reloadagents

Reloadagents are software components designed to manage the dynamic reloading of resources, configurations, or modules within a running software system. They aim to apply updates with minimal disruption, avoiding the need for full restarts.

Typically, a reload agent monitors a set of resources such as configuration files, plugin assemblies, or policy definitions. On detecting a change or receiving a trigger, it validates the change, coordinates its application across dependent components, and performs the reload in a safe manner. Where possible, changes are staged and tested before becoming active, and rollback paths are provided if the new state proves faulty.

Reload agents can operate locally within a single process or as separate services in a distributed environment. Local implementations may use language- or platform-specific file watchers to detect updates, while distributed deployments may rely on a coordination service or message bus to propagate changes and ensure consistency across nodes.

Common use cases include dynamic configuration management, feature flag and policy updates, and hot-loading of plugins or modules. Design considerations include performance overhead, safety and atomicity of reloads, dependency handling, observability, and security implications of reloading code or rules.

See also: hot reloading, dynamic reconfiguration, self-healing systems, canary deployment.