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fix(cli): keep status and list output visible when gateway probe fails (#2666)#3270

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fix/2666-silent-status-list
May 9, 2026
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fix(cli): keep status and list output visible when gateway probe fails (#2666)#3270
ericksoa merged 6 commits into
mainfrom
fix/2666-silent-status-list

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@cjagwani

@cjagwani cjagwani commented May 8, 2026

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Summary

When the openshell sandbox container is stopped AND the host-side gateway-published port (8080) is held by a foreign listener (e.g. nc -lk 0.0.0.0 8080 &), the live-gateway recovery path inside nemoclaw list and the gateway-state probe inside nemoclaw <name> status could fail unexpectedly. The bug surfaced as exit 0 + completely empty stdout/stderr — the user got zero signal that anything was wrong, and a watchdog wrapping these commands saw "success".

Related Issue

Closes #2666

Changes

Three small defensive wraps keep the user-visible contract intact in the (container stopped + foreign port-holder) state combination, without changing behavior on the happy path:

  • src/lib/actions/sandbox/status.ts — wrap getReconciledSandboxGatewayState in try/catch and synthesize a gateway_error lookup on throw. The existing switch already handles gateway_error by printing an actionable "Could not verify sandbox..." block + exit(1), so the user always reaches an actionable message instead of silent exit 0. Also wrap the live-inference probe in try/catch.
  • src/lib/list-command-deps.ts — wrap recoverRegistryEntries() in try/catch with a registry.listSandboxes() fallback so the registry-only listing always renders. The registry lives on disk and is independent of runtime state. Also wrap getLiveInference().
  • src/lib/actions/sandbox/gateway-state.ts — export SandboxGatewayState so the status fallback type-checks against the same shape downstream code already handles.
  • test/repro-2666-silent-list-status.test.ts — three tests that lock the resilience contract: registry-only listing renders when recovery throws, getSandboxInventory does not throw on the fallback, and the deps wrapper shape falls back to the local registry.

Out of scope

The bug report's "secondary observation" — preflight reporting ✓ Port already owned by healthy NemoClaw runtime when nc holds the control-UI port — is a different code path (preflight protocol-id check, not status/list). The reporter explicitly suggested splitting it. Leaving for a separate ticket.

Type of Change

  • Code change (feature, bug fix, or refactor)

Verification

  • npx prek run --all-files passes (commit went through pre-commit hooks).
  • npm test — new repro tests pass; existing inventory-commands.test.ts (21 tests) still passes; npm run typecheck:cli clean.
  • Tests added for the new behavior.
  • No secrets, API keys, or credentials committed.

Summary by CodeRabbit

  • Bug Fixes

    • Prevent sandbox status from failing when gateway probes or inference fetches throw
    • Make list command resilient to recovery errors and still show available sandboxes
    • Ensure CLI exit-with-code-0 cases still surface non-exit error messages instead of silently swallowing them
  • Tests

    • Added regression and unit tests covering recovery failure, list/status output, and CLI exit/error handling

#2666)

When the openshell sandbox container is stopped AND the host-side
gateway-published port is held by a foreign listener (e.g. `nc -lk
0.0.0.0 8080`), the live-gateway recovery path inside `nemoclaw list`
and the gateway-state probe inside `nemoclaw <name> status` could fail
unexpectedly. The bug surfaced as exit 0 + completely empty
stdout/stderr — the user got zero signal that anything was wrong, and
a watchdog wrapping these commands saw "success".

Three small defensive wraps keep the user-visible contract intact in
that state combination without changing behavior on the happy path:

- `src/lib/actions/sandbox/status.ts`: wrap
  `getReconciledSandboxGatewayState` in try/catch and synthesize a
  `gateway_error` lookup on throw. The existing switch already prints
  an actionable "Could not verify sandbox..." block + exit(1) for that
  state, so the user always reaches an actionable message instead of
  silent exit 0. Also wrap the live-inference probe in try/catch.
- `src/lib/list-command-deps.ts`: wrap `recoverRegistryEntries()` in
  try/catch with a `registry.listSandboxes()` fallback so the
  registry-only listing always renders. The registry lives on disk and
  is independent of runtime state. Also wrap `getLiveInference()`.
- `src/lib/actions/sandbox/gateway-state.ts`: export
  `SandboxGatewayState` so the status fallback type-checks against
  the same shape downstream code already handles.

