start: restore original CWD before importing server bundle

[mattst88]

Fixes #923.

start.mjs calls process.chdir(__dirname) early in startup for self-heal path operations, but never restores the original working directory. This causes VTE-based terminals (gnome-terminal, etc.) to open new tabs in the plugin cache directory instead of the user's project directory.

VTE determines the "open new tab here" directory by reading /proc/<pid>/cwd of the foreground process group. The MCP server subprocess inherits the terminal's process group, so its CWD is what the terminal sees.

ES module import() resolves relative to import.meta.url, not process.cwd(), so restoring the original CWD before the server bundle import is safe. The project directory env vars (CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR, CONTEXT_MODE_PROJECT_DIR) are already set from originalCwd before this point, so server behavior is unaffected.

[bTimor]

Hey @mattst88! 👋 Thanks for tracking this down — the diagnosis is correct, the fix placement is right, and the ESM-resolution reasoning is sound.

Two things needed before we can merge:

Required: wrap the restore in try/catch

// Before:
process.chdir(originalCwd);

// After:
try { process.chdir(originalCwd); } catch { /* best effort — restore cwd for VTE tab inheritance */ }

Without this, if originalCwd no longer exists at startup time (network FS, container, temp dir cleaned up), the server crashes on launch — which is strictly worse than the original wrong-tab issue. Every other potentially-failing op in start.mjs follows the try { } catch {} defensive pattern; this should too.

Recommended: add a Vitest test

The VITEST guard pattern in start.mjs (if (!process.env.VITEST)) already exists to make the startup sequence testable. A minimal test verifying that process.cwd() after the setup phase equals the pre-launch directory would prevent this from silently regressing. See tests/server-stdin-eof-exit.test.ts for the pattern.

The fix logic is solid — just these two changes and this is good to go. Thanks again!

[mattst88]

Done, thanks!