fix(bootstrap): add --foreground mode for process supervisors (#1458 Bug #1)
Issue #1458 reports persistent-host crashes (≥1/day) when running the WebUI
under launchd KeepAlive on macOS. Root cause: `bootstrap.py` calls
`subprocess.Popen([python, "server.py"], start_new_session=True)`, probes
/health, then exits 0. Under any process supervisor (launchd, systemd,
supervisord, runit, s6), the supervisor sees its tracked PID exit, marks
the program as "completed," and respawns it. The new bootstrap fails to
bind port 8787 (orphaned server still has it), exits non-zero, supervisor
respawns again — loop until the orphan crashes for some other reason and
the next respawn finds the port free.
This PR addresses Bug #1 of the three failure modes tracked in #1458:
the `bootstrap.py` double-fork breaking process supervisors. Bug #2
(state.db FD leak) and Bug #3 (HTTP-unhealthy wedge) remain open under
the same issue — they need diagnosis data before a fix can land.
Changes
-------
1. `bootstrap.py`:
- New `--foreground` argparse flag with help text mentioning launchd /
systemd / supervisord.
- New `_detect_supervisor()` that returns the env var name for any
supervisor it detects: `INVOCATION_ID` / `JOURNAL_STREAM` /
`NOTIFY_SOCKET` (systemd, s6), `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` (launchd),
`SUPERVISOR_ENABLED` (supervisord), or `HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND` for
the explicit user opt-in. Truthy values for the explicit opt-in:
`1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` (case-insensitive).
- `main()` branches on `args.foreground or _detect_supervisor()`:
- **Foreground path:** chdir to `agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`, then
`os.execv(python, [python, server_path])` to replace the bootstrap
process image with the server. The supervisor sees the long-lived
server as the original child. No `wait_for_health` probe — the
supervisor's KeepAlive / Restart=on-failure handles liveness.
- **Default path:** unchanged. Spawn server as detached child via
`Popen + start_new_session=True`, probe /health, return 0. This
still works for interactive `bash start.sh` invocations.
- Resolved env vars (HOST/PORT/STATE_DIR/AGENT_DIR) are now mutated on
`os.environ` directly instead of into a local `env` copy so they
are inherited across `os.execv`.
2. `docs/supervisor.md` (new): runnable launchd plist, systemd .service,
and supervisord conf examples + a diagnostic recipe (`lsof` + ppid
chain) for catching the orphan-loop in production.
3. `.gitignore`: allowlist `docs/supervisor.md` (the directory uses an
opt-in pattern; matches the existing `!docs/docker.md` precedent).
4. `tests/test_bootstrap_foreground.py` (new): 35 regression tests
covering the argparse flag, `_detect_supervisor()` behavior across all
five supervisor env vars, the explicit opt-in's truthy/falsy values,
and `main()`'s execv-vs-Popen routing decision under each input
combination. `os.execv` is monkeypatched in the routing tests — we
pin the structural choice (which call is made, with which args, in
which cwd, with which env) not the post-exec behavior.
Why this scope and no more
--------------------------
Bug #2 (state.db FD leak) lists 5 candidate paths and asks the reporter
for `lsof -p <pid> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20` output to
disambiguate. Until that data lands, any "fix" would be speculative —
explicitly out of scope per the contributor-pickup comment on the issue.
Bug #3 (launchd-running, port-listening, HTTP-unhealthy) was added in
@stefanpieter's reply comment. Diagnosis is in flight; no concrete fix
shape yet. Also out of scope.
Running locally end-to-end verifies the behavior:
```
[bootstrap] Starting Hermes Web UI on http://127.0.0.1:8789 (foreground mode: --foreground)
$ pgrep -af 'server.py'
2997632 /home/.../python /tmp/wt-fix-1458/server.py
$ ps -o ppid -p 2997632
2997581 ← bash that ran bootstrap.py — same PID as the original bootstrap
$ ps -p 2997581 -o cmd
... bootstrap.py ... ← but exec'd into server.py
```
The same PID that bash forked for `bootstrap.py` is now `server.py`.
A supervisor watching that PID would correctly observe the long-lived
server. No double-fork.
Verification
------------
- 3811 tests pass (`pytest tests/` — full suite, +51 from this PR plus
master-merge-in)
- All 35 new bootstrap-foreground tests pass
- `bash scripts/run-browser-tests.sh` PASS (HTTP API checks against worktree)
- `bash scripts/webui_qa_agent.sh 8789` PASS (23/23 visual QA)
- Live verified: server starts cleanly under both `--foreground` and
`HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1`; PID lineage confirms no double-fork
Closes #1458 (Bug #1 only). Bugs #2 and #3 remain tracked under the
issue.
2026-05-02 17:37:54 +00:00
"""
Tests for bootstrap . py - - foreground / supervisor auto - detect ( issue #1458, Bug #1).
Background
- - - - - - - - - -
Issue #1458 reports: under launchd / systemd / supervisord with KeepAlive=true
or Restart = always , bootstrap . py exits after spawning the server child via
` ` Popen + wait_for_health ` ` . The supervisor sees the parent exit , marks the
program as " completed, " and respawns it — but the original server child is
still holding port 8787 in a detached process group . The new bootstrap fails
to bind , exits non - zero , supervisor respawns again , loops until something
crashes the orphan and frees the port .
The fix
- - - - - - -
Add ` ` - - foreground ` ` flag and supervisor - environment auto - detection . In
foreground mode we replace the current process via ` ` os . execv ` ` with the
server , so the supervisor sees the long - lived server as the original child .
The legacy ` ` Popen + wait_for_health ` ` path is preserved for interactive
` ` bash start . sh ` ` runs .
Coverage
- - - - - - - -
1. ` ` - - foreground ` ` is a recognized argparse flag
2. ` ` _detect_supervisor ( ) ` ` returns None on a clean env
3. ` ` _detect_supervisor ( ) ` ` returns the env - var name on each known supervisor
( ` ` INVOCATION_ID ` ` / ` ` JOURNAL_STREAM ` ` / ` ` NOTIFY_SOCKET ` ` /
` ` XPC_SERVICE_NAME ` ` / ` ` SUPERVISOR_ENABLED ` ` )
4. ` ` _detect_supervisor ( ) ` ` returns ` ` HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND ` ` for the
explicit opt - in , accepting ` ` 1 ` ` / ` ` true ` ` / ` ` yes ` ` / ` ` on ` ` ( case - insensitive )
5. ` ` _detect_supervisor ( ) ` ` ignores ` ` HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND = 0 ` ` /
` ` = false ` ` / ` ` = ` ` and falls through to env - var probing
fix(bootstrap): address Opus pre-merge review feedback (#1478)
Three changes from the pre-merge Opus review:
**MUST-FIX** — XPC_SERVICE_NAME false-positive on macOS Terminal
macOS launchd sets `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` in EVERY Terminal-spawned shell, not
just real services. Typical noise values: `"0"` (truthy in Python!) and
`"application.com.apple.Terminal.<UUID>"`. A bare `os.environ.get(name)`
existence check would auto-promote interactive `./start.sh` runs to
foreground mode on every Mac dev machine — silently breaking the most
common installation path (no /health probe, no browser open, no log file,
hanging shell).
Fix: new `_is_real_supervisor_value()` helper that filters noise. For
`XPC_SERVICE_NAME` specifically, reject `"0"` and any `"application.*"`
prefix. Real launchd plists use reverse-DNS Label form (`com.<rdns>.<svc>`)
which still triggers correctly.
7 new tests in `TestXPCServiceNameNoiseFilter`:
- 4 noise values (`0`, Terminal.app, iTerm2, VSCode) → no detection
- 3 real Label forms → correct detection
- Mixed env with XPC noise + real INVOCATION_ID → falls through to systemd
**SHOULD-FIX 1** — Test env leakage
The original `clean_env` fixture stripped supervisor-detection env vars
but not the resolved bootstrap vars (HERMES_WEBUI_HOST/PORT/AGENT_DIR)
that `main()` mutates onto `os.environ`. After
`test_foreground_exports_resolved_env_vars` ran, later tests would import
bootstrap with polluted defaults (DEFAULT_HOST="0.0.0.0" instead of
"127.0.0.1"). Existing assertions still passed (tautological vs DEFAULT_*),
but it was a footgun for future tests.
Fix: extend `clean_env` to also `delenv` the three resolved vars before
each test.
**SHOULD-FIX 2** — Pre-execv executability guard
If `discover_launcher_python` returns a path that doesn't exist or isn't
executable, `os.execv` raises OSError → wrapper catches → SystemExit(1)
→ supervisor restarts → loop forever. That's exactly the failure mode
this PR is supposed to eliminate.
Fix: `os.access(python_exe, os.X_OK)` check before execv. Converts
infinite supervisor loop into a single visible RuntimeError.
1 new test in `TestForegroundExecutabilityGuard` pinning that the guard
fires before execv when the python path is non-executable.
**Docs** — supervisor.md updates
- New section explaining the XPC_SERVICE_NAME noise filter and what
values trigger / don't trigger detection
- New section listing supervisors that are NOT auto-detected (runit,
daemontools, PM2, Foreman/Honcho, custom shell-script supervisors)
with explicit recommendation to set HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1
Verification
- 3820 tests pass (+9 from this commit's new tests vs the original PR
push of 3811)
- Filter manually verified end-to-end with the live os.environ:
XPC=0 → None, XPC=application.* → None, XPC=com.example.foo → triggers
- run-browser-tests.sh ALL CHECKS PASSED on the worktree
Items deferred from the Opus review
- #4 chdir target may not exist: REPO_ROOT comes from __file__.resolve()
so it's stable; not a real concern in practice
- #6 two startup messages in foreground mode: cosmetic, useful for
diagnostics
- #7 stricter explicit-only mode: leaves user the override of just not
passing --foreground (current behavior)
- #8 test stub return value: trivial, can fix later if regression surface
- #9 argparse positional-after-option ordering: test reads fine
These can be follow-up issues if anyone hits them.
2026-05-02 17:52:13 +00:00
6. ` ` XPC_SERVICE_NAME ` ` noise filter : bare ` ` " 0 " ` ` and ` ` application . < id > ` `
values do NOT trigger foreground ( the macOS Terminal default state ) ,
while real launchd Labels ( ` ` com . < rdns > . < svc > ` ` ) do
7. ` ` main ( ) ` ` calls ` ` os . execv ` ` ( NOT ` ` subprocess . Popen ` ` ) when
fix(bootstrap): add --foreground mode for process supervisors (#1458 Bug #1)
Issue #1458 reports persistent-host crashes (≥1/day) when running the WebUI
under launchd KeepAlive on macOS. Root cause: `bootstrap.py` calls
`subprocess.Popen([python, "server.py"], start_new_session=True)`, probes
/health, then exits 0. Under any process supervisor (launchd, systemd,
supervisord, runit, s6), the supervisor sees its tracked PID exit, marks
the program as "completed," and respawns it. The new bootstrap fails to
bind port 8787 (orphaned server still has it), exits non-zero, supervisor
respawns again — loop until the orphan crashes for some other reason and
the next respawn finds the port free.
This PR addresses Bug #1 of the three failure modes tracked in #1458:
the `bootstrap.py` double-fork breaking process supervisors. Bug #2
(state.db FD leak) and Bug #3 (HTTP-unhealthy wedge) remain open under
the same issue — they need diagnosis data before a fix can land.
Changes
-------
1. `bootstrap.py`:
- New `--foreground` argparse flag with help text mentioning launchd /
systemd / supervisord.
- New `_detect_supervisor()` that returns the env var name for any
supervisor it detects: `INVOCATION_ID` / `JOURNAL_STREAM` /
`NOTIFY_SOCKET` (systemd, s6), `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` (launchd),
`SUPERVISOR_ENABLED` (supervisord), or `HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND` for
the explicit user opt-in. Truthy values for the explicit opt-in:
`1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` (case-insensitive).
- `main()` branches on `args.foreground or _detect_supervisor()`:
- **Foreground path:** chdir to `agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`, then
`os.execv(python, [python, server_path])` to replace the bootstrap
process image with the server. The supervisor sees the long-lived
server as the original child. No `wait_for_health` probe — the
supervisor's KeepAlive / Restart=on-failure handles liveness.
- **Default path:** unchanged. Spawn server as detached child via
`Popen + start_new_session=True`, probe /health, return 0. This
still works for interactive `bash start.sh` invocations.
- Resolved env vars (HOST/PORT/STATE_DIR/AGENT_DIR) are now mutated on
`os.environ` directly instead of into a local `env` copy so they
are inherited across `os.execv`.
2. `docs/supervisor.md` (new): runnable launchd plist, systemd .service,
and supervisord conf examples + a diagnostic recipe (`lsof` + ppid
chain) for catching the orphan-loop in production.
3. `.gitignore`: allowlist `docs/supervisor.md` (the directory uses an
opt-in pattern; matches the existing `!docs/docker.md` precedent).
4. `tests/test_bootstrap_foreground.py` (new): 35 regression tests
covering the argparse flag, `_detect_supervisor()` behavior across all
five supervisor env vars, the explicit opt-in's truthy/falsy values,
and `main()`'s execv-vs-Popen routing decision under each input
combination. `os.execv` is monkeypatched in the routing tests — we
pin the structural choice (which call is made, with which args, in
which cwd, with which env) not the post-exec behavior.
Why this scope and no more
--------------------------
Bug #2 (state.db FD leak) lists 5 candidate paths and asks the reporter
for `lsof -p <pid> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20` output to
disambiguate. Until that data lands, any "fix" would be speculative —
explicitly out of scope per the contributor-pickup comment on the issue.
Bug #3 (launchd-running, port-listening, HTTP-unhealthy) was added in
@stefanpieter's reply comment. Diagnosis is in flight; no concrete fix
shape yet. Also out of scope.
Running locally end-to-end verifies the behavior:
```
[bootstrap] Starting Hermes Web UI on http://127.0.0.1:8789 (foreground mode: --foreground)
$ pgrep -af 'server.py'
2997632 /home/.../python /tmp/wt-fix-1458/server.py
$ ps -o ppid -p 2997632
2997581 ← bash that ran bootstrap.py — same PID as the original bootstrap
$ ps -p 2997581 -o cmd
... bootstrap.py ... ← but exec'd into server.py
```
The same PID that bash forked for `bootstrap.py` is now `server.py`.
A supervisor watching that PID would correctly observe the long-lived
server. No double-fork.
Verification
------------
- 3811 tests pass (`pytest tests/` — full suite, +51 from this PR plus
master-merge-in)
- All 35 new bootstrap-foreground tests pass
- `bash scripts/run-browser-tests.sh` PASS (HTTP API checks against worktree)
- `bash scripts/webui_qa_agent.sh 8789` PASS (23/23 visual QA)
- Live verified: server starts cleanly under both `--foreground` and
`HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1`; PID lineage confirms no double-fork
Closes #1458 (Bug #1 only). Bugs #2 and #3 remain tracked under the
issue.
2026-05-02 17:37:54 +00:00
` ` - - foreground ` ` is passed
fix(bootstrap): address Opus pre-merge review feedback (#1478)
Three changes from the pre-merge Opus review:
**MUST-FIX** — XPC_SERVICE_NAME false-positive on macOS Terminal
macOS launchd sets `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` in EVERY Terminal-spawned shell, not
just real services. Typical noise values: `"0"` (truthy in Python!) and
`"application.com.apple.Terminal.<UUID>"`. A bare `os.environ.get(name)`
existence check would auto-promote interactive `./start.sh` runs to
foreground mode on every Mac dev machine — silently breaking the most
common installation path (no /health probe, no browser open, no log file,
hanging shell).
Fix: new `_is_real_supervisor_value()` helper that filters noise. For
`XPC_SERVICE_NAME` specifically, reject `"0"` and any `"application.*"`
prefix. Real launchd plists use reverse-DNS Label form (`com.<rdns>.<svc>`)
which still triggers correctly.
7 new tests in `TestXPCServiceNameNoiseFilter`:
- 4 noise values (`0`, Terminal.app, iTerm2, VSCode) → no detection
- 3 real Label forms → correct detection
- Mixed env with XPC noise + real INVOCATION_ID → falls through to systemd
**SHOULD-FIX 1** — Test env leakage
The original `clean_env` fixture stripped supervisor-detection env vars
but not the resolved bootstrap vars (HERMES_WEBUI_HOST/PORT/AGENT_DIR)
that `main()` mutates onto `os.environ`. After
`test_foreground_exports_resolved_env_vars` ran, later tests would import
bootstrap with polluted defaults (DEFAULT_HOST="0.0.0.0" instead of
"127.0.0.1"). Existing assertions still passed (tautological vs DEFAULT_*),
but it was a footgun for future tests.
Fix: extend `clean_env` to also `delenv` the three resolved vars before
each test.
**SHOULD-FIX 2** — Pre-execv executability guard
If `discover_launcher_python` returns a path that doesn't exist or isn't
executable, `os.execv` raises OSError → wrapper catches → SystemExit(1)
→ supervisor restarts → loop forever. That's exactly the failure mode
this PR is supposed to eliminate.
Fix: `os.access(python_exe, os.X_OK)` check before execv. Converts
infinite supervisor loop into a single visible RuntimeError.
1 new test in `TestForegroundExecutabilityGuard` pinning that the guard
fires before execv when the python path is non-executable.
**Docs** — supervisor.md updates
- New section explaining the XPC_SERVICE_NAME noise filter and what
values trigger / don't trigger detection
- New section listing supervisors that are NOT auto-detected (runit,
daemontools, PM2, Foreman/Honcho, custom shell-script supervisors)
with explicit recommendation to set HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1
Verification
- 3820 tests pass (+9 from this commit's new tests vs the original PR
push of 3811)
- Filter manually verified end-to-end with the live os.environ:
XPC=0 → None, XPC=application.* → None, XPC=com.example.foo → triggers
- run-browser-tests.sh ALL CHECKS PASSED on the worktree
Items deferred from the Opus review
- #4 chdir target may not exist: REPO_ROOT comes from __file__.resolve()
so it's stable; not a real concern in practice
- #6 two startup messages in foreground mode: cosmetic, useful for
diagnostics
- #7 stricter explicit-only mode: leaves user the override of just not
passing --foreground (current behavior)
- #8 test stub return value: trivial, can fix later if regression surface
- #9 argparse positional-after-option ordering: test reads fine
These can be follow-up issues if anyone hits them.
2026-05-02 17:52:13 +00:00
8. ` ` main ( ) ` ` calls ` ` os . execv ` ` ( NOT ` ` subprocess . Popen ` ` ) when a supervisor
fix(bootstrap): add --foreground mode for process supervisors (#1458 Bug #1)
Issue #1458 reports persistent-host crashes (≥1/day) when running the WebUI
under launchd KeepAlive on macOS. Root cause: `bootstrap.py` calls
`subprocess.Popen([python, "server.py"], start_new_session=True)`, probes
/health, then exits 0. Under any process supervisor (launchd, systemd,
supervisord, runit, s6), the supervisor sees its tracked PID exit, marks
the program as "completed," and respawns it. The new bootstrap fails to
bind port 8787 (orphaned server still has it), exits non-zero, supervisor
respawns again — loop until the orphan crashes for some other reason and
the next respawn finds the port free.
This PR addresses Bug #1 of the three failure modes tracked in #1458:
the `bootstrap.py` double-fork breaking process supervisors. Bug #2
(state.db FD leak) and Bug #3 (HTTP-unhealthy wedge) remain open under
the same issue — they need diagnosis data before a fix can land.
Changes
-------
1. `bootstrap.py`:
- New `--foreground` argparse flag with help text mentioning launchd /
systemd / supervisord.
- New `_detect_supervisor()` that returns the env var name for any
supervisor it detects: `INVOCATION_ID` / `JOURNAL_STREAM` /
`NOTIFY_SOCKET` (systemd, s6), `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` (launchd),
`SUPERVISOR_ENABLED` (supervisord), or `HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND` for
the explicit user opt-in. Truthy values for the explicit opt-in:
`1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` (case-insensitive).
- `main()` branches on `args.foreground or _detect_supervisor()`:
- **Foreground path:** chdir to `agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`, then
`os.execv(python, [python, server_path])` to replace the bootstrap
process image with the server. The supervisor sees the long-lived
server as the original child. No `wait_for_health` probe — the
supervisor's KeepAlive / Restart=on-failure handles liveness.
- **Default path:** unchanged. Spawn server as detached child via
`Popen + start_new_session=True`, probe /health, return 0. This
still works for interactive `bash start.sh` invocations.
- Resolved env vars (HOST/PORT/STATE_DIR/AGENT_DIR) are now mutated on
`os.environ` directly instead of into a local `env` copy so they
are inherited across `os.execv`.
2. `docs/supervisor.md` (new): runnable launchd plist, systemd .service,
and supervisord conf examples + a diagnostic recipe (`lsof` + ppid
chain) for catching the orphan-loop in production.
3. `.gitignore`: allowlist `docs/supervisor.md` (the directory uses an
opt-in pattern; matches the existing `!docs/docker.md` precedent).
4. `tests/test_bootstrap_foreground.py` (new): 35 regression tests
covering the argparse flag, `_detect_supervisor()` behavior across all
five supervisor env vars, the explicit opt-in's truthy/falsy values,
and `main()`'s execv-vs-Popen routing decision under each input
combination. `os.execv` is monkeypatched in the routing tests — we
pin the structural choice (which call is made, with which args, in
which cwd, with which env) not the post-exec behavior.
Why this scope and no more
--------------------------
Bug #2 (state.db FD leak) lists 5 candidate paths and asks the reporter
for `lsof -p <pid> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20` output to
disambiguate. Until that data lands, any "fix" would be speculative —
explicitly out of scope per the contributor-pickup comment on the issue.
Bug #3 (launchd-running, port-listening, HTTP-unhealthy) was added in
@stefanpieter's reply comment. Diagnosis is in flight; no concrete fix
shape yet. Also out of scope.
Running locally end-to-end verifies the behavior:
```
[bootstrap] Starting Hermes Web UI on http://127.0.0.1:8789 (foreground mode: --foreground)
$ pgrep -af 'server.py'
2997632 /home/.../python /tmp/wt-fix-1458/server.py
$ ps -o ppid -p 2997632
2997581 ← bash that ran bootstrap.py — same PID as the original bootstrap
$ ps -p 2997581 -o cmd
... bootstrap.py ... ← but exec'd into server.py
```
The same PID that bash forked for `bootstrap.py` is now `server.py`.
A supervisor watching that PID would correctly observe the long-lived
server. No double-fork.
Verification
------------
- 3811 tests pass (`pytest tests/` — full suite, +51 from this PR plus
master-merge-in)
- All 35 new bootstrap-foreground tests pass
- `bash scripts/run-browser-tests.sh` PASS (HTTP API checks against worktree)
- `bash scripts/webui_qa_agent.sh 8789` PASS (23/23 visual QA)
- Live verified: server starts cleanly under both `--foreground` and
`HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1`; PID lineage confirms no double-fork
Closes #1458 (Bug #1 only). Bugs #2 and #3 remain tracked under the
issue.
