astrid-runtime/astrid · error

unexpected daemon response: {other:?}

Error message

unexpected daemon response: {other:?}

What it means

Raised by `daemon_capsule_metadata` when the daemon replies to `GetCapsuleMetadata` with neither `CapsuleMetadata` nor `Error` — i.e. an unexpected `KernelResponse` variant. This indicates a protocol mismatch between CLI and daemon: the response does not fit the expected request/response contract, so it is dumped with `{other:?}` debug formatting.

Source

Thrown at crates/astrid-cli/src/commands/capsule/install_update.rs:180

            workspace,
            false,
            approve_untrusted,
            &[],
        )
        .await
    } else {
        update_all_capsules(&home, &principal, workspace, approve_untrusted).await
    }
}

async fn daemon_capsule_metadata() -> anyhow::Result<Vec<CapsuleMetadataEntry>> {
    let mut client = crate::socket_client::connect_kernel_for_workspace(None).await?;
    match client.request(KernelRequest::GetCapsuleMetadata).await? {
        KernelResponse::CapsuleMetadata(entries) => Ok(entries),
        KernelResponse::Error(message) => {
            bail!("daemon rejected capsule metadata request: {message}")
        },
        other => bail!("unexpected daemon response: {other:?}"),
    }
}

async fn update_daemon_capsules(
    target: Option<&str>,
    principal: &astrid_core::PrincipalId,
    approve_untrusted: bool,
) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
    let entries = daemon_capsule_metadata().await?;
    if let Some(name) = target {
        let entry = entries
            .into_iter()
            .find(|entry| entry.name == name)
            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Capsule '{name}' is not installed."))?;
        let Some(source) = entry.update_source else {
            eprintln!(
                "Capsule '{name}' has no remotely updateable source; its durable package is unchanged."
            );

View on GitHub (pinned to affd8760f4)

Solutions

1. Restart the daemon so it matches the CLI's protocol version, then retry.
2. Check versions: update the daemon (`astrid daemon` upgrade/reinstall) after any CLI upgrade.
3. Inspect the debug payload in the message (`{other:?}`) to identify which variant was returned and why.
4. Remove stale socket files / ensure only one daemon instance is running for the workspace.

Example fix

// before: old daemon answers new CLI's request with a legacy payload
astrid capsule update
// error: unexpected daemon response: Success({...})

// after
astrid daemon restart   # run the upgraded daemon binary
astrid capsule update

fn is_capsule_metadata(resp: &KernelResponse) -> Option<&Vec<CapsuleMetadataEntry>> {
    match resp {
        KernelResponse::CapsuleMetadata(entries) => Some(entries),
        _ => None,
    }
}

match daemon_capsule_metadata().await {
    Ok(entries) => use_entries(entries),
    Err(e) if e.to_string().starts_with("unexpected daemon response") => {
        eprintln!("{e:#}\nProtocol mismatch - restart/upgrade the daemon.");
        std::process::exit(1);
    },
    Err(e) => return Err(e),
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `astrid capsule update` or distro-lock regeneration against a daemon whose response to GetCapsuleMetadata is a different KernelResponse variant — typically a daemon/CLI version skew where the old daemon answers a newer request type with a generic Success/other payload, or a proxy/misrouted socket reply.

Common situations: CLI upgraded but daemon still running an older binary (socket not restarted); multiple daemons or a stale socket file routing requests to the wrong process; custom/patched daemon builds with divergent response types.

Understand the failure class

Background: "invalid response format", "malformed payload", "missing data field": when an API returns 200 but the response shape is wrong — this error's family across 23 libraries.

Related errors

• unexpected daemon response: {other:?}
• running daemon returned unknown unload status {other:?}
• running daemon returned unload success without a status
• unexpected daemon response: {other:?}
• daemon returned an unexpected status response: {other:?}

AI-assisted analysis of astrid-runtime/astrid@affd8760f4 (2026-09-09). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7affcd60f40f0156. Report an issue: GitHub.