v0.22.1: HTTP/SSH/MCP servers not starting after sync

[wolff2023]

Bug Report: HTTP/SSH/MCP Servers Not Starting in v0.22.1

Environment

• Station Version: v0.22.1
• OS: macOS (Darwin 23.6.0)
• Docker: Running in container
• Installation Method: curl install script

Problem

After upgrading to v0.22.1, Station's HTTP API server (port 8585), SSH server (port 2222), and MCP server (port 8586) fail to start after the initial MCP sync completes. The container remains running but none of the services are accessible.

Expected Behavior

• HTTP UI should be accessible at http://localhost:8585
• SSH should be accessible at localhost:2222
• MCP server should be accessible at localhost:8586

Actual Behavior

• All connection attempts fail with "Connection reset by peer" (HTTP) or "Connection refused" (SSH)
• The process hangs after MCP tool discovery completes
• No "listening" or "server started" messages appear in logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install Station v0.22.1
2. Run stn init --provider openai
3. Add MCP server configs to ~/.config/station/environments/default/
4. Run stn up
5. Wait for MCP sync to complete
6. Attempt to access http://localhost:8585 or ssh to port 2222

Logs

Using config file: /home/station/.config/station/config.yaml
MCP Port: 8586
API Port: 8585
Database: /home/station/.config/station/station.db
2025/12/10 13:28:23 🔍 Jaeger enabled for serve mode: false
2025/12/10 13:28:23 goose: no migrations to run. current version: 38
2025/12/10 13:28:23 ✅ Found 1 existing environments
2025/12/10 13:28:23 🔄 Running automatic sync for environment: default
Starting declarative sync for environment: default
[... MCP sync proceeds normally ...]
2025/12/10 13:28:29 ✅ Discovered 25 tools from server 'desktop-commander'
2025/12/10 13:28:29 ✅ Tools already in sync for server 'desktop-commander' (25 tools)
2025/12/10 13:28:29 ✅ Saved 25 tools for server 'desktop-commander'
2025/12/10 13:28:29 🔍 Tool discovery completed for desktop-commander: 25 tools saved across 1 servers
[... then nothing - no server startup messages ...]

Connection Test Results

$ curl -I http://localhost:8585
curl: (56) Recv failure: Connection reset by peer

$ ssh admin@localhost -p 2222
ssh: connect to host localhost port 2222: Connection refused

$ docker ps
CONTAINER ID   IMAGE                   STATUS
000fd4cffc49   station-server:latest   Up 5 minutes

Process Status Inside Container

$ docker exec station-server ps aux
USER       PID %CPU %MEM    VSZ   RSS COMMAND
station      1  0.1  0.3 1281028 38572 stn serve --database /home/station/.config/station/station.db --mcp-port 8586
station     19  7.7  1.1 1070296 110720 npm exec @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander

The stn serve process is running but appears to hang after MCP sync.

Configuration

admin_username: admin
ai_model: gpt-4o-mini
ai_provider: openai
api_port: 8585
cloudship:
    enabled: false
database_url: /home/station/.config/station/station.db
debug: false
local_mode: true
mcp_port: 8586
ssh_host_key_path: ./ssh_host_key
ssh_port: 2222
telemetry_enabled: false

Additional Notes

• Template rendering failures for aws-billing and browserbase (missing env vars) appear in logs but shouldn't block server startup
• The issue persists even after removing problematic templates
• Disabling Cloudship (setting enabled: false) did not resolve the issue
• Ports 8585, 8586, 8587 are confirmed bound by Docker but connections are immediately reset

Workaround

Using Claude Desktop's MCP configuration instead of Station for now.

Impact

Critical - Station is completely unusable as no interfaces (UI, SSH, MCP) are accessible.