Improve node-pty spawn diagnostics (#1587)

* Improve node-pty spawn diagnostics

* Preserve original error stack when adding node-pty recovery hint

Mutate the existing Error's message instead of replacing the object so
the original stack trace and custom fields survive into telemetry/logs.

Co-authored-by: Orca <help@stably.ai>

---------

Co-authored-by: Orca <help@stably.ai>

config/patches/node-pty@1.1.0.patch

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 diff --git a/binding.gyp b/binding.gyp
-index 5f63978b07ab50aaf7523219a2170ec737a6b5db..b3309a07ef99dea7967d7bdd04b9fc3500acacae 100644
+index 5f63978b..b3309a07 100644
 --- a/binding.gyp
 +++ b/binding.gyp
 @@ -5,9 +5,6 @@
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ index 5f63978b07ab50aaf7523219a2170ec737a6b5db..b3309a07ef99dea7967d7bdd04b9fc35
              'VCCLCompilerTool': {
                'AdditionalOptions': [
 diff --git a/deps/winpty/src/winpty.gyp b/deps/winpty/src/winpty.gyp
-index 1ac5758bedd8cf54f32280dea4e4aeb5afdee30d..e619813759c6f14694838bdfbd0ea5f8360130ef 100644
+index 1ac5758b..e6198137 100644
 --- a/deps/winpty/src/winpty.gyp
 +++ b/deps/winpty/src/winpty.gyp
 @@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ index 1ac5758bedd8cf54f32280dea4e4aeb5afdee30d..e619813759c6f14694838bdfbd0ea5f8
                  # Specify this setting here to override a setting from somewhere
                  # else, such as node's common.gypi.
 diff --git a/lib/unixTerminal.js b/lib/unixTerminal.js
-index 1ec12f796a822c78fba9ad7f6448c3987e325c23..cec8b67aef02f8199e5606a0d257088bf1865877 100644
+index 1ec12f79..cec8b67a 100644
 --- a/lib/unixTerminal.js
 +++ b/lib/unixTerminal.js
 @@ -28,8 +28,12 @@ var native = utils_1.loadNativeModule('pty');
@@ -74,10 +74,219 @@ index 1ec12f796a822c78fba9ad7f6448c3987e325c23..cec8b67aef02f8199e5606a0d257088b
  var DEFAULT_NAME = 'xterm';
  var DESTROY_SOCKET_TIMEOUT_MS = 200;
 diff --git a/src/unix/pty.cc b/src/unix/pty.cc
-index 7b4b9e1f990fbf95b51528bb56dc9717f5b87532..c17decbb7bc06f10d7b5d26317bd68fdc8c4e339 100644
+index 7b4b9e1f..0544b86d 100644
 --- a/src/unix/pty.cc
 +++ b/src/unix/pty.cc
-@@ -778,8 +778,8 @@ done:
+@@ -23,7 +23,9 @@
+ #include <errno.h>
+ #include <string.h>
+ #include <stdlib.h>
++#include <stdio.h>
+ #include <unistd.h>
++#include <string>
+ #include <thread>
+
+ #include <sys/types.h>
+@@ -237,13 +239,23 @@ pty_getproc(int, char *);
+ #endif
+
+ #if defined(__APPLE__) || defined(__OpenBSD__)
++struct pty_spawn_error {
++  const char* step;
++  int errnum;
++  std::string detail_name;
++  std::string detail_value;
++};
++
++static std::string
++pty_format_spawn_error(const pty_spawn_error&);
++
+ static void
+ pty_posix_spawn(char** argv, char** env,
+                 const struct termios *termp,
+                 const struct winsize *winp,
+                 int* master,
+                 pid_t* pid,
+-                int* err);
++                pty_spawn_error* err);
+ #endif
+
+ struct DelBuf {
+@@ -367,10 +379,11 @@ Napi::Value PtyFork(const Napi::CallbackInfo& info) {
+     argv[i + 3] = strdup(arg.c_str());
+   }
+
+-  int err = -1;
+-  pty_posix_spawn(argv, env, term, &winp, &master, &pid, &err);
+-  if (err != 0) {
+-    throw Napi::Error::New(napiEnv, "posix_spawnp failed.");
++  pty_spawn_error spawn_error = { NULL, 0, "", "" };
++  pty_posix_spawn(argv, env, term, &winp, &master, &pid, &spawn_error);
++  if (spawn_error.errnum != 0) {
++    std::string spawn_message = pty_format_spawn_error(spawn_error);
++    throw Napi::Error::New(napiEnv, spawn_message);
+   }
+   if (pty_nonblock(master) == -1) {
+     throw Napi::Error::New(napiEnv, "Could not set master fd to nonblocking.");
+@@ -684,13 +697,65 @@ pty_getproc(int fd, char *tty) {
+ #endif
+
+ #if defined(__APPLE__)
++static const char*
++pty_errno_name(int errnum) {
++  switch (errnum) {
++    case E2BIG: return "E2BIG";
++    case EACCES: return "EACCES";
++    case EAGAIN: return "EAGAIN";
++    case EMFILE: return "EMFILE";
++    case ENFILE: return "ENFILE";
++    case ENOENT: return "ENOENT";
++    case ENOMEM: return "ENOMEM";
++    default: return "errno";
++  }
++}
++
++static void
++pty_set_spawn_error(pty_spawn_error* err,
