chore: release v8.2.1 - worker lifecycle hardening

Critical bug fixes for self-spawn pattern:
- Fix process exit detection in waitForProcessesExit
- Validate spawn PID before writing PID file
- Handle Unix/Windows kill errors in orphan cleanup
- Use /api/readiness for health checks

Refactoring (-580 lines):
- Deleted ProcessManager.ts, worker-cli.ts, worker-wrapper.ts
- Consolidated all lifecycle logic into worker-service.ts

Also: increased timeouts for slow systems, added test suites.

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

.claude-plugin/marketplace.json

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
   "plugins": [
     {
       "name": "claude-mem",
-      "version": "8.2.0",
+      "version": "8.2.1",
       "source": "./plugin",
       "description": "Persistent memory system for Claude Code - context compression across sessions"
     }

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -4,6 +4,71 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/).
 
+## [8.2.1] - 2025-12-26
+
+## 🔧 Worker Lifecycle Hardening
+
+This patch release addresses critical bugs discovered during PR review of the self-spawn pattern introduced in 8.2.0. The worker daemon now handles edge cases robustly across both Unix and Windows platforms.
+
+### 🐛 Critical Bug Fixes
+
+#### Process Exit Detection Fixed
+The `waitForProcessesExit` function was crashing when processes exited during monitoring. The `process.kill(pid, 0)` call throws when a process no longer exists, which was not being caught. Now wrapped in try/catch to correctly identify exited processes.
+
+#### Spawn PID Validation
+The worker daemon now validates that `spawn()` actually returned a valid PID before writing to the PID file. Previously, spawn failures could leave invalid PID files that broke subsequent lifecycle operations.
+
+#### Cross-Platform Orphan Cleanup
+- **Unix**: Replaced single `kill` command with individual `process.kill()` calls wrapped in try/catch, so one already-exited process doesn't abort cleanup of remaining orphans
+- **Windows**: Wrapped `taskkill` calls in try/catch for the same reason
+
+#### Health Check Reliability
+Changed `waitForHealth` to use the `/api/readiness` endpoint (returns 503 until fully initialized) instead of just checking if the port is in use. Callers now wait for *actual* worker readiness, not just network availability.
+
+### 🔄 Refactoring
+
+#### Code Consolidation (-580 lines)
+Deleted obsolete process management infrastructure that was replaced by the self-spawn pattern:
+- `src/services/process/ProcessManager.ts` (433 lines) - PID management now in worker-service
+- `src/cli/worker-cli.ts` (81 lines) - CLI handling now in worker-service
+- `src/services/worker-wrapper.ts` (157 lines) - Replaced by `--daemon` flag
+
+#### Updated Hook Commands
+All hooks now use `worker-service.cjs` CLI directly instead of the deleted `worker-cli.js`.
+
+### ⏱️ Timeout Adjustments
+
+Increased timeouts throughout for compatibility with slow systems:
+
+| Component | Before | After |
+|-----------|--------|-------|
+| Default hook timeout | 120s | 300s |
+| Health check timeout | 1s | 30s |
+| Health check retries | 15 | 300 |
+| Context initialization | 30s | 300s |
+| MCP connection | 15s | 300s |
+| PowerShell commands | 5s | 60s |
+| Git commands | 30s | 300s |
+| NPM install | 120s | 600s |
+| Hook worker commands | 30s | 180s |
+
+### 🧪 Testing
+
+Added comprehensive test suites:
+- `tests/hook-constants.test.ts` - Validates timeout configurations
+- `tests/worker-spawn.test.ts` - Tests worker CLI and health endpoints
+
+### 🛡️ Additional Robustness
+
+- PID validation in restart command (matches start command behavior)
+- Try/catch around `forceKillProcess()` for graceful shutdown
+- Try/catch around `getChildProcesses()` for Windows failures
+- Improved logging for PID file operations and HTTP shutdown
+
+---
+
+**Full Changelog**: https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem/compare/v8.2.0...v8.2.1
+
 ## [8.2.0] - 2025-12-26
 
 ## 🚀 Gemini API as Alternative AI Provider
@@ -64,98 +129,98 @@ Huge thanks to **Alexander Knigge** ([@AlexanderKnigge](https://x.com/AlexanderK
 
