Add `prefer_addr()` transport selection to `_api`

New locality-aware addr preference for multihomed
actors: UDS > local TCP > remote TCP. Uses
`ipaddress` + `socket.getaddrinfo()` to detect
whether a `TCPAddress` is on the local host.

Deats,
- `_is_local_addr()` checks loopback or
  same-host IPs via interface enumeration
- `prefer_addr()` classifies an addr list into
  three tiers and picks the latest entry from
  the highest-priority non-empty tier
- `query_actor()` and `wait_for_actor()` now
  call `prefer_addr()` instead of grabbing
  `addrs[-1]` or a single pre-selected addr

Also,
- `Registrar.find_actor()` returns full
  `list[UnwrappedAddress]|None` so callers can
  apply transport preference

Prompt-IO: ai/prompt-io/claude/20260414T163300Z_befedc49_prompt_io.md

(this patch was generated in some part by [`claude-code`][claude-code-gh])
[claude-code-gh]: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code

ai/prompt-io/claude/20260414T163300Z_befedc49_prompt_io.md

@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+---
+model: claude-opus-4-6
+service: claude
+session: multiaddr-support-rename-prefer
+timestamp: 2026-04-14T16:33:00Z
+git_ref: befedc49
+scope: code
+substantive: true
+raw_file: 20260414T163300Z_befedc49_prompt_io.raw.md
+---
+
+## Prompt
+
+Create a helper function that determines the best transport given
+actor locality (distributed vs same host). Use PID/hostname
+comparison for locality detection, apply at registry addr selection
+only (not spawn-time).
+
+## Response summary
+
+New `prefer_addr()` + `_is_local_addr()` helpers
+in `_api.py` using `socket.getaddrinfo()` and
+`ipaddress` for PID/hostname locality detection.
+Preference: UDS > local TCP > remote TCP.
+Integrated into `query_actor()` and
+`wait_for_actor()`. Also changed
+`Registrar.find_actor()` to return full addr list
+so callers can apply preference.
+
+## Files changed
+
+- `tractor/discovery/_discovery.py` → `_api.py`
+  — renamed + added `prefer_addr()`,
+  `_is_local_addr()`; updated `query_actor()` and
+  `wait_for_actor()` call sites
+- `tractor/discovery/_registry.py`
+  — `Registrar.find_actor()` returns
+  `list[UnwrappedAddress]|None`

ai/prompt-io/claude/20260414T163300Z_befedc49_prompt_io.raw.md

@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+---
+model: claude-opus-4-6
+service: claude
+timestamp: 2026-04-14T16:33:00Z
+git_ref: befedc49
+---
+
+### Add a `prefer_addr()` helper
+
+Added transport preference selection to
+`tractor/discovery/_api.py` with two new functions:
+
+#### `_is_local_addr(addr: Address) -> bool`
+
+Determines whether an `Address` is reachable on the
+local host:
+
+- `UDSAddress`: always returns `True`
+  (filesystem-bound, inherently local)
+- `TCPAddress`: checks if `._host` is a loopback IP
+  via `ipaddress.ip_address().is_loopback`, then
+  falls back to comparing against the machine's own
+  interface IPs via
+  `socket.getaddrinfo(socket.gethostname(), None)`
+
+#### `prefer_addr(addrs: list[UnwrappedAddress]) -> UnwrappedAddress`
+
+Selects the "best" transport address from a
+multihomed actor's address list. Wraps each
+candidate via `wrap_address()` to get typed
+`Address` objects, then classifies into three tiers:
+
+1. **UDS** (same-host guaranteed, lowest overhead)
+2. **TCP loopback / same-host IP** (local network)
+3. **TCP remote** (only option for distributed)
+
+Within each tier, the last-registered (latest) entry
+is preferred. Falls back to `addrs[-1]` if no
+heuristic matches.
+
+#### Integration
+
+- `Registrar.find_actor()` in `_registry.py`: changed
+  return type from `UnwrappedAddress|None` to
+  `list[UnwrappedAddress]|None` — returns the full
+  addr list so callers can apply transport preference.
+
+- `query_actor()` in `_api.py`: now calls
+  `prefer_addr(addrs)` on the list returned by
+  `Registrar.find_actor()` instead of receiving a
+  single pre-selected addr.
+
+- `wait_for_actor()` in `_api.py`: replaced
+  `addrs[-1]` with `prefer_addr(addrs)` for
+  consistent transport selection.
+
+### Verification
+
+All discovery tests pass (13/13 non-daemon).
+`test_local.py` and `test_multi_program.py` also
+pass (daemon fixture teardown failures are
+pre-existing and unrelated).

tractor/discovery/_api.py

@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@ management of (service) actors.
 
