v0.0.40 - Reduce query churn and add relay disconnect-cause visibility

README.md

@@ -51,11 +51,11 @@ Agents learn capabilities through skills —  Nostr events that any agent can di
 
 Didactyl will support local inference, which is very privacy preserving. Remote inference does however have it's advantages, and in those cases Didactyl supports using Bitcoin Lightning and eCash inference providers.
 
-## Current Status — v0.0.30
+## Current Status — v0.0.40
 
 **Active build — this project is barely working. Experiment at your own risk.**
 
-> Last release update: v0.0.30 — Add config-controlled dm_protocol (nip04/nip17/both), NIP-17 receive handling, protocol-aware auto DM routing, and config updates
+> Last release update: v0.0.40 — Reduce query churn and add relay disconnect-cause visibility
 
 - Connects to configured relays with auto-reconnect and relay state transition logging
 - Publishes configured startup events per relay as each relay becomes connected

src/agent.c

@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ static pthread_mutex_t g_context_part_names_mutex = PTHREAD_MUTEX_INITIALIZER;
 #define AGENT_DEBOUNCE_CACHE_SIZE 256
 #define AGENT_HISTORY_TURNS 12
 #define AGENT_HISTORY_QUERY_LIMIT 200
-#define AGENT_ADOPTED_SKILLS_CACHE_TTL_SECONDS 30
+#define AGENT_ADOPTED_SKILLS_CACHE_TTL_SECONDS 300
 #define AGENT_ADOPTED_SKILLS_MAX 24
 #define AGENT_ADOPTED_SKILL_CONTENT_MAX_CHARS 1800
 #define AGENT_ADOPTED_SKILLS_TOTAL_MAX_CHARS 7200
@@ -1415,7 +1415,7 @@ static int append_recent_admin_dm_history(cJSON* messages, const char* current_m
     cJSON_AddItemToObject(filter, "authors", authors);
     cJSON_AddNumberToObject(filter, "limit", AGENT_HISTORY_QUERY_LIMIT);
 
-    char* events_json = nostr_handler_query_json(filter, 8000);
+    char* events_json = nostr_handler_query_json(filter, 1500);
     cJSON_Delete(filter);
     if (!events_json) {
         return 0;
@@ -1648,7 +1648,7 @@ static int refresh_adopted_skills_cache_if_needed(void) {
     cJSON_AddItemToObject(adopt_filter, "authors", authors);
     cJSON_AddNumberToObject(adopt_filter, "limit", 1);
 
-    char* adoption_json = nostr_handler_query_json(adopt_filter, 8000);
+    char* adoption_json = nostr_handler_query_json(adopt_filter, 2000);
     cJSON_Delete(adopt_filter);
 
     cJSON* adoption_events = adoption_json ? cJSON_Parse(adoption_json) : NULL;
@@ -1700,7 +1700,7 @@ static int refresh_adopted_skills_cache_if_needed(void) {
                 cJSON_AddItemToObject(skill_filter, "#d", d_values);
                 cJSON_AddNumberToObject(skill_filter, "limit", 1);
 
-                char* skill_json = nostr_handler_query_json(skill_filter, 8000);
+                char* skill_json = nostr_handler_query_json(skill_filter, 2000);
                 cJSON_Delete(skill_filter);
                 if (!skill_json) {
                     continue;

src/main.c

@@ -245,10 +245,19 @@ int main(int argc, char** argv) {
     char startup_dm[768];
     const char* startup_name = nostr_handler_get_startup_display_name();
     int connected_relays = nostr_handler_connected_relay_count();
+    time_t startup_now = time(NULL);
+    struct tm startup_tm;
+    char startup_time_str[32] = {0};
+    if (localtime_r(&startup_now, &startup_tm)) {
+        (void)strftime(startup_time_str, sizeof(startup_time_str), "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S", &startup_tm);
+    } else {
+        snprintf(startup_time_str, sizeof(startup_time_str), "%ld", (long)startup_now);
+    }
     snprintf(startup_dm,
              sizeof(startup_dm),
-             "%s has started up and is online (version %s, connected relays: %d/%d).",
+             "%s has started up and is online at %s (version %s, connected relays: %d/%d).",
              (startup_name && startup_name[0] != '\0') ? startup_name : "Didactyl",
+             startup_time_str,
              DIDACTYL_VERSION,
              connected_relays,
              cfg.relay_count);

