fix(audit): do not record-audit engine bookkeeping updates

Monitor lease claims and run results, and alert reminder/notification
timers, changed on every scheduler pass and each wrote a FIELD audit row
(~7k alerts_monitor and ~1.8k alerts_alert audits per 6h in production).
AlertsDb.update now omits the DML audit when an update touches only the
RuntimeFields of its table; any update with a configuration or state field
is audited in full.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ All notable changes to this project are documented here. The format follows Keep
 ## [0.1.0] - Unreleased
 
 ### Fixed
+- Audit noise: every monitor run (lease claim, then run result) and every reminder check wrote a "Record was Edited" audit (about 7,000 `alerts_monitor` and 1,800 `alerts_alert` audits in 6 hours on one production host, most with no field details). Engine updates that touch only bookkeeping fields (`RuntimeFields`: monitor `claimedBy`, `claimedUntil`, `lastRunAt`, `nextRunAt`, `lastStatus`, `lastValue`, `lastError`, `lastElapsedMs`, `consecutiveFailures`, `conditionSince`; alert `timedNotificationCheckedAt`, `lastNotifiedAt`, `recordRefCount`) are written with `omitDmlAudit`. Configuration edits, raises and alert state changes are audited as before, as are UI and API edits of any field.
 - Read the QBit metadata version from the Maven-filtered artifact version so release builds report their release version.
 - Record-view child lists (e.g. a notification's Recipients) failed with "Error in JSON Serialization": the child table's meta-data includes the qbit config, and `AlertsQBitConfig.getRuntime()` points at a runtime that points back at the config, so Jackson recursed to its 1000-level nesting limit. `getRuntime()` and `getAudienceResolver()` are now `@JsonIgnore`, as in the other qbits' configs. A regression test renders and serializes every child-list widget.
 

src/main/java/com/kingsrook/qbits/alerts/engine/AlertsDb.java

@@ -40,7 +40,8 @@ import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.utils.CollectionUtils;
 /*******************************************************************************
  ** Small helpers over QQQ's table actions, for the engine. They run in
  ** whatever context the caller set up (the engine uses the system user), so
- ** customizers, audits and ESB listeners apply as for any other write.
+ ** customizers, audits and ESB listeners apply as for any other write, except
+ ** that bookkeeping-only updates (RuntimeFields) are not record-audited.
  *******************************************************************************/
 public final class AlertsDb
 {
@@ -114,11 +115,14 @@ public final class AlertsDb
 
 
    /*******************************************************************************
-    ** Update one row (it must carry its id); throws on an error.
+    ** Update one row (it must carry its id); throws on an error. An update of
+    ** engine bookkeeping fields only (RuntimeFields) is not record-audited.
     *******************************************************************************/
    public static QRecord update(String tableName, QRecord record) throws QException
    {
-      List<QRecord> updated = UpdateAction.executeForRecords(new UpdateInput(tableName).withRecord(record).withTransaction(QContext.getQBackendTransaction()));
+      UpdateInput   input   = new UpdateInput(tableName).withRecord(record).withTransaction(QContext.getQBackendTransaction())
+         .withOmitDmlAudit(RuntimeFields.onlyRuntime(tableName, record));
+      List<QRecord> updated = UpdateAction.executeForRecords(input);
       QRecord       result  = updated.get(0);
       throwIfErrors(tableName, result);
       return (result);

src/main/java/com/kingsrook/qbits/alerts/engine/RuntimeFields.java

@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2026 Kingsrook, LLC
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package com.kingsrook.qbits.alerts.engine;
+
+
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Set;
+import com.kingsrook.qbits.alerts.model.AlertsAlert;
+import com.kingsrook.qbits.alerts.model.AlertsMonitor;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.model.data.QRecord;
+
+
+/*******************************************************************************
+ ** Engine bookkeeping columns: evaluation leases, run results and notification
+ ** timers that change on every scheduler pass. An update that touches only
+ ** these (plus the primary key and modifyDate) is not record-audited; the core
+ ** FIELD audit would otherwise write an audit row per monitor run and per
+ ** reminder check. Any update that also changes a configuration or alert-state
+ ** field (status, severity, acknowledgement, assignment, a monitor's settings)
+ ** is audited in full, as before. Run history lives in the run fields
+ ** themselves; alert raises, transitions and notifications have their own
+ ** event and delivery tables.
+ *******************************************************************************/
+public final class RuntimeFields
+{
+   private static final Set<String> ALWAYS = Set.of("id", "modifyDate");
+
+   private static final Map<String, Set<String>> BY_TABLE = Map.of(
+      AlertsMonitor.TABLE_NAME, Set.of("claimedBy", "claimedUntil", "lastRunAt", "nextRunAt", "lastStatus", "lastValue", "lastError",
+         "lastElapsedMs", "consecutiveFailures", "conditionSince"),
+      AlertsAlert.TABLE_NAME, Set.of("timedNotificationCheckedAt", "lastNotifiedAt", "recordRefCount"));
+
+
+
+   /*******************************************************************************
+    ** Constants only.
+    *******************************************************************************/
+   private RuntimeFields()
+   {
+   }
+
+
+
+   /*******************************************************************************
+    ** The bookkeeping fields of a table (empty when it has none).
+    *******************************************************************************/
+   public static Set<String> of(String tableName)
+   {
+      return (BY_TABLE.getOrDefault(tableName, Set.of()));
+   }
+
+
+
+   /*******************************************************************************
+    ** Whether an update record carries nothing but bookkeeping fields.
+    *******************************************************************************/
+   public static boolean onlyRuntime(String tableName, QRecord update)
+   {
+      Set<String> runtime = of(tableName);
+      return (!runtime.isEmpty() && update.getValues().keySet().stream().allMatch(field -> runtime.contains(field) || ALWAYS.contains(field)));
+   }
+}

