fix(traffic): flag stale cached TomTom tiles in get_traffic_flow (#1239)

Report stale traffic tiles and their fetch time, and release pending freshness metadata when tile requests fail or are cancelled.

Contribution by @quanticsoul4772.

changelog.d/1239-traffic-stale-flow.md

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+- `get_traffic_flow` flags stale cached TomTom tiles and reports the oldest
+  tile fetch time (`stale`, `oldest_tile_at`), with pending freshness metadata
+  released on failed or cancelled tile reads (quanticsoul4772, #1239).

docs/CURRENT-STATE.md

@@ -1701,6 +1701,14 @@ The TomTom `/api/tomtom/*` routes run the shared same-site admission gate before
 status, cache or upstream work, refusing cross-site browser requests while
 preserving same-origin app requests and non-browser local callers. The browser
 layers and their rendering remain in their existing modules.
+Past the daily tile budget, or while TomTom fails, the proxy answers with its
+last copy of a tile (`x-tomtom-cache: STALE-BUDGET` / `STALE-ERROR`) however old
+it is, and every tile carries `x-tomtom-fetched-at`, the proxy fetch time
+(or the persisted cache file time after restart). The flow source keeps that mark with each decoded tile, so
+`get_traffic_flow` returns `stale` and `oldest_tile_at` and says when traffic
+may be out of date instead of presenting cached tiles as live. Pending freshness
+metadata is released when body reads fail, are cancelled, or exceed their size
+limit, as well as when a tile decodes or the source resets.
 GBFS null or empty availability counts retain an unknown value through station
 parsing and rendering; they use the neutral station color rather than reporting
 an empty dock. Explicit zero and caller-supplied numeric fallbacks remain valid.

server/providers/traffic.js

@@ -182,14 +182,17 @@ export function tomtomProxy() {
         });
         res.end(JSON.stringify(obj));
       };
-      const sendTile = (buf, cacheStatus) => {
+      // x-tomtom-fetched-at is when the proxy fetched the tile (ms since the
+      // epoch), so a client handed a STALE-* copy can say how old it is.
+      const sendTile = (entry, cacheStatus) => {
         if (res.headersSent) return;
         res.writeHead(200, {
           'Content-Type': 'application/x-protobuf',
           'Cache-Control': 'no-store',
           'x-tomtom-cache': cacheStatus,
+          'x-tomtom-fetched-at': String(Math.round(entry.at)),
         });
-        res.end(buf);
+        res.end(entry.buf);
       };
 
       try {
@@ -235,14 +238,14 @@ export function tomtomProxy() {
         }
         // Fresh cache hit — never counts against the budget.
         if (entry && now - entry.at < TILE_TTL_MS) {
-          sendTile(entry.buf, 'HIT');
+          sendTile(entry, 'HIT');
           return;
         }
 
         // Budget governor: over the soft cap, last-good data beats a dead layer.
         if (isTomTomOverBudget(currentBudget(), dailyBudgetLimit())) {
           if (entry) {
-            sendTile(entry.buf, 'STALE-BUDGET');
+            sendTile(entry, 'STALE-BUDGET');
           } else {
             sendJson(429, { error: 'budget' });
           }
@@ -271,9 +274,9 @@ export function tomtomProxy() {
         }
         const fresh = await inflight.get(key);
         if (fresh) {
-          sendTile(fresh.buf, 'MISS');
+          sendTile(fresh, 'MISS');
         } else if (entry) {
-          sendTile(entry.buf, 'STALE-ERROR'); // upstream down — stale beats empty
+          sendTile(entry, 'STALE-ERROR'); // upstream down — stale beats empty
         } else {
           sendJson(502, { error: 'upstream' });
         }

src/layers/traffic/flowSource.js

@@ -4,30 +4,79 @@ import { clipTileLine } from '../../sources/openFreeMap.js';
 import { tileToBBox } from '../../data/tomtomTiles.js';
 import { decodeFlowTile } from './flowDecode.js';
 
