fix(tools): don't compound-rewrite spawn_via_env background wrappers

Background tasks on non-local backends (SSH/Docker/Modal/Daytona/Singularity)
go through `ProcessRegistry.spawn_via_env`, which builds a hand-crafted,
shell-safe wrapper:

    mkdir -p T && ( nohup bash -lc CMD > LOG 2>&1; rc=$?; ... ) & echo $! > PID && cat PID

`BaseEnvironment.execute()` unconditionally ran `_rewrite_compound_background`
on every command, including this wrapper. The rewrite (meant to defuse the
`A && B &` subshell-wait trap for user commands) turns `( ... ) & echo $!` into
`{ ( ... ) & } echo $!` — note `} echo` with no separator, which is a bash
syntax error. The wrapper then never produces a PID, the redirected output file
is never created, and the agent sees an immediate exit code -1. This breaks
*every* background launch on a non-local backend (e.g. a simple
count-and-redirect script over SSH), not just edge cases.

Fix:
- Add `rewrite_compound_background: bool = True` to `BaseEnvironment.execute()`
  (and the `BaseModalExecutionEnvironment` override, which accepts and ignores
  it). Default preserves existing behavior; the user foreground terminal path
  still rewrites.
- `spawn_via_env` passes `rewrite_compound_background=False` so its already
  shell-safe wrapper is left intact.
- Treat a wrapper that produces no PID as a failed launch (mark the session
  exited with a real exit code instead of exposing a fake running session), and
  don't register/checkpoint a session that never started.

Verified empirically: with the rewrite skipped, the wrapper is valid bash,
launches the process, captures the PID, and writes the log/pid/exit files; the
old rewritten form fails `bash -n` with a syntax error.

Based on #33756 by @CharZhou (extracted from a multi-feature branch; the
unrelated image_gen / docker-media changes are not included here).

Co-authored-by: CharZhou <17255546+CharZhou@users.noreply.github.com>

scripts/release.py

@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ AUTHOR_MAP = {
     "mathijs.vd.hurk@gmail.com": "mathijsvandenhurk",
     "drpelagik@gmail.com": "SeaXen",
     "lengr@users.noreply.github.com": "LengR",
+    "17255546+CharZhou@users.noreply.github.com": "CharZhou",
     "metalclaudbot@gmail.com": "HashClawAI",
     "tonybear55665566@gmail.com": "TonyPepeBear",
     "kaspersniels@gmail.com": "nielskaspers",

tests/tools/test_process_registry.py

@@ -481,8 +481,8 @@ class TestSpawnEnvSanitization:
             def get_temp_dir(self):
                 return "/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/tmp"
 
-            def execute(self, command, timeout=None):
+            def execute(self, command, **kwargs):
-                self.commands.append((command, timeout))
+                self.commands.append((command, kwargs))
                 return {"output": "4321\n"}
 
         env = FakeEnv()
@@ -501,6 +501,52 @@ class TestSpawnEnvSanitization:
         assert "cat /tmp/hermes_bg_" not in bg_command
         fake_thread.start.assert_called_once()
 
+    def test_spawn_via_env_checks_returncode_when_wrapper_fails(self, registry):
+        class FakeEnv:
+            def __init__(self):
+                self.commands = []
+
+            def execute(self, command, **kwargs):
+                self.commands.append((command, kwargs))
+                return {"output": "syntax error", "returncode": 2}
+
+        env = FakeEnv()
+        fake_thread = MagicMock()
+
+        with patch("tools.process_registry.threading.Thread", return_value=fake_thread), \
+            patch.object(registry, "_write_checkpoint"):
+            session = registry.spawn_via_env(env, "echo hello")
+
+        assert session.exited is True
+        assert session.exit_code == 2
+        assert session.pid is None
+        assert session.output_buffer == "syntax error"
+        fake_thread.start.assert_not_called()
+        # A failed launch must not be exposed as a running/tracked session.
+        assert session.id not in registry._running
+
+    def test_spawn_via_env_disables_rewrite_for_bg_wrapper(self, registry):
+        class FakeEnv:
+            def __init__(self):
+                self.commands = []
+
+            def get_temp_dir(self):
+                return "/tmp"
+
+            def execute(self, command, **kwargs):
+                self.commands.append((command, kwargs))
+                return {"output": "4321\n", "returncode": 0}
+
+        env = FakeEnv()
+        fake_thread = MagicMock()
+
+        with patch("tools.process_registry.threading.Thread", return_value=fake_thread), \
+            patch.object(registry, "_write_checkpoint"):
+            registry.spawn_via_env(env, "echo hello")
+
+        args, kwargs = env.commands[0]
+        assert kwargs.get("rewrite_compound_background") is False
+
     def test_env_poller_quotes_temp_paths_with_spaces(self, registry):
         session = _make_session(sid="proc_space")
         session.exited = False
@@ -514,8 +560,8 @@ class TestSpawnEnvSanitization:
                     {"output": "0\n"},
                 ])
 
