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win32: console window appears for every child process spawned by background service #57907
Description
Summary
On Windows, the background service spawns every child process (git, powershell, rg) with a new visible console window. Because the service runs console-less, Windows allocates a fresh console per spawn, so windows appear continuously during normal work.
Environment
- opencode version: 2.1.2 (
latestchannel, npm global install) - OS: Windows 11 Home Single Language, build 26300 (win32 x64)
- Terminal: Windows Terminal (
WT_SESSIONset),TERM=xterm-256color - Shell:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe(ComSpec) - Install/channel: npm global (
%APPDATA%\npm\opencode.cmd), not dev/beta - Active plugins: opencode-supervisor, opencode-auto-model, opencode-idle-compaction, github:steverova/kiro-provider, @xberg-io/opencode-liter-llm, @xberg-io/opencode-xberg, kibi-opencode
Reproduction
- On Windows 11, install and run opencode so the shared background service is active (
opencode service statusreturns a URL). - Open a workspace that is a git repository and start a session.
- Observe the desktop while the session runs, without invoking any tool manually.
Expected Behavior
Child processes spawned by the service run hidden. On Windows this means passing windowsHide: true (or CREATE_NO_WINDOW) to the spawn call, so no console window is allocated.
Actual Behavior
Each spawned process allocates its own console window, which appears on the desktop and steals focus. Windows are visible for git, powershell, and rg invocations. With continuous snapshot/diff activity this produces a near-constant stream of windows.
Evidence from %USERPROFILE%\.local\share\opencode\log\opencode.log — total spawning process records and breakdown by executable:
6887 total spawns
5190 git.EXE
1300 powershell.EXE
222 rg.exe
125 opencode.exe
Sample log line:
level=INFO msg="spawning process" command="C:\\Program Files\\Git\\cmd\\git.EXE" \
args="[\"--git-dir\",\"...snapshot...\",\"--work-tree\",\"E:\\...\",\"ls-files\",...]" role=server
Additional Context
Why this happens: the service is started detached and owns no console. Per Windows process creation semantics, a child created without CREATE_NO_WINDOW/DETACHED_PROCESS from a console-less parent gets a new console allocated, which is shown to the user.
Workaround applied: no user-side config disables the spawns. Setting Windows Terminal as the default terminal application (HKCU:\Console\%%Startup → DelegationConsole/DelegationTerminal = {E12CFF52-A866-4C77-9A90-F570A7AA2C6B}) consolidates the windows into tabs of one window, which reduces visual noise but does not stop the consoles from being created.
Suggested fix: set windowsHide: true on the spawn/execFile calls used by the service for git snapshotting, the shell tool, and rg. Node's child_process defaults this to false, which is what produces the visible window here.
Frequency: consistent, every session; scales with git snapshot activity.
Activity
opencode-agent commentedon Oct 21, 2026
Thanks for the detailed report and the spawn counts from the log!
I think this is a duplicate of #52266, which tracks the same problem: on Windows, console processes started by the background service (snapshot
git, shell, MCP servers) each open a visible window.Possible duplicates and closely related issues, ordered from most to least likely:
git.exe) flashes a window. Same symptom and the same log evidence. Open, and this is where the problem is tracked.--standalonemakes the windows stop. Open.gitand shell tool spawns. Closed.One note on the suggested fix: core's spawner already passes
windowsHideon Windows (packages/util/src/cross-spawn-spawner.ts), so it is not just a missing flag. Earlier threads also found that some of the windows came from third-party plugins. If you can, please check whether the windows still appear with your plugins disabled, or when running with--standalone, and add the result to #52266.The bot will close this issue as a duplicate in 1 day unless you reply explaining how your problem is different.
Chaitanysai commentedon Oct 21, 2026
Thanks — you're right, and I need to correct my own report.
My suggested fix was wrong. I checked
packages/util/src/cross-spawn-spawner.tsondev: the spawn already passeswindowsHide: process.platform === "win32". So "addwindowsHide" is not an accurate description of the defect here, and I shouldn't have presented it as the missing one-liner.Where my evidence is actually different: the windows I see are
cmd.exeandnode.exe, notgit.exe. In 6,887spawning processrecords from my log, the breakdown by executable is:There is no
cmd.exeornode.exeentry anywhere in that set. So the windows that prompted the report never pass through the instrumented core spawner at all — they come from plugin-side spawns. In my config that is consistent with plugins invoking npm global.cmdshims (xberg.cmd,liter-llm.cmd) throughshell: true, which yields acmd.execonsole and then anode.execonsole per invocation. Core'swindowsHidestructurally cannot cover that path, because the spawn never goes through core.To be clear, I'm not claiming this is distinct from #52266 for the service layer — it is the same symptom, and the counts above support that. The only thing I'd ask to be captured in #52266 is the second spawn path, since it has a different owner and a different fix.
I have not tested
--standaloneor a plugin-disabled profile with window observation, so I can't confirm or deny the outcome; I won't guess at it. Happy for this to be closed as a duplicate.opencode-agent commentedon Oct 22, 2026
We haven't heard back, so I'm closing this as a duplicate of #52266. That issue tracks the same problem: on Windows,
git, PowerShell andrgprocesses started by the background service each open a visible console window. Please follow #52266 for updates. If you can, add whether the windows still appear with your plugins disabled or with--standalone, since that helps narrow down where they come from. If your problem turns out to be different, reply here and explain how, and we can reopen this. Thanks for the detailed report!