++                    const char* step,
++                    int errnum,
++                    const char* detail_name = NULL,
++                    const char* detail_value = NULL) {
++  err->step = step;
++  err->errnum = errnum;
++  err->detail_name = detail_name ? detail_name : "";
++  err->detail_value = detail_value ? detail_value : "";
++}
++
++static std::string
++pty_format_spawn_error(const pty_spawn_error& err) {
++  char errno_buf[64];
++  snprintf(errno_buf, sizeof(errno_buf), "%d", err.errnum);
++
++  std::string message = "node-pty: ";
++  message += err.step ? err.step : "unknown";
++  message += " failed: ";
++  message += pty_errno_name(err.errnum);
++  message += " (errno ";
++  message += errno_buf;
++  message += ", ";
++  message += strerror(err.errnum);
++  message += ")";
++
++  if (!err.detail_name.empty()) {
++    message += " - ";
++    message += err.detail_name;
++    message += "='";
++    message += err.detail_value;
++    message += "'";
++  }
++
++  return message;
++}
++
+ static void
+ pty_posix_spawn(char** argv, char** env,
+                 const struct termios *termp,
+                 const struct winsize *winp,
+                 int* master,
+                 pid_t* pid,
+-                int* err) {
++                pty_spawn_error* err) {
+   int low_fds[3];
+   size_t count = 0;
+
+@@ -706,11 +771,19 @@ pty_posix_spawn(char** argv, char** env,
+               POSIX_SPAWN_SETSID;
+   *master = posix_openpt(O_RDWR);
+   if (*master == -1) {
++    pty_set_spawn_error(err, "posix_openpt", errno);
++    return;
++  }
++
++  int res = grantpt(*master);
++  if (res == -1) {
++    pty_set_spawn_error(err, "grantpt", errno);
+     return;
+   }
+
+-  int res = grantpt(*master) || unlockpt(*master);
++  res = unlockpt(*master);
+   if (res == -1) {
++    pty_set_spawn_error(err, "unlockpt", errno);
+     return;
+   }
+
+@@ -719,17 +792,20 @@ pty_posix_spawn(char** argv, char** env,
+   char slave_pty_name[128];
+   res = ioctl(*master, TIOCPTYGNAME, slave_pty_name);
+   if (res == -1) {
++    pty_set_spawn_error(err, "ioctl_TIOCPTYGNAME", errno);
+     return;
+   }
+
+   slave = open(slave_pty_name, O_RDWR | O_NOCTTY);
+   if (slave == -1) {
++    pty_set_spawn_error(err, "open_slave", errno, "slave", slave_pty_name);
+     return;
+   }
+
+   if (termp) {
+     res = tcsetattr(slave, TCSANOW, termp);
+     if (res == -1) {
++      pty_set_spawn_error(err, "tcsetattr", errno, "slave", slave_pty_name);
+       return;
+     };
+   }
+@@ -737,6 +813,7 @@ pty_posix_spawn(char** argv, char** env,
+   if (winp) {
+     res = ioctl(slave, TIOCSWINSZ, winp);
+     if (res == -1) {
++      pty_set_spawn_error(err, "ioctl_TIOCSWINSZ", errno, "slave", slave_pty_name);
+       return;
+     }
+   }
+@@ -751,35 +828,41 @@ pty_posix_spawn(char** argv, char** env,
+
+   posix_spawnattr_t attrs;
+   posix_spawnattr_init(&attrs);
+-  *err = posix_spawnattr_setflags(&attrs, flags);
+-  if (*err != 0) {
++  res = posix_spawnattr_setflags(&attrs, flags);
++  if (res != 0) {
++    pty_set_spawn_error(err, "posix_spawnattr_setflags", res);
+     goto done;
+   }
+
+   sigset_t signal_set;
+   /* Reset all signal the child to their default behavior */
+   sigfillset(&signal_set);
+-  *err = posix_spawnattr_setsigdefault(&attrs, &signal_set);
+-  if (*err != 0) {
++  res = posix_spawnattr_setsigdefault(&attrs, &signal_set);
++  if (res != 0) {
++    pty_set_spawn_error(err, "posix_spawnattr_setsigdefault", res);
+     goto done;
+   }
+
+   /* Reset the signal mask for all signals */
+   sigemptyset(&signal_set);
+-  *err = posix_spawnattr_setsigmask(&attrs, &signal_set);
+-  if (*err != 0) {
++  res = posix_spawnattr_setsigmask(&attrs, &signal_set);
++  if (res != 0) {
++    pty_set_spawn_error(err, "posix_spawnattr_setsigmask", res);
+     goto done;
+   }
+
+   do
+-    *err = posix_spawn(pid, argv[0], &acts, &attrs, argv, env);
+-  while (*err == EINTR);
++    res = posix_spawn(pid, argv[0], &acts, &attrs, argv, env);
++  while (res == EINTR);
++  if (res != 0) {
++    pty_set_spawn_error(err, "posix_spawn", res, "helper", argv[0]);
++  }
+ done:
    posix_spawn_file_actions_destroy(&acts);
    posix_spawnattr_destroy(&attrs);
 

