Daemon Forensics

Daemon Forensics Reference

Read this when a run needs evidence beyond the notification or check result. The run directory is durable evidence, not a disposable workspace.

Durable run layout

New tasks get daemons/em-<id>/ under the parent working directory (or the standalone state root). Returned id, daemon.json.run_id, and folder name identify the same new run; legacy ids can be ambiguous, so prefer exact run ids. reclaim cancels all running manager-owned work but leaves its files. A molt clears conversation context; it does not wipe durable stores or run folders.

daemons/em-<id>/
├── daemon.json             # identity, state, call parameters, previews
├── artifacts.json          # metadata-only manifest, written at terminal time
├── result.txt              # full result or bounded error text
├── .prompt                 # constructed system prompt
├── history/chat_history.jsonl
└── logs/{events,token_ledger}.jsonl

artifacts.json contains run-relative {path, size, mtime, role} entries plus state, result_path, error_path, artifacts_total, and truncated. It contains paths and metadata, never file contents. check prefers this manifest and can produce a bounded fallback for live or legacy runs. Avoid secret-bearing filenames.

Disclosure order

1. Read the terminal notification and call daemon(action="check", input={"id": "<run_id>"}).
2. Open its durable result_path or error_path; use .prompt when the task or selected context needs verification.
3. Read logs/events.jsonl, history/chat_history.jsonl, or logs/token_ledger.jsonl only for the specific forensic question.

For a known legacy run, check or direct inspection may be needed even when list omits it. An omitted ledger item is not proof of deletion or failure.

State and failure fields

In daemon.json, inspect state (running, done, failed, cancelled, timeout), current_tool, turn, tool_call_count, last_output_at, result_preview, result_path, error, and elapsed_s. LingTai token totals are in tokens; external CLI usage is separate and remains in run artifacts. Native transcripts record task, assistant, tool-result, and follow-up entries; CLI model transcripts may instead live in the vendor session store. CLI usage is cli_tokens, not parent/kernel token-ledger spend; never sum both lanes as if they were comparable. Read JSONL line by line, not as one JSON document.

Suspected stall

A concrete progress question permits a bounded check before completion. Compare state, tool/count, recent events and output timestamps over a meaningful interval for this task; native transcript progress and CLI last_output_at are different signals. A slow tool or quiet model is not by itself a stall. Do not run completion-poll loops, infer failure from silence, or reclaim on a hunch. If intervention is warranted, confirm its authority and all affected runs. Normal waiting relies on terminal notifications; do not add a recurring timer. Only if completion delivery itself is unverified and work remains pending, use the Shell manual's one-shot wake route, sized to the expected task duration; inspect progress on that wake instead of repeatedly re-arming it.

Exit 143 / SIGTERM

A shell-style 143 usually represents 128 + SIGTERM; a direct subprocess may report -15. Neither proves a failed assertion, the sender, or even signal termination by itself (a program can explicitly exit 143). Match the actual supervisor receipt and events. A watchdog, reclaim, host shutdown, or the task's own process tree may be responsible; a timeout or turn-limit failure need not produce 143. Do not blame parent molt: context shedding is not cancellation.

Before rerunning, inspect daemon.json, physical result.txt, and recent events; partial work may already suffice. Match configured limits and explicit cancel records. If continuation is needed, keep the old artifacts and re-check scope and execution-body instructions: native terminal runs cannot resume, while some CLI runs support ask. No automatic rerun or model/backend switch is authorized. Report the observed termination and evidence-backed cause, or say it is unknown.

Safety boundary

Inspection is read-only. Do not infer liveness from one quiet snapshot, delete run evidence while diagnosing, print credential values, or treat a partial 143 result as a reason to widen the parent task. Consent-gated footprint and deletion procedure belongs in ../cleanup/SKILL.md.