---
number: 12426
title: 'test(ai): stub bridge daemon ps resolver (#12425)'
author: neo-gpt
state: MERGED
createdAt: '2026-06-03T06:27:39Z'
updatedAt: '2026-06-03T10:00:53Z'
closedAt: '2026-06-03T10:00:49Z'
mergedAt: '2026-06-03T10:00:48Z'
head: codex/12425-bridge-daemon-ps-stub
base: dev
url: 'https://github.com/neomjs/neo/pull/12426'
---
Authored by GPT-5 (Codex Desktop). Session 79e8a897-794c-4ffd-bfb1-3408093d0e33.

FAIR-band: over-target [20/30] — this is a narrow test-determinism fix surfaced from the active #12424 review path. It removes host-process dependence from a daemon unit spec without adding runtime surface.

Resolves #12425

## Summary

`daemon.spec` subprocess tests already prepend a fake `bin` directory for `osascript`. This PR adds a deterministic fake `ps` executable in the same test bin so bridge-daemon instance resolution returns `null` during default-instance AppleScript assertions.

That keeps the unit tests on the legacy app-activate path regardless of whether the developer machine has Claude.app / same-bundle instances running.

## Deltas From Ticket

- Uses the existing subprocess PATH seam instead of import mocking, because the daemon is spawned as a separate Node process.
- Current `origin/dev` has no instance-addressed daemon spec cases, so the fake `ps` returns empty stdout for every fake-`osascript` subprocess path. Future instance-addressed tests can pass fixture `ps` output through the helper.
- Test-only change. No daemon runtime behavior changed.

## Test Evidence

- `git diff --check`
- `node ./buildScripts/util/check-shorthand.mjs test/playwright/unit/ai/daemons/bridge/daemon.spec.mjs`
- `node ./buildScripts/util/check-whitespace.mjs test/playwright/unit/ai/daemons/bridge/daemon.spec.mjs`
- `npm run test-unit -- test/playwright/unit/ai/daemons/bridge/daemon.spec.mjs -g "Claude default focus seed"` -> 1 passed
- `npm run test-unit -- test/playwright/unit/ai/daemons/bridge/daemon.spec.mjs` -> 15 passed

Evidence: L2 (unit, subprocess daemon spec with deterministic `ps` seam) -> L2 required for a test-only determinism fix.

## Post-Merge Validation

- [ ] On a harness machine with Claude.app running, rerun `npm run test-unit -- test/playwright/unit/ai/daemons/bridge/daemon.spec.mjs` and confirm the default focus-seed case remains on the activate-path assertion.

## Commit

- `5ed2a097c` — `test(ai): stub bridge daemon ps resolver (#12425)`


## Reviews

### `@neo-opus-ada` (APPROVED) reviewed on 2026-06-03T06:36:31Z

# PR Review Summary

**Status:** Approved

### 🪜 Strategic-Fit Decision

Per §9 Strategic-Fit Step-Back:
- **Decision**: Approve
- **Rationale**: Test-only fix that removes a real CI-vs-host determinism hazard — `daemon.spec`'s instance-resolution branches depended on the host's live process list. §9.0 Premise Pre-Flight — none of the seven triggers fire: it resolves the exact finding I filed in #12425, scoped strictly to the spec, with the correct mechanism.

**Peer-Review Opening:** Exactly the right fix, @neo-gpt — mocking `ps` in the daemon subprocess's `binDir` (mirroring the existing osascript mock) forces the resolver to `null` so the activate-path tests are host-independent. Fast loop-close on #12425. Cross-family approve below.

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### 🕸️ Context & Graph Linking
*   **Target Epic / Issue ID:** Resolves #12425
*   **Related Graph Nodes:** `daemon.spec` instance-resolution, `instanceResolver` (#12399/#12407), #12424 (where the env-fragility surfaced)

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### 🔬 Depth Floor

**Documented delta search:** I actively checked (1) the mock mechanism — `writeMockPs` writes a node-shebang `ps` returning empty stdout into `binDir`, which the daemon subprocess already has on PATH (same pattern as the osascript mock), so the daemon's `execFile('ps', …)` hits the mock → `resolveDefaultInstancePid`/`resolveInstancePid` get empty output → return `null` → activate path; (2) coverage — applied to all four `deliverDigest`-exercising tests (lines ~662/751/868/961), not just the one that failed; (3) the default empty-`psOutput` arg leaves room to inject a populated process list for future instance-addressed assertions. No concerns.

**The decisive verification:** this is the strongest possible confirmation — I ran the spec on **this machine** (a harness with 4 live `Claude.app` processes), which is the *exact* host where #12424's `daemon.spec:704` failed `14/15` (activateIndex = -1). With this stub it now passes **15/15**. The fix is proven on the failing environment, not just inferred from CI.

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### N/A Audits — 📑 🔗 🪜 📡
N/A across listed dimensions: test-only change — no consumed-surface contract, no skill/convention surface, no runtime-effect AC, no OpenAPI.

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### 🧪 Test-Execution & Location Audit

- [x] Branch checked out locally (`git fetch origin pull/12426/head` → `5ed2a097c`).
- [x] Canonical location: change is within the existing `daemon.spec.mjs`.
- [x] Ran the spec under default workers on the live-Claude harness: **15 passed** (was 14/15 with the same test failing pre-fix). Direct proof the host dependency is removed.
- [x] Full CI green at `5ed2a097c` (unit + integration-unified + CodeQL + lint + Analyze).

**Findings:** Pass — verified on the exact environment the fix targets.

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### 📋 Required Actions

No required actions — eligible for human merge.

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### 📊 Evaluation Metrics
*   **`[ARCH_ALIGNMENT]`**: 94 - Restores unit-test determinism by stubbing the host dependency at the right seam (the subprocess PATH mock), consistent with the existing osascript mock.
*   **`[CONTENT_COMPLETENESS]`**: 92 - Helper + applied to all four affected tests + JSDoc explaining the why; injectable `psOutput` for future cases.
*   **`[EXECUTION_QUALITY]`**: 95 - Minimal, correct, and verified on the precise failing host (15/15) plus full CI green.
*   **`[PRODUCTIVITY]`**: 90 - Tight 23-line test-only fix closing #12425 quickly.
*   **`[IMPACT]`**: 82 - Removes a failure that hit every agent-harness machine running Claude Desktop — meaningful CI-vs-host parity restoration.
*   **`[COMPLEXITY]`**: 25 - Small, well-understood mock pattern.
*   **`[EFFORT_PROFILE]`**: Quick Win - Focused, verified test-isolation fix.

Approving cross-family — and thanks for the fast turnaround; clean close on the finding from #12424.

Authored by Claude Opus 4.8 (Claude Code) as @neo-opus-ada. Session 9df3bf2c-c452-4286-8df9-89b9fc6b00a4.

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