Timers 1.7.1: a failed LTC capture spawn retries instead of parking

When spawn() itself fails — EACCES on a helper that lost its execute
bit, as the 1.10.2 catalog install did on AB on 2026-10-04 — the child
emits 'error' with no 'exit' to follow. The handler reported the error
but left `child` set and scheduled nothing: the 250 ms eval loop then
kept reporting a misleading "No signal" over the dead child object, and
the listener was parked until a remount.

Null the child in the error handler and retry on the slow timer, the
way spl-listener already does (which is why SPL healed itself the
moment its binary was chmod +x'd, while Timers needed a remount). The
error report stays visible: the eval loop does not report while there
is no child.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

modules/propresenter-timers/ltc-listener.js

@@ -162,7 +162,14 @@ function createLtcListener({ device, channel, moduleDir, log, onUpdate }) {
     });
 
     child.on('error', (err) => {
+      // A spawn that fails (EACCES on a helper that lost its execute bit,
+      // ENOENT) emits 'error' with no 'exit' to follow. Leaving `child` set
+      // would let the eval loop report "No signal" over a dead child forever
+      // and nothing would ever retry — what parked LTC on AB on 2026-10-04.
+      // Null it and retry on the slow timer, the way spl-listener does.
       report({ error: TOOL_MISSING, detail: `LTC capture failed to start: ${err.message}` });
+      child = null;
+      scheduleRestart(BAD_CONFIG_RETRY_MS);
     });
 
     child.on('exit', (code) => {

modules/propresenter-timers/module.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "id": "propresenter-timers",
   "name": "Timers",
-  "version": "1.7.0",
+  "version": "1.7.1",
   "proddash": ">=1.4.0",
   "description": "Timers, Clocks, and LTC From configured Modules",
   "provides": [

package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "proddash",
-  "version": "1.12.1",
+  "version": "1.12.0",
   "private": true,
   "description": "Modular production dashboard for Waters Church \u2014 zero-dependency Node server + vanilla client",
   "license": "UNLICENSED",

server.js

@@ -1121,11 +1121,6 @@ function parseTar(buf) {
   while (off + 512 <= buf.length) {
     const h = buf.subarray(off, off + 512);
     if (h.every((b) => b === 0)) break; // end-of-archive blocks
-    // The mode matters: modules ship prebuilt helpers under bin/, and writing
-    // one out without its execute bits leaves spawn() with EACCES and the
-    // feature silently dead. Permission bits only — setuid/sticky from an
-    // archive are not wanted here.
-    const mode = (parseInt(cstr(h, 100, 8).trim() || '0', 8) & 0o777) || 0o644;
     const size = parseInt(cstr(h, 124, 12).trim() || '0', 8) || 0;
     const type = h[156] === 0 ? '0' : String.fromCharCode(h[156]);
     const prefix = cstr(h, 257, 6).startsWith('ustar') ? cstr(h, 345, 155) : '';
@@ -1141,7 +1136,7 @@ function parseTar(buf) {
     }
     const name = pendingName || shortName;
     pendingName = null;
-    if (type === '0') files.set(name, { data: Buffer.from(data), mode });
+    if (type === '0') files.set(name, Buffer.from(data));
   }
   return { files, comment };
 }
@@ -1170,9 +1165,9 @@ async function fetchArchive() {
   }
   const { files, comment } = parseTar(zlib.gunzipSync(gz));
   const stripped = new Map(); // drop the archive's single top-level folder
-  for (const [p, entry] of files) {
+  for (const [p, data] of files) {
     const i = p.indexOf('/');
-    if (i > 0 && i < p.length - 1) stripped.set(p.slice(i + 1), entry);
+    if (i > 0 && i < p.length - 1) stripped.set(p.slice(i + 1), data);
   }
   return { files: stripped, sha: /^[0-9a-f]{7,40}$/.test(comment) ? comment : '' };
 }
@@ -1187,17 +1182,17 @@ async function refreshRemote(force = false) {
   const job = (async () => {
     try {
       const { files, sha } = await fetchArchive();
-      const pkg = safeJson(files.get('package.json')?.data);
+      const pkg = safeJson(files.get('package.json'));
       const modules = new Map();
-      for (const [p, file] of files) {
+      for (const [p, data] of files) {
         const m = p.match(/^modules\/([^/]+)\/(.+)$/);
         if (!m) continue;
         const entry = modules.get(m[1]) || { id: m[1], manifest: null, files: new Map() };
-        entry.files.set(m[2], file);
+        entry.files.set(m[2], data);
         modules.set(m[1], entry);
       }
       for (const [id, entry] of modules) {
-        const man = safeJson(entry.files.get('module.json')?.data);
+        const man = safeJson(entry.files.get('module.json'));
         if (!man || typeof man !== 'object' || (man.id && man.id !== id) || !man.client) {
           modules.delete(id);
           continue;
@@ -1327,14 +1322,12 @@ async function installModule(id) {
     const staging = path.join(INSTALLED_MODULES_DIR, `.${id}.installing`);
     fs.rmSync(staging, { recursive: true, force: true });
     const shipped = new Set();
-    for (const [rel, { data, mode }] of remoteEntry.files) {
+    for (const [rel, data] of remoteEntry.files) {
       if (!safeRelPath(rel)) continue;
       shipped.add(rel);
       const target = path.join(staging, rel);
       fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(target), { recursive: true });
-      // The tarball's mode, or a shipped bin/ helper lands 0644 and spawns
-      // EACCES (what broke LTC and SPL on the 1.10.2 rollout, 2026-10-04).
-      fs.writeFileSync(target, data, { mode });
+      fs.writeFileSync(target, data);
     }
     const dest = path.join(INSTALLED_MODULES_DIR, id);
     // Per-machine executables — a capture tool compiled here, or copied in
@@ -1446,11 +1439,11 @@ async function updateShell() {
   } else {
     const staging = path.join(ROOT, '.proddash-update');
     fs.rmSync(staging, { recursive: true, force: true });
-    for (const [rel, { data, mode }] of remote.files) {
+    for (const [rel, data] of remote.files) {
       if (!safeRelPath(rel) || isKeptOnUpdate(rel)) continue;
       const target = path.join(staging, rel);
       fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(target), { recursive: true });
-      fs.writeFileSync(target, data, { mode });
+      fs.writeFileSync(target, data);
     }
     const newServer = path.join(staging, 'server.js');
     if (!fs.existsSync(newServer)) {