 ## [8.1.0] - 2025-12-25
 
-## The 3-Month Battle Against Complexity
-
-**TL;DR:** For three months, Claude's instinct to add code instead of delete it caused the same bugs to recur. What should have been 5 lines of code became ~1000 lines, 11 useless methods, and 7+ failed "fixes." The timestamp corruption that finally broke things was just a symptom. The real achievement: **984 lines of code deleted.**
-
----
-
-## What Actually Happened
-
-Every Claude Code hook receives a session ID. That's all you need.
-
-But Claude built an entire redundant session management system on top:
-- An `sdk_sessions` table with status tracking, port assignment, and prompt counting
-- 11 methods in `SessionStore` to manage this artificial complexity
-- Auto-creation logic scattered across 3 locations
-- A cleanup hook that "completed" sessions at the end
-
-**Why?** Because it seemed "robust." Because "what if the session doesn't exist?" 
-
-But the edge cases didn't exist. Hooks ALWAYS provide session IDs. The "defensive" code was solving imaginary problems while creating real ones.
-
----
-
-## The Pattern of Failure
-
-Every time a bug appeared, Claude's instinct was to **ADD** more code:
-
-| Bug | What Claude Added | What Should Have Happened |
-|-----|------------------|--------------------------|
-| Race conditions | Auto-create fallbacks | Delete the auto-create logic |
-| Duplicate observations | Validation layers | Delete the code path allowing duplicates |
-| UNIQUE constraint violations | Try-catch with fallbacks | Use `INSERT OR IGNORE` (5 characters) |
-| Session not found | Silent auto-creation | **FAIL LOUDLY** (it's a hook bug) |
-
----
-
-## The 7+ Failed Attempts
-
-- **Nov 4**: "Always store session data regardless of pre-existence." Complexity planted.
-- **Nov 11**: `INSERT OR IGNORE` recognized. But complexity documented, not removed.
-- **Nov 21**: Duplicate observations bug. Fixed. Then broken again by endless mode.
-- **Dec 5**: "6 hours of work delivered zero value." User requests self-audit.
-- **Dec 20**: "Phase 2: Eliminated Race Conditions" — felt like progress. Complexity remained.
-- **Dec 24**: Finally, forced deletion.
-
-The user stated "hooks provide session IDs, no extra management needed" **seven times** across months. Claude didn't listen.
-
----
-
-## The Fix
-
-### Deleted (984 lines):
-- 11 `SessionStore` methods: `incrementPromptCounter`, `getPromptCounter`, `setWorkerPort`, `getWorkerPort`, `markSessionCompleted`, `markSessionFailed`, `reactivateSession`, `findActiveSDKSession`, `findAnySDKSession`, `updateSDKSessionId`
-- Auto-create logic from `storeObservation` and `storeSummary`
-- The entire cleanup hook (was aborting SDK agent and causing data loss)
-- 117 lines from `worker-utils.ts`
-
-### What remains (~10 lines):
-```javascript
-createSDKSession(sessionId) {
-  db.run('INSERT OR IGNORE INTO sdk_sessions (...) VALUES (...)');
-  return db.query('SELECT id FROM sdk_sessions WHERE ...').get(sessionId);
-}
-```
-
-**That's it.**
-
----
-
-## Behavior Change
-
-- **Before:** Missing session? Auto-create silently. Bug hidden.
-- **After:** Missing session? Storage fails. Bug visible immediately.
-
----
-
-## New Tools
-
-Since we're now explicit about recovery instead of silently papering over problems:
-
-- `GET /api/pending-queue` - See what's stuck
-- `POST /api/pending-queue/process` - Manually trigger recovery  
-- `npm run queue:check` / `npm run queue:process` - CLI equivalents
-
----
-
-## Dependencies
-- Upgraded `@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk` from `^0.1.67` to `^0.1.76`
-
----
-
-**PR #437:** https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem/pull/437
-
+## The 3-Month Battle Against Complexity
+
+**TL;DR:** For three months, Claude's instinct to add code instead of delete it caused the same bugs to recur. What should have been 5 lines of code became ~1000 lines, 11 useless methods, and 7+ failed "fixes." The timestamp corruption that finally broke things was just a symptom. The real achievement: **984 lines of code deleted.**
+
+---
+
+## What Actually Happened
+
+Every Claude Code hook receives a session ID. That's all you need.
+
+But Claude built an entire redundant session management system on top:
+- An `sdk_sessions` table with status tracking, port assignment, and prompt counting
+- 11 methods in `SessionStore` to manage this artificial complexity
+- Auto-creation logic scattered across 3 locations
+- A cleanup hook that "completed" sessions at the end
+
+**Why?** Because it seemed "robust." Because "what if the session doesn't exist?" 
+
+But the edge cases didn't exist. Hooks ALWAYS provide session IDs. The "defensive" code was solving imaginary problems while creating real ones.
+
+---
+
+## The Pattern of Failure
+
+Every time a bug appeared, Claude's instinct was to **ADD** more code:
+
+| Bug | What Claude Added | What Should Have Happened |
+|-----|------------------|--------------------------|
+| Race conditions | Auto-create fallbacks | Delete the auto-create logic |
+| Duplicate observations | Validation layers | Delete the code path allowing duplicates |
+| UNIQUE constraint violations | Try-catch with fallbacks | Use `INSERT OR IGNORE` (5 characters) |
+| Session not found | Silent auto-creation | **FAIL LOUDLY** (it's a hook bug) |
+
+---
+
+## The 7+ Failed Attempts
+
+- **Nov 4**: "Always store session data regardless of pre-existence." Complexity planted.
+- **Nov 11**: `INSERT OR IGNORE` recognized. But complexity documented, not removed.
+- **Nov 21**: Duplicate observations bug. Fixed. Then broken again by endless mode.
+- **Dec 5**: "6 hours of work delivered zero value." User requests self-audit.
+- **Dec 20**: "Phase 2: Eliminated Race Conditions" — felt like progress. Complexity remained.
+- **Dec 24**: Finally, forced deletion.
+
+The user stated "hooks provide session IDs, no extra management needed" **seven times** across months. Claude didn't listen.
+
+---
+
+## The Fix
+
+### Deleted (984 lines):
+- 11 `SessionStore` methods: `incrementPromptCounter`, `getPromptCounter`, `setWorkerPort`, `getWorkerPort`, `markSessionCompleted`, `markSessionFailed`, `reactivateSession`, `findActiveSDKSession`, `findAnySDKSession`, `updateSDKSessionId`
+- Auto-create logic from `storeObservation` and `storeSummary`
+- The entire cleanup hook (was aborting SDK agent and causing data loss)
+- 117 lines from `worker-utils.ts`
+
+### What remains (~10 lines):
+```javascript
+createSDKSession(sessionId) {
+  db.run('INSERT OR IGNORE INTO sdk_sessions (...) VALUES (...)');
+  return db.query('SELECT id FROM sdk_sessions WHERE ...').get(sessionId);
+}
+```
+
+**That's it.**
+
+---
+
+## Behavior Change
+
+- **Before:** Missing session? Auto-create silently. Bug hidden.
+- **After:** Missing session? Storage fails. Bug visible immediately.
+
+---
+
+## New Tools
+
+Since we're now explicit about recovery instead of silently papering over problems:
+
+- `GET /api/pending-queue` - See what's stuck
+- `POST /api/pending-queue/process` - Manually trigger recovery  
+- `npm run queue:check` / `npm run queue:process` - CLI equivalents
+
+---
+
+## Dependencies
+- Upgraded `@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk` from `^0.1.67` to `^0.1.76`
+
+---
+
+**PR #437:** https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem/pull/437
+
 *The evidence: Observations #3646, #6738, #7598, #12860, #12866, #13046, #15259, #20995, #21055, #30524, #31080, #32114, #32116, #32125, #32126, #32127, #32146, #32324—the complete record of a 3-month battle.*
 
