Patch can now work with your compute, DNS and load balancing

[scotwells]

Ask Patch why a workload isn't running or a hostname isn't resolving, and it now reaches into the service itself rather than guessing from generic resource reads.

Three services publish tools and triage guides. You get a service's tools if your project is entitled to it — nothing is a fixed list.

Compute — 7 tools, 7 guides
compute_workloads_list · compute_workloads_get · compute_instances_list · compute_workload_diagnose · compute_reason_explain · compute_instance_types_list · compute_workload_render

Compute's top-level reasons are pointers, not causes — Available=False with QuotaNotGranted names the blocking subsystem, while the real answer sits on an instance's condition below it. Patch walks down to that instead of repeating the pointer. Guides cover quota triage, instances that won't start, placement, referenced ConfigMaps and Secrets, and deploying something new.

DNS — 9 tools, 9 guides
dns_zones_list · dns_zones_get · dns_zone_diagnose · dns_records_list · dns_records_get · dns_record_diagnose · dns_delegation_check · dns_zone_discovery_get · dns_record_render

Ask why a zone isn't resolving or a record isn't programmed. Guides cover delegation, domain verification, conflicting records, records you don't own, and zone imports.

Load balancing — 5 tools, 10 guides
alb_list · alb_get · alb_diagnose · alb_reason_explain · alb_traffic_summary

Ask why a load balancer isn't serving or a hostname isn't working. Guides cover certificates, unreachable backends, edge propagation, traffic protection and access logs.

Every project also keeps the platform basics: list and read any resource, check a kind's schema, see where a service is offered, check quota, and make changes through a plan you review first.

In the terminal

• datumctl assistant opens a full-screen chat; -c continues your last one.
• datumctl assistant resume searches your project's conversations — newest first, each shown by its opening message. ctrl+t previews a transcript.
• datumctl assistant chat "why is api-backend not available?" answers once and exits, for pipes and scripts.
• Type @ to point at something real — the kinds your project serves, then their instances — so @workload/api-backend is unambiguous rather than left to guesswork.
• Conversations live with the service, not your laptop. Name them, archive what you're done with, delete for good.
• A finished turn reports how long it took and how many tools it used, with an optional desktop notification.

It's a datumctl plugin — datumctl plugin install assistant — and still ships as a standalone milo-assistant binary on the releases page if you'd rather not go through the CLI.

Two things worth knowing

Patch only sees what your project is entitled to, per service, per project.

It can't change anything behind your back. Every write goes through a plan you see and approve, and all the tools above are read-only.