davinci-resolve-mcp 2.214.1 → 2.214.3

package/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -2,6 +2,68 @@
 
 Release history for the DaVinci Resolve MCP Server. The latest release is summarized in the root README; older entries live here to keep the README focused.
 
+## What's New in v2.214.3 — the advanced launcher heals a wrong-Node registration
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **`davinci-resolve-advanced-mcp` re-executes itself under a Node ≥ 20.9 when
+  started by an older one.** The floor is unchanged and deliberate (sharp's own
+  engine floor is 20.9; better-sqlite3 is a native module built for one ABI;
+  Node 18 is end-of-life). What kept recurring was the MCP registration's
+  `command` landing on an nvm v18 binary after a client app rewrote its config
+  (twice on the reference machine), which left the server "disconnected" with
+  the fix buried in a log. The launcher now looks for a suitable Node before
+  refusing — `DAVINCI_RESOLVE_NODE` first, then nvm's versions directory
+  newest-first, then Homebrew/system paths (Windows: Program Files and the
+  per-user install) — probes each with `-p process.versions.node`, re-execs
+  with the same stdio under the first that passes, and says so on stderr.
+  A re-exec marks itself so a bad replacement cannot loop; with no usable
+  candidate the refusal now lists what was probed. Measured live: started by
+  v18.20.8, it came up under v22.22.3 and served the MCP handshake.
+- **`--node-check`** prints `{node, execPath, reexec}` after the floor check —
+  the answer to "which Node is this registration actually running?".
+  `--version` and `--help` still answer before the floor, whatever started them.
+- `DAVINCI_RESOLVE_ADVANCED_ASSUME_NODE` fakes the running version and
+  `DAVINCI_RESOLVE_ADVANCED_NO_NODE_SEARCH=1` limits the search to the explicit
+  override; both exist for the tests and are documented in the launcher.
+
+## What's New in v2.214.2 — a running Resolve is counted by its executable path, not only by its argument vector
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **`resolve_control runtime_mode` could report `running: false, instances: 0`
+  while Resolve was up and answering scripting calls.** Seen on 2026-09-08
+  against Studio 19.1.3.7 at the stock macOS path, in the same minute
+  `get_version` connected. The scan read only `ps`'s argument-vector column
+  and required the line to *end* in the executable after flag stripping, so
+  it had a single point of failure that the exact trigger did not need to be
+  known to remove: the kernel withholds argv for some processes (`ps` prints
+  `(Resolve)`), a launch argument after the path — a project file — is not a
+  flag and defeated the suffix test, and `ps` was not asked for wide output.
+  The scan now reads two columns keyed by pid: the executable path (`comm`,
+  the full path on macOS, readable whenever the process is) decides whether an
+  instance exists; the argument vector decides its mode. An instance whose
+  argv cannot be read is counted with `headless: null` — never `false`, since
+  a wrong "it has a UI" is what makes an agent wait for a dialog that never
+  opens, and the tool's callers consult it before every project switch for
+  exactly that reason. `ps` is run with `-ww`. The "a shell line that merely
+  names the binary is not an instance" rule is kept and extended to the
+  unquoted `sh -c /opt/resolve/bin/resolve -nogui` shape.
+- **The exact 2026-09-08 condition was not reproduced.** The same install,
+  restarted, matched the old scan. The fix is a removal of the scan's
+  dependence on argv parsing, verified against a fake process table built
+  from the real `ps` rows of that machine (pid 39560 at the stock path, its
+  IOXPC helper beside it), plus the unreadable-argv, positional-argument,
+  wide-output and one-column-failing cases.
+
+### Validation
+
+- Seven new tests in `tests/test_headless_runtime.py` pin those cases; the
+  existing 29 pass unchanged against the new scan (their bare-command-line
+  fake tables are read as both columns of one process). Live on this machine:
+  `running: true, instances: 1, headless: false` at the stock path. Full
+  offline suite, drift guards and the advanced Node suite green.
+
 ## What's New in v2.214.1 — grade calls fail silently off the Color page; apply_trace_plan switches for you
 
 ### Fixed

package/README.md

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 English | [简体中文](README.zh-CN.md)
 