src/main.h

@@ -12,8 +12,8 @@
 // Using DIDACTYL_ prefix to avoid conflicts with nostr_core_lib VERSION macros
 #define DIDACTYL_VERSION_MAJOR 0
 #define DIDACTYL_VERSION_MINOR 0
-#define DIDACTYL_VERSION_PATCH 30
-#define DIDACTYL_VERSION "v0.0.30"
+#define DIDACTYL_VERSION_PATCH 40
+#define DIDACTYL_VERSION "v0.0.40"
 
 // Agent metadata
 #define DIDACTYL_NAME "Didactyl"

src/nostr_handler.c

@@ -218,10 +218,19 @@ static void log_relay_state_changes(void) {
         nostr_pool_relay_status_t now = nostr_relay_pool_get_relay_status(g_pool, relay);
         nostr_pool_relay_status_t prev = g_last_relay_statuses[i];
         if (now != prev) {
-            DEBUG_INFO("[didactyl] relay state changed: %s %s -> %s",
-                       relay,
-                       relay_status_str(prev),
-                       relay_status_str(now));
+            const char* conn_err = nostr_relay_pool_get_relay_last_connection_error(g_pool, relay);
+            if (conn_err && (now == NOSTR_POOL_RELAY_DISCONNECTED || now == NOSTR_POOL_RELAY_ERROR)) {
+                DEBUG_INFO("[didactyl] relay state changed: %s %s -> %s (cause: %s)",
+                           relay,
+                           relay_status_str(prev),
+                           relay_status_str(now),
+                           conn_err);
+            } else {
+                DEBUG_INFO("[didactyl] relay state changed: %s %s -> %s",
+                           relay,
+                           relay_status_str(prev),
+                           relay_status_str(now));
+            }
             g_last_relay_statuses[i] = now;
 
             if (now == NOSTR_POOL_RELAY_CONNECTED) {
@@ -628,14 +637,25 @@ static void on_event(cJSON* event, const char* relay_url, void* user_data) {
         cJSON* rumor_kind = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(rumor, "kind");
         cJSON* rumor_pubkey = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(rumor, "pubkey");
         cJSON* rumor_content = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(rumor, "content");
+        cJSON* rumor_created_at = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(rumor, "created_at");
 
-        if (!rumor_kind || !rumor_pubkey || !rumor_content ||
+        if (!rumor_kind || !rumor_pubkey || !rumor_content || !rumor_created_at ||
             !cJSON_IsNumber(rumor_kind) || !cJSON_IsString(rumor_pubkey) || !cJSON_IsString(rumor_content) ||
+            !cJSON_IsNumber(rumor_created_at) ||
             !rumor_pubkey->valuestring || strlen(rumor_pubkey->valuestring) != 64U) {
             cJSON_Delete(rumor);
             return;
         }
 
+        time_t rumor_created_at_ts = (time_t)rumor_created_at->valuedouble;
+        if (rumor_created_at_ts < g_start_time) {
+            DEBUG_TRACE("[didactyl] DEBUG on_event: skipping old NIP-17 rumor created_at=%ld start=%ld",
+                        (long)rumor_created_at_ts,
+                        (long)g_start_time);
+            cJSON_Delete(rumor);
+            return;
+        }
+
         int rumor_kind_val = (int)rumor_kind->valuedouble;
         if (rumor_kind_val != 14 && rumor_kind_val != 15 && rumor_kind_val != 7) {
             DEBUG_TRACE("[didactyl] DEBUG on_event: ignoring NIP-17 rumor kind=%d", rumor_kind_val);
@@ -670,6 +690,14 @@ static void on_event(cJSON* event, const char* relay_url, void* user_data) {
         return;
     }
 
