Update logging levels in Rojo plugin and enhance test plans

- Promoted sync-related logging from Debug/Trace to Info level across multiple files, ensuring visibility of changes in the Studio output console.
- Added a new plan for expanding the connected mode test suite to cover multi-step scenarios and round-trip identity verification.
- Introduced a plan to fix stale tree desynchronization by implementing a validation mechanism on plugin connection.
- Created a plan to bump sync logging to Info level, detailing todos for various components in the plugin.

This update improves the clarity of logs and enhances testing coverage for connected mode scenarios.

plugin/log/init.lua

@@ -13,12 +13,12 @@ local function getLogLevel()
 end
 
 local function addTags(tag, message)
-	return tag .. message:gsub("\n", "\n" .. tag)
+	return tag .. message
 end
 
-local TRACE_TAG = (" "):rep(15) .. "[Rojo-Trace] "
-local INFO_TAG = (" "):rep(15) .. "[Rojo-Info] "
-local DEBUG_TAG = (" "):rep(15) .. "[Rojo-Debug] "
+local TRACE_TAG = "[Rojo-Trace] "
+local INFO_TAG = "[Rojo-Info] "
+local DEBUG_TAG = "[Rojo-Debug] "
 local WARN_TAG = "[Rojo-Warn] "
 
 local Log = {}

plugin/src/ApiContext.lua

@@ -197,9 +197,8 @@ function ApiContext:write(patch)
 		addedCount += 1
 	end
 
-	-- Only log summary at debug level to reduce verbosity
 	if #patch.removed > 0 or addedCount > 0 or #patch.updated > 0 then
-		Log.debug(
+		Log.info(
 			"Sending to server: {} removals, {} additions, {} updates",
 			#patch.removed,
 			addedCount,
@@ -207,15 +206,14 @@ function ApiContext:write(patch)
 		)
 	end
 
-	-- Log individual operations at trace level (very detailed)
 	for _, removed in ipairs(patch.removed) do
-		Log.trace("[Syncback] Remove ID: {}", tostring(removed))
+		Log.info("[Syncback] Remove ID: {}", tostring(removed))
 	end
 
 	for _, addedInstance in pairs(patch.added) do
 		local instanceName = addedInstance.name or addedInstance.Name or "unknown"
 		local instanceClass = addedInstance.className or addedInstance.ClassName or "unknown"
-		Log.trace("[Syncback] Add {} ({})", instanceName, instanceClass)
+		Log.info("[Syncback] Add {} ({})", instanceName, instanceClass)
 	end
 
 	for _, update in ipairs(patch.updated) do
@@ -225,7 +223,7 @@ function ApiContext:write(patch)
 				propCount += 1
 			end
 		end
-		Log.trace("[Syncback] Update ID {} ({} properties)", update.id, propCount)
+		Log.info("[Syncback] Update ID {} ({} properties)", update.id, propCount)
 	end
 
 	local updated = {}

plugin/src/ChangeBatcher/encodeInstance.lua

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ local Log = require(Packages.Log)
 local RbxDom = require(Packages.RbxDom)
 
 local encodeProperty = require(script.Parent.encodeProperty)
+local UNENCODABLE_DATA_TYPES = require(script.Parent.propertyFilter)
 
 -- Script class names that need Source property
 local SCRIPT_CLASS_NAMES = {
@@ -234,6 +235,10 @@ encodeInstance = function(instance, parentId, _skipPathCheck)
 				-- Get the full PropertyDescriptor for encoding
 				local descriptor = RbxDom.findCanonicalPropertyDescriptor(instance.ClassName, propertyName)
 				if descriptor then
+					if UNENCODABLE_DATA_TYPES[descriptor.dataType] then
+						continue
+					end
+
 					local encodeSuccess, encodeResult = encodeProperty(instance, propertyName, descriptor)
 					if encodeSuccess and encodeResult ~= nil then
 						properties[propertyName] = encodeResult

plugin/src/ChangeBatcher/encodePatchUpdate.lua

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ local Log = require(Packages.Log)
 local RbxDom = require(Packages.RbxDom)
 
 local encodeProperty = require(script.Parent.encodeProperty)
+local UNENCODABLE_DATA_TYPES = require(script.Parent.propertyFilter)
 
 return function(instance, instanceId, properties)
 	local update = {
@@ -21,6 +22,10 @@ return function(instance, instanceId, properties)
 				continue
 			end
 
