fix(cli): clearer ENOEXEC hint on Oracle UEK8 SEA exec failure

docs/user/install.md

@@ -59,6 +59,25 @@ node apps/server/dist/bin.mjs
 `t3 update` and the background service do not apply to a server run this way;
 update it with `git pull` and a rebuild.
 
+### Oracle Linux (UEK8)
+
+Oracle's UEK8 kernel refuses to run the `t3` CLI (`ENOEXEC` / "Exec format
+error"). The CLI is a Node single-executable whose embedded JavaScript is a
+`PT_NOTE` larger than 4 MB, and UEK8 rejects notes that size. The desktop app
+is unaffected.
+
+Boot Oracle's RHCK (or any mainline-based kernel) instead of UEK8, or build
+from source the same way as Intel Macs above and run
+`node apps/server/dist/bin.mjs`.
+
+You can also keep the installed binary by lowering its oversized `PT_NOTE`
+program header `p_filesz` to 4 MB and leaving `p_memsz` unchanged. `readelf -l`
+on that `t3` lists the header as the `NOTE` row whose file size is above 4 MB.
+Node finds the embedded application using `p_memsz`; UEK8 checks `p_filesz`.
+Reapply the edit after every update. The kernel limit and this field change
+are described in
+[oracle/linux-uek#46](https://github.com/oracle/linux-uek/issues/46).
+
 ## Desktop app
 
 Download a release from [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/pingdotgg/t3code/releases),

packages/shared/src/legacyCliLauncher.test.ts

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import * as NodeOS from "node:os";
 import * as NodePath from "node:path";
 import { expect, it } from "vite-plus/test";
 
-import { legacyCliLauncherScript } from "./legacyCliLauncher.ts";
+import { legacyCliLauncherScript, linuxCliExecFormatErrorHint } from "./legacyCliLauncher.ts";
 
 // oxlint-disable-next-line t3code/no-global-process-runtime -- This test launches a real host executable.
 const hostPlatform = NodeOS.platform();
@@ -60,3 +60,41 @@ process.send({ args: process.argv.slice(2) });
     }
   },
 );
+
+it.skipIf(hostPlatform !== "linux")(
+  "hints at UEK8 when the platform executable cannot exec",
+  async () => {
+    const root = await NodeFSP.mkdtemp(NodePath.join(NodeOS.tmpdir(), "t3-legacy-enoexec-"));
+    const entry = NodePath.join(root, "node_modules/t3/dist/bin.mjs");
+    const executable = NodePath.join(
+      root,
+      `node_modules/@t3code/t3-${hostPlatform}-${hostArch}/t3`,
+    );
+    await NodeFSP.mkdir(NodePath.dirname(entry), { recursive: true });
+    await NodeFSP.mkdir(NodePath.dirname(executable), { recursive: true });
+    await NodeFSP.writeFile(
+      NodePath.join(NodePath.dirname(executable), "package.json"),
+      '{"type":"commonjs"}',
+    );
+    await NodeFSP.writeFile(entry, legacyCliLauncherScript());
+    await NodeFSP.writeFile(executable, "#!/bin/sh\nexit 126\n");
+    await NodeFSP.chmod(executable, 0o755);
+    const child = NodeChildProcess.fork(entry, ["--version"], { silent: true });
+    let stderr = "";
+    child.stderr?.on("data", (chunk: Buffer) => {
+      stderr += chunk.toString();
+    });
+    try {
+      const [code] = await NodeEvents.EventEmitter.once(child, "exit");
+      expect(code).toBe(126);
+      expect(stderr).toContain(linuxCliExecFormatErrorHint);
+    } finally {
+      if (child.exitCode === null && child.signalCode === null) {
+        const exit = NodeEvents.EventEmitter.once(child, "exit");
+        child.kill("SIGTERM");
+        await exit;
+      }
+      await NodeFSP.rm(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  },
+);