+    if (strcmp(sender_pubkey_hex, g_cfg->keys.public_key_hex) == 0) {
+        DEBUG_TRACE("[didactyl] DEBUG on_event: ignoring self-sent DM %.16s... via %s",
+                    sender_pubkey_hex,
+                    relay_url ? relay_url : "unknown relay");
+        free(decrypted);
+        return;
+    }
+
     didactyl_sender_tier_t tier = sender_tier_from_pubkey(sender_pubkey_hex);
 
     DEBUG_TRACE("[didactyl] DEBUG on_event: sender=%.16s... tier=%d (admin=%.16s...)",
@@ -1077,58 +1105,122 @@ int nostr_handler_subscribe_dms(dm_callback_t callback, void* user_data) {
     g_dm_callback = callback;
     g_dm_user_data = user_data;
 
-    cJSON* filter = cJSON_CreateObject();
-    cJSON* kinds = cJSON_CreateArray();
-    cJSON* p_values = cJSON_CreateArray();
-    if (!filter || !kinds || !p_values) {
-        cJSON_Delete(filter);
-        cJSON_Delete(kinds);
-        cJSON_Delete(p_values);
+    const int need_kind4 = (g_cfg->dm_protocol == DM_PROTOCOL_NIP04 || g_cfg->dm_protocol == DM_PROTOCOL_BOTH) ? 1 : 0;
+    const int need_kind1059 = (g_cfg->dm_protocol == DM_PROTOCOL_NIP17 || g_cfg->dm_protocol == DM_PROTOCOL_BOTH) ? 1 : 0;
+
+    if (!need_kind4 && !need_kind1059) {
+        DEBUG_WARN("[didactyl] DM subscription skipped: no protocol selected");
         return -1;
     }
 
-    if (g_cfg->dm_protocol == DM_PROTOCOL_NIP04 || g_cfg->dm_protocol == DM_PROTOCOL_BOTH) {
-        cJSON_AddItemToArray(kinds, cJSON_CreateNumber(4));
-    }
-    if (g_cfg->dm_protocol == DM_PROTOCOL_NIP17 || g_cfg->dm_protocol == DM_PROTOCOL_BOTH) {
-        cJSON_AddItemToArray(kinds, cJSON_CreateNumber(1059));
-    }
-    cJSON_AddItemToObject(filter, "kinds", kinds);
-    cJSON_AddItemToArray(p_values, cJSON_CreateString(g_cfg->keys.public_key_hex));
-    cJSON_AddItemToObject(filter, "#p", p_values);
-    cJSON_AddNumberToObject(filter, "since", (double)g_start_time);
-    cJSON_AddNumberToObject(filter, "limit", 100);
+    int subscribed_any = 0;
 
-    {
-        char* filter_str = cJSON_PrintUnformatted(filter);
-        DEBUG_TRACE("[didactyl] DEBUG DM subscription filter: %s", filter_str ? filter_str : "<null>");
-        DEBUG_TRACE("[didactyl] DEBUG DM subscription g_start_time=%ld now=%ld delta=%ld relay_count=%d",
-                    (long)g_start_time, (long)time(NULL), (long)(time(NULL) - g_start_time), g_cfg->relay_count);
-        free(filter_str);
+    if (need_kind4) {
+        cJSON* filter4 = cJSON_CreateObject();
+        cJSON* kinds4 = cJSON_CreateArray();
+        cJSON* p_values4 = cJSON_CreateArray();
+        if (!filter4 || !kinds4 || !p_values4) {
+            cJSON_Delete(filter4);
+            cJSON_Delete(kinds4);
+            cJSON_Delete(p_values4);
+            return -1;
+        }
+
+        cJSON_AddItemToArray(kinds4, cJSON_CreateNumber(4));
+        cJSON_AddItemToObject(filter4, "kinds", kinds4);
+        cJSON_AddItemToArray(p_values4, cJSON_CreateString(g_cfg->keys.public_key_hex));
+        cJSON_AddItemToObject(filter4, "#p", p_values4);
+        cJSON_AddNumberToObject(filter4, "since", (double)g_start_time);
+        cJSON_AddNumberToObject(filter4, "limit", 100);
+
+        {
+            char* filter_str = cJSON_PrintUnformatted(filter4);
+            DEBUG_TRACE("[didactyl] DEBUG DM subscription filter kind4: %s", filter_str ? filter_str : "<null>");
+            free(filter_str);
+        }
+
+        nostr_pool_subscription_t* sub4 = nostr_relay_pool_subscribe(
+            g_pool,
+            (const char**)g_cfg->relays,
+            g_cfg->relay_count,
+            filter4,
+            on_event,
+            on_eose,
+            NULL,
+            0,
+            0,
+            NOSTR_POOL_EOSE_FULL_SET,
+            30,
+            120);
+
+        cJSON_Delete(filter4);
+        if (!sub4) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "[didactyl] kind4 DM subscription failed\n");
+            return -1;
+        }
+
+        subscribed_any = 1;
+        DEBUG_TRACE("[didactyl] DEBUG kind4 DM subscription sub=%p", (void*)sub4);
     }
 
