fix(github): self-heal stale installation tokens on collaborator/user reads (#9315)

[andriypolanski]

Summary

• Closes fix(github): getRepositoryCollaboratorPermission/getGithubUserCreatedAt skip the installation-token self-heal every sibling call uses #9315
• Wraps getRepositoryCollaboratorPermission and getGithubUserCreatedAt in withInstallationTokenRetry (same convention as #6191 / #8892).
• Preserves existing contracts: 404 → null and non-token failures still throw (collaborator) or fail-open to null (user created_at).
• Adds regression tests for 401 → re-mint → success on both reads, plus fail-open cases when retry cannot heal.

Scope

• The PR title follows type(scope): short summary Conventional Commit format, for example fix(api): restore profile access checks.
• This PR is focused and does not mix unrelated backend, UI, MCP, docs, dependency, and deploy changes.
• This follows CONTRIBUTING.md and does not reintroduce GitHub Pages, VitePress, site/, or CNAME.
• I linked a currently open issue this PR resolves (e.g. Closes #123) — a linked open issue is required for every contributor PR.

Validation

• git diff --check
• npx vitest run test/unit/github-app.test.ts -t "9315|collaborator permission|getGithubUserCreatedAt" — 8 passed
• Full test/unit/github-app.test.ts — 103+ passed (incl. new cases)
• npm run test:ci (full gate; run before push)
• New or changed behavior has unit/integration tests for new branches, fallback paths, and sanitizer boundaries

If any required check was skipped, explain why:

Implementation + targeted regression tests complete. Full test:ci left for the opener.

Safety

• No secrets, wallets, hotkeys, trust scores, or reward values.
• Does not touch site/, CNAME, **/lovable/**, or root CHANGELOG.md.

UI Evidence

N/A — GitHub App token-retry plumbing only; no visible UI change.

Notes for reviewers / gate

• Non-OK collaborator responses now attach status on the thrown Error so isGitHubBadCredentialsError recognizes empty-body 401s.
• getGithubUserCreatedAt throws on 401/403 inside the retry wrapper (so a stale token can self-heal) and still fail-opens via the outer catch for anything that is not healed.

[superagent-security]

Superagent didn't find any vulnerabilities or security issues in this PR.

[codecov]

❌ 3 Tests Failed:

Tests completed	Failed	Passed	Skipped
11236	3	11233	16

View the top 2 failed test(s) by shortest run time

test/unit/selfhost-pg-retention.test.ts > runRetentionPrune + processJob on the Postgres backend (#977) > processJob prune-retention deletes eligible rows and records a success audit event on Postgres

Stack Traces | 0.00987s run time

AssertionError: expected 3 to be +0 // Object.is equality

- Expected
+ Received

- 0
+ 3

 ❯ test/unit/selfhost-pg-retention.test.ts:119:44

test/unit/selfhost-pg-retention.test.ts > pruneExpiredRecords on the Postgres backend (#977) > deletes across multiple bounded batches and stops at the per-table cap, same as the SQLite path

Stack Traces | 0.0138s run time

AssertionError: expected +0 to be 4 // Object.is equality

- Expected
+ Received

- 4
+ 0

 ❯ test/unit/selfhost-pg-retention.test.ts:76:33

View the full list of 1 ❄️ flaky test(s)

test/unit/salvageability.test.ts > resolveAiReviewSalvageableHold > defaults: no configured floor uses the gate default, and a confidence-less blocker counts as certainty (at/above floor)

Flake rate in main: 100.00% (Passed 0 times, Failed 19 times)

Stack Traces | 0.0073s run time

AssertionError: expected undefined to be defined
 ❯ test/unit/salvageability.test.ts:88:18

To view more test analytics, go to the Test Analytics Dashboard
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[loopover-orb]

