.env.example

@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ PORT=3117
 REFRESH_INTERVAL_MINUTES=15
 AUTO_OPEN_BROWSER=false
 STALE_DATA_MAX_AGE_MINUTES=60
+STALE_ALERT_COOLDOWN_MINUTES=60
+DASHBOARD_URL=
 TERMINAL_ACTIONS_ENABLED=true
 SWEEP_TOKEN=
 BRIEF_VERBOSITY=standard

README.md

@@ -130,6 +130,8 @@ PORT=3117
 REFRESH_INTERVAL_MINUTES=15
 AUTO_OPEN_BROWSER=false
 STALE_DATA_MAX_AGE_MINUTES=60
+STALE_ALERT_COOLDOWN_MINUTES=60
+DASHBOARD_URL=https://intelligence.example.internal
 TERMINAL_ACTIONS_ENABLED=true
 SWEEP_TOKEN=
 BRIEF_VERBOSITY=standard
@@ -183,6 +185,8 @@ LLM_MODEL=your-model
 
 For Pangolin or another reverse proxy, forward HTTP traffic to `intelligence-terminal:3117` (or the `PORT` you set). Missing API keys do not crash sweeps; affected sources are reported as degraded in `/api/health`.
 
+When data remains stale past `STALE_DATA_MAX_AGE_MINUTES`, the server sends an operator alert through configured Telegram/Discord channels after failed or degraded sweep attempts. `STALE_ALERT_COOLDOWN_MINUTES` prevents repeated stale alerts from spamming every refresh interval. Set `DASHBOARD_URL` to the Pangolin/public URL you want included in those alerts.
+
 The dashboard Terminal Actions panel can trigger `status`, `sweep`, and `brief` through `/api/action`. Leave `TERMINAL_ACTIONS_ENABLED=true` for a private home-server deployment. For an internet-exposed deployment, set `SWEEP_TOKEN` and pass it through trusted automation, or set `TERMINAL_ACTIONS_ENABLED=false` to disable browser-triggered actions. If you protect actions with `SWEEP_TOKEN`, the browser can send it from `localStorage.crucix_sweep_token`.
 
 #### Scenario Watchlist
@@ -556,6 +560,9 @@ All settings are in `.env` with sensible defaults:
 |----------|---------|-------------|
 | `PORT` | `3117` | Dashboard server port |
 | `REFRESH_INTERVAL_MINUTES` | `15` | Auto-refresh interval |
+| `STALE_DATA_MAX_AGE_MINUTES` | `60` | Data age threshold for stale health state |
+| `STALE_ALERT_COOLDOWN_MINUTES` | `60` | Minimum time between repeated operator stale-data alerts |
+| `DASHBOARD_URL` | local URL | Dashboard URL included in operator alerts |
 | `LLM_PROVIDER` | disabled | `anthropic`, `openai`, `gemini`, `codex`, `openrouter`, `minimax`, `mistral`, or `grok` |
 | `LLM_API_KEY` | — | API key (not needed for codex) |
 | `LLM_MODEL` | per-provider default | Override model selection |

crucix.config.mjs

@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@ export default {
   refreshIntervalMinutes: intEnv('REFRESH_INTERVAL_MINUTES', 15),
   autoOpenBrowser: boolEnv('AUTO_OPEN_BROWSER', false),
   staleDataMaxAgeMinutes: intEnv('STALE_DATA_MAX_AGE_MINUTES', 60),
+  staleAlertCooldownMinutes: intEnv('STALE_ALERT_COOLDOWN_MINUTES', 60),
+  dashboardUrl: process.env.DASHBOARD_URL || null,
   sweepToken: process.env.SWEEP_TOKEN || null,
   terminalActionsEnabled: boolEnv('TERMINAL_ACTIONS_ENABLED', true),
 