-    nostr_pool_subscription_t* sub = nostr_relay_pool_subscribe(
-        g_pool,
-        (const char**)g_cfg->relays,
-        g_cfg->relay_count,
-        filter,
-        on_event,
-        on_eose,
-        NULL,
-        0,
-        1,
-        NOSTR_POOL_EOSE_FULL_SET,
-        30,
-        120);
+    if (need_kind1059) {
+        time_t since_1059 = g_start_time;
 
-    cJSON_Delete(filter);
-    if (!sub) {
-        fprintf(stderr, "[didactyl] DM subscription failed\n");
+        cJSON* filter1059 = cJSON_CreateObject();
+        cJSON* kinds1059 = cJSON_CreateArray();
+        cJSON* p_values1059 = cJSON_CreateArray();
+        if (!filter1059 || !kinds1059 || !p_values1059) {
+            cJSON_Delete(filter1059);
+            cJSON_Delete(kinds1059);
+            cJSON_Delete(p_values1059);
+            return -1;
+        }
+
+        cJSON_AddItemToArray(kinds1059, cJSON_CreateNumber(1059));
+        cJSON_AddItemToObject(filter1059, "kinds", kinds1059);
+        cJSON_AddItemToArray(p_values1059, cJSON_CreateString(g_cfg->keys.public_key_hex));
+        cJSON_AddItemToObject(filter1059, "#p", p_values1059);
+        cJSON_AddNumberToObject(filter1059, "since", (double)since_1059);
+        cJSON_AddNumberToObject(filter1059, "limit", 400);
+
+        {
+            char* filter_str = cJSON_PrintUnformatted(filter1059);
+            DEBUG_TRACE("[didactyl] DEBUG DM subscription filter kind1059: %s", filter_str ? filter_str : "<null>");
+            DEBUG_TRACE("[didactyl] DEBUG kind1059 since=%ld start=%ld", (long)since_1059, (long)g_start_time);
+            free(filter_str);
+        }
+
+        nostr_pool_subscription_t* sub1059 = nostr_relay_pool_subscribe(
+            g_pool,
+            (const char**)g_cfg->relays,
+            g_cfg->relay_count,
+            filter1059,
+            on_event,
+            on_eose,
+            NULL,
+            0,
+            0,
+            NOSTR_POOL_EOSE_FULL_SET,
+            30,
+            120);
+
+        cJSON_Delete(filter1059);
+        if (!sub1059) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "[didactyl] kind1059 DM subscription failed\n");
+            return -1;
+        }
+
+        subscribed_any = 1;
+        DEBUG_TRACE("[didactyl] DEBUG kind1059 DM subscription sub=%p", (void*)sub1059);
+    }
+
+    if (!subscribed_any) {
         return -1;
     }
 
     DEBUG_INFO("[didactyl] DM subscription active for pubkey %.16s...", g_cfg->keys.public_key_hex);
-    DEBUG_TRACE("[didactyl] DEBUG DM subscription sub=%p close_on_eose=0 dedup=1", (void*)sub);
+    DEBUG_TRACE("[didactyl] DEBUG DM subscription g_start_time=%ld now=%ld delta=%ld relay_count=%d",
+                (long)g_start_time, (long)time(NULL), (long)(time(NULL) - g_start_time), g_cfg->relay_count);
     return 0;
 }
 
