every.channel/evolution/proposals/ECP-0106-forge-nbc-workers-need-tmp-and-search-driven-mvpd-selection.md
2026-04-03 03:11:11 -07:00

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# ECP-0106: Forge NBC workers need `/tmp` and search-driven MVPD selection
## Why
The forge NBC worker reached two distinct failure domains:
1. Chrome failed during early startup under the hardened `wt-publish` unit even though the same
browser launch worked outside the systemd sandbox.
2. Once the browser launch succeeded, the MVPD picker automation could reach the provider gate but
still mis-clicked broad page containers instead of the intended provider search result.
## Decision
1. Allow NBC `wt-publish` units to write to `/tmp` in addition to the persistent profile and auth
directories.
2. Treat the NBC MVPD picker as a search-first flow:
- type the configured provider name
- submit the search explicitly
- prefer short, actionable provider-result nodes over generic container matches
3. Keep the provider name configurable through `EVERY_CHANNEL_NBC_MVPD_PROVIDER`, with `Verizon Fios`
remaining the default.
## Consequences
- Forge NBC workers align better with Chrome's actual startup needs under systemd hardening.
- MVPD automation becomes less likely to click the whole picker page or other non-provider chrome.
- Future provider integrations should extend the same search-first DOM strategy instead of adding
brittle page-wide text matches.
## Rejected Alternatives
- Disable most systemd hardening for NBC units entirely: rejected because `/tmp` write access is the
smallest validated change that unblocks Chrome startup.
- Keep broad `div` and `span` provider scans: rejected because they can match large container nodes
whose text merely happens to include the provider name.