-[![Version](https://img.shields.io/badge/version-2.214.1-blue.svg)](https://github.com/samuelgursky/davinci-resolve-mcp/releases)
+[![Version](https://img.shields.io/badge/version-2.214.3-blue.svg)](https://github.com/samuelgursky/davinci-resolve-mcp/releases)
 [![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/davinci-resolve-mcp.svg?label=npm&color=CB3837)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/davinci-resolve-mcp)
 [![API Coverage](https://img.shields.io/badge/API%20Coverage-100%25-brightgreen.svg)](docs/reference/api-coverage.md)
 [![Tools](https://img.shields.io/badge/MCP%20Tools-36%20(353%20full)-blue.svg)](#server-modes)

package/README.zh-CN.md

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 [English](README.md) | 简体中文
 
-[![Version](https://img.shields.io/badge/version-2.214.1-blue.svg)](https://github.com/samuelgursky/davinci-resolve-mcp/releases)
+[![Version](https://img.shields.io/badge/version-2.214.3-blue.svg)](https://github.com/samuelgursky/davinci-resolve-mcp/releases)
 [![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/davinci-resolve-mcp.svg?label=npm&color=CB3837)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/davinci-resolve-mcp)
 [![API Coverage](https://img.shields.io/badge/API%20Coverage-100%25-brightgreen.svg)](docs/reference/api-coverage.md)
 [![Tools](https://img.shields.io/badge/MCP%20Tools-36%20(353%20full)-blue.svg)](#服务器模式)
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 [![Python](https://img.shields.io/badge/python-3.10+-green.svg)](https://www.python.org/downloads/)
 [![License](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-blue.svg)](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)
 
-> 本翻译对应 v2.214.1 版 README。如与英文原版有出入，以 [英文原版](README.md) 为准。
+> 本翻译对应 v2.214.3 版 README。如与英文原版有出入，以 [英文原版](README.md) 为准。
 
 一个 Model Context Protocol (MCP) 服务器，让 AI 助手通过官方脚本 API 控制 DaVinci Resolve Studio（达芬奇）。它提供完整的 API 覆盖，外加带护栏的工作流助手，涵盖剪辑、媒体池整理、渲染设置、审阅标记、调色、Fusion、Fairlight、项目生命周期任务、扩展开发，以及不碰源媒体的媒体分析。
 

package/bin/davinci-resolve-advanced-mcp.mjs

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ Usage:
   davinci-resolve-advanced-mcp
   davinci-resolve-advanced-mcp --version
   davinci-resolve-advanced-mcp --help
+  davinci-resolve-advanced-mcp --node-check   (which Node the server would run under)
 