@@ -1186,21 +1278,6 @@ int nostr_handler_send_dm(const char* recipient_pubkey_hex, const char* message)
         }
     }
 
-    int* pre_publish_ok = NULL;
-    if (connected_count > 0) {
-        pre_publish_ok = (int*)calloc((size_t)connected_count, sizeof(int));
-        if (!pre_publish_ok) {
-            free(connected_relays);
-            cJSON_Delete(event);
-            return -1;
-        }
-
-        for (int i = 0; i < connected_count; i++) {
-            const nostr_relay_stats_t* stats = nostr_relay_pool_get_relay_stats(g_pool, connected_relays[i]);
-            pre_publish_ok[i] = stats ? stats->events_published_ok : 0;
-        }
-    }
-
     int sent = 0;
     if (connected_count > 0) {
         sent = nostr_relay_pool_publish_async(
@@ -1214,48 +1291,6 @@ int nostr_handler_send_dm(const char* recipient_pubkey_hex, const char* message)
         for (int i = 0; i < connected_count; i++) {
             DEBUG_INFO("[didactyl] kind 4 event published to %s (async)", connected_relays[i]);
         }
-
-        // Briefly drain relay messages so NIP-42 AUTH handshake can complete.
-        for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
-            (void)nostr_relay_pool_poll(g_pool, 100);
-        }
-
-        int any_publish_ok = 0;
-        int auth_required_seen = 0;
-        for (int i = 0; i < connected_count; i++) {
-            const nostr_relay_stats_t* stats = nostr_relay_pool_get_relay_stats(g_pool, connected_relays[i]);
-            if (stats && stats->events_published_ok > pre_publish_ok[i]) {
-                any_publish_ok = 1;
-            }
-
-            const char* pub_err = nostr_relay_pool_get_relay_last_publish_error(g_pool, connected_relays[i]);
-            if (pub_err && strstr(pub_err, "auth-required") != NULL) {
-                auth_required_seen = 1;
-            }
-        }
-
-        // Always retry this same signed event once after handshake drain.
-        // Some relays issue AUTH challenge for the first EVENT and only accept
-        // the subsequent resend after AUTH succeeds.
-        if (sent > 0) {
-            if (auth_required_seen || !any_publish_ok) {
-                DEBUG_WARN("[didactyl] retrying kind 4 event once after auth handshake window");
-            }
-            int resent = nostr_relay_pool_publish_async(
-                g_pool,
-                connected_relays,
-                connected_count,
-                event,
-                NULL,
-                NULL);
-            if (resent > sent) {
-                sent = resent;
-            }
-
-            for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
-                (void)nostr_relay_pool_poll(g_pool, 100);
-            }
-        }
     } else {
         DEBUG_WARN("[didactyl] kind 4 event not queued: no connected relays");
     }
@@ -1268,7 +1303,6 @@ int nostr_handler_send_dm(const char* recipient_pubkey_hex, const char* message)
                recipient_pubkey_hex,
                sent);
 
-    free(pre_publish_ok);
     free(connected_relays);
     cJSON_Delete(event);
     return sent > 0 ? 0 : -1;
@@ -1793,79 +1827,22 @@ int nostr_handler_send_dm_nip17(const char* recipient_pubkey_hex, const char* me
         return -1;
     }
 
