From 394bf4136fcc005663cc5cd2b2c9de534622efc9 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Neil <neil@stably.ai>
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 2026 14:02:29 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] fix(hooks): keep a timed-out hook's output instead of
 discarding it
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The timeout settle passed `stdout: '', stderr: ''`, so everything the hook
printed was dropped — exactly when the removal gate reports `unverifiable` and
the user has nothing else to go on. The buffers are local variables one scope
up now, so this is passing them instead of empty strings.

Also drops a comment that still explained why `exec` was being kept. It isn't.

Refs #19334
---
 src/main/hook-termination-real-process.test.ts | 10 ++++++----
 src/main/hooks.ts                              |  7 ++++---
 2 files changed, 10 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/main/hook-termination-real-process.test.ts b/src/main/hook-termination-real-process.test.ts
index 0460d7292d9..20d5cffb882 100644
--- a/src/main/hook-termination-real-process.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/hook-termination-real-process.test.ts
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ const alive = (pid: number): boolean => {
 /** Run a hook past its deadline and report which of its real processes survived. */
 async function survivorsAfterDeadline(
   script: string
-): Promise<{ shell: boolean; child: boolean; pids: number[] }> {
+): Promise<{ shell: boolean; child: boolean; output: string; pids: number[] }> {
   const { runHook } = await import('./hooks')
   const dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'orca-term-'))
   const pidFile = join(dir, 'pids')
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ async function survivorsAfterDeadline(
     await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 3_500))
     expect(existsSync(pidFile)).toBe(true)
     pids = readFileSync(pidFile, 'utf8').trim().split(/\s+/).map(Number)
-    return { shell: alive(pids[0]!), child: alive(pids[1]!), pids }
+    return { shell: alive(pids[0]!), child: alive(pids[1]!), output: result.output, pids }
   } finally {
     for (const pid of pids) {
       try {
@@ -53,10 +53,12 @@ async function survivorsAfterDeadline(
 // or not a real group exists. That is the precise condition the bug turns on.
 describe.skipIf(process.platform === 'win32')('hook termination against real processes', () => {
   it('kills the shell and its child when the deadline expires', async () => {
-    const { shell, child } = await survivorsAfterDeadline(
-      'sleep 120 &\necho "$$ $!" > "$PWD/pids"\nwait'
+    const { shell, child, output } = await survivorsAfterDeadline(
+      'echo "archive step 3 of 7"\nsleep 120 &\necho "$$ $!" > "$PWD/pids"\nwait'
     )
     expect({ shell, child }).toEqual({ shell: false, child: false })
+    // The gate reports this run as `unverifiable`; what the hook printed is the only clue why.
+    expect(output).toContain('archive step 3 of 7')
   }, 30_000)
 
   it('kills a descendant that ignores SIGTERM', async () => {
diff --git a/src/main/hooks.ts b/src/main/hooks.ts
index e1a00ed7d3f..bec92fc7d2f 100644
--- a/src/main/hooks.ts
+++ b/src/main/hooks.ts
@@ -248,8 +248,7 @@ export function runHook(
     // reports whatever it chose to do, so a hook that traps SIGTERM and exits 0 came back as a
     // PASS — a hook cut off mid-archive, indistinguishable from one that finished. Settle on the
     // deadline instead, and settle AT it, so a hook that traps and keeps running cannot hold a
-    // removal open. `exec` stays because it owns the per-platform shell invocation (`cmd.exe`
-    // wants `/d /s /c`, not `-c`), which is not this change's to re-derive.
+    // removal open.
     let settled = false
     let deadline: NodeJS.Timeout | undefined
     const settle = (result: HookProcessOutcome): void => {
@@ -304,7 +303,9 @@ export function runHook(
       deadline = setTimeout(() => {
         settle(
           classifyHookProcessResult(
-            { code: null, stdout: '', stderr: '', timedOut: true },
+            // Keep what the hook printed: it is the only clue to why the removal gate says
+            // `unverifiable`.
+            { code: null, stdout, stderr, timedOut: true },
             { hookName, cwd, timeoutMs }
           )
         )