From 8fe2abdb24a306b258746bdb06cfab1f963b2aa2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Neil <4138956+nwparker@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Sat, 30 May 2026 10:45:11 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] fix: time out automation path probes (#3797)

---
 src/main/automations/external-manager.test.ts | 51 ++++++++++++++++++-
 src/main/automations/external-manager.ts      | 38 +++++++++++++-
 2 files changed, 86 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/main/automations/external-manager.test.ts b/src/main/automations/external-manager.test.ts
index 05b54874eb1..6f78f35d337 100644
--- a/src/main/automations/external-manager.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/automations/external-manager.test.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,16 @@
 /* eslint-disable max-lines -- Why: external automation mapping and lifecycle IPC share fixtures. */
-import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 import {
   createExternalAutomation,
+  listExternalAutomationManagers,
   listExternalAutomationRuns,
   runExternalAutomationAction,
   updateExternalAutomation
 } from './external-manager'
 import { mapHermesJobs, mapOpenClawJobs } from './external-job-mappers'
 import { getActiveMultiplexer } from '../ipc/ssh'
+import type { Store } from '../persistence'
+import type * as Fs from 'fs'
 
 const execFileMock = vi.hoisted(() =>
   vi.fn((...args: unknown[]) => {
@@ -16,20 +19,64 @@ const execFileMock = vi.hoisted(() =>
       const execCallback = callback as (error: Error | null, stdout: string, stderr: string) => void
       execCallback(null, '', '')
     }
+    return { kill: vi.fn() }
   })
 )
+const existsSyncMock = vi.hoisted(() => vi.fn(() => false))
+
+function resolveExecFileMock(...args: unknown[]) {
+  const callback = args.at(-1)
+  if (typeof callback === 'function') {
+    const execCallback = callback as (error: Error | null, stdout: string, stderr: string) => void
+    execCallback(null, '', '')
+  }
+  return { kill: vi.fn() }
+}
 
 vi.mock('child_process', () => ({ execFile: execFileMock }))
+vi.mock('fs', async () => {
+  const actual = await vi.importActual<typeof Fs>('fs')
+  return {
+    ...actual,
+    existsSync: existsSyncMock
+  }
+})
 
 vi.mock('../ipc/ssh', () => ({
   getActiveMultiplexer: vi.fn()
 }))
 
 beforeEach(() => {
-  execFileMock.mockClear()
+  execFileMock.mockReset()
+  execFileMock.mockImplementation(resolveExecFileMock)
+  existsSyncMock.mockReturnValue(false)
   vi.mocked(getActiveMultiplexer).mockReset()
 })
 
+afterEach(() => {
+  vi.useRealTimers()
+})
+
+describe('listExternalAutomationManagers', () => {
+  it('settles when a local command lookup hangs', async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    execFileMock.mockImplementation(() => ({ kill: vi.fn() }))
+    const promise = listExternalAutomationManagers({
+      getSshTargets: () => []
+    } as unknown as Store)
+    let settled = false
+    void promise.finally(() => {
+      settled = true
+    })
+
+    await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(5_000)
+    await Promise.resolve()
+
+    expect(settled).toBe(true)
+    await expect(promise).resolves.toEqual([])
+  })
+})
+
 describe('mapHermesJobs', () => {
   it('normalizes Hermes cron jobs into external automation rows', () => {
     const jobs = mapHermesJobs('hermes:local', [
diff --git a/src/main/automations/external-manager.ts b/src/main/automations/external-manager.ts
index 08c3e208cf6..9918b875c2b 100644
--- a/src/main/automations/external-manager.ts
+++ b/src/main/automations/external-manager.ts
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ const HERMES_CRON_DIR = join(HERMES_HOME, 'cron')
 const HERMES_JOBS_FILE = join(HERMES_CRON_DIR, 'jobs.json')
 const OPENCLAW_JOBS_FILE = join(homedir(), '.openclaw', 'cron', 'jobs.json')
 const EXTERNAL_JOB_ID_PATTERN = /^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9._:-]*$/
+const LOCAL_COMMAND_LOOKUP_TIMEOUT_MS = 5_000
 
 function isRecord(value: unknown): value is Record<string, unknown> {
   return typeof value === 'object' && value !== null && !Array.isArray(value)
@@ -39,13 +40,48 @@ function isRecord(value: unknown): value is Record<string, unknown> {
 async function isCommandOnPath(command: string): Promise<boolean> {
   const finder = process.platform === 'win32' ? 'where' : 'which'
   try {
-    await execFileAsync(finder, [command], { encoding: 'utf-8' })
+    await runLocalCommandLookup(finder, [command])
     return true
   } catch {
     return false
   }
 }
 
+function runLocalCommandLookup(command: string, args: string[]): Promise<void> {
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    let child: ReturnType<typeof execFile> | null = null
+    let settled = false
+
+    const finish = (error: Error | null): void => {
+      if (settled) {
+        return
+      }
+      settled = true
+      clearTimeout(timeout)
+      if (error) {
+        reject(error)
+        return
+      }
+      resolve()
+    }
+
+    // Why: these probes run while loading Automations; a wedged PATH shim must
+    // not keep the list IPC pending forever.
+    const timeout = setTimeout(() => {
+      child?.kill()
+      finish(new Error(`Command lookup timed out after ${LOCAL_COMMAND_LOOKUP_TIMEOUT_MS}ms.`))
+    }, LOCAL_COMMAND_LOOKUP_TIMEOUT_MS)
+
+    try {
+      child = execFile(command, args, { encoding: 'utf-8' }, (error) => {
+        finish(error ?? null)
+      })
+    } catch (error) {
+      finish(error instanceof Error ? error : new Error(String(error)))
+    }
+  })
+}
+
 async function readLocalHermesJobs(): Promise<unknown[]> {
   if (!existsSync(HERMES_JOBS_FILE)) {
     return []