From 760758755039753904ddfb514b8850ab32d98353 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Nick Anderson <nick@cmdln.org>
Date: Thu, 11 Jun 2026 12:54:16 -0500
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] Added timer_policy attribute to classes: promise
 reference

Documents the timer_policy attribute on classes: promises (CFE-4681),
which controls whether a persistent class restarts its timer when
rediscovered. The default is reset on master (3.28.0); the attribute is
also available on 3.24.5 and 3.27.2, where the default is absolute.

Ticket: CFE-4681
---
 .../reference/promise-types/classes.markdown  | 47 +++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 47 insertions(+)

diff --git a/content/reference/promise-types/classes.markdown b/content/reference/promise-types/classes.markdown
index baf1feb3f..cf2cbe043 100644
--- a/content/reference/promise-types/classes.markdown
+++ b/content/reference/promise-types/classes.markdown
@@ -356,6 +356,53 @@ classes:
 
 **See also:** [`persistence` classes attribute][classes#persistence], [`persist_time` in classes body][Promise types#persist_time]
 
+### timer_policy
+
+**Description:** Determines whether a persistent class restarts its counter
+when rediscovered.
+
+When a [`persistence`][classes#persistence] timer is set, `timer_policy`
+controls what happens on later runs while the class is still defined (loaded
+from the persistent store):
+
+- `reset` re-evaluates the promise and restarts the timer, so the class keeps
+  persisting for as long as the policy keeps running and the expression stays
+  true.
+- `absolute` preserves the original expiry. While the class is already defined
+  the promise is skipped, so the class disappears once the original timer
+  elapses, regardless of how often the policy runs.
+
+This is the counterpart of `timer_policy` in the classes body, which has always
+defaulted to `reset`.
+
+**Type:** (menu option)
+
+**Allowed input range:** `absolute|reset`
+
+**Default value:** reset
+
+**Example:**
+
+```cf3 {skip TODO}
+bundle common setclasses
+{
+  classes:
+    "cached_class"
+      expression => "any",
+      persistence => "120",
+      timer_policy => "reset";
+}
+```
+
+**History:**
+
+- Introduced in CFEngine 3.24.5, 3.27.2, and 3.28.0.
+- The default is `reset` as of 3.28.0. In 3.24.5 and 3.27.2 (and later patch
+  releases in those series) the default is `absolute`, preserving the prior
+  behavior.
+
+**See also:** [`persistence` classes attribute][classes#persistence], [`timer_policy` in classes body][Promise types#timer_policy], [`persist_time` in classes body][Promise types#persist_time]
+
 ### not
 
 **Description:** Evaluate the negation of string expression in normal form

From a26ef91a02c3f7a570e0d25057aa956f91aefc9f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Nick Anderson <nick@cmdln.org>
Date: Wed, 8 Jul 2026 15:43:53 -0500
Subject: [PATCH 2/2] Reformat regline.markdown cf3 example per cfengine CLI
 0.18.0

cfengine dev format-docs now reformats cf3 code blocks (cfengine CLI
0.18.0), and expects a blank line between the classes: and insert_lines:
promise types in the example. Add it so the Lint and format check passes.
---
 content/reference/functions/regline.markdown | 1 +
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)

diff --git a/content/reference/functions/regline.markdown b/content/reference/functions/regline.markdown
index 767ee2686..e1271407e 100644
--- a/content/reference/functions/regline.markdown
+++ b/content/reference/functions/regline.markdown
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ bundle edit_line upgrade_cfexecd
       # bundles and persist until it is explicitly canceled or until the end of
       # the agent run.
       scope => "bundle";
+
   insert_lines:
     exec_fix::
       "0,5,10,15,20,25,30,35,40,45,50,55 * * * * /var/cfengine/bin/cf-execd -F";