src/test/java/com/kingsrook/qbits/alerts/engine/RuntimeFieldsAuditTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,166 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2026 Kingsrook, LLC
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package com.kingsrook.qbits.alerts.engine;
+
+
+import java.sql.Connection;
+import java.sql.Statement;
+import java.time.Instant;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import com.kingsrook.qbits.alerts.BaseAlertsTest;
+import com.kingsrook.qbits.alerts.model.AlertsAlert;
+import com.kingsrook.qbits.alerts.model.AlertsMonitor;
+import com.kingsrook.qbits.alerts.model.AlertsType;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.alerts.AlertSeverity;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.alerts.AlertsInstanceMetaData;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.alerts.QAlertTypeMetaData;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.instances.QInstanceEnricher;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.model.audits.AuditsMetaDataProvider;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.model.data.QRecord;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.model.metadata.QInstance;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.utils.JsonUtils;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.module.rdbms.jdbc.ConnectionManager;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.module.rdbms.model.metadata.RDBMSBackendMetaData;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
+
+
+/*******************************************************************************
+ ** Engine bookkeeping writes (monitor leases and run results, alert reminder
+ ** and notification timers) create no audit rows; configuration edits and
+ ** alert state changes still do.
+ *******************************************************************************/
+class RuntimeFieldsAuditTest extends BaseAlertsTest
+{
+   static final String TYPE = "test.widget.broken";
+
+
+
+   /*******************************************************************************
+    **
+    *******************************************************************************/
+   @Override
+   protected void customizeInstance(QInstance qInstance)
+   {
+      AlertsInstanceMetaData.ofOrWithNew(qInstance)
+         .withAlertType(new QAlertTypeMetaData().withName(TYPE).withLabel("Widget broken").withGroupName("widgets").withSubjectTableName(WIDGET).withDefaultSeverity(AlertSeverity.WARNING));
+   }
+
+
+
+   /*******************************************************************************
+    ** Core audit tables on the test backend.
+    *******************************************************************************/
+   @BeforeEach
+   void auditTables() throws Exception
+   {
+      new AuditsMetaDataProvider().defineAll(qInstance, BACKEND_NAME, null);
+      new QInstanceEnricher(qInstance).enrich();
+      try(Connection connection = ConnectionManager.getConnection((RDBMSBackendMetaData) qInstance.getBackend(BACKEND_NAME)); Statement statement = connection.createStatement())
+      {
+         for(String table : List.of("auditDetail", "audit", "auditUser", "auditTable"))
+         {
+            statement.execute("DROP TABLE IF EXISTS " + table);
+         }
+         statement.execute("CREATE TABLE auditUser (id INTEGER AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY, name VARCHAR(200), createDate TIMESTAMP, modifyDate TIMESTAMP)");
+         statement.execute("CREATE TABLE auditTable (id INTEGER AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY, name VARCHAR(200), label VARCHAR(200), createDate TIMESTAMP, modifyDate TIMESTAMP)");
+         statement.execute("CREATE TABLE audit (id BIGINT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY, auditTableId INTEGER, auditUserId INTEGER, recordId INTEGER, message VARCHAR(250), timestamp TIMESTAMP)");
+         statement.execute("CREATE TABLE auditDetail (id BIGINT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY, auditId BIGINT, message VARCHAR(250), fieldName VARCHAR(100), oldValue VARCHAR(250), newValue VARCHAR(250))");
+      }
+   }
+
+
+
+   /*******************************************************************************
+    ** Edited-record audits for one table.
+    *******************************************************************************/
+   private List<QRecord> edits(String tableName) throws Exception
+   {
+      List<QRecord> tables = where("auditTable", AlertsDb.eq("name", tableName));
+      if(tables.isEmpty())
+      {
+         return (List.of());
