fix(cli): tolerate deleted startup directories (#93636)

Co-authored-by: Peter Steinberger <steipete@gmail.com>

src/cli/dotenv.ts

@@ -2,12 +2,15 @@
 import path from "node:path";
 import { resolveStateDir } from "../config/paths.js";
 import { loadGlobalRuntimeDotEnvFiles, loadWorkspaceDotEnvFile } from "../infra/dotenv.js";
+import { tryProcessCwd } from "../infra/safe-cwd.js";
 
 /** Load `.env` files for normal CLI commands without overriding existing process env. */
 export function loadCliDotEnv(opts?: { loadGlobalEnv?: boolean; quiet?: boolean }) {
   const quiet = opts?.quiet ?? true;
-  const cwdEnvPath = path.join(process.cwd(), ".env");
-  loadWorkspaceDotEnvFile(cwdEnvPath, { quiet });
+  const cwd = tryProcessCwd();
+  if (cwd) {
+    loadWorkspaceDotEnvFile(path.join(cwd, ".env"), { quiet });
+  }
 
   if (opts?.loadGlobalEnv === false) {
     return;

src/cli/gateway-dispatch-dotenv.ts

@@ -3,12 +3,13 @@ import fs from "node:fs";
 import path from "node:path";
 import { resolveStateDir } from "../config/paths.js";
 import { loadGlobalRuntimeDotEnvFiles } from "../infra/dotenv-global.js";
+import { tryProcessCwd } from "../infra/safe-cwd.js";
 
 /** Load only the env files needed before dispatching a command through the gateway. */
 export async function loadGatewayDispatchCliDotEnv(opts?: { quiet?: boolean }) {
   const quiet = opts?.quiet ?? true;
-  const cwdEnvPath = path.join(process.cwd(), ".env");
-  if (fs.existsSync(cwdEnvPath)) {
+  const cwd = tryProcessCwd();
+  if (cwd && fs.existsSync(path.join(cwd, ".env"))) {
     const { loadCliDotEnv } = await import("./dotenv.js");
     loadCliDotEnv({ quiet });
     return;

src/cli/run-main.ts

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import { isTruthyEnvValue, normalizeEnv } from "../infra/env.js";
 import type { ProxyHandle } from "../infra/net/proxy/proxy-lifecycle.js";
 import { ensureOpenClawCliOnPath } from "../infra/path-env.js";
 import { assertSupportedRuntime } from "../infra/runtime-guard.js";
+import { tryProcessCwd } from "../infra/safe-cwd.js";
 import type { PluginManifestCommandAliasRegistry } from "../plugins/manifest-command-aliases.js";
 import { resolveCliArgvInvocation } from "./argv-invocation.js";
 import {
@@ -542,7 +543,8 @@ export function resolveMissingPluginCommandMessage(
 }
 
 function shouldLoadCliDotEnv(env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env): boolean {
-  if (existsSync(path.join(process.cwd(), ".env"))) {
+  const cwd = tryProcessCwd();
+  if (cwd && existsSync(path.join(cwd, ".env"))) {
     return true;
   }
   return existsSync(path.join(resolveStateDir(env), ".env"));

src/infra/dotenv.test.ts

@@ -215,6 +215,22 @@ describe("loadDotEnv", () => {
     });
   });
 
+  it("loads global env when the working directory was deleted", async () => {
+    await withIsolatedEnvAndCwd(async () => {
+      await withDotEnvFixture(async ({ stateDir }) => {
+        await writeEnvFile(path.join(stateDir, ".env"), "FOO=from-global\n");
+        vi.spyOn(process, "cwd").mockImplementation(() => {
+          throw new Error("ENOENT: uv_cwd");
+        });
+        delete process.env.FOO;
+
+        loadDotEnv({ quiet: true });
+
+        expect(process.env.FOO).toBe("from-global");
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
   it("loads the Ubuntu gateway.env compatibility fallback after ~/.openclaw/.env", async () => {
     await withIsolatedEnvAndCwd(async () => {
       await withDotEnvFixture(async ({ base, cwdDir }) => {
@@ -719,6 +735,22 @@ describe("loadCliDotEnv", () => {
     });
   });
 