 ## [8.0.6] - 2025-12-24
@@ -382,13 +447,13 @@ This represents a major reliability improvement for Windows users, eliminating c
 
 ## [7.3.5] - 2025-12-17
 
-## What's Changed
-* fix(windows): solve zombie port problem with wrapper architecture by @ToxMox in https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem/pull/372
-* chore: bump version to 7.3.5 by @thedotmack in https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem/pull/375
-
-## New Contributors
-* @ToxMox made their first contribution in https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem/pull/372
-
+## What's Changed
+* fix(windows): solve zombie port problem with wrapper architecture by @ToxMox in https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem/pull/372
+* chore: bump version to 7.3.5 by @thedotmack in https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem/pull/375
+
+## New Contributors
+* @ToxMox made their first contribution in https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem/pull/372
+
 **Full Changelog**: https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem/compare/v7.3.4...v7.3.5
 
 ## [7.3.4] - 2025-12-17
@@ -2918,12 +2983,12 @@ None (patch version)
 
 ## [4.3.0] - 2025-10-25
 
-## What's Changed
-* feat: Enhanced context hook with session observations and cross-platform improvements by @thedotmack in https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem/pull/25
-
-## New Contributors
-* @thedotmack made their first contribution in https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem/pull/25
-
+## What's Changed
+* feat: Enhanced context hook with session observations and cross-platform improvements by @thedotmack in https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem/pull/25
+
+## New Contributors
+* @thedotmack made their first contribution in https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem/pull/25
+
 **Full Changelog**: https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem/compare/v4.2.11...v4.3.0
 
 ## [4.2.10] - 2025-10-25

package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "claude-mem",
-  "version": "8.2.0",
+  "version": "8.2.1",
   "description": "Memory compression system for Claude Code - persist context across sessions",
   "keywords": [
     "claude",

plugin/.claude-plugin/plugin.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "claude-mem",
-  "version": "8.2.0",
+  "version": "8.2.1",
   "description": "Persistent memory system for Claude Code - seamlessly preserve context across sessions",
   "author": {
     "name": "Alex Newman"

plugin/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "claude-mem-plugin",
-  "version": "8.2.0",
+  "version": "8.2.1",
   "private": true,
   "description": "Runtime dependencies for claude-mem bundled hooks",
   "type": "module",