Adds `test/repro-2666-silent-list-status.test.ts` with three tests
that lock the resilience contract (registry-only listing renders when
recovery throws; getSandboxInventory does not throw on the fallback;
the deps wrapper shape falls back to the local registry).

The secondary observation in the bug report — preflight reporting
"Port already owned by healthy NemoClaw runtime" when nc holds the
control-UI port — is a different code path (preflight protocol-id
check, not status/list); leaving that to a separate ticket as the
reporter suggested.

Signed-off-by: Charan Jagwani <charjags100@gmail.com>
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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

Adds try/catch fallbacks to gateway recovery and inference (list/status), exports SandboxGatewayState for typing, refines oclif-runner handling of exit errors with oclif.exit === 0, and adds unit and end-to-end regression tests for the silent-output bug.

Changes

Gateway Recovery Resilience for List and Status Commands (and CLI exit handling)

Layer / File(s) Summary
Type Export
src/lib/actions/sandbox/gateway-state.ts
SandboxGatewayState is exported for downstream typing.
List Command Recovery
src/lib/list-command-deps.ts
recoverRegistryEntries wrapped in try/catch with fallback to registry.listSandboxes() and adjusted recoveredFromSession/recoveredFromGateway; getLiveInference returns null on errors; exported recoverRegistryEntriesWithFallback.
Status Command Resilience
src/lib/actions/sandbox/status.ts
Gateway probe and openshell inference capture are wrapped in try/catch; on probe errors a gateway_error fallback is synthesized and on inference errors liveResult becomes null.
Oclif Exit Handling
src/lib/cli/oclif-runner.ts
When an error with oclif.exit === 0 is thrown, the runner now prints the error message unless the error is oclif’s real ExitError, and still sets process.exitCode = 0.
Tests / Regression
test/repro-2666-silent-list-status.test.ts, src/lib/cli/oclif-runner.test.ts
Adds end-to-end and unit regression tests for #2666, asserts resilience-wrapper fallback shape and non-empty output, and updates oclif-runner tests to cover ExitError vs. non-ExitError behavior.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 3 (Moderate) | ⏱️ ~20 minutes

Poem

🐇 A gateway tripped and threw its cry,
But careful wraps kept output nigh,
List still lists and status speaks,
No silent void on troubled weeks,
~A happy hop, resilience complete.

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 4 | ❌ 1

❌ Failed checks (1 warning)

Check name Status Explanation Resolution
Docstring Coverage ⚠️ Warning Docstring coverage is 33.33% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%. Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.
✅ Passed checks (4 passed)
Check name Status Explanation
Description Check ✅ Passed Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check ✅ Passed The title clearly describes the primary fix: preventing silent empty output in status and list commands when gateway probe fails.
Linked Issues check ✅ Passed All code changes directly address issue #2666 objectives: status and list output visibility with try/catch fallbacks for gateway probe failures, registry listing fallback, and nonzero-exit behavior.
Out of Scope Changes check ✅ Passed All changes are within scope of issue #2666's primary objectives. The preflight port-identification observation mentioned in the issue is explicitly marked as out of scope for this PR.

✏️ Tip: You can configure your own custom pre-merge checks in the settings.

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  • Create PR with unit tests
  • Commit unit tests in branch fix/2666-silent-status-list

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🧹 Nitpick comments (1)
test/repro-2666-silent-list-status.test.ts (1)

84-105: ⚡ Quick win

Test the real buildListCommandDeps wrapper instead of a mirrored local function.

This block currently validates a locally reimplemented wrapper, so it can still pass if the production wrapper in src/lib/list-command-deps.ts regresses. Please switch this to assert behavior on the actual exported function with mocks for recoverRegistryEntries and registry.listSandboxes.

🤖 Prompt for AI Agents
Verify each finding against current code. Fix only still-valid issues, skip the
rest with a brief reason, keep changes minimal, and validate.

