Session Execution
Read docs/SESSION_EXECUTION.md before working in this area. It explains the architecture for reliable command execution with stdout/stderr separation.
Key Concepts
Two execution modes:
- •Foreground (exec): Runs in main shell, state persists. Uses temp files for output capture.
- •Background (execStream/startProcess): Runs in subshell via FIFOs. Labelers prefix output in background.
Binary prefix contract:
- •Stdout:
\x01\x01\x01prefix per line - •Stderr:
\x02\x02\x02prefix per line - •Log parser reconstructs streams from these prefixes
Completion signaling:
- •Exit code written to
<id>.exitfile via atomictmp+mv - •Hybrid fs.watch + polling detects completion (robust on tmpfs/overlayfs)
- •Background mode uses
labelers.donemarker to ensure output is fully captured
When Developing
- •Understand why foreground uses temp files (bash waits for redirects to complete)
- •Understand why background uses FIFOs (concurrent streaming without blocking shell)
- •Test silent commands (cd, variable assignment) - these historically caused hangs
- •Test large output - buffering issues can cause incomplete logs
When Reviewing
Correctness checks:
- •Verify exit code handling is atomic (write to .tmp then mv)
- •Check FIFO cleanup in error paths
- •Ensure labelers.done is awaited before reading final output (background mode)
Race condition analysis:
Session execution has a mutex that serializes command execution per session. Before flagging race conditions:
- •Check if operations happen within the same session (mutex protects)
- •Check if operations are per-session vs cross-session (cross-session races are real)
- •Refer to
docs/CONCURRENCY.mdfor the full concurrency model
Common false positives:
- •"Concurrent reads/writes to session state" - mutex serializes these
- •"FIFO operations might race" - labelers are per-command, not shared
Actual concerns to watch for:
- •Cross-session operations without proper isolation
- •Cleanup operations that might affect still-running commands
- •File operations outside the mutex-protected section
Key Files
- •
packages/sandbox-container/src/session.ts- Session class with exec/execStream - •
packages/sandbox-container/src/managers/SessionManager.ts- Mutex and lifecycle - •
packages/sandbox/src/clients/CommandClient.ts- SDK interface to session commands