astrid-runtime/astrid · error

unexpected response from kernel: {other:?}

Error message

unexpected response from kernel: {other:?}

What it means

In `run_stats` (crates/astrid-cli/src/commands/audit.rs:85), the CLI sends AdminRequestKind::AuditStats and pattern-matches the reply expecting AdminResponseBody::AuditStats. A different variant aborts with bail!. The guard keeps the stats command from operating on a body that lacks the audit statistics fields.

Source

Thrown at crates/astrid-cli/src/commands/audit.rs:85

struct AuditStatsOutput {
    stats: AuditStats,
    health: AuditHealth,
}

/// Dispatch an audit operator command through the kernel admin RPC.
pub(crate) async fn run(args: &AuditArgs) -> Result<ExitCode> {
    match &args.command {
        AuditCommand::Stats(args) => run_stats(args).await,
        AuditCommand::Prune(args) => run_prune(args).await,
        AuditCommand::Health(args) => run_health(args).await,
    }
}

async fn run_stats(args: &AuditStatsArgs) -> Result<ExitCode> {
    let mut client = connect_as_active_agent().await?;
    let stats = match into_result(client.request(AdminRequestKind::AuditStats).await?)? {
        AdminResponseBody::AuditStats(stats) => stats,
        other => bail!("unexpected response from kernel: {other:?}"),
    };
    let health = match into_result(client.request(AdminRequestKind::AuditHealth).await?)? {
        AdminResponseBody::AuditHealth(health) => health,
        other => bail!("unexpected response from kernel: {other:?}"),
    };
    let degraded = stats.degraded || health.degraded;
    let format = ValueFormat::parse(&args.format);
    if format.is_pretty() {
        print_stats_pretty(&stats, &health);
    } else {
        emit_structured(&AuditStatsOutput { stats, health }, format)?;
    }
    Ok(if degraded {
        ExitCode::from(2)
    } else {
        ExitCode::SUCCESS
    })
}

View on GitHub (pinned to affd8760f4)

Solutions

  1. Match CLI and kernel versions so AuditStats response shape agrees on both sides
  2. Read the {other:?} variant in the error message to identify the actual body
  3. Verify the audit subsystem is enabled in the kernel configuration
  4. Confirm the admin client connects to the kernel implementing AdminRequestKind::AuditStats

Example fix

// before
let stats = match into_result(client.request(AdminRequestKind::AuditStats).await?)? {
    AdminResponseBody::AuditStats(stats) => stats,
    other => bail!("unexpected response from kernel: {other:?}"),
};
// after
let stats = match into_result(client.request(AdminRequestKind::AuditStats).await?)? {
    AdminResponseBody::AuditStats(stats) => stats,
    other => bail!(
        "unexpected response from kernel (expected AuditStats, got {other:?}); \
         check CLI/kernel version match"
    ),
};
Defensive patterns

Strategy: type-guard

Validate before calling

// Confirm audit support exists before querying: kernel version/capability check.
// e.g. ensure kernel >= version_with_audit_support before sending AdminRequestKind::AuditStats

Type guard

fn as_audit_stats(body: AdminResponseBody) -> Option<AuditStats> {
    match body {
        AdminResponseBody::AuditStats(s) => Some(s),
    _ => None,
    }
}

Try / catch

match run_stats(&args).await {
    Ok(code) => code,
    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("unexpected response from kernel") => {
        eprintln!("audit stats unavailable: {e:#}");
        ExitCode::from(2)
    }
    Err(e) => return Err(e),
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: The AuditStats admin request returns a non-AuditStats AdminResponseBody variant — kernel/CLI protocol skew, kernel answering with an error or status body, or a mis-routed admin reply.

Common situations: Audit subsystem disabled or reshaped in a newer kernel while the CLI expects AuditStats; admin socket connected to a service that does not implement AuditStats; version-mismatched deployment.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of astrid-runtime/astrid@affd8760f4 (2026-09-09). Data as JSON: /api/errors/be96c7aa447107b0. Report an issue: GitHub.