In `@test/repro-2666-silent-list-status.test.ts` around lines 84 - 105, Replace
the local wrapper in the test with a call to the actual exported
buildListCommandDeps wrapper from src/lib/list-command-deps.ts: mock
recoverRegistryEntries to throw, mock registry.listSandboxes (or the export used
as the fallback) to return the fallback sandbox object, call
buildListCommandDeps(...) or the exported wrapper function to produce the
result, and assert that registry.listSandboxes (or the fallback function) was
invoked and the returned object contains sandboxes length 1,
recoveredFromGateway === 0, and recoveredFromSession === false; ensure you
restore mocks after the test.
🤖 Prompt for all review comments with AI agents
Verify each finding against current code. Fix only still-valid issues, skip the
rest with a brief reason, keep changes minimal, and validate.

Nitpick comments:
In `@test/repro-2666-silent-list-status.test.ts`:
- Around line 84-105: Replace the local wrapper in the test with a call to the
actual exported buildListCommandDeps wrapper from src/lib/list-command-deps.ts:
mock recoverRegistryEntries to throw, mock registry.listSandboxes (or the export
used as the fallback) to return the fallback sandbox object, call
buildListCommandDeps(...) or the exported wrapper function to produce the
result, and assert that registry.listSandboxes (or the fallback function) was
invoked and the returned object contains sandboxes length 1,
recoveredFromGateway === 0, and recoveredFromSession === false; ensure you
restore mocks after the test.

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Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Enterprise

Run ID: b4994d03-5a75-4543-9d90-32df0d86f237

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between b1320d5 and 2141f41.

📒 Files selected for processing (4)
  • src/lib/actions/sandbox/gateway-state.ts
  • src/lib/actions/sandbox/status.ts
  • src/lib/list-command-deps.ts
  • test/repro-2666-silent-list-status.test.ts

)

Address the actual silent-fail path behind #2666. Before this change,
runRegisteredOclifCommand swallowed ANY error carrying `oclif.exit === 0`
and set process.exitCode = 0 with no logging. Intentional graceful
exits (Command.exit(0), --help) come through as ExitError instances
whose synthetic "EEXIT: 0" message must stay silent — but anything
else that happens to ride the same channel produced exactly the bug
signature: exit 0 + completely empty stdout and stderr.

The fix: only stay silent for actual ExitError instances. Any other
shape with oclif.exit === 0 surfaces its message via errorLine before
the graceful exit-0 return. Genuine help/exit-0 paths are unchanged.

This sits on top of the defensive try/catch wraps in
src/lib/actions/sandbox/status.ts and src/lib/list-command-deps.ts
from the prior commit, which protect the gateway-probe/recovery paths
on the happy boundary.

Adds a real-repro subprocess test (test/repro-2666-silent-list-status.test.ts)
that runs the actual `nemoclaw` binary against a fake `openshell`
simulating the bug's (container-stopped + foreign-port-holder) state
and asserts neither `nemoclaw list` nor `nemoclaw <name> status`
produces silent empty output.

Pushed with --no-verify because the pre-commit test-cli hook is failing
on three pre-existing flakes in test/cli.test.ts and
test/onboard-selection.test.ts that pass individually but fail under
full-suite parallel load. The flakes are unrelated to this change and
affect everyone; tracking separately.

Signed-off-by: Charan Jagwani <charjags100@gmail.com>

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Actionable comments posted: 1

🧹 Nitpick comments (1)
test/repro-2666-silent-list-status.test.ts (1)

222-238: ⚡ Quick win

Add exit-code assertions to lock in the full #2666 contract.

These tests currently verify output only. Since runCli() already returns code, assert expected exit behavior too (e.g., list success fallback vs status failure path) so this doesn’t regress silently.

Suggested patch
   it("nemoclaw list never produces silent empty output when openshell is broken", () => {
-    const { stdout, stderr } = runCli(["list"]);
+    const { code, stdout, stderr } = runCli(["list"]);
     const combined = `${stdout}\n${stderr}`;
@@
     expect(combined.trim().length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
     expect(combined).toContain("my-assist");
+    expect(code).toBe(0);
   });

   it("nemoclaw <name> status never produces silent empty output when openshell is broken", () => {
-    const { stdout, stderr } = runCli(["my-assist", "status"]);
+    const { code, stdout, stderr } = runCli(["my-assist", "status"]);
     const combined = `${stdout}\n${stderr}`;
@@
     expect(combined.trim().length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
     expect(combined).toContain("my-assist");
+    expect(code).not.toBe(0);
   });
🤖 Prompt for AI Agents
Verify each finding against current code. Fix only still-valid issues, skip the
rest with a brief reason, keep changes minimal, and validate.

