feat(backup): a backup holds settings and keys only, for recovery (#5822)

#5822 "Backup contents: settings and keys only". The operator's ruling
(System 180, 2026-10-15) overturns 2026-10-12's "Config + audit + alerts":
a backup is for system recovery and carries what would otherwise have to
be set up again, with no logs or history.

- contents.py: audit_events, alert_events, alert_states, metric_anomalies,
  metric_anomaly_spans and user_invites move to EXCLUDED.
- Alert state is no longer restored, and evaluation skips a rule with no
  state row. ensure_rule_states (alerts/service.py) gives every
  single-resource rule lacking one an inactive row; alert_reconcile runs
  it each minute.
- Docs, the Backups page and the CLI help say what a backup holds now.
  CI's image check also finds the audit log empty after a restore.
- tests/integration/test_backup_restore_fixes.py is removed: its case (an
  alert event naming a left-out Ansible run) no longer arises. The SET NULL
  fix-up is covered by a unit test on synthetic tables.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

tests/core/test_backup_contents.py

@@ -31,11 +31,25 @@ def test_no_table_is_both_and_none_is_named_for_nothing():
     assert stale == set(), "contents.py names tables that no longer exist"
 
 
-def test_an_alert_event_keeps_its_row_when_its_ansible_run_is_left_out():
-    fixes = dangling_fixes(all_metadata())
-    assert ('UPDATE "alert_events" SET "ansible_run_id" = NULL WHERE "ansible_run_id" IS NOT NULL '
-            'AND NOT EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM "ansible_runs" p WHERE p."id" = "alert_events"."ansible_run_id")'
-            ) in fixes
+def test_a_set_null_reference_is_cleared_and_the_row_kept():
+    md = MetaData()
+    Table("ansible_runs", md, Column("id", Integer, primary_key=True))
+    Table("plans", md, Column("id", Integer, primary_key=True),
+          Column("run_id", Integer, ForeignKey("ansible_runs.id", ondelete="SET NULL")))
+    assert dangling_fixes(md) == [
+        'UPDATE "plans" SET "run_id" = NULL WHERE "run_id" IS NOT NULL AND NOT EXISTS '
+        '(SELECT 1 FROM "ansible_runs" p WHERE p."id" = "plans"."run_id")'
+    ]
+
+
+def test_logs_history_and_state_are_left_out():
+    """The 2026-10-15 ruling: a backup is settings and keys, for recovery."""
+    for table in ("audit_events", "alert_events", "alert_states", "metric_anomalies",
+                  "metric_anomaly_spans", "user_invites"):
+        assert table in contents.EXCLUDED, table
+    for table in ("app_settings", "users", "api_tokens", "hosts", "host_agent_registrations",
+                  "monitors", "alert_rules"):
+        assert table in contents.KEPT, table
 
 
 def test_a_cascading_reference_removes_the_row():
@@ -55,7 +69,8 @@ def test_dump_leaves_out_each_excluded_tables_rows(tmp_path):
     args = dump.dump_command(tmp_path / "x.dump")
     assert "--format=custom" in args
     assert "--exclude-table-data=plugin_metrics" in args
-    assert "--exclude-table-data=audit_events" not in args
+    assert "--exclude-table-data=audit_events" in args
+    assert "--exclude-table-data=app_settings" not in args
 
 
 def test_password_goes_in_the_environment_not_the_command_line():