pnpm-lock.yaml

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ patchedDependencies:
     hash: df21db050a4d85552cafbe583ece863d7fa19ed634a1219210a0455b986b6634
     path: config/patches/@xterm__addon-ligatures@0.11.0-beta.198.patch
   node-pty@1.1.0:
-    hash: d39825bae630ddf0fc73e83e6001057c70957161772ba078988767d8569cee63
+    hash: de322b71e83f8e3f26a341144dbd1159a10d79d8a492e06d4bc9d10d7aa84bf4
     path: config/patches/node-pty@1.1.0.patch
 
 importers:
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ importers:
         version: 0.55.1
       node-pty:
         specifier: ^1.1.0
-        version: 1.1.0(patch_hash=d39825bae630ddf0fc73e83e6001057c70957161772ba078988767d8569cee63)
+        version: 1.1.0(patch_hash=de322b71e83f8e3f26a341144dbd1159a10d79d8a492e06d4bc9d10d7aa84bf4)
       pdfjs-dist:
         specifier: ^5.7.284
         version: 5.7.284
@@ -11368,7 +11368,7 @@ snapshots:
       undici: 6.25.0
       which: 6.0.1
 
-  node-pty@1.1.0(patch_hash=d39825bae630ddf0fc73e83e6001057c70957161772ba078988767d8569cee63):
+  node-pty@1.1.0(patch_hash=de322b71e83f8e3f26a341144dbd1159a10d79d8a492e06d4bc9d10d7aa84bf4):
     dependencies:
       node-addon-api: 7.1.1
 

src/main/daemon/client.test.ts

@@ -156,6 +156,27 @@ describe('DaemonClient', () => {
         'Something went wrong'
       )
     })
+
+    it('adds recovery hints to node-pty daemon diagnostics', async () => {
+      await startMockDaemon({
+        onControlMessage: (msg) => {
+          const req = msg as { id: string; type: string }
+          return encodeNdjson({
+            id: req.id,
+            ok: false,
+            error:
+              "node-pty: posix_spawn failed: ENOENT (errno 2, No such file or directory) - helper='/tmp/deleted/spawn-helper'"
+          })
+        }
+      })
+
+      client = new DaemonClient({ socketPath, tokenPath })
+      await client.ensureConnected()
+
+      await expect(client.request('listSessions', undefined)).rejects.toThrow(
+        "Daemon's node-pty install is gone (worktree deleted?). Restart Orca. node-pty: posix_spawn failed: ENOENT"
+      )
+    })
   })
 
