fix(plugin-audit): exclude computed fields from update diffs + treat undefined/null as equal

packages/plugins/plugin-audit/src/audit-writers.test.ts

@@ -440,6 +440,96 @@ describe('audit writers — enable.files server-side enforcement (#2727)', () =>
   });
 });
 
+describe('audit writers — update diff hygiene (objectui detail-history report)', () => {
+  // gantt_plan-shaped object: a formula helper alongside real fields. The
+  // `before` snapshot is read through the query path (formula computed), but
+  // `after` (ctx.result) is the raw write result (formula absent) — the diff
+  // must not record that asymmetry as a change.
+  const SCHEMA = {
+    sys_audit_log: SINGLE_TENANT.sys_audit_log,
+    sys_activity: SINGLE_TENANT.sys_activity,
+    gantt_plan: {
+      id: { type: 'text' },
+      name: { type: 'text', label: 'Name' },
+      plan_start: { type: 'datetime', label: 'Plan Start' },
+      deps_rendered: { type: 'formula', label: 'Deps (rendered)' },
+    },
+  };
+
+  it('excludes computed (formula) fields from the update diff', async () => {
+    const { engine, fire, created } = makeEngine(SCHEMA);
+    installAuditWriters(engine as any, 'test.audit');
+
+    await fire('afterUpdate', {
+      object: 'gantt_plan',
+      input: { id: 'p-1', plan_start: '2026-08-04T12:00:00.000Z' },
+      // before: query-path snapshot carries the computed formula value…
+      __previous: { id: 'p-1', name: 'Plan C', plan_start: '2026-07-26T00:00:00.000Z', deps_rendered: ['LnLJIsTwXbv1E2gF'] },
+      // …after: raw write result does not.
+      result: { id: 'p-1', name: 'Plan C', plan_start: '2026-08-04T12:00:00.000Z' },
+      session: { userId: 'user-1' },
+    });
+
+    const audit = created.find((c) => c.object === 'sys_audit_log');
+    expect(audit).toBeDefined();
+    const oldValue = JSON.parse(audit!.row.old_value);
+    const newValue = JSON.parse(audit!.row.new_value);
+    expect(newValue).toEqual({ plan_start: '2026-08-04T12:00:00.000Z' });
+    expect(oldValue).toEqual({ plan_start: '2026-07-26T00:00:00.000Z' });
+    expect('deps_rendered' in oldValue).toBe(false);
+    expect('deps_rendered' in newValue).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('writes NO audit row when only computed fields differ', async () => {
+    const { engine, fire, created } = makeEngine(SCHEMA);
+    installAuditWriters(engine as any, 'test.audit');
+
+    await fire('afterUpdate', {
+      object: 'gantt_plan',
+      input: { id: 'p-1' },
+      __previous: { id: 'p-1', name: 'Plan C', deps_rendered: ['LnLJIsTwXbv1E2gF'] },
+      result: { id: 'p-1', name: 'Plan C' },
+      session: { userId: 'user-1' },
+    });
+
+    expect(created.find((c) => c.object === 'sys_audit_log')).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(created.find((c) => c.object === 'sys_activity')).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it('treats an absent key (undefined) and an explicit null as equal — no noise row', async () => {
+    const { engine, fire, created } = makeEngine(SCHEMA);
+    installAuditWriters(engine as any, 'test.audit');
+
+    await fire('afterUpdate', {
+      object: 'gantt_plan',
+      input: { id: 'p-1', plan_start: null },
+      // `plan_start` key absent before, explicit null after: not a change.
+      __previous: { id: 'p-1', name: 'Plan C' },
+      result: { id: 'p-1', name: 'Plan C', plan_start: null },
+      session: { userId: 'user-1' },
+    });
+
+    expect(created.find((c) => c.object === 'sys_audit_log')).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it('still records a real transition to null (value cleared)', async () => {
+    const { engine, fire, created } = makeEngine(SCHEMA);
+    installAuditWriters(engine as any, 'test.audit');
+
+    await fire('afterUpdate', {
+      object: 'gantt_plan',
+      input: { id: 'p-1', plan_start: null },
+      __previous: { id: 'p-1', name: 'Plan C', plan_start: '2026-07-26T00:00:00.000Z' },
+      result: { id: 'p-1', name: 'Plan C', plan_start: null },
+      session: { userId: 'user-1' },
+    });
+
+    const audit = created.find((c) => c.object === 'sys_audit_log');
+    expect(JSON.parse(audit!.row.old_value)).toEqual({ plan_start: '2026-07-26T00:00:00.000Z' });
+    expect(JSON.parse(audit!.row.new_value)).toEqual({ plan_start: null });
+  });
+});
+
 // timeout: the FIRST localized case pays the one-off cost of dynamically
 // importing @objectstack/core + the shipped translation bundle (and, with the
 // #3071 src aliases, their vite transforms). On a shared 4-vCPU CI runner that

