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fix(server): editors appear once a slow discovery scan finishes - #13917

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bfowler:t3code/editor-discovery-recovery
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pingdotgg:mainfrom
bfowler:t3code/editor-discovery-recovery

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@bfowler

@bfowler bfowler commented Sep 27, 2026 •

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Follow-up to #13669, continues fixing #4697. On a busy host (for example right after an update restarts the server alongside hundreds of git status checks), editor discovery can still outlast server.getConfig's five-second bound. Server traces from an affected machine show one connect cut off at 5.009s and getting [], and a second connect 20 seconds later finishing in 3.5s. The window that got [] never recovered: the timeout cancelled its scan so nothing was cached, and availableEditors only travels in the one-time config snapshot.

Fix

  • Discovery outlives its callers. The launcher runs each scan on its own fiber in the service scope, and every caller awaits that one scan. A connect that times out or disconnects stops waiting, but the scan finishes and is cached, so concurrent connects share one scan instead of each starting their own. A failed scan clears the entry so the next caller starts over.
  • Late editors reach the client. When the scan finishes after a subscriber's snapshot went out without it, subscribeServerConfig sends a fresh snapshot. Clients already replace their config on any snapshot, so there is no contract or client change. The resent config is folded from the live updates the stream has already sent rather than reloaded, so a settings, provider, or keybindings change that landed meanwhile is never rolled back.

Tests

  • Launcher: an interrupted caller no longer cancels the scan, and the next caller joins it (fails on the old launcher).
  • WebSocket: late editors are resent without rolling back a settings change delivered while the snapshot waited.
  • WebSocket with the real launcher: the scan parks past the five-second timeout, the first snapshot has no editors, and the late snapshot has them.

Not addressed here: each command lookup still re-stats every PATH directory to check its mtime, which is most of the ~1,500 filesystem calls on a 75-entry PATH. That now only delays the list rather than emptying it.

Model: Claude Opus 5.5 (1M context). Harness: Claude Code in T3 Code.

@github-actions github-actions Bot added vouch:unvouched PR author is not yet trusted in the VOUCHED list. size:L 100-499 changed lines (additions + deletions). labels Sep 27, 2026
return [[current.value.scan, false], current];
}
const scan = Deferred.makeUnsafe<ReadonlyArray<EditorId>>();
return [[scan, true], Option.some({ scan, expiresAtNanos: undefined })];

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🟡 Medium process/externalLauncher.ts:808

A discovery scan that never completes permanently blocks resolveAvailableEditors(): every later caller reuses the same unfinished Deferred and no replacement scan can start until restart. This happens because the pending entry stores expiresAtNanos: undefined and is cleared only by the scan's onExit; give pending scans a finite expiry so callers can start a replacement after the cache TTL.

Suggested change
return [[scan, true], Option.some({ scan, expiresAtNanos: undefined })];
return [[scan, true], Option.some({ scan, expiresAtNanos: nowNanos + EDITOR_DISCOVERY_CACHE_TTL_NANOS })];
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In file @apps/server/src/process/externalLauncher.ts around line 808:

A discovery scan that never completes permanently blocks `resolveAvailableEditors()`: every later caller reuses the same unfinished `Deferred` and no replacement scan can start until restart. This happens because the pending entry stores `expiresAtNanos: undefined` and is cleared only by the scan's `onExit`; give pending scans a finite expiry so callers can start a replacement after the cache TTL.

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Not changing this. A scan that never settles can't block anything unboundedly: its only callers are server.getConfig/the config snapshot, which still bound it with the 5 s resolveAvailableEditorsForConfig timeout and degrade to no editors (the pre-PR behavior), and the late-snapshot wait, which ends with its subscription.

The suggested expiry would make things worse in the one case where a scan really hangs: a stat stuck on a dead network mount or PATH entry. A replacement scan every 60 s would hit the same entry and hang too, and each stuck fs.stat holds a libuv threadpool thread (4 by default), so piling up scans would starve every other filesystem call on the server. Keeping at most one scan in flight is deliberate. It also races with in-flight scans that take longer than the TTL, starting duplicates on a slow host, which is the situation this PR is about.

