checkId: check.timestamp.evidence.retimestamp.pending plugin: stellaops.doctor.timestamping severity: warn tags: [timestamping, evidence, retimestamp, queue]

Retimestamp Pending

This Stella Ops Doctor check reports how many artifacts are queued for re-timestamping and flags when that backlog grows large enough to threaten the freshness of release evidence. It is most relevant to operators running policy-gated release pipelines, where every promoted artifact must retain a verifiable timestamp. It is one of the focused checks rolled up by Evidence Staleness.

What It Checks

Detects artifacts pending re-timestamping. Fails if the pending count exceeds the critical threshold (default 10), otherwise warns.

Why It Matters

Pending retimestamp work means artifacts are at risk of losing their temporal proof. If retimestamping does not complete before the original timestamp expires, the evidence becomes unverifiable and may need to be regenerated from scratch.

Common Causes

How to Fix

Process the retimestamp queue:

stella retimestamp run

# Schedule automatic processing
stella retimestamp schedule create --interval daily

If TSA endpoints are down, resolve connectivity first (see TSA Availability).

Verification

stella doctor run --check check.timestamp.evidence.retimestamp.pending