service: background server boots the user home directory as a location #49209

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1. github-actions

   assigned

   jlongster

   on Sep 15, 2026
2. github-actions commented on Sep 15, 2026

   

   github-actionsBot

   on Sep 15, 2026 – with GitHub Actions

   Contributor

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   This issue might be a duplicate of an existing issue. Please check:

   • service: v2 service spawns one local MCP server pair per cataloged project directory at startup #43845: The v2 service eagerly spawns MCP server processes per catalog-discovered project directory at startup — the root cause (locations being booted without a client request) appears to overlap significantly with what you're describing here.
3. opencodejr commented on Oct 28, 2026

   

   opencodejrBot

   on Oct 28, 2026

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   Thanks for the detailed report. I can reproduce the core of this on 2.0.3, and it still happens on the latest dev (950111f).

   What I saw (Linux, server API):

   • I started the background server (serve --service, which opencode service start launches) from a project directory. Its working directory was still the home directory: in service mode it always switches to $HOME.
   • Starting it boots nothing, and a request naming the project boots only the project.
   • One request that names no location (for example GET /api/agent without location[directory] or the x-opencode-directory header) makes the server fall back to its own working directory. It logs location services booted directory=<home> and starts a full location for home, with its MCP servers and plugins.

   One thing I couldn't pin down: on Linux, the bundled CLI commands and the TUI attached to the service only booted the project. So something in your setup (the Windows client, or possibly a plugin calling the SDK without a location) is sending the request without a location. If you can find which request it is, for example from the server log just before the home boot, that would help.

   The script below reproduces it against the service API.

   Closely related:

   • desktop(win): fresh service start registers user home and drive root as ghost projects (no sessions, deletion does not stick) #49428: the same fallback seen from the Desktop app on Windows, where home and drive-root entries keep coming back in the project list
   • plugins: event subscribers fire once per client connection — N× side effects, undocumented #56290, plugin: ctx.event.subscribe() loses location scoping — plugins receive events from all locations #58707, core: plugin event subscriptions receive events from every location #57474: plugin event subscriptions and location scoping, which is why the extra home instance also handled your other sessions' events

   Reproduction script (repro.sh)

   #!/usr/bin/env bash
   # Reproduce #49209: the background server (`serve --service`, what `opencode service start` spawns)
   # switches its cwd to $HOME whatever the caller's cwd is, and any request that does not name a
   # location boots $HOME as a full location (MCP servers, plugins).
   # Usage: bash repro.sh                       (uses `opencode` from PATH)
   #        OC_DEV=/workspace/repo bash repro.sh  (runs the CLI from a source checkout)
   set -u
   export HOME=$(mktemp -d /tmp/opencode/home.XXXX)
   unset XDG_DATA_HOME XDG_STATE_HOME XDG_CONFIG_HOME XDG_CACHE_HOME
   oc() {
     if [ -n "${OC_DEV:-}" ]; then
       bun --conditions=browser --preload="$OC_DEV/packages/tui/node_modules/@opentui/solid/scripts/preload.js" "$OC_DEV/packages/cli/src/index.ts" "$@"
     else opencode "$@"; fi
   }
   PROJ=$HOME/work/project; mkdir -p "$PROJ"; cd "$PROJ"; git init -q .
   PORT=$((49500 + RANDOM % 400))
   echo "version: $(oc --version)  HOME=$HOME  caller cwd=$PWD"
   oc serve --service --port $PORT >$HOME/serve.log 2>&1 &
   SPID=$!
   for i in $(seq 1 120); do curl -s -o /dev/null http://127.0.0.1:$PORT/ && break; sleep 0.5; done; sleep 2
   REG=$(ls $HOME/.local/state/opencode/service*.json $HOME/.config/opencode/service*.json 2>/dev/null | head -1)
   PW=$(python3 -c "import json;print(json.load(open('$REG'))['password'])")
   URL=http://127.0.0.1:$PORT
   SRV=$(pgrep -f -- "serve --service --port $PORT" | while read p; do [ "$(readlink /proc/$p/cwd)" ] && echo $p; done | tail -1)
   echo "service $URL server pid=$SRV cwd=$(readlink /proc/$SRV/cwd)"
   LOG() { grep -rh "location services booted" $HOME/.local/share/opencode/log/ 2>/dev/null | grep -o 'directory=[^ ]*'; }
   echo "--- boots right after start:"; LOG
   curl -s -o /dev/null -u "opencode:$PW" "$URL/api/agent?location%5Bdirectory%5D=$PROJ"
   sleep 1; echo "--- boots after a request naming the project:"; LOG
   echo "GET /api/agent (no location) -> $(curl -s -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}' -u "opencode:$PW" $URL/api/agent)"
   sleep 2; echo "--- boots after one directory-less request:"; LOG
   kill $SPID 2>/dev/null; pkill -f -- "--port $PORT" 2>/dev/null; wait 2>/dev/null

   Run it: bash repro.sh
4. opencodejr

   added

   reproduced

   on Oct 28, 2026