{"record":{"id":"89c3bc3ff809f4a7","repo":"gastownhall/beads","slug":"server-doltserver-start-capture-child-birth-iden","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"server: DoltServer.Start: capture child birth identity: %w","messagePattern":"server: DoltServer\\.Start: capture child birth identity: %w","errorType":"exception","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"internal/storage/dbproxy/server/doltserver.go","lineNumber":276,"sourceCode":"\t// doltserver.ServerSpawnEnv for the guards it needs (GH#4272).\n\tcmd.Env = doltserver.ServerSpawnEnv()\n\n\tif err := cmd.Start(); err != nil {\n\t\ts.eg, s.egCtx, s.cancel = nil, nil, nil\n\t\tcancel()\n\t\tlock.Unlock()\n\t\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"server: DoltServer.Start: spawn dolt: %w\", err)\n\t}\n\n\ts.pid = cmd.Process.Pid\n\tbirth, err := procid.Capture(s.pid)\n\tif err != nil {\n\t\t_ = cmd.Process.Kill()\n\t\t_, _ = cmd.Process.Wait()\n\t\ts.eg, s.egCtx, s.cancel, s.pid = nil, nil, nil, 0\n\t\tcancel()\n\t\tlock.Unlock()\n\t\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"server: DoltServer.Start: capture child birth identity: %w\", err)\n\t}\n\trootID, err := identity.RootID(s.rootDir)\n\tif err != nil {\n\t\t_ = cmd.Process.Kill()\n\t\t_, _ = cmd.Process.Wait()\n\t\ts.eg, s.egCtx, s.cancel, s.pid = nil, nil, nil, 0\n\t\tcancel()\n\t\tlock.Unlock()\n\t\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"server: DoltServer.Start: resolve proxy root identity: %w\", err)\n\t}\n\n\tif err := pidfile.Write(s.rootDir, PIDFileName, pidfile.PidFile{\n\t\tPid:    s.pid,\n\t\tPort:   s.config.Port(),\n\t\tSchema: pidfile.SchemaV2,\n\t\tKind:   pidfile.KindDoltBackend,\n\t\tBirth:  string(birth),\n\t\tRootID: rootID,","sourceCodeStart":258,"sourceCodeEnd":294,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/gastownhall/beads/blob/71377f276968b452ee607177637970a4ff888584/internal/storage/dbproxy/server/doltserver.go#L258-L294","documentation":"Start() spawned the dolt child process but failed to capture its \"birth identity\" via procid.Capture (used to detect PID reuse later). The child is killed and all start state rolled back before the error is returned.","triggerScenarios":"procid.Capture(s.pid) returns an error immediately after cmd.Start() — the child exited so fast it is already gone (e.g. dolt dies instantly on bad config), or /proc is unreadable (restricted container, non-Linux procfs issues).","commonSituations":"Dolt crashing immediately at startup (invalid YAML config, port binding failure) so the PID disappears before Capture reads it; hardened containers hiding /proc; heavily loaded systems racing process exit.","solutions":["Check the server log file (passed to NewDoltServer) for the child's startup errors — an instant exit usually means a bad dolt server config.","Validate the dolt config YAML: run `dolt sql-server --config <configPath>` manually and inspect output.","Verify /proc is mounted and readable (e.g. in Docker, do not use --pid=host restrictions that hide processes).","Retry Start(); transient scheduling races usually disappear on retry."],"exampleFix":null,"handlingStrategy":"retry","validationCode":"// Ensure /proc is usable so procid.Capture can read process identity.\nif _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(\"/proc\", \"self\", \"stat\")); err != nil {\n    return fmt.Errorf(\"/proc unavailable; process identity capture will fail: %w\", err)\n}","typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":"if err := srv.Start(ctx); err != nil {\n    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), \"capture child birth identity\") {\n        // child likely died instantly: check the server log, then retry once\n        log.Errorf(\"dolt exited immediately, see server log: %v\", err)\n        return retryStart(srv, ctx) // bounded single retry\n    }\n    return err\n}","preventionTips":["Always configure a log file via NewDoltServer so instant child exits are diagnosable.","Validate the dolt server config YAML before Start.","Run in environments where /proc is mounted (standard Docker, no pid-namespace tricks).","Retry Start once on this error; transient races are common under load."],"tags":["process-management","procfs","race-condition"],"backgroundTag":"process-exited-unexpectedly","analyzedSha":"71377f276968b452ee607177637970a4ff888584","analyzedAt":"2026-08-30T18:55:39.744Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-08-30T23:17:21.991Z"}