fix: resolve DeadObjectException, OOM, and ANR from Sentry by torlando-tech · Pull Request #502 · torlando-tech/columba

torlando-tech · 2026-02-19T05:41:56Z

Summary

Fixes three high-impact Sentry issues from the last 7 days (84 events / 22 users total):

COLUMBA-14 (77 events / 17 users): DeadObjectException crashes the service process when a client dies during async initialization. Wraps all 4 IInitializationCallback invocations in try-catch(RemoteException), matching the existing CallbackBroadcaster pattern.
COLUMBA-P (3 events / 2 users): OOM in toHexString() when sending large file attachments. A 111MB file creates a 222MB CharArray on top of the source ByteArray. Replaced with streaming hex-to-disk via a new ByteArray.streamHexToFile() extension that uses O(1) memory. Uses the existing _data_ref file-path pattern already supported by the read side (MessageMapper.loadFileAttachmentData()).
COLUMBA-3K/2Z/2R (4 events / 3 users): ANR in announceDestination() — missing withContext(Dispatchers.IO) caused the synchronous AIDL binder call (which blocks on Python's GIL) to run on the main thread. All 15+ other binder methods in the file already use Dispatchers.IO; this one was missed.

Changes

File	Change
`ReticulumServiceBinder.kt`	Wrap 4 callback sites in `try-catch(RemoteException)`
`FileUtils.kt`	Add top-level `ByteArray.streamHexToFile()` extension
`MessagingViewModel.kt`	Inject `@ApplicationContext`, stream file hex to disk via `_data_ref`, extract `buildFileAttachmentsArray()` and `buildAppExtensions()` from `buildFieldsJson()`
`ConversationRepository.kt`	Pass through existing `_data_ref` in `extractFileAttachmentsForSent()`
`ServiceReticulumProtocol.kt`	Add `withContext(Dispatchers.IO)` to `announceDestination()`

Manual test plan

Fix 1: DeadObjectException (COLUMBA-14)

Install on device, open app, wait for initialization to complete
Force-stop the app (Settings > Apps > Force Stop) immediately after launching, before "READY" status appears
Check logcat for Client died before initialization warning (not a crash)
Verify the service process stays alive and does not crash
Re-open the app — should reconnect and initialize normally

Fix 2: OOM in file attachments (COLUMBA-P)

Open a conversation, attach a large file (50MB+) and send
Verify the message sends successfully without OOM crash
Check that a .hex temp file was created in the cache directory (adb shell ls /data/data/com.lxmf.messenger/cache/outgoing_*.hex)
Verify the recipient receives the file attachment correctly
Attach and send a small file (<1MB) — should also work (same code path)
Attach and send an image — image path (Field 6) should still use inline hex (not _data_ref)
Verify temp .hex files are cleaned up by the existing cleanupAllTempFiles() routine

Fix 3: ANR in announceDestination (COLUMBA-3K/2Z/2R)

Open Debug screen, tap "Announce" button
Verify the announce completes without ANR dialog
Monitor logcat for ANR or Input dispatching timed out — should see none
Repeat the announce 3-5 times rapidly — no ANR should occur
Verify the announce still succeeds (check Sentry or logcat for success)

Regression checks

Send a text-only message — should work as before
Send a message with an image attachment — should work as before
Send a message with a file attachment — should work, with _data_ref in fieldsJson
Receive a message with a file attachment — should display correctly (read path unchanged)
Cold start the app — initialization should complete normally

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Fix three high-impact Sentry issues: - COLUMBA-14: Wrap IInitializationCallback invocations in try-catch for RemoteException to prevent service crash when client dies during async initialization (77 events / 17 users) - COLUMBA-P: Stream file attachment hex encoding to disk instead of allocating CharArray(size*2) in memory, preventing OOM on large files. Uses existing _data_ref pattern. (3 events / 2 users) - COLUMBA-3K/2Z/2R: Add missing withContext(Dispatchers.IO) to announceDestination() to move synchronous AIDL binder call off main thread, preventing ANR (4 events / 3 users) Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

greptile-apps · 2026-02-19T05:44:21Z

Greptile Summary

This PR addresses three high-impact production issues identified in Sentry with targeted, well-scoped fixes:

Fix 1: DeadObjectException (COLUMBA-14) - Wrapped all 4 IInitializationCallback invocations in try-catch blocks to handle RemoteException when clients die during async service initialization. This follows the existing pattern used in CallbackBroadcaster and prevents service process crashes.

Fix 2: OOM in file attachments (COLUMBA-P) - Introduced ByteArray.streamHexToFile() extension that uses a BufferedWriter to stream hex-encoded data directly to disk with O(1) memory overhead, replacing the previous in-memory toHexString() approach that allocated a CharArray double the size of the input. For a 111MB file, this eliminates the 222MB allocation. The implementation correctly integrates with the existing _data_ref pattern already supported by MessageMapper.loadFileAttachmentData().

Fix 3: ANR in announceDestination (COLUMBA-3K/2Z/2R) - Added withContext(Dispatchers.IO) to move the synchronous AIDL binder call off the main thread, consistent with all other binder methods in the file.

