fix(webui): crash visibility — faulthandler + thread excepthook + exit audit (#4633)

server.py exited SILENTLY after 9-16h: no traceback, no shutdown-audit line,
no core dump — the log just stopped mid-request. It runs a ThreadingHTTPServer
with daemon_threads=True, so an unhandled exception in a request/SSE/long-poll
handler thread could terminate work with nothing recorded, and faulthandler was
not enabled so a native crash left nothing at all. The WebUI also configures no
logging handlers, so INFO/ERROR records are dropped by logging's lastResort
filter (WARNING+ only) — meaning even the existing shutdown audit never reached
the log.

Add api/crash_visibility.py (stdlib-only, hooks never raise) and wire
install_crash_visibility() into server.main() before any heavy startup:
  * faulthandler.enable(all_threads=True) — native crash dumps a C-level
    traceback; SIGUSR1 registered for on-demand hang diagnosis.
  * threading.excepthook — logs uncaught daemon/handler-thread exceptions
    (thread name, ident, traceback) instead of losing them silently.
  * sys.excepthook — logs uncaught main-thread exceptions (KeyboardInterrupt
    preserved).
  * atexit exit-audit breadcrumb — a clean/unwound exit is recorded; its
    absence narrows a silent death to an un-unwound kill (OOM/SIGKILL/abort).

All diagnostics are written directly to the fault stream (stderr, which the
bootstrap redirects into the WebUI log) AND mirrored through logging, so the
line is guaranteed to land regardless of logging config.

No request-handling behavior change, no new deps. Paired memory root-cause: #4765.

Fixes #4633.
This commit is contained in:
hermes-agent 2026-07-01 18:01:39 +00:00
parent 412cf01ac2
commit 5bca5db900
3 changed files with 559 additions and 0 deletions

298
api/crash_visibility.py Normal file
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@ -0,0 +1,298 @@
"""Crash-visibility hardening for the Hermes WebUI server (issue #4633).
Background
----------
``server.py`` runs a ``ThreadingHTTPServer`` with ``daemon_threads = True``.
Under that model a *silent* process death is possible in ways that leave the
log ending mid-request with no traceback, no shutdown-audit line, and no core
dump:
* A **native** crash (segfault / abort in a C extension, e.g. sqlite, ssl,
a provider SDK) terminates the interpreter with no Python-level traceback.
Without ``faulthandler`` enabled, nothing is written.
* An **uncaught Python exception in a daemon request/SSE/long-poll thread**
is reported through ``threading.excepthook``. The stock hook prints to
``sys.stderr`` with no context, and if that stream is gone the report is
lost — so a single handler-thread exception can vanish silently.
* An uncaught exception on the **main thread** goes through ``sys.excepthook``.
The paired *root cause* (a memory issue that eventually triggers the death)
is being fixed separately in #4765. This module is purely about
**diagnostics**: when the process dies we want a recorded reason, and one
handler-thread exception must never disappear without a log line.
Design constraints
------------------
* Standard library only; no new dependencies.
* Every hook is defensive — a logging hook must NEVER raise (a raising hook
would itself become a new silent-failure mode).
* Diagnostics are written **directly to the stderr stream** (which the
bootstrap redirects into the WebUI log file) *and* mirrored through the
``logging`` module. The WebUI configures no logging handlers, so an
``INFO``/``ERROR`` record would otherwise be swallowed by logging's
``lastResort`` filter (WARNING+ only) and never reach the log — the exact
failure mode of #4633. The direct write guarantees the line lands.
* ``install_crash_visibility()`` is idempotent and safe to call at import or
startup time.
"""
from __future__ import annotations
import atexit
import faulthandler
import logging
import os
import signal
import sys
import threading
import traceback
from typing import Optional, TextIO
__all__ = [
"install_crash_visibility",
"is_installed",
"thread_excepthook",
"main_excepthook",
]
_LOGGER = logging.getLogger("server")
# Guard so repeated calls (e.g. import + explicit startup call, or a test that
# re-imports) don't stack duplicate hooks / atexit registrations.
_INSTALLED = False
_INSTALL_LOCK = threading.Lock()
# Strong reference to the stream faulthandler writes into. faulthandler keeps
# the file descriptor, but holding the object prevents premature GC of a
# wrapper and lets tests introspect what we enabled against.
_FAULT_STREAM: Optional[TextIO] = None
# Remember prior hooks so we can chain (and so tests can restore them).
_PREV_THREAD_HOOK = None
_PREV_SYS_HOOK = None
def is_installed() -> bool:
"""Return True once :func:`install_crash_visibility` has run."""
