name: kotlin-coroutines description: Coroutines/Flow in Amethyst: picking IO vs Default, scopes and cancellation (CancellationException, withTimeout), StateFlow/SharedFlow/Channel and stateIn choices, runTest. Use when writing or reviewing async Kotlin code.

Kotlin coroutines in Amethyst

Repo-specific rules only. Textbook coroutines/Flow knowledge is assumed.

Dispatchers

Dispatchers.IO is the default; Default only for provably lock-free CPU work. The full rule, with the reasons and examples (ParallelEventVerifier, PoWMiner.MiningDispatcher, BagSweep, NostrSignerExternal), is commons/ARCHITECTURE.md › "Choosing a dispatcher". Read it before writing flowOn/withContext. In commonMain, Dispatchers.IO needs import kotlinx.coroutines.IO.

Relay work: reuse, don't hand-roll

Never write your own callbackFlow { openReqSubscription(...); awaitClose { ... } } REQ loop. One-shot and paged fetches, publish-and-confirm, COUNT and negentropy sync already exist as INostrClient extensions in quartz/src/commonMain/kotlin/com/vitorpamplona/quartz/nip01Core/relay/client/accessories/ (catalog: its README.md; flow helpers in ../reqs/). Their timeouts are idle windows (idleTimeoutMs), not deadlines. For loads tied to a composable's lifetime, see the relay-client skill.

callbackFlow is still the right bridge for platform callbacks; copy amethyst/.../service/connectivity/ConnectivityFlow.kt (initial emit, awaitClose unregister, distinctUntilChanged().debounce(200).flowOn(Dispatchers.IO)).

Scopes

• Stored scopes are fine for lifecycle owners. Account takes scope: CoroutineScope; Android services build CoroutineScope(Dispatchers.IO + SupervisorJob() + exceptionHandler) and cancel() it in onDestroy (PushNotificationReceiverService). Hundreds of such fields are legitimate; don't flag them on sight.
• New non-owner classes (helpers, repositories, parsers) expose suspend APIs and do not launch from init. Let the owner pick the scope.
• No runBlocking outside tests, previews and the CLI entry point. No GlobalScope.

Cancellation and timeouts

• A broad catch (e: Exception) / runCatching around a suspend call must rethrow CancellationException.
• TimeoutCancellationException IS a CancellationException. A blanket rethrow turns one slow RPC into a dead loop: rethrowing it ended the cordn sync loop for the whole session. Either catch the timeout narrowly, right at the withTimeout, or rethrow only when the coroutine itself is cancelled (if (!isActive) throw e). See cordn-kmp's cordn/client/CordnSyncLoop.kt for both.

State and events

• MutableStateFlow.update { } instead of _s.value = _s.value.copy(...). Keep the block pure and cheap (it can retry); build expensive values before it.
• stateIn/shareIn belong on a val, never inside a function (each call starts a new sharing coroutine).
• WhileSubscribed stops upstream with no collectors, so .value goes stale or stays at the initial value. If code reads .value synchronously, use Eagerly.
• stateFlow.map { } is a plain Flow; terminate with stateIn if consumers need .value.
• One-shot events for a single consumer (navigation, a toast): a Channel(Channel.BUFFERED).receiveAsFlow(), not a no-replay MutableSharedFlow that drops emissions with no collector. A Channel delivers each item to ONE collector; if every observer must see it, model it as state.
• Don't invent fake domain sentinels as the initial value; use null or a sealed loading state.

Tests

• runTest from kotlinx-coroutines-test, not runBlocking. Turbine is not a dependency; collect into a list in backgroundScope.launch { flow.collect { } } and drive time with advanceUntilIdle(), runCurrent(), advanceTimeBy().
• Inject the dispatcher/scope under test (StandardTestDispatcher(testScheduler) or UnconfinedTestDispatcher) so delays run on virtual time.
• Never wait on wall-clock time (delay(350) racing a 200 ms timeout flaked on loaded CI). Wait on the test scheduler or a condition.