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Validation rule

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AP-EVT-002Event Architecture

Circular event chain risk

Flags event chains that may loop back to their starting workflow.

warningviolationNo auto-fix

How to fix

  1. Break the cycle with a clearer event boundary.
  2. Add idempotency and correlation guards.
  3. Document intentional event choreography.

What the rule validates

An event handler appears to publish an event that can trigger the original publisher path again.

Why it matters

Circular event chains can create duplicate processing, retry storms, or inconsistent state.

Common causes

  • Handlers publish broad follow-up events.
  • No idempotency guard exists.
  • A workflow was converted from sync calls to events without reviewing cycles.

Typical violation example

PolicyUpdated triggers RepositoryRevalidated, which triggers PolicyUpdated again.

Typical compliant example

Event handlers publish downstream events that do not re-enter the same state transition.

Related rules

AP-EVT-001 - Published event has no handlerAP-EVT-003 - Synchronous dependency disguised as eventAP-EVT-004 - Event naming inconsistency

Adjacent categories

Event ArchitectureDomain Model Quality

Related files/config

  • apps/api/src
  • packages/contracts/src

Related CLI commands

  • archpilot validate
  • archpilot validate --ci

Related docs

Rule CatalogEvent ArchitectureDomain Model Quality
AP-EVT-002 - Circular event chain risk | ArchPilot Docs