fix(dashboard): max-wait safeguard for scheduleCoalescedTick + drop forward-looking version label

Two follow-ups from code review on this branch:

1. Add `maxWait` (1.5 s) safeguard to `HermesFileWatcher.scheduleCoalescedTick`
   so the trailing-debounce can't be starved indefinitely under sustained
   activity. Each scheduled fire now picks the earlier of (a) the
   `coalesceWindow` quiet floor and (b) `maxWait` since the FIRST fire of
   the current burst. A 10 Hz `state.db-wal` write storm coincident with
   a `gateway_state.json` Start/Stop touch now publishes within
   `maxWait` instead of waiting for the WAL activity to subside. The
   single-fire / quiet-burst case is unchanged because both deadlines
   reduce to the same value.

2. Drop the forward-looking "v2.8 dogfood bug report" reference from a
   comment in `DashboardViewModel.load()` per the
   `feedback_no_version_bumps.md` rule (release notes own version
   labels, not in-code comments).

Tests: full ScarfCore suite green (450/450), Mac scheme builds clean.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

scarf/scarf/Core/Services/HermesFileWatcher.swift

@@ -23,12 +23,26 @@ final class HermesFileWatcher {
     /// loads on v0.13 hosts and tripped sqlite contention on the read-only
     /// state.db handle. We coalesce to at most one tick per
     /// `coalesceWindow` so a burst of FSEvents collapses into one observable
-    /// state mutation. 500 ms picks the smallest window that still feels
-    /// responsive on a single keystroke `touch dashboard.json` while
-    /// surviving v0.13's WAL-write storm.
+    /// state mutation.
+    ///
+    /// **Two limits, not one.** A pure trailing-debounce would starve under
+    /// sustained WAL writes — the timer would keep getting cancelled and
+    /// rescheduled, and a coincident `gateway_state.json` Start/Stop touch
+    /// would never propagate until WAL activity quieted down. So we publish
+    /// when EITHER (a) `coalesceWindow` of quiet has elapsed since the last
+    /// fire, OR (b) `maxWait` has elapsed since the first fire of the
+    /// current burst — whichever comes first. The max-wait guarantees a
+    /// floor of one observable mutation per `maxWait` even during sustained
+    /// activity. Numbers picked to keep the dashboard responsive on a
+    /// single `touch` while surviving v0.13's WAL-write storm.
     private var pendingCoalesceTimer: DispatchWorkItem?
     private var pendingTickDate: Date?
+    /// Wall-clock when the current burst began. Set on the first
+    /// `scheduleCoalescedTick` fire after a quiet window; cleared whenever
+    /// the timer fires. Drives the `maxWait` floor below.
+    private var burstStartDate: Date?
     private static let coalesceWindow: TimeInterval = 0.5
+    private static let maxWait: TimeInterval = 1.5
 
     let context: ServerContext
     private let transport: any ServerTransport
@@ -114,23 +128,44 @@ final class HermesFileWatcher {
     }
 
     /// Coalesce a burst of FSEvents (or remote-poll deltas) into a single
-    /// `lastChangeDate` mutation after `coalesceWindow` seconds of quiet.
-    /// Each new fire records the latest event date and pushes the timer
-    /// out, so a 100-ms-spaced burst of 50 fires collapses to one observable
-    /// state mutation `coalesceWindow` ms after the LAST fire — same shape
-    /// as a debounce. Runs on `.main` (the FSEvents queue) so observers
-    /// see the publish on MainActor without a hop.
+    /// `lastChangeDate` mutation. Two limits decide when the publish fires,
+    /// whichever comes first:
+    ///
+    /// 1. **Quiet window**: `coalesceWindow` seconds have elapsed since the
+    ///    last fire. Each new fire pushes this out — pure debounce shape.
+    /// 2. **Max wait**: `maxWait` seconds have elapsed since the FIRST fire
+    ///    of the current burst. This bounds the latency floor under
+    ///    sustained activity (v0.13's ~10 Hz WAL-write storm) so a
+    ///    coincident `gateway_state.json` Start/Stop touch can't be starved
+    ///    indefinitely behind a continuously-rescheduling debounce timer.
+    ///
+    /// Runs on `.main` (the FSEvents queue and the remote-poll
+    /// MainActor.run) so observers see the publish on MainActor without a
+    /// hop. The work item self-clears `burstStartDate` when it fires so the
+    /// next burst starts a fresh max-wait window.
     private func scheduleCoalescedTick() {
         let now = Date()
         pendingTickDate = now
+        if burstStartDate == nil {
+            burstStartDate = now
+        }
         pendingCoalesceTimer?.cancel()
+        // Pick the deadline as the earlier of (a) `coalesceWindow` from now,
+        // and (b) `maxWait` from the burst start. The latter only matters
+        // when fires keep arriving faster than `coalesceWindow`; in the
+        // single-fire / quiet-burst case both reduce to the same value.
+        let quietDeadline = now.addingTimeInterval(Self.coalesceWindow)
+        let maxWaitDeadline = (burstStartDate ?? now).addingTimeInterval(Self.maxWait)
+        let firingDate = min(quietDeadline, maxWaitDeadline)
+        let delay = max(0, firingDate.timeIntervalSince(now))
         let work = DispatchWorkItem { [weak self] in
             guard let self, let date = self.pendingTickDate else { return }
             self.pendingTickDate = nil
+            self.burstStartDate = nil
             self.lastChangeDate = date
         }
         pendingCoalesceTimer = work
-        DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + Self.coalesceWindow, execute: work)
+        DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + delay, execute: work)
     }
 
     func stopWatching() {
@@ -146,6 +181,7 @@ final class HermesFileWatcher {
         pendingCoalesceTimer?.cancel()
         pendingCoalesceTimer = nil
         pendingTickDate = nil
+        burstStartDate = nil
     }
 
     /// Watch each project's `dashboard.json` AND its enclosing `.scarf/`

scarf/scarf/Features/Dashboard/ViewModels/DashboardViewModel.swift

@@ -56,12 +56,12 @@ final class DashboardViewModel {
     func load() async {
         // Coalesce overlapping triggers: the `.task` first-appear and the
         // `.onChange(fileWatcher.lastChangeDate)` observer can both fire
-        // a load in the same tick. Without this guard a v0.13 host's
-        // WAL-write storm walked over the previous load mid-snapshot
-        // (see HermesFileWatcher.scheduleCoalescedTick + the v2.8 dogfood
-        // bug report). If a load is already running, await its
-        // completion and return — the caller already has a fresh snapshot
-        // by the time `await` returns.
+        // a load in the same tick. Without this guard a Hermes v0.13
+        // host's WAL-write storm walked over the previous load
+        // mid-snapshot (see `HermesFileWatcher.scheduleCoalescedTick`).
+        // If a load is already running, await its completion and return
+        // — the caller already has a fresh snapshot by the time `await`
+        // returns.
         if let existing = inFlightLoad {
             await existing.value
             return