@yemi33/minions 0.1.1046 → 0.1.1047

package/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 # Changelog
 
-## 0.1.1046 (2026-04-16)
+## 0.1.1047 (2026-04-16)
 
 ### Fixes
+- stamp live-output.log stub before spawn (#1198)
 -  harden settings save and migrate pr poll config
 
 ### Other

package/engine/timeout.js

@@ -308,16 +308,27 @@ function checkTimeouts(config) {
     const procInfo = activeProcesses.get(item.id);
     if (procInfo?._steeringAt && Date.now() - procInfo._steeringAt < 60000) continue;
 
+    // Capture live-output.log file state for orphan/hung diagnostics (#W-mo248lkjwgsu).
+    // Three distinguishable failure modes:
+    //   logExists=false           → spawn call itself threw, no log ever written
+    //   logExists=true, size~stub → process died at startup (stub-only content)
+    //   logExists=true, size>stub → genuine hang (process alive, wrote output, then stopped)
+    let _logState = 'logExists=false logSize=0';
+    try {
+      const lst = fs.statSync(liveLogPath);
+      _logState = `logExists=true logSize=${lst.size}`;
+    } catch { /* ENOENT — keep default */ }
+
     if (!hasProcess && silentMs > effectiveTimeout && (Date.now() > engineRestartGraceUntil || engineRestartGraceExempt?.has(item.id))) {
       // No tracked process AND no recent output past effective timeout AND (grace period expired OR confirmed-dead at restart) → orphaned
-      log('warn', `Orphan detected: ${item.agent} (${item.id}) — no process tracked, silent for ${silentSec}s${isBlocking ? ' (blocking timeout exceeded)' : ''}`);
+      log('warn', `Orphan detected: ${item.agent} (${item.id}) — no process tracked, silent for ${silentSec}s${isBlocking ? ' (blocking timeout exceeded)' : ''} [${_logState}]`);
       dispatch().updateAgentStatus(item.id, AGENT_STATUS.TIMED_OUT, `Orphaned — no process, silent for ${silentSec}s`);
       // Clear session so retry starts fresh
       try { shared.safeUnlink(path.join(AGENTS_DIR, item.agent, 'session.json')); } catch {}
       deadItems.push({ item, reason: `Orphaned — no process, silent for ${silentSec}s` });
     } else if (hasProcess && silentMs > effectiveTimeout) {
       // Has process but no output past effective timeout → hung
-      log('warn', `Hung agent: ${item.agent} (${item.id}) — process exists but no output for ${silentSec}s${isBlocking ? ' (blocking timeout exceeded)' : ''}`);
+      log('warn', `Hung agent: ${item.agent} (${item.id}) — process exists but no output for ${silentSec}s${isBlocking ? ' (blocking timeout exceeded)' : ''} [${_logState}]`);
       dispatch().updateAgentStatus(item.id, AGENT_STATUS.TIMED_OUT, `Hung — no output for ${silentSec}s`);
       const procInfo = activeProcesses.get(item.id);
       if (procInfo) {

package/engine.js

@@ -871,25 +871,16 @@ async function spawnAgent(dispatchItem, config) {
   const spawnScript = path.join(ENGINE_DIR, 'spawn-agent.js');
   const spawnArgs = [spawnScript, promptPath, sysPromptPath, ...args];
 
-  const proc = runFile(process.execPath, spawnArgs, {
-    cwd,
-    stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
-    env: childEnv,
-  });
-
-  const MAX_OUTPUT = 1024 * 1024; // 1MB
-  let stdout = '';
-  let stderr = '';
-  let lastOutputAt = Date.now();
-  let heartbeatTimer = null;
-  let _trustCheckDone = false;
-  const _spawnTime = Date.now();
-
-  // Live output file — written as data arrives so dashboard can tail it
+  // Live output file — stamped BEFORE child process is spawned (#W-mo248lkjwgsu).
+  // Writing the stub pre-spawn lets the orphan detector distinguish three failure modes
+  // that otherwise look identical:
+  //   1. No log file          → spawn call itself threw before reaching this line
+  //   2. Log has stub only    → process started but died before its first write
+  //   3. Log has stub + ...   → process alive but hung (the only case that warrants orphan kill+retry)
   const liveOutputPath = path.join(AGENTS_DIR, agentId, 'live-output.log');
 
   // Rotate previous live output to preserve session history (fixes #543: orphan recovery overwrites)
-  // Only rotate if the existing file has meaningful content (beyond just the header)
+  // Only rotate if the existing file has meaningful content (beyond just the header stub)
   const LIVE_OUTPUT_SPARSE_THRESHOLD = 500; // bytes — header + init JSON is typically < 500
   try {
     if (fs.existsSync(liveOutputPath)) {
@@ -901,7 +892,37 @@ async function spawnAgent(dispatchItem, config) {
     }
   } catch { /* rotation is best-effort — overwrite still happens below */ }
 
-  safeWrite(liveOutputPath, `# Live output for ${agentId} — ${id}\n# Started: ${startedAt}\n# Task: ${dispatchItem.task}\n\n`);
+  // Stamp the log synchronously before spawn. If the synchronous write throws,
+  // we still attempt to spawn (log-file stamp failure must not block the agent),
+  // but we note it so the diagnostic trail isn't silent either.
+  try {
+    safeWrite(liveOutputPath, `# Live output for ${agentId} — ${id}\n# Started: ${startedAt}\n# Task: ${dispatchItem.task}\n[${new Date().toISOString()}] spawn: agent=${agentId} item=${id}\n\n`);
+  } catch (stubErr) {
+    log('warn', `Failed to stamp live-output stub for ${agentId} (${id}): ${stubErr.message}`);
+  }
+
+  let proc;
+  try {
+    proc = runFile(process.execPath, spawnArgs, {
+      cwd,
+      stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+      env: childEnv,
+    });
+  } catch (spawnErr) {
+    // Synchronous spawn failure — record it to the (already-stamped) log so the
+    // orphan detector's "logSize > stub-only" check can tell this apart from a
+    // hung process. Then rethrow so the dispatch loop handles it normally.
+    try { fs.appendFileSync(liveOutputPath, `[${new Date().toISOString()}] spawn-failed: ${spawnErr.message}\n[process-exit] spawn-failed\n`); } catch { /* cleanup-only best effort */ }
+    throw spawnErr;
+  }
+
+  const MAX_OUTPUT = 1024 * 1024; // 1MB
+  let stdout = '';
+  let stderr = '';
+  let lastOutputAt = Date.now();
+  let heartbeatTimer = null;
+  let _trustCheckDone = false;
+  const _spawnTime = Date.now();
 
   // Keep live log active even when the agent produces no stdout/stderr for long stretches.
   // This makes "silent but running" states visible in the dashboard tail view.

package/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@yemi33/minions",
-  "version": "0.1.1046",
+  "version": "0.1.1047",
   "description": "Multi-agent AI dev team that runs from ~/.minions/ — five autonomous agents share a single engine, dashboard, and knowledge base",
   "bin": {
     "minions": "bin/minions.js"