fix(cache): one cleanup thread per cache directory, not per manager

The display process ran three cleanup threads over one directory:

    14:22:59.954  display_controller        (the real manager)
    14:22:59.973  startup validation, run 1 (discarded)
    14:23:01.055  startup validation, run 2 (discarded)

Two of those managers existed only to read a directory path.
StartupValidator._validate_cache_directory built a whole CacheManager to
call get_cache_dir(), and validation runs twice -- once before the
plugin manager exists and again after. Each construction also probes
writability by writing and deleting .writetest on the card.

The discarded ones never went away. cleanup_loop closes over `self`, so
the thread keeps its manager alive: two objects that could never be
collected, waking every 24 hours to re-scan the same 9,000-file
directory. Nothing stopped them either -- stop_cleanup_thread had no
callers anywhere in the tree.

Two changes. The validator now takes the CacheManager the application
actually uses, which is also the more correct thing to validate; when
no caller supplies one it still builds its own, but stops the thread
afterwards. And CacheManager now tracks which directory it is sweeping,
so the second manager over a directory skips starting a thread at all.
That is the right granularity regardless of call sites: the sweep lists
a directory and deletes from it, so a second thread only duplicates the
scan. Ownership is released on stop, so a survivor can take over rather
than leaving the directory permanently unclaimed by a dead owner.

Measured directly, three managers over one directory: 3 threads before,
1 after.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01Udr6MfaFLUPhX5Fgo67Jf5

src/cache_manager.py

@@ -46,7 +46,21 @@ from src.cache.disk_cache import DateTimeEncoder  # noqa: F401 - deliberate re-e
 
 class CacheManager:
     """Manages caching of API responses to reduce API calls."""
-    
+
+    # Which cache directories already have a cleanup thread in this process.
+    #
+    # The sweep is directory-scoped work -- it lists a directory and deletes
+    # from it -- so one per directory is the right number no matter how many
+    # managers exist. Nothing enforced that before: every instance started its
+    # own, and because the loop closes over `self`, a discarded manager could
+    # never be collected and its thread woke to re-scan the same directory
+    # every 24 hours for the life of the process. Startup validation runs
+    # twice and built a throwaway manager each time, so a display process
+    # carried three threads for one cache.
+    _cleanup_owners: Dict[str, 'CacheManager'] = {}
+    _cleanup_owners_lock = threading.Lock()
+
+
     def __init__(self) -> None:
         # Initialize logger first
         self.logger: logging.Logger = get_logger(__name__)
@@ -718,11 +732,29 @@ class CacheManager:
             }
     
     def start_cleanup_thread(self) -> None:
-        """Start background thread for periodic disk cache cleanup."""
+        """Start background thread for periodic disk cache cleanup.
+
+        At most one thread per cache directory per process: the sweep is
+        directory-scoped, so a second one only duplicates the scan.
+        """
         if self._cleanup_thread and self._cleanup_thread.is_alive():
             self.logger.debug("Cleanup thread already running")
             return
-        
+
+        with CacheManager._cleanup_owners_lock:
+            owner = CacheManager._cleanup_owners.get(self.cache_dir)
+            if owner is not None and owner is not self:
+                thread = owner._cleanup_thread
+                if thread is not None and thread.is_alive():
+                    self.logger.debug(
+                        "Cleanup thread for %s already owned by another cache "
+                        "manager in this process; not starting a second",
+                        self.cache_dir)
+                    return
+                # The owner's thread died or was stopped -- take over.
+            CacheManager._cleanup_owners[self.cache_dir] = self
+
+
         def cleanup_loop():
             """Background loop that runs cleanup periodically."""
             self.logger.info("Disk cache cleanup thread started (interval: %d hours)", 
@@ -770,10 +802,17 @@ class CacheManager:
         Signals the thread to stop and waits for it to finish (with timeout).
         This allows for clean shutdown during testing or application termination.
         """
+        # Release ownership first and unconditionally, so a manager that never
+        # started a thread (or whose thread already exited) cannot keep the
+        # directory claimed and block a live manager from sweeping it.
+        with CacheManager._cleanup_owners_lock:
+            if CacheManager._cleanup_owners.get(self.cache_dir) is self:
+                del CacheManager._cleanup_owners[self.cache_dir]
+
         if not self._cleanup_thread or not self._cleanup_thread.is_alive():
             self.logger.debug("Cleanup thread not running")
             return
-        
+
         self.logger.info("Stopping disk cache cleanup thread...")
         self._cleanup_stop_event.set()  # Signal thread to stop
         