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Sorry, I'm unable to act on this request because you do not have permissions within this repository.

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macroscopeapp Bot commented Sep 27, 2026 •

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Approvability

Verdict: Not approved

Macroscope's review found this PR not approvable — This targeted fix adds shared background discovery and late websocket configuration snapshots, changing cancellation, caching, and stream-state behavior in production. Focused tests help, but the concurrency and snapshot-folding logic plus unresolved Medium findings merit human review.

Not approved because:

  • 1 blocking correctness issue found at or above your repo's Minimum Blocking Severity

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  • apps/server/src/server.test.ts
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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

Editor discovery now shares scans across callers and caches successful results. Server config subscriptions can emit a later snapshot with discovered editor capabilities while retaining updates received during discovery.

Changes

Editor discovery and server config

Layer / File(s) Summary
Shared editor scan and retry
apps/server/src/process/externalLauncher.ts, apps/server/src/process/externalLauncher.test.ts
Editor discovery shares in-progress scans, caches successful results for 60 seconds, and clears failed scans. The test checks that interrupting one caller does not start a second scan.
Editor config snapshots
apps/server/src/ws.ts, apps/server/src/server.test.ts
Config loading resolves editor and file-manager reveal fields. Subscriptions can emit a later snapshot with discovered editor capabilities while retaining intervening updates. Tests cover delayed discovery, file-manager reveal-kind discovery, and settings updates.

Priority: ⬇️ Low

Estimated code review effort: 3 (Moderate) | ~25 minutes

Change: Bug fix

Suggested reviewers: juliusmarminge

Sequence Diagram(s)

sequenceDiagram
  participant ConfigSubscription
  participant EditorDiscovery
  participant ConfigStream
  ConfigSubscription->>EditorDiscovery: resolve editor capabilities
  EditorDiscovery-->>ConfigSubscription: discovered editor config
  ConfigSubscription->>ConfigStream: emit replacement snapshot
Loading

Merge Risk: ⚪ Minimal · up to 4839c

This change lets editors appear after a slow discovery scan finishes, without cancelling the scan or reverting config updates received in the meantime. No actionable merge-blocking risk remains.

Security Architecture Review

Security architecture risk: 🔵 Low · up to 4839c

The change retains authenticated read access and existing configuration fields. Shared discovery has coordinated startup, failure cleanup, and successful-result caching. No introduced security concern was established, but the longer-lived work and repeated snapshots warrant lifecycle review; complete shutdown behavior remains unverified.

Retained concerns
No architecture-level concerns identified.

Security review details

Security Blast Radius

  • inferred — The changed flow affects the shared launcher service and authorized configuration subscribers for that server environment. It does not establish a new cross-environment route or command-launch authority.

Trust Boundaries and Controls

  • observed — The RPC layer receives an authenticated session and centrally checks required scopes before configuration effects execute. Both configuration read and subscription require AuthOrchestrationReadScope; late snapshots use that same subscription.
  • observed — Initial settings and live settings updates remain redacted before publication. Late snapshots reuse that client-visible accumulated settings state.

Resilience and Maintainability Implications

  • observed — Atomic cache acquisition elects one scan, and uninterruptible acquisition/startup prevents an abandoned pending entry. Callers await its Deferred without owning the scan fiber. Success caches for 60 seconds; failure clears only the matching entry and completes waiting callers with the exit. The service scope owns interruption of the scan.
🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 4 | ❌ 1

❌ Failed checks (1 warning)

Check name Status Explanation Resolution
Description check ⚠️ Warning The description explains the problem, the fix, the affected behavior, and focused tests. It does not provide the required Scope and approval information, such as a triaged issue with explicit maintain… Add a Scope and approval section. Link the triaged issue or discussion and include the explicit maintainer approval comment. If this fix qualifies as an obvious small bug fix without prior approval, explain why.
✅ Passed checks (4 passed)
Check name Status Explanation
Title check ✅ Passed The title clearly and concisely describes the main change: editors appear after a slow discovery scan completes.
Docstring Coverage ✅ Passed No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 0 functions across 4…
Linked Issues check ✅ Passed Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check ✅ Passed Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Full details: Description check

Explanation

The description explains the problem, the fix, the affected behavior, and focused tests. It does not provide the required Scope and approval information, such as a triaged issue with explicit maintainer approval or a clear explanation for an approval exemption.