return _INSTALLED
def _resolve_stream(stream: Optional[TextIO]) -> TextIO:
"""Pick a real, writable stream, defaulting to stderr."""
if stream is not None:
return stream
err = sys.stderr
if err is not None:
return err
# As a last resort, wrap fd 2 directly so we can still emit something.
return os.fdopen(os.dup(2), "w", closefd=True)
def _direct_write(text: str) -> None:
"""Write a diagnostic line straight to the fault stream. Never raises."""
try:
stream = _FAULT_STREAM if _FAULT_STREAM is not None else sys.stderr
if stream is None:
return
stream.write(text if text.endswith("\n") else text + "\n")
try:
stream.flush()
except Exception:
pass
except Exception:
# Absolutely nothing a diagnostic writer may raise should propagate.
pass
def _emit(level: int, message: str, *, exc_info=None) -> None:
"""Emit a diagnostic via logging AND directly to the fault stream.
Never raises. The direct write is what guarantees visibility in the WebUI
log (which configures no logging handlers); the logging call is what lets
tests/caplog and any future handler capture the same record.
"""
text = message
if exc_info is not None:
try:
etype, evalue, etb = exc_info
tb_text = "".join(traceback.format_exception(etype, evalue, etb))
text = f"{message}\n{tb_text}".rstrip()
except Exception:
text = message
_direct_write(text)
try:
_LOGGER.log(level, message, exc_info=exc_info)
except Exception:
# If the logging subsystem itself blows up, the direct write above
# already captured the diagnostic — swallow so we never re-crash here.
pass
def thread_excepthook(args) -> None:
"""threading.excepthook: log any uncaught exception in a daemon/handler thread.
``args`` is a ``threading.ExceptHookArgs`` (exc_type, exc_value,
exc_traceback, thread). A normal thread shutdown may pass exc_type=None.
"""
try:
exc_type = getattr(args, "exc_type", None)
exc_value = getattr(args, "exc_value", None)
exc_tb = getattr(args, "exc_traceback", None)
thread = getattr(args, "thread", None)
# SystemExit inside a thread is an intentional stop, not a crash.
if exc_type is None or issubclass(exc_type, SystemExit):
return
thread_name = getattr(thread, "name", None) or "unknown"
thread_ident = getattr(thread, "ident", None)
daemon = getattr(thread, "daemon", None)
_emit(
logging.ERROR,
"[crash-visibility] uncaught exception in thread "
"name=%s ident=%s daemon=%s type=%s"
% (thread_name, thread_ident, daemon, getattr(exc_type, "__name__", exc_type)),
exc_info=(exc_type, exc_value, exc_tb),
)
except Exception:
# A hook that raises would re-introduce the silent-death class of bug.
try:
_direct_write("[crash-visibility] thread_excepthook failed to log an exception")
except Exception:
pass
finally:
# Chain to any previously-installed hook, but only if it isn't the
# stock one (which just prints to stderr again — we already did better).
prev = _PREV_THREAD_HOOK
try:
if prev is not None and prev is not threading.__excepthook__:
prev(args)
except Exception:
pass
def main_excepthook(exc_type, exc_value, exc_tb) -> None:
"""sys.excepthook: log any uncaught exception on the main thread."""
try:
is_keyboard_interrupt = bool(
isinstance(exc_type, type) and issubclass(exc_type, KeyboardInterrupt)
)
if is_keyboard_interrupt:
# Preserve default Ctrl-C behaviour: no scary traceback dump.
prev = _PREV_SYS_HOOK or sys.__excepthook__
try:
prev(exc_type, exc_value, exc_tb)
except Exception:
pass
return
_emit(
logging.CRITICAL,
"[crash-visibility] uncaught exception on main thread type=%s"
% (getattr(exc_type, "__name__", exc_type),),
exc_info=(exc_type, exc_value, exc_tb),
)
except Exception:
try:
_direct_write("[crash-visibility] main_excepthook failed to log an exception")
except Exception:
pass
finally:
prev = _PREV_SYS_HOOK
try:
if prev is not None and prev is not sys.__excepthook__:
prev(exc_type, exc_value, exc_tb)
except Exception:
pass
def _exit_audit() -> None:
"""atexit hook: record that the process is exiting.