Key observations:

The dispatcher change from Dispatchers.Default to Dispatchers.IO in buildFieldsJson is correct since the function now performs file I/O operations
The ConversationRepository correctly passes through existing _data_ref paths to avoid re-processing already-streamed data
Test files properly updated with mocked applicationContext parameter
One issue identified: hex temp files won't be cleaned up by the existing cleanup routine

Confidence Score: 4/5

Safe to merge after addressing the temp file cleanup issue
The fixes are well-implemented and follow existing patterns. The DeadObjectException and ANR fixes are straightforward defensive programming. The OOM fix correctly integrates with the existing _data_ref infrastructure. However, the score is 4 instead of 5 due to the temp file cleanup gap - .hex files in root cacheDir won't be automatically cleaned up by the existing cleanup routine, which could lead to disk space accumulation over time.
Pay attention to MessagingViewModel.kt line 2267 - ensure the hex temp file cleanup strategy is addressed before merging

Important Files Changed

Filename	Overview
app/src/main/java/com/lxmf/messenger/service/binder/ReticulumServiceBinder.kt	Wraps 4 IInitializationCallback invocations in try-catch(RemoteException) to prevent DeadObjectException crashes when client dies during async initialization
app/src/main/java/com/lxmf/messenger/util/FileUtils.kt	Adds ByteArray.streamHexToFile() extension for O(1) memory hex encoding to prevent OOM on large file attachments
app/src/main/java/com/lxmf/messenger/viewmodel/MessagingViewModel.kt	Injects ApplicationContext, streams file hex to disk via _data_ref, refactors buildFieldsJson into smaller functions, changes Dispatchers.Default to IO for file operations
data/src/main/java/com/lxmf/messenger/data/repository/ConversationRepository.kt	Passes through existing _data_ref in extractFileAttachmentsForSent to preserve hex file paths already written to disk
app/src/main/java/com/lxmf/messenger/reticulum/protocol/ServiceReticulumProtocol.kt	Adds withContext(Dispatchers.IO) to announceDestination to prevent ANR from synchronous AIDL binder call on main thread

Flowchart

%%{init: {'theme': 'neutral'}}%%
flowchart TD
    A[User sends message with file attachment] --> B{File size check}
    B --> C[buildFieldsJson with cacheDir]
    C --> D[buildFileAttachmentsArray]
    D --> E{cacheDir != null?}
    E -->|Yes| F[Create hex file: outgoing_timestamp_index.hex]
    F --> G[streamHexToFile - O1 memory]
    G --> H[Store _data_ref path in JSON]
    E -->|No| I[Fallback to toHexString - in-memory]
    I --> H
    H --> J[ConversationRepository.extractFileAttachmentsForSent]
    J --> K{Has _data_ref?}
    K -->|Yes, data empty| L[Pass through existing _data_ref]
    K -->|No, has data| M[Extract to disk via saveAttachment]
    L --> N[Message ready for transmission]
    M --> N
    
    style F fill:#e1f5e1
    style G fill:#e1f5e1
    style L fill:#e1f5e1

_{Last reviewed commit: 22a0fc4}

sentry · 2026-02-19T05:46:57Z

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.

📢 Thoughts on this report? Let us know!

The PR added applicationContext: Context as the first constructor parameter but the test files weren't updated, causing compilation failures in all 4 CI test shards. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

app/src/main/java/com/lxmf/messenger/viewmodel/MessagingViewModel.kt

streamHexToFile performs blocking file I/O which should not run on Dispatchers.Default (CPU-bound pool sized to core count). Dispatchers.IO shares threads with Default for the CPU work but can expand beyond the core count when threads block on write syscalls. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

torlando-tech · 2026-02-20T23:02:22Z

@greptileai

data/src/main/java/com/lxmf/messenger/data/repository/ConversationRepository.kt

greptile-apps

_{7 files reviewed, 1 comment}

_{Edit Code Review Agent Settings | Greptile}

app/src/main/java/com/lxmf/messenger/viewmodel/MessagingViewModel.kt

Hex files from streamHexToFile were written directly to cacheDir root, so cleanupAllTempFiles never removed them. Move to outgoing_hex/ subdirectory and add it to the cleanup list. Also stub applicationContext.cacheDir in tests to return a real temp directory so streamHexToFile can write during send tests. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Cancel serverScope before calling server.stop() to prevent queued coroutines from re-acquiring isRunning after stop clears it. Add withTimeout safety net to prevent CI hangs if teardown blocks. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

app/src/main/java/com/lxmf/messenger/viewmodel/MessagingViewModel.kt

If streamHexToFile throws (disk full, permission error) during buildFieldsJson, the exception previously propagated past saveMessageToDatabase — the message was delivered to the recipient but disappeared from the sender's conversation history. Wrap buildFieldsJson in try-catch(IOException) and fall back to text-only fields so the message is always saved locally. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Images using the ORIGINAL preset can be up to 25MB, which would allocate a 50MB CharArray in toHexString(). Use streamHexToFile() with _file_ref for images above 512KB, matching the file attachment pattern. The read side already handles _file_ref for field 6. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

sentry bot reviewed Feb 20, 2026

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torlando-tech and others added 2 commits February 20, 2026 18:35

sentry bot reviewed Feb 21, 2026

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torlando-tech mentioned this pull request Feb 21, 2026

fix: resolve DeadObjectException, OOM, and ANR from Sentry (v0.8.x) #513

Merged

torlando-tech and others added 2 commits February 20, 2026 21:17

torlando-tech merged commit dfc2c44 into main Feb 21, 2026
13 checks passed

torlando-tech deleted the fix/sentry-recent-issues branch February 21, 2026 04:47

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fix: resolve DeadObjectException, OOM, and ANR from Sentry#502

fix: resolve DeadObjectException, OOM, and ANR from Sentry#502
torlando-tech merged 7 commits intomainfrom
fix/sentry-recent-issues

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Summary

Changes

Manual test plan

Fix 1: DeadObjectException (COLUMBA-14)

Fix 2: OOM in file attachments (COLUMBA-P)

Fix 3: ANR in announceDestination (COLUMBA-3K/2Z/2R)

Regression checks

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Greptile Summary

Confidence Score: 4/5

Important Files Changed

Flowchart

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torlando-tech commented Feb 19, 2026 •

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