tinyhumansai/openhuman · error · Error

spawned core exited with ${child.exitCode} ${stderrFn()}

Error message

spawned core exited with ${child.exitCode}
${stderrFn()}

What it means

waitForCore() polls core.ping every 750 ms for up to 180 s while a freshly spawned `cargo run --bin openhuman-core -- run --jsonrpc-only` child boots. If the child process exits before ever answering a ping, this error reports the exit code plus the last 8 KB of captured stderr. It means the core failed during startup, not that it was slow.

Source

Thrown at scripts/debug/goals-live.mjs:393

      stdio: opts.verbose ? ["ignore", "inherit", "inherit"] : ["ignore", "ignore", "pipe"],
    },
  );
  let stderr = "";
  if (child.stderr) {
    child.stderr.on("data", (c) => {
      stderr += c.toString();
      if (stderr.length > 8000) stderr = stderr.slice(-8000);
    });
  }
  await waitForCore(opts.coreUrl, token, child, () => stderr);
  return { child, token };
}

async function waitForCore(coreUrl, token, child, stderrFn) {
  const deadline = Date.now() + 180_000;
  while (Date.now() < deadline) {
    if (child.exitCode !== null)
      throw new Error(`spawned core exited with ${child.exitCode}\n${stderrFn()}`);
    try {
      await rpc(coreUrl, token, "core.ping", {}, 10_000);
      return;
    } catch {
      await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 750));
    }
  }
  throw new Error(`timed out waiting for core at ${coreUrl}\n${stderrFn()}`);
}

async function stopChild(child) {
  if (child.exitCode !== null || child.signalCode !== null) return;
  child.kill("SIGTERM");
  const exited = await Promise.race([
    once(child, "exit").then(() => true),
    new Promise((r) => setTimeout(() => r(false), 5000)),
  ]);
  if (exited) return;

View on GitHub (pinned to a221052e0d)

Solutions

1. Read the stderr tail in the message — it is the actual compiler/runtime failure
2. If stderr shows 'address already in use', drop --core-url / unset OPENHUMAN_CORE_RPC_URL so the script picks a free port, or stop the existing core
3. Prebuild to surface compile errors separately: `cargo build --bin openhuman-core`, fix, then rerun
4. Rerun with --verbose to stream the child's stdout/stderr live instead of the tail

Example fix

# before: explicit URL collides with a running core
OPENHUMAN_CORE_RPC_URL=http://127.0.0.1:7788/rpc node scripts/debug/goals-live.mjs --spawn-core
# Error: spawned core exited with 1 ... address already in use

# after: let the script pick a free port
node scripts/debug/goals-live.mjs --spawn-core

// before spawning: ensure the port from the URL is free, or drop the explicit URL
import { createConnection } from "node:net";
const port = Number(new URL(coreUrl).port || 7788);
const busy = await new Promise((r) => {
  const s = createConnection({ port, host: "127.0.0.1" });
  s.on("connect", () => { s.destroy(); r(true); });
  s.on("error", () => r(false));
});
if (busy && opts.coreUrlExplicit) {
  console.error(`port ${port} occupied — unset OPENHUMAN_CORE_RPC_URL or stop the running core`);
  process.exit(2);
}

try {
  await waitForCore(coreUrl, token, child, stderrFn);
} catch (err) {
  if (/spawned core exited/.test(err.message)) {
    // run `cargo build --bin openhuman-core` once to surface the compile error directly
    throw new Error(`core failed to start; build it separately to see the error\n${err.message}`);
  }
  throw err;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Rust compile error or panic at core startup (exit 101 with compiler/panic output in stderr); port already in use when --core-url was passed explicitly (or OPENHUMAN_CORE_RPC_URL set), because startCore only auto-picks a free port when the URL was NOT explicit; env vars like OPENHUMAN_WORKSPACE pointing somewhere unwritable; cargo not finding the manifest (wrong cwd, though the script resolves repo root).

Common situations: Developer has a core already listening on 7788 and exports OPENHUMAN_CORE_RPC_URL=http://127.0.0.1:7788/rpc, so the spawned child cannot bind and exits; a mid-rebase tree that does not compile; stale target/ artifacts confusing the build; workspace permissions in a read-only mount.

Related errors

• spawned core exited with ${child.exitCode}\n${stderrFn()}
• timed out waiting for core at ${coreUrl} ${stderrFn()}
• timed out waiting for spawned core at ${coreUrl}\n${stderrFn
• Invalid ${paramName}: '${value}'. Must be a valid integer ID
• spawned core exited with ${child.exitCode} ${stderrFn()}

AI-assisted analysis of tinyhumansai/openhuman@a221052e0d (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1b00dfb8b817795b. Report an issue: GitHub.