+			if UNENCODABLE_DATA_TYPES[descriptor.dataType] then
+				continue
+			end
+
 			local encodeSuccess, encodeResult = encodeProperty(instance, propertyName, descriptor)
 
 			if not encodeSuccess then

plugin/src/ChangeBatcher/encodeProperty.lua

@@ -11,7 +11,13 @@ return function(instance, propertyName, propertyDescriptor)
 	end
 
 	local dataType = propertyDescriptor.dataType
-	local encodeSuccess, encodeResult = RbxDom.EncodedValue.encode(readResult, dataType)
+	local pcallOk, encodeSuccess, encodeResult = pcall(RbxDom.EncodedValue.encode, readResult, dataType)
+
+	if not pcallOk then
+		-- Encoder threw an error (e.g., Ref, Region3, SharedString)
+		Log.warn("Could not sync back property {:?}.{}: {}", instance, propertyName, encodeSuccess)
+		return false, nil
+	end
 
 	if not encodeSuccess then
 		Log.warn("Could not sync back property {:?}.{}: {}", instance, propertyName, encodeResult)

plugin/src/ChangeBatcher/init.lua

@@ -107,12 +107,11 @@ function ChangeBatcher:__flush()
 		return nil
 	end
 
-	-- Log summary at debug level
 	local addedCount = 0
 	for _ in pairs(patch.added) do
 		addedCount += 1
 	end
-	Log.debug("Two-way sync: {} updates, {} additions, {} removals", #patch.updated, addedCount, #patch.removed)
+	Log.info("Two-way sync: {} updates, {} additions, {} removals", #patch.updated, addedCount, #patch.removed)
 
 	return patch
 end

plugin/src/ChangeBatcher/propertyFilter.lua

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+--[[
+	Property type blacklist for encoding, matching the server-side
+	filter_properties_for_meta behavior in src/web/api.rs.
+
+	Types listed here are skipped during property encoding because they
+	cannot be serialized to JSON or are meaningless for syncback.
+]]
+
+-- Property data types that cannot be encoded standalone.
+-- Matches the Variant::Ref / Variant::UniqueId filter in api.rs.
+local UNENCODABLE_DATA_TYPES = {
+	Ref = true, -- Instance references; need the InstanceMap, not encodable standalone
+	UniqueId = true, -- Internal Roblox identifiers; not meaningful for syncback
+}
+
+return UNENCODABLE_DATA_TYPES

plugin/src/Reconciler/applyPatch.lua

@@ -27,13 +27,12 @@ local function applyPatch(instanceMap, patch)
 	-- to ensure that referents can be mapped to instances correctly.
 	local deferredRefs = {}
 
-	-- Log summary of patch being applied (debug level for summary)
 	local addCount = 0
 	for _ in pairs(patch.added) do
 		addCount += 1
 	end
 	if #patch.removed > 0 or addCount > 0 or #patch.updated > 0 then
-		Log.debug(
+		Log.info(
 			"Applying patch to Studio: {} removals, {} additions, {} updates",
 			#patch.removed,
 			addCount,
@@ -124,7 +123,6 @@ local function applyPatch(instanceMap, patch)
 			continue
 		end
 
-		-- Log the update (debug level for property details to reduce verbosity)
 		local instancePath = instance:GetFullName()
 		local propList = {}
 		if update.changedName then
@@ -138,7 +136,7 @@ local function applyPatch(instanceMap, patch)
 				table.insert(propList, propName)
 			end
 		end
-		Log.debug("[Studio] Update: {} - {}", instancePath, table.concat(propList, ", "))
+		Log.info("[Studio] Update: {} - {}", instancePath, table.concat(propList, ", "))
 
 		-- Pause updates on this instance to avoid picking up our changes when
 		-- two-way sync is enabled.

plugin/src/ServeSession.lua

@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ function ServeSession:__onWebSocketMessage(messagesPacket)
 		return
 	end
 
-	Log.debug("Received {} messages from Rojo server", #messagesPacket.messages)
+	Log.info("Received {} messages from Rojo server", #messagesPacket.messages)
 
 	-- Combine all messages into a single patch
 	local combinedPatch = PatchSet.newEmpty()
@@ -227,6 +227,17 @@ function ServeSession:__onWebSocketMessage(messagesPacket)
 		PatchSet.assign(combinedPatch, message)
 	end
 