2026-05-02 17:37:54 +00:00
env var is set even without the explicit flag
fix(bootstrap): address Opus pre-merge review feedback (#1478)
Three changes from the pre-merge Opus review:
**MUST-FIX** — XPC_SERVICE_NAME false-positive on macOS Terminal
macOS launchd sets `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` in EVERY Terminal-spawned shell, not
just real services. Typical noise values: `"0"` (truthy in Python!) and
`"application.com.apple.Terminal.<UUID>"`. A bare `os.environ.get(name)`
existence check would auto-promote interactive `./start.sh` runs to
foreground mode on every Mac dev machine — silently breaking the most
common installation path (no /health probe, no browser open, no log file,
hanging shell).
Fix: new `_is_real_supervisor_value()` helper that filters noise. For
`XPC_SERVICE_NAME` specifically, reject `"0"` and any `"application.*"`
prefix. Real launchd plists use reverse-DNS Label form (`com.<rdns>.<svc>`)
which still triggers correctly.
7 new tests in `TestXPCServiceNameNoiseFilter`:
- 4 noise values (`0`, Terminal.app, iTerm2, VSCode) → no detection
- 3 real Label forms → correct detection
- Mixed env with XPC noise + real INVOCATION_ID → falls through to systemd
**SHOULD-FIX 1** — Test env leakage
The original `clean_env` fixture stripped supervisor-detection env vars
but not the resolved bootstrap vars (HERMES_WEBUI_HOST/PORT/AGENT_DIR)
that `main()` mutates onto `os.environ`. After
`test_foreground_exports_resolved_env_vars` ran, later tests would import
bootstrap with polluted defaults (DEFAULT_HOST="0.0.0.0" instead of
"127.0.0.1"). Existing assertions still passed (tautological vs DEFAULT_*),
but it was a footgun for future tests.
Fix: extend `clean_env` to also `delenv` the three resolved vars before
each test.
**SHOULD-FIX 2** — Pre-execv executability guard
If `discover_launcher_python` returns a path that doesn't exist or isn't
executable, `os.execv` raises OSError → wrapper catches → SystemExit(1)
→ supervisor restarts → loop forever. That's exactly the failure mode
this PR is supposed to eliminate.
Fix: `os.access(python_exe, os.X_OK)` check before execv. Converts
infinite supervisor loop into a single visible RuntimeError.
1 new test in `TestForegroundExecutabilityGuard` pinning that the guard
fires before execv when the python path is non-executable.
**Docs** — supervisor.md updates
- New section explaining the XPC_SERVICE_NAME noise filter and what
values trigger / don't trigger detection
- New section listing supervisors that are NOT auto-detected (runit,
daemontools, PM2, Foreman/Honcho, custom shell-script supervisors)
with explicit recommendation to set HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1
Verification
- 3820 tests pass (+9 from this commit's new tests vs the original PR
push of 3811)
- Filter manually verified end-to-end with the live os.environ:
XPC=0 → None, XPC=application.* → None, XPC=com.example.foo → triggers
- run-browser-tests.sh ALL CHECKS PASSED on the worktree
Items deferred from the Opus review
- #4 chdir target may not exist: REPO_ROOT comes from __file__.resolve()
so it's stable; not a real concern in practice
- #6 two startup messages in foreground mode: cosmetic, useful for
diagnostics
- #7 stricter explicit-only mode: leaves user the override of just not
passing --foreground (current behavior)
- #8 test stub return value: trivial, can fix later if regression surface
- #9 argparse positional-after-option ordering: test reads fine
These can be follow-up issues if anyone hits them.
2026-05-02 17:52:13 +00:00
9. Default ` ` main ( ) ` ` path ( no flag , clean env ) still uses ` ` Popen ` `
10. Foreground path chdir ' s to ``agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`` before execv (matches
fix(bootstrap): add --foreground mode for process supervisors (#1458 Bug #1)
Issue #1458 reports persistent-host crashes (≥1/day) when running the WebUI
under launchd KeepAlive on macOS. Root cause: `bootstrap.py` calls
`subprocess.Popen([python, "server.py"], start_new_session=True)`, probes
/health, then exits 0. Under any process supervisor (launchd, systemd,
supervisord, runit, s6), the supervisor sees its tracked PID exit, marks
the program as "completed," and respawns it. The new bootstrap fails to
bind port 8787 (orphaned server still has it), exits non-zero, supervisor
respawns again — loop until the orphan crashes for some other reason and
the next respawn finds the port free.
This PR addresses Bug #1 of the three failure modes tracked in #1458:
the `bootstrap.py` double-fork breaking process supervisors. Bug #2
(state.db FD leak) and Bug #3 (HTTP-unhealthy wedge) remain open under
the same issue — they need diagnosis data before a fix can land.
Changes
-------
1. `bootstrap.py`:
- New `--foreground` argparse flag with help text mentioning launchd /
systemd / supervisord.
- New `_detect_supervisor()` that returns the env var name for any
supervisor it detects: `INVOCATION_ID` / `JOURNAL_STREAM` /
`NOTIFY_SOCKET` (systemd, s6), `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` (launchd),
`SUPERVISOR_ENABLED` (supervisord), or `HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND` for
the explicit user opt-in. Truthy values for the explicit opt-in:
`1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` (case-insensitive).
- `main()` branches on `args.foreground or _detect_supervisor()`:
- **Foreground path:** chdir to `agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`, then
`os.execv(python, [python, server_path])` to replace the bootstrap
process image with the server. The supervisor sees the long-lived
server as the original child. No `wait_for_health` probe — the
supervisor's KeepAlive / Restart=on-failure handles liveness.
- **Default path:** unchanged. Spawn server as detached child via
`Popen + start_new_session=True`, probe /health, return 0. This
still works for interactive `bash start.sh` invocations.
- Resolved env vars (HOST/PORT/STATE_DIR/AGENT_DIR) are now mutated on
`os.environ` directly instead of into a local `env` copy so they
are inherited across `os.execv`.
2. `docs/supervisor.md` (new): runnable launchd plist, systemd .service,
and supervisord conf examples + a diagnostic recipe (`lsof` + ppid
chain) for catching the orphan-loop in production.
3. `.gitignore`: allowlist `docs/supervisor.md` (the directory uses an
opt-in pattern; matches the existing `!docs/docker.md` precedent).
4. `tests/test_bootstrap_foreground.py` (new): 35 regression tests
covering the argparse flag, `_detect_supervisor()` behavior across all
five supervisor env vars, the explicit opt-in's truthy/falsy values,
and `main()`'s execv-vs-Popen routing decision under each input
combination. `os.execv` is monkeypatched in the routing tests — we
pin the structural choice (which call is made, with which args, in
which cwd, with which env) not the post-exec behavior.
Why this scope and no more
--------------------------
Bug #2 (state.db FD leak) lists 5 candidate paths and asks the reporter
for `lsof -p <pid> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20` output to
disambiguate. Until that data lands, any "fix" would be speculative —
explicitly out of scope per the contributor-pickup comment on the issue.
Bug #3 (launchd-running, port-listening, HTTP-unhealthy) was added in
@stefanpieter's reply comment. Diagnosis is in flight; no concrete fix
shape yet. Also out of scope.
Running locally end-to-end verifies the behavior:
```
[bootstrap] Starting Hermes Web UI on http://127.0.0.1:8789 (foreground mode: --foreground)
$ pgrep -af 'server.py'
2997632 /home/.../python /tmp/wt-fix-1458/server.py
$ ps -o ppid -p 2997632
2997581 ← bash that ran bootstrap.py — same PID as the original bootstrap
$ ps -p 2997581 -o cmd
... bootstrap.py ... ← but exec'd into server.py
```
The same PID that bash forked for `bootstrap.py` is now `server.py`.
A supervisor watching that PID would correctly observe the long-lived
server. No double-fork.
Verification
------------
- 3811 tests pass (`pytest tests/` — full suite, +51 from this PR plus
master-merge-in)
- All 35 new bootstrap-foreground tests pass
- `bash scripts/run-browser-tests.sh` PASS (HTTP API checks against worktree)
- `bash scripts/webui_qa_agent.sh 8789` PASS (23/23 visual QA)
- Live verified: server starts cleanly under both `--foreground` and
`HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1`; PID lineage confirms no double-fork
Closes #1458 (Bug #1 only). Bugs #2 and #3 remain tracked under the
issue.
2026-05-02 17:37:54 +00:00
the cwd the legacy Popen uses )
fix(bootstrap): address Opus pre-merge review feedback (#1478)
Three changes from the pre-merge Opus review:
**MUST-FIX** — XPC_SERVICE_NAME false-positive on macOS Terminal
macOS launchd sets `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` in EVERY Terminal-spawned shell, not
just real services. Typical noise values: `"0"` (truthy in Python!) and
`"application.com.apple.Terminal.<UUID>"`. A bare `os.environ.get(name)`
existence check would auto-promote interactive `./start.sh` runs to
foreground mode on every Mac dev machine — silently breaking the most
common installation path (no /health probe, no browser open, no log file,
hanging shell).
Fix: new `_is_real_supervisor_value()` helper that filters noise. For
`XPC_SERVICE_NAME` specifically, reject `"0"` and any `"application.*"`
prefix. Real launchd plists use reverse-DNS Label form (`com.<rdns>.<svc>`)
which still triggers correctly.
7 new tests in `TestXPCServiceNameNoiseFilter`:
- 4 noise values (`0`, Terminal.app, iTerm2, VSCode) → no detection
- 3 real Label forms → correct detection
- Mixed env with XPC noise + real INVOCATION_ID → falls through to systemd
**SHOULD-FIX 1** — Test env leakage
The original `clean_env` fixture stripped supervisor-detection env vars
but not the resolved bootstrap vars (HERMES_WEBUI_HOST/PORT/AGENT_DIR)
that `main()` mutates onto `os.environ`. After
`test_foreground_exports_resolved_env_vars` ran, later tests would import
bootstrap with polluted defaults (DEFAULT_HOST="0.0.0.0" instead of
"127.0.0.1"). Existing assertions still passed (tautological vs DEFAULT_*),
but it was a footgun for future tests.
Fix: extend `clean_env` to also `delenv` the three resolved vars before
each test.
**SHOULD-FIX 2** — Pre-execv executability guard
If `discover_launcher_python` returns a path that doesn't exist or isn't
executable, `os.execv` raises OSError → wrapper catches → SystemExit(1)
→ supervisor restarts → loop forever. That's exactly the failure mode
this PR is supposed to eliminate.
Fix: `os.access(python_exe, os.X_OK)` check before execv. Converts
infinite supervisor loop into a single visible RuntimeError.
1 new test in `TestForegroundExecutabilityGuard` pinning that the guard
fires before execv when the python path is non-executable.
**Docs** — supervisor.md updates
- New section explaining the XPC_SERVICE_NAME noise filter and what
values trigger / don't trigger detection
- New section listing supervisors that are NOT auto-detected (runit,
daemontools, PM2, Foreman/Honcho, custom shell-script supervisors)
with explicit recommendation to set HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1
Verification
- 3820 tests pass (+9 from this commit's new tests vs the original PR
push of 3811)
- Filter manually verified end-to-end with the live os.environ:
XPC=0 → None, XPC=application.* → None, XPC=com.example.foo → triggers
- run-browser-tests.sh ALL CHECKS PASSED on the worktree
Items deferred from the Opus review
- #4 chdir target may not exist: REPO_ROOT comes from __file__.resolve()
so it's stable; not a real concern in practice
- #6 two startup messages in foreground mode: cosmetic, useful for
diagnostics
- #7 stricter explicit-only mode: leaves user the override of just not
passing --foreground (current behavior)
- #8 test stub return value: trivial, can fix later if regression surface
- #9 argparse positional-after-option ordering: test reads fine
These can be follow-up issues if anyone hits them.
2026-05-02 17:52:13 +00:00
11. Foreground path exports ` ` HERMES_WEBUI_HOST ` ` / ` ` HERMES_WEBUI_PORT ` ` /
fix(bootstrap): add --foreground mode for process supervisors (#1458 Bug #1)
Issue #1458 reports persistent-host crashes (≥1/day) when running the WebUI
under launchd KeepAlive on macOS. Root cause: `bootstrap.py` calls
`subprocess.Popen([python, "server.py"], start_new_session=True)`, probes
/health, then exits 0. Under any process supervisor (launchd, systemd,
supervisord, runit, s6), the supervisor sees its tracked PID exit, marks
the program as "completed," and respawns it. The new bootstrap fails to
bind port 8787 (orphaned server still has it), exits non-zero, supervisor
respawns again — loop until the orphan crashes for some other reason and
the next respawn finds the port free.
This PR addresses Bug #1 of the three failure modes tracked in #1458:
the `bootstrap.py` double-fork breaking process supervisors. Bug #2
(state.db FD leak) and Bug #3 (HTTP-unhealthy wedge) remain open under
the same issue — they need diagnosis data before a fix can land.
Changes
-------
1. `bootstrap.py`:
- New `--foreground` argparse flag with help text mentioning launchd /
systemd / supervisord.
- New `_detect_supervisor()` that returns the env var name for any
supervisor it detects: `INVOCATION_ID` / `JOURNAL_STREAM` /
`NOTIFY_SOCKET` (systemd, s6), `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` (launchd),
`SUPERVISOR_ENABLED` (supervisord), or `HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND` for
the explicit user opt-in. Truthy values for the explicit opt-in:
`1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` (case-insensitive).
- `main()` branches on `args.foreground or _detect_supervisor()`:
- **Foreground path:** chdir to `agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`, then
`os.execv(python, [python, server_path])` to replace the bootstrap
process image with the server. The supervisor sees the long-lived
server as the original child. No `wait_for_health` probe — the
supervisor's KeepAlive / Restart=on-failure handles liveness.
- **Default path:** unchanged. Spawn server as detached child via
`Popen + start_new_session=True`, probe /health, return 0. This
still works for interactive `bash start.sh` invocations.
- Resolved env vars (HOST/PORT/STATE_DIR/AGENT_DIR) are now mutated on
`os.environ` directly instead of into a local `env` copy so they
are inherited across `os.execv`.
2. `docs/supervisor.md` (new): runnable launchd plist, systemd .service,
and supervisord conf examples + a diagnostic recipe (`lsof` + ppid
chain) for catching the orphan-loop in production.
3. `.gitignore`: allowlist `docs/supervisor.md` (the directory uses an
opt-in pattern; matches the existing `!docs/docker.md` precedent).
4. `tests/test_bootstrap_foreground.py` (new): 35 regression tests
covering the argparse flag, `_detect_supervisor()` behavior across all
five supervisor env vars, the explicit opt-in's truthy/falsy values,
and `main()`'s execv-vs-Popen routing decision under each input
combination. `os.execv` is monkeypatched in the routing tests — we
pin the structural choice (which call is made, with which args, in
which cwd, with which env) not the post-exec behavior.
Why this scope and no more
--------------------------
Bug #2 (state.db FD leak) lists 5 candidate paths and asks the reporter
for `lsof -p <pid> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20` output to
disambiguate. Until that data lands, any "fix" would be speculative —
explicitly out of scope per the contributor-pickup comment on the issue.
Bug #3 (launchd-running, port-listening, HTTP-unhealthy) was added in
@stefanpieter's reply comment. Diagnosis is in flight; no concrete fix
shape yet. Also out of scope.
Running locally end-to-end verifies the behavior:
```
[bootstrap] Starting Hermes Web UI on http://127.0.0.1:8789 (foreground mode: --foreground)
$ pgrep -af 'server.py'
2997632 /home/.../python /tmp/wt-fix-1458/server.py
$ ps -o ppid -p 2997632
2997581 ← bash that ran bootstrap.py — same PID as the original bootstrap
$ ps -p 2997581 -o cmd
... bootstrap.py ... ← but exec'd into server.py
```
The same PID that bash forked for `bootstrap.py` is now `server.py`.
A supervisor watching that PID would correctly observe the long-lived
server. No double-fork.
Verification
------------
- 3811 tests pass (`pytest tests/` — full suite, +51 from this PR plus
master-merge-in)
- All 35 new bootstrap-foreground tests pass
- `bash scripts/run-browser-tests.sh` PASS (HTTP API checks against worktree)
- `bash scripts/webui_qa_agent.sh 8789` PASS (23/23 visual QA)
- Live verified: server starts cleanly under both `--foreground` and
`HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1`; PID lineage confirms no double-fork
Closes #1458 (Bug #1 only). Bugs #2 and #3 remain tracked under the
issue.
2026-05-02 17:37:54 +00:00
` ` HERMES_WEBUI_AGENT_DIR ` ` / ` ` HERMES_WEBUI_STATE_DIR ` ` to ` ` os . environ ` `
so the post - exec server picks them up
fix(bootstrap): address Opus pre-merge review feedback (#1478)
Three changes from the pre-merge Opus review:
**MUST-FIX** — XPC_SERVICE_NAME false-positive on macOS Terminal
macOS launchd sets `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` in EVERY Terminal-spawned shell, not
just real services. Typical noise values: `"0"` (truthy in Python!) and
`"application.com.apple.Terminal.<UUID>"`. A bare `os.environ.get(name)`
existence check would auto-promote interactive `./start.sh` runs to
foreground mode on every Mac dev machine — silently breaking the most
common installation path (no /health probe, no browser open, no log file,
hanging shell).
Fix: new `_is_real_supervisor_value()` helper that filters noise. For
`XPC_SERVICE_NAME` specifically, reject `"0"` and any `"application.*"`
prefix. Real launchd plists use reverse-DNS Label form (`com.<rdns>.<svc>`)
which still triggers correctly.
7 new tests in `TestXPCServiceNameNoiseFilter`:
- 4 noise values (`0`, Terminal.app, iTerm2, VSCode) → no detection
- 3 real Label forms → correct detection
- Mixed env with XPC noise + real INVOCATION_ID → falls through to systemd
**SHOULD-FIX 1** — Test env leakage
The original `clean_env` fixture stripped supervisor-detection env vars
but not the resolved bootstrap vars (HERMES_WEBUI_HOST/PORT/AGENT_DIR)
that `main()` mutates onto `os.environ`. After
`test_foreground_exports_resolved_env_vars` ran, later tests would import
bootstrap with polluted defaults (DEFAULT_HOST="0.0.0.0" instead of
"127.0.0.1"). Existing assertions still passed (tautological vs DEFAULT_*),
but it was a footgun for future tests.
Fix: extend `clean_env` to also `delenv` the three resolved vars before
each test.
**SHOULD-FIX 2** — Pre-execv executability guard
If `discover_launcher_python` returns a path that doesn't exist or isn't
executable, `os.execv` raises OSError → wrapper catches → SystemExit(1)
→ supervisor restarts → loop forever. That's exactly the failure mode
this PR is supposed to eliminate.
Fix: `os.access(python_exe, os.X_OK)` check before execv. Converts
infinite supervisor loop into a single visible RuntimeError.
1 new test in `TestForegroundExecutabilityGuard` pinning that the guard
fires before execv when the python path is non-executable.
**Docs** — supervisor.md updates
- New section explaining the XPC_SERVICE_NAME noise filter and what
values trigger / don't trigger detection
- New section listing supervisors that are NOT auto-detected (runit,
daemontools, PM2, Foreman/Honcho, custom shell-script supervisors)
with explicit recommendation to set HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1
Verification
- 3820 tests pass (+9 from this commit's new tests vs the original PR
push of 3811)
- Filter manually verified end-to-end with the live os.environ:
XPC=0 → None, XPC=application.* → None, XPC=com.example.foo → triggers
- run-browser-tests.sh ALL CHECKS PASSED on the worktree
Items deferred from the Opus review
- #4 chdir target may not exist: REPO_ROOT comes from __file__.resolve()
so it's stable; not a real concern in practice
- #6 two startup messages in foreground mode: cosmetic, useful for
diagnostics
- #7 stricter explicit-only mode: leaves user the override of just not
passing --foreground (current behavior)
- #8 test stub return value: trivial, can fix later if regression surface
- #9 argparse positional-after-option ordering: test reads fine
These can be follow-up issues if anyone hits them.
2026-05-02 17:52:13 +00:00
12. Foreground path skips ` ` wait_for_health ` ` ( no client to retry from )
13. ` ` - - foreground ` ` help text mentions launchd / systemd / supervisord
14. Non - executable ` ` python_exe ` ` raises ` ` RuntimeError ` ` instead of
looping the supervisor on ` ` execv ` ` failure
fix(bootstrap): add --foreground mode for process supervisors (#1458 Bug #1)
Issue #1458 reports persistent-host crashes (≥1/day) when running the WebUI
under launchd KeepAlive on macOS. Root cause: `bootstrap.py` calls
`subprocess.Popen([python, "server.py"], start_new_session=True)`, probes
/health, then exits 0. Under any process supervisor (launchd, systemd,
supervisord, runit, s6), the supervisor sees its tracked PID exit, marks
the program as "completed," and respawns it. The new bootstrap fails to
bind port 8787 (orphaned server still has it), exits non-zero, supervisor
respawns again — loop until the orphan crashes for some other reason and
the next respawn finds the port free.
This PR addresses Bug #1 of the three failure modes tracked in #1458:
the `bootstrap.py` double-fork breaking process supervisors. Bug #2
(state.db FD leak) and Bug #3 (HTTP-unhealthy wedge) remain open under
the same issue — they need diagnosis data before a fix can land.
Changes
-------
1. `bootstrap.py`:
- New `--foreground` argparse flag with help text mentioning launchd /
systemd / supervisord.
- New `_detect_supervisor()` that returns the env var name for any
supervisor it detects: `INVOCATION_ID` / `JOURNAL_STREAM` /
`NOTIFY_SOCKET` (systemd, s6), `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` (launchd),
`SUPERVISOR_ENABLED` (supervisord), or `HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND` for
the explicit user opt-in. Truthy values for the explicit opt-in:
`1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` (case-insensitive).
- `main()` branches on `args.foreground or _detect_supervisor()`:
- **Foreground path:** chdir to `agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`, then
`os.execv(python, [python, server_path])` to replace the bootstrap
process image with the server. The supervisor sees the long-lived
server as the original child. No `wait_for_health` probe — the
supervisor's KeepAlive / Restart=on-failure handles liveness.
- **Default path:** unchanged. Spawn server as detached child via
`Popen + start_new_session=True`, probe /health, return 0. This
still works for interactive `bash start.sh` invocations.
- Resolved env vars (HOST/PORT/STATE_DIR/AGENT_DIR) are now mutated on
`os.environ` directly instead of into a local `env` copy so they
are inherited across `os.execv`.
2. `docs/supervisor.md` (new): runnable launchd plist, systemd .service,
and supervisord conf examples + a diagnostic recipe (`lsof` + ppid
chain) for catching the orphan-loop in production.