-            def execute(self, command, timeout=None):
+            def execute(self, command, **kwargs):
-                self.commands.append((command, timeout))
+                self.commands.append((command, kwargs))
                 return next(self._responses)
 
         env = FakeEnv()

tools/environments/base.py

@@ -833,18 +833,18 @@ class BaseEnvironment(ABC):
         *,
         timeout: int | None = None,
         stdin_data: str | None = None,
+        rewrite_compound_background: bool = True,
     ) -> dict:
         """Execute a command, return {"output": str, "returncode": int}."""
         self._before_execute()
 
         exec_command, sudo_stdin = self._prepare_command(command)
-        # Guard against the `A && B &` subshell-wait trap: bash forks a
+        # Guard against the `A && B &` subshell-wait trap by default.
-        # subshell for the compound that then waits for an infinite B (a
+        # Some callers (spawn_via_env) already produce shell-safe wrappers and
-        # server, `yes > /dev/null`, etc.), leaking the subshell forever.
+        # pass rewrite_compound_background=False.
-        # Rewriting to `A && { B & }` runs B as a plain background in the
+        if rewrite_compound_background:
-        # current shell — no subshell wait.
+            from tools.terminal_tool import _rewrite_compound_background
-        from tools.terminal_tool import _rewrite_compound_background
+            exec_command = _rewrite_compound_background(exec_command)
-        exec_command = _rewrite_compound_background(exec_command)
         effective_timeout = timeout or self.timeout
         effective_cwd = cwd or self.cwd
 
@@ -893,4 +893,3 @@ class BaseEnvironment(ABC):
         from tools.terminal_tool import _transform_sudo_command
 
         return _transform_sudo_command(command)
-

tools/environments/modal_utils.py

@@ -79,7 +79,12 @@ class BaseModalExecutionEnvironment(BaseEnvironment):
         *,
         timeout: int | None = None,
         stdin_data: str | None = None,
+        rewrite_compound_background: bool = True,
     ) -> dict:
+        # Managed/remote modal transports execute commands via explicit transport
+        # and do not rely on shell background rewriters. Keep parameter for
+        # compatibility with BaseEnvironment callers.
+        _ = rewrite_compound_background
         self._before_execute()
         prepared = self._prepare_modal_exec(
             command,

tools/process_registry.py

@@ -697,7 +697,11 @@ class ProcessRegistry:
         )
 
         try:
-            result = env.execute(bg_command, timeout=timeout)
+            result = env.execute(
+                bg_command,
+                timeout=timeout,
+                rewrite_compound_background=False,
+            )
             output = result.get("output", "").strip()
             # Try to extract the PID from the output
             for line in output.splitlines():
@@ -705,6 +709,15 @@ class ProcessRegistry:
                 if line.isdigit():
                     session.pid = int(line)
                     break
+            # If the wrapper couldn't produce a PID (for example, syntax
+            # error or broken redirect), treat it as a failed launch instead
+            # of exposing a fake running session.
+            if session.pid is None:
+                session.exited = True
+                session.exit_code = int(result.get("returncode", -1))
+                if session.exit_code == 0:
+                    session.exit_code = -1
+                session.output_buffer = result.get("output", "").strip()
         except Exception as e:
             session.exited = True
             session.exit_code = -1
@@ -723,9 +736,12 @@ class ProcessRegistry:
 
         with self._lock:
             self._prune_if_needed()
-            self._running[session.id] = session
+            if not session.exited:
+                self._running[session.id] = session
+
+        if not session.exited:
+            self._write_checkpoint()
 
-        self._write_checkpoint()
         return session
 
     # ----- Reader / Poller Threads -----