packages/shared/src/legacyCliLauncher.ts

@@ -10,7 +10,24 @@
  * Remove it once no supported release predates the executable (after the
  * first stable release that ships it).
  */
+
+/**
+ * UEK8's `load_elf_binary()` returns ENOEXEC when a PT_NOTE exceeds 4 MB
+ * (`MAX_FILE_NOTE_SIZE`). The CLI is a Node SEA, so `NODE_SEA_BLOB` is large
+ * by design. The kernel only checks the PT_NOTE program header `p_filesz`,
+ * not the note payload: capping that field at 4 MB on the installed binary
+ * lets `execve` succeed, and must be reapplied after every update. Node spawn
+ * uses execvp, which retries ENOEXEC via /bin/sh, so the failure often
+ * arrives as status 126 with no error object. ENOEXEC can also mean a corrupt
+ * or wrong-architecture file; this is the likely cause on Linux when the file
+ * exists.
+ */
+export const linuxCliExecFormatErrorHint =
+  "t3: Oracle Linux UEK8 kernels reject Node SEA PT_NOTE segments larger than 4 MB (ENOEXEC). Boot Oracle RHCK or a mainline-based kernel; patch the installed binary's PT_NOTE p_filesz down to 4 MB (reapply after every update); or build from source and run node apps/server/dist/bin.mjs. ENOEXEC can also mean a corrupt or wrong-architecture file.";
+
+/** Return `dist/bin.mjs` source that forwards the process to the sibling platform `t3` executable. */
 export function legacyCliLauncherScript(): string {
+  // Linux pipe/socket stderr writes are async; process.exit() would drop the UEK8 hint.
   return `import { spawn } from "node:child_process";
 import { constants } from "node:os";
 import { dirname, join } from "node:path";
@@ -22,6 +39,14 @@ const ipc = process.send !== undefined;
 const child = spawn(executable, process.argv.slice(2), {
   stdio: ipc ? ["inherit", "inherit", "inherit", "ipc"] : "inherit",
 });
+const linuxHint = ${JSON.stringify(linuxCliExecFormatErrorHint + "\n")};
+let exiting = false;
+const exitAfterWrite = (code, extra) => {
+  if (exiting) return;
+  exiting = true;
+  if (extra) process.stderr.write(extra, () => process.exit(code));
+  else process.exit(code);
+};
 const fail = (error) => {
   if (!error) return;
   process.stderr.write("t3: " + error.message + "\\n");
@@ -36,7 +61,15 @@ if (ipc) {
 for (const signal of ["SIGINT", "SIGTERM", "SIGHUP"]) {
   process.on(signal, () => child.kill(signal));
 }
-child.on("error", (error) => { fail(error); process.exit(1); });
-child.on("exit", (code, signal) => process.exit(code ?? 128 + (constants.signals[signal] || 1)));
+child.on("error", (error) => {
+  fail(error);
+  exitAfterWrite(1, error.code === "ENOEXEC" && process.platform === "linux" ? linuxHint : undefined);
+});
+child.on("exit", (code, signal) => {
+  exitAfterWrite(
+    code ?? 128 + (constants.signals[signal] || 1),
+    code === 126 && process.platform === "linux" ? linuxHint : undefined,
+  );
+});
 `;
 }

scripts/build-npm-platform-packages.test.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import * as HostProcess from "@t3tools/shared/HostProcess";
+import { linuxCliExecFormatErrorHint } from "@t3tools/shared/legacyCliLauncher";
 import * as NodeServices from "@effect/platform-node/NodeServices";
 import { assert, it } from "@effect/vitest";
 import * as Effect from "effect/Effect";
@@ -10,6 +11,7 @@ import { ChildProcess, ChildProcessSpawner } from "effect/process";
 
 import {
   buildNpmPlatformPackages,
+  NPM_LAUNCHER_SCRIPT,
   NpmPackagesArchivesMissingError,
 } from "./build-npm-platform-packages.ts";
 
@@ -258,4 +260,55 @@ it.layer(NodeServices.layer)("build-npm-platform-packages", (it) => {
       assert.include(unsupported.stderr, "https://github.com/pingdotgg/t3code/releases");
     }),
   );
+
+  it.effect.skipIf(HostProcess.Platform.defaultValue() !== "linux")(
+    "hints at UEK8 when the platform executable cannot exec",
+    () =>
+      Effect.gen(function* () {
+        const fs = yield* FileSystem.FileSystem;
+        const path = yield* Path.Path;
+        const hostPlatform = yield* HostProcess.Platform;
+        const hostArch = yield* HostProcess.Architecture;
+        const root = yield* fs.makeTempDirectoryScoped({ prefix: "t3-npm-enoexec-" });
+        const platformDir = path.join(root, `@t3code/t3-${hostPlatform}-${hostArch}`);
+        const launcherDir = path.join(root, "t3");
+        yield* fs.makeDirectory(platformDir, { recursive: true });
+        yield* fs.makeDirectory(path.join(launcherDir, "bin"), { recursive: true });
+        yield* fs.writeFileString(path.join(platformDir, "package.json"), '{"type":"commonjs"}');
+        yield* fs.writeFileString(path.join(platformDir, "t3"), "#!/bin/sh\nexit 126\n");
+        yield* fs.chmod(path.join(platformDir, "t3"), 0o755);
+        yield* fs.writeFileString(path.join(launcherDir, "bin/t3.js"), NPM_LAUNCHER_SCRIPT);
+        const env = { ...process.env, NODE_PATH: root } as Record<string, string>;
+        const execvpFallback = yield* run(process.execPath, ["bin/t3.js", "--version"], {
+          cwd: launcherDir,
+          env,
+        });
+        assert.equal(execvpFallback.exitCode, 126);
+        assert.include(execvpFallback.stderr, linuxCliExecFormatErrorHint);
+
+        // Node spawnSync uses execvp, which retries ENOEXEC via /bin/sh. The
+        // raw error is still possible if that fallback is skipped.
+        yield* fs.writeFileString(
+          path.join(root, "enoexec-preload.cjs"),
+          [
+            '"use strict";',
+            'const childProcess = require("node:child_process");',
+            "childProcess.spawnSync = () => {",
+            '  const error = new Error("spawnSync ENOEXEC");',
+            '  error.code = "ENOEXEC";',
+            "  return { error, status: null, signal: null };",
+            "};",
+            "",
+          ].join("\n"),
+        );
+        const enoexec = yield* run(
+          process.execPath,
+          ["-r", path.join(root, "enoexec-preload.cjs"), "bin/t3.js", "--version"],
+          { cwd: launcherDir, env },
+        );
+        assert.equal(enoexec.exitCode, 1);
+        assert.include(enoexec.stderr, "failed to start");
+        assert.include(enoexec.stderr, linuxCliExecFormatErrorHint);
+      }),
+  );
 });