+const FLOW_TILE_PATH = (z, x, y) => `/api/tomtom/flow/${z}/${x}/${y}.pbf`;
+
+/**
+ * Whether the proxy answered a tile from its cache past the refresh window
+ * (STALE-BUDGET once the daily budget is spent, STALE-ERROR when TomTom
+ * fails), and when the proxy fetched it.
+ */
+function tileFreshness(response) {
+  const status = response.headers?.get?.('x-tomtom-cache') || '';
+  const fetchedAt = Number(response.headers?.get?.('x-tomtom-fetched-at'));
+  return {
+    stale: status.startsWith('STALE'),
+    fetchedAt: fetchedAt > 0 ? fetchedAt : null,
+  };
+}
+
 /** Own one bounded decoded flow cache; every request still passes the server tile budget. */
 export function createFlowTileSource({
   fetchImpl = (...args) => globalThis.fetch(...args),
 } = {}) {
+  // Freshness travels in response headers, but the tile cache keeps only
+  // decoded segments: hold each response's freshness until its tile decodes,
+  // then key it by the decoded tile, which the cache hands back on a hit.
+  const pending = new Map();
+  const freshness = new WeakMap();
   const tiles = createVectorTileSource({
-    template: '/api/tomtom/flow/{z}/{x}/{y}.pbf',
+    template: FLOW_TILE_PATH('{z}', '{x}', '{y}'),
     allowedOrigin: 'http://localhost',
-    decode: (bytes, z, x, y) =>
+    decode: (bytes, z, x, y) => {
-      decodeFlowTile(bytes, z, x, y, { strict: true })
+      // Take the mark before decoding, so a tile that fails to decode
+      // leaves nothing behind.
+      const path = FLOW_TILE_PATH(z, x, y);
+      const entry = pending.get(path);
+      const mark = entry?.mark;
+      entry?.release();
+      const segments = decodeFlowTile(bytes, z, x, y, { strict: true })
         .filter(isDrivableFlowSegment)
         .flatMap((segment) =>
           clipTileLine(segment.coords, tileToBBox(z, x, y)).map((coords) => ({
             ...segment,
             coords,
           })),
-        ),
+        );
-    fetchImpl,
+      if (mark) freshness.set(segments, mark);
+      return segments;
+    },
+    fetchImpl: async (url, init) => {
+      const response = await fetchImpl(url, init);
+      if (response.ok && !init.signal.aborted) {
+        const path = String(url);
+        const entry = {
+          mark: tileFreshness(response),
+          release() {
+            if (pending.get(path) === entry) pending.delete(path);
+            init.signal.removeEventListener('abort', entry.release);
+          },
+        };
+        pending.get(path)?.release();
+        pending.set(path, entry);
+        // The vector source aborts this signal for failed/cancelled body reads,
+        // including size-limit failures that never reach decode.
+        init.signal.addEventListener('abort', entry.release, { once: true });
+      }
+      return response;
+    },
     ttlMs: 120_000,
     maxTiles: 16,
   });
   let partial = false;
   /**
    * Flow segments for bounds, with whether any covering tile failed to load
-   * for this request.
+   * for this request, whether any came from the proxy's stale cache, and when
+   * the oldest tile was fetched.
    */
   async function fetchFlowDetail(bounds, { signal, zoom = 12 } = {}) {
     const result = await tiles.fetchBounds(bounds, {
@@ -44,7 +93,16 @@ export function createFlowTileSource({
             coords,
           })),
         );
-    return { segments, partial: result.partial === true };
+    const marks = result.tiles.map((tile) => freshness.get(tile) || {});
+    const times = marks
+      .map((mark) => mark.fetchedAt)
+      .filter((at) => Number.isFinite(at));
+    return {
+      segments,
+      partial: result.partial === true,
+      stale: marks.some((mark) => mark.stale === true),
+      oldestTileAt: times.length ? Math.min(...times) : null,
+    };
   }
   return {
     fetchFlowDetail,
@@ -52,6 +110,9 @@ export function createFlowTileSource({
       return (await fetchFlowDetail(bounds, options)).segments;
     },
     getFlowSessionStats: () => ({ ...tiles.getStats(), partial }),
-    resetFlowTileCache: () => tiles.clear(),
+    resetFlowTileCache: () => {
+      for (const entry of pending.values()) entry.release();
+      tiles.clear();
+    },
   };
 }

