From 08694d18b84ef8941ae5b9289ac8110ba963e1fd Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: ciregenz <ciregenz@berkeley.edu>
Date: Fri, 7 Aug 2026 21:00:44 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] [eric] apps: the ghost reaper matches workspace paths
 case-insensitively, so a packaged app's openswarm vs OpenSwarm casing no
 longer spares orphans

---
 backend/apps/outputs/reap_ghost_runtimes.py |  7 +++++--
 backend/tests/test_reap_ghost_runtimes.py   | 15 +++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 20 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/backend/apps/outputs/reap_ghost_runtimes.py b/backend/apps/outputs/reap_ghost_runtimes.py
index 62485fd2..6391aa1f 100644
--- a/backend/apps/outputs/reap_ghost_runtimes.py
+++ b/backend/apps/outputs/reap_ghost_runtimes.py
@@ -64,7 +64,10 @@ def find_ghost_runtime_pids() -> List[int]:
     then filtered by walking each candidate's ancestry: if a live backend is anywhere above it, it is
     someone's working app and is left alone.
     """
-    needle = os.path.abspath(WORKSPACE_DIR)
+    # Case-FOLDED needle. macOS's default filesystem is case-insensitive, so a process may report
+    # `.../openswarm/...` while our resolved path is `.../OpenSwarm/...`: the same folder, but a
+    # case-sensitive `in` check misses it and the ghost survives (found live on a packaged smoke).
+    needle = os.path.abspath(WORKSPACE_DIR).casefold()
     try:
         out = subprocess.run(["ps", "-eo", "pid=,args="], capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=8)
     except Exception:
@@ -80,7 +83,7 @@ def find_ghost_runtime_pids() -> List[int]:
     ghosts: List[int] = []
     for line in (out.stdout or "").splitlines():
         line = line.strip()
-        if needle not in line:
+        if needle not in line.casefold():
             continue
         head = line.split(None, 1)
         if not head or not head[0].isdigit():
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_reap_ghost_runtimes.py b/backend/tests/test_reap_ghost_runtimes.py
index bdf5ce22..4def1293 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_reap_ghost_runtimes.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_reap_ghost_runtimes.py
@@ -118,3 +118,18 @@ def test_indeterminate_ancestry_is_never_a_ghost(monkeypatch):
     ghosts = rg.find_ghost_runtime_pids()
     assert 999 not in ghosts, "pid absent from the ppid map was treated as a ghost"
     assert ghosts == [300], "a genuinely orphaned pid (walks to init, no backend) still reaps"
+
+
+def test_ghost_matched_despite_path_case_difference(monkeypatch):
+    """macOS is case-insensitive, so a process can report .../openswarm/... while our resolved path
+    is .../OpenSwarm/... (same folder). A case-sensitive match missed the ghost entirely; found live
+    on a packaged smoke where 8 orphans survived a reap that logged 0."""
+    from backend.apps.outputs import reap_ghost_runtimes as rg
+    ws = rg.os.path.abspath(rg.WORKSPACE_DIR)
+    lower_ws = ws.replace("OpenSwarm", "openswarm").replace("Openswarm", "openswarm")
+    monkeypatch.setattr(rg, "p_live_backend_pids", lambda: {50})
+    monkeypatch.setattr(rg, "p_ppid_map", lambda: {700: 1})  # orphan reparented to init
+    class P_Out:
+        stdout = f"50 python -m uvicorn backend.main:app\n700 bash {lower_ws}/ws-x/backend/run.sh\n"
+    monkeypatch.setattr(rg.subprocess, "run", lambda *a, **k: P_Out())
+    assert rg.find_ghost_runtime_pids() == [700], "a case-different path must still match the ghost"