fix(airc daemon): launcher cd's to cwd, skip AIRC_HOME (kills crashloop) by joelteply · Pull Request #202 · CambrianTech/airc

joelteply · 2026-04-28T06:04:29Z

Summary

PR #201 follow-up. The HKCU-Run-key launcher .bat from #200 was still crashlooping every 4s on continuum-b69f's Windows because:

AIRC_HOME=C:\...\continuum\.airc (Windows-form) made downstream airc paths fail on Git Bash's mixed fs view
bash -lc re-exported PATH from login profile, churning the env we set in cmd

Fix

cd /d <cwd_win> from cmd, then run airc; detect_scope() finds <cwd>/.airc cleanly via pwd
Drop AIRC_HOME — rely on cwd-based scope detection
bash -c (not -lc) so login profile doesn't override env
Absolute Unix-form path to airc bin (cygpath -u) so bash-without-bashrc can find it without PATH

Verified

With #201 + this fix, airc daemon install from ~/continuum/ produces a launcher that runs airc connect cleanly and maintains the SSH tail. PR #200's RUNNING-PID detection now reflects a real working daemon.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

….airc PR #200 follow-up. _daemon_scope was returning ${AIRC_HOME:-$HOME/.airc} unconditionally, but actual user state lives in $cwd/.airc per detect_scope(). So 'airc daemon install' from ~/continuum/ captured the wrong scope (~/.airc, empty), spawned a monitor that connected to nothing, user appeared offline despite 'RUNNING (PID xxx)' in status. Mirror detect_scope's logic exactly: AIRC_HOME if set, else cwd/.airc. Now 'airc daemon install' from a project dir captures THAT dir's .airc as the daemon's scope, launcher .bat sets AIRC_HOME=that, the spawned airc connect uses the right room state. Joel 2026-04-28 ~01:05Z caught this: 'lol obv if it worked you would have a monitor and be online. FAIL'.

…ew fix) Daemon installed via PR #200/#201 was still crashlooping (every 4s) because the launcher .bat set AIRC_HOME to a Windows-form path (C:\Users\green\continuum\.airc) which Git Bash's airc binary couldn't traverse cleanly downstream. Plus 'bash -lc' was reading login profile and re-exporting PATH which churned env. Restructured launcher .bat: 1. 'cd /d <cwd_win>' from cmd.exe so the bash subprocess inherits the project dir as pwd. detect_scope() then returns <cwd>/.airc the same way it does in the user's interactive shell. 2. Drop AIRC_HOME entirely — let detect_scope work normally. 3. 'bash -c' not 'bash -lc' — non-login skips profile, keeps the env we set in cmd uncorrupted. 4. Absolute Unix-form path to airc (cygpath -u) — bash -c doesn't read ~/.bashrc, so PATH may not include ~/.local/bin. 5. Errors log to daemon.err relative to cwd (already cd'd into it). Joel 2026-04-28 caught both the wrong-scope (PR #201) and now the crashloop. Verified locally: with this launcher shape, airc connect runs to completion + maintains the SSH tail to the host.

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR updates the Windows “HKCU Run-key” daemon launcher to avoid a crashloop caused by Windows-form paths and environment churn when invoking Git Bash, by making the launcher run from the install-time project directory and relying on cwd-based scope detection.

Changes:

Update _daemon_scope() to mirror detect_scope() (cwd-based default) when AIRC_HOME is not set.
Adjust the generated Windows launcher .bat to cd /d into the install-time cwd, drop AIRC_HOME, switch bash -lc → bash -c, and invoke airc via an absolute Unix-form path.

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Copilot · 2026-04-28T06:10:20Z


-# The scope the daemon will run under. If AIRC_HOME is set at install time,
-# that's recorded in the unit/plist so future starts use the same scope.
+# The scope the daemon will run under. Mirrors detect_scope() (line 135)


The comment references a specific source line number (“Mirrors detect_scope() (line 135)”), which will drift as the file changes and can become misleading. Prefer describing the relationship without hard-coding a line number (or reference the function name only).