scripts/build-npm-platform-packages.ts

@@ -19,7 +19,10 @@
  * bundleDependencies needs an arborist tree these flattened installs are
  * not), whereas `npm publish <tarball>` uploads the bytes as given.
  */
-import { legacyCliLauncherScript } from "@t3tools/shared/legacyCliLauncher";
+import {
+  legacyCliLauncherScript,
+  linuxCliExecFormatErrorHint,
+} from "@t3tools/shared/legacyCliLauncher";
 import * as NodeRuntime from "@effect/platform-node/NodeRuntime";
 import * as NodeServices from "@effect/platform-node/NodeServices";
 import * as Effect from "effect/Effect";
@@ -190,7 +193,9 @@ export function npmLauncherPackageManifest(
 /**
  * The launcher every `npx t3` runs. Plain CommonJS with no dependencies so it
  * loads on any Node that npm itself runs on; the real work happens in the
- * single-executable it execs.
+ * single-executable it execs. Linux ENOEXEC / exit 126 prints a UEK8 hint
+ * (RHCK, PT_NOTE `p_filesz` cap, or from-source) because Node spawnSync
+ * retries exec format errors through /bin/sh.
  */
 export const NPM_LAUNCHER_SCRIPT = `#!/usr/bin/env node
 "use strict";
@@ -219,12 +224,21 @@ try {
 
 const executable = join(packageDir, process.platform === "win32" ? "t3.exe" : "t3");
 const result = spawnSync(executable, process.argv.slice(2), { stdio: "inherit" });
+const linuxHint = ${JSON.stringify(linuxCliExecFormatErrorHint + "\n")};
+const exitAfterWrite = (code, extra) => {
+  if (extra) process.stderr.write(extra, () => process.exit(code));
+  else process.exit(code);
+};
 if (result.error) {
   process.stderr.write("t3: failed to start " + executable + ": " + result.error.message + "\\n");
-  process.exit(1);
+  exitAfterWrite(1, process.platform === "linux" && result.error.code === "ENOEXEC" ? linuxHint : undefined);
+} else {
+  // A child killed by a signal has no status; report it the way a shell would.
+  exitAfterWrite(
+    result.status ?? 128 + (constants.signals[result.signal] || 1),
+    process.platform === "linux" && result.status === 126 ? linuxHint : undefined,
+  );
 }
-// A child killed by a signal has no status; report it the way a shell would.
-process.exit(result.status ?? 128 + (constants.signals[result.signal] || 1));
 `;
 
 const runCommand = Effect.fn("runCommand")(function* (

scripts/install.sh

@@ -208,7 +208,17 @@ else
   step "Extracting T3 Code..."
   tar -xzf "${staging}/${archive}" -C "$staging" --strip-components=1
   rm -f "${staging}/${archive}" "${staging}/SHA256SUMS"
-  "${staging}/t3" --version >/dev/null || fail "the downloaded executable does not run"
+  # Discard --version on stdout. Leave stderr attached so a startup or
+  # configuration error stays visible. Some shells retry ENOEXEC as a script,
+  # so that stderr may not name ENOEXEC; the Linux hint below does not depend
+  # on it. Keep the hint aligned with linuxCliExecFormatErrorHint in
+  # packages/shared/src/legacyCliLauncher.ts (PT_NOTE p_filesz cap).
+  if ! "${staging}/t3" --version >/dev/null; then
+    if [ "$platform" = linux ]; then
+      fail "the downloaded executable does not run. This can be caused by Oracle Linux UEK8 kernels rejecting Node SEA PT_NOTE segments larger than 4 MB (ENOEXEC). Boot Oracle RHCK or a mainline-based kernel; patch the installed binary's PT_NOTE p_filesz down to 4 MB (reapply after every update); or build from source and run node apps/server/dist/bin.mjs. ENOEXEC can also mean a corrupt or wrong-architecture file."
+    fi
+    fail "the downloaded executable does not run"
+  fi
   printf '%s\n' "$version" > "${staging}/.install-complete"
 
   rm -rf "$target_dir"