Transition to disconnected state on unexpected process/connection death

All SDKs now properly transition their connection state to 'disconnected'
when the child process exits unexpectedly or the TCP connection drops:

- Node.js: onClose/onError handlers in attachConnectionHandlers()
- Go: onClose callback fired from readLoop() on unexpected exit
- Python: on_close callback fired from _read_loop() on unexpected exit
- .NET: rpc.Completion continuation sets _disconnected flag

Includes unit tests for all four SDKs verifying the state transition.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Author: SteveSandersonMS

dotnet/src/Client.cs

@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ public sealed partial class CopilotClient : IDisposable, IAsyncDisposable
     private readonly CopilotClientOptions _options;
     private readonly ILogger _logger;
     private Task<Connection>? _connectionTask;
+    private volatile bool _disconnected;
     private bool _disposed;
     private readonly int? _optionsPort;
     private readonly string? _optionsHost;
@@ -199,6 +200,7 @@ public Task StartAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
         async Task<Connection> StartCoreAsync(CancellationToken ct)
         {
             _logger.LogDebug("Starting Copilot client");
+            _disconnected = false;
 
             Task<Connection> result;
 
@@ -590,6 +592,7 @@ public ConnectionState State
             if (_connectionTask == null) return ConnectionState.Disconnected;
             if (_connectionTask.IsFaulted) return ConnectionState.Error;
             if (!_connectionTask.IsCompleted) return ConnectionState.Connecting;
+            if (_disconnected) return ConnectionState.Disconnected;
             return ConnectionState.Connected;
         }
     }
@@ -1198,6 +1201,9 @@ private async Task<Connection> ConnectToServerAsync(Process? cliProcess, string?
         rpc.AddLocalRpcMethod("hooks.invoke", handler.OnHooksInvoke);
         rpc.StartListening();
 
+        // Transition state to Disconnected if the JSON-RPC connection drops
+        _ = rpc.Completion.ContinueWith(_ => _disconnected = true, TaskScheduler.Default);
+
         _rpc = new ServerRpc(rpc);
 
         return new Connection(rpc, cliProcess, tcpClient, networkStream, stderrBuffer);

dotnet/test/ClientTests.cs

@@ -374,4 +374,42 @@ public async Task ListModels_WithCustomHandler_WorksWithoutStart()
         Assert.Single(models);
         Assert.Equal("no-start-model", models[0].Id);
     }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task State_Should_Transition_To_Disconnected_When_Process_Is_Killed()
+    {
+        using var client = new CopilotClient(new CopilotClientOptions { UseStdio = true });
+
+        try
+        {
+            await client.StartAsync();
+            Assert.Equal(ConnectionState.Connected, client.State);
+
+            // Use reflection to reach the child process inside the private Connection object
+            var taskField = typeof(CopilotClient)
+                .GetField("_connectionTask", System.Reflection.BindingFlags.NonPublic | System.Reflection.BindingFlags.Instance)!;
+            var task = (Task)taskField.GetValue(client)!;
+            await task; // ensure it's completed
+            // Task<Connection>.Result via reflection
+            var resultProp = task.GetType().GetProperty("Result")!;
+            var connection = resultProp.GetValue(task)!;
+            var processProp = connection.GetType().GetProperty("CliProcess")!;
+            var process = (System.Diagnostics.Process)processProp.GetValue(connection)!;
+
+            process.Kill();
+
+            // Wait for ContinueWith callback to set _disconnected
+            for (var i = 0; i < 50; i++)
+            {
+                if (client.State == ConnectionState.Disconnected) break;
+                await Task.Delay(100);
+            }
+
+            Assert.Equal(ConnectionState.Disconnected, client.State);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            try { await client.ForceStopAsync(); } catch { /* process already dead */ }
+        }
+    }
 }

