What causes " Status: Failed - ${err.message}" in coleam00/Archon?

Close processes holding the worktree open (check the logged path in 'worktree_destroy_failed'), then re-run cleanup

Status: Failed - ${err.message}

Error message

  Status: Failed - ${err.message}

What it means

isolationCleanupCommand prints this per-environment failure line when destroying a git worktree/execution environment fails during `archon isolation cleanup`. The underlying error is logged as 'worktree_destroy_failed' with the env id and path; the message surfaces err.message to the operator and the summary counts it as failed.

Source

Thrown at packages/cli/src/commands/isolation.ts:154

      console.log(`  Status: Skipped — run ${liveRun.id.slice(0, 8)} is ${liveRun.status}`);
      skipped++;
      continue;
    }

    try {
      await provider.destroy(env.working_path, {
        branchName: env.branch_name ? toBranchName(env.branch_name) : undefined,
        canonicalRepoPath: toRepoPath(env.codebase_default_cwd),
      });

      await isolationDb.updateStatus(env.id, 'destroyed');
      console.log('  Status: Cleaned');
      cleaned++;
    } catch (error) {
      const err = error as Error;
      getLog().warn({ err, envId: env.id, path: env.working_path }, 'worktree_destroy_failed');
      console.error(`  Status: Failed - ${err.message}`);
      failed++;
    }
  }

  console.log(
    `\nCleanup complete: ${String(cleaned)} cleaned, ${String(skipped)} skipped, ${String(failed)} failed`
  );

  // Reap orphaned container environments (terminal / run-less, older than the
  // threshold). Paused runs' containers are deliberately skipped (awaited state).
  const containerReport = await cleanupContainerEnvironments(daysStale);
  const containerTotal =
    containerReport.removed.length + containerReport.skipped.length + containerReport.errors.length;
  if (containerTotal > 0) {
    console.log('\nContainer environments:');
    for (const id of containerReport.removed) {
      console.log(`  Removed: ${id.slice(0, 8)}`);
    }
    for (const s of containerReport.skipped) {

View on GitHub (pinned to 0773b97458)

Solutions

Close processes holding the worktree open (check the logged path in 'worktree_destroy_failed'), then re-run cleanup
If the directory is already gone, prune stale git metadata (git worktree prune) so Archon's records match disk
Remove the directory manually with adequate permissions, then re-run cleanup to clear the record
Re-run `archon isolation cleanup` — skipped/locked entries may succeed once the run has finished

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

// before cleanup, verify the worktree path exists and is unused
if (!existsSync(env.working_path)) {
  getLog().warn({ envId: env.id }, 'worktree_path_missing_before_destroy');
}
const { stdout } = Bun.spawnSync(['git', '-C', env.working_path, 'status', '--porcelain']);
const busy = stdout.toString().length === 0 && isProcessUsingPath(env.working_path);

Type guard

function isFsError(err: unknown): err is NodeJS.ErrnoException {
  return err instanceof Error && 'code' in err;
}

Try / catch

try {
  await destroyWorktree(env);
} catch (err) {
  getLog().warn({ err, envId: env.id, path: env.working_path }, 'worktree_destroy_failed');
  failed++;
}

Prevention

Close editors/dev servers/agent processes using the worktree before cleanup
Do not delete worktree directories manually; let Archon manage them
Run cleanup after runs have finished, not concurrently
Re-run cleanup and reconcile against `git worktree list`

When it happens

Trigger: Running `archon isolation cleanup` when worktree destruction throws — the working_path no longer exists, permissions deny removal, files are held open/locked by a running process, or the git repo/worktree metadata is corrupt or already pruned.

Common situations: A workflow run still holds the worktree open (editor, dev server, agent process); the checkout was deleted manually out from under Archon; running cleanup without filesystem permissions; stale worktrees on an unmounted volume.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of coleam00/Archon@0773b97458 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/516790315ab34c60. Report an issue: GitHub.