npm filter buffers stdout until exit, breaking long-running readiness protocols

[maxjustships]

Bug description

rtk npm captures child output until the child exits. For a long-running npm script (dev server, watcher, daemon, or parent process that emits a readiness receipt and stays alive), this means the caller cannot observe readiness while the process is running.

This breaks agent orchestration that starts a background service and waits for an early stdout receipt before launching a dependent worker.

Minimal reproduction

package.json:

{
  "private": true,
  "scripts": {
    "ready": "node ready.mjs"
  }
}

ready.mjs:

process.stdout.write(JSON.stringify({ kind: "ready", pid: process.pid }) + "\n");
setInterval(() => {}, 1000);

Run:

rtk npm run --silent ready

Actual

The process remains alive, but no READY JSON is visible to the parent. A background process poll/log remains empty.

Control:

rtk proxy npm run --silent ready

The JSON line is visible immediately while the process remains alive.

PTY allocation does not change the rtk npm behavior.

Environment

• RTK installed: 0.42.4
• Current stable source inspected: v0.45.0
• Linux / Node.js / npm

The current v0.45.0 implementation routes npm through runner::run_filtered(...), and run_captured_filter(...) uses FilterMode::CaptureOnly, emitting filtered output only after run_streaming(...) returns.

Expected behavior

RTK should provide a documented, reliable way to preserve streaming for long-running filtered commands, for example one of:

• a generic --stream / passthrough option on filtered subcommands;
• automatic passthrough for explicitly declared long-running mode;
• hook metadata/routing that selects rtk proxy when the caller launches a background/watch process.

Automatic guessing from npm script names alone would be incomplete because readiness processes can use arbitrary script names.

Current workaround

Use rtk proxy <command> for servers, watch/dev modes, daemons, readiness protocols, and other background processes whose output must be observed before exit.

[pszymkowiak]

wshm · Automated triage by AI

🔍 Automated Triage

✨ Category	feature
🟡 Priority	medium
🎯 Confidence	72%

Summary

rtk npm buffers all output until child exit (CaptureOnly filter mode), preventing observation of early readiness output from long-running processes; request a documented streaming/passthrough option (workaround: rtk proxy already exists).

📁 Relevant files

• src/runner.rs

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Triaged automatically by wshm · This is an automated analysis, not a human review.