lib/stale-alerts.mjs

@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+const DEFAULT_COOLDOWN_MS = 60 * 60 * 1000;
+
+export function shouldSendStaleAlert(health, state = {}, opts = {}) {
+  const now = opts.now ?? Date.now();
+  const cooldownMs = opts.cooldownMs ?? DEFAULT_COOLDOWN_MS;
+  if (!health?.stale) {
+    state.lastStaleAlertKey = null;
+    return { send: false, reason: 'not_stale' };
+  }
+
+  const key = [
+    health.lastSuccessfulSweep || 'never',
+    health.lastSweepError || 'no-error',
+    health.sourcesFailed || 0,
+    health.sourcesDegraded || 0,
+  ].join('|');
+
+  if (state.lastStaleAlertKey === key && now - (state.lastStaleAlertAt || 0) < cooldownMs) {
+    return { send: false, reason: 'cooldown', key };
+  }
+
+  state.lastStaleAlertKey = key;
+  state.lastStaleAlertAt = now;
+  return { send: true, reason: 'stale', key };
+}
+
+export function formatStaleAlert(health, opts = {}) {
+  const dashboardUrl = opts.dashboardUrl || 'http://localhost:3117';
+  const context = opts.context || 'scheduled sweep';
+  const ageMinutes = health.dataAgeSeconds == null ? 'unknown' : Math.floor(health.dataAgeSeconds / 60);
+  const affected = (health.sourceHealth || [])
+    .filter(s => (s.status && s.status !== 'ok') || s.error)
+    .slice(0, 6)
+    .map(s => `- ${s.name || s.n || 'source'}: ${s.status || 'degraded'}${s.error ? ` (${String(s.error).slice(0, 100)})` : ''}`);
+
+  return [
+    '*CRUCIX STALE DATA ALERT*',
+    '',
+    `Context: ${context}`,
+    `Status: ${health.status || 'unknown'}`,
+    `Data age: ${ageMinutes} minutes`,
+    `Last successful sweep: ${health.lastSuccessfulSweep || 'never'}`,
+    `Last attempted sweep: ${health.lastSweep || 'never'}`,
+    `Last error: ${health.lastSweepError || 'none'}`,
+    `Sources: ${health.sourcesOk || 0} OK / ${health.sourcesDegraded || 0} degraded / ${health.sourcesFailed || 0} failed`,
+    '',
+    '*Affected sources*',
+    affected.length ? affected.join('\n') : '- No per-source errors available',
+    '',
+    `Dashboard: ${dashboardUrl}`,
+  ].join('\n');
+}

server.mjs

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import { TelegramAlerter } from './lib/alerts/telegram.mjs';
 import { DiscordAlerter } from './lib/alerts/discord.mjs';
 import { getFetchMetrics } from './apis/utils/fetch.mjs';
 import { IntelligenceStore } from './lib/intelligence-store.mjs';
+import { formatStaleAlert, shouldSendStaleAlert } from './lib/stale-alerts.mjs';
 import { evaluateScenarios } from './lib/scenarios.mjs';
 
 const __dirname = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
@@ -40,6 +41,7 @@ let sweepStartedAt = null; // Timestamp when current/last sweep started
 let sweepInProgress = false;
 const startTime = Date.now();
 const sseClients = new Set();
+const staleAlertState = {};
 
 // === Delta/Memory ===
 const memory = new MemoryManager(RUNS_DIR);
@@ -412,6 +414,31 @@ function buildHealth() {
   };
 }
 
+async function notifyIfDataStale(context = 'scheduled sweep') {
+  const health = buildHealth();
+  const decision = shouldSendStaleAlert(health, staleAlertState, {
+    cooldownMs: config.staleAlertCooldownMinutes * 60 * 1000,
+  });
+  if (!decision.send) return false;
+
+  const dashboardUrl = config.dashboardUrl || `http://localhost:${config.port}`;
+  const message = formatStaleAlert(health, { dashboardUrl, context });
+  const sends = [];
+  if (telegramAlerter.isConfigured) sends.push(telegramAlerter.sendMessage(message));
+  if (discordAlerter.isConfigured) sends.push(discordAlerter.sendAlert(message));
+
+  if (sends.length === 0) {
+    console.warn('[Crucix] Data is stale but no operator alert channel is configured');
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  const results = await Promise.allSettled(sends);
+  const sent = results.some(r => r.status === 'fulfilled' && (r.value === true || r.value?.ok === true));
+  if (sent) console.warn('[Crucix] Operator stale-data alert sent');
+  else console.warn('[Crucix] Operator stale-data alert attempted but no channel accepted it');
+  return sent;
+}
+
 function buildBrief(data) {
   const verbosity = config.telegram.briefVerbosity || 'standard';
   const delta = memory.getLastDelta();
@@ -562,6 +589,9 @@ async function runSweepCycle() {
     broadcast({ type: 'sweep_error', error: err.message });
   } finally {
     sweepInProgress = false;
+    await notifyIfDataStale(lastSweepError ? 'failed sweep' : 'completed sweep').catch(err => {
+      console.error('[Crucix] Stale-data operator alert failed:', err.message);
+    });
   }
 }
 

