paperclipai/paperclip · error

`pi --list-models` timed out.

Error message

`pi --list-models` timed out.

What it means

Error "`pi --list-models` timed out." thrown in paperclipai/paperclip.

Solutions

1. Retry `pi --list-models`.
2. Check that `pi` responds promptly; investigate hangs in the pi CLI.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at packages/adapters/pi-local/src/server/models.ts:127 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

Understand the failure class

• Timeouts: ETIMEDOUT, deadlines, and hung requests — what actually expires when a request times out.

AI-assisted analysis of paperclipai/paperclip@120ae5428f (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/bcc84fe2b0fff729. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at packages/adapters/pi-local/src/server/models.ts:127

  const cwd = asString(input.cwd, process.cwd());
  const env = normalizeEnv(input.env);
  const runtimeEnv = normalizeEnv({ ...process.env, ...env });

  const result = await runChildProcess(
    `pi-models-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(16).slice(2)}`,
    command,
    ["--list-models"],
    {
      cwd,
      env: runtimeEnv,
      timeoutSec: 20,
      graceSec: 3,
      onLog: async () => {},
    },
  );

  if (result.timedOut) {
    throw new Error("`pi --list-models` timed out.");
  }
  if ((result.exitCode ?? 1) !== 0) {
    const detail = firstNonEmptyLine(result.stderr) || firstNonEmptyLine(result.stdout);
    throw new Error(detail ? `\`pi --list-models\` failed: ${detail}` : "`pi --list-models` failed.");
  }

  // Pi outputs model list to stderr, but fall back to stdout for older versions
  const output = result.stderr || result.stdout;
  return sortModels(dedupeModels(parseModelsOutput(output)));
}

function normalizeEnv(input: unknown): Record<string, string> {
  const envInput = typeof input === "object" && input !== null && !Array.isArray(input)
    ? (input as Record<string, unknown>)
    : {};
  const env: Record<string, string> = {};
  for (const [key, value] of Object.entries(envInput)) {
    if (typeof value === "string") env[key] = value;

View on GitHub (pinned to 120ae5428f)