3. `.gitignore`: allowlist `docs/supervisor.md` (the directory uses an
opt-in pattern; matches the existing `!docs/docker.md` precedent).
4. `tests/test_bootstrap_foreground.py` (new): 35 regression tests
covering the argparse flag, `_detect_supervisor()` behavior across all
five supervisor env vars, the explicit opt-in's truthy/falsy values,
and `main()`'s execv-vs-Popen routing decision under each input
combination. `os.execv` is monkeypatched in the routing tests — we
pin the structural choice (which call is made, with which args, in
which cwd, with which env) not the post-exec behavior.
Why this scope and no more
--------------------------
Bug #2 (state.db FD leak) lists 5 candidate paths and asks the reporter
for `lsof -p <pid> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20` output to
disambiguate. Until that data lands, any "fix" would be speculative —
explicitly out of scope per the contributor-pickup comment on the issue.
Bug #3 (launchd-running, port-listening, HTTP-unhealthy) was added in
@stefanpieter's reply comment. Diagnosis is in flight; no concrete fix
shape yet. Also out of scope.
Running locally end-to-end verifies the behavior:
```
[bootstrap] Starting Hermes Web UI on http://127.0.0.1:8789 (foreground mode: --foreground)
$ pgrep -af 'server.py'
2997632 /home/.../python /tmp/wt-fix-1458/server.py
$ ps -o ppid -p 2997632
2997581 ← bash that ran bootstrap.py — same PID as the original bootstrap
$ ps -p 2997581 -o cmd
... bootstrap.py ... ← but exec'd into server.py
```
The same PID that bash forked for `bootstrap.py` is now `server.py`.
A supervisor watching that PID would correctly observe the long-lived
server. No double-fork.
Verification
------------
- 3811 tests pass (`pytest tests/` — full suite, +51 from this PR plus
master-merge-in)
- All 35 new bootstrap-foreground tests pass
- `bash scripts/run-browser-tests.sh` PASS (HTTP API checks against worktree)
- `bash scripts/webui_qa_agent.sh 8789` PASS (23/23 visual QA)
- Live verified: server starts cleanly under both `--foreground` and
`HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1`; PID lineage confirms no double-fork
Closes #1458 (Bug #1 only). Bugs #2 and #3 remain tracked under the
issue.
2026-05-02 17:37:54 +00:00
These tests do NOT actually exec — ` ` os . execv ` ` is monkeypatched . We ' re
pinning the structural choice ( which path runs , which cwd , which env ) not the
post - exec behavior ( which is the OS kernel ' s job).
"""
from __future__ import annotations
import os
import subprocess
import sys
from pathlib import Path
from unittest . mock import patch
import pytest
REPO_ROOT = Path ( __file__ ) . parent . parent
sys . path . insert ( 0 , str ( REPO_ROOT ) )
# ---------- helpers --------------------------------------------------------
@pytest.fixture
def clean_env ( monkeypatch ) :
fix(bootstrap): address Opus pre-merge review feedback (#1478)
Three changes from the pre-merge Opus review:
**MUST-FIX** — XPC_SERVICE_NAME false-positive on macOS Terminal
macOS launchd sets `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` in EVERY Terminal-spawned shell, not
just real services. Typical noise values: `"0"` (truthy in Python!) and
`"application.com.apple.Terminal.<UUID>"`. A bare `os.environ.get(name)`
existence check would auto-promote interactive `./start.sh` runs to
foreground mode on every Mac dev machine — silently breaking the most
common installation path (no /health probe, no browser open, no log file,
hanging shell).
Fix: new `_is_real_supervisor_value()` helper that filters noise. For
`XPC_SERVICE_NAME` specifically, reject `"0"` and any `"application.*"`
prefix. Real launchd plists use reverse-DNS Label form (`com.<rdns>.<svc>`)
which still triggers correctly.
7 new tests in `TestXPCServiceNameNoiseFilter`:
- 4 noise values (`0`, Terminal.app, iTerm2, VSCode) → no detection
- 3 real Label forms → correct detection
- Mixed env with XPC noise + real INVOCATION_ID → falls through to systemd
**SHOULD-FIX 1** — Test env leakage
The original `clean_env` fixture stripped supervisor-detection env vars
but not the resolved bootstrap vars (HERMES_WEBUI_HOST/PORT/AGENT_DIR)
that `main()` mutates onto `os.environ`. After
`test_foreground_exports_resolved_env_vars` ran, later tests would import
bootstrap with polluted defaults (DEFAULT_HOST="0.0.0.0" instead of
"127.0.0.1"). Existing assertions still passed (tautological vs DEFAULT_*),
but it was a footgun for future tests.
Fix: extend `clean_env` to also `delenv` the three resolved vars before
each test.
**SHOULD-FIX 2** — Pre-execv executability guard
If `discover_launcher_python` returns a path that doesn't exist or isn't
executable, `os.execv` raises OSError → wrapper catches → SystemExit(1)
→ supervisor restarts → loop forever. That's exactly the failure mode
this PR is supposed to eliminate.
Fix: `os.access(python_exe, os.X_OK)` check before execv. Converts
infinite supervisor loop into a single visible RuntimeError.
1 new test in `TestForegroundExecutabilityGuard` pinning that the guard
fires before execv when the python path is non-executable.
**Docs** — supervisor.md updates
- New section explaining the XPC_SERVICE_NAME noise filter and what
values trigger / don't trigger detection
- New section listing supervisors that are NOT auto-detected (runit,
daemontools, PM2, Foreman/Honcho, custom shell-script supervisors)
with explicit recommendation to set HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1
Verification
- 3820 tests pass (+9 from this commit's new tests vs the original PR
push of 3811)
- Filter manually verified end-to-end with the live os.environ:
XPC=0 → None, XPC=application.* → None, XPC=com.example.foo → triggers
- run-browser-tests.sh ALL CHECKS PASSED on the worktree
Items deferred from the Opus review
- #4 chdir target may not exist: REPO_ROOT comes from __file__.resolve()
so it's stable; not a real concern in practice
- #6 two startup messages in foreground mode: cosmetic, useful for
diagnostics
- #7 stricter explicit-only mode: leaves user the override of just not
passing --foreground (current behavior)
- #8 test stub return value: trivial, can fix later if regression surface
- #9 argparse positional-after-option ordering: test reads fine
These can be follow-up issues if anyone hits them.
2026-05-02 17:52:13 +00:00
""" Strip all known supervisor env vars + resolved bootstrap vars so each
test starts from a known - clean state .
The resolved - vars stripping ( HERMES_WEBUI_HOST etc . ) prevents leakage
where a previous test ' s ``main()`` mutated ``os.environ`` and a later
test re - imports ` ` bootstrap ` ` , picking up the polluted defaults . With
these stripped , ` ` DEFAULT_HOST ` ` / ` ` DEFAULT_PORT ` ` fall back to their
hardcoded defaults at module load time .
"""
fix(bootstrap): add --foreground mode for process supervisors (#1458 Bug #1)
Issue #1458 reports persistent-host crashes (≥1/day) when running the WebUI
under launchd KeepAlive on macOS. Root cause: `bootstrap.py` calls
`subprocess.Popen([python, "server.py"], start_new_session=True)`, probes
/health, then exits 0. Under any process supervisor (launchd, systemd,
supervisord, runit, s6), the supervisor sees its tracked PID exit, marks
the program as "completed," and respawns it. The new bootstrap fails to
bind port 8787 (orphaned server still has it), exits non-zero, supervisor
respawns again — loop until the orphan crashes for some other reason and
the next respawn finds the port free.
This PR addresses Bug #1 of the three failure modes tracked in #1458:
the `bootstrap.py` double-fork breaking process supervisors. Bug #2
(state.db FD leak) and Bug #3 (HTTP-unhealthy wedge) remain open under
the same issue — they need diagnosis data before a fix can land.
Changes
-------
1. `bootstrap.py`:
- New `--foreground` argparse flag with help text mentioning launchd /
systemd / supervisord.
- New `_detect_supervisor()` that returns the env var name for any
supervisor it detects: `INVOCATION_ID` / `JOURNAL_STREAM` /
`NOTIFY_SOCKET` (systemd, s6), `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` (launchd),
`SUPERVISOR_ENABLED` (supervisord), or `HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND` for
the explicit user opt-in. Truthy values for the explicit opt-in:
`1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` (case-insensitive).
- `main()` branches on `args.foreground or _detect_supervisor()`:
- **Foreground path:** chdir to `agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`, then
`os.execv(python, [python, server_path])` to replace the bootstrap
process image with the server. The supervisor sees the long-lived
server as the original child. No `wait_for_health` probe — the
supervisor's KeepAlive / Restart=on-failure handles liveness.
- **Default path:** unchanged. Spawn server as detached child via
`Popen + start_new_session=True`, probe /health, return 0. This
still works for interactive `bash start.sh` invocations.
- Resolved env vars (HOST/PORT/STATE_DIR/AGENT_DIR) are now mutated on
`os.environ` directly instead of into a local `env` copy so they
are inherited across `os.execv`.
2. `docs/supervisor.md` (new): runnable launchd plist, systemd .service,
and supervisord conf examples + a diagnostic recipe (`lsof` + ppid
chain) for catching the orphan-loop in production.
3. `.gitignore`: allowlist `docs/supervisor.md` (the directory uses an
opt-in pattern; matches the existing `!docs/docker.md` precedent).
4. `tests/test_bootstrap_foreground.py` (new): 35 regression tests
covering the argparse flag, `_detect_supervisor()` behavior across all
five supervisor env vars, the explicit opt-in's truthy/falsy values,
and `main()`'s execv-vs-Popen routing decision under each input
combination. `os.execv` is monkeypatched in the routing tests — we
pin the structural choice (which call is made, with which args, in
which cwd, with which env) not the post-exec behavior.
Why this scope and no more
--------------------------
Bug #2 (state.db FD leak) lists 5 candidate paths and asks the reporter
for `lsof -p <pid> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20` output to
disambiguate. Until that data lands, any "fix" would be speculative —
explicitly out of scope per the contributor-pickup comment on the issue.
Bug #3 (launchd-running, port-listening, HTTP-unhealthy) was added in
@stefanpieter's reply comment. Diagnosis is in flight; no concrete fix
shape yet. Also out of scope.
Running locally end-to-end verifies the behavior:
```
[bootstrap] Starting Hermes Web UI on http://127.0.0.1:8789 (foreground mode: --foreground)
$ pgrep -af 'server.py'
2997632 /home/.../python /tmp/wt-fix-1458/server.py
$ ps -o ppid -p 2997632
2997581 ← bash that ran bootstrap.py — same PID as the original bootstrap
$ ps -p 2997581 -o cmd
... bootstrap.py ... ← but exec'd into server.py
```
The same PID that bash forked for `bootstrap.py` is now `server.py`.
A supervisor watching that PID would correctly observe the long-lived
server. No double-fork.
Verification
------------
- 3811 tests pass (`pytest tests/` — full suite, +51 from this PR plus
master-merge-in)
- All 35 new bootstrap-foreground tests pass
- `bash scripts/run-browser-tests.sh` PASS (HTTP API checks against worktree)
- `bash scripts/webui_qa_agent.sh 8789` PASS (23/23 visual QA)
- Live verified: server starts cleanly under both `--foreground` and
`HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1`; PID lineage confirms no double-fork
Closes #1458 (Bug #1 only). Bugs #2 and #3 remain tracked under the
issue.
2026-05-02 17:37:54 +00:00
for name in (
fix(bootstrap): address Opus pre-merge review feedback (#1478)
Three changes from the pre-merge Opus review:
**MUST-FIX** — XPC_SERVICE_NAME false-positive on macOS Terminal
macOS launchd sets `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` in EVERY Terminal-spawned shell, not
just real services. Typical noise values: `"0"` (truthy in Python!) and
`"application.com.apple.Terminal.<UUID>"`. A bare `os.environ.get(name)`
existence check would auto-promote interactive `./start.sh` runs to
foreground mode on every Mac dev machine — silently breaking the most
common installation path (no /health probe, no browser open, no log file,
hanging shell).
Fix: new `_is_real_supervisor_value()` helper that filters noise. For
`XPC_SERVICE_NAME` specifically, reject `"0"` and any `"application.*"`
prefix. Real launchd plists use reverse-DNS Label form (`com.<rdns>.<svc>`)
which still triggers correctly.
7 new tests in `TestXPCServiceNameNoiseFilter`:
- 4 noise values (`0`, Terminal.app, iTerm2, VSCode) → no detection
- 3 real Label forms → correct detection
- Mixed env with XPC noise + real INVOCATION_ID → falls through to systemd
**SHOULD-FIX 1** — Test env leakage
The original `clean_env` fixture stripped supervisor-detection env vars
but not the resolved bootstrap vars (HERMES_WEBUI_HOST/PORT/AGENT_DIR)
that `main()` mutates onto `os.environ`. After
`test_foreground_exports_resolved_env_vars` ran, later tests would import
bootstrap with polluted defaults (DEFAULT_HOST="0.0.0.0" instead of
"127.0.0.1"). Existing assertions still passed (tautological vs DEFAULT_*),
but it was a footgun for future tests.
Fix: extend `clean_env` to also `delenv` the three resolved vars before
each test.
**SHOULD-FIX 2** — Pre-execv executability guard
If `discover_launcher_python` returns a path that doesn't exist or isn't
executable, `os.execv` raises OSError → wrapper catches → SystemExit(1)
→ supervisor restarts → loop forever. That's exactly the failure mode
this PR is supposed to eliminate.
Fix: `os.access(python_exe, os.X_OK)` check before execv. Converts
infinite supervisor loop into a single visible RuntimeError.
1 new test in `TestForegroundExecutabilityGuard` pinning that the guard
fires before execv when the python path is non-executable.
**Docs** — supervisor.md updates
- New section explaining the XPC_SERVICE_NAME noise filter and what
values trigger / don't trigger detection
- New section listing supervisors that are NOT auto-detected (runit,
daemontools, PM2, Foreman/Honcho, custom shell-script supervisors)
with explicit recommendation to set HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1
Verification
- 3820 tests pass (+9 from this commit's new tests vs the original PR
push of 3811)
- Filter manually verified end-to-end with the live os.environ:
XPC=0 → None, XPC=application.* → None, XPC=com.example.foo → triggers
- run-browser-tests.sh ALL CHECKS PASSED on the worktree
Items deferred from the Opus review
- #4 chdir target may not exist: REPO_ROOT comes from __file__.resolve()
so it's stable; not a real concern in practice
- #6 two startup messages in foreground mode: cosmetic, useful for
diagnostics
- #7 stricter explicit-only mode: leaves user the override of just not
passing --foreground (current behavior)
- #8 test stub return value: trivial, can fix later if regression surface
- #9 argparse positional-after-option ordering: test reads fine
These can be follow-up issues if anyone hits them.
2026-05-02 17:52:13 +00:00
# Supervisor-detection env vars
fix(bootstrap): add --foreground mode for process supervisors (#1458 Bug #1)
Issue #1458 reports persistent-host crashes (≥1/day) when running the WebUI
under launchd KeepAlive on macOS. Root cause: `bootstrap.py` calls
`subprocess.Popen([python, "server.py"], start_new_session=True)`, probes
/health, then exits 0. Under any process supervisor (launchd, systemd,
supervisord, runit, s6), the supervisor sees its tracked PID exit, marks
the program as "completed," and respawns it. The new bootstrap fails to
bind port 8787 (orphaned server still has it), exits non-zero, supervisor
respawns again — loop until the orphan crashes for some other reason and
the next respawn finds the port free.
This PR addresses Bug #1 of the three failure modes tracked in #1458:
the `bootstrap.py` double-fork breaking process supervisors. Bug #2
(state.db FD leak) and Bug #3 (HTTP-unhealthy wedge) remain open under
the same issue — they need diagnosis data before a fix can land.
Changes
-------
1. `bootstrap.py`:
- New `--foreground` argparse flag with help text mentioning launchd /
systemd / supervisord.
- New `_detect_supervisor()` that returns the env var name for any
supervisor it detects: `INVOCATION_ID` / `JOURNAL_STREAM` /
`NOTIFY_SOCKET` (systemd, s6), `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` (launchd),
`SUPERVISOR_ENABLED` (supervisord), or `HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND` for
the explicit user opt-in. Truthy values for the explicit opt-in:
`1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` (case-insensitive).
- `main()` branches on `args.foreground or _detect_supervisor()`:
- **Foreground path:** chdir to `agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`, then
`os.execv(python, [python, server_path])` to replace the bootstrap
process image with the server. The supervisor sees the long-lived
server as the original child. No `wait_for_health` probe — the
supervisor's KeepAlive / Restart=on-failure handles liveness.
- **Default path:** unchanged. Spawn server as detached child via
`Popen + start_new_session=True`, probe /health, return 0. This
still works for interactive `bash start.sh` invocations.
- Resolved env vars (HOST/PORT/STATE_DIR/AGENT_DIR) are now mutated on
`os.environ` directly instead of into a local `env` copy so they
are inherited across `os.execv`.
2. `docs/supervisor.md` (new): runnable launchd plist, systemd .service,
and supervisord conf examples + a diagnostic recipe (`lsof` + ppid
chain) for catching the orphan-loop in production.
3. `.gitignore`: allowlist `docs/supervisor.md` (the directory uses an
opt-in pattern; matches the existing `!docs/docker.md` precedent).
4. `tests/test_bootstrap_foreground.py` (new): 35 regression tests
covering the argparse flag, `_detect_supervisor()` behavior across all
five supervisor env vars, the explicit opt-in's truthy/falsy values,
and `main()`'s execv-vs-Popen routing decision under each input
combination. `os.execv` is monkeypatched in the routing tests — we
pin the structural choice (which call is made, with which args, in
which cwd, with which env) not the post-exec behavior.
Why this scope and no more
--------------------------
Bug #2 (state.db FD leak) lists 5 candidate paths and asks the reporter
for `lsof -p <pid> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20` output to
disambiguate. Until that data lands, any "fix" would be speculative —
explicitly out of scope per the contributor-pickup comment on the issue.
Bug #3 (launchd-running, port-listening, HTTP-unhealthy) was added in
@stefanpieter's reply comment. Diagnosis is in flight; no concrete fix
shape yet. Also out of scope.
Running locally end-to-end verifies the behavior:
```
[bootstrap] Starting Hermes Web UI on http://127.0.0.1:8789 (foreground mode: --foreground)
$ pgrep -af 'server.py'
2997632 /home/.../python /tmp/wt-fix-1458/server.py
$ ps -o ppid -p 2997632
2997581 ← bash that ran bootstrap.py — same PID as the original bootstrap
$ ps -p 2997581 -o cmd
... bootstrap.py ... ← but exec'd into server.py
```
The same PID that bash forked for `bootstrap.py` is now `server.py`.
A supervisor watching that PID would correctly observe the long-lived
server. No double-fork.
Verification
------------
- 3811 tests pass (`pytest tests/` — full suite, +51 from this PR plus
master-merge-in)
- All 35 new bootstrap-foreground tests pass
- `bash scripts/run-browser-tests.sh` PASS (HTTP API checks against worktree)
- `bash scripts/webui_qa_agent.sh 8789` PASS (23/23 visual QA)
- Live verified: server starts cleanly under both `--foreground` and
`HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1`; PID lineage confirms no double-fork
Closes #1458 (Bug #1 only). Bugs #2 and #3 remain tracked under the
issue.
2026-05-02 17:37:54 +00:00
" INVOCATION_ID " ,
" JOURNAL_STREAM " ,
" NOTIFY_SOCKET " ,
" XPC_SERVICE_NAME " ,
" SUPERVISOR_ENABLED " ,
" HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND " ,
fix(bootstrap): address Opus pre-merge review feedback (#1478)
Three changes from the pre-merge Opus review:
**MUST-FIX** — XPC_SERVICE_NAME false-positive on macOS Terminal
macOS launchd sets `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` in EVERY Terminal-spawned shell, not
just real services. Typical noise values: `"0"` (truthy in Python!) and
`"application.com.apple.Terminal.<UUID>"`. A bare `os.environ.get(name)`
existence check would auto-promote interactive `./start.sh` runs to
foreground mode on every Mac dev machine — silently breaking the most
common installation path (no /health probe, no browser open, no log file,
hanging shell).
Fix: new `_is_real_supervisor_value()` helper that filters noise. For
`XPC_SERVICE_NAME` specifically, reject `"0"` and any `"application.*"`
prefix. Real launchd plists use reverse-DNS Label form (`com.<rdns>.<svc>`)
which still triggers correctly.
7 new tests in `TestXPCServiceNameNoiseFilter`:
- 4 noise values (`0`, Terminal.app, iTerm2, VSCode) → no detection
- 3 real Label forms → correct detection
- Mixed env with XPC noise + real INVOCATION_ID → falls through to systemd
**SHOULD-FIX 1** — Test env leakage
The original `clean_env` fixture stripped supervisor-detection env vars
but not the resolved bootstrap vars (HERMES_WEBUI_HOST/PORT/AGENT_DIR)
that `main()` mutates onto `os.environ`. After
`test_foreground_exports_resolved_env_vars` ran, later tests would import
bootstrap with polluted defaults (DEFAULT_HOST="0.0.0.0" instead of
"127.0.0.1"). Existing assertions still passed (tautological vs DEFAULT_*),
but it was a footgun for future tests.
Fix: extend `clean_env` to also `delenv` the three resolved vars before
each test.
**SHOULD-FIX 2** — Pre-execv executability guard
If `discover_launcher_python` returns a path that doesn't exist or isn't
executable, `os.execv` raises OSError → wrapper catches → SystemExit(1)
→ supervisor restarts → loop forever. That's exactly the failure mode
this PR is supposed to eliminate.
Fix: `os.access(python_exe, os.X_OK)` check before execv. Converts
infinite supervisor loop into a single visible RuntimeError.
1 new test in `TestForegroundExecutabilityGuard` pinning that the guard
fires before execv when the python path is non-executable.
**Docs** — supervisor.md updates
- New section explaining the XPC_SERVICE_NAME noise filter and what
values trigger / don't trigger detection
- New section listing supervisors that are NOT auto-detected (runit,
daemontools, PM2, Foreman/Honcho, custom shell-script supervisors)
with explicit recommendation to set HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1
Verification
- 3820 tests pass (+9 from this commit's new tests vs the original PR
push of 3811)
- Filter manually verified end-to-end with the live os.environ:
XPC=0 → None, XPC=application.* → None, XPC=com.example.foo → triggers
- run-browser-tests.sh ALL CHECKS PASSED on the worktree
Items deferred from the Opus review
- #4 chdir target may not exist: REPO_ROOT comes from __file__.resolve()
so it's stable; not a real concern in practice
- #6 two startup messages in foreground mode: cosmetic, useful for
diagnostics
- #7 stricter explicit-only mode: leaves user the override of just not
passing --foreground (current behavior)
- #8 test stub return value: trivial, can fix later if regression surface
- #9 argparse positional-after-option ordering: test reads fine
These can be follow-up issues if anyone hits them.