src/layers/traffic/source.test.mjs

@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
 import test from 'node:test';
 import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { getEventListeners } from 'node:events';
+import { createFlowTileSource } from './flowSource.js';
 import { tilesForBounds, tileToBBox } from '../../data/tomtomTiles.js';
 import { decodeFlowTile } from './flowDecode.js';
 import { decodeOpenFreeMapTile } from '../../sources/openFreeMap.js';
@@ -867,3 +869,154 @@ test('traffic separates API and public tile transports, including the default ti
   assert.ok(publicUrls.length >= 4);
   assert.ok(apiUrls.length >= 4);
 });
+
+test('flow detail reports stale proxy tiles and the oldest tile time, also from its cache', async () => {
+  const fetchedAt = Date.UTC(2026, 9, 16, 8);
+  const reply = (status, at) => async () =>
+    new Response(fixture, {
+      headers: { 'x-tomtom-cache': status, 'x-tomtom-fetched-at': String(at) },
+    });
+  const stale = createTrafficSource({
+    fetchImpl: reply('STALE-BUDGET', fetchedAt),
+  });
+  const first = await stale.fetchFlowDetail(bounds);
+  assert.ok(first.segments.length > 0);
+  assert.equal(first.stale, true);
+  assert.equal(first.oldestTileAt, fetchedAt);
+  // The decoded tile is served from cache now, and keeps its mark.
+  const again = await stale.fetchFlowDetail(bounds);
+  assert.equal(stale.getFlowSessionStats().tilesFetched, 1);
+  assert.equal(again.stale, true);
+  assert.equal(again.oldestTileAt, fetchedAt);
+
+  const fresh = createTrafficSource({ fetchImpl: reply('MISS', fetchedAt) });
+  const live = await fresh.fetchFlowDetail(bounds);
+  assert.equal(live.stale, false);
+  assert.equal(live.oldestTileAt, fetchedAt);
+
+  const unmarked = createTrafficSource({
+    fetchImpl: async () => new Response(fixture),
+  });
+  const plain = await unmarked.fetchFlowDetail(bounds);
+  assert.equal(plain.stale, false);
+  assert.equal(plain.oldestTileAt, null);
+});
+
+// Capture constructor-owned Maps only while constructing the source, so tests
+// can assert retained metadata without adding a diagnostic API to production.
+function flowSourceWithMaps(fetchImpl) {
+  const maps = [];
+  const NativeMap = globalThis.Map;
+  let source;
+  try {
+    globalThis.Map = class extends NativeMap {
+      constructor(...args) {
+        super(...args);
+        maps.push(this);
+      }
+    };
+    source = createFlowTileSource({ fetchImpl });
+  } finally {
+    globalThis.Map = NativeMap;
+  }
+  return { source, pending: maps[0] };
+}
+
+test('flow freshness is released after body failures, size rejection, decode and reset', async () => {
+  for (const failure of ['body', 'size', 'decode']) {
+    let requestSignal;
+    let fail = true;
+    const { source, pending } = flowSourceWithMaps(async (url, { signal }) => {
+      requestSignal = signal;
+      return {
+        ok: true,
+        headers: new Headers({
+          'x-tomtom-cache': fail ? 'STALE-ERROR' : 'MISS',
+          'x-tomtom-fetched-at': fail ? '1000' : '2000',
+          ...(fail && failure === 'size'
