Windows: bundled keytar.node is a Linux ELF binary -> "Bad Image" 0xc000012f, vault never persists (login stuck Anonymous)

[Don09877890]

Summary

On Windows, the keytar native module shipped in the VSIX
(dist/node_modules/keytar/build/Release/keytar.node) is a Linux ELF binary,
not a Windows PE. Neither VS Code (Electron) nor the daemon can load it, so the
vault can never be sealed/unsealed and every login stays Anonymous.

Environment

• OS: Windows 11 x64
• Extension: nskha.perplexity-vscode 0.8.53
• Runtimes affected: VS Code Electron (ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE) and standalone Node v22
• Bundled keytar version: 7.9.0

Symptoms

• Code.exe - Bad Image dialog:
  ...\dist\node_modules\keytar\build\Release\keytar.node is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error ... Error status 0xc000012f.
• daemon.log: [vault] getSavedCookies failed ... Vault locked: no keychain, no env var, no TTY
• daemon-status.json: authenticated: false, tier: Anonymous
• Perplexity: Login runs but the vault is never persisted (or cannot be unsealed),
  so perplexity_reason / perplexity_research etc. return "requires an
  authenticated Pro account".

Root cause (verified by binary header inspection)

• keytar.node starts with 7F 45 4C 46 (\x7FELF, Linux). A Windows binary
  must start with 4D 5A (MZ, PE). 0xc000012f = STATUS_IMAGE_CHECKSUM_MISMATCH,
  i.e. the OS loader rejects the wrong-platform image.
• For contrast, the bundled ngrok native module IS packaged per-platform
  correctly (a valid ngrok.win32-x64-msvc.node with an MZ header exists in the
  same VSIX). Only keytar is Linux-only.

Workaround that fully resolves it

Swapping in the official Windows prebuild of the same keytar version fixes everything:

1. Download keytar-v7.9.0-napi-v3-win32-x64.tar.gz from the atom/node-keytar
   releases and extract build/Release/keytar.node (valid Windows PE, N-API v3).
2. Replace the ELF keytar.node in the extension with it.
3. Restart the daemon and run Perplexity: Login.

After this, keytar loads under both standalone Node v22 and VS Code's Electron
runtime, the vault seals via Windows Credential Manager, and the daemon reports
tier: Pro. All tools work.

(The PERPLEXITY_DISABLE_KEYCHAIN + PERPLEXITY_VAULT_PASSPHRASE fallback is also a
valid workaround, but the packaging fix is the clean solution.)

Suggested fix

Bundle the correct per-platform keytar prebuild(s) in the VSIX (win32-x64 at
minimum; ideally win32-arm64 + darwin + linux), the same way ngrok is already
bundled. The current Windows package appears to contain only the Linux keytar build.