src/display_controller.py

@@ -90,7 +90,8 @@ class DisplayController:
         # Validate startup configuration
         try:
             from src.startup_validator import StartupValidator
-            validator = StartupValidator(self.config_manager)
+            validator = StartupValidator(self.config_manager,
+                                         cache_manager=self.cache_manager)
             is_valid, errors, warnings = validator.validate_all()
             
             if warnings:
@@ -258,7 +259,8 @@ class DisplayController:
             # Validate plugins after plugin manager is created
             try:
                 from src.startup_validator import StartupValidator
-                validator = StartupValidator(self.config_manager, self.plugin_manager)
+                validator = StartupValidator(self.config_manager, self.plugin_manager,
+                                             cache_manager=self.cache_manager)
                 is_valid, errors, warnings = validator.validate_all()
                 
                 if warnings:

src/startup_validator.py

@@ -15,16 +15,23 @@ from src.logging_config import get_logger
 class StartupValidator:
     """Validates system state on startup."""
     
-    def __init__(self, config_manager: Any, plugin_manager: Optional[Any] = None) -> None:
+    def __init__(self, config_manager: Any, plugin_manager: Optional[Any] = None,
+                 cache_manager: Optional[Any] = None) -> None:
         """
         Initialize the startup validator.
-        
+
         Args:
             config_manager: ConfigManager instance
             plugin_manager: Optional PluginManager instance
+            cache_manager: The CacheManager the application will actually use.
+                Pass it. Without one this validator builds its own just to read
+                a directory path, which reports on a cache the app does not
+                use and leaves behind a cleanup thread that nothing stops --
+                validation runs twice per startup, so that was two of them.
         """
         self.config_manager = config_manager
         self.plugin_manager = plugin_manager
+        self.cache_manager = cache_manager
         self.logger = get_logger(__name__)
         self.errors: List[str] = []
         self.warnings: List[str] = []
@@ -91,9 +98,21 @@ class StartupValidator:
     def _validate_cache_directory(self) -> None:
         """Validate cache directory permissions."""
         try:
-            from src.cache_manager import CacheManager
+            cache_manager = self.cache_manager
-            cache_manager = CacheManager()
+            if cache_manager is None:
-            cache_dir = cache_manager.get_cache_dir()
+                # No caller supplied one (older embedders, direct use in a
+                # script). Build one, but do not leave its cleanup thread
+                # running behind us -- this instance is discarded on the next
+                # line but the thread is a closure over it, so it would never
+                # be collected.
+                from src.cache_manager import CacheManager
+                cache_manager = CacheManager()
+                try:
+                    cache_dir = cache_manager.get_cache_dir()
+                finally:
+                    cache_manager.stop_cleanup_thread()
+            else:
+                cache_dir = cache_manager.get_cache_dir()
             
             if not cache_dir:
                 self.warnings.append("Cache directory not available - caching will be disabled")