-    cJSON* filter = cJSON_CreateObject();
-    cJSON* kinds = cJSON_CreateArray();
-    cJSON* authors = cJSON_CreateArray();
-    if (!filter || !kinds || !authors) {
-        cJSON_Delete(filter);
-        cJSON_Delete(kinds);
-        cJSON_Delete(authors);
-        return -1;
-    }
-
-    cJSON_AddItemToArray(kinds, cJSON_CreateNumber(10050));
-    cJSON_AddItemToObject(filter, "kinds", kinds);
-    cJSON_AddItemToArray(authors, cJSON_CreateString(recipient_pubkey_hex));
-    cJSON_AddItemToObject(filter, "authors", authors);
-    cJSON_AddNumberToObject(filter, "limit", 1);
-
-    int event_count = 0;
-    cJSON** events = nostr_relay_pool_query_sync(
-        g_pool,
-        (const char**)g_cfg->relays,
-        g_cfg->relay_count,
-        filter,
-        &event_count,
-        5000);
-
-    cJSON_Delete(filter);
-
-    char* extracted_dm_relays[NIP17_MAX_RELAYS] = {0};
-    int extracted_count = 0;
-    if (events && event_count > 0 && events[0]) {
-        int extracted = nostr_nip17_extract_dm_relays(events[0], extracted_dm_relays, NIP17_MAX_RELAYS);
-        if (extracted > 0) {
-            extracted_count = extracted;
-        }
-    }
-
-    if (events) {
-        for (int i = 0; i < event_count; i++) {
-            cJSON_Delete(events[i]);
-        }
-        free(events);
-    }
-
     const char* target_relays[NIP17_MAX_RELAYS] = {0};
     int target_count = 0;
 
-    if (extracted_count > 0) {
-        for (int i = 0; i < g_cfg->relay_count && target_count < NIP17_MAX_RELAYS; i++) {
-            if (nostr_relay_pool_get_relay_status(g_pool, g_cfg->relays[i]) != NOSTR_POOL_RELAY_CONNECTED) {
-                continue;
-            }
-            for (int j = 0; j < extracted_count; j++) {
-                if (extracted_dm_relays[j] && strcmp(g_cfg->relays[i], extracted_dm_relays[j]) == 0) {
-                    target_relays[target_count++] = g_cfg->relays[i];
-                    break;
-                }
-            }
+    for (int i = 0; i < g_cfg->relay_count && target_count < NIP17_MAX_RELAYS; i++) {
+        if (nostr_relay_pool_get_relay_status(g_pool, g_cfg->relays[i]) == NOSTR_POOL_RELAY_CONNECTED) {
+            target_relays[target_count++] = g_cfg->relays[i];
         }
     }
 
-    if (target_count == 0) {
-        for (int i = 0; i < g_cfg->relay_count && target_count < NIP17_MAX_RELAYS; i++) {
-            if (nostr_relay_pool_get_relay_status(g_pool, g_cfg->relays[i]) == NOSTR_POOL_RELAY_CONNECTED) {
-                target_relays[target_count++] = g_cfg->relays[i];
-            }
-        }
-    }
-
-    for (int i = 0; i < extracted_count; i++) {
-        free(extracted_dm_relays[i]);
-    }
+    DEBUG_TRACE("[didactyl] NIP-17 send prep: recipient=%.16s... connected_targets=%d",
+                recipient_pubkey_hex,
+                target_count);
 
     if (target_count <= 0) {
+        DEBUG_WARN("[didactyl] NIP-17 send aborted: no connected relays for recipient %.16s...",
+                   recipient_pubkey_hex);
         return -1;
     }
 
@@ -1892,14 +1869,19 @@ int nostr_handler_send_dm_nip17(const char* recipient_pubkey_hex, const char* me
                                          0);
     cJSON_Delete(chat_event);
     if (gift_count <= 0) {
+        DEBUG_WARN("[didactyl] NIP-17 send aborted: gift_wrap creation failed for %.16s...",
+                   recipient_pubkey_hex);
         return -1;
     }
 
     int any_sent = 0;
+    int sent_count = 0;
+
     for (int i = 0; i < gift_count; i++) {
         if (!gift_wraps[i]) {
             continue;
         }
+
         int sent = nostr_relay_pool_publish_async(g_pool,
                                                   target_relays,
                                                   target_count,
@@ -1908,15 +1890,27 @@ int nostr_handler_send_dm_nip17(const char* recipient_pubkey_hex, const char* me
                                                   NULL);
         if (sent > 0) {
             any_sent = 1;
+            sent_count += sent;
         }
+
+        for (int r = 0; r < target_count; r++) {
+            DEBUG_INFO("[didactyl] kind 1059 event published to %s (async)", target_relays[r]);
+        }
+
         cJSON_Delete(gift_wraps[i]);
     }
 
