[rushd][Epic] rushd — server-first re-architecture (daemon + thin clients)

[bmiddha]

Re-architect Rush from a CLI-first tool into a server-first system: a long-lived per-workspace
daemon (rushd) owns the engine and warm build state; thin, presentation-owning clients (CLI first;
MCP/web later) talk a presentation-free protocol. Delivered as new split packages merged
incrementally into main at 0.x, culminating in a Rush 6 cutover.

Design rationale & discussion: #5863 (RFC).

Hard dependencies

• Watch-mode overhaul ([rush] (BREAKING CHANGE) Overhaul watch-mode to facilitate orchestration #5378) merged — provides the stateful IOperationGraph
  (setEnabledStates, scheduleIterationAsync, invalidateOperations, abortCurrentIterationAsync,
  closeRunnersAsync) and OperationGraphHooks (onIdle, onExecutionStatesUpdated).
• Rush Reporter Overhaul ([rush] Rush Reporter Overhaul #5858) — supplies the presentation-free event contract & wire adapter;
  its "daemon-aligned major default flip" is the Rush 6 cutover.

Workstreams (sub-issues)

• WS0 ([rushd][WS0] Upstream engine prerequisites (in rush-lib) #5895) — Upstream engine prerequisites (in rush-lib)
• WS1 ([rushd][WS1] Wire layer: protocol, transport & presentation #5896) — Wire layer: protocol, transport & presentation
• WS2 ([rushd][WS2] Daemon host, routing & scheduling #5897) — Daemon host, routing & scheduling
• WS3 ([rushd][WS3] Daemon lifecycle, reload & warm-set #5898) — Daemon lifecycle, reload & warm-set
• WS4 ([rushd][WS4] CLI client & command surface #5899) — CLI client & command surface
• WS5 ([rushd][WS5] Rush 6 cutover: testing, observability & migration #5900) — Rush 6 cutover: testing, observability & migration
• WS6 ([rushd][WS6] Web UX & MCP bridge #5901) — Web UX & MCP bridge

Definition of done for the Epic

• rush/rushx default to the daemon with a permanent in-process fallback (--no-daemon/RUSH_DAEMON=0).
• The transparency bar ([rushd][WS5] Rush 6 cutover: testing, observability & migration #5900) passes on the flipped bins.
• Shipped as Rush 6.0.0 in the same major as [rush] Rush Reporter Overhaul #5858 phase 6.

[TheLarkInn]

WS3/WS4 implementation handoff - September 8, 2026

The implementation for #5898 and #5899 is delivered in #6018 at ba5753a9f146325deccb49e5aea485c6ba5aa3e2. Hosted run 34217211265 passed all six configurations: Ubuntu Node 20/22/24/26 and Windows Node 24/26. Every job completed package-manager integration and both second-checkout/build-cache passes. CodeQL and license/CLA are also green on this exact head.

This includes native execution and safe lifecycle/restart handling, opt-in standalone clients and graph controls, warm-set ownership/status, Windows native mutex and path parity, Linux descendant completion, and the coupled native purge correction. Existing rush/rushx defaults remain unchanged.

The Reporter DAG is published/restacked, and all 13 remaining published heads currently have successful checks. Required independent approvals and dependency-ordered landing remain outstanding; #5987 is the next stack edge and #5990 the separate privacy root. #6018 remains draft to respect that order. R9 (#5982), R11 (#5984), and WS5 (#5900) retain their coordinated compatibility/release gates.

No protection bypass, unreviewed merge, default flip, or full-epic closure was performed. Implementation and acceptance work is complete; the remaining gates are maintainer/release decisions.