test/test_cache_cleanup_thread_ownership.py

@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+"""Tests that one cache directory gets one cleanup thread per process.
+
+The sweep lists a directory and deletes from it, so a second thread over the
+same directory only duplicates the scan. Nothing enforced that: every
+CacheManager started its own, and since the loop closes over `self`, a
+discarded manager could never be collected -- its thread stayed alive and
+re-scanned the same directory every 24 hours for the life of the process.
+
+On the dev rig a display process carried three, for one cache directory:
+
+    14:22:59.954  display_controller       (the real one)
+    14:22:59.973  startup validation, run 1  (discarded)
+    14:23:01.055  startup validation, run 2  (discarded)
+
+Startup validation runs twice and built a throwaway manager each time, purely
+to read a directory path.
+"""
+
+import threading
+
+import pytest
+
+from src.cache_manager import CacheManager
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
+def _clean_registry():
+    CacheManager._cleanup_owners.clear()
+    yield
+    for owner in list(CacheManager._cleanup_owners.values()):
+        owner.stop_cleanup_thread()
+    CacheManager._cleanup_owners.clear()
+
+
+def _live_cleanup_threads():
+    return [t for t in threading.enumerate()
+            if t.name == 'DiskCacheCleanup' and t.is_alive()]
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def manager(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """A CacheManager pinned to a temp dir, so tests never touch the real one."""
+    monkeypatch.setattr(CacheManager, '_get_writable_cache_dir',
+                        lambda self: str(tmp_path))
+    return CacheManager
+
+
+class TestOneThreadPerDirectory:
+    def test_a_single_manager_starts_one(self, manager):
+        before = len(_live_cleanup_threads())
+        m = manager()
+        try:
+            assert len(_live_cleanup_threads()) == before + 1
+        finally:
+            m.stop_cleanup_thread()
+
+    def test_three_managers_still_start_one(self, manager):
+        # Exactly the rig's shape: the real manager plus two throwaways.
+        before = len(_live_cleanup_threads())
+        managers = [manager() for _ in range(3)]
+        try:
+            assert len(_live_cleanup_threads()) == before + 1
+        finally:
+            for m in managers:
+                m.stop_cleanup_thread()
+
+    def test_the_first_one_owns_it(self, manager):
+        first, second = manager(), manager()
+        try:
+            assert CacheManager._cleanup_owners[first.cache_dir] is first
+            assert second._cleanup_thread is None
+        finally:
+            first.stop_cleanup_thread()
+            second.stop_cleanup_thread()
+
+    def test_the_survivor_can_take_over(self, manager):
+        first = manager()
+        first.stop_cleanup_thread()
+        assert not _live_cleanup_threads()
+
+        second = manager()
+        try:
+            # Ownership was released, so the directory is swept again rather
+            # than being left permanently unclaimed by a dead owner.
+            assert len(_live_cleanup_threads()) == 1
+            assert CacheManager._cleanup_owners[second.cache_dir] is second
+        finally:
+            second.stop_cleanup_thread()
+
+    def test_stopping_a_non_owner_does_not_unclaim_the_directory(self, manager):
+        first, second = manager(), manager()
+        try:
+            second.stop_cleanup_thread()      # never owned it
+            assert CacheManager._cleanup_owners[first.cache_dir] is first
+            assert len(_live_cleanup_threads()) == 1
+        finally:
+            first.stop_cleanup_thread()
+
+    def test_separate_directories_get_separate_threads(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+        a, b = tmp_path / 'a', tmp_path / 'b'
+        a.mkdir()
+        b.mkdir()
+        dirs = iter([str(a), str(b)])
+        monkeypatch.setattr(CacheManager, '_get_writable_cache_dir',
+                            lambda self: next(dirs))
+        first, second = CacheManager(), CacheManager()
+        try:
+            assert first.cache_dir != second.cache_dir
+            assert len(_live_cleanup_threads()) == 2
+        finally:
+            first.stop_cleanup_thread()
+            second.stop_cleanup_thread()
+
+    def test_no_thread_leaks_across_many_constructions(self, manager):
+        before = len(_live_cleanup_threads())
+        made = [manager() for _ in range(12)]
+        try:
+            assert len(_live_cleanup_threads()) == before + 1
+        finally:
+            for m in made:
+                m.stop_cleanup_thread()
+        assert len(_live_cleanup_threads()) == before
+
+
+class TestValidatorDoesNotBuildItsOwn:
+    def test_it_uses_the_cache_manager_it_is_given(self, manager):
+        from src.startup_validator import StartupValidator
+
+        shared = manager()
+        try:
+            before = len(_live_cleanup_threads())
+            v = StartupValidator(config_manager=object(), cache_manager=shared)
+            v._validate_cache_directory()
+            assert len(_live_cleanup_threads()) == before, (
+                "validation started another cleanup thread")
+        finally:
+            shared.stop_cleanup_thread()
+
+    def test_without_one_it_cleans_up_after_itself(self, manager):
+        from src.startup_validator import StartupValidator
+
+        before = len(_live_cleanup_threads())
+        v = StartupValidator(config_manager=object())
+        v._validate_cache_directory()
+        assert len(_live_cleanup_threads()) == before, (
+            "the fallback manager left its cleanup thread running")