fix(process): add windowsHide to spawn in runCommandWithTimeout by gushiaoke · Pull Request #51559 · openclaw/openclaw

gushiaoke · 2026-03-21T11:00:24Z

Summary

Problem: On Windows, runCommandWithTimeout() spawns child processes without windowsHide: true, causing a visible cmd.exe window to flash briefly for every spawned command. This is especially noticeable during gateway startup when ensureGitRepo() invokes git --version and git init.
Why it matters: The flashing cmd window is a jarring UX issue for Windows users, particularly for applications that embed OpenClaw as an npm package and run it in the background.
What changed: Added windowsHide: true to the spawn() options in runCommandWithTimeout() (src/process/exec.ts).
What did NOT change (scope boundary): No other spawn call sites were modified. Only the central runCommandWithTimeout function was touched. No behavioral changes on non-Windows platforms (windowsHide is ignored on macOS/Linux).

Change Type (select all)

Scope (select all touched areas)

Linked Issue/PR

Related: Windows cmd window flashing on gateway startup

User-visible / Behavior Changes

Windows: No more visible cmd.exe window flash when OpenClaw spawns background commands (git, npm, etc.)
Non-Windows: No change.

Security Impact (required)

New permissions/capabilities? No
Secrets/tokens handling changed? No
New/changed network calls? No
Command/tool execution surface changed? No
Data access scope changed? No

Repro + Verification

Environment

OS: Windows 11
Runtime/container: Node.js 22+
Model/provider: N/A
Integration/channel (if any): N/A
Relevant config (redacted): Default gateway config

Steps

Install OpenClaw as an npm package on Windows
Start the gateway (openclaw gateway run)
Observe a cmd.exe window briefly flashing during startup (when ensureGitRepo runs git commands)

Expected

No visible cmd window during gateway startup

Actual

A cmd.exe window flashes briefly each time spawn() is called without windowsHide: true

Evidence

Trace/log snippets
The windowsHide option is a documented Node.js spawn option specifically designed to prevent this behavior on Windows.

Human Verification (required)

Verified scenarios: Gateway startup on Windows 11 — no cmd window flash after the fix.
Edge cases checked: Confirmed windowsHide is ignored on non-Windows platforms (no behavioral change on macOS/Linux).
What you did not verify: Other spawn call sites in the codebase (this PR only addresses runCommandWithTimeout; other sites may also benefit from the same fix).

Review Conversations

I replied to or resolved every bot review conversation I addressed in this PR.
I left unresolved only the conversations that still need reviewer or maintainer judgment.

Compatibility / Migration

Backward compatible? Yes
Config/env changes? No
Migration needed? No

Failure Recovery (if this breaks)

How to disable/revert this change quickly: Revert the single-line addition of windowsHide: true in src/process/exec.ts
Files/config to restore: src/process/exec.ts
Known bad symptoms reviewers should watch for: None expected — windowsHide is a no-op on non-Windows

Risks and Mitigations

None — this is a well-documented Node.js API option with no side effects on non-Windows platforms.

AI-assisted PR (CodeBuddy). Fully tested on Windows 11. I understand what the code does.

greptile-apps · 2026-03-21T11:02:12Z

Greptile Summary

This PR adds windowsHide: true to the spawn() options in runCommandWithTimeout (src/process/exec.ts), preventing the cmd.exe console window from flashing on Windows whenever a child process is spawned. The change is a no-op on macOS/Linux.

The fix is correct and minimal — windowsHide is a well-documented Node.js spawn option designed exactly for this purpose.
No behavioral change on non-Windows platforms.
Note: runExec (also in src/process/exec.ts) uses execFileAsync/execFile without windowsHide: true. The PR author explicitly scoped this fix to runCommandWithTimeout, but runExec call sites on Windows may still flash a console window. This is a known gap acknowledged in the PR description and is a reasonable follow-up rather than a blocker.

