JanDeDobbeleer/oh-my-posh · warning

async failed

Error message

async failed

What it means

awaitAsync polls a WinRT IAsyncInfo operation and returns this error when the reported status is asyncStatusError, meaning the asynchronous COM/WinRT call backing the media player query completed but with a failure. The specific HRESULT behind the failure is not surfaced; the library only reports that the async operation failed.

Source

Thrown at src/runtime/smtc_windows.go:210

		uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(&iidAsyncInfo)),
		uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(&asyncInfo)),
	)
	if hr != 0 {
		return fmt.Errorf("QueryInterface IAsyncInfo: 0x%08x", hr)
	}
	defer comRelease(asyncInfo)

	deadline := time.Now().Add(smtcAsyncTimeout)
	for {
		var status uint32
		comCall(asyncInfo, asyncInfoGetStatus, uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(&status)))
		switch status {
		case asyncStatusCompleted:
			return nil
		case asyncStatusCanceled:
			return errors.New("async cancelled")
		case asyncStatusError:
			return errors.New("async failed")
		}
		if time.Now().After(deadline) {
			return errors.New("async timed out")
		}
		time.Sleep(smtcAsyncPollInterval)
	}
}

func queryMediaPlayer(player string) (*MediaInfo, error) {
	// RoInitialize / RoUninitialize update thread-local state, so we have to
	// pin the goroutine to one OS thread for the duration of this call.
	goruntime.LockOSThread()
	defer goruntime.UnlockOSThread()

	// RO_INIT_MULTITHREADED = 1. S_FALSE (1) means already initialised on
	// this thread, which is fine — we still pair with RoUninitialize.
	hr, _, _ := procRoInitialize.Call(1)
	if hr != 0 && hr != 1 {

View on GitHub (pinned to 0976794618)

Solutions

1. Retry on the next prompt render; media queries are re-issued each prompt.
2. Play/launch a media app so a media session exists, if you want the segment populated.
3. Disable the media segment in your theme config if it consistently fails.
4. Ensure oh-my-posh runs in an interactive user session (not a service context).

info, err := queryMediaPlayer(player)
if err != nil {
    info = nil // render segment empty instead of erroring
}

When it happens

Trigger: queryMediaPlayer or readMediaProperties awaited a WinRT async operation (e.g. session manager retrieval) whose IAsyncInfo GetStatus returned asyncStatusError within the polling loop.

Common situations: No media session available; GlobalSystemMediaTransportControlsSessionManager failing to initialize; restricted service session (e.g. running from a service or non-interactive session); Windows media stack glitches after driver/OS updates.

Related errors

• async cancelled
• async timed out
• RoGetActivationFactory: 0x%08x
• RequestAsync: 0x%08x
• await RequestAsync: %w

AI-assisted analysis of JanDeDobbeleer/oh-my-posh@0976794618 (2026-08-31). Data as JSON: /api/errors/050476621fb455bb. Report an issue: GitHub.