 Starts the offline DaVinci Resolve advanced MCP server over stdio.
 `;
@@ -49,19 +50,77 @@ if (command === '--version' || command === '-v' || command === 'version') {
 // command in an MCP registration resolves to on a machine whose shell
 // default lags. Silent degradation is this repo's least favorite failure
 // mode; refuse loudly with the fix instead.
-const [major, minor] = process.versions.node.split('.').map(Number);
+//
+// Self-heal (2026-09-09, after the registration landed on v18 for the second
+// time): before refusing, look for a Node >=20.9 on this machine (an explicit
+// DAVINCI_RESOLVE_NODE, nvm's versions dir newest-first, Homebrew/system
+// paths), re-exec this launcher under it with the same stdio, and say so on
+// stderr. The registration can then point at any node and still come up.
+// DAVINCI_RESOLVE_ADVANCED_ASSUME_NODE fakes the running version (tests);
+// DAVINCI_RESOLVE_ADVANCED_NO_NODE_SEARCH=1 limits the search to the explicit
+// override; the re-exec marks itself so a bad replacement cannot loop.
+const runningNode = process.env.DAVINCI_RESOLVE_ADVANCED_ASSUME_NODE || process.versions.node;
+const [major, minor] = runningNode.split('.').map(Number);
 if (major < 20 || (major === 20 && minor < 9)) {
-  process.stderr.write(
-    `[davinci-resolve-advanced-mcp] Node ${process.versions.node} is below the ` +
+  const refusal = (extra = '') =>
+    `[davinci-resolve-advanced-mcp] Node ${runningNode} is below the ` +
     `supported floor (>=20.9). This process was started by: ${process.execPath}\n` +
     `Fix: point the MCP registration's command at a Node >=20.9 binary ` +
     `(e.g. the absolute path from \`nvm which 20\`), or update the default ` +
     `node on PATH. Re-running install.py also rewrites client configs with ` +
-    `an absolute, version-checked node path.\n`,
-  );
+    `an absolute, version-checked node path.\n${extra}`;
+  let picked = null;
+  const probed = [];
+  if (!process.env.DAVINCI_RESOLVE_ADVANCED_REEXEC) {
+    try {
+      // Sibling module; a managed install that only received this file falls
+      // through to the plain refusal instead of dying on the import.
+      const floor = await import(pathToFileURL(path.join(__dirname, 'node-floor.mjs')).href);
+      const candidates = process.env.DAVINCI_RESOLVE_ADVANCED_NO_NODE_SEARCH
+        ? [process.env.DAVINCI_RESOLVE_NODE].filter(Boolean)
+        : floor.candidateNodeBinaries();
+      picked = floor.findReplacementNode({ candidates, probed });
+    } catch (err) {
+      probed.push({
+        path: '(search unavailable)',
+        version: null,
+        error: String(err && err.message ? err.message : err),
+      });
+    }
+  }
+  if (picked) {
+    process.stderr.write(
+      `[davinci-resolve-advanced-mcp] Node ${runningNode} is below the supported floor (>=20.9); ` +
+        `re-executing under ${picked.path} (Node ${picked.version}). ` +
+        `Point the MCP registration's command at that path to skip this step.\n`,
+    );
+    const { spawnSync } = await import('node:child_process');
+    const child = spawnSync(picked.path, [fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), ...process.argv.slice(2)], {
+      stdio: 'inherit',
+      env: {
+        ...process.env,
+        DAVINCI_RESOLVE_ADVANCED_REEXEC: '1',
+        DAVINCI_RESOLVE_ADVANCED_ASSUME_NODE: '',
+      },
+    });
+    process.exit(child.status === null ? 1 : child.status);
+  }
+  const probedLine = probed.length
+    ? `No usable replacement found; probed: ${probed.map((p) => `${p.path} (${p.version || (p.error ? p.error : 'not node')})`).join(', ')}\n`
+    : '';
+  process.stderr.write(refusal(probedLine));
   process.exit(1);
 }
 
+// After the floor: reports the Node the server actually runs under, including
+// a self-heal re-exec — the answer to "which node is the registration using?"
+if (command === '--node-check') {
+  process.stdout.write(
+    `${JSON.stringify({ node: process.versions.node, execPath: process.execPath, reexec: process.env.DAVINCI_RESOLVE_ADVANCED_REEXEC === '1' })}\n`,
+  );
+  process.exit(0);
+}
+
 const advancedRoot = path.resolve(packageRoot, 'resolve-advanced');
 const serverEntry = path.join(advancedRoot, 'server', 'index.mjs');
 
@@ -79,12 +138,12 @@ function missingRuntimePieces() {
     const manifest = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(path.join(advancedRoot, 'package.json'), 'utf8'));
     required = Object.keys(manifest.dependencies || {});
   } catch {
-    return { what: `resolve-advanced/package.json (cannot tell which deps are required)` };
+    return {
+      what: `resolve-advanced/package.json (cannot tell which deps are required)`,
+    };
   }
   const modulesDir = path.join(advancedRoot, 'node_modules');
-  const missing = required.filter(
-    (dep) => !fs.existsSync(path.join(modulesDir, ...dep.split('/'))),
-  );
+  const missing = required.filter((dep) => !fs.existsSync(path.join(modulesDir, ...dep.split('/'))));
   // Deps may also be hoisted above the package (an npm/npx install puts them in
   // a parent node_modules), so an empty local node_modules is not conclusive —
   // only report deps the resolver genuinely cannot see.
@@ -103,11 +162,11 @@ const gap = missingRuntimePieces();
 if (gap) {
   process.stderr.write(
     `[davinci-resolve-advanced-mcp] cannot start: ${gap.what}.\n` +
-    `This install is at ${packageRoot}.\n` +
-    `Fix: run \`npx davinci-resolve-mcp setup\` to repair the managed install ` +
-    `(it syncs resolve-advanced/ and installs its Node dependencies), or run the ` +
-    `server straight from the package with ` +
-    `\`npx -y --package davinci-resolve-mcp davinci-resolve-advanced-mcp\`.\n`,
+      `This install is at ${packageRoot}.\n` +
+      `Fix: run \`npx davinci-resolve-mcp setup\` to repair the managed install ` +
+      `(it syncs resolve-advanced/ and installs its Node dependencies), or run the ` +
+      `server straight from the package with ` +
+      `\`npx -y --package davinci-resolve-mcp davinci-resolve-advanced-mcp\`.\n`,
   );
   process.exit(1);
 }

