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+# Fix Etcd Watch and Session Lifecycle Issues
+
+**Date:** 2026-01-30
+
+**Author(s):** @xiaofan-luan
+
+**Status:** Implemented
+
+**Component:** Coordinator
+
+**Related Issues:** #7989
+
+**Released:** TBD
+
+## Summary
+
+This document describes fixes for several reliability issues in the session utility module (`session_util.go`), addressing etcd watch channel management, keepalive timeout handling, and error recovery in active-standby mode.
+
+## Motivation
+
+The session utility is critical infrastructure that manages node registration and service discovery via etcd. Several edge cases were identified that could lead to:
+
+1. **Silent failures**: Error from `checkIDExist()` was ignored, potentially leaving the system in an undefined state
+2. **Infinite loops**: `getServerIDWithKey()` could loop forever if the context was cancelled
+3. **Zombie sessions**: Keepalive channels could block indefinitely if etcd stopped responding, leaving sessions that appeared alive but were actually expired
+4. **Resource leaks**: Watch channels used the parent session context instead of their own cancellable context, preventing proper cleanup on `Stop()`
+5. **Panics**: DELETE events with nil `PrevKv` caused nil pointer dereferences
+6. **Watch failures**: `ProcessActiveStandBy` did not handle `ErrCompacted`, causing standby nodes to stop watching
+
+## Design Details
+
+### 1. Error Handling in checkIDExist()
+
+**Before:** Error from etcd transaction was silently ignored.
+
+**After:** Error is returned and causes Init() to panic, failing fast rather than continuing with undefined state.
+
+```go
+func (s *Session) checkIDExist() error {
+    _, err := s.etcdCli.Txn(s.ctx).If(...).Then(...).Commit()
+    if err != nil {
+        log.Ctx(s.ctx).Warn("failed to check/create ID key in etcd", zap.Error(err))
+    }
+    return err
+}
+```
+
+### 2. Context Cancellation Check in getServerIDWithKey()
+
+**Before:** Loop continued indefinitely even if context was cancelled.
+
+**After:** Check context at each iteration to exit promptly.
+
+```go
+for {
+    select {
+    case <-s.ctx.Done():
+        return -1, s.ctx.Err()
+    default:
+    }
+    // ... rest of loop
+}
+```
+
+### 3. Keepalive Timeout Protection
+
+**Before:** The keepalive loop only exited when the channel closed, which might not happen if etcd stops responding.
+
+**After:** Add a timeout based on session TTL. If no keepalive response is received within the TTL period, the session is considered expired and the process exits.
+
+```go
+keepaliveTimeout := time.Duration(s.sessionTTL) * time.Second
+timer := time.NewTimer(keepaliveTimeout)
+for {
+    select {
+    case _, ok := <-ch:
+        if !ok {
+            break keepaliveLoop
+        }
+        timer.Reset(keepaliveTimeout)
+    case <-timer.C:
+        log.Error("keepalive response timeout, session expired")
+        os.Exit(exitCodeSessionLeaseExpired)
+    case <-s.ctx.Done():
+        return
+    }
+}
+```
+
+### 4. Watcher Context Management
+
+**Before:** Watch calls used `s.ctx` (session context), so calling `watcher.Stop()` wouldn't cancel the watch.
+
+**After:** Each watcher creates its own context derived from session context, stored in the watcher struct. Watch calls use this context, ensuring `Stop()` properly cancels the watch.
+
+```go
+type sessionWatcher struct {
+    s         *Session
+    ctx       context.Context  // Added: watcher's own context
+    cancel    context.CancelFunc
+    // ...
+}
+
+// In WatchServices:
+ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(s.ctx)
+w := &sessionWatcher{
+    ctx:    ctx,
+    cancel: cancel,
+    rch:    s.etcdCli.Watch(ctx, ...),  // Use ctx, not s.ctx
+    // ...
+}
+```
+
+### 5. Nil PrevKv Handling
+
+**Before:** DELETE events assumed `ev.PrevKv` was always non-nil.
+
+**After:** Check for nil and skip the event with a warning log.
+
+```go
+case mvccpb.DELETE:
+    if ev.PrevKv == nil {
+        log.Warn("DELETE event with nil PrevKv, skipping",
+            zap.String("key", string(ev.Kv.Key)))
+        continue
+    }
+    // ... process event
+```
+
+### 6. ErrCompacted Handling in ProcessActiveStandBy
+
+**Before:** Watch errors in `ProcessActiveStandBy` caused the function to exit without recovery.
+
+**After:** On `ErrCompacted`, fetch the latest revision and restart the watch.
+
+```go
+if wresp.Err() == v3rpc.ErrCompacted {
+    log.Warn("watch ACTIVE key compacted, rewatch with latest revision")
+    resp, err := s.etcdCli.Get(ctx, s.activeKey)
+    if err != nil {
+        break watchLoop
+    }
+    if resp.Count == 0 {
+        // Active key deleted, try to register
+        break watchLoop
+    }
+    revision = resp.Header.Revision + 1
+    continue watchLoop  // Restart watch with new revision
+}
+```
+
+## Test Plan
+
+Comprehensive unit tests have been added covering:
+
+1. **checkIDExist error handling**: Verify Init panics on etcd failure
+2. **getServerIDWithKey context cancellation**: Verify prompt exit on context cancel
+3. **Keepalive timeout**: Verify session exits when keepalive times out
+4. **Watcher context isolation**: Verify Stop() cancels watch operations
+5. **Nil PrevKv handling**: Verify DELETE events with nil PrevKv are handled gracefully
+6. **ProcessActiveStandBy ErrCompacted**: Verify rewatch happens on compaction
+
+Tests use synchronization primitives (channels, condition variables) instead of time-based waits for reliability.
+
+## Compatibility
+
+These changes are backward compatible:
+- No API changes
+- No configuration changes
+- Behavior changes only affect error handling and edge cases
+
+## References
+
+- etcd clientv3 documentation: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/learning/api/
+- gRPC keepalive: https://grpc.io/docs/guides/keepalive/