2026-05-02 17:52:13 +00:00
# Bootstrap-resolved env vars (mutated by main(), can leak across tests)
" HERMES_WEBUI_HOST " ,
" HERMES_WEBUI_PORT " ,
" HERMES_WEBUI_AGENT_DIR " ,
2026-07-09 23:49:56 +00:00
" HERMES_WEBUI_PYTHON " ,
" HERMES_WEBUI_DISABLE_LOCAL_VENV " ,
2026-06-19 23:26:05 +00:00
" HERMES_WEBUI_STATE_DIR " ,
" HERMES_WEBUI_SERVER_CWD " ,
" HERMES_HOME " ,
fix(bootstrap): add --foreground mode for process supervisors (#1458 Bug #1)
Issue #1458 reports persistent-host crashes (≥1/day) when running the WebUI
under launchd KeepAlive on macOS. Root cause: `bootstrap.py` calls
`subprocess.Popen([python, "server.py"], start_new_session=True)`, probes
/health, then exits 0. Under any process supervisor (launchd, systemd,
supervisord, runit, s6), the supervisor sees its tracked PID exit, marks
the program as "completed," and respawns it. The new bootstrap fails to
bind port 8787 (orphaned server still has it), exits non-zero, supervisor
respawns again — loop until the orphan crashes for some other reason and
the next respawn finds the port free.
This PR addresses Bug #1 of the three failure modes tracked in #1458:
the `bootstrap.py` double-fork breaking process supervisors. Bug #2
(state.db FD leak) and Bug #3 (HTTP-unhealthy wedge) remain open under
the same issue — they need diagnosis data before a fix can land.
Changes
-------
1. `bootstrap.py`:
- New `--foreground` argparse flag with help text mentioning launchd /
systemd / supervisord.
- New `_detect_supervisor()` that returns the env var name for any
supervisor it detects: `INVOCATION_ID` / `JOURNAL_STREAM` /
`NOTIFY_SOCKET` (systemd, s6), `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` (launchd),
`SUPERVISOR_ENABLED` (supervisord), or `HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND` for
the explicit user opt-in. Truthy values for the explicit opt-in:
`1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` (case-insensitive).
- `main()` branches on `args.foreground or _detect_supervisor()`:
- **Foreground path:** chdir to `agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`, then
`os.execv(python, [python, server_path])` to replace the bootstrap
process image with the server. The supervisor sees the long-lived
server as the original child. No `wait_for_health` probe — the
supervisor's KeepAlive / Restart=on-failure handles liveness.
- **Default path:** unchanged. Spawn server as detached child via
`Popen + start_new_session=True`, probe /health, return 0. This
still works for interactive `bash start.sh` invocations.
- Resolved env vars (HOST/PORT/STATE_DIR/AGENT_DIR) are now mutated on
`os.environ` directly instead of into a local `env` copy so they
are inherited across `os.execv`.
2. `docs/supervisor.md` (new): runnable launchd plist, systemd .service,
and supervisord conf examples + a diagnostic recipe (`lsof` + ppid
chain) for catching the orphan-loop in production.
3. `.gitignore`: allowlist `docs/supervisor.md` (the directory uses an
opt-in pattern; matches the existing `!docs/docker.md` precedent).
4. `tests/test_bootstrap_foreground.py` (new): 35 regression tests
covering the argparse flag, `_detect_supervisor()` behavior across all
five supervisor env vars, the explicit opt-in's truthy/falsy values,
and `main()`'s execv-vs-Popen routing decision under each input
combination. `os.execv` is monkeypatched in the routing tests — we
pin the structural choice (which call is made, with which args, in
which cwd, with which env) not the post-exec behavior.
Why this scope and no more
--------------------------
Bug #2 (state.db FD leak) lists 5 candidate paths and asks the reporter
for `lsof -p <pid> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20` output to
disambiguate. Until that data lands, any "fix" would be speculative —
explicitly out of scope per the contributor-pickup comment on the issue.
Bug #3 (launchd-running, port-listening, HTTP-unhealthy) was added in
@stefanpieter's reply comment. Diagnosis is in flight; no concrete fix
shape yet. Also out of scope.
Running locally end-to-end verifies the behavior:
```
[bootstrap] Starting Hermes Web UI on http://127.0.0.1:8789 (foreground mode: --foreground)
$ pgrep -af 'server.py'
2997632 /home/.../python /tmp/wt-fix-1458/server.py
$ ps -o ppid -p 2997632
2997581 ← bash that ran bootstrap.py — same PID as the original bootstrap
$ ps -p 2997581 -o cmd
... bootstrap.py ... ← but exec'd into server.py
```
The same PID that bash forked for `bootstrap.py` is now `server.py`.
A supervisor watching that PID would correctly observe the long-lived
server. No double-fork.
Verification
------------
- 3811 tests pass (`pytest tests/` — full suite, +51 from this PR plus
master-merge-in)
- All 35 new bootstrap-foreground tests pass
- `bash scripts/run-browser-tests.sh` PASS (HTTP API checks against worktree)
- `bash scripts/webui_qa_agent.sh 8789` PASS (23/23 visual QA)
- Live verified: server starts cleanly under both `--foreground` and
`HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1`; PID lineage confirms no double-fork
Closes #1458 (Bug #1 only). Bugs #2 and #3 remain tracked under the
issue.
2026-05-02 17:37:54 +00:00
) :
monkeypatch . delenv ( name , raising = False )
@pytest.fixture
def import_bootstrap ( ) :
""" Import bootstrap freshly each test to avoid module-level state bleed. """
# bootstrap.py runs ``_load_repo_dotenv()`` at import time; that's idempotent.
if " bootstrap " in sys . modules :
del sys . modules [ " bootstrap " ]
import bootstrap as bs
return bs
# ---------- argparse coverage ---------------------------------------------
class TestForegroundFlag :
def test_foreground_is_recognized_flag ( self , import_bootstrap , monkeypatch ) :
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " argv " , [ " bootstrap.py " , " --foreground " ] )
args = import_bootstrap . parse_args ( )
assert args . foreground is True
assert args . port == import_bootstrap . DEFAULT_PORT # default preserved
assert args . host == import_bootstrap . DEFAULT_HOST
def test_foreground_default_is_false ( self , import_bootstrap , monkeypatch ) :
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " argv " , [ " bootstrap.py " ] )
args = import_bootstrap . parse_args ( )
assert args . foreground is False
def test_foreground_help_mentions_supervisors ( self , import_bootstrap , monkeypatch , capsys ) :
# argparse prints help and exits — capture and verify content.
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " argv " , [ " bootstrap.py " , " --help " ] )
with pytest . raises ( SystemExit ) :
import_bootstrap . parse_args ( )
out = capsys . readouterr ( ) . out
assert " --foreground " in out
assert " launchd " in out
assert " systemd " in out
assert " supervisord " in out
# ---------- _detect_supervisor() ------------------------------------------
class TestDetectSupervisor :
def test_clean_env_returns_none ( self , import_bootstrap , clean_env ) :
assert import_bootstrap . _detect_supervisor ( ) is None
@pytest.mark.parametrize ( " var " , [
" INVOCATION_ID " ,
" JOURNAL_STREAM " ,
" NOTIFY_SOCKET " ,
" XPC_SERVICE_NAME " ,
" SUPERVISOR_ENABLED " ,
] )
def test_each_supervisor_var_triggers ( self , import_bootstrap , clean_env , monkeypatch , var ) :
monkeypatch . setenv ( var , " anything-truthy " )
assert import_bootstrap . _detect_supervisor ( ) == var
@pytest.mark.parametrize ( " value " , [ " 1 " , " true " , " TRUE " , " yes " , " Yes " , " on " , " ON " ] )
def test_explicit_opt_in_truthy_values ( self , import_bootstrap , clean_env , monkeypatch , value ) :
monkeypatch . setenv ( " HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND " , value )
assert import_bootstrap . _detect_supervisor ( ) == " HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND "
@pytest.mark.parametrize ( " value " , [ " 0 " , " false " , " FALSE " , " no " , " off " , " " , " " ] )
def test_explicit_opt_in_falsy_values_fall_through ( self , import_bootstrap , clean_env , monkeypatch , value ) :
# When HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND is falsy, we should NOT short-circuit on it.
# If no other supervisor var is set, returns None.
monkeypatch . setenv ( " HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND " , value )
assert import_bootstrap . _detect_supervisor ( ) is None
def test_explicit_opt_in_takes_precedence_over_supervisor_var ( self , import_bootstrap , clean_env , monkeypatch ) :
# Both set → explicit flag wins (returned name reflects user intent).
monkeypatch . setenv ( " HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND " , " 1 " )
monkeypatch . setenv ( " INVOCATION_ID " , " deadbeef " )
assert import_bootstrap . _detect_supervisor ( ) == " HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND "
fix(bootstrap): address Opus pre-merge review feedback (#1478)
Three changes from the pre-merge Opus review:
**MUST-FIX** — XPC_SERVICE_NAME false-positive on macOS Terminal
macOS launchd sets `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` in EVERY Terminal-spawned shell, not
just real services. Typical noise values: `"0"` (truthy in Python!) and
`"application.com.apple.Terminal.<UUID>"`. A bare `os.environ.get(name)`
existence check would auto-promote interactive `./start.sh` runs to
foreground mode on every Mac dev machine — silently breaking the most
common installation path (no /health probe, no browser open, no log file,
hanging shell).
Fix: new `_is_real_supervisor_value()` helper that filters noise. For
`XPC_SERVICE_NAME` specifically, reject `"0"` and any `"application.*"`
prefix. Real launchd plists use reverse-DNS Label form (`com.<rdns>.<svc>`)
which still triggers correctly.
7 new tests in `TestXPCServiceNameNoiseFilter`:
- 4 noise values (`0`, Terminal.app, iTerm2, VSCode) → no detection
- 3 real Label forms → correct detection
- Mixed env with XPC noise + real INVOCATION_ID → falls through to systemd
**SHOULD-FIX 1** — Test env leakage
The original `clean_env` fixture stripped supervisor-detection env vars
but not the resolved bootstrap vars (HERMES_WEBUI_HOST/PORT/AGENT_DIR)
that `main()` mutates onto `os.environ`. After
`test_foreground_exports_resolved_env_vars` ran, later tests would import
bootstrap with polluted defaults (DEFAULT_HOST="0.0.0.0" instead of
"127.0.0.1"). Existing assertions still passed (tautological vs DEFAULT_*),
but it was a footgun for future tests.
Fix: extend `clean_env` to also `delenv` the three resolved vars before
each test.
**SHOULD-FIX 2** — Pre-execv executability guard
If `discover_launcher_python` returns a path that doesn't exist or isn't
executable, `os.execv` raises OSError → wrapper catches → SystemExit(1)
→ supervisor restarts → loop forever. That's exactly the failure mode
this PR is supposed to eliminate.
Fix: `os.access(python_exe, os.X_OK)` check before execv. Converts
infinite supervisor loop into a single visible RuntimeError.
1 new test in `TestForegroundExecutabilityGuard` pinning that the guard
fires before execv when the python path is non-executable.
**Docs** — supervisor.md updates
- New section explaining the XPC_SERVICE_NAME noise filter and what
values trigger / don't trigger detection
- New section listing supervisors that are NOT auto-detected (runit,
daemontools, PM2, Foreman/Honcho, custom shell-script supervisors)
with explicit recommendation to set HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1
Verification
- 3820 tests pass (+9 from this commit's new tests vs the original PR
push of 3811)
- Filter manually verified end-to-end with the live os.environ:
XPC=0 → None, XPC=application.* → None, XPC=com.example.foo → triggers
- run-browser-tests.sh ALL CHECKS PASSED on the worktree
Items deferred from the Opus review
- #4 chdir target may not exist: REPO_ROOT comes from __file__.resolve()
so it's stable; not a real concern in practice
- #6 two startup messages in foreground mode: cosmetic, useful for
diagnostics
- #7 stricter explicit-only mode: leaves user the override of just not
passing --foreground (current behavior)
- #8 test stub return value: trivial, can fix later if regression surface
- #9 argparse positional-after-option ordering: test reads fine
These can be follow-up issues if anyone hits them.
2026-05-02 17:52:13 +00:00
class TestXPCServiceNameNoiseFilter :
""" macOS launchd sets XPC_SERVICE_NAME in EVERY Terminal-spawned shell.
Without filtering , every Mac dev running ` ` . / start . sh ` ` would silently
auto - promote to foreground mode and lose the / health probe + browser open
+ bootstrap log . We narrow to launchd Label - style names ( com . < rdns > . < svc > )
while rejecting the well - known noise values .
"""
@pytest.mark.parametrize ( " noise_value " , [
" 0 " , # launchd descendants
" application.com.apple.Terminal.0BCDDEAD-1234-5678 " , # Terminal.app shells
" application.com.googlecode.iterm2 " , # iTerm2
" application.com.microsoft.VSCode " , # VSCode terminal
] )
def test_xpc_noise_values_do_not_trigger ( self , import_bootstrap , clean_env , monkeypatch , noise_value ) :
monkeypatch . setenv ( " XPC_SERVICE_NAME " , noise_value )
assert import_bootstrap . _detect_supervisor ( ) is None , (
f " XPC_SERVICE_NAME= { noise_value !r} should not trigger foreground "
f " mode — that would break interactive ./start.sh on every Mac. "
)
@pytest.mark.parametrize ( " real_value " , [
" com.example.hermes-webui " ,
" com.acme.production-server " ,
" io.github.user.my-service " ,
] )
def test_xpc_real_label_triggers ( self , import_bootstrap , clean_env , monkeypatch , real_value ) :
monkeypatch . setenv ( " XPC_SERVICE_NAME " , real_value )
assert import_bootstrap . _detect_supervisor ( ) == " XPC_SERVICE_NAME " , (
f " XPC_SERVICE_NAME= { real_value !r} is a launchd Label and should "
f " trigger foreground mode. "
)
def test_xpc_noise_does_not_block_other_supervisor_var ( self , import_bootstrap , clean_env , monkeypatch ) :
# If XPC has a noise value but INVOCATION_ID is set (mixed env, e.g.
# systemd unit run on a Mac CI runner), we should still detect via
# INVOCATION_ID rather than swallow it.
monkeypatch . setenv ( " XPC_SERVICE_NAME " , " 0 " )
monkeypatch . setenv ( " INVOCATION_ID " , " deadbeef " )
assert import_bootstrap . _detect_supervisor ( ) == " INVOCATION_ID "
fix(bootstrap): add --foreground mode for process supervisors (#1458 Bug #1)
Issue #1458 reports persistent-host crashes (≥1/day) when running the WebUI
under launchd KeepAlive on macOS. Root cause: `bootstrap.py` calls
`subprocess.Popen([python, "server.py"], start_new_session=True)`, probes
/health, then exits 0. Under any process supervisor (launchd, systemd,
supervisord, runit, s6), the supervisor sees its tracked PID exit, marks
the program as "completed," and respawns it. The new bootstrap fails to
bind port 8787 (orphaned server still has it), exits non-zero, supervisor
respawns again — loop until the orphan crashes for some other reason and
the next respawn finds the port free.
This PR addresses Bug #1 of the three failure modes tracked in #1458:
the `bootstrap.py` double-fork breaking process supervisors. Bug #2
(state.db FD leak) and Bug #3 (HTTP-unhealthy wedge) remain open under
the same issue — they need diagnosis data before a fix can land.
Changes
-------
1. `bootstrap.py`:
- New `--foreground` argparse flag with help text mentioning launchd /
systemd / supervisord.
- New `_detect_supervisor()` that returns the env var name for any
supervisor it detects: `INVOCATION_ID` / `JOURNAL_STREAM` /
`NOTIFY_SOCKET` (systemd, s6), `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` (launchd),
`SUPERVISOR_ENABLED` (supervisord), or `HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND` for
the explicit user opt-in. Truthy values for the explicit opt-in:
`1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` (case-insensitive).
- `main()` branches on `args.foreground or _detect_supervisor()`:
- **Foreground path:** chdir to `agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`, then
`os.execv(python, [python, server_path])` to replace the bootstrap
process image with the server. The supervisor sees the long-lived
server as the original child. No `wait_for_health` probe — the
supervisor's KeepAlive / Restart=on-failure handles liveness.
- **Default path:** unchanged. Spawn server as detached child via
`Popen + start_new_session=True`, probe /health, return 0. This
still works for interactive `bash start.sh` invocations.
- Resolved env vars (HOST/PORT/STATE_DIR/AGENT_DIR) are now mutated on
`os.environ` directly instead of into a local `env` copy so they
are inherited across `os.execv`.
2. `docs/supervisor.md` (new): runnable launchd plist, systemd .service,
and supervisord conf examples + a diagnostic recipe (`lsof` + ppid
chain) for catching the orphan-loop in production.
3. `.gitignore`: allowlist `docs/supervisor.md` (the directory uses an
opt-in pattern; matches the existing `!docs/docker.md` precedent).
4. `tests/test_bootstrap_foreground.py` (new): 35 regression tests
covering the argparse flag, `_detect_supervisor()` behavior across all
five supervisor env vars, the explicit opt-in's truthy/falsy values,
and `main()`'s execv-vs-Popen routing decision under each input
combination. `os.execv` is monkeypatched in the routing tests — we
pin the structural choice (which call is made, with which args, in
which cwd, with which env) not the post-exec behavior.
Why this scope and no more
--------------------------
Bug #2 (state.db FD leak) lists 5 candidate paths and asks the reporter
for `lsof -p <pid> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20` output to
disambiguate. Until that data lands, any "fix" would be speculative —
explicitly out of scope per the contributor-pickup comment on the issue.
Bug #3 (launchd-running, port-listening, HTTP-unhealthy) was added in
@stefanpieter's reply comment. Diagnosis is in flight; no concrete fix
shape yet. Also out of scope.
Running locally end-to-end verifies the behavior:
```
[bootstrap] Starting Hermes Web UI on http://127.0.0.1:8789 (foreground mode: --foreground)
$ pgrep -af 'server.py'
2997632 /home/.../python /tmp/wt-fix-1458/server.py
$ ps -o ppid -p 2997632
2997581 ← bash that ran bootstrap.py — same PID as the original bootstrap
$ ps -p 2997581 -o cmd
... bootstrap.py ... ← but exec'd into server.py
```
The same PID that bash forked for `bootstrap.py` is now `server.py`.
A supervisor watching that PID would correctly observe the long-lived
server. No double-fork.
Verification
------------
- 3811 tests pass (`pytest tests/` — full suite, +51 from this PR plus
master-merge-in)
- All 35 new bootstrap-foreground tests pass
- `bash scripts/run-browser-tests.sh` PASS (HTTP API checks against worktree)
- `bash scripts/webui_qa_agent.sh 8789` PASS (23/23 visual QA)
- Live verified: server starts cleanly under both `--foreground` and
`HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1`; PID lineage confirms no double-fork
Closes #1458 (Bug #1 only). Bugs #2 and #3 remain tracked under the
issue.
2026-05-02 17:37:54 +00:00
# ---------- main() routing ------------------------------------------------
class TestMainForegroundRouting :
""" Verify which code path main() takes under each input combination.
These are STRUCTURAL tests — they pin which call ( execv vs Popen ) is made ,
not the result . We monkeypatch every external side effect so main ( ) runs
in a hermetic environment .
"""
@pytest.fixture
def stub_main_dependencies ( self , monkeypatch , tmp_path ) :
""" Stub out everything main() calls except the routing decision. """
import bootstrap as bs
2026-06-15 19:42:33 +00:00
python_exe = sys . executable
fix(bootstrap): add --foreground mode for process supervisors (#1458 Bug #1)
Issue #1458 reports persistent-host crashes (≥1/day) when running the WebUI
under launchd KeepAlive on macOS. Root cause: `bootstrap.py` calls
`subprocess.Popen([python, "server.py"], start_new_session=True)`, probes
/health, then exits 0. Under any process supervisor (launchd, systemd,
supervisord, runit, s6), the supervisor sees its tracked PID exit, marks
the program as "completed," and respawns it. The new bootstrap fails to
bind port 8787 (orphaned server still has it), exits non-zero, supervisor
respawns again — loop until the orphan crashes for some other reason and
the next respawn finds the port free.
This PR addresses Bug #1 of the three failure modes tracked in #1458:
the `bootstrap.py` double-fork breaking process supervisors. Bug #2
(state.db FD leak) and Bug #3 (HTTP-unhealthy wedge) remain open under
the same issue — they need diagnosis data before a fix can land.
Changes
-------
1. `bootstrap.py`:
- New `--foreground` argparse flag with help text mentioning launchd /
systemd / supervisord.
- New `_detect_supervisor()` that returns the env var name for any
supervisor it detects: `INVOCATION_ID` / `JOURNAL_STREAM` /
`NOTIFY_SOCKET` (systemd, s6), `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` (launchd),
`SUPERVISOR_ENABLED` (supervisord), or `HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND` for
the explicit user opt-in. Truthy values for the explicit opt-in:
`1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` (case-insensitive).
- `main()` branches on `args.foreground or _detect_supervisor()`:
- **Foreground path:** chdir to `agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`, then
`os.execv(python, [python, server_path])` to replace the bootstrap
process image with the server. The supervisor sees the long-lived
server as the original child. No `wait_for_health` probe — the
supervisor's KeepAlive / Restart=on-failure handles liveness.
- **Default path:** unchanged. Spawn server as detached child via
`Popen + start_new_session=True`, probe /health, return 0. This
still works for interactive `bash start.sh` invocations.
- Resolved env vars (HOST/PORT/STATE_DIR/AGENT_DIR) are now mutated on
`os.environ` directly instead of into a local `env` copy so they
are inherited across `os.execv`.
2. `docs/supervisor.md` (new): runnable launchd plist, systemd .service,
and supervisord conf examples + a diagnostic recipe (`lsof` + ppid
chain) for catching the orphan-loop in production.
3. `.gitignore`: allowlist `docs/supervisor.md` (the directory uses an
opt-in pattern; matches the existing `!docs/docker.md` precedent).
4. `tests/test_bootstrap_foreground.py` (new): 35 regression tests
covering the argparse flag, `_detect_supervisor()` behavior across all
five supervisor env vars, the explicit opt-in's truthy/falsy values,
and `main()`'s execv-vs-Popen routing decision under each input
combination. `os.execv` is monkeypatched in the routing tests — we
pin the structural choice (which call is made, with which args, in
which cwd, with which env) not the post-exec behavior.
Why this scope and no more
--------------------------
Bug #2 (state.db FD leak) lists 5 candidate paths and asks the reporter
for `lsof -p <pid> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20` output to
disambiguate. Until that data lands, any "fix" would be speculative —
explicitly out of scope per the contributor-pickup comment on the issue.