test/fetch-utils.test.mjs

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import test from 'node:test';
 import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
 import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { safeFetch, safeFetchText, getFetchMetrics } from '../apis/utils/fetch.mjs';
+import { formatStaleAlert, shouldSendStaleAlert } from '../lib/stale-alerts.mjs';
 
 test('safeFetch reports HTML as degraded JSON response', async () => {
   const originalFetch = globalThis.fetch;
@@ -100,6 +101,63 @@ test('safeFetchText returns text and byte count', async () => {
   }
 });
 
+test('stale alert is skipped for fresh health and resets active key', () => {
+  const state = { lastStaleAlertKey: 'old', lastStaleAlertAt: 100 };
+  const decision = shouldSendStaleAlert({ stale: false }, state, { now: 200 });
+  assert.equal(decision.send, false);
+  assert.equal(decision.reason, 'not_stale');
+  assert.equal(state.lastStaleAlertKey, null);
+});
+
+test('stale alert sends once and deduplicates during cooldown', () => {
+  const state = {};
+  const health = {
+    stale: true,
+    lastSuccessfulSweep: '2026-05-17T08:00:00.000Z',
+    lastSweepError: 'network timeout',
+    sourcesFailed: 2,
+    sourcesDegraded: 1,
+  };
+
+  const first = shouldSendStaleAlert(health, state, { now: 1_000, cooldownMs: 60_000 });
+  const second = shouldSendStaleAlert(health, state, { now: 2_000, cooldownMs: 60_000 });
+
+  assert.equal(first.send, true);
+  assert.equal(second.send, false);
+  assert.equal(second.reason, 'cooldown');
+});
+
+test('stale alert repeats after cooldown', () => {
+  const state = {};
+  const health = { stale: true, lastSuccessfulSweep: 'a', lastSweepError: 'timeout', sourcesFailed: 1 };
+
+  assert.equal(shouldSendStaleAlert(health, state, { now: 1_000, cooldownMs: 60_000 }).send, true);
+  assert.equal(shouldSendStaleAlert(health, state, { now: 62_000, cooldownMs: 60_000 }).send, true);
+});
+
+test('stale alert message includes operator context and affected sources', () => {
+  const message = formatStaleAlert({
+    status: 'stale',
+    stale: true,
+    dataAgeSeconds: 7200,
+    lastSuccessfulSweep: '2026-05-17T08:00:00.000Z',
+    lastSweep: '2026-05-17T10:00:00.000Z',
+    lastSweepError: 'GDELT timeout',
+    sourcesOk: 20,
+    sourcesDegraded: 3,
+    sourcesFailed: 2,
+    sourceHealth: [
+      { name: 'GDELT', status: 'degraded', error: 'timeout' },
+      { name: 'Reddit', status: 'no_credentials' },
+    ],
+  }, { dashboardUrl: 'https://terminal.example.test', context: 'failed sweep' });
+
+  assert.match(message, /CRUCIX STALE DATA ALERT/);
+  assert.match(message, /Data age: 120 minutes/);
+  assert.match(message, /GDELT: degraded \(timeout\)/);
+  assert.match(message, /Dashboard: https:\/\/terminal\.example\.test/);
+});
+
 test('scenario watchlist feature is wired into sweep, briefing, and dashboard', () => {
   const scenarios = readFileSync(new URL('../lib/scenarios.mjs', import.meta.url), 'utf8');
   const server = readFileSync(new URL('../server.mjs', import.meta.url), 'utf8');