Hello, I'm Maneshwar. I'm building git-lrc, a Micro AI code reviewer that runs on every commit. It is free and source-available on Github. Star git-lrc to help devs discover the project. Do give it a try and share your feedback for improving the project.
Most caching systems optimize for finding records quickly.
But what happens when a query repeatedly asks for a key that does not exist?
SELECT * WHERE id = 999999;
Traditional record caches struggle here. If a record is missing from cache, the system cannot tell whether:
- the record was never cached, or
- the record truly does not exist
So it falls back to disk and checks the leaf page again.
Repeated negative searches become repeated I/O.
Bf-Tree Caches Missing Records Too
Bf-Tree treats a failed lookup as useful information.
When a key is searched and confirmed absent, it inserts a phantom record into the mini-page:
Search key=42
↓
Not found on disk
↓
Store phantom record
Future lookups:
Search key=42
↓
Phantom record found
↓
Return "not found"
No leaf-page access needed.
The absence of data becomes cached state.
Four Record Types Inside a Mini-Page
By this point, mini-pages can contain multiple record types:
| Type | Dirty | Exists |
|---|---|---|
| Insert | Yes | Yes |
| Cache | No | Yes |
| Tombstone | Yes | No |
| Phantom | No | No |
A phantom record is essentially:
"We already checked. This key doesn't exist."
This is surprisingly useful for workloads with frequent failed lookups.
Recovery Still Looks Familiar
Despite mini-pages and phantom records, durability remains conventional.
Bf-Tree uses:
- Write-ahead logging (WAL) before commits
- Checkpointing/snapshots to persist state
- Recovery via WAL replay
Crash recovery roughly becomes:
Load snapshot
↓
Rebuild in-memory pages
↓
Replay WAL
↓
Restore latest state
So while Bf-Tree changes how pages are cached and merged, persistence still resembles traditional database systems.
The unusual idea is not recovery.
The unusual idea is this:
Bf-Tree treats "record does not exist" as something worth caching.
AI agents write code fast. They also silently remove logic, change behavior, and introduce bugs -- without telling you. You often find out in production.
git-lrc fixes this. It hooks into git commit and reviews every diff before it lands. 60-second setup. Completely free.*
Any feedback or contributors are welcome! It's online, source-available, and ready for anyone to use.
⭐ Star it on GitHub:
AI agents write code fast. They also silently remove logic, change behavior, and introduce bugs -- without telling you. You often find out in production.
git-lrc fixes this. It hooks into git commit and reviews every diff before it lands. 60-second setup. Completely free.
See It In Action
See git-lrc catch serious security issues such as leaked credentials, expensive cloud operations, and sensitive material in log statements
git-lrc-intro-60s.mp4
Why
- 🤖 AI agents silently break things. Code removed. Logic changed. Edge cases gone. You won't notice until production.
- 🔍 Catch it before it ships. AI-powered inline comments show you exactly what changed and what looks wrong.
- 🔁 Build a…