Bug #3 (launchd-running, port-listening, HTTP-unhealthy) was added in
@stefanpieter's reply comment. Diagnosis is in flight; no concrete fix
shape yet. Also out of scope.
Running locally end-to-end verifies the behavior:
```
[bootstrap] Starting Hermes Web UI on http://127.0.0.1:8789 (foreground mode: --foreground)
$ pgrep -af 'server.py'
2997632 /home/.../python /tmp/wt-fix-1458/server.py
$ ps -o ppid -p 2997632
2997581 ← bash that ran bootstrap.py — same PID as the original bootstrap
$ ps -p 2997581 -o cmd
... bootstrap.py ... ← but exec'd into server.py
```
The same PID that bash forked for `bootstrap.py` is now `server.py`.
A supervisor watching that PID would correctly observe the long-lived
server. No double-fork.
Verification
------------
- 3811 tests pass (`pytest tests/` — full suite, +51 from this PR plus
master-merge-in)
- All 35 new bootstrap-foreground tests pass
- `bash scripts/run-browser-tests.sh` PASS (HTTP API checks against worktree)
- `bash scripts/webui_qa_agent.sh 8789` PASS (23/23 visual QA)
- Live verified: server starts cleanly under both `--foreground` and
`HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1`; PID lineage confirms no double-fork
Closes #1458 (Bug #1 only). Bugs #2 and #3 remain tracked under the
issue.
2026-05-02 17:37:54 +00:00
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs , " ensure_supported_platform " , lambda : None )
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs , " discover_agent_dir " , lambda : tmp_path / " agent " )
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs , " hermes_command_exists " , lambda : True )
2026-06-15 19:42:33 +00:00
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs , " discover_launcher_python " , lambda * a : python_exe )
2026-05-02 19:35:42 +00:00
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs , " ensure_python_has_webui_deps " , lambda * a , * * kw : a [ 0 ] )
fix(bootstrap): add --foreground mode for process supervisors (#1458 Bug #1)
Issue #1458 reports persistent-host crashes (≥1/day) when running the WebUI
under launchd KeepAlive on macOS. Root cause: `bootstrap.py` calls
`subprocess.Popen([python, "server.py"], start_new_session=True)`, probes
/health, then exits 0. Under any process supervisor (launchd, systemd,
supervisord, runit, s6), the supervisor sees its tracked PID exit, marks
the program as "completed," and respawns it. The new bootstrap fails to
bind port 8787 (orphaned server still has it), exits non-zero, supervisor
respawns again — loop until the orphan crashes for some other reason and
the next respawn finds the port free.
This PR addresses Bug #1 of the three failure modes tracked in #1458:
the `bootstrap.py` double-fork breaking process supervisors. Bug #2
(state.db FD leak) and Bug #3 (HTTP-unhealthy wedge) remain open under
the same issue — they need diagnosis data before a fix can land.
Changes
-------
1. `bootstrap.py`:
- New `--foreground` argparse flag with help text mentioning launchd /
systemd / supervisord.
- New `_detect_supervisor()` that returns the env var name for any
supervisor it detects: `INVOCATION_ID` / `JOURNAL_STREAM` /
`NOTIFY_SOCKET` (systemd, s6), `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` (launchd),
`SUPERVISOR_ENABLED` (supervisord), or `HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND` for
the explicit user opt-in. Truthy values for the explicit opt-in:
`1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` (case-insensitive).
- `main()` branches on `args.foreground or _detect_supervisor()`:
- **Foreground path:** chdir to `agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`, then
`os.execv(python, [python, server_path])` to replace the bootstrap
process image with the server. The supervisor sees the long-lived
server as the original child. No `wait_for_health` probe — the
supervisor's KeepAlive / Restart=on-failure handles liveness.
- **Default path:** unchanged. Spawn server as detached child via
`Popen + start_new_session=True`, probe /health, return 0. This
still works for interactive `bash start.sh` invocations.
- Resolved env vars (HOST/PORT/STATE_DIR/AGENT_DIR) are now mutated on
`os.environ` directly instead of into a local `env` copy so they
are inherited across `os.execv`.
2. `docs/supervisor.md` (new): runnable launchd plist, systemd .service,
and supervisord conf examples + a diagnostic recipe (`lsof` + ppid
chain) for catching the orphan-loop in production.
3. `.gitignore`: allowlist `docs/supervisor.md` (the directory uses an
opt-in pattern; matches the existing `!docs/docker.md` precedent).
4. `tests/test_bootstrap_foreground.py` (new): 35 regression tests
covering the argparse flag, `_detect_supervisor()` behavior across all
five supervisor env vars, the explicit opt-in's truthy/falsy values,
and `main()`'s execv-vs-Popen routing decision under each input
combination. `os.execv` is monkeypatched in the routing tests — we
pin the structural choice (which call is made, with which args, in
which cwd, with which env) not the post-exec behavior.
Why this scope and no more
--------------------------
Bug #2 (state.db FD leak) lists 5 candidate paths and asks the reporter
for `lsof -p <pid> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20` output to
disambiguate. Until that data lands, any "fix" would be speculative —
explicitly out of scope per the contributor-pickup comment on the issue.
Bug #3 (launchd-running, port-listening, HTTP-unhealthy) was added in
@stefanpieter's reply comment. Diagnosis is in flight; no concrete fix
shape yet. Also out of scope.
Running locally end-to-end verifies the behavior:
```
[bootstrap] Starting Hermes Web UI on http://127.0.0.1:8789 (foreground mode: --foreground)
$ pgrep -af 'server.py'
2997632 /home/.../python /tmp/wt-fix-1458/server.py
$ ps -o ppid -p 2997632
2997581 ← bash that ran bootstrap.py — same PID as the original bootstrap
$ ps -p 2997581 -o cmd
... bootstrap.py ... ← but exec'd into server.py
```
The same PID that bash forked for `bootstrap.py` is now `server.py`.
A supervisor watching that PID would correctly observe the long-lived
server. No double-fork.
Verification
------------
- 3811 tests pass (`pytest tests/` — full suite, +51 from this PR plus
master-merge-in)
- All 35 new bootstrap-foreground tests pass
- `bash scripts/run-browser-tests.sh` PASS (HTTP API checks against worktree)
- `bash scripts/webui_qa_agent.sh 8789` PASS (23/23 visual QA)
- Live verified: server starts cleanly under both `--foreground` and
`HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1`; PID lineage confirms no double-fork
Closes #1458 (Bug #1 only). Bugs #2 and #3 remain tracked under the
issue.
2026-05-02 17:37:54 +00:00
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs , " wait_for_health " , lambda * a , * * kw : True )
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs , " open_browser " , lambda * a , * * kw : None )
monkeypatch . setenv ( " HERMES_WEBUI_STATE_DIR " , str ( tmp_path / " state " ) )
# Make agent_dir exist so chdir doesn't fail.
( tmp_path / " agent " ) . mkdir ( parents = True , exist_ok = True )
return bs
def test_default_path_uses_popen ( self , stub_main_dependencies , clean_env , monkeypatch ) :
bs = stub_main_dependencies
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " argv " , [ " bootstrap.py " , " --no-browser " ] )
execv_calls = [ ]
popen_calls = [ ]
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " execv " , lambda * a : execv_calls . append ( a ) )
class FakePopen :
pid = 12345
def __init__ ( self , * args , * * kwargs ) :
popen_calls . append ( ( args , kwargs ) )
monkeypatch . setattr ( subprocess , " Popen " , FakePopen )
rc = bs . main ( )
assert rc == 0
assert len ( popen_calls ) == 1 , " Default path should call subprocess.Popen exactly once "
assert len ( execv_calls ) == 0 , " Default path must NOT call os.execv "
def test_foreground_flag_uses_execv ( self , stub_main_dependencies , clean_env , monkeypatch ) :
bs = stub_main_dependencies
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " argv " , [ " bootstrap.py " , " --foreground " ] )
2026-06-15 19:42:33 +00:00
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " platform " , " linux " )
fix(bootstrap): add --foreground mode for process supervisors (#1458 Bug #1)
Issue #1458 reports persistent-host crashes (≥1/day) when running the WebUI
under launchd KeepAlive on macOS. Root cause: `bootstrap.py` calls
`subprocess.Popen([python, "server.py"], start_new_session=True)`, probes
/health, then exits 0. Under any process supervisor (launchd, systemd,
supervisord, runit, s6), the supervisor sees its tracked PID exit, marks
the program as "completed," and respawns it. The new bootstrap fails to
bind port 8787 (orphaned server still has it), exits non-zero, supervisor
respawns again — loop until the orphan crashes for some other reason and
the next respawn finds the port free.
This PR addresses Bug #1 of the three failure modes tracked in #1458:
the `bootstrap.py` double-fork breaking process supervisors. Bug #2
(state.db FD leak) and Bug #3 (HTTP-unhealthy wedge) remain open under
the same issue — they need diagnosis data before a fix can land.
Changes
-------
1. `bootstrap.py`:
- New `--foreground` argparse flag with help text mentioning launchd /
systemd / supervisord.
- New `_detect_supervisor()` that returns the env var name for any
supervisor it detects: `INVOCATION_ID` / `JOURNAL_STREAM` /
`NOTIFY_SOCKET` (systemd, s6), `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` (launchd),
`SUPERVISOR_ENABLED` (supervisord), or `HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND` for
the explicit user opt-in. Truthy values for the explicit opt-in:
`1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` (case-insensitive).
- `main()` branches on `args.foreground or _detect_supervisor()`:
- **Foreground path:** chdir to `agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`, then
`os.execv(python, [python, server_path])` to replace the bootstrap
process image with the server. The supervisor sees the long-lived
server as the original child. No `wait_for_health` probe — the
supervisor's KeepAlive / Restart=on-failure handles liveness.
- **Default path:** unchanged. Spawn server as detached child via
`Popen + start_new_session=True`, probe /health, return 0. This
still works for interactive `bash start.sh` invocations.
- Resolved env vars (HOST/PORT/STATE_DIR/AGENT_DIR) are now mutated on
`os.environ` directly instead of into a local `env` copy so they
are inherited across `os.execv`.
2. `docs/supervisor.md` (new): runnable launchd plist, systemd .service,
and supervisord conf examples + a diagnostic recipe (`lsof` + ppid
chain) for catching the orphan-loop in production.
3. `.gitignore`: allowlist `docs/supervisor.md` (the directory uses an
opt-in pattern; matches the existing `!docs/docker.md` precedent).
4. `tests/test_bootstrap_foreground.py` (new): 35 regression tests
covering the argparse flag, `_detect_supervisor()` behavior across all
five supervisor env vars, the explicit opt-in's truthy/falsy values,
and `main()`'s execv-vs-Popen routing decision under each input
combination. `os.execv` is monkeypatched in the routing tests — we
pin the structural choice (which call is made, with which args, in
which cwd, with which env) not the post-exec behavior.
Why this scope and no more
--------------------------
Bug #2 (state.db FD leak) lists 5 candidate paths and asks the reporter
for `lsof -p <pid> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20` output to
disambiguate. Until that data lands, any "fix" would be speculative —
explicitly out of scope per the contributor-pickup comment on the issue.
Bug #3 (launchd-running, port-listening, HTTP-unhealthy) was added in
@stefanpieter's reply comment. Diagnosis is in flight; no concrete fix
shape yet. Also out of scope.
Running locally end-to-end verifies the behavior:
```
[bootstrap] Starting Hermes Web UI on http://127.0.0.1:8789 (foreground mode: --foreground)
$ pgrep -af 'server.py'
2997632 /home/.../python /tmp/wt-fix-1458/server.py
$ ps -o ppid -p 2997632
2997581 ← bash that ran bootstrap.py — same PID as the original bootstrap
$ ps -p 2997581 -o cmd
... bootstrap.py ... ← but exec'd into server.py
```
The same PID that bash forked for `bootstrap.py` is now `server.py`.
A supervisor watching that PID would correctly observe the long-lived
server. No double-fork.
Verification
------------
- 3811 tests pass (`pytest tests/` — full suite, +51 from this PR plus
master-merge-in)
- All 35 new bootstrap-foreground tests pass
- `bash scripts/run-browser-tests.sh` PASS (HTTP API checks against worktree)
- `bash scripts/webui_qa_agent.sh 8789` PASS (23/23 visual QA)
- Live verified: server starts cleanly under both `--foreground` and
`HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1`; PID lineage confirms no double-fork
Closes #1458 (Bug #1 only). Bugs #2 and #3 remain tracked under the
issue.
2026-05-02 17:37:54 +00:00
execv_calls = [ ]
popen_calls = [ ]
# execv normally replaces the process; we capture+raise SystemExit so
# main() returns control to us instead of falling through to the
# legacy Popen branch.
def fake_execv ( path , argv ) :
execv_calls . append ( ( path , argv ) )
raise SystemExit ( 0 )
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " execv " , fake_execv )
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " chdir " , lambda p : None )
def fake_popen ( * args , * * kwargs ) :
popen_calls . append ( ( args , kwargs ) )
return None
monkeypatch . setattr ( subprocess , " Popen " , fake_popen )
with pytest . raises ( SystemExit ) as ei :
bs . main ( )
assert ei . value . code == 0
assert len ( execv_calls ) == 1 , " --foreground must call os.execv exactly once "
assert len ( popen_calls ) == 0 , " --foreground must NOT call subprocess.Popen "
path , argv = execv_calls [ 0 ]
2026-06-15 19:42:33 +00:00
python_exe = sys . executable
assert path == python_exe
fix(bootstrap): add --foreground mode for process supervisors (#1458 Bug #1)
Issue #1458 reports persistent-host crashes (≥1/day) when running the WebUI
under launchd KeepAlive on macOS. Root cause: `bootstrap.py` calls
`subprocess.Popen([python, "server.py"], start_new_session=True)`, probes
/health, then exits 0. Under any process supervisor (launchd, systemd,
supervisord, runit, s6), the supervisor sees its tracked PID exit, marks
the program as "completed," and respawns it. The new bootstrap fails to
bind port 8787 (orphaned server still has it), exits non-zero, supervisor
respawns again — loop until the orphan crashes for some other reason and
the next respawn finds the port free.
This PR addresses Bug #1 of the three failure modes tracked in #1458:
the `bootstrap.py` double-fork breaking process supervisors. Bug #2
(state.db FD leak) and Bug #3 (HTTP-unhealthy wedge) remain open under
the same issue — they need diagnosis data before a fix can land.
Changes
-------
1. `bootstrap.py`:
- New `--foreground` argparse flag with help text mentioning launchd /
systemd / supervisord.
- New `_detect_supervisor()` that returns the env var name for any
supervisor it detects: `INVOCATION_ID` / `JOURNAL_STREAM` /
`NOTIFY_SOCKET` (systemd, s6), `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` (launchd),
`SUPERVISOR_ENABLED` (supervisord), or `HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND` for
the explicit user opt-in. Truthy values for the explicit opt-in:
`1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` (case-insensitive).
- `main()` branches on `args.foreground or _detect_supervisor()`:
- **Foreground path:** chdir to `agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`, then
`os.execv(python, [python, server_path])` to replace the bootstrap
process image with the server. The supervisor sees the long-lived
server as the original child. No `wait_for_health` probe — the
supervisor's KeepAlive / Restart=on-failure handles liveness.
- **Default path:** unchanged. Spawn server as detached child via
`Popen + start_new_session=True`, probe /health, return 0. This
still works for interactive `bash start.sh` invocations.
- Resolved env vars (HOST/PORT/STATE_DIR/AGENT_DIR) are now mutated on
`os.environ` directly instead of into a local `env` copy so they
are inherited across `os.execv`.
2. `docs/supervisor.md` (new): runnable launchd plist, systemd .service,
and supervisord conf examples + a diagnostic recipe (`lsof` + ppid
chain) for catching the orphan-loop in production.
3. `.gitignore`: allowlist `docs/supervisor.md` (the directory uses an
opt-in pattern; matches the existing `!docs/docker.md` precedent).
4. `tests/test_bootstrap_foreground.py` (new): 35 regression tests
covering the argparse flag, `_detect_supervisor()` behavior across all
five supervisor env vars, the explicit opt-in's truthy/falsy values,
and `main()`'s execv-vs-Popen routing decision under each input
combination. `os.execv` is monkeypatched in the routing tests — we
pin the structural choice (which call is made, with which args, in
which cwd, with which env) not the post-exec behavior.
Why this scope and no more
--------------------------
Bug #2 (state.db FD leak) lists 5 candidate paths and asks the reporter
for `lsof -p <pid> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20` output to
disambiguate. Until that data lands, any "fix" would be speculative —
explicitly out of scope per the contributor-pickup comment on the issue.
Bug #3 (launchd-running, port-listening, HTTP-unhealthy) was added in
@stefanpieter's reply comment. Diagnosis is in flight; no concrete fix
shape yet. Also out of scope.
Running locally end-to-end verifies the behavior:
```
[bootstrap] Starting Hermes Web UI on http://127.0.0.1:8789 (foreground mode: --foreground)
$ pgrep -af 'server.py'
2997632 /home/.../python /tmp/wt-fix-1458/server.py
$ ps -o ppid -p 2997632
2997581 ← bash that ran bootstrap.py — same PID as the original bootstrap
$ ps -p 2997581 -o cmd
... bootstrap.py ... ← but exec'd into server.py
```
The same PID that bash forked for `bootstrap.py` is now `server.py`.
A supervisor watching that PID would correctly observe the long-lived
server. No double-fork.
Verification
------------
- 3811 tests pass (`pytest tests/` — full suite, +51 from this PR plus
master-merge-in)
- All 35 new bootstrap-foreground tests pass
- `bash scripts/run-browser-tests.sh` PASS (HTTP API checks against worktree)
- `bash scripts/webui_qa_agent.sh 8789` PASS (23/23 visual QA)
- Live verified: server starts cleanly under both `--foreground` and
`HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1`; PID lineage confirms no double-fork
Closes #1458 (Bug #1 only). Bugs #2 and #3 remain tracked under the
issue.
2026-05-02 17:37:54 +00:00
# argv[0] is the program name (convention), argv[1] is the script
2026-06-15 19:42:33 +00:00
assert argv [ 0 ] == python_exe
fix(bootstrap): add --foreground mode for process supervisors (#1458 Bug #1)
Issue #1458 reports persistent-host crashes (≥1/day) when running the WebUI
under launchd KeepAlive on macOS. Root cause: `bootstrap.py` calls
`subprocess.Popen([python, "server.py"], start_new_session=True)`, probes
/health, then exits 0. Under any process supervisor (launchd, systemd,
supervisord, runit, s6), the supervisor sees its tracked PID exit, marks
the program as "completed," and respawns it. The new bootstrap fails to
bind port 8787 (orphaned server still has it), exits non-zero, supervisor
respawns again — loop until the orphan crashes for some other reason and
the next respawn finds the port free.
This PR addresses Bug #1 of the three failure modes tracked in #1458:
the `bootstrap.py` double-fork breaking process supervisors. Bug #2
(state.db FD leak) and Bug #3 (HTTP-unhealthy wedge) remain open under
the same issue — they need diagnosis data before a fix can land.
Changes
-------
1. `bootstrap.py`:
- New `--foreground` argparse flag with help text mentioning launchd /
systemd / supervisord.
- New `_detect_supervisor()` that returns the env var name for any
supervisor it detects: `INVOCATION_ID` / `JOURNAL_STREAM` /
`NOTIFY_SOCKET` (systemd, s6), `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` (launchd),
`SUPERVISOR_ENABLED` (supervisord), or `HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND` for
the explicit user opt-in. Truthy values for the explicit opt-in:
`1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` (case-insensitive).
- `main()` branches on `args.foreground or _detect_supervisor()`:
- **Foreground path:** chdir to `agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`, then
`os.execv(python, [python, server_path])` to replace the bootstrap
process image with the server. The supervisor sees the long-lived
server as the original child. No `wait_for_health` probe — the
supervisor's KeepAlive / Restart=on-failure handles liveness.
- **Default path:** unchanged. Spawn server as detached child via
`Popen + start_new_session=True`, probe /health, return 0. This
still works for interactive `bash start.sh` invocations.
- Resolved env vars (HOST/PORT/STATE_DIR/AGENT_DIR) are now mutated on
`os.environ` directly instead of into a local `env` copy so they
are inherited across `os.execv`.
2. `docs/supervisor.md` (new): runnable launchd plist, systemd .service,
and supervisord conf examples + a diagnostic recipe (`lsof` + ppid
chain) for catching the orphan-loop in production.
3. `.gitignore`: allowlist `docs/supervisor.md` (the directory uses an
opt-in pattern; matches the existing `!docs/docker.md` precedent).
4. `tests/test_bootstrap_foreground.py` (new): 35 regression tests
covering the argparse flag, `_detect_supervisor()` behavior across all
five supervisor env vars, the explicit opt-in's truthy/falsy values,
and `main()`'s execv-vs-Popen routing decision under each input
combination. `os.execv` is monkeypatched in the routing tests — we
pin the structural choice (which call is made, with which args, in
which cwd, with which env) not the post-exec behavior.
Why this scope and no more
--------------------------
Bug #2 (state.db FD leak) lists 5 candidate paths and asks the reporter
for `lsof -p <pid> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20` output to
disambiguate. Until that data lands, any "fix" would be speculative —
explicitly out of scope per the contributor-pickup comment on the issue.
Bug #3 (launchd-running, port-listening, HTTP-unhealthy) was added in
@stefanpieter's reply comment. Diagnosis is in flight; no concrete fix
shape yet. Also out of scope.
Running locally end-to-end verifies the behavior:
```
[bootstrap] Starting Hermes Web UI on http://127.0.0.1:8789 (foreground mode: --foreground)
$ pgrep -af 'server.py'
2997632 /home/.../python /tmp/wt-fix-1458/server.py
$ ps -o ppid -p 2997632
2997581 ← bash that ran bootstrap.py — same PID as the original bootstrap
$ ps -p 2997581 -o cmd
... bootstrap.py ... ← but exec'd into server.py
```
The same PID that bash forked for `bootstrap.py` is now `server.py`.
A supervisor watching that PID would correctly observe the long-lived
server. No double-fork.
Verification
------------
- 3811 tests pass (`pytest tests/` — full suite, +51 from this PR plus
master-merge-in)
- All 35 new bootstrap-foreground tests pass
- `bash scripts/run-browser-tests.sh` PASS (HTTP API checks against worktree)
- `bash scripts/webui_qa_agent.sh 8789` PASS (23/23 visual QA)
- Live verified: server starts cleanly under both `--foreground` and
`HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1`; PID lineage confirms no double-fork
Closes #1458 (Bug #1 only). Bugs #2 and #3 remain tracked under the
issue.
