fix: restore memorable agent ids

package.json

@@ -48,7 +48,8 @@
   "dependencies": {
     "@bufbuild/protobuf": "^2.14.0",
     "@gramaziokohler/compas-pb-ts": "^3.0.0",
-    "mqtt": "^5.10.0"
+    "mqtt": "^5.10.0",
+    "unique-names-generator": "^4.7.1"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@biomejs/biome": "2.2.3",

src/agents/AgentLauncher.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,11 @@
 import { pbDump, pbLoadBytes } from "@gramaziokohler/compas-pb-ts";
+import {
+  adjectives,
+  animals,
+  colors,
+  countries,
+  uniqueNamesGenerator,
+} from "unique-names-generator";
 
 import {
   TaskAllocationMessage,
@@ -14,6 +21,38 @@ import type { MqttService } from "./MqttService";
 import { ExecutionContext } from "./ExecutionContext";
 import { Task } from "./Task";
 
+/**
+ * A readable agent id, of the same shape as the Python launcher's
+ * `coolname.generate_slug(4)`: "brave-red-panda-of-japan". Agents are identified by this
+ * in logs and in the UI, so it needs to be recognisable at a glance rather than unique.
+ */
+function slug(value: string): string {
+  // dictionary entries are not all plain words: countries bring dots, accents and
+  // apostrophes ("U.S. Outlying Islands", "Cote d'Ivoire", "Aland Islands")
+  return value
+    .normalize("NFD")
+    .replace(/[\u0300-\u036f]/g, "")
+    .toLowerCase()
+    .replace(/[^a-z0-9]+/g, "-")
+    .replace(/^-+|-+$/g, "");
+}
+
+function memorableAgentId(): string {
+  const name = uniqueNamesGenerator({
+    dictionaries: [adjectives, colors, animals],
+    length: 3,
+    separator: "-",
+    style: "lowerCase",
+  });
+  const place = uniqueNamesGenerator({
+    dictionaries: [countries],
+    length: 1,
+    style: "lowerCase",
+  });
+
+  return `${slug(name)}-of-${slug(place)}`;
+}
+
 export class AgentLauncher {
   private static instance: AgentLauncher;
   private mqttService: MqttService;
@@ -31,8 +70,7 @@ export class AgentLauncher {
     registerAntikytheraTypes();
 
     this.mqttService = mqttService;
-    this.agentId =
-      agentId ?? `agent-${Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 10)}`;
+    this.agentId = agentId ?? memorableAgentId();
 
     console.log(`Initializing Agent Launcher ${this.agentId}`);
 

test/agent-launcher.spec.ts

@@ -164,3 +164,28 @@ describe("AgentLauncher", () => {
     expect(mqtt.sentOn("antikythera/task/completed")).toBeUndefined();
   });
 });
+
+describe("agent ids", () => {
+  it("are readable, in the shape the Python launcher produces", () => {
+    // e.g. "brave-red-panda-of-japan", matching coolname.generate_slug(4). Agents are
+    // identified by this in logs and in the UI, so a random string is not good enough.
+    const ids = Array.from({ length: 20 }, () =>
+      newLauncher(
+        new FakeMqttService(),
+        undefined as unknown as string,
+      ).getAgentId(),
+    );
+
+    for (const id of ids) {
+      expect(id).toMatch(/^[a-z]+-[a-z]+-[a-z]+-of-[a-z-]+$/);
+    }
+    // and not all the same
+    expect(new Set(ids).size).toBeGreaterThan(1);
+  });
+
+  it("accepts an explicit id", () => {
+    expect(newLauncher(new FakeMqttService(), "given-name").getAgentId()).toBe(
+      "given-name",
+    );
+  });
+});