stablyai/orca · error · Error

Electron trial failed (${result.error?.message ?? result.sig

Error message

Electron trial failed (${result.error?.message ?? result.signal ?? result.status}):\n${result.stderr || result.stdout}

What it means

Thrown by runTrial when the spawned Electron process exits with a non-zero status. The message includes the error message, signal, or status code and dumps stderr/stdout for diagnosis. This indicates Electron crashed, failed to launch, or the in-Electron runInternal path threw (e.g. the watchdog build verification or a measurement step).

Source

Thrown at config/scripts/hang-watchdog-memory-benchmark.mjs:344

      path.join(launcherDir, 'main.cjs'),
      `import(${JSON.stringify(pathToFileURL(scriptPath).href)}).catch((error) => {
  console.error(error)
  process.exitCode = 1
})\n`
    )
    let result
    try {
      result = spawnSync(executable, ['--js-flags=--expose-gc', launcherDir], {
        cwd: repoRoot,
        env,
        encoding: 'utf8',
        timeout: 90_000
      })
    } finally {
      rmSync(launcherDir, { recursive: true, force: true })
    }
    if (result.status !== 0) {
      throw new Error(
        `Electron trial failed (${result.error?.message ?? result.signal ?? result.status}):\n` +
          `${result.stderr || result.stdout}`
      )
    }
    const line = result.stdout.split('\n').find((candidate) => candidate.startsWith(RESULT_PREFIX))
    if (line) {
      return { ...JSON.parse(line.slice(RESULT_PREFIX.length)), launchAttempts: attempt }
    }
    if (attempt === MAX_LAUNCH_ATTEMPTS || result.stderr || result.stdout) {
      throw new Error(`Electron trial did not report a result (status ${result.status})`)
    }
  }
  throw new Error('Electron trial exhausted launcher attempts')
}

function runBenchmark() {
  if (process.platform !== 'darwin') {
    throw new Error('The production watchdog is macOS-only; run this benchmark on macOS')

View on GitHub (pinned to 1136503c6a)

Solutions

1. Read the embedded stderr/stdout in the error message — it contains the underlying Electron-side exception.
2. Rebuild the entry: `pnpm exec electron-vite build`, then re-run.
3. Confirm the Electron binary resolves (electronPath() succeeds) and macOS tooling (`/usr/bin/footprint`, `ps`) is accessible.
4. If the error names a watchdog verification failure, investigate the watchdog implementation, not the harness.

// Pre-flight: confirm Electron resolves and the entry is built
import { existsSync } from 'node:fs'
if (!existsSync(entryPath)) throw new Error(`build missing: ${entryPath}`)
const executable = electronPath()  // throws early if Electron is unresolvable

try {
  await runTrial(executable, boundary)
} catch (error) {
  const msg = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)
  // Surface the embedded Electron stderr for diagnosis, then decide retry vs fail
  if (msg.includes('did not report a result') || msg.includes('trial failed')) {
    console.error('Electron trial failed; inspect stderr above. Rebuild with: pnpm exec electron-vite build')
  }
  throw error
}

When it happens

Trigger: Electron fails to start (missing binary, display/GPU issues), the built watchdog entry throws at runtime, the macOS footprint tool is unavailable, or an assertion inside runInternal/measureChild/measureWorker fails. The launcher main.cjs imports the script and sets process.exitCode=1 on any import error.

Common situations: Broken Electron install, missing or stale built entry (out/main/main-thread-hang-watchdog-entry.js), macOS permission issues blocking /usr/bin/footprint, or a real regression in the watchdog code under test.

Related errors

• Electron trial did not report a result (status ${result.stat
• Electron trial exhausted launcher attempts
• Electron did not expose GC; keep --js-flags=--expose-gc in t
• The production watchdog is macOS-only; run this benchmark on
• Unsupported boundary: ${boundary}

AI-assisted analysis of stablyai/orca@1136503c6a (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/25d0e3b66572a3b7. Report an issue: GitHub.