go/client.go

@@ -1227,6 +1227,11 @@ func (c *Client) startCLIServer(ctx context.Context) error {
 		// Create JSON-RPC client immediately
 		c.client = jsonrpc2.NewClient(stdin, stdout)
 		c.client.SetProcessDone(c.processDone, c.processErrorPtr)
+		c.client.SetOnClose(func() {
+			c.startStopMux.Lock()
+			defer c.startStopMux.Unlock()
+			c.state = StateDisconnected
+		})
 		c.RPC = rpc.NewServerRpc(c.client)
 		c.setupNotificationHandler()
 		c.client.Start()
@@ -1342,6 +1347,11 @@ func (c *Client) connectViaTcp(ctx context.Context) error {
 	if c.processDone != nil {
 		c.client.SetProcessDone(c.processDone, c.processErrorPtr)
 	}
+	c.client.SetOnClose(func() {
+		c.startStopMux.Lock()
+		defer c.startStopMux.Unlock()
+		c.state = StateDisconnected
+	})
 	c.RPC = rpc.NewServerRpc(c.client)
 	c.setupNotificationHandler()
 	c.client.Start()

go/internal/jsonrpc2/jsonrpc2.go

@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@ type Client struct {
 	processDone     chan struct{} // closed when the underlying process exits
 	processError    error         // set before processDone is closed
 	processErrorMu  sync.RWMutex  // protects processError
+	onClose         func()        // called when the read loop exits unexpectedly
 }
 
 // NewClient creates a new JSON-RPC client
@@ -293,9 +294,22 @@ func (c *Client) sendMessage(message any) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// SetOnClose sets a callback invoked when the read loop exits unexpectedly
+// (e.g. the underlying connection or process was lost).
+func (c *Client) SetOnClose(fn func()) {
+	c.onClose = fn
+}
+
 // readLoop reads messages from stdout in a background goroutine
 func (c *Client) readLoop() {
 	defer c.wg.Done()
+	defer func() {
+		// If still running, the read loop exited unexpectedly (process died or
+		// connection dropped). Notify the caller so it can update its state.
+		if c.onClose != nil && c.running.Load() {
+			c.onClose()
+		}
+	}()
 
 	reader := bufio.NewReader(c.stdout)
 

go/internal/jsonrpc2/jsonrpc2_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+package jsonrpc2
+
+import (
+	"io"
+	"sync"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+func TestOnCloseCalledOnUnexpectedExit(t *testing.T) {
+	stdinR, stdinW := io.Pipe()
+	stdoutR, stdoutW := io.Pipe()
+	defer stdinR.Close()
+
+	client := NewClient(stdinW, stdoutR)
+
+	var called bool
+	var mu sync.Mutex
+	client.SetOnClose(func() {
+		mu.Lock()
+		called = true
+		mu.Unlock()
+	})
+
+	client.Start()
+
+	// Simulate unexpected process death by closing the stdout writer
+	stdoutW.Close()
+
+	// Wait for readLoop to detect the close and invoke the callback
+	time.Sleep(200 * time.Millisecond)
+
+	mu.Lock()
+	defer mu.Unlock()
+	if !called {
+		t.Error("expected onClose to be called when read loop exits unexpectedly")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestOnCloseNotCalledOnIntentionalStop(t *testing.T) {
+	stdinR, stdinW := io.Pipe()
+	stdoutR, stdoutW := io.Pipe()
+	defer stdinR.Close()
+	defer stdoutW.Close()
+
+	client := NewClient(stdinW, stdoutR)
+
+	var called bool
+	var mu sync.Mutex
+	client.SetOnClose(func() {
+		mu.Lock()
+		called = true
+		mu.Unlock()
+	})
+
+	client.Start()
+
+	// Intentional stop — should set running=false before closing stdout,
+	// so the readLoop should NOT invoke onClose.
+	client.Stop()
+
+	time.Sleep(200 * time.Millisecond)
+
+	mu.Lock()
+	defer mu.Unlock()
+	if called {
+		t.Error("onClose should not be called on intentional Stop()")
+	}
+}