package/bin/node-floor.mjs

@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+/**
+ * Node-floor self-heal for the advanced launcher.
+ *
+ * The advanced server needs Node >=20.9 (sharp's own floor; better-sqlite3 is
+ * a native module built for one ABI). The failure that keeps recurring is not
+ * the floor — it is the MCP registration's `command` landing on an old nvm
+ * binary (v18.20.8 on this machine, twice) because a GUI app rewrote the
+ * config or a shell whose default lags ran the installer. Refusing with the
+ * fix printed is right, but a launcher that can SEE a suitable Node on the
+ * same machine should use it: find one, re-exec under it, and say so.
+ *
+ * Pure functions here so the search and the version rule are unit-testable
+ * without spawning anything; the launcher wires them to real probes.
+ */
+
+import fs from 'node:fs';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import { spawnSync } from 'node:child_process';
+
+export const NODE_FLOOR = { major: 20, minor: 9 };
+
+/** '20.19.0' → true, 'v18.20.8' → false, garbage → false. */
+export function meetsFloor(version, floor = NODE_FLOOR) {
+  const m = String(version || '').match(/^v?(\d+)\.(\d+)/);
+  if (!m) return false;
+  const [major, minor] = [Number(m[1]), Number(m[2])];
+  return major > floor.major || (major === floor.major && minor >= floor.minor);
+}
+
+/** Numeric sort key for a version string; unparsable → [0,0,0]. */
+function versionKey(v) {
+  const m = String(v || '').match(/^v?(\d+)\.(\d+)\.(\d+)/);
+  return m ? [Number(m[1]), Number(m[2]), Number(m[3])] : [0, 0, 0];
+}
+const byVersionDesc = (a, b) => {
+  const ka = versionKey(a);
+  const kb = versionKey(b);
+  for (let i = 0; i < 3; i += 1) if (ka[i] !== kb[i]) return kb[i] - ka[i];
+  return 0;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Where a Node >=20.9 might live on this machine, best first:
+ *   1. DAVINCI_RESOLVE_NODE (an explicit operator choice)
+ *   2. nvm's versions dir ($NVM_DIR or ~/.nvm), newest version first
+ *   3. Homebrew / system / Windows default install paths
+ * The current executable is excluded — it is the one that failed.
+ */
+export function candidateNodeBinaries({
+  env = process.env,
+  home = env.HOME || env.USERPROFILE || '',
+  platform = process.platform,
+  execPath = process.execPath,
+  exists = fs.existsSync,
+  readdir = (d) => fs.readdirSync(d),
+} = {}) {
+  const out = [];
+  const push = (p) => {
+    if (p && p !== execPath && !out.includes(p)) out.push(p);
+  };
+  // The explicit override is honored as given — even when it names the very
+  // binary that started us (a faked-version test, or an operator re-pointing
+  // the registration and forgetting to restart).
+  if (env.DAVINCI_RESOLVE_NODE) out.push(env.DAVINCI_RESOLVE_NODE);
+  const nvmDir = env.NVM_DIR || (home ? path.join(home, '.nvm') : '');
+  const versionsDir = nvmDir ? path.join(nvmDir, 'versions', 'node') : '';
+  if (versionsDir && exists(versionsDir)) {
+    let entries = [];
+    try {
+      entries = readdir(versionsDir);
+    } catch {
+      entries = [];
+    }
+    for (const v of [...entries].sort(byVersionDesc)) {
+      push(platform === 'win32' ? path.join(versionsDir, v, 'node.exe') : path.join(versionsDir, v, 'bin', 'node'));
+    }
+  }
+  if (platform === 'win32') {
+    for (const p of [
+      env.ProgramFiles ? path.join(env.ProgramFiles, 'nodejs', 'node.exe') : '',
+      env.LOCALAPPDATA ? path.join(env.LOCALAPPDATA, 'Programs', 'nodejs', 'node.exe') : '',
+    ])
+      push(p);
+  } else {
+    for (const p of ['/opt/homebrew/bin/node', '/usr/local/bin/node', '/usr/bin/node', '/snap/bin/node']) push(p);
+  }
+  return out.filter((p) => exists(p));
+}
+
+/** Ask a binary for its Node version; null when it does not run or is not Node. */
+export function probeNodeVersion(binary, run = spawnSync) {
+  try {
+    const r = run(binary, ['-p', 'process.versions.node'], {
+      encoding: 'utf8',
+      timeout: 5000,
+    });
+    if (r.status !== 0) return null;
+    const v = String(r.stdout || '').trim();
+    return /^\d+\.\d+\.\d+/.test(v) ? v : null;
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * First candidate whose probed version meets the floor → {path, version}, or
+ * null. `probed` collects every attempt for the refusal message.
+ */
+export function findReplacementNode({ candidates, probe = probeNodeVersion, floor = NODE_FLOOR, probed = [] } = {}) {
+  for (const p of candidates || []) {
+    const version = probe(p);
+    probed.push({ path: p, version });
+    if (version && meetsFloor(version, floor)) return { path: p, version };
+  }
+  return null;
+}

