Fix CI: global model cache, project-local daemon runtime

Model GGUF cache returns to ~/.cache/rekal/nomic/ (same binary across
all projects, avoids per-test decompression that caused CI timeouts).
Daemon socket and PID remain project-local at .rekal/nomic/.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Author: Frank Guo

cmd/rekal/cli/init.go

@@ -123,8 +123,7 @@ imported into the local data DB automatically.`,
 			}
 
 			// Pre-decompress nomic model so first query is fast.
-			nomicCacheDir := filepath.Join(rekalDir, "nomic")
-			if err := nomic.WarmCache(nomicCacheDir); err != nil {
+			if err := nomic.WarmCache(); err != nil {
 				fmt.Fprintf(cmd.ErrOrStderr(), "rekal: warning: nomic cache warm failed: %v\n", err)
 			}
 

cmd/rekal/cli/nomic/client.go

@@ -2,8 +2,6 @@
 
 package nomic
 
-import "path/filepath"
-
 // Client provides nomic embeddings, transparently using the daemon when
 // available or falling back to in-process embedding.
 type Client struct {
@@ -27,8 +25,7 @@ func NewClient(gitRoot string) (*Client, error) {
 	}
 
 	// No daemon running — fall back to in-process and spawn one for next time.
-	cacheDir := filepath.Join(gitRoot, ".rekal", "nomic")
-	embedder, err := NewEmbedder(cacheDir)
+	embedder, err := NewEmbedder()
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}

cmd/rekal/cli/nomic/daemon.go

@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ func readMsg(conn net.Conn, v interface{}) error {
 // RunDaemon runs the nomic embedding daemon. It loads the model once, listens
 // on a Unix socket, and exits after idleTimeout of inactivity.
 func RunDaemon(gitRoot string) error {
-	dir, err := nomicDir(gitRoot)
+	_, err := nomicDir(gitRoot)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ func RunDaemon(gitRoot string) error {
 	}
 
 	// Load model.
-	embedder, err := NewEmbedder(dir)
+	embedder, err := NewEmbedder()
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("nomic daemon: load model: %w", err)
 	}

cmd/rekal/cli/nomic/nomic_cgo.go

@@ -48,18 +48,23 @@ type Embedder struct {
 	nEmbd  int
 }
 
-// WarmCache pre-decompresses the model GGUF into the given directory
+// WarmCache pre-decompresses the model GGUF into the global cache
 // so the first query doesn't pay decompression cost.
-func WarmCache(cacheDir string) error {
-	_, err := cachedModelPath(cacheDir)
+func WarmCache() error {
+	_, err := cachedModelPath()
 	return err
 }
 
 // cachedModelPath returns the path to a cached decompressed GGUF file,
 // creating it if it doesn't exist or the content hash has changed.
-// cacheDir is the directory to store the cached file (e.g. .rekal/nomic/).
-func cachedModelPath(cacheDir string) (string, error) {
-	dir := cacheDir
+// The cache is global (~/.cache/rekal/nomic/) since the model binary
+// is the same across all projects.
+func cachedModelPath() (string, error) {
+	cacheDir, err := os.UserCacheDir()
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("nomic: cache dir: %w", err)
+	}
+	dir := filepath.Join(cacheDir, "rekal", "nomic")
 	if err := os.MkdirAll(dir, 0o755); err != nil {
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("nomic: create cache dir: %w", err)
 	}
@@ -101,14 +106,13 @@ func cachedModelPath(cacheDir string) (string, error) {
 	return cached, nil
 }
 
-// NewEmbedder loads the embedded model, using a cached decompressed file
-// in cacheDir. cacheDir is the directory for the cached GGUF (e.g. .rekal/nomic/).
-func NewEmbedder(cacheDir string) (*Embedder, error) {
+// NewEmbedder loads the embedded model, using a cached decompressed file when available.
+func NewEmbedder() (*Embedder, error) {
 	if !Supported() {
 		return nil, ErrNotSupported
 	}
 
-	modelPath, err := cachedModelPath(cacheDir)
+	modelPath, err := cachedModelPath()
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -125,7 +129,7 @@ func NewEmbedder(cacheDir string) (*Embedder, error) {
 	if handle == nil {
 		// Cache may be corrupt — remove and retry once.
 		os.Remove(modelPath) //nolint:errcheck
-		modelPath, err = cachedModelPath(cacheDir)
+		modelPath, err = cachedModelPath()
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}

cmd/rekal/cli/nomic/nomic_nocgo.go

@@ -15,15 +15,15 @@ func Supported() bool {
 }
 
 // WarmCache is a no-op on unsupported platforms.
-func WarmCache(_ string) error {
+func WarmCache() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
 // Embedder is a stub on unsupported platforms.
 type Embedder struct{}
 
 // NewEmbedder always returns ErrNotSupported on unsupported platforms.
-func NewEmbedder(_ string) (*Embedder, error) {
+func NewEmbedder() (*Embedder, error) {
 	return nil, ErrNotSupported
 }