SDK drift: Python `ServerManager` kills orphan sidecar processes before spawning; TypeScript `ServerManager` does not

[realfishsam]

Summary

The Python ServerManager.ensure_server_running() calls _kill_orphan_sidecars() before spawning a new sidecar. TypeScript has no equivalent step.

Python (sdks/python/pmxt/server_manager.py, lines 111–117):

# Step 3: Kill orphan sidecars so the new one can bind the default port
self._kill_orphan_sidecars()

# Step 4: Start server via launcher
self._start_server_via_launcher()

_kill_orphan_sidecars (lines 259–298) uses pgrep -f 'pmxt.*bundled[.]js' on POSIX and wmic on Windows to enumerate and SIGTERM every orphaned sidecar process, then waits 500 ms before the new spawn.

TypeScript (sdks/typescript/pmxt/server-manager.ts, doEnsureServerRunning, lines 177–237):

No orphan-killing step exists. The sequence goes:

1. (optional) kill old server if PMXT_ALWAYS_RESTART
2. Check isServerRunning
3. (optional) kill old server if version mismatch
4. Spawn via pmxt-ensure-server
5. waitForServer

Impact

On machines where a previous Node/Python process exited without stopping its detached sidecar, the TypeScript SDK may fail to start a new sidecar because the orphan occupies the default port (3847). The Python SDK recovers from this automatically; the TypeScript SDK does not, leaving users with port-in-use errors that are hard to diagnose.

Expected behaviour

Both SDKs should either (a) kill orphan processes before spawning, or (b) consistently rely on pmxt-ensure-server itself to handle port conflicts.

Files

SDK	File	Lines
Python	sdks/python/pmxt/server_manager.py	111, 259–298
TypeScript	sdks/typescript/pmxt/server-manager.ts	177–237