A plain interpreter exit (return from main, sys.exit, or the tail of a
fatal error that still unwinds atexit) leaves a breadcrumb so we can tell a
*clean* shutdown apart from a truly silent death — if the log ends with no
exit-audit line at all, the process was killed without unwinding
(OOM kill / SIGKILL / native abort), which itself narrows the diagnosis.
"""
try:
_emit(
logging.INFO,
"[crash-visibility] process exit pid=%s thread=%s"
% (os.getpid(), threading.current_thread().name),
)
except Exception:
pass
def install_crash_visibility(
*,
stream: Optional[TextIO] = None,
enable_faulthandler: bool = True,
register_sigusr1_dump: bool = True,
) -> bool:
"""Install faulthandler + excepthooks + exit audit. Idempotent.
Parameters
----------
stream:
Where diagnostics are written. Defaults to ``sys.stderr`` (redirected
into the WebUI log file by the bootstrap).
enable_faulthandler:
Enable ``faulthandler`` so a native segfault/abort dumps a C-level
traceback of every thread instead of vanishing.
register_sigusr1_dump:
On POSIX, register ``SIGUSR1`` to dump all thread stacks on demand —
invaluable for diagnosing a *hang* (send ``kill -USR1 <pid>``) as
opposed to a crash. Ignored where SIGUSR1 is unavailable (Windows).
Returns True if it installed on this call, False if it was already active.
"""
global _INSTALLED, _FAULT_STREAM, _PREV_THREAD_HOOK, _PREV_SYS_HOOK
with _INSTALL_LOCK:
if _INSTALLED:
return False
_FAULT_STREAM = _resolve_stream(stream)
# 1) faulthandler: native crash → C-level traceback of all threads.
if enable_faulthandler:
try:
faulthandler.enable(file=_FAULT_STREAM, all_threads=True)
except Exception:
# Some frozen/embedded builds restrict faulthandler; degrade
# gracefully rather than blocking startup.
_direct_write("[crash-visibility] faulthandler.enable() failed")
# 1b) On-demand all-thread stack dump for diagnosing hangs.
if register_sigusr1_dump:
sigusr1 = getattr(signal, "SIGUSR1", None)
if sigusr1 is not None:
try:
faulthandler.register(
sigusr1, file=_FAULT_STREAM, all_threads=True, chain=True
)
except Exception:
pass
# 2) threading.excepthook: daemon/handler-thread crash → logged.
try:
_PREV_THREAD_HOOK = threading.excepthook
threading.excepthook = thread_excepthook
except Exception:
_direct_write("[crash-visibility] failed to install threading.excepthook")
# 3) sys.excepthook: main-thread crash → logged.
try:
_PREV_SYS_HOOK = sys.excepthook
sys.excepthook = main_excepthook
except Exception:
_direct_write("[crash-visibility] failed to install sys.excepthook")
# 4) atexit exit audit: breadcrumb on clean/unwound exit.
try:
atexit.register(_exit_audit)
except Exception:
pass
_INSTALLED = True
return True

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@ -112,6 +112,7 @@ from api.profiles import set_request_profile, clear_request_profile
from api.routes import handle_delete, handle_get, handle_patch, handle_post, handle_put
from api.startup import auto_install_agent_deps, fix_credential_permissions
from api.updates import WEBUI_VERSION
from api.crash_visibility import install_crash_visibility
class QuietHTTPServer(ThreadingHTTPServer):
@ -546,6 +547,12 @@ def _abort_if_already_serving(host: str, port: int) -> None:
def main() -> None:
from api.config import print_startup_config, verify_hermes_imports, _HERMES_FOUND
# Crash visibility FIRST (issue #4633): enable faulthandler + excepthooks +
# exit audit before any heavy startup work so a native crash or a daemon /
# handler-thread exception during startup or serving produces a diagnostic
# instead of a silent death. The paired memory root-cause is #4765.
install_crash_visibility()
print_startup_config()
fd_limit = _raise_fd_soft_limit()

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@ -0,0 +1,254 @@
"""Regression coverage for issue #4633: crash visibility hardening.
server.py was exiting SILENTLY after 9-16h — no traceback, no shutdown-audit
line, no core dump; the log just stopped mid-request. It runs a
ThreadingHTTPServer with daemon_threads=True, so an unhandled exception in a
request/SSE handler thread could terminate work with nothing recorded, and
faulthandler was not enabled so a native crash left nothing at all.