+  it("loads global CLI env when the working directory was deleted", async () => {
+    await withIsolatedEnvAndCwd(async () => {
+      await withDotEnvFixture(async ({ stateDir }) => {
+        await writeEnvFile(path.join(stateDir, ".env"), "FOO=from-global\n");
+        vi.spyOn(process, "cwd").mockImplementation(() => {
+          throw new Error("ENOENT: uv_cwd");
+        });
+        delete process.env.FOO;
+
+        loadCliDotEnv({ quiet: true });
+
+        expect(process.env.FOO).toBe("from-global");
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
   it("does not load gateway.env when OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR is explicitly set", async () => {
     await withIsolatedEnvAndCwd(async () => {
       await withDotEnvFixture(async ({ base, cwdDir }) => {

src/infra/dotenv.ts

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import {
   isDangerousHostEnvVarName,
   normalizeEnvVarKey,
 } from "./host-env-security.js";
+import { tryProcessCwd } from "./safe-cwd.js";
 
 const BLOCKED_PROVIDER_AUTH_WORKSPACE_DOTENV_KEYS = [
   "AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY",
@@ -245,8 +246,10 @@ export { loadGlobalRuntimeDotEnvFiles };
 
 export function loadDotEnv(opts?: { quiet?: boolean }) {
   const quiet = opts?.quiet ?? true;
-  const cwdEnvPath = path.join(process.cwd(), ".env");
-  loadWorkspaceDotEnvFile(cwdEnvPath, { quiet });
+  const cwd = tryProcessCwd();
+  if (cwd) {
+    loadWorkspaceDotEnvFile(path.join(cwd, ".env"), { quiet });
+  }
 
   // Then load global fallback: ~/.openclaw/.env (or OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR/.env),
   // without overriding any env vars already present.

src/infra/home-dir.test.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 // Tests OpenClaw home directory resolution.
 import path from "node:path";
-import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import {
   expandHomePrefix,
   resolveEffectiveHomeDir,
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import {
   resolveOsHomeDir,
   resolveOsHomeRelativePath,
   resolveRequiredHomeDir,
+  resolveRequiredOsHomeDir,
 } from "./home-dir.js";
 
 describe("resolveEffectiveHomeDir", () => {
@@ -166,6 +167,22 @@ describe("resolveRequiredHomeDir", () => {
   ])("$name", ({ env, homedir, expected }) => {
     expect(resolveRequiredHomeDir(env, homedir)).toBe(expected);
   });
+
+  it("fails clearly when both home and cwd are unavailable", () => {
+    const cwdSpy = vi.spyOn(process, "cwd").mockImplementation(() => {
+      throw new Error("ENOENT: uv_cwd");
+    });
+    const noHome = () => {
+      throw new Error("no home");
+    };
+
+    try {
+      expect(() => resolveRequiredHomeDir({}, noHome)).toThrow(/set OPENCLAW_HOME/i);
+      expect(() => resolveRequiredOsHomeDir({}, noHome)).toThrow(/set HOME/i);
+    } finally {
+      cwdSpy.mockRestore();
+    }
+  });
 });
 
 describe("resolveOsHomeDir", () => {

src/infra/home-dir.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 // Resolves OpenClaw home and platform-specific config directories.
 import os from "node:os";
 import path from "node:path";
+import { tryProcessCwd } from "./safe-cwd.js";
 
 function normalize(value: string | undefined): string | undefined {
   const trimmed = value?.trim();
@@ -75,7 +76,13 @@ export function resolveRequiredHomeDir(
   env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env,
   homedir: () => string = os.homedir,
 ): string {
-  return resolveEffectiveHomeDir(env, homedir) ?? path.resolve(process.cwd());
+  const resolved = resolveEffectiveHomeDir(env, homedir) ?? tryProcessCwd();
+  if (resolved) {
+    return path.resolve(resolved);
+  }
+  throw new Error(
+    "Unable to resolve an OpenClaw home: set OPENCLAW_HOME, HOME, or USERPROFILE, or run from an existing directory.",
+  );
 }
 
