fix(run): exit non-zero on session.error so CI wrappers see failures

[byapparov]

Summary

• aictrl run's session.error handler in run.ts logged the error and stashed it into a local string but never set process.exitCode — so when the model session subsequently emitted session.status: idle, the run loop broke into the success branch and the process exited 0.
• Result: any CI workflow wrapping aictrl run shows step conclusion: success while the actual work (review, agent invocation, etc.) silently failed.
• Fix: set process.exitCode = 1 when session.error fires for the primary session (sub-agent failures keep their existing behavior). Uses exitCode rather than process.exit() so session_complete still emits before termination.

Root cause

packages/cli/src/cli/cmd/run.ts:559-572 — the handler block only updated the local error accumulator string and called UI.error(). It did not propagate to the process exit code, so the success branch of loopDone.then(...) (line 703) ran on every error.

Trace for the auth-failure case observed in production:

1. Provider returns 401/403.
2. session/processor.ts:388 publishes session.error, sets status idle.
3. run.ts:559 handler logs but doesn't touch exitCode.
4. run.ts:614 session.status idle breaks the loop.
5. run.ts:703 success branch — emits session_complete, returns.
6. Process exits 0.

The neighboring error paths (promptResult.catch at line 768, loopDone.catch at line 721) already set exitCode = 1 for synchronous failures; the session.error event path was the only gap.

Reproduction (from aictrl-dev/aictrl#2058 investigation)

ZHIPU_API_KEY=invalid aictrl run --model zai-coding-plan/glm-5.1 -f some-skill.md -- "hello"
# stdout: "Error: Authentication Failed"
# echo $?      → 0   ← bug

After the fix: exit 1.

Test plan

• New regression test (packages/cli/test/cli/run-session-error-exit.test.ts) — static lock asserting the handler block sets a non-zero exit code, mirroring the existing run-event-race.test.ts anti-pattern-lock style. Fails on origin/main (verified locally), passes on this branch.
• Existing CLI command tests still pass (bun test test/cli/ — 69/69).
• Existing tool/skill tests pass in isolation; full-suite flakes are pre-existing and unrelated (verified by stashing the change).
• bun typecheck passes.

Acceptance criteria (from #70)

• aictrl run with an invalid ZHIPU_API_KEY exits non-zero — flows through session.error for primary session → exitCode = 1
• aictrl run with a network failure to the provider exits non-zero — same path (provider-side error → MessageV2.fromError → Session.Event.Error)
• Existing happy-path tests still pass — no change to the success branch
• Regression test asserting non-zero exit on auth failure

Related

• aictrl-dev/aictrl#2058 — parent prod investigation that surfaced this CLI bug
• feat: lite headless binary for Cloud Run #4 — broader exit-code convention. This fix uses 1 as a reasonable baseline; if feat: lite headless binary for Cloud Run #4 lands a structured convention, the constant can be aligned then without redesigning the propagation path.

Closes #70

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[byapparov]

Note on the failing `Aictrl AI Review` check: it's failing in the `Install Aictrl CLI` step (`npm install @aictrl/cli@latest` → `EUNSUPPORTEDPROTOCOL: Unsupported URL Type "workspace:": workspace:*`), not on this PR's code change. The `verify` check (typecheck + tests) passes.

The published `@aictrl/cli@0.3.3` manifest ships unresolved `workspace:*` deps that plain `npm install` can't handle. Same failure affects every PR opened on this repo since 0.3.3 published — filed as #72 with reproduction, root cause hypothesis, and acceptance criteria.

PR #71's change has been verified locally:

• New regression test (`run-session-error-exit.test.ts`) fails on `origin/main`, passes on this branch.
• `bun test test/cli/` — 69/69 pass.
• `bun typecheck` — clean.

Suggest merging on `verify` ✓ alone, or waiting for #72 to land if you'd rather have AI Review running first.