2026-05-02 17:37:54 +00:00
assert argv [ 1 ] . endswith ( " server.py " )
@pytest.mark.parametrize ( " var " , [
" INVOCATION_ID " ,
" JOURNAL_STREAM " ,
" NOTIFY_SOCKET " ,
" XPC_SERVICE_NAME " ,
" SUPERVISOR_ENABLED " ,
] )
def test_supervisor_env_var_auto_promotes_to_execv ( self , stub_main_dependencies , clean_env , monkeypatch , var ) :
bs = stub_main_dependencies
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " argv " , [ " bootstrap.py " ] ) # no --foreground
2026-06-15 19:42:33 +00:00
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " platform " , " linux " )
fix(bootstrap): add --foreground mode for process supervisors (#1458 Bug #1)
Issue #1458 reports persistent-host crashes (≥1/day) when running the WebUI
under launchd KeepAlive on macOS. Root cause: `bootstrap.py` calls
`subprocess.Popen([python, "server.py"], start_new_session=True)`, probes
/health, then exits 0. Under any process supervisor (launchd, systemd,
supervisord, runit, s6), the supervisor sees its tracked PID exit, marks
the program as "completed," and respawns it. The new bootstrap fails to
bind port 8787 (orphaned server still has it), exits non-zero, supervisor
respawns again — loop until the orphan crashes for some other reason and
the next respawn finds the port free.
This PR addresses Bug #1 of the three failure modes tracked in #1458:
the `bootstrap.py` double-fork breaking process supervisors. Bug #2
(state.db FD leak) and Bug #3 (HTTP-unhealthy wedge) remain open under
the same issue — they need diagnosis data before a fix can land.
Changes
-------
1. `bootstrap.py`:
- New `--foreground` argparse flag with help text mentioning launchd /
systemd / supervisord.
- New `_detect_supervisor()` that returns the env var name for any
supervisor it detects: `INVOCATION_ID` / `JOURNAL_STREAM` /
`NOTIFY_SOCKET` (systemd, s6), `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` (launchd),
`SUPERVISOR_ENABLED` (supervisord), or `HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND` for
the explicit user opt-in. Truthy values for the explicit opt-in:
`1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` (case-insensitive).
- `main()` branches on `args.foreground or _detect_supervisor()`:
- **Foreground path:** chdir to `agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`, then
`os.execv(python, [python, server_path])` to replace the bootstrap
process image with the server. The supervisor sees the long-lived
server as the original child. No `wait_for_health` probe — the
supervisor's KeepAlive / Restart=on-failure handles liveness.
- **Default path:** unchanged. Spawn server as detached child via
`Popen + start_new_session=True`, probe /health, return 0. This
still works for interactive `bash start.sh` invocations.
- Resolved env vars (HOST/PORT/STATE_DIR/AGENT_DIR) are now mutated on
`os.environ` directly instead of into a local `env` copy so they
are inherited across `os.execv`.
2. `docs/supervisor.md` (new): runnable launchd plist, systemd .service,
and supervisord conf examples + a diagnostic recipe (`lsof` + ppid
chain) for catching the orphan-loop in production.
3. `.gitignore`: allowlist `docs/supervisor.md` (the directory uses an
opt-in pattern; matches the existing `!docs/docker.md` precedent).
4. `tests/test_bootstrap_foreground.py` (new): 35 regression tests
covering the argparse flag, `_detect_supervisor()` behavior across all
five supervisor env vars, the explicit opt-in's truthy/falsy values,
and `main()`'s execv-vs-Popen routing decision under each input
combination. `os.execv` is monkeypatched in the routing tests — we
pin the structural choice (which call is made, with which args, in
which cwd, with which env) not the post-exec behavior.
Why this scope and no more
--------------------------
Bug #2 (state.db FD leak) lists 5 candidate paths and asks the reporter
for `lsof -p <pid> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20` output to
disambiguate. Until that data lands, any "fix" would be speculative —
explicitly out of scope per the contributor-pickup comment on the issue.
Bug #3 (launchd-running, port-listening, HTTP-unhealthy) was added in
@stefanpieter's reply comment. Diagnosis is in flight; no concrete fix
shape yet. Also out of scope.
Running locally end-to-end verifies the behavior:
```
[bootstrap] Starting Hermes Web UI on http://127.0.0.1:8789 (foreground mode: --foreground)
$ pgrep -af 'server.py'
2997632 /home/.../python /tmp/wt-fix-1458/server.py
$ ps -o ppid -p 2997632
2997581 ← bash that ran bootstrap.py — same PID as the original bootstrap
$ ps -p 2997581 -o cmd
... bootstrap.py ... ← but exec'd into server.py
```
The same PID that bash forked for `bootstrap.py` is now `server.py`.
A supervisor watching that PID would correctly observe the long-lived
server. No double-fork.
Verification
------------
- 3811 tests pass (`pytest tests/` — full suite, +51 from this PR plus
master-merge-in)
- All 35 new bootstrap-foreground tests pass
- `bash scripts/run-browser-tests.sh` PASS (HTTP API checks against worktree)
- `bash scripts/webui_qa_agent.sh 8789` PASS (23/23 visual QA)
- Live verified: server starts cleanly under both `--foreground` and
`HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1`; PID lineage confirms no double-fork
Closes #1458 (Bug #1 only). Bugs #2 and #3 remain tracked under the
issue.
2026-05-02 17:37:54 +00:00
monkeypatch . setenv ( var , " deadbeef " )
execv_calls = [ ]
popen_calls = [ ]
def fake_execv ( path , argv ) :
execv_calls . append ( ( path , argv ) )
raise SystemExit ( 0 )
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " execv " , fake_execv )
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " chdir " , lambda p : None )
def fake_popen ( * args , * * kwargs ) :
popen_calls . append ( ( args , kwargs ) )
return None
monkeypatch . setattr ( subprocess , " Popen " , fake_popen )
with pytest . raises ( SystemExit ) :
bs . main ( )
assert len ( execv_calls ) == 1 , f " { var } must auto-promote to execv "
assert len ( popen_calls ) == 0 , f " { var } must NOT use Popen "
def test_explicit_opt_in_env_auto_promotes_to_execv ( self , stub_main_dependencies , clean_env , monkeypatch ) :
bs = stub_main_dependencies
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " argv " , [ " bootstrap.py " ] ) # no --foreground flag
2026-06-15 19:42:33 +00:00
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " platform " , " linux " )
fix(bootstrap): add --foreground mode for process supervisors (#1458 Bug #1)
Issue #1458 reports persistent-host crashes (≥1/day) when running the WebUI
under launchd KeepAlive on macOS. Root cause: `bootstrap.py` calls
`subprocess.Popen([python, "server.py"], start_new_session=True)`, probes
/health, then exits 0. Under any process supervisor (launchd, systemd,
supervisord, runit, s6), the supervisor sees its tracked PID exit, marks
the program as "completed," and respawns it. The new bootstrap fails to
bind port 8787 (orphaned server still has it), exits non-zero, supervisor
respawns again — loop until the orphan crashes for some other reason and
the next respawn finds the port free.
This PR addresses Bug #1 of the three failure modes tracked in #1458:
the `bootstrap.py` double-fork breaking process supervisors. Bug #2
(state.db FD leak) and Bug #3 (HTTP-unhealthy wedge) remain open under
the same issue — they need diagnosis data before a fix can land.
Changes
-------
1. `bootstrap.py`:
- New `--foreground` argparse flag with help text mentioning launchd /
systemd / supervisord.
- New `_detect_supervisor()` that returns the env var name for any
supervisor it detects: `INVOCATION_ID` / `JOURNAL_STREAM` /
`NOTIFY_SOCKET` (systemd, s6), `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` (launchd),
`SUPERVISOR_ENABLED` (supervisord), or `HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND` for
the explicit user opt-in. Truthy values for the explicit opt-in:
`1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` (case-insensitive).
- `main()` branches on `args.foreground or _detect_supervisor()`:
- **Foreground path:** chdir to `agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`, then
`os.execv(python, [python, server_path])` to replace the bootstrap
process image with the server. The supervisor sees the long-lived
server as the original child. No `wait_for_health` probe — the
supervisor's KeepAlive / Restart=on-failure handles liveness.
- **Default path:** unchanged. Spawn server as detached child via
`Popen + start_new_session=True`, probe /health, return 0. This
still works for interactive `bash start.sh` invocations.
- Resolved env vars (HOST/PORT/STATE_DIR/AGENT_DIR) are now mutated on
`os.environ` directly instead of into a local `env` copy so they
are inherited across `os.execv`.
2. `docs/supervisor.md` (new): runnable launchd plist, systemd .service,
and supervisord conf examples + a diagnostic recipe (`lsof` + ppid
chain) for catching the orphan-loop in production.
3. `.gitignore`: allowlist `docs/supervisor.md` (the directory uses an
opt-in pattern; matches the existing `!docs/docker.md` precedent).
4. `tests/test_bootstrap_foreground.py` (new): 35 regression tests
covering the argparse flag, `_detect_supervisor()` behavior across all
five supervisor env vars, the explicit opt-in's truthy/falsy values,
and `main()`'s execv-vs-Popen routing decision under each input
combination. `os.execv` is monkeypatched in the routing tests — we
pin the structural choice (which call is made, with which args, in
which cwd, with which env) not the post-exec behavior.
Why this scope and no more
--------------------------
Bug #2 (state.db FD leak) lists 5 candidate paths and asks the reporter
for `lsof -p <pid> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20` output to
disambiguate. Until that data lands, any "fix" would be speculative —
explicitly out of scope per the contributor-pickup comment on the issue.
Bug #3 (launchd-running, port-listening, HTTP-unhealthy) was added in
@stefanpieter's reply comment. Diagnosis is in flight; no concrete fix
shape yet. Also out of scope.
Running locally end-to-end verifies the behavior:
```
[bootstrap] Starting Hermes Web UI on http://127.0.0.1:8789 (foreground mode: --foreground)
$ pgrep -af 'server.py'
2997632 /home/.../python /tmp/wt-fix-1458/server.py
$ ps -o ppid -p 2997632
2997581 ← bash that ran bootstrap.py — same PID as the original bootstrap
$ ps -p 2997581 -o cmd
... bootstrap.py ... ← but exec'd into server.py
```
The same PID that bash forked for `bootstrap.py` is now `server.py`.
A supervisor watching that PID would correctly observe the long-lived
server. No double-fork.
Verification
------------
- 3811 tests pass (`pytest tests/` — full suite, +51 from this PR plus
master-merge-in)
- All 35 new bootstrap-foreground tests pass
- `bash scripts/run-browser-tests.sh` PASS (HTTP API checks against worktree)
- `bash scripts/webui_qa_agent.sh 8789` PASS (23/23 visual QA)
- Live verified: server starts cleanly under both `--foreground` and
`HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1`; PID lineage confirms no double-fork
Closes #1458 (Bug #1 only). Bugs #2 and #3 remain tracked under the
issue.
2026-05-02 17:37:54 +00:00
monkeypatch . setenv ( " HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND " , " 1 " )
execv_calls = [ ]
def fake_execv ( path , argv ) :
execv_calls . append ( ( path , argv ) )
raise SystemExit ( 0 )
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " execv " , fake_execv )
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " chdir " , lambda p : None )
monkeypatch . setattr ( subprocess , " Popen " , lambda * a , * * kw : None )
with pytest . raises ( SystemExit ) :
bs . main ( )
assert len ( execv_calls ) == 1
2026-06-19 23:26:05 +00:00
def test_foreground_defaults_state_dir_to_hermes_home_webui ( self , stub_main_dependencies , clean_env , monkeypatch , tmp_path ) :
bs = stub_main_dependencies
hermes_home = tmp_path / " .hermes " / " profiles " / " webui "
hermes_home . mkdir ( parents = True , exist_ok = True )
monkeypatch . setenv ( " HERMES_HOME " , str ( hermes_home ) )
monkeypatch . delenv ( " HERMES_WEBUI_STATE_DIR " , raising = False )
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " argv " , [ " bootstrap.py " , " --foreground " ] )
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " platform " , " linux " )
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " chdir " , lambda p : None )
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " access " , lambda path , mode : True )
def fake_execv ( * _args ) :
raise SystemExit ( 0 )
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " execv " , fake_execv )
with pytest . raises ( SystemExit ) :
bs . main ( )
assert os . environ [ " HERMES_WEBUI_STATE_DIR " ] == str ( hermes_home / " webui " )
fix(bootstrap): add --foreground mode for process supervisors (#1458 Bug #1)
Issue #1458 reports persistent-host crashes (≥1/day) when running the WebUI
under launchd KeepAlive on macOS. Root cause: `bootstrap.py` calls
`subprocess.Popen([python, "server.py"], start_new_session=True)`, probes
/health, then exits 0. Under any process supervisor (launchd, systemd,
supervisord, runit, s6), the supervisor sees its tracked PID exit, marks
the program as "completed," and respawns it. The new bootstrap fails to
bind port 8787 (orphaned server still has it), exits non-zero, supervisor
respawns again — loop until the orphan crashes for some other reason and
the next respawn finds the port free.
This PR addresses Bug #1 of the three failure modes tracked in #1458:
the `bootstrap.py` double-fork breaking process supervisors. Bug #2
(state.db FD leak) and Bug #3 (HTTP-unhealthy wedge) remain open under
the same issue — they need diagnosis data before a fix can land.
Changes
-------
1. `bootstrap.py`:
- New `--foreground` argparse flag with help text mentioning launchd /
systemd / supervisord.
- New `_detect_supervisor()` that returns the env var name for any
supervisor it detects: `INVOCATION_ID` / `JOURNAL_STREAM` /
`NOTIFY_SOCKET` (systemd, s6), `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` (launchd),
`SUPERVISOR_ENABLED` (supervisord), or `HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND` for
the explicit user opt-in. Truthy values for the explicit opt-in:
`1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` (case-insensitive).
- `main()` branches on `args.foreground or _detect_supervisor()`:
- **Foreground path:** chdir to `agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`, then
`os.execv(python, [python, server_path])` to replace the bootstrap
process image with the server. The supervisor sees the long-lived
server as the original child. No `wait_for_health` probe — the
supervisor's KeepAlive / Restart=on-failure handles liveness.
- **Default path:** unchanged. Spawn server as detached child via
`Popen + start_new_session=True`, probe /health, return 0. This
still works for interactive `bash start.sh` invocations.
- Resolved env vars (HOST/PORT/STATE_DIR/AGENT_DIR) are now mutated on
`os.environ` directly instead of into a local `env` copy so they
are inherited across `os.execv`.
2. `docs/supervisor.md` (new): runnable launchd plist, systemd .service,
and supervisord conf examples + a diagnostic recipe (`lsof` + ppid
chain) for catching the orphan-loop in production.
3. `.gitignore`: allowlist `docs/supervisor.md` (the directory uses an
opt-in pattern; matches the existing `!docs/docker.md` precedent).
4. `tests/test_bootstrap_foreground.py` (new): 35 regression tests
covering the argparse flag, `_detect_supervisor()` behavior across all
five supervisor env vars, the explicit opt-in's truthy/falsy values,
and `main()`'s execv-vs-Popen routing decision under each input
combination. `os.execv` is monkeypatched in the routing tests — we
pin the structural choice (which call is made, with which args, in
which cwd, with which env) not the post-exec behavior.
Why this scope and no more
--------------------------
Bug #2 (state.db FD leak) lists 5 candidate paths and asks the reporter
for `lsof -p <pid> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20` output to
disambiguate. Until that data lands, any "fix" would be speculative —
explicitly out of scope per the contributor-pickup comment on the issue.
Bug #3 (launchd-running, port-listening, HTTP-unhealthy) was added in
@stefanpieter's reply comment. Diagnosis is in flight; no concrete fix
shape yet. Also out of scope.
Running locally end-to-end verifies the behavior:
```
[bootstrap] Starting Hermes Web UI on http://127.0.0.1:8789 (foreground mode: --foreground)
$ pgrep -af 'server.py'
2997632 /home/.../python /tmp/wt-fix-1458/server.py
$ ps -o ppid -p 2997632
2997581 ← bash that ran bootstrap.py — same PID as the original bootstrap
$ ps -p 2997581 -o cmd
... bootstrap.py ... ← but exec'd into server.py
```
The same PID that bash forked for `bootstrap.py` is now `server.py`.
A supervisor watching that PID would correctly observe the long-lived
server. No double-fork.
Verification
------------
- 3811 tests pass (`pytest tests/` — full suite, +51 from this PR plus
master-merge-in)
- All 35 new bootstrap-foreground tests pass
- `bash scripts/run-browser-tests.sh` PASS (HTTP API checks against worktree)
- `bash scripts/webui_qa_agent.sh 8789` PASS (23/23 visual QA)
- Live verified: server starts cleanly under both `--foreground` and
`HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1`; PID lineage confirms no double-fork
Closes #1458 (Bug #1 only). Bugs #2 and #3 remain tracked under the
issue.
2026-05-02 17:37:54 +00:00
class TestForegroundEnvAndCwd :
""" The post-execv server.py inherits os.environ and cwd from us. """
@pytest.fixture
def setup ( self , monkeypatch , tmp_path ) :
import bootstrap as bs
2026-06-15 19:42:33 +00:00
python_exe = sys . executable
fix(bootstrap): add --foreground mode for process supervisors (#1458 Bug #1)
Issue #1458 reports persistent-host crashes (≥1/day) when running the WebUI
under launchd KeepAlive on macOS. Root cause: `bootstrap.py` calls
`subprocess.Popen([python, "server.py"], start_new_session=True)`, probes
/health, then exits 0. Under any process supervisor (launchd, systemd,
supervisord, runit, s6), the supervisor sees its tracked PID exit, marks
the program as "completed," and respawns it. The new bootstrap fails to
bind port 8787 (orphaned server still has it), exits non-zero, supervisor
respawns again — loop until the orphan crashes for some other reason and
the next respawn finds the port free.
This PR addresses Bug #1 of the three failure modes tracked in #1458:
the `bootstrap.py` double-fork breaking process supervisors. Bug #2
(state.db FD leak) and Bug #3 (HTTP-unhealthy wedge) remain open under
the same issue — they need diagnosis data before a fix can land.
Changes
-------
1. `bootstrap.py`:
- New `--foreground` argparse flag with help text mentioning launchd /
systemd / supervisord.
- New `_detect_supervisor()` that returns the env var name for any
supervisor it detects: `INVOCATION_ID` / `JOURNAL_STREAM` /
`NOTIFY_SOCKET` (systemd, s6), `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` (launchd),
`SUPERVISOR_ENABLED` (supervisord), or `HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND` for
the explicit user opt-in. Truthy values for the explicit opt-in:
`1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` (case-insensitive).
- `main()` branches on `args.foreground or _detect_supervisor()`:
- **Foreground path:** chdir to `agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`, then
`os.execv(python, [python, server_path])` to replace the bootstrap
process image with the server. The supervisor sees the long-lived
server as the original child. No `wait_for_health` probe — the
supervisor's KeepAlive / Restart=on-failure handles liveness.
- **Default path:** unchanged. Spawn server as detached child via
`Popen + start_new_session=True`, probe /health, return 0. This
still works for interactive `bash start.sh` invocations.
- Resolved env vars (HOST/PORT/STATE_DIR/AGENT_DIR) are now mutated on
`os.environ` directly instead of into a local `env` copy so they
are inherited across `os.execv`.
2. `docs/supervisor.md` (new): runnable launchd plist, systemd .service,
and supervisord conf examples + a diagnostic recipe (`lsof` + ppid
chain) for catching the orphan-loop in production.
3. `.gitignore`: allowlist `docs/supervisor.md` (the directory uses an
opt-in pattern; matches the existing `!docs/docker.md` precedent).
4. `tests/test_bootstrap_foreground.py` (new): 35 regression tests
covering the argparse flag, `_detect_supervisor()` behavior across all
five supervisor env vars, the explicit opt-in's truthy/falsy values,
and `main()`'s execv-vs-Popen routing decision under each input
combination. `os.execv` is monkeypatched in the routing tests — we
pin the structural choice (which call is made, with which args, in
which cwd, with which env) not the post-exec behavior.
Why this scope and no more
--------------------------
Bug #2 (state.db FD leak) lists 5 candidate paths and asks the reporter
for `lsof -p <pid> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20` output to
disambiguate. Until that data lands, any "fix" would be speculative —
explicitly out of scope per the contributor-pickup comment on the issue.
Bug #3 (launchd-running, port-listening, HTTP-unhealthy) was added in
@stefanpieter's reply comment. Diagnosis is in flight; no concrete fix
shape yet. Also out of scope.
Running locally end-to-end verifies the behavior:
```
[bootstrap] Starting Hermes Web UI on http://127.0.0.1:8789 (foreground mode: --foreground)
$ pgrep -af 'server.py'
2997632 /home/.../python /tmp/wt-fix-1458/server.py
$ ps -o ppid -p 2997632
2997581 ← bash that ran bootstrap.py — same PID as the original bootstrap
$ ps -p 2997581 -o cmd
... bootstrap.py ... ← but exec'd into server.py
```
The same PID that bash forked for `bootstrap.py` is now `server.py`.
A supervisor watching that PID would correctly observe the long-lived
server. No double-fork.
Verification
------------
- 3811 tests pass (`pytest tests/` — full suite, +51 from this PR plus
master-merge-in)
- All 35 new bootstrap-foreground tests pass
- `bash scripts/run-browser-tests.sh` PASS (HTTP API checks against worktree)
- `bash scripts/webui_qa_agent.sh 8789` PASS (23/23 visual QA)
- Live verified: server starts cleanly under both `--foreground` and
`HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1`; PID lineage confirms no double-fork
Closes #1458 (Bug #1 only). Bugs #2 and #3 remain tracked under the
issue.
2026-05-02 17:37:54 +00:00
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs , " ensure_supported_platform " , lambda : None )
agent_dir = tmp_path / " agent "
agent_dir . mkdir ( )
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs , " discover_agent_dir " , lambda : agent_dir )
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs , " hermes_command_exists " , lambda : True )
2026-06-15 19:42:33 +00:00
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs , " discover_launcher_python " , lambda * a : python_exe )
2026-05-02 19:35:42 +00:00
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs , " ensure_python_has_webui_deps " , lambda * a , * * kw : a [ 0 ] )
fix(bootstrap): add --foreground mode for process supervisors (#1458 Bug #1)
Issue #1458 reports persistent-host crashes (≥1/day) when running the WebUI
under launchd KeepAlive on macOS. Root cause: `bootstrap.py` calls
`subprocess.Popen([python, "server.py"], start_new_session=True)`, probes
/health, then exits 0. Under any process supervisor (launchd, systemd,
supervisord, runit, s6), the supervisor sees its tracked PID exit, marks
the program as "completed," and respawns it. The new bootstrap fails to
bind port 8787 (orphaned server still has it), exits non-zero, supervisor
respawns again — loop until the orphan crashes for some other reason and
the next respawn finds the port free.
This PR addresses Bug #1 of the three failure modes tracked in #1458:
the `bootstrap.py` double-fork breaking process supervisors. Bug #2
(state.db FD leak) and Bug #3 (HTTP-unhealthy wedge) remain open under
the same issue — they need diagnosis data before a fix can land.