packages/plugins/plugin-audit/src/audit-writers.ts

@@ -152,23 +152,44 @@ function recordLabel(record: any, id: string): string {
   return id;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Field types whose values the engine computes on READ (formula / summary /
+ * rollup / autonumber). The `before` snapshot is read back through the query
+ * path and therefore carries them, but `after` (`ctx.result`) is the raw
+ * write result and does not — so diffing them records a phantom
+ * "value → null" change on EVERY update (surfaced by the objectui record
+ * History tab). As derived values their changes are implied by their source
+ * fields anyway, so they are excluded from the audit diff.
+ */
+const COMPUTED_FIELD_TYPES = new Set<string>(['formula', 'summary', 'rollup', 'autonumber', 'auto_number']);
+
 /**
  * Compute a shallow JSON diff between two records. Returns only keys whose
- * value changed (and ignores keys in `NOISE_FIELDS`). Both sides are
- * serialisable via `JSON.stringify` — values that fail to serialise are
- * coerced to `String(value)`.
+ * value changed (and ignores keys in `NOISE_FIELDS` plus computed field
+ * types per `fieldDefs`). Both sides are serialisable via `JSON.stringify` —
+ * values that fail to serialise are coerced to `String(value)`.
  */
-function diff(before: Record<string, any>, after: Record<string, any>): { old: Record<string, any>; next: Record<string, any> } {
+function diff(
+  before: Record<string, any>,
+  after: Record<string, any>,
+  fieldDefs?: Record<string, any> | null,
+): { old: Record<string, any>; next: Record<string, any> } {
   const oldOut: Record<string, any> = {};
   const newOut: Record<string, any> = {};
   const keys = new Set<string>([...Object.keys(before || {}), ...Object.keys(after || {})]);
   for (const k of keys) {
     if (NOISE_FIELDS.has(k)) continue;
-    const b = before?.[k];
-    const a = after?.[k];
+    const type = fieldDefs?.[k]?.type;
+    if (typeof type === 'string' && COMPUTED_FIELD_TYPES.has(type)) continue;
+    // `?? null` BEFORE comparing: a key absent on one side (undefined) must
+    // compare equal to an explicit null on the other. JSON.stringify(undefined)
+    // returns undefined (not a string), so the raw comparison saw
+    // undefined ≠ 'null' and wrote a noise row with old=new=null.
+    const b = before?.[k] ?? null;
+    const a = after?.[k] ?? null;
     if (safeStringify(b) !== safeStringify(a)) {
-      oldOut[k] = b ?? null;
-      newOut[k] = a ?? null;
+      oldOut[k] = b;
+      newOut[k] = a;
     }
   }
   return { old: oldOut, next: newOut };
@@ -455,7 +476,7 @@ export function installAuditWriters(
     if (action === 'create') {
       newValue = (after && typeof after === 'object') ? { ...after } : null;
     } else if (action === 'update') {
-      const d = diff(before || {}, after || {});
+      const d = diff(before || {}, after || {}, getFieldDefs(ctx.object));
       oldValue = d.old;
       newValue = d.next;
       // If nothing meaningfully changed, skip the audit row to avoid noise.