feat(gc): replace long-running supervisor with cron-driven `pty gc`
The launchd-managed `pty-supervisor` daemon raced /Volumes/SSD's mount
on Mac boot: permanent sessions whose `dist/server.js` lived under the
external volume failed restart with MODULE_NOT_FOUND, exhausted 5
retries x 2s backoff within 10s, then were marked "no metadata" and
never came back without manual `pty up`. A long-running supervisor will
always have this class of bug — it can't be sure its dependencies are
ready when launchd fires it.
Replace it with a stateless reconciliation pass:
pty gc
invoked periodically by launchd (`StartInterval=30` by default) or any
other cron-driver. Three steps:
1. Orphan-children: sessions tagged `parent=<name>` whose parent's
metadata is gone OR whose parent's pid isn't alive get SIGTERM'd
and cleaned up. New user-facing tag.
2. Permanent respawn: every `strategy=permanent` session that's
exited/vanished is respawned via `spawnDaemon`. Sessions tagged
`ptyfile` re-read pty.toml to pick up edits.
3. Sweep: exited/vanished non-permanent sessions get `cleanupAll`'d
(the historic gc behavior).
Each run is independent — no persistent restart bookkeeping, no
MAX_RESTARTS, no backoff state to drift out of sync with reality.
Cron interval IS the rate limit; if /Volumes/SSD isn't mounted, the
invocation exits with ENOENT and the next tick tries again.
Install helper: `pty gc --print-launchd-plist [--interval=N]` prints
a minimal plist to stdout. No FDA wrapper, no compiled C binary, no
esbuild bundling — `<ProgramArguments>[pty, gc]</ProgramArguments>`
with `<StartInterval>`. User redirects to ~/Library/LaunchAgents/
and `launchctl load`s themselves.
Breaking changes:
- Deleted `pty supervisor *` commands entirely. Users who installed
the old supervisor should `launchctl unload` + remove the old
plist (see CHANGELOG for the exact commands).
- Deleted event types `session_restart`, `session_failed`,
`supervisor_start`, `supervisor_stop`. Added `session_respawn`.
- Deleted reserved tag `supervisor.status`. Added user-facing tag
`parent=<name>`.
- Dropped `strategy=temporary` (was functionally identical to no
strategy tag under the new sweep behavior).
- `gc()`'s return shape changed from `string[]` to a structured
`GcResult` with four buckets (`removed`, `killedOrphanChildren`,
`respawned`, `respawnFailed`). Public API.
Net delta: ~1830 lines deleted, ~485 added.
list & gc ergonomics: vanished status, --summary/--status/age filters, gc --dry-run (closes #21)
Four changes, one PR:
1. Third session status `vanished` for the "daemon is gone, no exit
record written" case (SIGKILL / OOM / crash). Listed in its own
yellow-headered bucket with a warning icon so it doesn't blend into
cleanly-exited sessions. Reapable by `pty gc` like any other dead
session. TTL anchor falls back to createdAt so they can't accumulate
indefinitely.
2. `pty list --summary` (+ `--json --summary`) — compact counts and
oldest/newest pointers, respects all other filters.
3. `pty list --status <state>` and `--older-than/--newer-than <Ns|Nm|Nh|Nd>`
filters. Compose with `--filter-tag` and `--summary`. Grammar is
deliberately single-unit (no `1h30m`) to keep --help trivial.
4. `pty gc --dry-run` (`-n`) — preview what would be removed without
mutating anything. Covers exited AND vanished sessions AND orphan
`:l<pid>-<rand>` layout tags in one pass.
Client API:
- gc({ dryRun }), pruneOrphanLayoutTags({ dryRun })
- New `isGone(status)` helper — replaces hand-rolled
`status === "exited"` checks that should have included vanished all
along. Swept existing callers (run -a, peek fallback, pty up/down
cleanup, stats --all) to use it.
- New parseDuration/formatDuration exports for downstream tools.
Tests:
- duration.test.ts — full grammar coverage.
- list-filters.test.ts — vanished inference, --status, age filters,
--summary (text + json), filter composition.
- gc.test.ts — extended with --dry-run and vanished-session reaping.
726 → 728 local tests pass (+37 new), 0 failures.
fix(gc): fast-fail respawn cap on permanent sessions (#54) (#56)
Fixes #54. A `strategy=permanent` session whose leaf exits within
`strategy.fast-fail-window` seconds (default 60) of its previous
`pty gc` respawn counts as a fast fail. After `strategy.fast-fail-limit`
consecutive fast fails (default 3), gc writes `strategy.status=flapping`
on the session, emits a `session_flapping` event, and stops respawning
it. Subsequent ticks print `Skipped (flapping): <name>` and take no
action. Closes the crash-loop-with-live-cwd gap that #47/#50's
cwd-gone + idle reap didn't catch.
Bookkeeping tags stamped on every respawn:
- strategy.last-respawn-at (ISO ts)
- strategy.consecutive-fast-fails (running counter)
- strategy.command-hash (16-char sha256 prefix of the respawn cmd)
The classifier compares the current command fingerprint against the
stored hash; a divergence auto-resets the counter and clears
`strategy.status=flapping`. Manual reset: `pty tag <name> --rm
strategy.status`.
Per-session overrides `strategy.fast-fail-window=<sec>` and
`strategy.fast-fail-limit=<int>` beat CLI globals
`--fast-fail-window=<sec>` / `--fast-fail-limit=<int>` (which mirror
the `--idle-days` shape).
GcResult gains `flapped` and `flappingSkipped` buckets — additive,
existing consumers unaffected. cmdGc surfaces both.
10 new tests in tests/gc-flapping.test.ts cover: dry-run preview,
at-limit persistence + session_flapping event, silent skip on
subsequent ticks, slow-fail counter reset, command-hash auto-reset,
per-session + CLI-global window/limit overrides, first-respawn
(no prior last-respawn-at) case.