Fix Windows console popups during daemon spawn

[bigph00t]

Summary

• Eliminates Windows console popups during daemon spawn and Chroma operations
• Uses cmd /c start /B workaround on Windows to allow windowsHide: true to work
• Root cause: detached: true + windowsHide: true are incompatible on Windows

Issues

Fixes thedotmack#748, thedotmack#708, thedotmack#681, thedotmack#676

Test plan

• Verify no console popups on Windows when worker daemon spawns
• Verify worker still starts correctly on Linux/macOS
• Community testing requested for Windows environments

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[greptile-apps]

Greptile Summary

This PR fixes Windows console popups during daemon spawn and Chroma operations by using WMIC instead of detached: true for process spawning on Windows, and disabling Chroma vector search on Windows entirely.

Key Changes

• ProcessManager.ts: Replaced spawn() with detached: true with WMIC command execution on Windows, which spawns processes independent of the parent console without popups
• ChromaSync.ts: Added platform check to disable all Chroma operations on Windows, returning early from sync methods with no-op behavior
• YAML frontmatter: Added to slash command files for discoverability

Technical Approach

The fix uses WMIC's process call create command on Windows, which creates processes not associated with the parent console. The worker reads its port from settings.json rather than environment variables, so WMIC's inability to pass environment variables is not an issue. On Unix, the standard detached: true spawn approach continues to work as before.

Trade-offs

Disabling Chroma on Windows means vector search functionality is unavailable on that platform until the MCP SDK subprocess spawning can be fixed or migrated to a persistent HTTP server approach.

Confidence Score: 4/5

• This PR is safe to merge with good community testing on Windows
• The implementation correctly addresses the Windows console popup issue using WMIC. The approach is sound: WMIC spawns processes independently of the parent console. The worker properly reads configuration from settings file rather than environment variables, so WMIC's limitation doesn't affect functionality. Chroma is safely disabled on Windows with proper no-op behavior. However, the WMIC command uses deprecated Windows tooling (though still widely available), and the fix needs real-world Windows testing to confirm it works across different Windows environments and configurations.
• src/services/infrastructure/ProcessManager.ts should be monitored for Windows compatibility as WMIC is deprecated in favor of PowerShell cmdlets

Important Files Changed

Filename	Overview
src/services/infrastructure/ProcessManager.ts	Replaced detached: true with WMIC on Windows to eliminate console popups; environment variables not passed with WMIC but worker reads port from settings file
src/services/sync/ChromaSync.ts	Disabled Chroma on Windows to prevent MCP SDK subprocess console popups; returns early from sync methods when disabled

Sequence Diagram

sequenceDiagram
    participant Plugin as Claude Code Plugin
    participant PM as ProcessManager
    participant WMIC as Windows WMIC
    participant Worker as Worker Service
    participant Settings as settings.json
    
    Note over Plugin,Worker: Windows Daemon Spawn Flow
    
    Plugin->>PM: spawnDaemon(scriptPath, port)
    PM->>PM: Check if Windows platform
    
    alt Windows Platform
        PM->>PM: Build WMIC command<br/>(execPath + scriptPath + --daemon)
        Note over PM: Environment variables NOT passed<br/>with WMIC (limitation)
        PM->>WMIC: execSync("wmic process call create ...")
        WMIC-->>PM: Return 0 (immediate)
        Note over WMIC,Worker: Process spawned independently<br/>without console popup
        WMIC->>Worker: Spawn worker process
        Worker->>Settings: Read port from settings.json
        Worker->>Worker: Start HTTP server on port
        Worker->>PM: Write PID file after listen()
    else Unix Platform
        PM->>Worker: spawn() with detached: true
        Note over PM,Worker: Environment variables passed<br/>via spawn options
        Worker->>Worker: Read port from env or settings
        Worker->>Worker: Start HTTP server
        Worker->>PM: Write PID file after listen()
    end
    
    PM-->>Plugin: Return PID (0 on Windows)
    Plugin->>Worker: Health check loop
    Worker-->>Plugin: Ready

Loading

[greptile-apps]

Greptile found no issues!

From now on, if a review finishes and we haven't found any issues, we will not post anything, but you can confirm that we reviewed your changes in the status check section.

_{This feature can be toggled off in your Code Review Settings by deselecting "Create a status check for each PR".}

[greptile-apps]

_{4 files reviewed, 1 comment}

_{Edit Code Review Agent Settings | Greptile}

[greptile-apps]

syntax: Issue reference links to anthropics org instead of current repo

Suggested change

	// Windows: Chroma disabled due to MCP SDK spawning console popups
	// See: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-mem/issues/675
	// Will be re-enabled when we migrate to persistent HTTP server
	// Windows: Chroma disabled due to MCP SDK spawning console popups
	// See: https://github.com/bigph00t/claude-mem/issues/675
	// Will be re-enabled when we migrate to persistent HTTP server

Prompt To Fix With AI

This is a comment left during a code review.
Path: src/services/sync/ChromaSync.ts
Line: 86:88

Comment:
**syntax:** Issue reference links to anthropics org instead of current repo

```suggestion
  // Windows: Chroma disabled due to MCP SDK spawning console popups
  // See: https://github.com/bigph00t/claude-mem/issues/675
  // Will be re-enabled when we migrate to persistent HTTP server
```

How can I resolve this? If you propose a fix, please make it concise.

[greptile-apps]

_{6 files reviewed, 1 comment}

_{Edit Code Review Agent Settings | Greptile}

[greptile-apps]

style: Consider migrating from WMIC (deprecated in Windows 11+) to PowerShell Start-Process

Suggested change

	const command = `wmic process call create "\\"${execPath}\\" \\"${script}\\" --daemon"`;
	const command = `powershell -NoProfile -NonInteractive -WindowStyle Hidden -Command "Start-Process -FilePath '${execPath}' -ArgumentList '\\"${script}\\"','--daemon' -WindowStyle Hidden"`;

The current WMIC approach works well, so this is a minor suggestion for future-proofing.

_{Note: If this suggestion doesn't match your team's coding style, reply to this and let me know. I'll remember it for next time!}

Prompt To Fix With AI

This is a comment left during a code review.
Path: src/services/infrastructure/ProcessManager.ts
Line: 294:294

Comment:
**style:** Consider migrating from WMIC (deprecated in Windows 11+) to PowerShell `Start-Process`

```suggestion
    const command = `powershell -NoProfile -NonInteractive -WindowStyle Hidden -Command "Start-Process -FilePath '${execPath}' -ArgumentList '\\"${script}\\"','--daemon' -WindowStyle Hidden"`;
```

The current WMIC approach works well, so this is a minor suggestion for future-proofing.

<sub>Note: If this suggestion doesn't match your team's coding style, reply to this and let me know. I'll remember it for next time!</sub>

How can I resolve this? If you propose a fix, please make it concise.