Fix: Errors deploying jobs of type parameterized since 0.4.2

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 IMPROVEMENTS:
 * cli: Add registry now honors default main/master branch [[GH-843](https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad-pack/pull/843)]
+* cli: Fixed stale-job reconciliation so nomad-pack run no longer stops active parameterized/periodic child jobs [[GH-855](https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad-pack/pull/855)] 
 * variable: Variables declaration now supports validation stanza [[GH-841](https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad-pack/pull/841)]
 
 ## 0.4.2 (March 16, 2026)

internal/runner/job/reconcile.go

@@ -100,6 +100,10 @@ func (r *Runner) findStaleJobs(currentJobIDs map[string]struct{}) ([]*api.JobLis
 
 	var staleJobs []*api.JobListStub
 	for _, stub := range jobStubs {
+		if stub == nil {
+			continue
+		}
+
 		// Skip already-stopped jobs — nothing to do.
 		if stub.Status == "dead" {
 			continue
@@ -109,6 +113,11 @@ func (r *Runner) findStaleJobs(currentJobIDs map[string]struct{}) ([]*api.JobLis
 			continue
 		}
 
+		// Child jobs should not be treated as pack-managed root jobs that can be stopped.
+		if isChildJobStub(stub) {
+			continue
+		}
+
 		// If this job is not among the ones just deployed, it is stale.
 		if _, exists := currentJobIDs[stub.ID]; !exists {
 			staleJobs = append(staleJobs, stub)
@@ -117,3 +126,26 @@ func (r *Runner) findStaleJobs(currentJobIDs map[string]struct{}) ([]*api.JobLis
 
 	return staleJobs, nil
 }
+
+func isChildJobStub(stub *api.JobListStub) bool {
+	if stub == nil {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	// Preferred signal from Nomad.
+	if stub.ParentID != "" {
+		return true
+	}
+
+	// Metadata-based signal from nomad-pack tags. For child jobs, pack.job points
+	// to the parent/root job name, which differs from the child ID.
+	if stub.Meta != nil {
+		if packJob, ok := stub.Meta[PackJobKey]; ok && packJob != "" {
+			return packJob != stub.ID
+		}
+	}
+
+	// If neither ParentID nor pack.job metadata indicates a child job,
+	// treat it as a root job to avoid false positives.
+	return false
+}