Hot Reload

Update agent WASM binaries without stopping the runtime.

Reload command

akshi reload

This reloads all agents whose WASM files have changed on disk. Agents whose binaries are unchanged continue running without interruption.

Reload a specific agent

akshi reload --agent log-monitor

What happens during reload

1. The runtime detects the updated WASM binary.
2. The current agent tick (if running) completes.
3. The old WASM module is unloaded.
4. The new WASM module is compiled and instantiated.
5. The agent resumes with its existing journal and database state.

There is a brief pause between steps 3 and 4. No ticks are skipped; the next tick uses the new code.

Zero-downtime updates

For production deployments:

1. Build the new WASM binary.
2. Copy it to the configured wasm_path.
3. Run akshi reload.
4. Verify with akshi status.

cargo build --target wasm32-wasip1 --release
cp target/wasm32-wasip1/release/my_agent.wasm agents/
akshi reload --agent my-agent
akshi status

Configuration changes

akshi reload only reloads WASM binaries. To apply configuration changes (tick interval, capabilities, routes), restart the runtime:

akshi stop && akshi run

File watching (development)

In development, enable automatic reload on file changes:

akshi run --watch

This watches all configured wasm_path files and reloads automatically when they change.