Suggested change

# The scope the daemon will run under. Mirrors detect_scope() (line 135)

# The scope the daemon will run under. Mirrors detect_scope()

Copilot · 2026-04-28T06:10:21Z

 REM AIRC daemon launcher — generated by 'airc daemon install' on Windows.
 REM Runs airc connect under bash, restarting on exit. Logs to daemon.log.
-set AIRC_HOME=$scope_win
+cd /d "$cwd_win"


cd /d "$cwd_win" is not checked for failure. If the directory is missing/moved (or the path is invalid at logon), the launcher will continue in whatever the default working directory is (often System32), causing scope detection and log placement to be wrong (and potentially failing due to permissions). Consider aborting the loop when cd fails (or falling back to a safe directory and logging the error).

Copilot · 2026-04-28T06:10:21Z

-"$bash_exe" -lc "exec '$airc_bin_win' connect"
-echo [%date% %time%] airc connect exited. Restarting in 5s. >> "$scope_win\\daemon.err"
+"$bash_exe" -c "exec '$airc_bin_unix' connect"
+echo [%date% %time%] airc connect exited. Restarting in 5s. >> daemon.err


The restart message is appended to daemon.err in the project directory, but the rest of the daemon UX (status output) points users at $scope/daemon.err (i.e., <cwd>/.airc/daemon.err). This mismatch makes it look like errors are missing. Write the restart log into the same $scope/daemon.err location (e.g., via %CD%\.airc\daemon.err after the cd, or an absolute path based on the recorded scope).

Suggested change

echo [%date% %time%] airc connect exited. Restarting in 5s. >> daemon.err

echo [%date% %time%] airc connect exited. Restarting in 5s. >> "%CD%\.airc\daemon.err"

Copilot · 2026-04-28T06:10:21Z

+cd /d "$cwd_win"
 set AIRC_BACKGROUND_OK=1
 :loop
-"$bash_exe" -lc "exec '$airc_bin_win' connect"
-echo [%date% %time%] airc connect exited. Restarting in 5s. >> "$scope_win\\daemon.err"
+"$bash_exe" -c "exec '$airc_bin_unix' connect"


This launcher now always relies on cwd-based scope detection and no longer sets AIRC_HOME for the daemon process. That means installs done with AIRC_HOME set (which _daemon_scope() still supports, and which launchd/systemd persist) will behave differently on Windows: the monitor will run against <cwd>/.airc instead of the intended overridden scope. Consider preserving AIRC_HOME for the Windows launcher too (but pass it in POSIX form for Git Bash), and/or derive the cd target from the recorded scope rather than the install-time pwd.

target 2, net -40) (#209) refactor(airc): _daemon_install_done helper + trim duplicated comments (#205 target 2) Three platform daemon installers (launchd/systemd/schtasks) duplicated the same 5-line "Loaded into X / airc will auto-start / Logs / Status" print block. Plus the schtasks function had ~30 lines of comment paragraphs duplicating commit-history context (#200/#202 explanations). Now: one `_daemon_install_done` helper for the print footer, called by all three installers. Schtasks comment block trimmed to a 4-line summary that points at PR #202 for the bug-history detail. Behavior unchanged on every platform — same plist/unit/.bat content, same registration calls, same status output (just printed via the helper). #205 target 2 of 6.

joelteply added 2 commits April 28, 2026 00:58

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings April 28, 2026 06:04

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of joelteply April 28, 2026 06:04 View session

joelteply merged commit d4c5e60 into canary Apr 28, 2026
8 checks passed

joelteply deleted the fix/daemon-scope-cwd branch April 28, 2026 06:05

This was referenced Apr 28, 2026

[bug] Windows daemon launcher fights airc self-host re-exec → crashloop #203

Open

[debug] Windows install.sh elevated payload — Mac↔Windows Claude scratchpad #196

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fix(airc daemon): launcher cd's to cwd, skip AIRC_HOME (kills crashloop)#202

fix(airc daemon): launcher cd's to cwd, skip AIRC_HOME (kills crashloop)#202
joelteply merged 2 commits intocanaryfrom
fix/daemon-scope-cwd

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	# The scope the daemon will run under. Mirrors detect_scope() (line 135)
	# The scope the daemon will run under. Mirrors detect_scope()

	echo [%date% %time%] airc connect exited. Restarting in 5s. >> daemon.err
	echo [%date% %time%] airc connect exited. Restarting in 5s. >> "%CD%\.airc\daemon.err"

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joelteply commented Apr 28, 2026

Summary

Fix

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