BACKEND · v186

Live Dutchie data layer — cut the cache

2026-06-09 · backend architecture update · no frontend change (v185 remains the latest UI) · promos untouched

The problem

The site read product data from a D1 scrape cache — a daily copy of Dutchie kept in our own database. A copy goes stale the instant Dutchie changes, which caused wrong prices (From $Infinity), search that ranked rolling papers above flower, an unreliable "available at N stores" widget, and a fragile hand-patch workflow. Root cause: the cache was a second source of truth that drifts.

The decision (Solution A)

• Dutchie Plus is the sole source of truth. No product data persisted as a second copy.
• A Cloudflare Worker is the live gateway. Cloudflare-origin requests clear Dutchie's bot-challenge; the Hetzner datacenter IP (77.42.66.58) is blocked — so the Worker, not Hetzner, is the right caller.
• Store-first, no skip → every page is scoped to one retailer, which is what makes the cache unnecessary.

Built + live-verified this update

What V1–V4 confirmed

• Store-scoped is pure-live and fast (menu ~130–540 ms; native brandId filter; enterpriseProductId on every product; checkout by IDs works).
• One change: Dutchie has no cheap cross-retailer availability query, so "available at N stores" needs a wholesale-rebuilt index (full rebuild on a schedule, hint-only, cart re-validates live) — the correct kind of cache, not the drift-prone scrape.

Search & filters — status

Search ranking — FIXED. The v2 ranker replaced the broken substring match: "blueberry" → flower (not rolling papers), "510" → cartridges, "gummies" → gummies, "pink kush" → Pink Kush flower #1.

Filter pass-through — partially wired. Dutchie's MenuFilter surface, mapped this session:

Filter	Native in Dutchie?	Live in /api/v2/products?
search	✅	✅
category	✅	✅
brand (brandId)	✅	✅
strain type (indica/sativa/hybrid)	✅	pending
subcategory	✅	pending
potency (THC / CBD)	✅	pending
effects	✅	pending
price range (min/max)	❌ not native	worker-side, pending
sort (price / potency)	❌ not native	worker-side, pending
weight / on-sale	❌ not native	worker-side, pending

The first three pass straight through to Dutchie and are live; strain/subcategory/potency/effects are native to Dutchie and wire the same way (pending); price-range/sort/weight/on-sale aren't native — they get applied in the worker after fetch, the same place the ranker runs. The mobile filter UI (the v185 bottom-sheet) is a separate frontend fix already shipped in v185 — untouched by this backend update.

Test plan — 50 QA questions (Opus)

The use-case checklist to run before this goes live. Each maps to a pass/fail test against the live data layer; status filled in as tests run.

A. Store entry & scoping

1. Age-gate to mandatory store-pick blocks all browsing until a store is chosen (no skip, no default-to-all)?
2. The chosen retailerId persists across refresh, deep-link, and back-button so every page stays store-scoped?
3. Deep-linking to a PDP/shop URL with no store selected routes to the picker, not a blank/empty page?
4. Switching store mid-session clears/re-validates the cart and refreshes prices to the new store?
5. The store list matches the canonical dispensary CSV (UUID + dispensaryId), with closed/unmapped stores excluded?

B. Search & ranking

6. Search returns the right #1 for name queries (blueberry to flower, not rolling papers)?
7. Multi-word queries work regardless of word order (blue dream / dream blue)?
8. Accessories demoted unless intended (510 to cartridges; 510 battery to batteries)?
9. A brand-name query surfaces that brand's items even when the brand isn't in the product name?
10. Dutchie's fuzzy zero-token-match items are suppressed from the top?
11. Empty/whitespace query gives a sensible browse fallback, not an error or empty list?
12. Search latency stays acceptable (under ~700 ms p95) on the live path?

C. Filters

13. Category filter returns only that category and combines correctly with search?
14. Strain-type / potency / subcategory / effects return correct subsets (once wired)?
15. Worker-side price-range bounds min/max correctly across a product's variants?
16. Sort (price/potency, asc/desc) orders correctly and stays stable across pagination?
17. Multiple filters AND together correctly (FLOWER + INDICA + under $40)?
18. Removing/clearing a filter restores the full set?
19. Zero-match filter combos show a clean empty state, not an error?

D. Browse & pagination

20. Category browse paginates past Dutchie's ~20/page with no dupes, no gaps, correct total?
21. Cards show correct image, name, brand, min price, in-stock state?
22. Out-of-stock products handled consistently per policy (hidden vs sold-out)?

E. Product detail (PDP)

23. PDP shows live price + the exact variants/options Dutchie has at that store?
24. Multi-variant (3.5g/7g/28g) selection updates price/stock correctly?
25. PDP price equals what Dutchie charges at checkout (no drift)?
26. Potency/strain/brand/description render live, with graceful blanks when missing?

F. Cross-store Available at N stores

27. Lists exactly the stores that stock the product (by enterpriseProductId, not name)?
28. Each store's price + qty is live and equals that store's own menu?
29. N-of-M counts accurate and sorted by distance/price as intended?
30. Behavior verified at 0 / 1 / 50 stocking stores (latency, subrequest budget)?
31. A store that errors (404/timeout) is skipped gracefully, not crashing the widget?
32. With the rebuilt index live, the cart re-validates the chosen store's price before adding?

G. Cart & Cannabis Act

33. Add-to-cart carries product_id + variant_id (not name) through to checkout?
34. 30g dried-equivalent cap correct across flower / pre-rolls / vapes / edibles / beverages?
35. Gram-math bug fixed (a 355 ml beverage must not count as 355 g)?
36. Cart blocks checkout above 30g with a clear message?
37. Steppers / remove / subtotal update correctly and match Dutchie pricing?
38. Cart is store-scoped (adding a different store's item behaves per policy)?

H. Checkout

39. Checkout creates the Dutchie checkout, adds items by ID, lands on the dispensary subdomain with the right items?
40. Our cart total equals the Dutchie checkout total at handoff?
41. For a Cova-only / not-in-Dutchie SKU, it fails safe (clear message), not silently empty/substitute?
42. Checkout works across several different stores, not just the one tested?

I. Live correctness & freshness

43. All live endpoints no-cache (or correct short-TTL) so a Dutchie price change reflects within the window (no stale edge cache)?
44. No remaining user-facing read path to the old D1 cache?
45. A Dutchie stock/price change appears on refresh within the expected TTL?

J. Performance & resilience

46. Cross-store fan-out stays within the Worker's 50-subrequest + CPU limits at 50 stores?
47. Under Dutchie 429 rate-limiting: backoff/partial results, not a hard fail?
48. If seshweed-api (the Dutchie proxy) is down, the site degrades with a clear message, not a blank page?

K. Isolation, security, compliance

49. Proven the demo worker cannot read/write the prod/promos D1 under every endpoint?
50. The hardcoded Dutchie token is rotated into a secret, and new surfaces meet the floors (Cannabis Act purchase-on-Dutchie, AODA/WCAG 2.1 AA)?

What's next

• Cross-store availability via the rebuilt index (50-store scale).
• Point a demo /vN/ front-end at the live worker; verify age-gate → store → search → cart → checkout.
• Rotate the Dutchie token into a Wrangler secret.

Companion records in Studio consciousness: SADD-001 deep-dive · SADD-001b ranker · SADD-002 schema · SADD-003 Solution A · SADD-004 summary. Demo worker: sessions-availability-edge-demo.darryl-ef5.workers.dev