fix(desktop): --version segfaults without a display

[matsvarn]

Fixes #5474

What Changed

DesktopPreReadyPlatform.isVersionRequest returns true only for the whole tokens --version and -V. main.ts checks that predicate immediately before DesktopApp.program and, on a match, writes the version with writeStdoutLineSync (fd 1, swallows EPIPE) then process.exit(0). Layers and whenReady never run on that path. console.log then process.exit can drop piped stdout on Electron before ready.

Why

env -u DISPLAY -u WAYLAND_DISPLAY t3code --version printed Ozone "Missing X server" and exited 139. Packagers and headless scripts expect a version string and exit 0. --no-sandbox still never printed the version (it only avoided the SIGSEGV on teardown).

DesktopApp.startup always awaits electronApp.whenReady, which initializes Ozone. DesktopPreReadyPlatform already owns pre-ready command-line reads. A one-function argv predicate there hides token matching; print+exit stays at the main.ts call site so app.exit teardown cannot still fault without a display. Handling version after ElectronApp/DesktopApp services exist still walks the ready path unless it special-cases before whenReady.

The server CLI already prints a version (apps/server/src/bin.ts:65). This is the desktop binary.

Test

• detects --version and -V as whole-token version requests failed on upstream/main before the fix: TypeError: isVersionRequest is not a function (1 failed | 4 passed). It passes once the pure predicate exists.
• writes a version line to stdout synchronously and swallows EPIPE covers the flush path Bugbot flagged.
• vp test run apps/desktop/src/app/DesktopPreReadyPlatform.test.ts apps/desktop/src/app/DesktopEarlyElectronStartup.test.ts — 13 passed (6 + 7).
• vp lint on the three files: 0 warnings/errors.
• vp run --filter @t3tools/desktop typecheck: our files clean (pre-existing suggestions remain in DesktopBackendPool.test.ts and DesktopWslEnvironment.ts).
• Did not launch a packaged Linux binary with DISPLAY unset. Did not run web, mobile, or server suites.

UI Changes

No UI change.

Deliberately not included

• -v (DesktopPreReadyPlatform.ts:33, asserted false at DesktopPreReadyPlatform.test.ts:88): the issue workaround mentioned it; Chromium also uses -v for verbosity.
• AUR/AppImage wrapper (packaging/aur/t3code-bin/PKGBUILD:76-79): still just exec AppRun "$@".
• Headless GUI launch still dies without a display (DesktopApp.ts:275-278). --no-sandbox only changes teardown, not version printing.
• Chromium's built-in --version after Ozone starts.
• ElectronApp.whenReady still requires a display for normal launches (ElectronApp.ts:133-139).
• DesktopApp.startup still always awaits whenReady for normal launches (DesktopApp.ts:275).
• Server CLI version (apps/server/src/bin.ts:65).
• contracts / web / mobile.
• Electron.app.exit teardown (ElectronApp.ts:143-146).
• Linux password-store / WM-class (DesktopPreReadyPlatform.ts:70-80).
• Open file-touch PRs fix(desktop): restore Linux dock icon association #6250 Restore project thread trees and align desktop update versions #6274 feat(web): notify agent updates with Web Push #6308 feat(desktop): macOS menu bar tray with running agents per project #6374 feat(desktop): Computer History for macOS, Windows, and Linux #6668 feat(web): enable full-text message content search in sidebar #7115 — nearby desktop files, not this bug.

Checklist

• This PR is small and focused
• I explained what changed and why
• I included before/after screenshots for any UI changes
• I included a video for animation/interaction changes

Implemented with grok-4.5 in T3 Code.

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Note

Low Risk
Small, early-exit path with unit tests; normal GUI startup is unchanged.

Overview
Fixes headless t3code --version (no display) exiting with Ozone errors or a segfault instead of printing the version and exiting 0.

DesktopPreReadyPlatform gains isVersionRequest (whole argv tokens --version and -V only—not -v, --version=…, or similar) and writeStdoutLineSync, which writes one line to stdout and ignores EPIPE.

In main.ts, that check runs after the runtime layer is defined but before DesktopApp.program starts, so the Effect stack and whenReady / display init never run on the version path. A match prints Electron.app.getVersion() and process.exit(0).

Tests cover argv matching and stdout/EPIPE behavior.

^{Reviewed by Cursor Bugbot for commit 69817a1. Bugbot is set up for automated code reviews on this repo. Configure here.}

Note

Fix --version segfault by handling version flag before display initialization

When the desktop app is invoked with --version or -V, it previously tried to initialize a display before printing the version, causing a segfault in headless environments.

• Adds isVersionRequest in DesktopPreReadyPlatform.ts to detect whole-token --version or -V flags (ignoring variants like --version=1 or -v).
• Adds writeStdoutLineSync to write the version string to stdout synchronously, suppressing EPIPE errors.
• In main.ts, checks for the version flag before app startup, prints the Electron app version, and exits with code 0.

^{Macroscope summarized 69817a1.}

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[macroscopeapp]

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Verdict: Approved 69817a1

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