githubnext/ace2Public

Ace: a collaborative coding environment on the team's own machines

Desktop tools unavailable when a source CLI starts a worker in an installed app's data directory

IA

iamnbutler opened ·

While building the details sidebar (channel sidebar-populate), every native desktop tool call (`desktop_apps`, with and without a query) failed with "Open Ace on this host to enable native desktop tools." even though Ace Canary was running and hosting the channel. A lane's `bun run dev` Ace-dev app was also running.

Without them the agent could not inspect or click the Ace-dev window to smoke-test UI, and fell back to driving the dev host's web app with Playwright's cached Chromium outside Ace. The agent's `read` tool also cannot show the resulting PNG screenshots, so visual checks were limited to DOM text.

Expected: desktop tools work from a channel whenever its host's Ace app is open, or the error says what is actually missing.

## Cause and scope (updated Oct 6)

The reproduced cause is worker provenance ([details](https://github.com/githubnext/ace2/issues/128#issuecomment-6025734957)): a source-checkout `bun ace` CLI using Canary's data directory (`ACE_HOME`) started the dormant channel's worker itself. Without explicit `ACE_DESKTOP_CLIENT`, `native()` in `apps/host/src/desktop.ts` looks for the client beside `process.execPath`, which for that worker is Bun, so every desktop tool fails before reaching Canary's socket. #118 fixed the supported `bun desktop dev` runner, which passes its checkout's client explicitly; it doesn't cover a source CLI starting a worker in an installed app's data directory.

Expected now: such a worker finds the installed app's client, or the CLI refuses or warns before starting it, or the error names the worker's provenance. Reading saved screenshots is #51.

  1. iamnbutlerreferenced this in [Meta] Dogfood Ace end to end #5last month on GitHub

  2. iamnbutlerreferenced this in feat(app): populate the channel details sidebar #129last month on GitHub

  3. IA
    iamnbutler
    Author

    Reproduced from Ace Canary channel `team-agent-access` (`974cbd24fb896875`) during a reserved native UI slot, with a different message than the original report:

    ``` desktop_apps → Native desktop tools require the Ace desktop app on this host. Source hosts can set ACE_DESKTOP_CLIENT to its bundled ace-desktop-client. ```

    Ace Canary was open (`/Applications/Ace Canary.app`, Ace Helper pid running), `~/.local/state/ace-canary/desktop.sock` existed, and `Ace Canary.app/Contents/MacOS/ace-desktop-client` was present.

    Cause observed: the channel's worker was not started by Ace Helper. `~/.local/state/ace-canary/logs/cli.jsonl`:

    ``` 21:12:38.558Z cli.command pid 59824 command ask ref team-agent-access 21:12:38.571Z worker.spawn proc cli pid 59833 channel 974cbd24fb896875 ```

    A source-checkout `bun ace ask` (with `ACE_HOME` pointing at Canary's data) found the channel dormant and spawned its worker as `~/.bun/bin/bun --no-env-file /Users/natebutler/code/ace2/apps/host/src/worker.ts 974cbd24fb896875`. `native()` in `apps/host/src/desktop.ts` resolves the client from `ACE_DESKTOP_CLIENT` or beside `process.execPath`, which is `~/.bun/bin/bun` here, so every desktop tool fails before reaching the socket. At the time, all running Canary workers for channels coordinated this way had the same provenance (7 `worker.spawn` lines from `proc: cli`).

    Reproduce: with Ace Canary open and the channel dormant, run `ACE_HOME=~/.local/state/ace-canary bun ace ask <channel> …` from a source checkout, then invoke any `desktop_*` tool in that channel.

    Possible directions (not implemented): have a CLI-started worker locate the installed app's client for that data directory, refuse or warn when a source CLI starts an installed app's channel worker, or report the worker's provenance in the error. Workaround: let the worker retire and reopen the channel from Ace so Ace Helper starts it, or start the source CLI with `ACE_DESKTOP_CLIENT` set to the bundled client.

    This blocked native owner UI verification for the collaborator-agent sharing work (dogfooding #5).

  4. iamnbutlerreferenced this in fix(host): recover open transcript watches after channel workers restart #159last month on GitHub

  5. iamnbutlerreferenced this in Reattach the open chat watch after its channel worker restarts #153last month on GitHub

  6. IA
    iamnbutler
    Author

    Reproduced again from Canary channel `channel-watch-recovery` (`26338e726ba05a2d`). `desktop_apps` returned the ACE_DESKTOP_CLIENT error while Ace Canary was open; the worker was `~/.bun/bin/bun --no-env-file /Users/natebutler/code/ace2/apps/host/src/worker.ts 26338e726ba05a2d`, started from a source CLI. This blocked native UI validation for #159 (#153). Dogfooding #5.

  7. iamnbutlerreferenced this in feat(app): add channel header agent and desktop access toggles #161last month on GitHub

  8. iamnbutlerrenamed Desktop tools unavailable from a Canary channel while Ace Canary is open to Desktop tools unavailable when a source CLI starts a worker in an installed app's data directorylast month on GitHub

  9. iamnbutlerreferenced this in [Meta] Complete native computer use in Ace #8last month on GitHub

  10. iamnbutlerparent-issue-addedlast month on GitHub

  11. iamnbutlerreferenced this in feat(app): rebuild Settings and top-anchor every dialog #171last month on GitHub

  12. iamnbutlerreferenced this in fix(ui): render timeline text with the line breaks it was measured with #175last month on GitHub