   describe('events', () => {

src/main/daemon/client.ts

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import { randomUUID } from 'crypto'
 import { encodeNdjson, createNdjsonParser } from './ndjson'
 import { PROTOCOL_VERSION, NOTIFY_PREFIX, DaemonProtocolError } from './types'
 import type { HelloMessage, HelloResponse, RpcResponse, DaemonEvent } from './types'
+import { addNodePtyRecoveryHint } from './node-pty-error-hints'
 
 const CONNECT_TIMEOUT_MS = 5000
 const REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS = 30000
@@ -220,7 +221,9 @@ export class DaemonClient {
           if (response.ok) {
             resolve()
           } else {
-            reject(new DaemonProtocolError(response.error ?? 'Hello rejected'))
+            reject(
+              new DaemonProtocolError(addNodePtyRecoveryHint(response.error ?? 'Hello rejected'))
+            )
           }
         } catch {
           reject(new DaemonProtocolError('Invalid hello response'))
@@ -248,7 +251,7 @@ export class DaemonClient {
             if (response.ok) {
               pending.resolve(response.payload)
             } else {
-              pending.reject(new DaemonProtocolError(response.error))
+              pending.reject(new DaemonProtocolError(addNodePtyRecoveryHint(response.error)))
             }
           }
         }

src/main/daemon/node-pty-error-hints.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { addNodePtyRecoveryHint, parseNodePtyDiagnostic } from './node-pty-error-hints'
+
+describe('node-pty diagnostic error hints', () => {
+  it('parses the native step and errno without dropping the original message', () => {
+    const message =
+      "node-pty: posix_spawn failed: ENOENT (errno 2, No such file or directory) - helper='/tmp/deleted/node-pty/spawn-helper'"
+
+    expect(parseNodePtyDiagnostic(message)).toEqual({ step: 'posix_spawn', errno: 2 })
+    expect(addNodePtyRecoveryHint(message)).toBe(
+      `Daemon's node-pty install is gone (worktree deleted?). Restart Orca. ${message}`
+    )
+  })
+
+  it('hints when the daemon exhausts file descriptors opening the slave pty', () => {
+    const message =
+      "node-pty: open_slave failed: EMFILE (errno 24, Too many open files) - slave='/dev/ttys003'"
+
+    expect(addNodePtyRecoveryHint(message)).toBe(
+      `Daemon hit the file-descriptor limit. Restart the daemon. ${message}`
+    )
+  })
+
+  it('hints when posix_spawn reports the per-user process limit', () => {
+    const message =
+      "node-pty: posix_spawn failed: EAGAIN (errno 35, Resource temporarily unavailable) - helper='/tmp/node-pty/spawn-helper'"
+
+    expect(addNodePtyRecoveryHint(message)).toBe(
+      `Per-user process limit reached. Quit some agents and retry. ${message}`
+    )
+  })
+
+  it('leaves unrelated and unhinted node-pty diagnostics unchanged', () => {
+    expect(addNodePtyRecoveryHint('plain failure')).toBe('plain failure')
+    expect(
+      addNodePtyRecoveryHint(
+        "node-pty: tcsetattr failed: EIO (errno 5, Input/output error) - slave='/dev/ttys003'"
+      )
+    ).toBe("node-pty: tcsetattr failed: EIO (errno 5, Input/output error) - slave='/dev/ttys003'")
+  })
+})

src/main/daemon/node-pty-error-hints.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+export type NodePtyDiagnostic = {
+  step: string
+  errno: number
+}
+
+const NODE_PTY_DIAGNOSTIC_RE = /^node-pty: ([A-Za-z0-9_]+) failed: .*?\(errno (\d+)(?:, [^)]*)?\)/
+
+export function parseNodePtyDiagnostic(message: string): NodePtyDiagnostic | null {
+  const match = NODE_PTY_DIAGNOSTIC_RE.exec(message)
+  if (!match) {
+    return null
+  }
+
+  return {
+    step: match[1],
+    errno: Number(match[2])
+  }
+}
+
+export function getNodePtyRecoveryHint(diagnostic: NodePtyDiagnostic): string | null {
+  if (diagnostic.step === 'posix_spawn' && diagnostic.errno === 2) {
+    return "Daemon's node-pty install is gone (worktree deleted?). Restart Orca."
+  }
+  if (diagnostic.step === 'open_slave' && diagnostic.errno === 24) {
+    return 'Daemon hit the file-descriptor limit. Restart the daemon.'
+  }
+  if (diagnostic.step === 'posix_spawn' && diagnostic.errno === 35) {
+    return 'Per-user process limit reached. Quit some agents and retry.'
+  }
+  return null
+}
+
+export function addNodePtyRecoveryHint(message: string): string {
+  const diagnostic = parseNodePtyDiagnostic(message)
+  if (!diagnostic) {
+    return message
+  }
+
+  const hint = getNodePtyRecoveryHint(diagnostic)
+  return hint ? `${hint} ${message}` : message
+}