 /** Resolves the OS home or falls back to cwd when no OS home source exists. */
@@ -83,7 +90,13 @@ export function resolveRequiredOsHomeDir(
   env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env,
   homedir: () => string = os.homedir,
 ): string {
-  return resolveOsHomeDir(env, homedir) ?? path.resolve(process.cwd());
+  const resolved = resolveOsHomeDir(env, homedir) ?? tryProcessCwd();
+  if (resolved) {
+    return path.resolve(resolved);
+  }
+  throw new Error(
+    "Unable to resolve an OS home: set HOME or USERPROFILE, or run from an existing directory.",
+  );
 }
 
 /** Expands leading `~`, `~/`, or `~\` with the effective home when one is known. */

src/infra/path-env.test.ts

@@ -232,6 +232,26 @@ describe("ensureOpenClawCliOnPath", () => {
     },
   );
 
+  it("skips project-local bins when the working directory was deleted", () => {
+    const { tmp, appCli } = setupAppCliRoot("case-deleted-cwd");
+    const localBinDir = path.join(tmp, "node_modules", ".bin");
+    setDir(localBinDir);
+    setExe(path.join(localBinDir, "openclaw"));
+    resetBootstrapEnv();
+    process.env.OPENCLAW_ALLOW_PROJECT_LOCAL_BIN = "1";
+    const cwdSpy = vi.spyOn(process, "cwd").mockImplementation(() => {
+      throw new Error("ENOENT: uv_cwd");
+    });
+
+    try {
+      ensureOpenClawCliOnPath({ execPath: appCli, homeDir: tmp, platform: "darwin" });
+    } finally {
+      cwdSpy.mockRestore();
+    }
+
+    expect((process.env.PATH ?? "").split(path.delimiter)).not.toContain(localBinDir);
+  });
+
   it("prepends XDG_BIN_HOME ahead of other user bin fallbacks", () => {
     const { tmp, appCli } = setupAppCliRoot("case-xdg-bin-home");
     const xdgBinHome = path.join(tmp, "xdg-bin");

src/infra/path-env.ts

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import {
 } from "@openclaw/normalization-core/string-normalization";
 import { resolveBrewPathDirs } from "./brew.js";
 import { isTruthyEnvValue } from "./env.js";
+import { tryProcessCwd } from "./safe-cwd.js";
 
 type EnsureOpenClawPathOpts = {
   /** Executable whose directory should stay first for shebang-compatible child processes. */
@@ -80,7 +81,7 @@ function candidateBinDirs(
   existingPathParts: ReadonlySet<string>,
 ): { prepend: string[]; append: string[] } {
   const execPath = opts.execPath ?? process.execPath;
-  const cwd = opts.cwd ?? process.cwd();
+  const cwd = opts.cwd ?? tryProcessCwd();
   const homeDir = opts.homeDir ?? os.homedir();
   const platform = opts.platform ?? process.platform;
 
@@ -114,7 +115,7 @@ function candidateBinDirs(
   const allowProjectLocalBin =
     opts.allowProjectLocalBin === true ||
     isTruthyEnvValue(process.env.OPENCLAW_ALLOW_PROJECT_LOCAL_BIN);
-  if (allowProjectLocalBin) {
+  if (allowProjectLocalBin && cwd) {
     const localBinDir = path.join(cwd, "node_modules", ".bin");
     if (isExecutable(path.join(localBinDir, "openclaw"))) {
       append.push(localBinDir);

src/infra/safe-cwd.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+// A removed launch directory makes Node's process.cwd() throw before callers can recover.
+// Keep the absence explicit so each trust boundary chooses whether to skip, fail, or fall back.
+export function tryProcessCwd(): string | undefined {
+  try {
+    return process.cwd();
+  } catch {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+}

src/tui/tui-local-shell.test.ts

@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ function createOverlayHandle(): OverlayHandle {
 