Changes
-------
1. `bootstrap.py`:
- New `--foreground` argparse flag with help text mentioning launchd /
systemd / supervisord.
- New `_detect_supervisor()` that returns the env var name for any
supervisor it detects: `INVOCATION_ID` / `JOURNAL_STREAM` /
`NOTIFY_SOCKET` (systemd, s6), `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` (launchd),
`SUPERVISOR_ENABLED` (supervisord), or `HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND` for
the explicit user opt-in. Truthy values for the explicit opt-in:
`1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` (case-insensitive).
- `main()` branches on `args.foreground or _detect_supervisor()`:
- **Foreground path:** chdir to `agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`, then
`os.execv(python, [python, server_path])` to replace the bootstrap
process image with the server. The supervisor sees the long-lived
server as the original child. No `wait_for_health` probe — the
supervisor's KeepAlive / Restart=on-failure handles liveness.
- **Default path:** unchanged. Spawn server as detached child via
`Popen + start_new_session=True`, probe /health, return 0. This
still works for interactive `bash start.sh` invocations.
- Resolved env vars (HOST/PORT/STATE_DIR/AGENT_DIR) are now mutated on
`os.environ` directly instead of into a local `env` copy so they
are inherited across `os.execv`.
2. `docs/supervisor.md` (new): runnable launchd plist, systemd .service,
and supervisord conf examples + a diagnostic recipe (`lsof` + ppid
chain) for catching the orphan-loop in production.
3. `.gitignore`: allowlist `docs/supervisor.md` (the directory uses an
opt-in pattern; matches the existing `!docs/docker.md` precedent).
4. `tests/test_bootstrap_foreground.py` (new): 35 regression tests
covering the argparse flag, `_detect_supervisor()` behavior across all
five supervisor env vars, the explicit opt-in's truthy/falsy values,
and `main()`'s execv-vs-Popen routing decision under each input
combination. `os.execv` is monkeypatched in the routing tests — we
pin the structural choice (which call is made, with which args, in
which cwd, with which env) not the post-exec behavior.
Why this scope and no more
--------------------------
Bug #2 (state.db FD leak) lists 5 candidate paths and asks the reporter
for `lsof -p <pid> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20` output to
disambiguate. Until that data lands, any "fix" would be speculative —
explicitly out of scope per the contributor-pickup comment on the issue.
Bug #3 (launchd-running, port-listening, HTTP-unhealthy) was added in
@stefanpieter's reply comment. Diagnosis is in flight; no concrete fix
shape yet. Also out of scope.
Running locally end-to-end verifies the behavior:
```
[bootstrap] Starting Hermes Web UI on http://127.0.0.1:8789 (foreground mode: --foreground)
$ pgrep -af 'server.py'
2997632 /home/.../python /tmp/wt-fix-1458/server.py
$ ps -o ppid -p 2997632
2997581 ← bash that ran bootstrap.py — same PID as the original bootstrap
$ ps -p 2997581 -o cmd
... bootstrap.py ... ← but exec'd into server.py
```
The same PID that bash forked for `bootstrap.py` is now `server.py`.
A supervisor watching that PID would correctly observe the long-lived
server. No double-fork.
Verification
------------
- 3811 tests pass (`pytest tests/` — full suite, +51 from this PR plus
master-merge-in)
- All 35 new bootstrap-foreground tests pass
- `bash scripts/run-browser-tests.sh` PASS (HTTP API checks against worktree)
- `bash scripts/webui_qa_agent.sh 8789` PASS (23/23 visual QA)
- Live verified: server starts cleanly under both `--foreground` and
`HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1`; PID lineage confirms no double-fork
Closes #1458 (Bug #1 only). Bugs #2 and #3 remain tracked under the
issue.
2026-05-02 17:37:54 +00:00
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs , " wait_for_health " , lambda * a , * * kw : True )
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs , " open_browser " , lambda * a , * * kw : None )
# State-dir + every var we care about is captured.
monkeypatch . setenv ( " HERMES_WEBUI_STATE_DIR " , str ( tmp_path / " state " ) )
return bs , agent_dir
def test_foreground_chdirs_to_agent_dir_before_exec ( self , setup , monkeypatch , clean_env ) :
bs , agent_dir = setup
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " argv " , [ " bootstrap.py " , " --foreground " , " --host " , " 127.0.0.1 " , " 9999 " ] )
2026-06-15 19:42:33 +00:00
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " platform " , " linux " )
fix(bootstrap): add --foreground mode for process supervisors (#1458 Bug #1)
Issue #1458 reports persistent-host crashes (≥1/day) when running the WebUI
under launchd KeepAlive on macOS. Root cause: `bootstrap.py` calls
`subprocess.Popen([python, "server.py"], start_new_session=True)`, probes
/health, then exits 0. Under any process supervisor (launchd, systemd,
supervisord, runit, s6), the supervisor sees its tracked PID exit, marks
the program as "completed," and respawns it. The new bootstrap fails to
bind port 8787 (orphaned server still has it), exits non-zero, supervisor
respawns again — loop until the orphan crashes for some other reason and
the next respawn finds the port free.
This PR addresses Bug #1 of the three failure modes tracked in #1458:
the `bootstrap.py` double-fork breaking process supervisors. Bug #2
(state.db FD leak) and Bug #3 (HTTP-unhealthy wedge) remain open under
the same issue — they need diagnosis data before a fix can land.
Changes
-------
1. `bootstrap.py`:
- New `--foreground` argparse flag with help text mentioning launchd /
systemd / supervisord.
- New `_detect_supervisor()` that returns the env var name for any
supervisor it detects: `INVOCATION_ID` / `JOURNAL_STREAM` /
`NOTIFY_SOCKET` (systemd, s6), `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` (launchd),
`SUPERVISOR_ENABLED` (supervisord), or `HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND` for
the explicit user opt-in. Truthy values for the explicit opt-in:
`1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` (case-insensitive).
- `main()` branches on `args.foreground or _detect_supervisor()`:
- **Foreground path:** chdir to `agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`, then
`os.execv(python, [python, server_path])` to replace the bootstrap
process image with the server. The supervisor sees the long-lived
server as the original child. No `wait_for_health` probe — the
supervisor's KeepAlive / Restart=on-failure handles liveness.
- **Default path:** unchanged. Spawn server as detached child via
`Popen + start_new_session=True`, probe /health, return 0. This
still works for interactive `bash start.sh` invocations.
- Resolved env vars (HOST/PORT/STATE_DIR/AGENT_DIR) are now mutated on
`os.environ` directly instead of into a local `env` copy so they
are inherited across `os.execv`.
2. `docs/supervisor.md` (new): runnable launchd plist, systemd .service,
and supervisord conf examples + a diagnostic recipe (`lsof` + ppid
chain) for catching the orphan-loop in production.
3. `.gitignore`: allowlist `docs/supervisor.md` (the directory uses an
opt-in pattern; matches the existing `!docs/docker.md` precedent).
4. `tests/test_bootstrap_foreground.py` (new): 35 regression tests
covering the argparse flag, `_detect_supervisor()` behavior across all
five supervisor env vars, the explicit opt-in's truthy/falsy values,
and `main()`'s execv-vs-Popen routing decision under each input
combination. `os.execv` is monkeypatched in the routing tests — we
pin the structural choice (which call is made, with which args, in
which cwd, with which env) not the post-exec behavior.
Why this scope and no more
--------------------------
Bug #2 (state.db FD leak) lists 5 candidate paths and asks the reporter
for `lsof -p <pid> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20` output to
disambiguate. Until that data lands, any "fix" would be speculative —
explicitly out of scope per the contributor-pickup comment on the issue.
Bug #3 (launchd-running, port-listening, HTTP-unhealthy) was added in
@stefanpieter's reply comment. Diagnosis is in flight; no concrete fix
shape yet. Also out of scope.
Running locally end-to-end verifies the behavior:
```
[bootstrap] Starting Hermes Web UI on http://127.0.0.1:8789 (foreground mode: --foreground)
$ pgrep -af 'server.py'
2997632 /home/.../python /tmp/wt-fix-1458/server.py
$ ps -o ppid -p 2997632
2997581 ← bash that ran bootstrap.py — same PID as the original bootstrap
$ ps -p 2997581 -o cmd
... bootstrap.py ... ← but exec'd into server.py
```
The same PID that bash forked for `bootstrap.py` is now `server.py`.
A supervisor watching that PID would correctly observe the long-lived
server. No double-fork.
Verification
------------
- 3811 tests pass (`pytest tests/` — full suite, +51 from this PR plus
master-merge-in)
- All 35 new bootstrap-foreground tests pass
- `bash scripts/run-browser-tests.sh` PASS (HTTP API checks against worktree)
- `bash scripts/webui_qa_agent.sh 8789` PASS (23/23 visual QA)
- Live verified: server starts cleanly under both `--foreground` and
`HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1`; PID lineage confirms no double-fork
Closes #1458 (Bug #1 only). Bugs #2 and #3 remain tracked under the
issue.
2026-05-02 17:37:54 +00:00
chdir_calls = [ ]
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " chdir " , lambda p : chdir_calls . append ( p ) )
def fake_execv ( * a ) :
raise SystemExit ( 0 )
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " execv " , fake_execv )
with pytest . raises ( SystemExit ) :
bs . main ( )
assert len ( chdir_calls ) == 1
assert chdir_calls [ 0 ] == str ( agent_dir )
2026-06-19 23:26:05 +00:00
def test_foreground_chdirs_to_server_cwd_override_before_launch ( self , setup , monkeypatch , clean_env , tmp_path ) :
bs , _agent_dir = setup
workspace = tmp_path / " workspace "
workspace . mkdir ( )
monkeypatch . setenv ( " HERMES_WEBUI_SERVER_CWD " , str ( workspace ) )
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " argv " , [ " bootstrap.py " , " --foreground " ] )
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " platform " , " linux " )
chdir_calls = [ ]
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " chdir " , lambda p : chdir_calls . append ( p ) )
def fake_execv ( * _args ) :
raise SystemExit ( 0 )
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " execv " , fake_execv )
with pytest . raises ( SystemExit ) :
bs . main ( )
assert chdir_calls == [ str ( workspace ) ]
2026-06-20 00:03:16 +00:00
def test_windows_foreground_popen_uses_server_cwd_override ( self , setup , monkeypatch , clean_env , tmp_path ) :
bs , _agent_dir = setup
workspace = tmp_path / " workspace-win "
workspace . mkdir ( )
monkeypatch . setenv ( " HERMES_WEBUI_SERVER_CWD " , str ( workspace ) )
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " argv " , [ " bootstrap.py " , " --foreground " ] )
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " platform " , " win32 " )
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " chdir " , lambda p : None )
popen_calls = [ ]
def fake_popen ( * args , * * kwargs ) :
popen_calls . append ( ( args , kwargs ) )
return None
monkeypatch . setattr ( subprocess , " Popen " , fake_popen )
with pytest . raises ( SystemExit ) :
bs . main ( )
assert popen_calls [ 0 ] [ 1 ] [ " cwd " ] == str ( workspace )
fix(bootstrap): add --foreground mode for process supervisors (#1458 Bug #1)
Issue #1458 reports persistent-host crashes (≥1/day) when running the WebUI
under launchd KeepAlive on macOS. Root cause: `bootstrap.py` calls
`subprocess.Popen([python, "server.py"], start_new_session=True)`, probes
/health, then exits 0. Under any process supervisor (launchd, systemd,
supervisord, runit, s6), the supervisor sees its tracked PID exit, marks
the program as "completed," and respawns it. The new bootstrap fails to
bind port 8787 (orphaned server still has it), exits non-zero, supervisor
respawns again — loop until the orphan crashes for some other reason and
the next respawn finds the port free.
This PR addresses Bug #1 of the three failure modes tracked in #1458:
the `bootstrap.py` double-fork breaking process supervisors. Bug #2
(state.db FD leak) and Bug #3 (HTTP-unhealthy wedge) remain open under
the same issue — they need diagnosis data before a fix can land.
Changes
-------
1. `bootstrap.py`:
- New `--foreground` argparse flag with help text mentioning launchd /
systemd / supervisord.
- New `_detect_supervisor()` that returns the env var name for any
supervisor it detects: `INVOCATION_ID` / `JOURNAL_STREAM` /
`NOTIFY_SOCKET` (systemd, s6), `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` (launchd),
`SUPERVISOR_ENABLED` (supervisord), or `HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND` for
the explicit user opt-in. Truthy values for the explicit opt-in:
`1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` (case-insensitive).
- `main()` branches on `args.foreground or _detect_supervisor()`:
- **Foreground path:** chdir to `agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`, then
`os.execv(python, [python, server_path])` to replace the bootstrap
process image with the server. The supervisor sees the long-lived
server as the original child. No `wait_for_health` probe — the
supervisor's KeepAlive / Restart=on-failure handles liveness.
- **Default path:** unchanged. Spawn server as detached child via
`Popen + start_new_session=True`, probe /health, return 0. This
still works for interactive `bash start.sh` invocations.
- Resolved env vars (HOST/PORT/STATE_DIR/AGENT_DIR) are now mutated on
`os.environ` directly instead of into a local `env` copy so they
are inherited across `os.execv`.
2. `docs/supervisor.md` (new): runnable launchd plist, systemd .service,
and supervisord conf examples + a diagnostic recipe (`lsof` + ppid
chain) for catching the orphan-loop in production.
3. `.gitignore`: allowlist `docs/supervisor.md` (the directory uses an
opt-in pattern; matches the existing `!docs/docker.md` precedent).
4. `tests/test_bootstrap_foreground.py` (new): 35 regression tests
covering the argparse flag, `_detect_supervisor()` behavior across all
five supervisor env vars, the explicit opt-in's truthy/falsy values,
and `main()`'s execv-vs-Popen routing decision under each input
combination. `os.execv` is monkeypatched in the routing tests — we
pin the structural choice (which call is made, with which args, in
which cwd, with which env) not the post-exec behavior.
Why this scope and no more
--------------------------
Bug #2 (state.db FD leak) lists 5 candidate paths and asks the reporter
for `lsof -p <pid> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20` output to
disambiguate. Until that data lands, any "fix" would be speculative —
explicitly out of scope per the contributor-pickup comment on the issue.
Bug #3 (launchd-running, port-listening, HTTP-unhealthy) was added in
@stefanpieter's reply comment. Diagnosis is in flight; no concrete fix
shape yet. Also out of scope.
Running locally end-to-end verifies the behavior:
```
[bootstrap] Starting Hermes Web UI on http://127.0.0.1:8789 (foreground mode: --foreground)
$ pgrep -af 'server.py'
2997632 /home/.../python /tmp/wt-fix-1458/server.py
$ ps -o ppid -p 2997632
2997581 ← bash that ran bootstrap.py — same PID as the original bootstrap
$ ps -p 2997581 -o cmd
... bootstrap.py ... ← but exec'd into server.py
```
The same PID that bash forked for `bootstrap.py` is now `server.py`.
A supervisor watching that PID would correctly observe the long-lived
server. No double-fork.
Verification
------------
- 3811 tests pass (`pytest tests/` — full suite, +51 from this PR plus
master-merge-in)
- All 35 new bootstrap-foreground tests pass
- `bash scripts/run-browser-tests.sh` PASS (HTTP API checks against worktree)
- `bash scripts/webui_qa_agent.sh 8789` PASS (23/23 visual QA)
- Live verified: server starts cleanly under both `--foreground` and
`HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1`; PID lineage confirms no double-fork
Closes #1458 (Bug #1 only). Bugs #2 and #3 remain tracked under the
issue.
2026-05-02 17:37:54 +00:00
def test_foreground_exports_resolved_env_vars ( self , setup , monkeypatch , clean_env ) :
bs , agent_dir = setup
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " argv " , [
" bootstrap.py " , " --foreground " , " --host " , " 0.0.0.0 " , " 9119 "
] )
2026-06-15 19:42:33 +00:00
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " platform " , " linux " )
fix(bootstrap): add --foreground mode for process supervisors (#1458 Bug #1)
Issue #1458 reports persistent-host crashes (≥1/day) when running the WebUI
under launchd KeepAlive on macOS. Root cause: `bootstrap.py` calls
`subprocess.Popen([python, "server.py"], start_new_session=True)`, probes
/health, then exits 0. Under any process supervisor (launchd, systemd,
supervisord, runit, s6), the supervisor sees its tracked PID exit, marks
the program as "completed," and respawns it. The new bootstrap fails to
bind port 8787 (orphaned server still has it), exits non-zero, supervisor
respawns again — loop until the orphan crashes for some other reason and
the next respawn finds the port free.
This PR addresses Bug #1 of the three failure modes tracked in #1458:
the `bootstrap.py` double-fork breaking process supervisors. Bug #2
(state.db FD leak) and Bug #3 (HTTP-unhealthy wedge) remain open under
the same issue — they need diagnosis data before a fix can land.
Changes
-------
1. `bootstrap.py`:
- New `--foreground` argparse flag with help text mentioning launchd /
systemd / supervisord.
- New `_detect_supervisor()` that returns the env var name for any
supervisor it detects: `INVOCATION_ID` / `JOURNAL_STREAM` /
`NOTIFY_SOCKET` (systemd, s6), `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` (launchd),
`SUPERVISOR_ENABLED` (supervisord), or `HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND` for
the explicit user opt-in. Truthy values for the explicit opt-in:
`1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` (case-insensitive).
- `main()` branches on `args.foreground or _detect_supervisor()`:
- **Foreground path:** chdir to `agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`, then
`os.execv(python, [python, server_path])` to replace the bootstrap
process image with the server. The supervisor sees the long-lived
server as the original child. No `wait_for_health` probe — the
supervisor's KeepAlive / Restart=on-failure handles liveness.
- **Default path:** unchanged. Spawn server as detached child via
`Popen + start_new_session=True`, probe /health, return 0. This
still works for interactive `bash start.sh` invocations.
- Resolved env vars (HOST/PORT/STATE_DIR/AGENT_DIR) are now mutated on
`os.environ` directly instead of into a local `env` copy so they
are inherited across `os.execv`.
2. `docs/supervisor.md` (new): runnable launchd plist, systemd .service,
and supervisord conf examples + a diagnostic recipe (`lsof` + ppid
chain) for catching the orphan-loop in production.
3. `.gitignore`: allowlist `docs/supervisor.md` (the directory uses an
opt-in pattern; matches the existing `!docs/docker.md` precedent).
4. `tests/test_bootstrap_foreground.py` (new): 35 regression tests
covering the argparse flag, `_detect_supervisor()` behavior across all
five supervisor env vars, the explicit opt-in's truthy/falsy values,
and `main()`'s execv-vs-Popen routing decision under each input
combination. `os.execv` is monkeypatched in the routing tests — we
pin the structural choice (which call is made, with which args, in
which cwd, with which env) not the post-exec behavior.
Why this scope and no more
--------------------------
Bug #2 (state.db FD leak) lists 5 candidate paths and asks the reporter
for `lsof -p <pid> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20` output to
disambiguate. Until that data lands, any "fix" would be speculative —
explicitly out of scope per the contributor-pickup comment on the issue.
Bug #3 (launchd-running, port-listening, HTTP-unhealthy) was added in
@stefanpieter's reply comment. Diagnosis is in flight; no concrete fix
shape yet. Also out of scope.
Running locally end-to-end verifies the behavior:
```
[bootstrap] Starting Hermes Web UI on http://127.0.0.1:8789 (foreground mode: --foreground)
$ pgrep -af 'server.py'
2997632 /home/.../python /tmp/wt-fix-1458/server.py
$ ps -o ppid -p 2997632
2997581 ← bash that ran bootstrap.py — same PID as the original bootstrap
$ ps -p 2997581 -o cmd
... bootstrap.py ... ← but exec'd into server.py
```
The same PID that bash forked for `bootstrap.py` is now `server.py`.
A supervisor watching that PID would correctly observe the long-lived
server. No double-fork.
Verification
------------
- 3811 tests pass (`pytest tests/` — full suite, +51 from this PR plus
master-merge-in)
- All 35 new bootstrap-foreground tests pass
- `bash scripts/run-browser-tests.sh` PASS (HTTP API checks against worktree)
- `bash scripts/webui_qa_agent.sh 8789` PASS (23/23 visual QA)
- Live verified: server starts cleanly under both `--foreground` and
`HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1`; PID lineage confirms no double-fork
Closes #1458 (Bug #1 only). Bugs #2 and #3 remain tracked under the
issue.
2026-05-02 17:37:54 +00:00
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " chdir " , lambda p : None )
def fake_execv ( * a ) :
raise SystemExit ( 0 )
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " execv " , fake_execv )
with pytest . raises ( SystemExit ) :
bs . main ( )
# Post-execv server.py inherits these — verify we set them on os.environ
# (not just a local copy).
assert os . environ [ " HERMES_WEBUI_HOST " ] == " 0.0.0.0 "
assert os . environ [ " HERMES_WEBUI_PORT " ] == " 9119 "
assert os . environ [ " HERMES_WEBUI_AGENT_DIR " ] == str ( agent_dir )
# state-dir was already set by the fixture; verify it survived.
assert " HERMES_WEBUI_STATE_DIR " in os . environ
def test_foreground_does_not_call_wait_for_health ( self , setup , monkeypatch , clean_env ) :
bs , _ = setup
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " argv " , [ " bootstrap.py " , " --foreground " ] )
2026-06-15 19:42:33 +00:00
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " platform " , " linux " )
fix(bootstrap): add --foreground mode for process supervisors (#1458 Bug #1)
Issue #1458 reports persistent-host crashes (≥1/day) when running the WebUI
under launchd KeepAlive on macOS. Root cause: `bootstrap.py` calls
`subprocess.Popen([python, "server.py"], start_new_session=True)`, probes
/health, then exits 0. Under any process supervisor (launchd, systemd,
supervisord, runit, s6), the supervisor sees its tracked PID exit, marks
the program as "completed," and respawns it. The new bootstrap fails to
bind port 8787 (orphaned server still has it), exits non-zero, supervisor
respawns again — loop until the orphan crashes for some other reason and
the next respawn finds the port free.
This PR addresses Bug #1 of the three failure modes tracked in #1458:
the `bootstrap.py` double-fork breaking process supervisors. Bug #2
(state.db FD leak) and Bug #3 (HTTP-unhealthy wedge) remain open under
the same issue — they need diagnosis data before a fix can land.
Changes
-------
1. `bootstrap.py`:
- New `--foreground` argparse flag with help text mentioning launchd /
systemd / supervisord.
- New `_detect_supervisor()` that returns the env var name for any
supervisor it detects: `INVOCATION_ID` / `JOURNAL_STREAM` /
`NOTIFY_SOCKET` (systemd, s6), `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` (launchd),
`SUPERVISOR_ENABLED` (supervisord), or `HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND` for
the explicit user opt-in. Truthy values for the explicit opt-in:
`1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` (case-insensitive).
