From 17e172b4666389a25a904a06aafff40187d9eb09 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Tom Boucher <trekkie@nomorestars.com>
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2026 23:37:19 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] fix: gate auto-mode bootstrap on SQLite availability (#2419)
 (#2421)

---
 src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto-start.ts    | 14 +++++
 .../gsd/tests/sqlite-unavailable-gate.test.ts | 63 +++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 77 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 src/resources/extensions/gsd/tests/sqlite-unavailable-gate.test.ts

diff --git a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto-start.ts b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto-start.ts
index abe3f0c8f..c63f0c5cb 100644
--- a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto-start.ts
+++ b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto-start.ts
@@ -551,6 +551,20 @@ export async function bootstrapAutoSession(
       }
     }
 
+    // Gate: abort bootstrap if the DB file exists but the provider is
+    // still unavailable after both open attempts above. Without this,
+    // auto-mode starts but every gsd_task_complete / gsd_slice_complete
+    // call returns "db_unavailable", triggering artifact-retry which
+    // re-dispatches the same task — producing an infinite loop (#2419).
+    if (existsSync(gsdDbPath) && !isDbAvailable()) {
+      ctx.ui.notify(
+        "SQLite database exists but failed to open. Auto-mode cannot proceed without a working database provider. " +
+          "Check for corrupt gsd.db or missing native SQLite bindings.",
+        "error",
+      );
+      return releaseLockAndReturn();
+    }
+
     // Initialize metrics
     initMetrics(s.basePath);
 
diff --git a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/tests/sqlite-unavailable-gate.test.ts b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/tests/sqlite-unavailable-gate.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8e1de821e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/tests/sqlite-unavailable-gate.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+/**
+ * sqlite-unavailable-gate.test.ts — #2419
+ *
+ * When the SQLite provider fails to open, bootstrapAutoSession must
+ * refuse to start auto-mode. Otherwise gsd_task_complete returns
+ * "db_unavailable", artifact retry re-dispatches the same task, and
+ * the session loops forever.
+ *
+ * This test verifies the gate by reading auto-start.ts source and
+ * confirming the pattern: after the DB lifecycle block, if the DB
+ * file exists on disk but isDbAvailable() still returns false after
+ * the open attempt, bootstrap must abort with an error notification.
+ */
+
+import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { createTestContext } from "./test-helpers.ts";
+
+const { assertTrue, report } = createTestContext();
+
+const srcPath = join(import.meta.dirname, "..", "auto-start.ts");
+const src = readFileSync(srcPath, "utf-8");
+
+console.log("\n=== #2419: SQLite unavailable gate in auto-start.ts ===");
+
+// The DB lifecycle section tries to open the DB. After those try/catch
+// blocks, there must be a HARD GATE: if the DB file exists on disk but
+// isDbAvailable() is still false (open failed), bootstrap must abort
+// by calling releaseLockAndReturn() with an error notification.
+
+const dbLifecycleIdx = src.indexOf("DB lifecycle");
+assertTrue(dbLifecycleIdx > 0, "auto-start.ts has a DB lifecycle section");
+
+const afterDbLifecycle = src.slice(dbLifecycleIdx);
+
+// Find the second isDbAvailable check — the one AFTER the open attempts.
+// The first check at line ~543 tries to open the DB.
+// There must be a SECOND check that gates bootstrap if it's still unavailable.
+const firstCheck = afterDbLifecycle.indexOf("isDbAvailable()");
+assertTrue(firstCheck > 0, "DB lifecycle section has isDbAvailable() check");
+
+const afterFirstCheck = afterDbLifecycle.slice(firstCheck + "isDbAvailable()".length);
+const secondCheck = afterFirstCheck.indexOf("isDbAvailable()");
+
+assertTrue(
+  secondCheck > 0,
+  "auto-start.ts has a SECOND isDbAvailable() check after the open attempt — this is the gate (#2419)",
+);
+
+// The second check must lead to releaseLockAndReturn (abort bootstrap)
+if (secondCheck > 0) {
+  const gateRegion = afterFirstCheck.slice(secondCheck, secondCheck + 500);
+  assertTrue(
+    gateRegion.includes("releaseLockAndReturn"),
+    "The DB availability gate calls releaseLockAndReturn() to abort bootstrap (#2419)",
+  );
+  assertTrue(
+    /database|sqlite|db.*unavailable/i.test(gateRegion),
+    "The DB availability gate includes a user-facing error message about the database (#2419)",
+  );
+}
+
+report();