 function createShellHarness(params?: {
   spawnCommand?: typeof import("node:child_process").spawn;
+  getCwd?: () => string | undefined;
   env?: Record<string, string>;
   maxOutputChars?: number;
 }) {
@@ -53,6 +54,7 @@ function createShellHarness(params?: {
     closeOverlay,
     createSelector: createSelectorSpy,
     spawnCommand,
+    ...(params?.getCwd ? { getCwd: params.getCwd } : {}),
     ...(params?.env ? { env: params.env } : {}),
     ...(params?.maxOutputChars !== undefined ? { maxOutputChars: params.maxOutputChars } : {}),
   });
@@ -162,4 +164,17 @@ describe("createLocalShellRunner", () => {
     // the previous head-cut kept all stdout and dropped stderr entirely.
     expect(harness.messages.some((m) => m.includes("FATAL"))).toBe(true);
   });
+
+  it("refuses to retarget local commands after the working directory is deleted", async () => {
+    const harness = createShellHarness({ getCwd: () => undefined });
+
+    const run = harness.runLocalShellLine("!pwd");
+    harness.getLastSelector()?.onSelect?.({ value: "yes", label: "Yes" });
+    await run;
+
+    expect(harness.spawnCommand).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(harness.messages).toContain(
+      "local shell: working directory was deleted; cd to an existing directory first",
+    );
+  });
 });

src/tui/tui-local-shell.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 // Launches and manages the local shell process used by TUI local mode.
 import { spawn } from "node:child_process";
 import type { Component, OverlayHandle, SelectItem } from "@earendil-works/pi-tui";
+import { tryProcessCwd } from "../infra/safe-cwd.js";
 import { createSearchableSelectList } from "./components/selectors.js";
 
 type LocalShellDeps = {
@@ -20,7 +21,7 @@ type LocalShellDeps = {
     onCancel?: () => void;
   };
   spawnCommand?: typeof spawn;
-  getCwd?: () => string;
+  getCwd?: () => string | undefined;
   env?: NodeJS.ProcessEnv;
   maxOutputChars?: number;
 };
@@ -30,7 +31,7 @@ export function createLocalShellRunner(deps: LocalShellDeps) {
   let localExecAllowed = false;
   const createSelector = deps.createSelector ?? createSearchableSelectList;
   const spawnCommand = deps.spawnCommand ?? spawn;
-  const getCwd = deps.getCwd ?? (() => process.cwd());
+  const getCwd = deps.getCwd ?? tryProcessCwd;
   const env = deps.env ?? process.env;
   const maxChars = deps.maxOutputChars ?? 40_000;
 
@@ -98,6 +99,16 @@ export function createLocalShellRunner(deps: LocalShellDeps) {
       return;
     }
 
+    // A shell command's meaning depends on its directory; never retarget it implicitly.
+    const cwd = getCwd();
+    if (!cwd) {
+      deps.chatLog.addSystem(
+        "local shell: working directory was deleted; cd to an existing directory first",
+      );
+      deps.tui.requestRender();
+      return;
+    }
+
     deps.chatLog.addSystem(`[local] $ ${cmd}`);
     deps.tui.requestRender();
 
@@ -111,7 +122,7 @@ export function createLocalShellRunner(deps: LocalShellDeps) {
         // Intentionally a shell: this is an operator-only local TUI feature (prefixed with `!`)
         // and is gated behind an explicit in-session approval prompt.
         shell: true,
-        cwd: getCwd(),
+        cwd,
         env: { ...env, OPENCLAW_SHELL: "tui-local" },
       });
 

src/tui/tui.test.ts

@@ -338,6 +338,18 @@ describe("resolveInitialTuiAgentId", () => {
       }),
     ).toBe("main");
   });
+
+  it("falls back when the working directory was deleted", () => {
+    const cwdSpy = vi.spyOn(process, "cwd").mockImplementation(() => {
+      throw new Error("ENOENT: uv_cwd");
+    });
+
+    try {
+      expect(resolveInitialTuiAgentId({ cfg, fallbackAgentId: "main" })).toBe("main");
+    } finally {
+      cwdSpy.mockRestore();
+    }
+  });
 });
 
