## Thinking Path
- Followed a silent nonzero Hermes exit from child-process result
parsing through heartbeat run, runtime, task-session, and agent
finalization.
- Found two gaps: the adapter could return `errorMessage: null` for a
numeric nonzero exit, and heartbeat later reused the nullable adapter
field instead of its normalized fallback.
- Kept timeout, signal-cancellation, and specific parsed diagnostics
authoritative.
## Linked Issue(s) / Bug Report
Related to #9751 (stderr classification) and #9519 (exit-zero
finalization), but this is a separate failure mode.
Reproduction: run Hermes with a child result equivalent to `exitCode:
1`, `timedOut: false`, and no parsed diagnostic. The heartbeat row
derives `Adapter failed`, while runtime/task-session/agent finalization
can persist null diagnostics.
## What Changed
- Give silent numeric nonzero Hermes exits a stable fallback such as
`Hermes exited with code 1`.
- Preserve specific parsed errors and timeout/signal semantics.
- Reuse the normalized persisted run error for recovered runtime state,
task-session `lastError`, and agent `errorReason`.
- Add adapter-level and embedded-Postgres regressions.
## Verification
- Hermes adapter `execute.onspawn.test.ts` — 7 passed.
- Focused heartbeat normalized-error regression — 1 passed (91 skipped).
- `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/hermes-paperclip-adapter typecheck` —
passed.
- `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/server typecheck` — passed.
- `git diff --check origin/master...HEAD` — passed.
Independent review also ran the full recovery file: the changed
regression passed; one unrelated pre-existing timing-sensitive test
timed out.
## Risks / Rollout Notes
Low risk. Fallback text is used only when a numeric nonzero exit has no
better diagnostic. Existing timeout, signal, and parsed-error precedence
remains unchanged.
## Model Used
OpenAI Codex `gpt-5.6-sol` with repository inspection, test execution,
and independent read-only review.
## Checklist
- [x] I have included a thinking path that traces from project context
to this change
- [x] I have specified the model used (with version and capability
details)
- [x] I have checked ROADMAP.md and confirmed this PR does not duplicate
planned core work
- [x] I have searched GitHub for duplicate or related PRs and linked
them above
- [x] I have either (a) linked existing issues with `Fixes: #` / `Closes
#` / `Refs #` OR (b) described the issue in-PR following the relevant
issue template
- [x] I have not referenced internal/instance-local Paperclip issues or
links (only public GitHub `#NNN` / `github.com/paperclipai/paperclip`
URLs)
- [x] My branch name describes the change (e.g. `docs/...`, `fix/...`)
and contains no internal Paperclip ticket id or instance-derived details
- [x] I have run tests locally and they pass
- [x] I have added or updated tests where applicable
- [x] I have updated relevant documentation to reflect my changes (not
applicable: internal diagnostics only)
- [x] I have considered and documented any risks above
- [ ] All Paperclip CI gates are green
- [ ] Greptile is 5/5 with no open P2s, recommendations, or follow-ups
- [ ] I will address all Greptile and reviewer comments before
requesting merge
Co-authored-by: cucurigoo <cucurigoo@users.noreply.github.com>
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