hero_embedder health check blocks server startup in CI #65

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opened 2026-02-26 02:17:30 +00:00 by mik-tf · 0 comments

mik-tf commented

2026-02-26 02:17:30 +00:00

Owner

Problem

Since commit 95ed3aa, the server performs a mandatory health check for hero_embedder at startup. If the Unix socket doesn't exist, the server refuses to start.

This blocks the CI integration job — the smoke tests in make test-all can't start the server because there's no hero_embedder service running in the CI container.

Root Cause

verify_hero_embedder_health() in src/web/axum_server.rs returns an error if the socket is missing, and both start_axum_server() and start_rpc_only_server() propagate that as a fatal startup error.

Fix

Make the health check non-fatal: log a warning and continue in degraded mode (no vector search). Errors are returned at call time if embedder features are used without an available embedder.

This matches the pattern of other Hero services handling optional dependencies gracefully.

## Problem Since commit 95ed3aa, the server performs a mandatory health check for `hero_embedder` at startup. If the Unix socket doesn't exist, the server refuses to start. This blocks the CI integration job — the smoke tests in `make test-all` can't start the server because there's no `hero_embedder` service running in the CI container. ## Root Cause `verify_hero_embedder_health()` in `src/web/axum_server.rs` returns an error if the socket is missing, and both `start_axum_server()` and `start_rpc_only_server()` propagate that as a fatal startup error. ## Fix Make the health check non-fatal: log a warning and continue in degraded mode (no vector search). Errors are returned at call time if embedder features are used without an available embedder. This matches the pattern of other Hero services handling optional dependencies gracefully.