fix(agent): stop phantom desktop app boots from agent subprocesses#3239
fix(agent): stop phantom desktop app boots from agent subprocesses#3239gantoine wants to merge 6 commits into
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Generated-By: PostHog Code Task-Id: c7c785f3-12d4-4e51-ba0f-8c39056461da
Generated-By: PostHog Code Task-Id: c7c785f3-12d4-4e51-ba0f-8c39056461da
Generated-By: PostHog Code Task-Id: c7c785f3-12d4-4e51-ba0f-8c39056461da
Codex spawns the local-tools MCP helper as process.execPath, which in packaged desktop installs is the app binary, while codex's own env has ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE stripped (spawn.ts). Without the var the helper boots the full desktop app instead of running the script. Ports the old-adapter fix from #3108 to the app-server adapter. Generated-By: PostHog Code Task-Id: c7c785f3-12d4-4e51-ba0f-8c39056461da
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Reviews (1): Last reviewed commit: "fix(agent): carry ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE o..." | Re-trigger Greptile |
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Reviews (2): Last reviewed commit: "fix(agent): carry ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE o..." | Re-trigger Greptile |
gantoine
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charlesvien and
jonathanlab
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note to all: this needs careful review |
The workspace-server inherits both ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE=1 and POSTHOG_CODE_INTERNAL_CHILD=1 from apps/code (service.ts). We already dropped the former from user terminals; the latter leaked through, so a direct invocation of the packaged app binary from an integrated terminal would hit the bootstrap guard (app.isPackaged && POSTHOG_CODE_INTERNAL_CHILD) and exit(1) with a confusing error, even when the user meant to launch a second instance. Drop both markers. Generated-By: PostHog Code Task-Id: c7c785f3-12d4-4e51-ba0f-8c39056461da
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Problem
Users sometimes see dozens of empty dark windows cascade onto the screen with dozens of hung "node" processes in Activity Monitor (hit again today — screenshots in the internal thread). Root cause was established in #3108: the agent host puts a
node -> app binaryshim on PATH that only behaves as node whileELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE=1survives the caller's environment. Claude's Bash tool replays commands under a login-shell snapshot of the user's dotfiles, so direnv/mise/flox or a strayunsetstrips the var, and everynodeinvocation then boots a full desktop app instance: while the real app runs, phantoms lose the single-instance lock and exit invisibly; when the lock is free (quit, crash, update restart) each spawn opens an empty window and never exits.#3108 and its follow-up #3113 were closed unmerged, so main is still exposed (#3114 remains open). This PR re-lands the #3108 scope, rebased onto current main.
Changes
Cherry-picked from
feat/vendored-node-runtime(original work by @charlesvien):nodeshim is now a self-contained wrapper script that exportsELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE=1itself before exec'ing the app binary (POSIX; Windows keeps the symlink). Also heals stale shims pointing at a moved binary, which the old EEXIST-skip never did. (node-shim.ts)POSTHOG_CODE_INTERNAL_CHILD=1, andbootstrap.tsrefuses to boot the packaged app when the marker is present withoutELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE, failing fast on stderr instead of racing the single-instance lock.ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE, so Electron-based CLIs launched from app terminals don't silently run as node. (shell.ts)Adapted to current main (the old
adapters/codexwas replaced bycodex-app-serverin #2723):command: process.execPath— the app binary in packaged installs — while codex's own env has the var deleted. Its server config now carriesELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE=1explicitly, porting the old-adapter fix. Inert on real node (cloud runs).Not included: the #3113 vendored Node runtime (tracked in #3114).
How did you test this?
node-shim.test.ts(7),agent.test.ts(25),shell.test.ts(5) in workspace-server;local-tools-mcp.test.ts(4, incl. new env assertion),spawn.test.ts(7),codex-app-server-agent.test.ts(57) in agent.pnpm typecheckand biome on all changed files pass.Closes #3108-scope; refs #3114.
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