Fix: sbt -bsp exits silently when autoStartServer := false

Problem

When users set autoStartServer := false in their build configuration, running sbt -bsp (used by IntelliJ for BSP project import) would silently exit without starting the server. This made it impossible to import projects in IntelliJ when this setting was enabled, with no obvious error message to indicate what went wrong.

This was particularly frustrating because:

• The failure was silent with no helpful error message
• Users had no way of knowing that autoStartServer was the culprit
• The setting name suggests it controls automatic server startup, not all server startup

Root Cause

The autoStartServer setting was being checked even when the server was explicitly requested via the --server flag (which BSP mode uses internally). The original logic in CommandExchange.run() was:

if (autoStartServerSysProp && autoStart) runServer(s)

This meant that when autoStartServer := false, the server would never start - even when explicitly requested by a remote client like IntelliJ's BSP integration.

Solution

The fix distinguishes between automatic and explicit server startup. When sbt is started by a remote client (BSP or thin client via --server flag), the server now starts regardless of the autoStartServer setting:

val startedByRemote = Terminal.startedByRemoteClient
if (autoStartServerSysProp && (autoStart || startedByRemote)) runServer(s)

This preserves the intended behavior of autoStartServer:

• When set to false, sbt won't automatically start a server during normal interactive use
• When explicitly requested (via BSP or --server), the server starts as expected

Testing

• Verified compilation succeeds
• The fix is minimal and surgical - only one condition changed
• The Terminal.startedByRemoteClient flag is already used elsewhere in the codebase for similar purposes

Related

Fixes #7481

Contribution by Gittensor, see my contribution statistics at https://gittensor.io/miners/details?githubId=94194147