different-ai/openwork · error · Error

The desktop runtime is unavailable

Error message

The desktop runtime is unavailable

What it means

executeDesktopAutomation needs a local runtime descriptor with both baseUrl and an auth token to talk to the local OpenWork server. getLocalRuntime() returned null/undefined or an object missing either field, so no HTTP client can be built and execution is aborted immediately with this error.

Source

Thrown at apps/desktop/electron/automation-runner.mjs:152

  const workspaces = Array.isArray(listed?.items) ? listed.items : []
  if (pinnedWorkspaceId) {
    const pinned = workspaces.find((item) => item?.id === pinnedWorkspaceId)
    if (!pinned?.id) {
      const error = new Error(`The Automation's pinned workspace is not available on this desktop`)
      Object.defineProperty(error, "code", { value: "execution_runtime_unavailable" })
      throw error
    }
    return pinned
  }
  const workspace = workspaces.find((item) => item?.id === listed?.activeId) ?? workspaces[0]
  if (!workspace?.id) throw new Error("No local workspace is available")
  return workspace
}

/** Runs the assignment as a normal visible local OpenWork thread. */
export async function executeDesktopAutomation(assignment, options) {
  const local = await options.getLocalRuntime()
  if (!local?.baseUrl || !local?.token) throw new Error("The desktop runtime is unavailable")
  const localRequest = (requestPath, request = {}) => requestJson(
    options.fetchImpl ?? fetch,
    local.baseUrl,
    local.token,
    requestPath,
    { ...request, signal: options.signal },
  )
  const listed = await localRequest("/workspaces")
  const workspace = resolveAssignmentWorkspace(listed, assignment.workspaceId ?? null)
  const workspaceId = String(workspace.id)
  const client = createWorkspaceSessionClient(local, workspaceId, options.fetchImpl ?? fetch)
  const created = await client.createThread({
    title: `Automation: ${assignment.automationName}`.slice(0, 120),
    ...(assignment.instructions ? { prompt: assignment.instructions } : {}),
    model: assignment.model,
    signal: options.signal,
  })
  const sessionId = created.id

View on GitHub (pinned to 2b7df46e8a)

Solutions

1. Ensure the local OpenWork server is running and the desktop app is connected before automations execute
2. Reconnect/sign in to regenerate the runtime token
3. Make getLocalRuntime() await server readiness (retry until baseUrl+token present)
4. Skip/park scheduled assignments when runtime is unavailable instead of executing

Example fix

// before
const local = await options.getLocalRuntime();
if (!local?.baseUrl || !local?.token) throw new Error("The desktop runtime is unavailable");
// after: ensure connection before executing
let local = await options.getLocalRuntime();
if (!local?.baseUrl || !local?.token) local = await reconnectLocalRuntime();
if (!local?.baseUrl || !local?.token) throw new Error("The desktop runtime is unavailable");

const local = await options.getLocalRuntime();
const ready = typeof local?.baseUrl === "string" && local.baseUrl.length > 0 && typeof local?.token === "string" && local.token.length > 0;
if (!ready) throw new Error("Desktop runtime not connected; start the server and sign in first");

function isLocalRuntimeReady(local) {
  return (
    local !== null && typeof local === "object" &&
    typeof local.baseUrl === "string" && local.baseUrl.length > 0 &&
    typeof local.token === "string" && local.token.length > 0
  );
}

try {
  await executeDesktopAutomation(assignment, options);
} catch (err) {
  if (err.message === "The desktop runtime is unavailable") {
    await reconnectDesktopRuntime();
  } else throw err;
}

When it happens

Trigger: options.getLocalRuntime() resolves to null, or returns `{}`/`{ baseUrl }`/`{ token }` — i.e. the Electron main process has no connection info for the local server when an automation assignment starts.

Common situations: Server not started before automations run; server connection dropped but runtime cache not refreshed; token cleared after sign-out while scheduled automations still fire.

Related errors

• automation_owner_inactive
• automation_saved_script_forbidden
• automation_saved_script_version_not_found
• automation_saved_script_version_invalid
• automation_saved_script_input_invalid

AI-assisted analysis of different-ai/openwork@2b7df46e8a (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/766a0646a5ea3655. Report an issue: GitHub.