These tests assert the diagnostic hardening in api/crash_visibility.py (wired
into server.main()):
* faulthandler is enabled after install (native crash → C-level traceback);
* threading.excepthook is installed and a real daemon-thread exception is
logged (thread name + traceback) instead of vanishing;
* sys.excepthook is installed and logs uncaught main-thread exceptions;
* an atexit exit-audit breadcrumb is registered;
* server.py wires install_crash_visibility() into main().
The paired MEMORY root-cause is fixed separately in #4765; this is purely
crash VISIBILITY.
No live server socket is required — the helpers are exercised directly.
"""
import faulthandler
import logging
import sys
import threading
import pytest
import api.crash_visibility as cv
@pytest.fixture
def fresh_hooks(tmp_path):
"""Reset crash-visibility global state and restore process hooks after.
Installing crash visibility mutates the process-wide threading.excepthook,
sys.excepthook and faulthandler state, so snapshot and restore them to keep
the rest of the suite hermetic.
"""
saved_thread_hook = threading.excepthook
saved_sys_hook = sys.excepthook
saved_installed = cv._INSTALLED
saved_stream = cv._FAULT_STREAM
saved_prev_thread = cv._PREV_THREAD_HOOK
saved_prev_sys = cv._PREV_SYS_HOOK
was_fh_enabled = faulthandler.is_enabled()
saved_atexit_register = cv.atexit.register
# Start from stock hooks so the module records the *stock* hook as "prev"
# and never chains into pytest's own thread-exception collector during the
# test (which would otherwise double-report and can fail the test).
threading.excepthook = threading.__excepthook__
sys.excepthook = sys.__excepthook__
cv._INSTALLED = False
cv._FAULT_STREAM = None
cv._PREV_THREAD_HOOK = None
cv._PREV_SYS_HOOK = None
# Prevent tests from leaking real atexit handlers into the pytest session:
# the fixture resets _INSTALLED each test, so every install() would register
# a fresh (real) _exit_audit that fires at interpreter shutdown. Capture
# them instead. The dedicated exit-audit test re-patches this itself.
cv.atexit.register = lambda fn: fn
stream_path = tmp_path / "faultstream.log"
stream = stream_path.open("w", encoding="utf-8")
try:
yield stream, stream_path
finally:
try:
stream.flush()
except Exception:
pass
# Detach faulthandler from the about-to-close temp file before closing.
try:
faulthandler.disable()
except Exception:
pass
try:
stream.close()
except Exception:
pass
if was_fh_enabled:
try:
faulthandler.enable()
except Exception:
pass
threading.excepthook = saved_thread_hook
sys.excepthook = saved_sys_hook
cv._INSTALLED = saved_installed
cv._FAULT_STREAM = saved_stream
cv._PREV_THREAD_HOOK = saved_prev_thread
cv._PREV_SYS_HOOK = saved_prev_sys
cv.atexit.register = saved_atexit_register
def _read(path):
try:
return path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
except Exception:
return ""
# ── 1. faulthandler ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
def test_faulthandler_enabled_after_install(fresh_hooks):
stream, _ = fresh_hooks
installed = cv.install_crash_visibility(stream=stream, register_sigusr1_dump=False)
assert installed is True
assert cv.is_installed() is True
# faulthandler must be active so a native segfault/abort dumps a C-level
# traceback of every thread instead of vanishing (the #4633 failure mode).
assert faulthandler.is_enabled() is True
def test_install_is_idempotent(fresh_hooks):
stream, _ = fresh_hooks
assert cv.install_crash_visibility(stream=stream, register_sigusr1_dump=False) is True