- `main()` branches on `args.foreground or _detect_supervisor()`:
- **Foreground path:** chdir to `agent_dir or REPO_ROOT`, then
`os.execv(python, [python, server_path])` to replace the bootstrap
process image with the server. The supervisor sees the long-lived
server as the original child. No `wait_for_health` probe — the
supervisor's KeepAlive / Restart=on-failure handles liveness.
- **Default path:** unchanged. Spawn server as detached child via
`Popen + start_new_session=True`, probe /health, return 0. This
still works for interactive `bash start.sh` invocations.
- Resolved env vars (HOST/PORT/STATE_DIR/AGENT_DIR) are now mutated on
`os.environ` directly instead of into a local `env` copy so they
are inherited across `os.execv`.
2. `docs/supervisor.md` (new): runnable launchd plist, systemd .service,
and supervisord conf examples + a diagnostic recipe (`lsof` + ppid
chain) for catching the orphan-loop in production.
3. `.gitignore`: allowlist `docs/supervisor.md` (the directory uses an
opt-in pattern; matches the existing `!docs/docker.md` precedent).
4. `tests/test_bootstrap_foreground.py` (new): 35 regression tests
covering the argparse flag, `_detect_supervisor()` behavior across all
five supervisor env vars, the explicit opt-in's truthy/falsy values,
and `main()`'s execv-vs-Popen routing decision under each input
combination. `os.execv` is monkeypatched in the routing tests — we
pin the structural choice (which call is made, with which args, in
which cwd, with which env) not the post-exec behavior.
Why this scope and no more
--------------------------
Bug #2 (state.db FD leak) lists 5 candidate paths and asks the reporter
for `lsof -p <pid> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20` output to
disambiguate. Until that data lands, any "fix" would be speculative —
explicitly out of scope per the contributor-pickup comment on the issue.
Bug #3 (launchd-running, port-listening, HTTP-unhealthy) was added in
@stefanpieter's reply comment. Diagnosis is in flight; no concrete fix
shape yet. Also out of scope.
Running locally end-to-end verifies the behavior:
```
[bootstrap] Starting Hermes Web UI on http://127.0.0.1:8789 (foreground mode: --foreground)
$ pgrep -af 'server.py'
2997632 /home/.../python /tmp/wt-fix-1458/server.py
$ ps -o ppid -p 2997632
2997581 ← bash that ran bootstrap.py — same PID as the original bootstrap
$ ps -p 2997581 -o cmd
... bootstrap.py ... ← but exec'd into server.py
```
The same PID that bash forked for `bootstrap.py` is now `server.py`.
A supervisor watching that PID would correctly observe the long-lived
server. No double-fork.
Verification
------------
- 3811 tests pass (`pytest tests/` — full suite, +51 from this PR plus
master-merge-in)
- All 35 new bootstrap-foreground tests pass
- `bash scripts/run-browser-tests.sh` PASS (HTTP API checks against worktree)
- `bash scripts/webui_qa_agent.sh 8789` PASS (23/23 visual QA)
- Live verified: server starts cleanly under both `--foreground` and
`HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1`; PID lineage confirms no double-fork
Closes #1458 (Bug #1 only). Bugs #2 and #3 remain tracked under the
issue.
2026-05-02 17:37:54 +00:00
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " chdir " , lambda p : None )
wait_calls = [ ]
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs , " wait_for_health " , lambda * a , * * kw : ( wait_calls . append ( a ) , True ) [ 1 ] )
def fake_execv ( * a ) :
raise SystemExit ( 0 )
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " execv " , fake_execv )
with pytest . raises ( SystemExit ) :
bs . main ( )
# In foreground mode there's no parent left to retry from — the
# supervisor's KeepAlive handles it. wait_for_health must not run.
assert len ( wait_calls ) == 0
fix(bootstrap): address Opus pre-merge review feedback (#1478)
Three changes from the pre-merge Opus review:
**MUST-FIX** — XPC_SERVICE_NAME false-positive on macOS Terminal
macOS launchd sets `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` in EVERY Terminal-spawned shell, not
just real services. Typical noise values: `"0"` (truthy in Python!) and
`"application.com.apple.Terminal.<UUID>"`. A bare `os.environ.get(name)`
existence check would auto-promote interactive `./start.sh` runs to
foreground mode on every Mac dev machine — silently breaking the most
common installation path (no /health probe, no browser open, no log file,
hanging shell).
Fix: new `_is_real_supervisor_value()` helper that filters noise. For
`XPC_SERVICE_NAME` specifically, reject `"0"` and any `"application.*"`
prefix. Real launchd plists use reverse-DNS Label form (`com.<rdns>.<svc>`)
which still triggers correctly.
7 new tests in `TestXPCServiceNameNoiseFilter`:
- 4 noise values (`0`, Terminal.app, iTerm2, VSCode) → no detection
- 3 real Label forms → correct detection
- Mixed env with XPC noise + real INVOCATION_ID → falls through to systemd
**SHOULD-FIX 1** — Test env leakage
The original `clean_env` fixture stripped supervisor-detection env vars
but not the resolved bootstrap vars (HERMES_WEBUI_HOST/PORT/AGENT_DIR)
that `main()` mutates onto `os.environ`. After
`test_foreground_exports_resolved_env_vars` ran, later tests would import
bootstrap with polluted defaults (DEFAULT_HOST="0.0.0.0" instead of
"127.0.0.1"). Existing assertions still passed (tautological vs DEFAULT_*),
but it was a footgun for future tests.
Fix: extend `clean_env` to also `delenv` the three resolved vars before
each test.
**SHOULD-FIX 2** — Pre-execv executability guard
If `discover_launcher_python` returns a path that doesn't exist or isn't
executable, `os.execv` raises OSError → wrapper catches → SystemExit(1)
→ supervisor restarts → loop forever. That's exactly the failure mode
this PR is supposed to eliminate.
Fix: `os.access(python_exe, os.X_OK)` check before execv. Converts
infinite supervisor loop into a single visible RuntimeError.
1 new test in `TestForegroundExecutabilityGuard` pinning that the guard
fires before execv when the python path is non-executable.
**Docs** — supervisor.md updates
- New section explaining the XPC_SERVICE_NAME noise filter and what
values trigger / don't trigger detection
- New section listing supervisors that are NOT auto-detected (runit,
daemontools, PM2, Foreman/Honcho, custom shell-script supervisors)
with explicit recommendation to set HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1
Verification
- 3820 tests pass (+9 from this commit's new tests vs the original PR
push of 3811)
- Filter manually verified end-to-end with the live os.environ:
XPC=0 → None, XPC=application.* → None, XPC=com.example.foo → triggers
- run-browser-tests.sh ALL CHECKS PASSED on the worktree
Items deferred from the Opus review
- #4 chdir target may not exist: REPO_ROOT comes from __file__.resolve()
so it's stable; not a real concern in practice
- #6 two startup messages in foreground mode: cosmetic, useful for
diagnostics
- #7 stricter explicit-only mode: leaves user the override of just not
passing --foreground (current behavior)
- #8 test stub return value: trivial, can fix later if regression surface
- #9 argparse positional-after-option ordering: test reads fine
These can be follow-up issues if anyone hits them.
2026-05-02 17:52:13 +00:00
class TestForegroundExecutabilityGuard :
""" If python_exe is missing or non-executable, raise a clear error
instead of letting os . execv raise OSError → SystemExit ( 1 ) → supervisor
restart loop . This guard prevents the exact failure mode #1458 reports."""
@pytest.fixture
def setup_with_bad_python ( self , monkeypatch , tmp_path ) :
import bootstrap as bs
agent_dir = tmp_path / " agent "
agent_dir . mkdir ( )
# Create a non-executable file at the python path
bad_python = tmp_path / " bad-python "
bad_python . write_text ( " #!/bin/bash \n echo hi " , encoding = " utf-8 " )
bad_python . chmod ( 0o644 ) # NOT executable
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs , " ensure_supported_platform " , lambda : None )
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs , " discover_agent_dir " , lambda : agent_dir )
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs , " hermes_command_exists " , lambda : True )
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs , " discover_launcher_python " , lambda * a : str ( bad_python ) )
2026-05-02 19:35:42 +00:00
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs , " ensure_python_has_webui_deps " , lambda * a , * * kw : a [ 0 ] )
fix(bootstrap): address Opus pre-merge review feedback (#1478)
Three changes from the pre-merge Opus review:
**MUST-FIX** — XPC_SERVICE_NAME false-positive on macOS Terminal
macOS launchd sets `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` in EVERY Terminal-spawned shell, not
just real services. Typical noise values: `"0"` (truthy in Python!) and
`"application.com.apple.Terminal.<UUID>"`. A bare `os.environ.get(name)`
existence check would auto-promote interactive `./start.sh` runs to
foreground mode on every Mac dev machine — silently breaking the most
common installation path (no /health probe, no browser open, no log file,
hanging shell).
Fix: new `_is_real_supervisor_value()` helper that filters noise. For
`XPC_SERVICE_NAME` specifically, reject `"0"` and any `"application.*"`
prefix. Real launchd plists use reverse-DNS Label form (`com.<rdns>.<svc>`)
which still triggers correctly.
7 new tests in `TestXPCServiceNameNoiseFilter`:
- 4 noise values (`0`, Terminal.app, iTerm2, VSCode) → no detection
- 3 real Label forms → correct detection
- Mixed env with XPC noise + real INVOCATION_ID → falls through to systemd
**SHOULD-FIX 1** — Test env leakage
The original `clean_env` fixture stripped supervisor-detection env vars
but not the resolved bootstrap vars (HERMES_WEBUI_HOST/PORT/AGENT_DIR)
that `main()` mutates onto `os.environ`. After
`test_foreground_exports_resolved_env_vars` ran, later tests would import
bootstrap with polluted defaults (DEFAULT_HOST="0.0.0.0" instead of
"127.0.0.1"). Existing assertions still passed (tautological vs DEFAULT_*),
but it was a footgun for future tests.
Fix: extend `clean_env` to also `delenv` the three resolved vars before
each test.
**SHOULD-FIX 2** — Pre-execv executability guard
If `discover_launcher_python` returns a path that doesn't exist or isn't
executable, `os.execv` raises OSError → wrapper catches → SystemExit(1)
→ supervisor restarts → loop forever. That's exactly the failure mode
this PR is supposed to eliminate.
Fix: `os.access(python_exe, os.X_OK)` check before execv. Converts
infinite supervisor loop into a single visible RuntimeError.
1 new test in `TestForegroundExecutabilityGuard` pinning that the guard
fires before execv when the python path is non-executable.
**Docs** — supervisor.md updates
- New section explaining the XPC_SERVICE_NAME noise filter and what
values trigger / don't trigger detection
- New section listing supervisors that are NOT auto-detected (runit,
daemontools, PM2, Foreman/Honcho, custom shell-script supervisors)
with explicit recommendation to set HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1
Verification
- 3820 tests pass (+9 from this commit's new tests vs the original PR
push of 3811)
- Filter manually verified end-to-end with the live os.environ:
XPC=0 → None, XPC=application.* → None, XPC=com.example.foo → triggers
- run-browser-tests.sh ALL CHECKS PASSED on the worktree
Items deferred from the Opus review
- #4 chdir target may not exist: REPO_ROOT comes from __file__.resolve()
so it's stable; not a real concern in practice
- #6 two startup messages in foreground mode: cosmetic, useful for
diagnostics
- #7 stricter explicit-only mode: leaves user the override of just not
passing --foreground (current behavior)
- #8 test stub return value: trivial, can fix later if regression surface
- #9 argparse positional-after-option ordering: test reads fine
These can be follow-up issues if anyone hits them.
2026-05-02 17:52:13 +00:00
monkeypatch . setenv ( " HERMES_WEBUI_STATE_DIR " , str ( tmp_path / " state " ) )
return bs
def test_non_executable_python_raises_runtime_error ( self , setup_with_bad_python , monkeypatch , clean_env ) :
bs = setup_with_bad_python
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " argv " , [ " bootstrap.py " , " --foreground " ] )
2026-06-15 19:42:33 +00:00
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " platform " , " linux " )
fix(bootstrap): address Opus pre-merge review feedback (#1478)
Three changes from the pre-merge Opus review:
**MUST-FIX** — XPC_SERVICE_NAME false-positive on macOS Terminal
macOS launchd sets `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` in EVERY Terminal-spawned shell, not
just real services. Typical noise values: `"0"` (truthy in Python!) and
`"application.com.apple.Terminal.<UUID>"`. A bare `os.environ.get(name)`
existence check would auto-promote interactive `./start.sh` runs to
foreground mode on every Mac dev machine — silently breaking the most
common installation path (no /health probe, no browser open, no log file,
hanging shell).
Fix: new `_is_real_supervisor_value()` helper that filters noise. For
`XPC_SERVICE_NAME` specifically, reject `"0"` and any `"application.*"`
prefix. Real launchd plists use reverse-DNS Label form (`com.<rdns>.<svc>`)
which still triggers correctly.
7 new tests in `TestXPCServiceNameNoiseFilter`:
- 4 noise values (`0`, Terminal.app, iTerm2, VSCode) → no detection
- 3 real Label forms → correct detection
- Mixed env with XPC noise + real INVOCATION_ID → falls through to systemd
**SHOULD-FIX 1** — Test env leakage
The original `clean_env` fixture stripped supervisor-detection env vars
but not the resolved bootstrap vars (HERMES_WEBUI_HOST/PORT/AGENT_DIR)
that `main()` mutates onto `os.environ`. After
`test_foreground_exports_resolved_env_vars` ran, later tests would import
bootstrap with polluted defaults (DEFAULT_HOST="0.0.0.0" instead of
"127.0.0.1"). Existing assertions still passed (tautological vs DEFAULT_*),
but it was a footgun for future tests.
Fix: extend `clean_env` to also `delenv` the three resolved vars before
each test.
**SHOULD-FIX 2** — Pre-execv executability guard
If `discover_launcher_python` returns a path that doesn't exist or isn't
executable, `os.execv` raises OSError → wrapper catches → SystemExit(1)
→ supervisor restarts → loop forever. That's exactly the failure mode
this PR is supposed to eliminate.
Fix: `os.access(python_exe, os.X_OK)` check before execv. Converts
infinite supervisor loop into a single visible RuntimeError.
1 new test in `TestForegroundExecutabilityGuard` pinning that the guard
fires before execv when the python path is non-executable.
**Docs** — supervisor.md updates
- New section explaining the XPC_SERVICE_NAME noise filter and what
values trigger / don't trigger detection
- New section listing supervisors that are NOT auto-detected (runit,
daemontools, PM2, Foreman/Honcho, custom shell-script supervisors)
with explicit recommendation to set HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1
Verification
- 3820 tests pass (+9 from this commit's new tests vs the original PR
push of 3811)
- Filter manually verified end-to-end with the live os.environ:
XPC=0 → None, XPC=application.* → None, XPC=com.example.foo → triggers
- run-browser-tests.sh ALL CHECKS PASSED on the worktree
Items deferred from the Opus review
- #4 chdir target may not exist: REPO_ROOT comes from __file__.resolve()
so it's stable; not a real concern in practice
- #6 two startup messages in foreground mode: cosmetic, useful for
diagnostics
- #7 stricter explicit-only mode: leaves user the override of just not
passing --foreground (current behavior)
- #8 test stub return value: trivial, can fix later if regression surface
- #9 argparse positional-after-option ordering: test reads fine
These can be follow-up issues if anyone hits them.
2026-05-02 17:52:13 +00:00
execv_calls = [ ]
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " execv " , lambda * a : execv_calls . append ( a ) )
2026-06-15 19:42:33 +00:00
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " access " , lambda path , mode : False )
fix(bootstrap): address Opus pre-merge review feedback (#1478)
Three changes from the pre-merge Opus review:
**MUST-FIX** — XPC_SERVICE_NAME false-positive on macOS Terminal
macOS launchd sets `XPC_SERVICE_NAME` in EVERY Terminal-spawned shell, not
just real services. Typical noise values: `"0"` (truthy in Python!) and
`"application.com.apple.Terminal.<UUID>"`. A bare `os.environ.get(name)`
existence check would auto-promote interactive `./start.sh` runs to
foreground mode on every Mac dev machine — silently breaking the most
common installation path (no /health probe, no browser open, no log file,
hanging shell).
Fix: new `_is_real_supervisor_value()` helper that filters noise. For
`XPC_SERVICE_NAME` specifically, reject `"0"` and any `"application.*"`
prefix. Real launchd plists use reverse-DNS Label form (`com.<rdns>.<svc>`)
which still triggers correctly.
7 new tests in `TestXPCServiceNameNoiseFilter`:
- 4 noise values (`0`, Terminal.app, iTerm2, VSCode) → no detection
- 3 real Label forms → correct detection
- Mixed env with XPC noise + real INVOCATION_ID → falls through to systemd
**SHOULD-FIX 1** — Test env leakage
The original `clean_env` fixture stripped supervisor-detection env vars
but not the resolved bootstrap vars (HERMES_WEBUI_HOST/PORT/AGENT_DIR)
that `main()` mutates onto `os.environ`. After
`test_foreground_exports_resolved_env_vars` ran, later tests would import
bootstrap with polluted defaults (DEFAULT_HOST="0.0.0.0" instead of
"127.0.0.1"). Existing assertions still passed (tautological vs DEFAULT_*),
but it was a footgun for future tests.
Fix: extend `clean_env` to also `delenv` the three resolved vars before
each test.
**SHOULD-FIX 2** — Pre-execv executability guard
If `discover_launcher_python` returns a path that doesn't exist or isn't
executable, `os.execv` raises OSError → wrapper catches → SystemExit(1)
→ supervisor restarts → loop forever. That's exactly the failure mode
this PR is supposed to eliminate.
Fix: `os.access(python_exe, os.X_OK)` check before execv. Converts
infinite supervisor loop into a single visible RuntimeError.
1 new test in `TestForegroundExecutabilityGuard` pinning that the guard
fires before execv when the python path is non-executable.
**Docs** — supervisor.md updates
- New section explaining the XPC_SERVICE_NAME noise filter and what
values trigger / don't trigger detection
- New section listing supervisors that are NOT auto-detected (runit,
daemontools, PM2, Foreman/Honcho, custom shell-script supervisors)
with explicit recommendation to set HERMES_WEBUI_FOREGROUND=1
Verification
- 3820 tests pass (+9 from this commit's new tests vs the original PR
push of 3811)
- Filter manually verified end-to-end with the live os.environ:
XPC=0 → None, XPC=application.* → None, XPC=com.example.foo → triggers
- run-browser-tests.sh ALL CHECKS PASSED on the worktree
Items deferred from the Opus review
- #4 chdir target may not exist: REPO_ROOT comes from __file__.resolve()
so it's stable; not a real concern in practice
- #6 two startup messages in foreground mode: cosmetic, useful for
diagnostics
- #7 stricter explicit-only mode: leaves user the override of just not
passing --foreground (current behavior)
- #8 test stub return value: trivial, can fix later if regression surface
- #9 argparse positional-after-option ordering: test reads fine
These can be follow-up issues if anyone hits them.
2026-05-02 17:52:13 +00:00
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " chdir " , lambda p : None )
with pytest . raises ( RuntimeError , match = " not executable " ) :
bs . main ( )
# execv must NOT have been called when the guard fires
assert len ( execv_calls ) == 0
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def test_package_python_discovers_agent_before_skip_install_gate ( import_bootstrap , clean_env , monkeypatch , tmp_path ) :
bs = import_bootstrap
agent_dir = tmp_path / " site-packages "
agent_dir . mkdir ( )
( agent_dir / " run_agent.py " ) . write_text ( " class AIAgent: \n pass \n " , encoding = " utf-8 " )
state_dir = tmp_path / " state "
python_exe = sys . executable
execv_calls = [ ]
monkeypatch . setenv ( " HERMES_WEBUI_PYTHON " , python_exe )
monkeypatch . setenv ( " HERMES_WEBUI_DISABLE_LOCAL_VENV " , " 1 " )
monkeypatch . setenv ( " HERMES_WEBUI_STATE_DIR " , str ( state_dir ) )
monkeypatch . setenv ( " HERMES_HOME " , str ( tmp_path / " hermes-home " ) )
monkeypatch . setenv ( " PYTHONPATH " , str ( agent_dir ) )
monkeypatch . setenv ( " PATH " , " " )
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs , " REPO_ROOT " , tmp_path / " webui " )
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs . Path , " home " , classmethod ( lambda cls : tmp_path / " home " ) )
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs , " ensure_supported_platform " , lambda : None )
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " argv " , [ " bootstrap.py " , " --foreground " , " --skip-agent-install " ] )
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " platform " , " linux " )
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " access " , lambda path , mode : True )
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " chdir " , lambda path : None )
def fake_execv ( path , argv ) :
execv_calls . append ( ( path , argv ) )
raise SystemExit ( 0 )
monkeypatch . setattr ( os , " execv " , fake_execv )
with patch . object ( bs , " install_hermes_agent " ) as mock_install , patch . object ( bs . venv , " EnvBuilder " ) as mock_builder , pytest . raises ( SystemExit ) :
bs . main ( )
assert execv_calls == [ ( python_exe , [ python_exe , str ( bs . REPO_ROOT / " server.py " ) ] ) ]
assert os . environ [ " HERMES_WEBUI_AGENT_DIR " ] == str ( agent_dir . resolve ( ) )
mock_install . assert_not_called ( )
mock_builder . assert_not_called ( )
def test_package_python_without_agent_stays_fail_closed ( import_bootstrap , clean_env , monkeypatch , tmp_path ) :
bs = import_bootstrap
python_exe = sys . executable
monkeypatch . setenv ( " HERMES_WEBUI_PYTHON " , python_exe )
monkeypatch . setenv ( " HERMES_WEBUI_DISABLE_LOCAL_VENV " , " 1 " )
monkeypatch . setenv ( " HERMES_HOME " , str ( tmp_path / " hermes-home " ) )
monkeypatch . setenv ( " PATH " , " " )
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs , " REPO_ROOT " , tmp_path / " webui " )
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs . Path , " home " , classmethod ( lambda cls : tmp_path / " home " ) )
monkeypatch . setattr ( bs , " ensure_supported_platform " , lambda : None )
monkeypatch . setattr ( sys , " argv " , [ " bootstrap.py " , " --foreground " , " --skip-agent-install " ] )
with patch . object ( bs , " _agent_dir_from_python " , return_value = None ) as mock_probe , patch . object ( bs , " install_hermes_agent " ) as mock_install , patch . object ( bs . venv , " EnvBuilder " ) as mock_builder , patch . object ( os , " execv " ) as mock_execv , pytest . raises ( RuntimeError , match = " Hermes Agent was not found " ) :
bs . main ( )
mock_probe . assert_called_once_with ( python_exe )
mock_install . assert_not_called ( )
mock_builder . assert_not_called ( )
mock_execv . assert_not_called ( )