+      }
+      return (where("audit", AlertsDb.eq("auditTableId", tables.get(0).getValue("id")).withCriteria("message", com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.model.actions.tables.query.QCriteriaOperator.EQUALS, "Record was Edited")));
+   }
+
+
+
+   /*******************************************************************************
+    ** Changed field names of one table's edit audits.
+    *******************************************************************************/
+   private List<String> editedFields(String tableName) throws Exception
+   {
+      List<Object> ids = edits(tableName).stream().map(r -> r.getValue("id")).map(Object.class::cast).toList();
+      return (all("auditDetail").stream().filter(d -> ids.contains(d.getValue("auditId"))).map(d -> d.getValueString("fieldName")).toList());
+   }
+
+
+
+   /*******************************************************************************
+    ** The classifier: bookkeeping only, or not.
+    *******************************************************************************/
+   @Test
+   void classifiesBookkeepingOnlyUpdates()
+   {
+      assertThat(RuntimeFields.onlyRuntime(AlertsMonitor.TABLE_NAME, new QRecord().withValue("id", 1).withValue("claimedBy", "x").withValue("claimedUntil", Instant.now()))).isTrue();
+      assertThat(RuntimeFields.onlyRuntime(AlertsMonitor.TABLE_NAME, new QRecord().withValue("id", 1).withValue("lastRunAt", Instant.now()).withValue("enabled", false))).isFalse();
+      assertThat(RuntimeFields.onlyRuntime(AlertsAlert.TABLE_NAME, new QRecord().withValue("id", 1).withValue("timedNotificationCheckedAt", Instant.now()))).isTrue();
+      assertThat(RuntimeFields.onlyRuntime(AlertsAlert.TABLE_NAME, new QRecord().withValue("id", 1).withValue("status", "ACKNOWLEDGED"))).isFalse();
+      assertThat(RuntimeFields.onlyRuntime(WIDGET, new QRecord().withValue("id", 1).withValue("checkedAt", Instant.now()))).isFalse();
+   }
+
+
+
+   /*******************************************************************************
+    ** Evaluations and reminder checks write no monitor or alert edit audits;
+    ** an admin edit and an acknowledgement do.
+    *******************************************************************************/
+   @Test
+   void evaluationsAreNotAuditedButEditsAndTransitionsAre() throws Exception
+   {
+      insertWidgets("BROKEN", "OK");
+      runtime.getTypeSync().syncIfNeeded();
+      QRecord type = runtime.asSystem(() -> AlertsDb.first(AlertsType.TABLE_NAME, AlertsDb.eq("name", TYPE)));
+      Integer monitorId = runtime.asSystem(() -> AlertsDb.insert(AlertsMonitor.TABLE_NAME, new QRecord()
+         .withValue("name", "Broken widgets").withValue("alertTypeId", type.getValue("id")).withValue("kind", "TABLE_QUERY").withValue("enabled", true)
+         .withValue("definition", JsonUtils.toJson(Map.of("tableName", WIDGET, "filter", Map.of("criteria", List.of(Map.of("fieldName", "status", "operator", "EQUALS", "values", List.of("BROKEN")))))))
+         .withValue("perRecord", false).withValue("scheduleSeconds", 60).withValue("forMinutes", 0).withValue("consecutiveFailures", 0)).getValueInteger("id"));
+
+      for(int run = 0; run < 3; run++)
+      {
+         runtime.getEvaluator().evaluateDue();
+         new EscalationAndReminder(runtime).runDue();
+         clock.advance(java.time.Duration.ofMinutes(2));
+      }
+      assertThat(runtime.asSystem(() -> AlertsDb.byId(AlertsMonitor.TABLE_NAME, monitorId)).getValueInstant("lastRunAt")).isNotNull();
+      assertThat(edits(AlertsMonitor.TABLE_NAME)).as("monitor runs are bookkeeping").isEmpty();
+      assertThat(editedFields(AlertsAlert.TABLE_NAME)).as("reminder checks and ref counts are bookkeeping")
+         .doesNotContain("timedNotificationCheckedAt", "recordRefCount", "lastNotifiedAt");
+
+      runtime.asSystem(() -> AlertsDb.update(AlertsMonitor.TABLE_NAME, new QRecord().withValue("id", monitorId).withValue("name", "Broken widgets (renamed)")));
+      runtime.asSystem(() -> AlertsDb.update(AlertsMonitor.TABLE_NAME, new QRecord().withValue("id", monitorId).withValue("enabled", false).withValue("nextRunAt", null)));
+      assertThat(edits(AlertsMonitor.TABLE_NAME)).hasSize(2);
+      assertThat(editedFields(AlertsMonitor.TABLE_NAME)).contains("name", "enabled");
+
+      QRecord alert = where(AlertsAlert.TABLE_NAME, AlertsDb.eq("monitorId", monitorId)).get(0);
+      runtime.getEngine().acknowledge(alert.getValueInteger("id"), ADMIN);
+      assertThat(editedFields(AlertsAlert.TABLE_NAME)).contains("status");
+   }
+}