src/main/daemon/pty-subprocess.ts

@@ -1,13 +1,18 @@
 import * as pty from 'node-pty'
+import { statSync } from 'fs'
 import { win32 as pathWin32 } from 'path'
 import type { SubprocessHandle } from './session'
+import { DaemonProtocolError } from './types'
 import {
   getAttributionShellLaunchConfig,
   getShellReadyLaunchConfig,
   resolvePtyShellPath
 } from './shell-ready'
 import { isValidPtySize, normalizePtySize } from './daemon-pty-size'
-import { ensureNodePtySpawnHelperExecutable } from '../providers/local-pty-utils'
+import {
+  ensureNodePtySpawnHelperExecutable,
+  getNodePtySpawnHelperCandidates
+} from '../providers/local-pty-utils'
 import { resolveWindowsShellLaunchArgs } from '../providers/windows-shell-args'
 import { resolveEffectiveWindowsPowerShell } from '../providers/windows-powershell'
 import { isPwshAvailable } from '../pwsh'
@@ -43,6 +48,54 @@ function getDefaultCwd(): string {
   return 'C:\\'
 }
 
+function formatMissingDaemonPathError(kind: 'helper' | 'cwd', path: string): DaemonProtocolError {
+  const detailName = kind === 'helper' ? 'helper' : 'cwd'
+  const step = kind === 'helper' ? 'posix_spawn' : 'daemon_cwd'
+  return new DaemonProtocolError(
+    `Daemon's ${kind === 'helper' ? 'node-pty install' : 'working directory'} is gone ` +
+      `(worktree deleted?). Restart Orca. node-pty: ${step} failed: ENOENT ` +
+      `(errno 2, No such file or directory) - ${detailName}='${path}'`
+  )
+}
+
+function preflightMacNodePtySpawnEnvironment(): void {
+  if (process.platform !== 'darwin') {
+    return
+  }
+
+  let daemonCwd: string
+  try {
+    daemonCwd = process.cwd()
+    if (!statSync(daemonCwd).isDirectory()) {
+      throw formatMissingDaemonPathError('cwd', daemonCwd)
+    }
+  } catch (error) {
+    if (error instanceof DaemonProtocolError) {
+      throw error
+    }
+    throw formatMissingDaemonPathError('cwd', '<unavailable>')
+  }
+
+  let candidates: string[]
+  try {
+    candidates = getNodePtySpawnHelperCandidates()
+  } catch {
+    throw formatMissingDaemonPathError('helper', '<unresolved>')
+  }
+
+  for (const candidate of candidates) {
+    try {
+      if (statSync(candidate).isFile()) {
+        return
+      }
+    } catch {
+      // Try the next node-pty native location.
+    }
+  }
+
+  throw formatMissingDaemonPathError('helper', candidates[0] ?? '<unresolved>')
+}
+
 export function createPtySubprocess(opts: PtySubprocessOptions): SubprocessHandle {
   const size = normalizePtySize(opts.cols, opts.rows)
   const env: Record<string, string> = {
@@ -121,6 +174,7 @@ export function createPtySubprocess(opts: PtySubprocessOptions): SubprocessHandl
   // binary. The main process fixes this via LocalPtyProvider, but the daemon
   // runs in a separate forked process with its own code path.
   ensureNodePtySpawnHelperExecutable()
+  preflightMacNodePtySpawnEnvironment()
 