-    for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
-        (void)nostr_relay_pool_poll(g_pool, 100);
+    DEBUG_TRACE("[didactyl] NIP-17 send complete: recipient=%.16s... sent_count=%d",
+                recipient_pubkey_hex,
+                sent_count);
+
+    if (!any_sent) {
+        DEBUG_WARN("[didactyl] NIP-17 send failed: no relay accepted publish for recipient %.16s...",
+                   recipient_pubkey_hex);
+        return -1;
     }
 
-    return any_sent ? 0 : -1;
+    return 0;
 }
 
 char* nostr_handler_get_admin_kind0_context(void) {
@@ -1998,9 +1992,38 @@ int nostr_handler_poll(int timeout_ms) {
         return -1;
     }
 
+    double start_ms = -1.0;
+    struct timespec ts_start;
+    if (clock_gettime(CLOCK_MONOTONIC, &ts_start) == 0) {
+        start_ms = ts_start.tv_sec * 1000.0 + ts_start.tv_nsec / 1000000.0;
+    }
+
     int rc = nostr_relay_pool_poll(g_pool, timeout_ms);
     g_poll_counter++;
 
+    if (start_ms >= 0.0) {
+        struct timespec ts_end;
+        if (clock_gettime(CLOCK_MONOTONIC, &ts_end) == 0) {
+            const double end_ms = ts_end.tv_sec * 1000.0 + ts_end.tv_nsec / 1000000.0;
+            const double elapsed_ms = end_ms - start_ms;
+            const double expected_ms = timeout_ms > 0 ? (double)timeout_ms : 0.0;
+
+            if (elapsed_ms > expected_ms + 250.0) {
+                DEBUG_WARN("[didactyl] poll latency spike: nostr_relay_pool_poll(timeout=%d) took %.1fms rc=%d count=%llu",
+                           timeout_ms,
+                           elapsed_ms,
+                           rc,
+                           (unsigned long long)g_poll_counter);
+            } else if ((g_poll_counter % 200ULL) == 0ULL) {
+                DEBUG_TRACE("[didactyl] poll heartbeat: timeout=%d elapsed=%.1fms rc=%d count=%llu",
+                            timeout_ms,
+                            elapsed_ms,
+                            rc,
+                            (unsigned long long)g_poll_counter);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     log_relay_state_changes();
 
     return rc;

src/trigger_manager.c

@@ -268,7 +268,7 @@ int trigger_manager_load_from_skills(trigger_manager_t* mgr) {
     cJSON_AddItemToObject(adopt_filter, "authors", authors);
     cJSON_AddNumberToObject(adopt_filter, "limit", 1);
 
-    char* adoption_json = nostr_handler_query_json(adopt_filter, 8000);
+    char* adoption_json = nostr_handler_query_json(adopt_filter, 2000);
     cJSON_Delete(adopt_filter);
     if (!adoption_json) {
         return 0;
@@ -328,7 +328,7 @@ int trigger_manager_load_from_skills(trigger_manager_t* mgr) {
         cJSON_AddItemToObject(skill_filter, "#d", d_values);
         cJSON_AddNumberToObject(skill_filter, "limit", 1);
 
-        char* skill_json = nostr_handler_query_json(skill_filter, 8000);
+        char* skill_json = nostr_handler_query_json(skill_filter, 2000);
         cJSON_Delete(skill_filter);
         if (!skill_json) {
             continue;
@@ -513,7 +513,7 @@ int trigger_manager_poll(trigger_manager_t* mgr) {
     }
 
     time_t now = time(NULL);
-    if (mgr->last_poll_at > 0 && (now - mgr->last_poll_at) < 2) {
+    if (mgr->last_poll_at > 0 && (now - mgr->last_poll_at) < 10) {
         return 0;
     }
     mgr->last_poll_at = now;
@@ -538,7 +538,7 @@ int trigger_manager_poll(trigger_manager_t* mgr) {
         cJSON_AddNumberToObject(filter, "since", (double)since);
         cJSON_AddNumberToObject(filter, "limit", 8);
 
-        char* events_json = nostr_handler_query_json(filter, 4000);
+        char* events_json = nostr_handler_query_json(filter, 1200);
         cJSON_Delete(filter);
         if (!events_json) {
             continue;