users can call enforcer.selfAddPolicy(...) in a Watcher callback. This will update the local cache but prevent the dead-loop caused by writing back to the DB and triggering the Watcher again.</issue_description>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

@hsluoyz The generated Pull request from this issue should fix this issue: https://github.com//issues/506

• Fixes Prevent infinite loops in distributed watchers by bypassing adapter in self* methods #537

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[coveralls]

Pull Request Test Coverage Report for Build 20741224807

Details

• 0 of 0 changed or added relevant lines in 0 files are covered.
• No unchanged relevant lines lost coverage.
• Overall coverage remained the same at 78.257%

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Totals
Change from base Build 20679550322:	0.0%
Covered Lines:	1645
Relevant Lines:	2001

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💛 - Coveralls