+            ? { 'content-length': '99999999' }
+            : {}),
+        }),
+        async arrayBuffer() {
+          if (fail && failure === 'body') throw new Error('body disconnected');
+          return fail && failure === 'decode' ? new Uint8Array([255]) : fixture;
+        },
+      };
+    });
+    await assert.rejects(source.fetchFlowDetail(bounds));
+    assert.equal(pending.size, 0, `${failure} leaves no pending metadata`);
+    assert.equal(getEventListeners(requestSignal, 'abort').length, 0);
+    assert.equal(source.getFlowSessionStats().cacheEntries, 0);
+    fail = false;
+    const fresh = await source.fetchFlowDetail(bounds);
+    assert.equal(fresh.stale, false);
+    assert.equal(fresh.oldestTileAt, 2000);
+    assert.equal(pending.size, 0, 'successful decode releases metadata');
+    assert.equal(getEventListeners(requestSignal, 'abort').length, 0);
+    source.resetFlowTileCache();
+    assert.equal(pending.size, 0);
+  }
+});
+
+test('flow reset and late cancelled headers cannot retain or replace newer freshness', async () => {
+  let resolveOld;
+  let oldSignal;
+  let calls = 0;
+  const { source, pending } = flowSourceWithMaps((url, { signal }) => {
+    if (++calls === 1) {
+      oldSignal = signal;
+      return new Promise((resolve) => {
+        resolveOld = resolve;
+      });
+    }
+    return Promise.resolve(
+      new Response(fixture, {
+        headers: { 'x-tomtom-cache': 'MISS', 'x-tomtom-fetched-at': '2000' },
+      }),
+    );
+  });
+  const old = source.fetchFlowDetail(bounds);
+  const rejected = assert.rejects(old, { name: 'AbortError' });
+  while (!resolveOld) await new Promise((resolve) => setImmediate(resolve));
+  source.resetFlowTileCache();
+  const fresh = await source.fetchFlowDetail(bounds);
+  resolveOld(
+    new Response(fixture, {
+      headers: {
+        'x-tomtom-cache': 'STALE-ERROR',
+        'x-tomtom-fetched-at': '1000',
+      },
+    }),
+  );
+  await rejected;
+  await new Promise((resolve) => setImmediate(resolve));
+  assert.equal(pending.size, 0);
+  assert.equal(getEventListeners(oldSignal, 'abort').length, 0);
+  assert.equal(fresh.stale, false);
+  assert.equal(fresh.oldestTileAt, 2000);
+  assert.equal((await source.fetchFlowDetail(bounds)).oldestTileAt, 2000);
+});
+
+test('cancelling a flow body releases its freshness before a new request', async () => {
+  const controller = new AbortController();
+  let requestSignal;
+  const { source, pending } = flowSourceWithMaps(async (url, { signal }) => {
+    requestSignal = signal;
+    return {
+      ok: true,
+      headers: new Headers({ 'x-tomtom-cache': 'STALE-ERROR' }),
+      async arrayBuffer() {
+        assert.equal(pending.size, 1);
+        controller.abort();
+        return fixture;
+      },
+    };
+  });
+  await assert.rejects(
+    source.fetchFlowDetail(bounds, { signal: controller.signal }),
+    { name: 'AbortError' },
+  );
+  assert.equal(pending.size, 0);
+  assert.equal(getEventListeners(requestSignal, 'abort').length, 0);
+  assert.equal(source.getFlowSessionStats().cacheEntries, 0);
+});