   const proc = pty.spawn(shellPath, shellArgs, {
     name: 'xterm-256color',

src/main/ipc/pty.ts

@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import { isPwshAvailable } from '../pwsh'
 import { LocalPtyProvider } from '../providers/local-pty-provider'
 import type { IPtyProvider, PtySpawnOptions, PtySpawnResult } from '../providers/types'
 import { mintPtySessionId, isSafePtySessionId } from '../daemon/pty-session-id'
+import { addNodePtyRecoveryHint } from '../daemon/node-pty-error-hints'
 import type { ClaudeRuntimeAuthPreparation } from '../claude-accounts/runtime-auth-service'
 import { CLAUDE_AUTH_ENV_VARS, hasClaudeAuthEnvConflict } from '../claude-accounts/environment'
 import {
@@ -914,6 +915,19 @@ export function registerPtyHandlers(
       try {
         result = await provider.spawn(spawnOptions)
       } catch (err) {
+        const rawMessage = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)
+        const hintedMessage = addNodePtyRecoveryHint(rawMessage)
+        let spawnError: Error
+        if (hintedMessage === rawMessage && err instanceof Error) {
+          spawnError = err
+        } else if (err instanceof Error) {
+          // Why: rewrite the message in place so the original stack trace,
+          // name, and any custom fields survive into telemetry and logs.
+          err.message = hintedMessage
+          spawnError = err
+        } else {
+          spawnError = new Error(hintedMessage)
+        }
         if (effectiveSessionId !== undefined) {
           ptySizes.delete(effectiveSessionId)
         }
@@ -940,14 +954,14 @@ export function registerPtyHandlers(
             ? ('claude-code' as const)
             : null
         if (errorAgentKind) {
-          const classified = classifyError(err)
+          const classified = classifyError(spawnError)
           track('agent_error', {
             agent_kind: errorAgentKind,
             error_class: classified.error_class,
             ...getCohortAtEmit()
           })
         }
-        throw err
+        throw spawnError
       }
       ptyOwnership.set(result.id, args.connectionId ?? null)
       if (preAllocatedHandle) {

src/main/providers/local-pty-utils.ts

@@ -1,9 +1,29 @@
-import { basename } from 'path'
+import { basename, join } from 'path'
 import { existsSync, accessSync, statSync, chmodSync, constants as fsConstants } from 'fs'
 import type * as pty from 'node-pty'
 
 let didEnsureSpawnHelperExecutable = false
 
+function toUnpackedAsarPath(candidate: string): string {
+  return candidate
+    .replace(/app\.asar([/\\])/, 'app.asar.unpacked$1')
+    .replace(/node_modules\.asar([/\\])/, 'node_modules.asar.unpacked$1')
+}
+
+export function getNodePtySpawnHelperCandidates(): string[] {
+  const unixTerminalPath = require.resolve('node-pty/lib/unixTerminal.js')
+  const packageRoot =
+    basename(unixTerminalPath) === 'unixTerminal.js'
+      ? unixTerminalPath.replace(/[/\\]lib[/\\]unixTerminal\.js$/, '')
+      : unixTerminalPath
+
+  return [
+    join(packageRoot, 'build', 'Release', 'spawn-helper'),
+    join(packageRoot, 'build', 'Debug', 'spawn-helper'),
+    join(packageRoot, 'prebuilds', `${process.platform}-${process.arch}`, 'spawn-helper')
+  ].map(toUnpackedAsarPath)
+}
+
 /**
  * Validate that a shell binary exists and is executable.
  * Returns an error message string if invalid, null if valid.
@@ -37,22 +57,7 @@ export function ensureNodePtySpawnHelperExecutable(): void {
   didEnsureSpawnHelperExecutable = true
 
   try {
-    const unixTerminalPath = require.resolve('node-pty/lib/unixTerminal.js')
-    const packageRoot =
-      basename(unixTerminalPath) === 'unixTerminal.js'
-        ? unixTerminalPath.replace(/[/\\]lib[/\\]unixTerminal\.js$/, '')
-        : unixTerminalPath
-    const candidates = [
-      `${packageRoot}/build/Release/spawn-helper`,
-      `${packageRoot}/build/Debug/spawn-helper`,
-      `${packageRoot}/prebuilds/${process.platform}-${process.arch}/spawn-helper`
-    ].map((candidate) =>
-      candidate
-        .replace('app.asar/', 'app.asar.unpacked/')
-        .replace('node_modules.asar/', 'node_modules.asar.unpacked/')
-    )
-
-    for (const candidate of candidates) {
+    for (const candidate of getNodePtySpawnHelperCandidates()) {
       if (!existsSync(candidate)) {
         continue
       }