SPECTER Labs
Technical Docs decisions

ADR: Distributed (Cell-View) MCTS Runner

Context

We need a distributed-control search mode (cell-view inspired) without destabilizing the canonical centralized MCTS path.

Research requirements:

  • multiple local controllers (agents) over one shared tree
  • scheduling interventions (block, delay, reroute)
  • reproducible traces and run metadata
  • no hidden fallback to centralized behavior

Decision

Implement distributed MCTS as a separate runner (experiments/distributed_mcts/core.py) selected by --mcts-mode distributed.

Keep core centralized engine (prover/mcts.py) unchanged.

Rationale

This isolates experimental control logic from the production baseline path. Distributed scheduling can evolve without mutating centralized semantics, centralized trace contracts, or core tree/node structures.

Options Considered

  1. Extend centralized prover/mcts.py with distributed branches.
  2. Add a separate distributed runner and keep centralized path unchanged (chosen).
  3. Build full concurrent adapter execution across agents.

Option 1 creates one mixed control path that is harder to reason about and test for regression.

Option 3 requires concurrency guarantees in Lean adapter state handling that we do not currently claim.

Implementation Resources Used

Primary code surfaces used to realize this decision:

  • distributed runner: dossiers/wonton-soup/experiments/distributed_mcts/core.py
  • mode wiring and CLI validation: dossiers/wonton-soup/orchestrator/lean.py
  • centralized baseline kept stable: dossiers/wonton-soup/prover/mcts.py

Primary documentation surfaces:

Non-Goals

  • no mutation of centralized prover/mcts.py semantics
  • no concurrent Lean adapter execution
  • no hidden fallback between modes

Consequences

  • Distributed iteration order diverges from centralized order by design.
  • Intervention effects are expressed through scheduling and reservation, not core tree schema changes.
  • The repo keeps one stable baseline path plus one isolated experimental path.

References