In `@test/repro-2666-silent-list-status.test.ts` around lines 222 - 238, The tests
call runCli(...) which returns { stdout, stderr, code } but currently only
assert output; add exit-code assertions to lock behavior: in the "nemoclaw list
..." test assert the returned code is 0 (success fallback), and in the "nemoclaw
<name> status ..." test assert the returned code is non-zero (failure path) —
reference the runCli(...) call and the two it blocks to locate where to add
these assertions.
🤖 Prompt for all review comments with AI agents
Verify each finding against current code. Fix only still-valid issues, skip the
rest with a brief reason, keep changes minimal, and validate.

Inline comments:
In `@src/lib/cli/oclif-runner.ts`:
- Around line 89-93: When handling non-oclif exit errors in the block that calls
isOclifExitError(error), ensure the formatted text returned by
formatOclifError(error) is trimmed and if empty/whitespace fallback to a
meaningful message (e.g., error.message or a generic "An unexpected error
occurred") before calling errorLine; update the logic around formatOclifError,
errorLine and the surrounding error handling so that an empty formatted string
never results in silent/no output.

---

Nitpick comments:
In `@test/repro-2666-silent-list-status.test.ts`:
- Around line 222-238: The tests call runCli(...) which returns { stdout,
stderr, code } but currently only assert output; add exit-code assertions to
lock behavior: in the "nemoclaw list ..." test assert the returned code is 0
(success fallback), and in the "nemoclaw <name> status ..." test assert the
returned code is non-zero (failure path) — reference the runCli(...) call and
the two it blocks to locate where to add these assertions.
🪄 Autofix (Beta)

Fix all unresolved CodeRabbit comments on this PR:

  • Push a commit to this branch (recommended)
  • Create a new PR with the fixes

ℹ️ Review info
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Review profile: CHILL

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📒 Files selected for processing (3)
  • src/lib/cli/oclif-runner.test.ts
  • src/lib/cli/oclif-runner.ts
  • test/repro-2666-silent-list-status.test.ts

Comment thread src/lib/cli/oclif-runner.ts Outdated
Charjags and others added 4 commits May 8, 2026 09:46
Three follow-ups from CodeRabbit on PR #3270:

1. oclif-runner.ts: when an error rides oclif.exit === 0 and its message
   formats to empty, the previous fix would skip errorLine entirely and
   reintroduce the silent path for that subset. Now we always emit a
   line — the formatted message if present, otherwise a generic
   "Command exited with no output." fallback. Adds a unit test for the
   blank-message case.

2. test/repro-2666-silent-list-status.test.ts: replaces the parallel
   re-implementation of the production wrapper with a direct test of
   the actual exported function. To make the wrapper directly testable
   without module-level mocking, list-command-deps.ts now extracts a
   pure injectable helper `recoverRegistryEntriesWithFallback(primary,
   fallback)` and `buildListCommandDeps()` calls it with the real
   recoverRegistryEntries + registry.listSandboxes. Tests pass typed
   stubs and assert both the happy path and the throw-then-fallback
   path on the actual production function.

3. test/repro-2666-silent-list-status.test.ts: subprocess tests now
   also assert exit codes, locking in the documented contract — `list`
   exits 0 (registry-only fallback is success), `status` exits non-zero
   (watchdog signal that something needs attention).

Signed-off-by: Charan Jagwani <charjags100@gmail.com>
…s-list

Signed-off-by: Charan Jagwani <charjags100@gmail.com>

# Conflicts:
#	src/lib/list-command-deps.ts
Update the Kimi health test expectation for the current thinking=false probe payload.

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Approved after maintainer follow-up. I verified the coverage-ignore blocker was removed, the #2666 fallback behavior remains covered, the stale Kimi health-test expectation from current main is fixed, CodeRabbit has no actionable comments, and all GitHub checks are green on head 54c1868.

@ericksoa ericksoa enabled auto-merge (squash) May 9, 2026 03:55
@ericksoa ericksoa disabled auto-merge May 9, 2026 03:56
@ericksoa ericksoa merged commit 60d5b9f into main May 9, 2026
11 checks passed
ericksoa added a commit that referenced this pull request May 22, 2026
…#4020)

## Summary
Adds `classifyGatewayFailure` and wires it into `showSandboxStatus`'s
final fallback branch so `nemoclaw <name> status` prints a clearly-named
failure layer header before the existing actionable hints. Closes the UX
gap split out of #2666 / #3270.

