Design daemon failed to start within ${MAX_START_WAIT_MS}ms.

Error message

Design daemon failed to start within ${MAX_START_WAIT_MS}ms.
Startup log (${logPath}):
${tail || "(empty)"}

What it means

Error "Design daemon failed to start within ${MAX_START_WAIT_MS}ms. Startup log (${logPath}): ${tail || "(empty)"}" thrown in garrytan/gstack.

Source

Thrown at design/src/daemon-client.ts:309

  const deadline = Date.now() + MAX_START_WAIT_MS;
  while (Date.now() < deadline) {
    const fresh = readStateFile(opts.stateFile);
    if (fresh) {
      const h = await healthCheck(fresh.port);
      if (h) return fresh.port;
    }
    await delay(POLL_INTERVAL_MS);
  }

  // Timed out — surface the startup log so the user sees the actual error
  // instead of "daemon failed silently."
  let tail = "";
  try {
    tail = fs.readFileSync(logPath, "utf-8").trim();
  } catch {
    // log file may not exist
  }
  throw new Error(
    `Design daemon failed to start within ${MAX_START_WAIT_MS}ms.\n` +
      `Startup log (${logPath}):\n${tail || "(empty)"}`,
  );
}

async function gracefulShutdownExistingDaemon(port: number): Promise<void> {
  try {
    await fetch(`http://127.0.0.1:${port}/shutdown`, {
      method: "POST",
      signal: AbortSignal.timeout(2000),
    });
  } catch {
    // Daemon may have already exited or be unresponsive — fall through
    // to the SIGTERM path with identity verification.
  }
}

/**

View on GitHub (pinned to 94993f7401)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at design/src/daemon-client.ts:309 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of garrytan/gstack@94993f7401 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7d5fb34227924bf9. Report an issue: GitHub.