 describe("resolveGatewayDisconnectState", () => {

src/tui/tui.ts

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import { resolveAgentIdByWorkspacePath, resolveDefaultAgentId } from "../agents/
 import { getRuntimeConfig, type OpenClawConfig } from "../config/config.js";
 import { isChatStopCommandText } from "../gateway/chat-abort.js";
 import { formatErrorMessage } from "../infra/errors.js";
+import { tryProcessCwd } from "../infra/safe-cwd.js";
 import { registerUncaughtExceptionHandler } from "../infra/unhandled-rejections.js";
 import { getWindowsSystem32ExePath } from "../infra/windows-install-roots.js";
 import { setConsoleSubsystemFilter } from "../logging/console.js";
@@ -157,7 +158,8 @@ export function resolveLocalAuthSpawnInvocation(params: {
 }
 
 export function resolveLocalAuthSpawnCwd(params: { args: string[]; defaultCwd?: string }): string {
-  const defaultCwd = params.defaultCwd ?? process.cwd();
+  const defaultCwd =
+    params.defaultCwd ?? tryProcessCwd() ?? path.dirname(OPENCLAW_CLI_WRAPPER_PATH);
   const entryArg = params.args[0]?.trim();
   if (!entryArg) {
     return defaultCwd;
@@ -218,10 +220,8 @@ export function resolveInitialTuiAgentId(params: {
     return normalizeAgentId(parsed.agentId);
   }
 
-  const inferredFromWorkspace = resolveAgentIdByWorkspacePath(
-    params.cfg,
-    params.cwd ?? process.cwd(),
-  );
+  const cwd = params.cwd ?? tryProcessCwd();
+  const inferredFromWorkspace = cwd ? resolveAgentIdByWorkspacePath(params.cfg, cwd) : null;
   if (inferredFromWorkspace) {
     return inferredFromWorkspace;
   }
@@ -530,6 +530,8 @@ function resolveEmptySessionInfoDefaults(config: OpenClawConfig): SessionInfo {
 export async function runTui(opts: RunTuiOptions): Promise<TuiResult> {
   const isLocalMode = opts.local === true || opts.backend !== undefined;
   const config = opts.config ?? getRuntimeConfig({ skipPluginValidation: !isLocalMode });
+  const fallbackCwd = path.dirname(OPENCLAW_CLI_WRAPPER_PATH);
+  const resolveUsableCwd = () => tryProcessCwd() ?? fallbackCwd;
   const emptySessionInfoDefaults = resolveEmptySessionInfoDefaults(config);
   const initialSessionInput = (opts.session ?? "").trim();
   let sessionScope: SessionScope = (config.session?.scope ?? "per-sender") as SessionScope;
@@ -539,7 +541,6 @@ export async function runTui(opts: RunTuiOptions): Promise<TuiResult> {
     cfg: config,
     fallbackAgentId: agentDefaultId,
     initialSessionInput,
-    cwd: process.cwd(),
   });
   let agents: AgentSummary[] = [];
   const agentNames = new Map<string, string>();
@@ -821,7 +822,7 @@ export async function runTui(opts: RunTuiOptions): Promise<TuiResult> {
           thinkingLevels: sessionInfo.thinkingLevels,
           dynamicCommands: dynamicSlashCommandsKey === dynamicKey ? dynamicSlashCommands : [],
         }),
-        process.cwd(),
+        resolveUsableCwd(),
       ),
     );
   };
@@ -1215,7 +1216,7 @@ export async function runTui(opts: RunTuiOptions): Promise<TuiResult> {
 
                 const invocation = resolveLocalAuthSpawnInvocation({ command, args });
                 const child = spawn(invocation.command, invocation.args, {
-                  cwd: resolveLocalAuthSpawnCwd({ args, defaultCwd: process.cwd() }),
+                  cwd: resolveLocalAuthSpawnCwd({ args, defaultCwd: resolveUsableCwd() }),
                   env: process.env,
                   stdio: "inherit",
                   ...invocation.options,