fediverse-devnet/feditest

WordPress+ActivityPub outgoing message sending is unreliable.

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#397 opened on Oct 18, 2024

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Description

Consider this test:

  1. Mastodon account follows WordPress account
  2. WordPress account posts something
  3. test that Mastodon account receives it

It appears that on the WordPress side, the ActivityPub HTTP POST of the Create/Note activity triggered by step 2 runs with wp-cron (which I don’t really understand, except that I think it has some kind of queue that is worked down as a side effect of incoming HTTP requests).

If I suspend the automated test run after step 2, and use a browser to access the WordPress instance, it appears the HTTP POST to the Mastodon inbox is performed. If it runs in unattended mode, the POST is not performed.

I tried to curl https://wordpress/wp-cron.php and curl https://wordpress/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron but that doesn’t seem to trigger it. If I run it once every second for 15 seconds, it triggers it most of the time, but not always.

Find a way to get WordPress to reliably deliver that POST.

See also:

Contributor guide

Research direction
Investigate the wp cron mechanism and how the ActivityPub plugin schedules outgoing activities. Consider adding a manual trigger for wp cron or using a persistent job queue like WordPress's WP Job or a custom cron implementation. Alternatively, modify the test to poll for the expected activity instead of relying on immediate delivery.
Tech stack
php
Domain
backendtesting
Issue type
Bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
Active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Clear
Prerequisites
WordPressActivityPub
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
60