[Bug] Visible terminal windows on Windows when osgrep serve spawns workers

[ivanjuras]

[Bug] Visible terminal windows on Windows when osgrep serve spawns workers

Description

When using osgrep serve on Windows, 4 visible Node.js terminal windows appear and remain open. If you try to close one, it respawns to maintain 4 windows. This is disruptive to the user experience.

The issue is caused by missing windowsHide: true option in spawn() and fork() calls. On Windows, Node.js child processes open visible console windows by default unless windowsHide: true is specified.

Environment

• OS: Windows 10/11
• Node.js: v20+
• osgrep version: Latest (installed via npm)
• Usage: Claude Code plugin (osgrep@osgrep)

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install osgrep globally: npm install -g osgrep
2. Enable the osgrep plugin in Claude Code
3. Start a Claude Code session (plugin triggers osgrep serve on SessionStart)
4. Observe: 4 Node.js terminal windows appear and stay open

Root Cause

Three locations are missing windowsHide: true:

1. Plugin start hook

File: plugins/osgrep/hooks/start.js (line 20-24)

const child = spawn("osgrep", ["serve"], {
    cwd,
    detached: true,
    stdio: ["ignore", out, out],
    // MISSING: windowsHide: true
});

2. Serve background spawn

File: dist/commands/serve.js (line ~86-90)

const child = spawn(process.argv[0], [process.argv[1], ...args], {
    detached: true,
    stdio: ["ignore", out, err],
    cwd: process.cwd(),
    // MISSING: windowsHide: true
    env: { ...process.env, OSGREP_BACKGROUND: "true" },
});

3. Worker pool fork

File: dist/lib/workers/pool.js (line ~91)

this.child = childProcess.fork(modulePath, {
    execArgv,
    env: Object.assign({}, process.env),
    // MISSING: windowsHide: true
});

Suggested Fix

Add windowsHide: true to all three spawn/fork calls:

// plugins/osgrep/hooks/start.js
const child = spawn("osgrep", ["serve"], {
    cwd,
    detached: true,
    stdio: ["ignore", out, out],
    windowsHide: true,  // ADD THIS
});

// dist/commands/serve.js
const child = spawn(process.argv[0], [process.argv[1], ...args], {
    detached: true,
    stdio: ["ignore", out, err],
    cwd: process.cwd(),
    windowsHide: true,  // ADD THIS
    env: { ...process.env, OSGREP_BACKGROUND: "true" },
});

// dist/lib/workers/pool.js
this.child = childProcess.fork(modulePath, {
    execArgv,
    env: Object.assign({}, process.env),
    windowsHide: true,  // ADD THIS
});

Workaround

Users can manually patch their local npm installation at:

• %APPDATA%\npm\node_modules\osgrep\plugins\osgrep\hooks\start.js
• %APPDATA%\npm\node_modules\osgrep\dist\commands\serve.js
• %APPDATA%\npm\node_modules\osgrep\dist\lib\workers\pool.js

However, this patch is lost on npm update osgrep.

Additional Context

• This only affects Windows; macOS and Linux don't show visible windows
• The windowsHide option is ignored on non-Windows platforms, so adding it won't affect other OSes
• Node.js docs: https://nodejs.org/api/child_process.html#optionswindowshide