xai-org/grok-build · error · ManagedConfigError

{} exited with {status}

Error message

{} exited with {status}

What it means

The validator child process finished but with a failure: it reported an error through its output/exit path, so validation returns '{path} exited with {status}'. The library surfaces the validator's own failure status plus any teardown error, meaning the file being validated did not pass the external tool's checks or the tool itself crashed.

Source

Thrown at crates/codegen/xai-grok-config/src/managed_text/validator.rs:102

                    path,
                    format!("{} exited with {status}", validator.program.display()),
                    None,
                ));
            }
            Ok(None) if started.elapsed() < validator.timeout => {
                std::thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(10));
            }
            Ok(None) => {
                let teardown = ops.teardown(&mut child, group.as_ref()).err();
                return Err(validation_error(
                    path,
                    format!("timed out after {:?}", validator.timeout),
                    teardown,
                ));
            }
            Err(source) => {
                let teardown = ops.teardown(&mut child, group.as_ref()).err();
                return Err(validation_error(path, source.to_string(), teardown));
            }
        }
    }
}

fn validation_error(path: &Path, primary: String, teardown: Option<String>) -> ManagedConfigError {
    let reason = match teardown {
        Some(teardown) => format!("{primary}; process teardown also failed: {teardown}"),
        None => primary,
    };
    ManagedConfigError::Validation {
        path: path.to_path_buf(),
        reason,
    }
}

fn teardown_child(
    child: &mut Child,

View on GitHub (pinned to bc7f02eddd)

Solutions

  1. Read the captured validator output/teardown detail to see the exact exit status and diagnostics.
  2. Run the validator command manually against the file to reproduce and fix the underlying syntax/quality error it reports.
  3. Verify the validator binary is installed and on PATH in the environment where validation runs.
  4. Update the configured validator command/flags to match the installed tool's version.

Example fix

// before: file has a syntax error, validator exits 1
// myconf.toml
key = value
// after: fix the file
key = "value"
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

# validate the file content and tool availability before invoking managed validation
command -v $VALIDATOR_BIN || { echo "validator not installed"; exit 1; }
$VALIDATOR_BIN --check /path/to/file.conf

Try / catch

match validate_temp(path) {
  Err(ManagedConfigError::Validation(msg)) if msg.contains("exited with") => {
    eprintln!("validator rejected the file: {msg}");
    eprintln!("run the validator manually for full diagnostics");
  }
  Err(e) => return Err(e),
  Ok(v) => apply(v),
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: The spawned validator command exits non-zero or signals (e.g. `ExitStatus` failure) while validating the config file — syntax errors in the target file, missing validator dependencies, bad CLI arguments in the configured command, or the binary crashing.

Common situations: Malformed config file content that the linter rejects; validator binary not installed or not on PATH in a different environment (CI vs dev); validator invoked with flags that changed between versions; resource limits (OOM) killing the process.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of xai-org/grok-build@bc7f02eddd (2026-08-31). Data as JSON: /api/errors/dba89c154bac403f. Report an issue: GitHub.