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Actionable comments posted: 1


  • 🪄 Fix CodeRabbit comments on this PR
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Inline comments:
In @apps/server/src/ws.ts:
- Around line 3719-3725: Update lateEditorConfig to call resolveEditorConfig
before filtering, then emit the result when either availableEditors or
shellRevealInFileManagerKind differs from config; this lets unchanged editor
lists still trigger a fresh reveal-kind update.

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📒 Files selected for processing (4)
  • apps/server/src/process/externalLauncher.test.ts
  • apps/server/src/process/externalLauncher.ts
  • apps/server/src/server.test.ts
  • apps/server/src/ws.ts

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Comment thread apps/server/src/ws.ts
@bfowler bfowler mentioned this pull request Sep 28, 2026
2 tasks done
@bfowler
bfowler force-pushed the t3code/editor-discovery-recovery branch from e53a056 to 3d8639b Compare September 30, 2026 23:34
@juliusmarminge juliusmarminge added the macroscope-review Opt PRs made by unvouched contributors in for Macroscope review. Vouched contributors auto-reviews label Oct 1, 2026 — with ChatGPT Codex Connector
Comment thread apps/server/src/ws.ts
Comment on lines +3773 to +3993
const next = { ...rest, ...event.editorConfig };
return [next, [{ version: 1, type: "snapshot", config: next }]];
}
case "keybindingsUpdated":

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🟡 Medium src/ws.ts:3773

An opted-in subscribeServerConfig client loses its recently received environment themes or usage-limit sources when editorsResolved arrives. mapAccum forwards those events but leaves current unchanged, so the later snapshot is rebuilt from the original config without those fields; fold both update types into current before emitting the snapshot.

+                        case "environmentThemesUpdated":
+                          return [{ ...current, environmentThemes: event.payload.themes }, [event]];
+                        case "usageLimitSourcesUpdated":
+                          return [{ ...current, usageLimitSources: event.payload.sources }, [event]];
                         case "keybindingsUpdated":
🤖 Copy this AI Prompt to have your agent fix this:
In file @apps/server/src/ws.ts around line 3773:

An opted-in `subscribeServerConfig` client loses its recently received environment themes or usage-limit sources when `editorsResolved` arrives. `mapAccum` forwards those events but leaves `current` unchanged, so the later snapshot is rebuilt from the original config without those fields; fold both update types into `current` before emitting the snapshot.

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Not changing this. Themes and usage-limit sources are never part of a config snapshot by contract (ServerConfig.environmentThemes / usageLimitSources docs in packages/contracts/src/server.ts): their streams replay the current set on subscribe, so putting them in the snapshot too would send every subscriber the same arrays twice.

The client is built around that. applyServerConfigProjection (packages/client-runtime/src/state/serverConfigProjection.ts) carries the previously projected themes and sources across any snapshot whose environment.capabilities advertise them, and the late snapshot keeps environment from the folded config, so those capabilities stay set. A late editorsResolved snapshot therefore can't drop either field on the client.

Folding them into the snapshot as suggested would break that contract and resend the arrays on the wire. Passing those events through without recording them is intentional.

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Sorry, I'm unable to act on this request because you do not have permissions within this repository.

On a busy host, editor discovery can outlast server.getConfig's
five-second bound. The timeout cancelled the scan, so nothing was
cached, and the client kept the empty editor list from its one config
snapshot until it reconnected.

- Run discovery on one shared fiber in the launcher's scope. Callers
  that time out or disconnect stop waiting, but the scan finishes and is
  cached for every later connect.
- When the scan finishes after a subscriber's snapshot went out without
  it, send a fresh snapshot. It is folded from the live updates already
  sent, so it cannot roll back a newer settings, provider, or
  keybindings change.
The reveal-kind probe has its own discovery timeout, so it can miss the
snapshot even when the editor list made it. Re-probe once when the
snapshot has the file manager but no reveal kind, and resend only if
the editor config actually changed.

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