From 1af9d753964a3abaa97e71c3d0850b1c52d95046 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: kumarabhirup <hey@kumareth.com>
Date: Sun, 8 Mar 2026 21:45:17 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] fix(terminal): add try/catch around PTY spawn to prevent
 silent hangs

Without error handling, if node-pty require or pty.spawn throws (bad
permissions, missing cwd, stale server), the client gets no response and
the terminal hangs with a blinking cursor. Now sends an exit event back.
---
 .../components/terminal/terminal-drawer.tsx   |  1 -
 apps/web/lib/terminal-server.ts               | 40 +++++++++++++------
 2 files changed, 27 insertions(+), 14 deletions(-)

diff --git a/apps/web/app/components/terminal/terminal-drawer.tsx b/apps/web/app/components/terminal/terminal-drawer.tsx
index 3302224557a..b4211fac18b 100644
--- a/apps/web/app/components/terminal/terminal-drawer.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/app/components/terminal/terminal-drawer.tsx
@@ -192,7 +192,6 @@ function TerminalViewport({
         } catch {
           return;
         }
-
         if (msg.type === "output" && msg.data) {
           terminal.write(msg.data);
         } else if (msg.type === "exit") {
diff --git a/apps/web/lib/terminal-server.ts b/apps/web/lib/terminal-server.ts
index 75a38482c66..6860577cc03 100644
--- a/apps/web/lib/terminal-server.ts
+++ b/apps/web/lib/terminal-server.ts
@@ -54,21 +54,35 @@ function shellArgs(shell: string): string[] {
 function spawnTerminal(ws: WebSocket, cols: number, rows: number, cwd?: string) {
   ensureSpawnHelperExecutable();
 
-  // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-require-imports
-  const nodePty = require("node-pty") as typeof import("node-pty");
+  let nodePty: typeof import("node-pty");
+  try {
+    // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-require-imports
+    nodePty = require("node-pty") as typeof import("node-pty");
+  } catch {
+    ws.send(JSON.stringify({ type: "exit", exitCode: 1, signal: null }));
+    return;
+  }
 
   const shell = defaultShell();
-  const pty = nodePty.spawn(shell, shellArgs(shell), {
-    name: "xterm-256color",
-    cols,
-    rows,
-    cwd: cwd || process.env.HOME || process.cwd(),
-    env: Object.fromEntries(
-      Object.entries(process.env).filter(
-        ([, v]) => v !== undefined,
-      ),
-    ) as Record<string, string>,
-  });
+  const spawnCwd = cwd || process.env.HOME || process.cwd();
+
+  let pty: import("node-pty").IPty;
+  try {
+    pty = nodePty.spawn(shell, shellArgs(shell), {
+      name: "xterm-256color",
+      cols,
+      rows,
+      cwd: spawnCwd,
+      env: Object.fromEntries(
+        Object.entries(process.env).filter(
+          ([, v]) => v !== undefined,
+        ),
+      ) as Record<string, string>,
+    });
+  } catch {
+    ws.send(JSON.stringify({ type: "exit", exitCode: 1, signal: null }));
+    return;
+  }
 
   const session: TerminalSession = { pty, ws };
   sessions.set(ws, session);