# Second call must be a no-op (no stacked hooks / duplicate atexit handlers).
assert cv.install_crash_visibility(stream=stream, register_sigusr1_dump=False) is False
# ── 2. threading.excepthook ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
def test_thread_excepthook_installed(fresh_hooks):
stream, _ = fresh_hooks
cv.install_crash_visibility(stream=stream, register_sigusr1_dump=False)
assert threading.excepthook is cv.thread_excepthook
def test_daemon_thread_exception_is_logged(fresh_hooks, caplog):
stream, stream_path = fresh_hooks
cv.install_crash_visibility(stream=stream, register_sigusr1_dump=False)
def _boom():
raise ValueError("simulated SSE handler crash 4633")
caplog.set_level(logging.ERROR, logger="server")
t = threading.Thread(target=_boom, name="sse-handler-42", daemon=True)
t.start()
t.join(timeout=5)
assert not t.is_alive()
stream.flush()
written = _read(stream_path)
logged = "\n".join(r.getMessage() for r in caplog.records)
# Diagnostic must land in the fault stream (which the bootstrap redirects
# into the WebUI log file) AND be visible via the logging subsystem.
for haystack in (written, logged):
assert "[crash-visibility] uncaught exception in thread" in haystack
assert "sse-handler-42" in haystack
# The stream copy carries the full traceback + the original exception text.
assert "ValueError" in written
assert "simulated SSE handler crash 4633" in written
def test_thread_excepthook_ignores_clean_exit_and_never_raises(fresh_hooks):
stream, stream_path = fresh_hooks
cv.install_crash_visibility(stream=stream, register_sigusr1_dump=False)
# A normal thread teardown passes exc_type=None; must produce nothing and
# must not raise.
Args = type(
"Args",
(),
{"exc_type": None, "exc_value": None, "exc_traceback": None, "thread": None},
)
cv.thread_excepthook(Args())
# Wholly malformed args must also be swallowed without raising.
cv.thread_excepthook(object())
stream.flush()
assert "uncaught exception in thread" not in _read(stream_path)
# ── 3. sys.excepthook ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
def test_sys_excepthook_installed(fresh_hooks):
stream, _ = fresh_hooks
cv.install_crash_visibility(stream=stream, register_sigusr1_dump=False)
assert sys.excepthook is cv.main_excepthook
def test_main_thread_exception_is_logged(fresh_hooks, caplog):
stream, stream_path = fresh_hooks
cv.install_crash_visibility(stream=stream, register_sigusr1_dump=False)
caplog.set_level(logging.CRITICAL, logger="server")
try:
raise RuntimeError("simulated main-thread fatal 4633")
except RuntimeError:
cv.main_excepthook(*sys.exc_info())
stream.flush()
written = _read(stream_path)
logged = "\n".join(r.getMessage() for r in caplog.records)
for haystack in (written, logged):
assert "[crash-visibility] uncaught exception on main thread" in haystack
assert "RuntimeError" in written
assert "simulated main-thread fatal 4633" in written
def test_keyboard_interrupt_not_treated_as_crash(fresh_hooks, caplog):
stream, stream_path = fresh_hooks
cv.install_crash_visibility(stream=stream, register_sigusr1_dump=False)
caplog.set_level(logging.DEBUG, logger="server")
try:
raise KeyboardInterrupt()
except KeyboardInterrupt:
cv.main_excepthook(*sys.exc_info())
stream.flush()
# Ctrl-C is intentional; it must not be logged as an uncaught crash.
assert "uncaught exception on main thread" not in _read(stream_path)
assert all("crash-visibility" not in r.getMessage() for r in caplog.records)
# ── 4. exit audit ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
def test_exit_audit_registered_and_emits(fresh_hooks, monkeypatch, caplog):
stream, stream_path = fresh_hooks
registered = []
monkeypatch.setattr(cv.atexit, "register", lambda fn: registered.append(fn) or fn)
cv.install_crash_visibility(stream=stream, register_sigusr1_dump=False)
assert cv._exit_audit in registered
caplog.set_level(logging.INFO, logger="server")
cv._exit_audit() # simulate interpreter exit unwinding
stream.flush()
written = _read(stream_path)
logged = "\n".join(r.getMessage() for r in caplog.records)
for haystack in (written, logged):
assert "[crash-visibility] process exit" in haystack
# ── 5. server.py wiring ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
def test_server_imports_and_calls_install(fresh_hooks):
import server
assert hasattr(server, "install_crash_visibility")
assert server.install_crash_visibility is cv.install_crash_visibility
from tests.conftest import SERVER_SCRIPT
src = SERVER_SCRIPT.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
assert "from api.crash_visibility import install_crash_visibility" in src
assert "install_crash_visibility()" in src