src/tooling/environmentProviders.test.mjs

@@ -158,6 +158,7 @@ test('terrain middleware migrates valid legacy disk points without fabricating o
 test('traffic middleware preserves keyless mode, caching, stale budget fallback and UTC rollover', async (t) => {
   isolate(t, { TOMTOM_API_KEY: '', TOMTOM_DAILY_TILE_BUDGET: '1' });
   let now = Date.UTC(2026, 8, 12, 12);
+  const fetchedAt = String(now);
   t.mock.method(Date, 'now', () => now);
   let calls = 0;
   t.mock.method(globalThis, 'fetch', async (raw) => {
@@ -182,10 +183,10 @@ test('traffic middleware preserves keyless mode, caching, stale budget fallback
   assert.equal(json(await request('/status')).dailyCount, 1);
   assert.equal(calls, 1);
   now += 120001;
-  assert.equal(
+  const staleTile = await request('/flow/8/1/1.pbf');
-    (await request('/flow/8/1/1.pbf')).headers['x-tomtom-cache'],
+  assert.equal(staleTile.headers['x-tomtom-cache'], 'STALE-BUDGET');
-    'STALE-BUDGET',
+  // The stale copy still says when TomTom produced it.
-  );
+  assert.equal(staleTile.headers['x-tomtom-fetched-at'], fetchedAt);
   assert.equal((await request('/flow/8/2/1.pbf')).status, 429);
   assert.equal(calls, 1);
   now += 86400000;

src/tools/queries/mobility.js

@@ -473,11 +473,22 @@ export const getTrafficFlow = defineTool({
           : `No live traffic is reported in ${area.label}.`) +
         (flow.partial
           ? ' Some map tiles did not load, so these figures are partial.'
+          : '') +
+        // Past the daily TomTom budget, or while TomTom fails, the proxy
+        // serves its last copy of a tile however old it is.
+        (flow.stale
+          ? ' Some tiles are cached copies' +
+            (isoTime(flow.oldestTileAt)
+              ? `, the oldest from ${isoTime(flow.oldestTileAt)}`
+              : '') +
+            ', so traffic may be out of date.'
           : ''),
       data: {
         view: suggestView(services, { area, layers: ['traffic'] }),
         area: area.label,
         partial: flow.partial,
+        stale: flow.stale === true,
+        oldest_tile_at: isoTime(flow.oldestTileAt),
         speed_pct_of_free_flow: speedPct,
         measured_km: round(measuredKm, 1),
         congested_km: round(congestedKm, 1),

src/tools/queries/mobility.test.mjs

@@ -555,6 +555,47 @@ test('traffic counts only roads inside a radius area and reports missing tiles',
   assert.match(partial.summary, /Some map tiles did not load/);
 });
 
+test('traffic says when the proxy served cached tiles, and how old the oldest is', async () => {
+  const road = [
+    {
+      coords: [
+        [-0.2, 0],
+        [0.2, 0],
+      ],
+      trafficLevel: 0.9,
+    },
+  ];
+  const call = (detail) =>
+    composeCatalog({
+      tools: coreTools,
+      services: {
+        traffic: {
+          getStatus: async () => ({ hasKey: true }),
+          fetchFlowDetail: async () => ({
+            segments: road,
+            partial: false,
+            ...detail,
+          }),
+        },
+      },
+    }).call('get_traffic_flow', { area: { lat: 0, lon: 0, radius_km: 10 } });
+  const oldest = Date.UTC(2026, 9, 16, 8);
+  const stale = await call({ stale: true, oldestTileAt: oldest });
+  assert.equal(stale.data.stale, true);
+  assert.equal(stale.data.oldest_tile_at, '2026-10-16T08:00:00.000Z');
+  assert.match(
+    stale.summary,
+    /cached copies, the oldest from 2026-10-16T08:00:00\.000Z, so traffic may be out of date\./,
+  );
+  const live = await call({ stale: false, oldestTileAt: oldest });
+  assert.equal(live.data.stale, false);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(live.summary, /out of date/);
+  // A source that can't tell (no freshness fields) isn't reported as stale.
+  const unknown = await call({});
+  assert.equal(unknown.data.stale, false);
+  assert.equal(unknown.data.oldest_tile_at, null);
+});
+
 test('a whole-world bike-share search names every system it skipped', async () => {
   const empty = { data: { stations: [] } };
   const result = await composeCatalog({