linera-io/linera-protocol · error · anyhow

Failed to start node service

Error message

Failed to start node service

What it means

`run_node_service_with_all_options` spawns `linera service --port <port>` (default 8080, plus any CLIENT_SERVICE_ENV args) and then polls `GET http://localhost:{port}/` up to 10 times with sleeps of 0..9 seconds (~45s budget). Any successful HTTP response counts as started, so the bail means the child never answered at all: it died, cannot bind the port, or started too slowly. Used by e2e tests like `test_wasm_end_to_end_counter_subscription`.

Source

Thrown at linera-service/src/cli_wrappers/wallet.rs:572

        }
        for (name, secs) in subscription_ttls {
            command.args(["--subscription-ttl-secs", &format!("{name}={secs}")]);
        }
        let child = command
            .args(["--port".to_string(), port.to_string()])
            .spawn_into()?;
        let client = reqwest_client();
        for i in 0..10 {
            linera_base::time::timer::sleep(Duration::from_secs(i)).await;
            let request = client.get(format!("http://localhost:{port}/")).send().await;
            if request.is_ok() {
                tracing::info!("Node service has started");
                return Ok(NodeService::new(port, child));
            } else {
                tracing::warn!("Waiting for node service to start");
            }
        }
        bail!("Failed to start node service");
    }

    /// Runs `linera service` with a controller application.
    pub async fn run_node_service_with_controller(
        &self,
        port: impl Into<Option<u16>>,
        process_inbox: ProcessInbox,
        controller_id: &ApplicationId,
        operators: &[(String, PathBuf)],
    ) -> Result<NodeService> {
        let port = port.into().unwrap_or(8080);
        let mut command = self.command().await?;
        command.arg("service");
        if let ProcessInbox::Skip = process_inbox {
            command.arg("--listener-skip-process-inbox");
        }
        if let Ok(var) = env::var(CLIENT_SERVICE_ENV) {
            command.args(var.split_whitespace());

View on GitHub (pinned to 6c226ddcb3)

Solutions

1. Check whether the port is free (`lsof -i :8080`); free it or pass a different port to the wrapper
2. Run `linera service --port <port>` manually with the same wallet/config to see the child's startup error
3. Watch for the 'Waiting for node service to start' warns and inspect the child process output/stderr
4. After cleanup, retry the wrapper call; on slow runners choose an explicit free port instead of the 8080 default

Example fix

// before
let service = client.run_node_service_with_all_options(None, ...).await?; // port defaults to 8080

// after
let service = client.run_node_service_with_all_options(Some(18080), ...).await?; // explicit free port

// Pick a free port up front instead of relying on the 8080 default.
let port = linera_base::port::get_free_endpoint().await?
    .port()
    .expect("endpoint has a port");
let service = client.run_node_service_with_all_options(Some(port), ...).await?;

match client.run_node_service_with_all_options(Some(port), ...).await {
    Err(e) if e.to_string() == "Failed to start node service" => {
        // poll already ran ~45s; failure is structural (dead child / port conflict)
        free_port_or_pick_another(port).await?;
        client.run_node_service_with_all_options(Some(new_port), ...).await?
    }
    result => result,
}

When it happens

Trigger: The `linera service` child fails to bind its port (already in use), crashes on startup (bad wallet/config, storage error, invalid extra args from CLIENT_SERVICE_ENV), or takes longer than the ~45s polling budget on a loaded machine.

Common situations: Default port 8080 occupied by another dev service or proxy; a previous NodeService leaked and still holds the port; an invalid wallet/keystore making the child exit immediately; CI runners under heavy load exceeding the fixed retry budget.

Related errors

• Failed to start faucet
• Failed to start {nickname}
• Query "{}" failed after {} retries.
• Expected a tip hash string, but got {invalid_data:?} instead
• failed to create SQLite database file: {database_url}, error

AI-assisted analysis of linera-io/linera-protocol@6c226ddcb3 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/23fba053feb019f7. Report an issue: GitHub.