Confidence Score: 5/5

This PR is safe to merge — it adds a single, well-documented no-op option on non-Windows platforms that solves a clear UX regression on Windows.
The change is a one-line addition of a standard Node.js spawn option. It has no behavioral effect outside Windows, is backward compatible, and there are no logic or security concerns. The scope is intentionally narrow and well justified.
No files require special attention.

_{Last reviewed commit: "fix(process): add wi..."}

On Windows, child_process.spawn() without windowsHide: true causes a visible cmd.exe window to flash briefly for every spawned process. This is especially noticeable during gateway startup when git commands are invoked by ensureGitRepo(). Add windowsHide: true to the spawn options in runCommandWithTimeout(), which is the central command execution function. This property is ignored on non-Windows platforms, so there is no behavioral change elsewhere.

gushiaoke · 2026-03-24T09:26:06Z

The two failing checks — extension-fast (discord) and extension-fast (matrix) — are unrelated to this PR.

This PR only modifies src/process/exec.ts (adding windowsHide: true), and does not touch any extension code.

Error details:

discord: TypeError: Message is not a constructor, RateLimitError is not a constructor, TextDisplay is not a constructor — all from __vite_ssr_import failures
matrix: TypeError: createClient is not a function — same Vitest SSR module resolution issue

These are Vitest SSR module resolution flaky failures in CI (__vite_ssr_import_xxx imports failing intermittently). All other 73 extension-fast jobs passed successfully.

A re-run should clear these.

steipete · 2026-04-25T08:43:33Z

Closing this as implemented after Codex review.

Current main already implements the requested Windows windowsHide behavior in the shared process invocation path, and the shipped v2026.4.22 release already contains it with Windows-specific test coverage.

What I checked:

Shared invocation hard-codes windowsHide: resolveChildProcessInvocation() returns windowsHide: true, so the flag is part of the normalized child-process options rather than a one-off call-site tweak. (src/process/exec.ts:87, 608c08fc54da)
Both exec paths consume the shared flag: Current main applies windowsHide: invocation.windowsHide in both runExec() and runCommandWithTimeout(), which is broader than the open PR's single spawn-site patch. (src/process/exec.ts:146, 608c08fc54da)
Reported gateway path still goes through runCommandWithTimeout: ensureGitRepo() calls runCommandWithTimeout(["git", "init"], ...), so the reported gateway startup path is covered by the implementation already on main. (src/agents/workspace.ts:325, 608c08fc54da)
Windows regression tests exist: Windows-focused tests assert windowsHide === true for direct runExec() and direct runCommandWithTimeout() invocations. (src/process/exec.windows.test.ts:291, 608c08fc54da)
Already shipped in the latest release: The v2026.4.22 tag contains the same windowsHide handling in src/process/exec.ts and the same Windows tests in src/process/exec.windows.test.ts, so this behavior was already released. (src/process/exec.ts:87, 00bd2cf7a376)

So I’m closing this as already implemented rather than keeping a duplicate issue open.

Review notes: reviewed against 608c08fc54da; fix evidence: release v2026.4.22, commit 00bd2cf7a376.

openclaw-barnacle Bot added the size: XS label Mar 21, 2026

gushiaoke force-pushed the fix/windows-hide-spawn-cmd-window branch from 24954ed to f416a00 Compare March 21, 2026 11:09

chore: retrigger CI

acbf80b

BradGroux mentioned this pull request Mar 26, 2026

WORKING: All Microsoft Issues and PRs #49126

Closed

steipete closed this Apr 25, 2026

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fix(process): add windowsHide to spawn in runCommandWithTimeout#51559

fix(process): add windowsHide to spawn in runCommandWithTimeout#51559
gushiaoke wants to merge 2 commits intoopenclaw:mainfrom
gushiaoke:fix/windows-hide-spawn-cmd-window

gushiaoke commented Mar 21, 2026

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greptile-apps Bot commented Mar 21, 2026

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gushiaoke commented Mar 24, 2026

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steipete commented Apr 25, 2026

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