fix: pass state file path instead of inlining content to avoid Linux E2BIG

[alex-solovyev]

Summary

• Stop inlining 135KB+ pre-fetched state into the pulse prompt argument
• Pass a file path reference instead — agent reads the file via Read tool

Problem

On Linux, execve() enforces MAX_ARG_STRLEN = 128KB per argument. The pre-fetched state (currently 135,606 bytes) was embedded in $prompt and passed through two execve() calls:

1. pulse-wrapper.sh → headless-runtime-helper.sh --prompt "$prompt" → E2BIG
2. headless-runtime-helper.sh → opencode run "$prompt" → also E2BIG

Every pulse invocation on Linux failed instantly with Argument list too long, producing only "Starting pulse" log entries. Backfill amplified this to ~120 failed starts per hour.

macOS has no per-argument limit (only total ARG_MAX), so this was never hit during development.

Fix

Instead of cat "$STATE_FILE" into the prompt variable, pass a reference:

/pulse

Pre-fetched state file: ~/.aidevops/logs/pulse-state.txt
Read this file before proceeding — it contains the current repo/PR/issue state
gathered by pulse-wrapper.sh BEFORE this session started.

Prompt drops from 135KB to ~200 bytes. The agent reads the file via its Read tool — one extra tool call per pulse, but:

• Works on any state size (no 128KB ceiling)
• Works on both Linux and macOS
• State file was already on disk (prefetch_state() creates it)

Verification

• bash -n: pass
• shellcheck: clean
• Prompt size: ~200 bytes (well under 128KB limit)
• STATE_FILE path unchanged: ~/.aidevops/logs/pulse-state.txt

Closes #4257

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Bug Fixes
  • Resolved argument-length limitations in state handling by optimizing how state information is communicated. The system now provides file path references instead of embedding full state content in prompts, enabling agents to access pre-fetched state information separately. This prevents potential argument-length overflow issues while maintaining complete state availability and system stability.

[coderabbitai]

No actionable comments were generated in the recent review. 🎉

ℹ️ Recent review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: Path: .coderabbit.yaml

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

Run ID: 127ffdc1-8282-48b3-8560-13662cc1ccf3

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between ad00a3a and ce2faa7.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• .agents/scripts/pulse-wrapper.sh

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Walkthrough

The pulse-wrapper script is refactored to avoid exceeding Linux's per-argument size limit (128KB). Instead of embedding the full pre-fetched state content inline within the prompt argument, the script now references the state file separately and documents the file path with instructions for the agent to read it independently.

Changes

Cohort / File(s)	Summary
Pulse State Reference .agents/scripts/pulse-wrapper.sh	Changed prompt construction from inlining pre-fetched state content to using a file reference. Removed cat STATE_FILE embedding; now appends a note with the STATE_FILE path when the file exists. Added explanatory comments citing MAX_ARG_STRLEN kernel limit as rationale for avoiding inlined state.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 2 (Simple) | ⏱️ ~8 minutes

Possibly related PRs

• t2851: fix CodeRabbit sweep unconditional posting in pulse-wrapper.sh #2852: Modifies pulse-wrapper.sh's state-file handling and baseline state management logic.
• feat: pre-fetch all repo state before pulse to prevent single-repo tunnel vision #2471: Adjusts pulse run logic around pre-fetched state injection in the same script.
• t1455: add adaptive pulse queue-governor and strict worker counting #4218: Extends STATE_FILE with adaptive-governor data and integrates it into the prefetch_state pipeline.

Poem

Arguments grown too long for Linux to bear,
A state file waits in the temperate air,
No inlining bloat, just a path we refer—
✨ E2BIG conquered, smooth operations recur! 📜

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 4 | ❌ 1

❌ Failed checks (1 inconclusive)

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Linked Issues check	❓ Inconclusive	The PR addresses the requirements from #4257 by referencing the state file instead of inlining content; however, the implementation differs from the prescribed fix by not using --prompt-file and temp file cleanup.	Verify that the agent can successfully read STATE_FILE via its Read tool, confirm no temp file cleanup is needed, and validate the solution resolves E2BIG failures on Linux systems.

✅ Passed checks (4 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title accurately and concisely describes the core change: replacing inlined state content with a file path reference to resolve Linux E2BIG argument-length errors.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	All changes are directly scoped to resolving the E2BIG issue in pulse-wrapper.sh by modifying prompt construction; no unrelated changes detected.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	Docstring coverage is 100.00% which is sufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%.

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[gemini-code-assist]

Summary of Changes

Hello, I'm Gemini Code Assist¹! I'm currently reviewing this pull request and will post my feedback shortly. In the meantime, here's a summary to help you and other reviewers quickly get up to speed!

This pull request addresses a critical issue on Linux systems where the pulse invocation failed due to an "Argument list too long" error. Previously, the pre-fetched state was inlined directly into the prompt argument, exceeding Linux's execve() argument length limit. The solution involves refactoring the pulse-wrapper.sh script to pass a file path to the pre-fetched state instead of its content, allowing the agent to read the state from the file using its Read tool. This ensures robust operation across different operating systems and accommodates any size of pre-fetched state.

Highlights

• Prompt Argument Handling: The method for passing pre-fetched state to the pulse prompt has been changed from inlining the state content directly into the prompt argument to providing a file path reference.
• Linux Compatibility: This change resolves the "Argument list too long" (E2BIG) error on Linux systems, which occurred due to the execve() MAX_ARG_STRLEN limit (128KB) being exceeded by the inlined state content.
• Agent Behavior: The agent will now use its Read tool to access the pre-fetched state from the specified file path, ensuring compatibility with varying state sizes and operating systems.

Changelog

• .agents/scripts/pulse-wrapper.sh
  • Updated the run_pulse function to modify how the prompt is constructed, replacing the direct inclusion of state_content with a reference to $STATE_FILE.

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[github-actions]

🔍 Code Quality Report

�[0;35m[MONITOR]�[0m Code Review Monitoring Report

�[0;34m[INFO]�[0m Latest Quality Status:
SonarCloud: 0 bugs, 0 vulnerabilities, 402 code smells

�[0;34m[INFO]�[0m Recent monitoring activity:
Thu Mar 12 22:09:47 UTC 2026: Code review monitoring started
Thu Mar 12 22:09:47 UTC 2026: SonarCloud - Bugs: 0, Vulnerabilities: 0, Code Smells: 402

📈 Current Quality Metrics

• BUGS: 0
• CODE SMELLS: 402
• VULNERABILITIES: 0

Generated on: Thu Mar 12 22:09:50 UTC 2026

---

Generated by AI DevOps Framework Code Review Monitoring

[sonarqubecloud]

Quality Gate passed

Issues
0 New issues
0 Accepted issues

Measures
0 Security Hotspots
0.0% Coverage on New Code
0.0% Duplication on New Code

See analysis details on SonarQube Cloud

[gemini-code-assist]

Code Review

This pull request addresses an E2BIG error on Linux by changing how the pulse state is handled. The content of the state file is no longer inlined as a command-line argument. Instead, the path to the state file is passed in the prompt, with an instruction for the agent to read the file. This change avoids the argument length limit on Linux. The code changes are confined to .agents/scripts/pulse-wrapper.sh and include comments explaining the fix.