package/install.py

@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ from src.utils.update_check import (
 
 # ─── Version ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
-VERSION = "2.214.1"
+VERSION = "2.214.3"
 # Only hard floor: mcp[cli] requires Python 3.10+. There is no upper bound —
 # Resolve's scripting bridge loads into newer interpreters on recent builds
 # (Python 3.14 verified against Resolve Studio 20.3.2). Older Resolve builds

package/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "davinci-resolve-mcp",
-  "version": "2.214.1",
+  "version": "2.214.3",
   "description": "NPM bootstrapper for the DaVinci Resolve MCP Server.",
   "license": "MIT",
   "author": "Samuel Gursky <samgursky@gmail.com>",

package/src/granular/common.py

@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ if not logging.getLogger().handlers:
         handlers=[logging.StreamHandler()],
     )
 
-VERSION = "2.214.1"
+VERSION = "2.214.3"
 logger = logging.getLogger("davinci-resolve-mcp")
 logger.info(f"Starting DaVinci Resolve MCP Server v{VERSION}")
 logger.info(f"Detected platform: {get_platform()}")

package/src/server.py

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ Usage:
     python src/server.py --full       # Start the 353-tool granular server instead
 """
 
-VERSION = "2.214.1"
+VERSION = "2.214.3"
 
 import base64
 import os

package/src/utils/resolve_runtime.py

@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 
 import os
 import platform
+import re
 import subprocess
 from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional
 
@@ -57,40 +58,103 @@ MACOS_RESOLVE_APPS = (
 )
 
 
-def _process_lines() -> Optional[List[str]]:
-    """Every running command line, or None when that cannot be determined.
+_PID_PREFIX = re.compile(r"^\s*(\d+)\s+(.*)$")
+
 
