fix(client): surface background service startup errors

packages/cli/src/server-process.ts

@@ -39,6 +39,8 @@ export const run = Effect.fnUntraced(function* (options: Options) {
 })
 
 const processEffect = Effect.fnUntraced(function* (options: Options) {
+  const serviceErrorFormat = process.env.OPENCODE_SERVICE_ERROR_FORMAT
+  delete process.env.OPENCODE_SERVICE_ERROR_FORMAT
   const global = yield* Global.Service
   if (options.mode === "service") yield* Effect.sync(() => process.chdir(global.home))
   return yield* Effect.scoped(
@@ -127,15 +129,7 @@ const processEffect = Effect.fnUntraced(function* (options: Options) {
           if (serviceOptions === undefined || port === undefined || !addressInUse(error)) return Effect.fail(error)
           return recognizeIncumbent(serviceOptions, hostname, port).pipe(
             Effect.flatMap((found) =>
-              found
+              found ? Effect.void : managedPortInUse(hostname, port, error, serviceErrorFormat),
-                ? Effect.void
-                : Effect.fail(
-                    new Error(
-                      `Managed service port ${port} on ${hostname} is already in use by another process. ` +
-                        "Configure another port with `opencode service set port <port>` and start the service again.",
-                      { cause: error },
-                    ),
-                  ),
             ),
           )
         }),
@@ -214,6 +208,17 @@ function serviceURL(hostname: string, port: number) {
   return `http://${hostname.includes(":") ? `[${hostname}]` : hostname}:${port}`
 }
 
+function managedPortInUse(hostname: string, port: number, cause: unknown, format?: string) {
+  const message =
+    `Managed service port ${port} on ${hostname} is already in use by another process. ` +
+    "Configure another port with `opencode service set port <port>` and start the service again."
+  const failure = new Error(message, { cause })
+  if (format !== "plain") return Effect.fail(failure)
+  return Effect.sync(() => process.stderr.write(`OPENCODE_SERVICE_ERROR:${message}\n`)).pipe(
+    Effect.andThen(Effect.fail(failure)),
+  )
+}
+
 function truthy(value?: string) {
   return value === "1" || value?.toLowerCase() === "true"
 }

packages/client/src/effect/service.ts

@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 import { ServiceStatus } from "@opencode-ai/protocol/groups/health"
 import { Effect, FileSystem, Option, Schedule, Schema } from "effect"
-import { spawn, type ChildProcess } from "node:child_process"
 import { homedir } from "node:os"
 import { join } from "node:path"
 import type { DiscoverOptions, Endpoint, EnsureOptions, StopOptions } from "../service.js"
+import { ServiceProcess } from "../service-process.js"
 
 export * from "../service.js"
 /** Contents of the local service registration file. */
@@ -17,11 +17,6 @@ export type Info = import("../service.js").Info
 // is all a client needs to connect. The daemon's own configuration (port,
 // persisted password) is CLI-owned and never read here.
 
-type Contender = {
-  readonly child: ChildProcess
-  readonly error: () => Error | undefined
-}
-
 // Read-only lookup: registration file plus health check and version gate.
 // Never spawns; escalation to ensure() is the caller's policy.
 /** Discover a healthy, compatible local service without starting one. */
@@ -52,11 +47,12 @@ const discoverLocal = Effect.fnUntraced(function* (options: DiscoverOptions) {
 // becomes discoverable. A contender is never killed merely for slow startup.
 /** Ensure a healthy, compatible local service is running. */
 export const ensure = Effect.fn("service.ensure")(function* (options: EnsureOptions = {}) {
-  const contenders = new Set<Contender>()
+  const contenders = new Set<ServiceProcess.Contender>()
   let timeouts: { readonly info: Info; readonly count: number } | undefined
   let announced = false
   let lastSpawn = 0
   let spawnDelay = 5_000
+  let lastFailure: Error | undefined
   const announce = (reason: "missing" | "version-mismatch", previousVersion?: string) =>
     Effect.sync(() => {
       if (announced) return
@@ -67,15 +63,7 @@ export const ensure = Effect.fn("service.ensure")(function* (options: EnsureOpti
     const [command, ...args] = options.command ?? ["opencode", "serve", "--service"]
     if (command === undefined) return yield* Effect.fail(new Error("Missing service command"))
     return yield* Effect.try({
-      try: () => {
+      try: () => ServiceProcess.start(command, args),
-        const child = spawn(command, args, { detached: true, stdio: "ignore" })
-        let error: Error | undefined
-        child.once("error", (cause) => {
-          error = new Error("Failed to start server", { cause })
-        })
-        child.unref()
-        return { child, error: () => error }
-      },
       catch: (cause) => new Error("Failed to start server", { cause }),
     })
   })
@@ -108,8 +96,9 @@ export const ensure = Effect.fn("service.ensure")(function* (options: EnsureOpti
       return Option.none<LocalService>()
     } else if (lastSpawn === 0 && info !== undefined) lastSpawn = Date.now()
 