Caution

🛑 LoopOver review result - fixes required

_{Review updated: 2026-07-27 14:54:56 UTC}

2 files · 1 AI reviewer · no blockers · CI failing · unstable

🛑 Suggested Action - Fix Blockers

Review summary
This PR wraps `getRepositoryCollaboratorPermission` and `getGithubUserCreatedAt` in the existing `withInstallationTokenRetry` helper, matching the convention already used elsewhere in this file (e.g. `createOrUpdateNamedCheckRun`). It attaches `status` to thrown errors so `isGitHubBadCredentialsError`/`isGitHubInstallationPermissionError` (which read `githubErrorStatus`) can classify a 401/403 correctly even on an empty body, and preserves the existing 404→null and fail-open-to-null contracts. The change is small, well-scoped, and the new tests exercise the real retry path (stale→fresh token via the actual `fetch` stub and `setInstallationTokenStore`), not a fabricated scenario.

Nits — 3 non-blocking

• The magic numbers 401/403/404 in the new branches (app.ts:499, 546) are consistent with the rest of the file's style (no HTTP status constants used elsewhere either), so this is a very low-priority nit at most.
• `getGithubUserCreatedAt`'s new 401/403 throw branch (app.ts:546) is only tested for 401 persisting and for a non-retryable 403 message mismatch — consider also asserting the successful 403→retry→success healing path symmetric to the 401 case already covered for `getGithubUserCreatedAt`, mirroring the collaborator test.
• None beyond the coverage nit above — the diff is a faithful, narrow application of an existing, already-reviewed pattern (fix(github): label/assignee writes skip the installation-token retry every sibling GitHub-write helper uses #6191/fix(github): read-path GitHub calls in backfill.ts/pr-freshness.ts never self-heal a stale cached installation token #8892) to two remaining call sites.

CI checks failing

• validate
• validate-tests

Decision drivers

• ✅ Code review — No blockers (1 reviewer)
• ✅ Gate result — Passing (No configured blocker found.)

Context & advisory signals — never blocks the verdict

Signal	Result	Evidence
Linked issue	✅ Linked	#9315
Related work	✅ No active overlap found	No same-issue or scoped active PR overlap found.
Change scope	✅ 20/20	Low review scope from cached public metadata (1 linked issue).
Validation posture	✅ 25/25	PR body includes validation/test evidence.
Contributor workload	✅ 10/10	Author activity: 174 registered-repo PR(s), 113 merged, 22 issue(s).
Contributor context	✅ Confirmed Gittensor contributor	andriypolanski; Gittensor profile; 174 PR(s), 22 issue(s).
Improvement	✅ Minor	risk: clean · value: minor · LLM: moderate

Linked issue satisfaction

Addressed
Both getRepositoryCollaboratorPermission and getGithubUserCreatedAt are now wrapped in withInstallationTokenRetry with existing 404/throw and fail-open contracts preserved, and new regression tests cover 401-then-retry success plus persisted-failure fail-open cases matching the issue's deliverables.

Review context

• Author: andriypolanski
• Role context: outside_contributor
• Public audience mode: oss maintainer
• Lane context: Repository is configured for direct PR review.
• Public profile languages: Python, TypeScript, Rust, Cuda, JavaScript, Kotlin, MDX, Scala
• Official Gittensor activity: 174 PR(s), 22 issue(s).
• PR-specific overlap: none found.

Contributor next steps

• Start here: Triage stale or unlinked PRs.

Signal definitions

• Related work = same linked issue, overlapping active PRs, or title/path similarity.
• Change scope = cached public metadata such as size labels, draft state, and review-burden hints.
• Validation posture = whether the PR provides enough public validation/test evidence for maintainer review.
• Contributor workload = public contributor activity and cleanup pressure, not a repo-wide quality failure.
• Contributor context = public GitHub/Gittensor identity context; non-Gittensor status is not a blocker.

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_{🟩 Safe / merged · 🟦 Advisory · 🟨 Held for review · 🟥 Blocked / closed}

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[loopover-orb]

LoopOver is closing this pull request on the maintainer's behalf (CI is failing (validate, validate-tests)). This is an automated maintenance action — to pursue this change, please open a new pull request with the issues resolved. Closed PRs may be analyzed later to improve review accuracy, but they are not automatically reopened or re-reviewed.