-    None rather than an empty list on failure: an unanswerable question must not
-    become "nothing is running", which is the answer that leads to launching a
-    second instance on top of a live one.
+def _run_ps(columns: str) -> Optional[List[str]]:
+    """`ps -Awwo <columns>` as lines, or None when it cannot be run.
+
+    `-ww` on purpose: without it BSD ps may cut long command lines to the
+    terminal width, and a cut line no longer ends in the executable. Not
+    reproduced here (the Resolve path is 70 characters), but the second-
+    instance guard should not depend on where a launch argument happens to
+    fall relative to a column limit.
     """
     try:
-        if platform.system().lower() == "windows":
-            # `tasklist` prints no command line, so the flag is invisible there.
-            # WMIC does print it and is what makes headless detection possible.
-            #
-            # Decoded explicitly: `text=True` alone decodes with the locale
-            # codepage, which raises UnicodeDecodeError on a byte cp1252 has no
-            # mapping for — and this read is the input to the second-instance
-            # guard, so it must fail to "cannot tell", never to an exception.
-            # ASCII is byte-identical under both codecs, so the matching this
-            # feeds is unchanged; what WMIC emits for a non-ASCII install path
-            # on a non-English Windows is not something we can verify here.
+        out = subprocess.run(
+            ["ps", "-Awwo", columns], capture_output=True, text=True,
+            encoding="utf-8", errors="replace", timeout=10, check=False,
+        )
+    except Exception:  # pragma: no cover - defensive; an unknown answer is None
+        return None
+    if out.returncode != 0 and not out.stdout:
+        return None
+    return (out.stdout or "").splitlines()
+
+
+def _split_pid(line: str, index: int):
+    """(pid, field) for a `pid=,<col>=` row; a row with no pid gets a synthetic one.
+
+    The synthetic pid is the row index, so two column listings of the same
+    length join row-by-row. That is what keeps a fake process table written as
+    bare command lines (the shape every existing test uses) meaningful: it is
+    read as both the executable column and the argv column of one process.
+    """
+    match = _PID_PREFIX.match(line)
+    if match:
+        return int(match.group(1)), match.group(2)
+    return -(index + 1), line
+
+
+def _process_table() -> Optional[List[Dict[str, Optional[str]]]]:
+    """One row per process: `{pid, comm, args}`, or None when undeterminable.
+
+    Two columns because they fail independently. `args` is the argument
+    vector, the only place `-nogui` is visible — but the kernel refuses to
+    expose it for some processes (ps prints `(Resolve)` in parentheses) and a
+    launch argument after the path breaks a suffix match on it. `comm` is the
+    executable path as the kernel knows it — on macOS the full path — and it
+    is readable whenever the process is. An instance is counted on EITHER;
+    the mode is read from argv when argv is readable.
+
+    None rather than an empty list on failure: an unanswerable question must
+    not become "nothing is running", which is the answer that leads to
+    launching a second instance on top of a live one.
+    """
+    if platform.system().lower() == "windows":
+        # `tasklist` prints no command line, so the flag is invisible there.
+        # WMIC does print it and is what makes headless detection possible.
+        #
+        # Decoded explicitly: `text=True` alone decodes with the locale
+        # codepage, which raises UnicodeDecodeError on a byte cp1252 has no
+        # mapping for — and this read is the input to the second-instance
+        # guard, so it must fail to "cannot tell", never to an exception.
+        # ASCII is byte-identical under both codecs, so the matching this
+        # feeds is unchanged; what WMIC emits for a non-ASCII install path
+        # on a non-English Windows is not something we can verify here.
+        try:
             out = subprocess.run(
                 ["wmic", "process", "where", "name='Resolve.exe'", "get", "CommandLine"],
                 capture_output=True, text=True, encoding="utf-8", errors="replace",
                 timeout=10, check=False,
             )
-        else:
-            out = subprocess.run(
-                ["ps", "-Ao", "command="], capture_output=True, text=True,
-                encoding="utf-8", errors="replace", timeout=10, check=False,
-            )
+        except Exception:  # pragma: no cover - defensive; an unknown answer is None
+            return None
         if out.returncode != 0 and not out.stdout:
             return None
-        return (out.stdout or "").splitlines()
-    except Exception:  # pragma: no cover - defensive; an unknown answer is None
+        return [{"pid": -(i + 1), "comm": None, "args": line}
+                for i, line in enumerate((out.stdout or "").splitlines())]
+
+    comm_lines = _run_ps("pid=,comm=")
+    args_lines = _run_ps("pid=,args=")
+    if comm_lines is None and args_lines is None:
         return None
+    rows: Dict[int, Dict[str, Optional[str]]] = {}
+    for index, line in enumerate(comm_lines or []):
+        pid, comm = _split_pid(line, index)
+        rows.setdefault(pid, {"pid": pid, "comm": None, "args": None})["comm"] = comm
+    for index, line in enumerate(args_lines or []):
+        pid, args = _split_pid(line, index)
+        rows.setdefault(pid, {"pid": pid, "comm": None, "args": None})["args"] = args
+    return list(rows.values())
+
+
+def _process_lines() -> Optional[List[str]]:
+    """Argument vectors of every process, kept for callers that read only argv."""
+    table = _process_table()
+    if table is None:
+        return None
+    return [row["args"] for row in table if row["args"] is not None]
 
