{"record":{"id":"960445d343c6d68c","repo":"gastownhall/beads","slug":"proxy-forcestopunverified-refusing-to-signal-pid-960445","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"proxy.ForceStopUnverified: refusing to signal pid %d from %s: workspace scope could not be established (%v); stop the process manually, then quarantine the record by renaming %s to %s.stale-<unix-timestamp> before retrying","messagePattern":"proxy\\.ForceStopUnverified: refusing to signal pid (.+?) from (.+?): workspace scope could not be established \\((.+?)\\); stop the process manually, then quarantine the record by renaming (.+?) to (.+?)\\.stale-<unix-timestamp> before retrying","errorType":"exception","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"internal/storage/dbproxy/proxy/force_stop.go","lineNumber":230,"sourceCode":"\t\treturn nil\n\t}\n\texecutable = normalizeForceStopExecutable(executable)\n\treport.Executable = executable\n\tif executable != \"bd\" && executable != \"dolt\" {\n\t\treturn fmt.Errorf(\n\t\t\t\"proxy.ForceStopUnverified: refusing to signal pid %d from %s: executable basename is %q, want bd or dolt\",\n\t\t\tpid,\n\t\t\treport.RecordPath,\n\t\t\texecutable,\n\t\t)\n\t}\n\n\t// Basename alone would let a recycled PID now running an unrelated bd or\n\t// dolt be killed; require the command line to tie the process to THIS\n\t// workspace, and refuse when that scope cannot be established.\n\tscoped, gone, err := proc.commandLineContains(rootDir)\n\tif err != nil {\n\t\treturn fmt.Errorf(\n\t\t\t\"proxy.ForceStopUnverified: refusing to signal pid %d from %s: workspace scope could not be established (%v); stop the process manually, then quarantine the record by renaming %s to %s.stale-<unix-timestamp> before retrying\",\n\t\t\tpid,\n\t\t\treport.RecordPath,\n\t\t\terr,\n\t\t\treport.RecordPath,\n\t\t\treport.RecordPath,\n\t\t)\n\t}\n\tif gone {\n\t\treport.ProcessWasGone = true\n\t\treturn nil\n\t}\n\tif !scoped {\n\t\treturn fmt.Errorf(\n\t\t\t\"proxy.ForceStopUnverified: refusing to signal pid %d from %s: its command line does not reference workspace %s, so it may be an unrelated %s process; stop it manually if it is yours, then quarantine the record by renaming %s to %s.stale-<unix-timestamp> before retrying\",\n\t\t\tpid,\n\t\t\treport.RecordPath,\n\t\t\trootDir,","sourceCodeStart":212,"sourceCodeEnd":248,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/gastownhall/beads/blob/71377f276968b452ee607177637970a4ff888584/internal/storage/dbproxy/proxy/force_stop.go#L212-L248","documentation":"After confirming the executable is bd or dolt, ForceStopUnverified requires the process command line to reference the current workspace root before signaling. If the command line cannot be read or compared (the commandLineContains check errored), bd cannot prove the process belongs to this workspace and refuses to kill it, since a recycled PID running an unrelated bd/dolt could otherwise be terminated.","triggerScenarios":"proxy.ForceStopUnverified when reading /proc/<pid>/cmdline (or platform equivalent) fails: permission denied on another user's process, cmdline unavailable in the container/namespace, procfs not mounted, or a transient kernel error while the process is exiting.","commonSituations":"bd/dolt daemon started under a different user or in a different container than the bd client attempting force-stop; hardened environments blocking cmdline reads; ephemeral runners where procfs access is restricted.","solutions":["Stop the process manually (kill <pid> as the owning user or inside its container)","Quarantine the record: rename <record> to <record>.stale-<unix-timestamp>, then retry the force-stop","Re-run inside the same user/session/container where the daemon runs so the cmdline is readable","Check procfs availability and permissions (ls -l /proc/<pid>/cmdline) and adjust security policy if it blocks reads"],"exampleFix":"// before: retrying force-stop unchanged fails forever\nbd daemon --force-stop\n// after\nkill <pid>            # stop manually as the owning user\nmv .bd/bd.pid .bd/bd.pid.stale-$(date +%s)\nbd daemon --force-stop # now succeeds or reports process gone","handlingStrategy":"try-catch","validationCode":"// confirm cmdline of the pid is readable and references the workspace first\npid := readPidFromRecord(recordPath)\ncmdline, err := os.ReadFile(fmt.Sprintf(\"/proc/%d/cmdline\", pid))\nif err != nil || !strings.Contains(strings.ReplaceAll(string(cmdline), \"\\x00\", \" \"), rootDir) {\n    // cannot establish scope: stop manually and quarantine before calling\n    os.Rename(recordPath, recordPath+\".stale-\"+fmt.Sprint(time.Now().Unix()))\n}","typeGuard":"func isScopeUnestablishableErr(err error) bool {\n    return err != nil && strings.Contains(err.Error(), \"workspace scope could not be established\")\n}","tryCatchPattern":"err := proxy.ForceStopUnverified(ctx, rootDir, pidName, deadline)\nif isScopeUnestablishableErr(err) {\n    // follow the remediation in the message: manual kill + quarantine, then retry\n    return fmt.Errorf(\"stop pid manually, rename %s to %s.stale-<ts>, retry\", recordPath, recordPath)\n}","preventionTips":["Launch daemons from within the workspace so the root path appears in argv","Run force-stop from the same user/container/namespace as the daemon","Keep procfs accessible (check SELinux/AppAudit policies in hardened environments)","Quarantine rather than delete unreadable records"],"tags":["process-inspection","workspace-scope","permissions","force-stop"],"backgroundTag":"workspace-scope-unverifiable","analyzedSha":"71377f276968b452ee607177637970a4ff888584","analyzedAt":"2026-08-30T18:55:39.744Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-08-30T23:17:21.991Z"}