[Bug]: T3 Code fails to start after upgrade from 0.0.15 to 0.0.17 - backend readiness timeout

[jonathanperis]

Before submitting

• I searched existing issues and did not find a duplicate.
• I included enough detail to reproduce or investigate the problem.

Area

apps/desktop

Steps to reproduce

1. Have T3 Code 0.0.15 installed and working on macOS M1
2. Upgrade to T3 Code 0.0.17
3. Attempt to launch the application
4. Application fails with bootstrap error

Expected behavior

Application should start successfully and show project list, same as it did in version 0.0.15.

Actual behavior

T3 Code fails to start with the following error:

T3 Code failed to start

Stage: bootstrap
Timed out waiting for backend readiness at http://127.0.0.1:3773.
Error: Timed out waiting for backend readiness at http://127.0.0.1:3773.
at waitForHttpReady (/Applications/T3 Code (Alpha).app/Contents/Resources/app.asar/apps/desktop/dist-electron/main.js:3703:37)
at processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:103:5)
at runNextTicks (node:internal/process/task_queues:68:3)
at process.processTimers (node:internal/timers:538:9)
at async waitForBackendHttpReady (/Applications/T3 Code (Alpha).app/Contents/Resources/app.asar/apps/desktop/dist-electron/main.js:4228:3)
at async bootstrap (/Applications/T3 Code (Alpha).app/Contents/Resources/app.asar/apps/desktop/dist-electron/main.js:5272:2)

Impact

Blocks work completely

Version or commit

v0.0.17 (upgraded from v0.0.15, skipped v0.0.16)

Environment

macOS Sequoia, Mac Mini M1, T3 Code desktop app (Alpha), upgrade installation from 0.0.15. No other services running on port 3773. Issue reproduces consistently on every launch attempt. 0.0.15 was working correctly before the upgrade.

Logs or stack traces

logs.zip

Workaround

None found. Downgrading back to 0.0.15 may work but is untested.

Additional context

This appears to be a regression potentially introduced in v0.0.16, which included notable backend startup changes:

• PR Replace wait-on with internal desktop resource polling #1600: "Replace wait-on with internal desktop resource polling"
• PR Select desktop backend port by sequential scan #1870: "Select desktop backend port by sequential scan"

The error indicates the backend HTTP server at port 3773 is not becoming ready within the expected timeout window during the bootstrap stage.

[codemanat]

I’m experiencing the same issue with T3Code. This is a fresh installation of the desktop app on windows and it has never been installed on this system before.
Even though the error message “T3 Code failed to start” appears, the website itself is accessible. However, the error in the app occurs before I’m able to enter the pairing code.

In an additional test, I noticed that the website only becomes available after the error message appears.

[betterthanclay]

Same issue for me - I actually had v0.0.16 running last night.. first attempt at booting gave the error, second attempt ran OK. Then upgraded to v0.0.17 this morning, now I can't get either version to boot. Consistently get the timeout error for both versions - I have around 20 project folders open in the app which may contribute. I tried rebooting in case there were any stuck processes etc.

I can confirm going back to v0.0.15 works - it took quite a while for all the projects / threads to show (which made me sweat a bit!) but it all appears to be working fine for me downgrading.

[Leonitis616]

Not sure if this helps, i had the same issue i managed to get claude code to fix it.

Here's its response for what fixed the issue from the lengthy session i had with it. Hope it helps steer in the right direction:

Fix: patch the startup timeout

Close T3 Code first. You'll need Node.js installed.

Install the asar tool:
npm install -g @electron/asar

Back up your asar file (run in PowerShell):
$p = "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Programs\t3-code-desktop\resources"
Copy-Item "$p\app.asar" "$p\app.asar.backup"

Create a file called patch-t3.mjs with this content:
import asar from '@electron/asar';
import { readFileSync, writeFileSync } from 'fs';

const asarPath = process.env.LOCALAPPDATA.replace(/\/g, '/') +
'/Programs/t3-code-desktop/resources/app.asar';
const extractDir = asarPath + '-extracted';

// Extract
asar.extractAll(asarPath, extractDir);

// Patch timeout
const mainJs = extractDir + '/apps/desktop/dist-electron/main.js';
const src = readFileSync(mainJs, 'utf8');
const patched = src.replace(
'const DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MS = 1e4',
'const DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MS = 6e4'
);
if (patched === src) throw new Error('Pattern not found — may differ in your version');
writeFileSync(mainJs, patched, 'utf8');

// Repack (must preserve native modules outside asar)
await asar.createPackageWithOptions(extractDir, asarPath, {
unpack: '*.{node,dll,exe}',
unpackDir: 'node_modules/{@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk,@img/sharp-win32-x64,@msgpackr-extract/msgpackr-extract-win32-x64,msgpackr-extract,node-pty}'
});

console.log('Done. T3 Code will now wait 60s for backend startup instead of 10s.');

Run it:
node patch-t3.mjs

That's it — launch T3 Code and it should start normally.

[ZeuxMD]

Same issue on Omarchy 3.5 after upgrading from v0.0.15 to 0.0.17 through yay.
It gives the following output /usr/bin/t3code: line 22: /opt/t3code-bin/usr/bin/t3code: No such file or directory

[rdbtCVS]

Same issue on Omarchy 3.5 after upgrading from v0.0.15 to 0.0.17 through yay. It gives the following output /usr/bin/t3code: line 22: /opt/t3code-bin/usr/bin/t3code: No such file or directory

this is a separate issue with the aur repo that was introduced in the latest commit

[arham-saigol]

Same issue, update from v0.0.15 to v0.0.17 fails.