 
 def _matches_pattern(executable: str) -> bool:
@@ -137,6 +201,22 @@ def _executable_from_line(line: str) -> str:
         close = text.find('"', 1)
         if close > 1:
             return text[1:close]
+    # A launch ARGUMENT after the path — a project file, most likely — is not a
+    # flag, so the flag-stripping loop below leaves it attached and the suffix
+    # test fails. If the line STARTS with a path that ends in a Resolve pattern
+    # at a token boundary, that path is the executable, whatever follows it.
+    # The prefix must contain no quote (a launcher quoting the path) and no
+    # flag token (`/bin/sh -c /opt/resolve/bin/resolve` names Resolve without
+    # being it), which keeps the "mere mention" cases out.
+    for pattern in RESOLVE_PROCESS_PATTERNS:
+        cut = text.find(pattern)
+        while cut != -1:
+            end = cut + len(pattern)
+            prefix = text[:end]
+            at_boundary = end == len(text) or text[end].isspace()
+            if at_boundary and '"' not in prefix and " -" not in prefix:
+                return prefix
+            cut = text.find(pattern, cut + 1)
     while True:
         stripped = text.rstrip()
         cut = stripped.rfind(" -")
@@ -151,12 +231,42 @@ def _executable_from_line(line: str) -> str:
     return text
 
 
+def _argv_unreadable(args: Optional[str]) -> bool:
+    """ps prints `(name)` when the kernel will not hand over the argument vector."""
+    if args is None:
+        return True
+    text = args.strip()
+    return text.startswith("(") and text.endswith(")")
+
+
+def _resolve_rows() -> Optional[List[Dict[str, Optional[str]]]]:
+    """Process-table rows that are a running Resolve application."""
+    table = _process_table()
+    if table is None:
+        return None
+    matched = []
+    for row in table:
+        args = row.get("args")
+        comm = row.get("comm")
+        by_args = args is not None and not _argv_unreadable(args) and _is_resolve_command(args)
+        by_comm = comm is not None and _matches_pattern(comm.strip())
+        if by_args or by_comm:
+            matched.append(row)
+    return matched
+
+
 def resolve_processes() -> Optional[List[str]]:
-    """Command lines of running Resolve applications, or None if undeterminable."""
-    lines = _process_lines()
-    if lines is None:
+    """Command lines of running Resolve applications, or None if undeterminable.
+
+    A row whose argv is unreadable reports its executable path instead, so a
+    caller still sees WHICH Resolve is up even when it cannot see how it was
+    started.
+    """
+    rows = _resolve_rows()
+    if rows is None:
         return None
-    return [line for line in lines if _is_resolve_command(line)]
+    return [row["args"] if not _argv_unreadable(row.get("args")) else (row.get("comm") or "")
+            for row in rows]
 
 
 #: Where the scripting library sits relative to the Resolve executable. The
@@ -212,8 +322,8 @@ def runtime_mode() -> Dict[str, Any]:
     the process list unavailable. Callers must not read None as False; a wrong
     "it has a UI" is what makes an agent wait for a dialog that will never open.
     """
-    processes = resolve_processes()
-    if processes is None:
+    rows = _resolve_rows()
+    if rows is None:
         return {
             "determinable": False,
             "running": None,
@@ -221,7 +331,7 @@ def runtime_mode() -> Dict[str, Any]:
             "instances": None,
             "command_lines": [],
         }
-    if not processes:
+    if not rows:
         return {
             "determinable": True,
             "running": False,
@@ -229,15 +339,23 @@ def runtime_mode() -> Dict[str, Any]:
             "instances": 0,
             "command_lines": [],
         }
+    readable = [row["args"] for row in rows if not _argv_unreadable(row.get("args"))]
+    # Any headless instance makes the reachable one headless: only one Resolve
+    # can hold the singleton, so a second is a conflict to report rather than
+    # a mode to average. An instance counted on its executable path alone has
+    # an argv this process cannot read, so unless another instance shows the
+    # flag the mode is UNKNOWN — None, never False: a wrong "it has a UI" is
+    # what makes an agent wait for a dialog that will never open.
+    headless: Optional[bool] = any(HEADLESS_FLAG in line for line in readable)
+    if not headless and len(readable) < len(rows):
+        headless = None
     return {
         "determinable": True,
         "running": True,
-        # Any headless instance makes the reachable one headless: only one
-        # Resolve can hold the singleton, so a second is a conflict to report
-        # rather than a mode to average.
-        "headless": any(HEADLESS_FLAG in line for line in processes),
-        "instances": len(processes),
-        "command_lines": processes,
+        "headless": headless,
+        "instances": len(rows),
+        "command_lines": [row["args"] if not _argv_unreadable(row.get("args"))
+                          else (row.get("comm") or "") for row in rows],
     }