-    const finished = [...contenders].filter(contenderFinished)
+    const finished = [...contenders].filter(ServiceProcess.finished)
-    const failure = finished.map(contenderFailure).find((error): error is Error => error !== undefined)
+    const failure = finished.map(ServiceProcess.failure).find((error): error is Error => error !== undefined)
+    if (failure !== undefined) lastFailure = failure
     if (finished.some((item) => item.child.exitCode === 0)) {
       spawnDelay = Math.min(spawnDelay * 2, 30_000)
     }
@@ -129,24 +118,10 @@ export const ensure = Effect.fn("service.ensure")(function* (options: EnsureOpti
     }),
   )
   if (Option.isNone(found))
-    return yield* Effect.fail(new Error("Timed out waiting for the background service to start"))
+    return yield* Effect.fail(lastFailure ?? new Error("Timed out waiting for the background service to start"))
   return found.value.endpoint
 })
 
-function contenderFailure(contender: Contender) {
-  const error = contender.error()
-  if (error !== undefined) return error
-  if (contender.child.exitCode !== null && contender.child.exitCode !== 0)
-    return new Error(`Server process exited with code ${contender.child.exitCode}`)
-  if (contender.child.signalCode !== null)
-    return new Error(`Server process terminated by ${contender.child.signalCode}`)
-  return undefined
-}
-
-function contenderFinished(contender: Contender) {
-  return contender.error() !== undefined || contender.child.exitCode !== null || contender.child.signalCode !== null
-}
-
 /** Stop the registered local service. */
 export const stop = Effect.fn("service.stop")(function* (options: StopOptions = {}) {
   const existing = yield* find(options)

packages/client/src/promise/service.ts

@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 import { readFile } from "node:fs/promises"
-import { spawn, type ChildProcess } from "node:child_process"
 import { homedir } from "node:os"
 import { join } from "node:path"
 import type { DiscoverOptions, Endpoint, Info, EnsureOptions, StopOptions } from "../service.js"
+import { ServiceProcess } from "../service-process.js"
 import type { ServiceHealth, ServiceStopResponse } from "./generated/types.js"
 
 export * from "../service.js"
@@ -13,11 +13,6 @@ export * from "../service.js"
 // intentionally implemented with Node APIs so Promise clients do not need
 // Effect or @effect/platform-node at runtime.
 
-type Contender = {
-  readonly child: ChildProcess
-  readonly error: () => Error | undefined
-}
-
 /** Discover a healthy, compatible local service without starting one. */
 export async function discover(options: DiscoverOptions = {}) {
   return (await discoverLocal(options))?.endpoint
@@ -33,11 +28,12 @@ async function discoverLocal(options: DiscoverOptions) {
 /** Ensure a healthy, compatible local service is running. */
 export async function ensure(options: EnsureOptions = {}): Promise<Endpoint> {
   const deadline = Date.now() + 120_000
-  const contenders = new Set<Contender>()
+  const contenders = new Set<ServiceProcess.Contender>()
   let timeouts: { readonly info: Info; readonly count: number } | undefined
   let announced = false
   let lastSpawn = 0
   let spawnDelay = 5_000
+  let lastFailure: Error | undefined
 
   const announce = (reason: "missing" | "version-mismatch", previousVersion?: string) => {
     if (announced) return
@@ -47,21 +43,11 @@ export async function ensure(options: EnsureOptions = {}): Promise<Endpoint> {
   const spawnContender = () => {
     const [command, ...args] = options.command ?? ["opencode", "serve", "--service"]
     if (command === undefined) throw new Error("Missing service command")
-    try {
+    return ServiceProcess.start(command, args)
-      const child = spawn(command, args, { detached: true, stdio: "ignore" })
-      let error: Error | undefined
-      child.once("error", (cause) => {
-        error = new Error("Failed to start server", { cause })
-      })
-      child.unref()
-      return { child, error: () => error }
-    } catch (cause) {
-      throw new Error("Failed to start server", { cause })
-    }
   }
 
   while (true) {
-    if (Date.now() >= deadline) throw new Error("Timed out waiting for the background service to start")
+    if (Date.now() >= deadline) throw lastFailure ?? new Error("Timed out waiting for the background service to start")
     const registration = await registered(options.file, true)
     if (registration.timedOut && registration.info !== undefined) {
       timeouts = {
@@ -89,8 +75,9 @@ export async function ensure(options: EnsureOptions = {}): Promise<Endpoint> {
       }
     } else {
       if (lastSpawn === 0 && registration.info !== undefined) lastSpawn = Date.now()
-      const finished = [...contenders].filter(contenderFinished)
+      const finished = [...contenders].filter(ServiceProcess.finished)
-      const failure = finished.map(contenderFailure).find((error) => error !== undefined)
+      const failure = finished.map(ServiceProcess.failure).find((error) => error !== undefined)
+      if (failure !== undefined) lastFailure = failure
       if (finished.some((item) => item.child.exitCode === 0)) {
         spawnDelay = Math.min(spawnDelay * 2, 30_000)
       }
@@ -107,20 +94,6 @@ export async function ensure(options: EnsureOptions = {}): Promise<Endpoint> {
   }
 }
 