nodejs/test/client.test.ts

@@ -484,4 +484,23 @@ describe("CopilotClient", () => {
             expect(models).toEqual(customModels);
         });
     });
+
+    describe("unexpected disconnection", () => {
+        it("transitions to disconnected when child process is killed", async () => {
+            const client = new CopilotClient();
+            await client.start();
+            onTestFinished(() => client.forceStop());
+
+            expect(client.getState()).toBe("connected");
+
+            // Kill the child process to simulate unexpected termination
+            const proc = (client as any).cliProcess as import("node:child_process").ChildProcess;
+            proc.kill();
+
+            // Wait for the connection.onClose handler to fire
+            await vi.waitFor(() => {
+                expect(client.getState()).toBe("disconnected");
+            });
+        });
+    });
 });

python/copilot/client.py

@@ -1405,6 +1405,7 @@ async def _connect_via_stdio(self) -> None:
 
         # Create JSON-RPC client with the process
         self._client = JsonRpcClient(self._process)
+        self._client.on_close = lambda: setattr(self, '_state', 'disconnected')
         self._rpc = ServerRpc(self._client)
 
         # Set up notification handler for session events
@@ -1492,6 +1493,7 @@ def wait(self, timeout=None):
 
         self._process = SocketWrapper(sock_file, sock)  # type: ignore
         self._client = JsonRpcClient(self._process)
+        self._client.on_close = lambda: setattr(self, '_state', 'disconnected')
         self._rpc = ServerRpc(self._client)
 
         # Set up notification handler for session events

python/copilot/jsonrpc.py

@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ def __init__(self, process):
         self._process_exit_error: str | None = None
         self._stderr_output: list[str] = []
         self._stderr_lock = threading.Lock()
+        self.on_close: Callable[[], None] | None = None
 
     def start(self, loop: asyncio.AbstractEventLoop | None = None):
         """Start listening for messages in background thread"""
@@ -211,6 +212,8 @@ def _read_loop(self):
         # Process exited or read failed - fail all pending requests
         if self._running:
             self._fail_pending_requests()
+            if self.on_close is not None:
+                self.on_close()
 
     def _fail_pending_requests(self):
         """Fail all pending requests when process exits"""

python/test_jsonrpc.py

@@ -7,6 +7,9 @@
 
 import io
 import json
+import os
+import threading
+import time
 
 import pytest
 
@@ -265,3 +268,62 @@ def test_read_message_multiple_messages_in_sequence(self):
 
         result2 = client._read_message()
         assert result2 == message2
+
+
+class ClosingStream:
+    """Stream that immediately returns empty bytes (simulates process death / EOF)."""
+
+    def readline(self):
+        return b""
+
+    def read(self, n: int) -> bytes:
+        return b""
+
+
+class TestOnClose:
+    """Tests for the on_close callback when the read loop exits unexpectedly."""
+
+    def test_on_close_called_on_unexpected_exit(self):
+        """on_close fires when the stream closes while client is still running."""
+        import asyncio
+
+        process = MockProcess()
+        process.stdout = ClosingStream()
+
+        client = JsonRpcClient(process)
+
+        called = threading.Event()
+        client.on_close = lambda: called.set()
+
+        loop = asyncio.new_event_loop()
+        try:
+            client.start(loop=loop)
+            assert called.wait(timeout=2), "on_close was not called within 2 seconds"
+        finally:
+            loop.close()
+
+    def test_on_close_not_called_on_intentional_stop(self):
+        """on_close should not fire when stop() is called intentionally."""
+        import asyncio
+
+        r_fd, w_fd = os.pipe()
+        process = MockProcess()
+        process.stdout = os.fdopen(r_fd, "rb")
+
+        client = JsonRpcClient(process)
+
+        called = threading.Event()
+        client.on_close = lambda: called.set()
+
+        loop = asyncio.new_event_loop()
+        try:
+            client.start(loop=loop)
+
+            # Intentional stop sets _running = False before the thread sees EOF
+            loop.run_until_complete(client.stop())
+            os.close(w_fd)
+
+            time.sleep(0.5)
+            assert not called.is_set(), "on_close should not be called on intentional stop"
+        finally:
+            loop.close()