tests/integration/test_alert_states.py

@@ -173,3 +173,60 @@ def test_record_metrics_marks_each_step(app):
     watched, unwatched = asyncio.run(_go())
     assert watched == ["flush", "rules", "evaluate"]
     assert unwatched == ["flush", "rules"]   # no rule watches it: nothing to evaluate
+
+
+def test_a_rule_without_state_gets_one_and_is_watched_again(app):
+    """A backup leaves alert state out (System 180, 2026-10-15): a restored
+    rule has none, and evaluation skips it until alert_reconcile adds it."""
+    from sqlalchemy import delete, func, select
+    from steward.alerts import service as alert_svc
+    from steward.core.alerts import record_metric
+    from steward.models.alerts import AlertOperator, AlertRule, AlertState, AlertStateEnum
+    from steward.models.users import User, UserRole
+
+    async def _go():
+        tag = uuid.uuid4().hex[:8]
+        res = f"restored-{tag}"
+        async with app.db_sessionmaker() as s:
+            async with s.begin():
+                user = User(username=f"rs-{tag}", email=f"rs-{tag}@test", password_hash="x",
+                            role=UserRole.admin)
+                s.add(user)
+                await s.flush()
+                rule = AlertRule(name=f"restored {tag}", source_module="host_agent",
+                                 resource_name=res, metric_name="cpu_pct",
+                                 operator=AlertOperator.gt, threshold=90.0,
+                                 consecutive_failures_required=1, enabled=True,
+                                 created_by=user.id)
+                cover = AlertRule(name=f"all hosts {tag}", source_module="host_agent",
+                                  resource_name="", metric_name="cpu_pct", covers="all_hosts",
+                                  operator=AlertOperator.gt, threshold=90.0,
+                                  consecutive_failures_required=1, enabled=True,
+                                  created_by=user.id)
+                s.add_all([rule, cover])
+                await s.flush()
+                await s.execute(delete(AlertState).where(AlertState.rule_id == rule.id))
+            ids = (rule.id, cover.id)
+
+        async def states(rule_id):
+            async with app.db_sessionmaker() as s:
+                return (await s.execute(select(func.count()).select_from(AlertState).where(
+                    AlertState.rule_id == rule_id))).scalar_one()
+
+        added = await alert_svc.ensure_rule_states(app)
+        first = (await states(ids[0]), await states(ids[1]))
+        await alert_svc.ensure_rule_states(app)
+        second = await states(ids[0])
+        async with app.db_sessionmaker() as s:
+            async with s.begin():
+                await record_metric(s, "host_agent", res, "cpu_pct", 99.0)
+        async with app.db_sessionmaker() as s:
+            state = (await s.execute(select(AlertState.state).where(
+                AlertState.rule_id == ids[0]))).scalar_one()
+        return added, first, second, state
+
+    added, first, second, state = asyncio.run(_go())
+    assert added >= 1
+    assert first == (1, 0)              # the covering rule has no state of its own
+    assert second == 1                  # a second pass adds nothing
+    assert state == AlertStateEnum.firing

tests/integration/test_backup_restore_fixes.py

@@ -1,63 +0,0 @@
-"""Integration: between pg_restore's data and its constraints, an alert event
-naming an Ansible run the backup left out keeps its row and loses the link
-(steward/backup/restore.py, #5674). Requires STEWARD_DATABASE_URL."""
-from __future__ import annotations
-
-import asyncio
-import os
-import uuid
-
-import pytest
-
-pytestmark = pytest.mark.integration
-
-
-@pytest.fixture
-def app():
-    if not os.environ.get("STEWARD_DATABASE_URL"):
-        pytest.skip("needs Postgres")
-    from steward.app import create_app
-    return create_app(testing=False)
-
-
-def test_a_dangling_ansible_run_link_is_cleared_and_the_event_kept(app):
-    from sqlalchemy import select, text
-
-    from steward.backup.restore import _execute, dangling_fixes
-    from steward.models.base import Base
-    from steward.models.alerts import AlertEvent, AlertOperator, AlertRule
-    from steward.models.users import User, UserRole
-
-    uid, rule_id = str(uuid.uuid4()), str(uuid.uuid4())
-    gone_run, dangling, plain = str(uuid.uuid4()), str(uuid.uuid4()), str(uuid.uuid4())
-
-    async def _go():
-        async with app.db_sessionmaker() as s:
-            async with s.begin():
-                s.add(User(id=uid, username=f"u{uid[:8]}", email=f"{uid[:8]}@e.test",
-                           password_hash="x", role=UserRole.admin, is_active=True))
-            async with s.begin():
-                s.add(AlertRule(id=rule_id, name="backup fixes", source_module="host_agent",
-                                resource_name="srv1", metric_name="cpu_pct",
-                                operator=AlertOperator.gt, threshold=90.0,
-                                consecutive_failures_required=1, enabled=True, created_by=uid))
-            # The state pg_restore's data section leaves: the run's row was
-            # never restored. Replica mode lets the row in without its parent.
-            async with s.begin():
-                await s.execute(text("SET LOCAL session_replication_role = replica"))
-                s.add(AlertEvent(id=dangling, rule_id=rule_id, from_state="pending",
-                                 to_state="firing", ansible_run_id=gone_run))
-                s.add(AlertEvent(id=plain, rule_id=rule_id, from_state="firing",
-                                 to_state="inactive"))
-
-        fixed = await _execute(os.environ["STEWARD_DATABASE_URL"], dangling_fixes(Base.metadata))
-
-        async with app.db_sessionmaker() as s:
-            rows = dict((await s.execute(
-                select(AlertEvent.id, AlertEvent.ansible_run_id)
-                .where(AlertEvent.rule_id == rule_id))).all())
-        return fixed, rows
-
-    fixed, rows = asyncio.run(_go())
-    assert fixed >= 1
-    assert rows == {dangling: None, plain: None}