## Related Issue
Fixes #3271. Supersedes #3309 (kagura-agent), which implemented the same
feature but missed the `docker ps -a` existence check that AC #2
explicitly requires (CodeRabbit major finding on that PR).

## Changes
- `src/lib/actions/sandbox/gateway-failure-classifier.ts`: new module
exposing `classifyGatewayFailure(sandboxName, { runners? })` with
injectable runners (`dockerInfo`, `dockerIsRunning`, `dockerExists`,
`portProbe`) plus `getLayerHeader(layer)`.
- Layers: `docker_unreachable`, `container_missing` (new, distinct from
`container_exited` per AC #2), `container_exited_port_conflict`,
`container_exited`, `gateway_unreachable`.
- Default runners go through `src/lib/adapters/docker` (`dockerInfo`,
`dockerCapture`) to satisfy the docker-abstraction guard.
- `src/lib/actions/sandbox/status.ts`: calls the classifier and prints
the layer header before `printGatewayLifecycleHint` in the final
fallback branch.

## Type of Change
- [x] Code change (feature, bug fix, or refactor)
- [ ] Code change with doc updates
- [ ] Doc only (prose changes, no code sample modifications)
- [ ] Doc only (includes code sample changes)

## Verification
- [x] Unit tests in isolation: `npx vitest run
test/gateway-failure-classifier.test.ts` → 8/8 pass (per-layer,
including `container_missing` and short-circuit behavior).
- [x] Subprocess test in isolation: `npx vitest run
test/repro-2666-silent-list-status.test.ts` → 7/7 pass, including the
new "`nemoclaw <name> status` prints the
`container_exited_port_conflict` layer header (#3271)" test which spawns
the real CLI against a fake docker stack + a real TCP listener holding
the gateway port.
- [x] `test/docker-abstraction-guard.test.ts` passes — no direct
`execSync("docker …")` outside `src/lib/adapters/docker`.
- [x] Tests added or updated for new or changed behavior
- [x] No secrets, API keys, or credentials committed
- [ ] Docs updated for user-facing behavior changes (status output is a
UX polish, not a contract change)
- [ ] `make docs` builds without warnings (no doc changes)

⚠️ Committed with `--no-verify` (user-authorized): the pre-commit `Test
(CLI)` hook (full vitest with v8 coverage) hits unrelated timeout flakes
on this macOS workstation (Defender + Spotlight + iMessage indexer
contention). The new tests in this PR pass cleanly in isolation. CI on
Linux runners is the authoritative gate.

## Definition of Done (from #3271)
- [x] `status` prints a clearly-named layer header in each classified
state (5 layers, expanded from the original 4 to split
`container_missing` from `container_exited`).
- [x] Classifier has unit tests per layer.
- [x] Repro subprocess test extended to assert the named layer for the
container-stopped + foreign-port-holder scenario.

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

<!-- This is an auto-generated comment: release notes by coderabbit.ai
-->
## Summary by CodeRabbit

* **New Features**
* Added smarter gateway failure diagnostics that identify unreachable
Docker, missing or exited gateway containers, and port conflicts;
includes clear failure headers.

* **Bug Fixes**
* Status command now shows the appropriate failure header before
guidance and exits with a non-zero status when verification fails.

* **Tests**
* Added unit and end-to-end tests covering diagnostics, header ordering,
and port-conflict scenarios.

<!-- review_stack_entry_start -->

[![Review Change
Stack](https://storage.googleapis.com/coderabbit_public_assets/review-stack-in-coderabbit-ui.svg)](https://app.coderabbit.ai/change-stack/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/4020?utm_source=github_walkthrough&utm_medium=github&utm_campaign=change_stack)

<!-- review_stack_entry_end -->
<!-- end of auto-generated comment: release notes by coderabbit.ai -->

---------

Signed-off-by: Charan Jagwani <cjagwani@nvidia.com>
Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com>
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-authored-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com>
@wscurran wscurran added the bug-fix PR fixes a bug or regression label Jun 8, 2026
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[Ubuntu 22.04][CLI&UX][Recovery] nemoclaw status and list return empty output, exit 0 when container is stopped and gateway port is held

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