-function contenderFailure(contender: Contender) {
-  const error = contender.error()
-  if (error !== undefined) return error
-  if (contender.child.exitCode !== null && contender.child.exitCode !== 0)
-    return new Error(`Server process exited with code ${contender.child.exitCode}`)
-  if (contender.child.signalCode !== null)
-    return new Error(`Server process terminated by ${contender.child.signalCode}`)
-  return undefined
-}
-
-function contenderFinished(contender: Contender) {
-  return contender.error() !== undefined || contender.child.exitCode !== null || contender.child.signalCode !== null
-}
-
 /** Stop the registered local service. */
 export async function stop(options: StopOptions = {}) {
   const existing = await find(options)

packages/client/src/service-process.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+export * as ServiceProcess from "./service-process"
+
+import { spawn, type ChildProcess } from "node:child_process"
+
+const errorPrefix = "OPENCODE_SERVICE_ERROR:"
+
+export type Contender = {
+  readonly child: ChildProcess
+  readonly error: () => Error | undefined
+  readonly startupError: () => string
+}
+
+export function start(command: string, args: ReadonlyArray<string>) {
+  try {
+    const child = spawn(command, args, {
+      detached: true,
+      stdio: ["ignore", "ignore", "pipe"],
+      env: { ...process.env, OPENCODE_SERVICE_ERROR_FORMAT: "plain" },
+    })
+    let error: Error | undefined
+    let pending = ""
+    let startupError = ""
+    child.once("error", (cause) => {
+      error = new Error("Failed to start server", { cause })
+    })
+    child.stderr?.on("data", (chunk) => {
+      const lines = (pending + chunk.toString()).split(/\r?\n/)
+      pending = lines.pop()?.slice(-64 * 1024) ?? ""
+      const message = lines.findLast((line) => line.startsWith(errorPrefix))
+      if (message !== undefined) startupError = message.slice(errorPrefix.length)
+    })
+    unref(child.stderr)
+    child.unref()
+    return { child, error: () => error, startupError: () => startupError } satisfies Contender
+  } catch (cause) {
+    throw new Error("Failed to start server", { cause })
+  }
+}
+
+export function failure(contender: Contender) {
+  const error = contender.error()
+  if (error !== undefined) return error
+  if (contender.child.exitCode !== null && contender.child.exitCode !== 0)
+    return new Error(contender.startupError() || `Server process exited with code ${contender.child.exitCode}`)
+  if (contender.child.signalCode !== null)
+    return new Error(`Server process terminated by ${contender.child.signalCode}`)
+  return undefined
+}
+
+export function finished(contender: Contender) {
+  return contender.error() !== undefined || contender.child.exitCode !== null || contender.child.signalCode !== null
+}
+
+function unref(stream: ChildProcess["stderr"]) {
+  if (!stream || !("unref" in stream) || typeof stream.unref !== "function") return
+  stream.unref()
+}

packages/client/test/fixture/service.ts

@@ -3,6 +3,11 @@ import { appendFile, rename, writeFile } from "node:fs/promises"
 const [registration, mode, delay] = process.argv.slice(2)
 if (registration === undefined || mode === undefined) throw new Error("Missing service fixture arguments")
 if (mode === "failed") process.exit(1)
+if (mode === "failed-message") {
+  console.error("sensitive startup detail")
+  console.error("OPENCODE_SERVICE_ERROR:Managed service port is already in use")
+  process.exit(1)
+}
 if (mode === "record-start") {
   await writeFile(registration + ".started", "")
   process.exit(1)

packages/client/test/promise-service.test.ts

@@ -70,6 +70,19 @@ test("reports a failed registered service", async () => {
   )
 })
 
+test("reports the native contender's startup error", async () => {
+  const directory = await temp()
+  const registration = join(directory, "service.json")
+
+  await expect(
+    Service.ensure({
+      file: registration,
+      version: "test",
+      command: [process.execPath, fixture, registration, "failed-message"],
+    }),
+  ).rejects.toThrow(/^Managed service port is already in use$/)
+}, 10_000)
+
 test("evicts an unresponsive registered service before starting its replacement", async () => {
   const directory = await temp()
   const registration = join(directory, "service.json")

packages/client/test/service.test.ts

@@ -197,6 +197,20 @@ test("reports a contender that fails to start", async () => {
   ).rejects.toThrow("Server process exited with code 1")
 }, 10_000)
 
+test("reports the contender's startup error", async () => {
+  const directory = await temp()
+  const registration = join(directory, "service.json")
+  await expect(
+    run(
+      Service.ensure({
+        file: registration,
+        version: "test",
+        command: [process.execPath, fixture, registration, "failed-message"],
+      }),
+    ),
+  ).rejects.toThrow(/^Managed service port is already in use$/)
+}, 10_000)
+
 test("reports a contender terminated by a signal", async () => {
   const directory = await temp()
   const registration = join(directory, "service.json")