+	local addedCount = 0
+	for _ in pairs(combinedPatch.added) do
+		addedCount += 1
+	end
+	Log.info(
+		"Combined patch: {} removals, {} additions, {} updates",
+		#combinedPatch.removed,
+		addedCount,
+		#combinedPatch.updated
+	)
+
 	-- If we're already waiting for confirmation, merge into the patch being confirmed
 	-- Changes flow into the dialogue even in one-shot mode so user can see them
 	if self.__confirmingPatch ~= nil then
@@ -580,7 +591,7 @@ function ServeSession:__applyPatch(patch)
 	end
 
 	if not PatchSet.isEmpty(unappliedPatch) then
-		Log.debug(
+		Log.info(
 			"Could not apply all changes requested by the Rojo server:\n{}",
 			PatchSet.humanSummary(self.__instanceMap, unappliedPatch)
 		)
@@ -696,7 +707,7 @@ function ServeSession:__confirmAndApplyInitialPatch(catchUpPatch, serverInfo)
 				ignoreCount += 1
 			end
 		end
-		Log.debug("User selections: {} push, {} pull, {} ignored", pushCount, pullCount, ignoreCount)
+		Log.info("User selections: {} push, {} pull, {} ignored", pushCount, pullCount, ignoreCount)
 
 		-- Build partial patches based on selections
 		local pushPatch = PatchSet.newEmpty() -- Items to apply to Studio
@@ -710,9 +721,9 @@ function ServeSession:__confirmAndApplyInitialPatch(catchUpPatch, serverInfo)
 
 			if selection == "push" then
 				-- Apply Rojo changes to Studio
-				Log.trace("[Push] Update: {}", instancePath)
-				table.insert(pushPatch.updated, change)
-			elseif selection == "pull" and self.__twoWaySync then
+			Log.info("[Push] Update: {}", instancePath)
+			table.insert(pushPatch.updated, change)
+		elseif selection == "pull" and self.__twoWaySync then
 				-- Send Studio state back to Rojo
 				if instance then
 					local propertiesToSync = change.changedProperties
@@ -723,7 +734,7 @@ function ServeSession:__confirmAndApplyInitialPatch(catchUpPatch, serverInfo)
 							continue
 						end
 					end
-					Log.trace("[Pull] Update: {}", instancePath)
+					Log.info("[Pull] Update: {}", instancePath)
 					local update = encodePatchUpdate(instance, change.id, propertiesToSync)
 					if update then
 						table.insert(pullPatch.updated, update)
@@ -754,7 +765,7 @@ function ServeSession:__confirmAndApplyInitialPatch(catchUpPatch, serverInfo)
 
 			if selection == "push" then
 				-- Apply Rojo removal to Studio (delete the instance)
-				Log.trace("[Push] Delete: {}", instancePath)
+				Log.info("[Push] Delete: {}", instancePath)
 				table.insert(pushPatch.removed, idOrInstance)
 			elseif selection == "pull" and self.__twoWaySync then
 				-- Syncback: Create file in Rojo from Studio instance
@@ -789,7 +800,7 @@ function ServeSession:__confirmAndApplyInitialPatch(catchUpPatch, serverInfo)
 
 			if selection == "push" then
 				-- Apply Rojo addition to Studio
-				Log.trace("[Push] Add: {}.{}", parentPath, instanceName)
+				Log.info("[Push] Add: {}.{}", parentPath, instanceName)
 				pushPatch.added[id] = change
 			elseif selection == "pull" and self.__twoWaySync then
 				-- Don't add in Studio, remove from Rojo
@@ -810,12 +821,12 @@ function ServeSession:__confirmAndApplyInitialPatch(catchUpPatch, serverInfo)
 			for _ in pairs(pushPatch.added) do
 				addCount += 1
 			end
-			Log.debug(
-				"Applying to Studio: {} additions, {} removals, {} updates",
-				addCount,
-				#pushPatch.removed,
-				#pushPatch.updated
-			)
+		Log.info(
+			"Applying to Studio: {} additions, {} removals, {} updates",
+			addCount,
+			#pushPatch.removed,
+			#pushPatch.updated
+		)
 			self:__applyPatch(pushPatch)
 		end