 """
 from __future__ import annotations
+import ipaddress
+import socket
 from typing import (
     AsyncGenerator,
     AsyncContextManager,
@@ -33,10 +35,12 @@ from ..trionics import (
     collapse_eg,
 )
 from ..ipc import _connect_chan, Channel
+from ..ipc._tcp import TCPAddress
+from ..ipc._uds import UDSAddress
 from ._addr import (
     UnwrappedAddress,
     Address,
-    wrap_address
+    wrap_address,
 )
 from ..runtime._portal import (
     Portal,
@@ -56,6 +60,94 @@ if TYPE_CHECKING:
 log = get_logger()
 
 
+def _is_local_addr(addr: Address) -> bool:
+    '''
+    Determine whether `addr` is reachable on the
+    local host by inspecting address type and
+    comparing hostnames/PIDs.
+
+    - `UDSAddress` is always local (filesystem-bound)
+    - `TCPAddress` is local when its host is a
+      loopback IP or matches one of the machine's
+      own interface addresses.
+
+    '''
+    if isinstance(addr, UDSAddress):
+        return True
+
+    if isinstance(addr, TCPAddress):
+        try:
+            ip = ipaddress.ip_address(addr._host)
+        except ValueError:
+            return False
+
+        if ip.is_loopback:
+            return True
+
+        # check if this IP belongs to any of our
+        # local network interfaces.
+        try:
+            local_ips: set[str] = {
+                info[4][0]
+                for info in socket.getaddrinfo(
+                    socket.gethostname(),
+                    None,
+                )
+            }
+            return addr._host in local_ips
+        except socket.gaierror:
+            return False
+
+    return False
+
+
+def prefer_addr(
+    addrs: list[UnwrappedAddress],
+) -> UnwrappedAddress:
+    '''
+    Select the "best" transport address from a
+    multihomed actor's address list based on
+    locality heuristics.
+
+    Preference order (highest -> lowest):
+    1. UDS (same-host guaranteed, lowest overhead)
+    2. TCP loopback / same-host IP
+    3. TCP remote (only option for distributed)
+
+    When multiple addrs share the same priority
+    tier, the last-registered (latest) entry is
+    preferred.
+
+    '''
+    if len(addrs) == 1:
+        return addrs[0]
+
+    local_uds: list[UnwrappedAddress] = []
+    local_tcp: list[UnwrappedAddress] = []
+    remote: list[UnwrappedAddress] = []
+
+    for unwrapped in addrs:
+        wrapped: Address = wrap_address(unwrapped)
+        if isinstance(wrapped, UDSAddress):
+            local_uds.append(unwrapped)
+        elif _is_local_addr(wrapped):
+            local_tcp.append(unwrapped)
+        else:
+            remote.append(unwrapped)
+
+    # prefer UDS > local TCP > remote TCP;
+    # within each tier take the latest entry.
+    if local_uds:
+        return local_uds[-1]
+    if local_tcp:
+        return local_tcp[-1]
+    if remote:
+        return remote[-1]
+
+    # fallback: last registered addr
+    return addrs[-1]
+
+
 @acm
 async def get_registry(
     addr: UnwrappedAddress|None = None,
@@ -187,13 +279,17 @@ async def query_actor(
     reg_portal: Portal|LocalPortal
     regaddr: Address = wrap_address(regaddr) or actor.reg_addrs[0]
     async with get_registry(regaddr) as reg_portal:
-        # TODO: return portals to all available actors - for now
+        addrs: list[UnwrappedAddress]|None = (
-        # just the last one that registered
+            await reg_portal.run_from_ns(
-        addr: UnwrappedAddress = await reg_portal.run_from_ns(
                 'self',
                 'find_actor',
                 name=name,
             )
+        )
+        if addrs:
+            addr: UnwrappedAddress = prefer_addr(addrs)
+        else:
+            addr = None
         yield addr, reg_portal
 
 @acm
@@ -370,9 +466,9 @@ async def wait_for_actor(
             name=name,
         )
 
-        # get latest registered addr by default?
+        # select the best transport addr from
-        # TODO: offer multi-portal yields in multi-homed case?
+        # the (possibly multihomed) addr list.
-        addr: UnwrappedAddress = addrs[-1]
+        addr: UnwrappedAddress = prefer_addr(addrs)
 
         async with _connect_chan(addr) as chan:
             async with open_portal(chan) as portal:

tractor/discovery/_registry.py

@@ -101,11 +101,11 @@ class Registrar(Actor):
         self,
         name: str,
 
-    ) -> UnwrappedAddress|None:
+    ) -> list[UnwrappedAddress]|None:
 
         for uid, addrs in self._registry.items():
             if name in uid:
-                return addrs[0] if addrs else None
+                return addrs if addrs else None
 
         return None