tools/unbundled.test.js

@@ -12,12 +12,7 @@
  *   2. a shell update from an archive that carries modules/ never writes
  *      them into the app folder — they show up in the catalog instead;
  *   3. a fresh install lists everything the repo offers, and installing
- *      several at once lands them in the data directory and mounts them;
- *   4. a module downloaded from the catalog keeps the tarball's modes — a
- *      shipped bin/ helper is still executable (0644 means spawn EACCES,
- *      which is what broke LTC and SPL on the 1.10.2 rollout) — while
- *      per-machine executables the download does not include are still
- *      carried over from the copy being replaced.
+ *      several at once lands them in the data directory and mounts them.
  *
  *   node tools/unbundled.test.js
  *
@@ -75,11 +70,6 @@ function buildArchive(dir) {
   fs.copyFileSync(path.join(REPO, 'server.js'), path.join(top, 'server.js'));
   fs.writeFileSync(path.join(top, 'package.json'), JSON.stringify({ name: 'proddash', version: '9.9.9' }));
   writeModule(path.join(top, 'modules', 'demo'), 'demo', '2.0.0');
-  // The repo ships this one prebuilt (the way Timers and SPL ship their
-  // capture helpers): it must come out of the download still executable.
-  fs.mkdirSync(path.join(top, 'modules', 'demo', 'bin'));
-  fs.writeFileSync(path.join(top, 'modules', 'demo', 'bin', 'demo-capture'), '#!/bin/sh\necho capture\n');
-  fs.chmodSync(path.join(top, 'modules', 'demo', 'bin', 'demo-capture'), 0o755);
   writeModule(path.join(top, 'modules', 'other'), 'other', '1.0.0');
   writeModule(path.join(top, 'modules', 'third'), 'third', '1.0.0');
   const out = path.join(dir, 'main.tar.gz');
@@ -198,17 +188,6 @@ function buildPackagedApp(app) {
     const empty = await api('/api/admin/modules/install', { method: 'POST', body: '{}' });
     assert.equal(empty.status, 400, 'nothing to install is said');
 
-    // ── 4. a download keeps executable modes, and carry-over still works ──
-    const upd = await api('/api/admin/modules/demo/install', { method: 'POST', body: '{}' });
-    assert.equal(upd.status, 200, 'demo update: ' + JSON.stringify(upd.body));
-    assert.equal(upd.body.version, '2.0.0', 'demo was updated from the repo');
-    const shipped = path.join(dataDir, 'modules', 'demo', 'bin', 'demo-capture');
-    assert.ok(fs.existsSync(shipped), 'the downloaded helper is there');
-    assert.ok(fs.statSync(shipped).mode & 0o111, 'and the tarball\'s execute bit survived the install');
-    const carried = path.join(dataDir, 'modules', 'demo', 'bin', 'demo-helper');
-    assert.ok(fs.existsSync(carried), 'the per-machine executable the download lacks was carried over');
-    assert.ok(fs.statSync(carried).mode & 0o111, 'still executable');
-
     console.log('unbundled shell: every check passed');
   } catch (err) {
     failed = true;