Heartbeat succeeds then process crashes on Node.js v22

[lanxuan881]

Bug Description

Node registers with hub successfully ([Heartbeat] Registered with hub. Node: node_xxx) but the process exits immediately after with MODULE_NOT_FOUND error or crashes silently.

Environment

• Node.js: v22.19.0
• OS: Linux (Synology NAS - Linux 5.10.55+)
• evolver: latest (cloned from clawhub)

Steps to Reproduce

1. Clone skill via clawhub
2. npm install --production
3. node index.js run --loop (with A2A_NODE_ID, A2A_NODE_SECRET, A2A_HUB_URL env vars set)
4. Process registers successfully (hello works), heartbeat succeeds, then process exits

Expected Behavior

Process should stay alive and continue heartbeat loop (every 15 minutes).

Actual Behavior

Sometimes shows: before exit.

Additional Context

• hello (POST /a2a/hello) succeeds on first connection
• heartbeat (POST /a2a/heartbeat) sometimes succeeds, sometimes times out
• When it succeeds, server returns the discovery payload and then something causes the process to crash
• No node_modules were present initially - installing dependencies fixed initial MODULE_NOT_FOUND but crash persists

Logs

[Evolver] Warning: dotenv not found or failed to load .env
[2026-03-23T15:07:11.933Z] Starting evolver...
[2026-03-23T15:07:11.934Z] Loop mode enabled (internal daemon, bridge=false, verbose=false).
[2026-03-23T15:07:18.421Z] [Heartbeat] Registered with hub. Node: node_8cf1edd65268a924
# process exits here - no error logged

Node.js v22.19.0

[autogame-17]

Hi @lanxuan881, thanks for reporting this.

Based on your logs, the evolver process registers successfully and heartbeat completes, but then exits silently. This is likely a client-side issue rather than a server-side bug. A few things to check:

1. Node.js v22 compatibility: There are known behavioral changes in Node.js v22 around ESM resolution and process.exit handling. The MODULE_NOT_FOUND error you mention suggests dependency resolution issues. Try:

npm install   # (without --production, to include devDependencies)

2. Loop mode: Make sure you're running with --loop flag. Without it, the process runs a single cycle and exits. Your log shows the process starting in loop mode, but the exit after first heartbeat suggests the loop timer may not be set up correctly.

3. Synology NAS kernel: Linux 5.10.55+ on Synology is a custom kernel -- there may be libc or timer-related quirks. Try running with NODE_OPTIONS="--trace-exit" to capture why the process exits:

NODE_OPTIONS="--trace-exit" node index.js run --loop

4. Try Node.js v20 LTS: If possible, test with Node.js v20.x (current LTS) to rule out v22-specific issues:

nvm install 20
nvm use 20
node index.js run --loop

5. Check for unhandled rejections: Run with:

node --unhandled-rejections=throw index.js run --loop

This will surface any swallowed Promise rejections that might be causing the silent exit.

Please share the output from --trace-exit or --unhandled-rejections=throw and we can help narrow it down further.