Allow Requirements for Facts that are not used as Variables by the Ability Command

[L015H4CK]

What problem are you trying to solve? Please describe.

At the moment, it is not possible to use requirements for a fact that is not used as a variable in the ability's command. This is due to the way the add_test_variants() function of the base_planning_svc is implemented.

I've had several cases where I wanted to enforce requirements on certain facts, that are not directly used in the ability's command. E.g., execute a system shutdown after finding a certain running process could be implemented by collecting names of running processes as facts and using these facts to enforce requirements for the shutdown ability. However, due to the add_test_variants() implementations, requirements are not enforced if there are no variables in the command.

Current workaround for me is to echo the used facts: echo #{process.name} && shutdown (pseudo-code)

The ideal solution: What should the feature should do?

The feature should include a rework of the add_test_variants() function of the base_planning_svc.
Based on the rework, it should be possible to enforce requirements on facts that are not used as variable in the command.

What category of feature is this?

• UI/UX
• API
• Other

Additional context

• Willing to submit a pull request to implement this feature? (I already tried to solve this but could not put as much time into this as I wanted since this is quite a big change that requires changes of how Caldera handles facts, requirements, and variables in commands...)

I look forward to any questions or feedback regarding this.

Best regards,
Louis

[maynkxx]

Hello,

This is a valuable feature request. I understand the goal is to allow requirement enforcement on facts not directly used as variables in a command, which requires reworking the add_test_variants() function.

I've reviewed the context and am aware that this is a significant change to the core planning logic. I am prepared to take on this task.

Please assign this issue to me. I'm ready to begin investigating and working on a solution.

Thank you!

[deacon-mp]

Thank you for this well-articulated feature request. After reviewing the implementation in base_planning_svc.add_test_variants(), we agree with your own assessment that this is a significant change to core planning logic.

The current flow in add_test_variants() is:

1. Parse variables from the decoded command using a regex
2. If there are no variables, encode the command and continue — skipping all fact/requirement processing entirely
3. Only if variables exist does it build fact combinations and call _is_missing_requirements()

To support requirements on facts not used as command variables, the no variables → continue shortcut (line 102–106 in base_planning_svc.py) would need to be replaced with conditional logic that still enforces requirements even when the command has no template variables. This would require:

• Decoupling requirement enforcement from variable substitution
• Ensuring _is_missing_requirements is called even for variable-free links (with an empty combo)
• Verifying that _do_enforcements and downstream enforcement logic handles an empty used set correctly
• Updating tests and possibly the data model for how "requirement-only" links are represented

Given the breadth of changes required across the planning service, enforcement logic, and tests — and the risk of regression in the core planning path — closing this issue as out of scope for a targeted fix at this time.

If a contributor would like to pursue this, we recommend opening a focused discussion or draft PR to align on the design before implementation.