Fix unique skip rewriting the existing job's kind under ExcludeKind

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 - Fixed `rivertest.Worker` to honor a configured `Config.JobStuckThreshold` for stuck job detection. Previously, it always used an internal 5 second threshold, so the `Job appears to be stuck` log line was emitted at a different time than it would be under a real client. [PR #1418](https://github.com/riverqueue/river/pull/1418).
 - Fixed SQLite job cleanup stalling when excluded queues fill the oldest batch, and added support for included queue filters so per-queue retention works on SQLite. [PR #1417](https://github.com/riverqueue/river/pull/1417).
+- Fixed a unique insert skipped as a duplicate of a job of a different kind (possible with `UniqueOpts.ExcludeKind`) changing the existing job's kind to its own. [PR #1421](https://github.com/riverqueue/river/pull/1421).
 
 ## [0.48.0] - 2026-09-30
 

riverdriver/riverdrivertest/job_insert.go

@@ -236,6 +236,49 @@ func exerciseJobInsert[TTx any](ctx context.Context, t *testing.T,
 			require.Equal(t, results1[0].Job.ID, results2[0].Job.ID)
 		})
 
+		// With UniqueOpts.ExcludeKind, jobs of different kinds share a unique
+		// key. A skipped insert must return the incumbent row unmodified rather
+		// than rewriting its kind to the kind of the skipped job.
+		t.Run("UniqueConflictDifferentKindLeavesIncumbentKind", func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+
+			exec, _ := setup(ctx, t)
+
+			insertParams := func(kind string) *riverdriver.JobInsertFastManyParams {
+				return &riverdriver.JobInsertFastManyParams{
+					Jobs: []*riverdriver.JobInsertFastParams{
+						{
+							EncodedArgs:  []byte(`{"encoded": "args"}`),
+							Kind:         kind,
+							MaxAttempts:  rivercommon.MaxAttemptsDefault,
+							Priority:     rivercommon.PriorityDefault,
+							Queue:        rivercommon.QueueDefault,
+							State:        rivertype.JobStateAvailable,
+							Tags:         []string{},
+							UniqueKey:    []byte("unique-key-exclude-kind"),
+							UniqueStates: 0xff,
+						},
+					},
+				}
+			}
+
+			results1, err := exec.JobInsertFastMany(ctx, insertParams("kind_a"))
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			require.Len(t, results1, 1)
+			require.False(t, results1[0].UniqueSkippedAsDuplicate)
+
+			results2, err := exec.JobInsertFastMany(ctx, insertParams("kind_b"))
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			require.Len(t, results2, 1)
+			require.True(t, results2[0].UniqueSkippedAsDuplicate)
+			require.Equal(t, results1[0].Job.ID, results2[0].Job.ID)
+			require.Equal(t, "kind_a", results2[0].Job.Kind)
+
+			job, err := exec.JobGetByID(ctx, &riverdriver.JobGetByIDParams{ID: results1[0].Job.ID})
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			require.Equal(t, "kind_a", job.Kind)
+		})
+
 		t.Run("UniqueConflictWithinBatch", func(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Parallel()
 

riverdriver/riverpgxv5/internal/dbsqlc/river_job.sql

@@ -329,7 +329,8 @@ ON CONFLICT (unique_key)
         AND unique_states IS NOT NULL
         AND /* TEMPLATE: schema */river_job_state_in_bitmask(unique_states, state)
     -- Something needs to be updated for a row to be returned on a conflict.
-    DO UPDATE SET kind = EXCLUDED.kind
+    -- Keep the existing kind, which may differ under `ExcludeKind`.
+    DO UPDATE SET kind = river_job.kind
 RETURNING
     sqlc.embed(river_job),
     /* TEMPLATE_BEGIN: unique_skipped_as_duplicate */ (xmax != 0) /* TEMPLATE_END */ AS unique_skipped_as_duplicate;

riverdriver/riversqlite/internal/dbsqlc/river_job.sql

@@ -290,7 +290,8 @@ ON CONFLICT (unique_key)
                 ELSE 0
             END >= 1
     -- Something needs to be updated for a row to be returned on a conflict.
-    DO UPDATE SET kind = EXCLUDED.kind
+    -- Keep the existing kind, which may differ under `ExcludeKind`.
+    DO UPDATE SET kind = river_job.kind
 RETURNING *;
 
 -- name: JobInsertFastMany :many
@@ -340,7 +341,8 @@ ON CONFLICT (unique_key)
                 ELSE 0
             END >= 1
     -- Something needs to be updated for a row to be returned on a conflict.
-    DO UPDATE SET kind = EXCLUDED.kind
+    -- Keep the existing kind, which may differ under `ExcludeKind`.
+    DO UPDATE SET kind = river_job.kind
 RETURNING *;
 
 -- name: JobInsertFastNoReturning :execrows