emrg: remove stop_all -I isolated mode (rants 2026-08-18T21:13:03/21:14:16)

[argszero]

What

Remove the -I (isolated mode) flag from the stop_all.py invocation in the Windows installer's PrepareToInstall step, restoring the v0.2.49 form "{PythonExe}" "{StopScript}".

Why (host rants 2026-08-18T21:13:03 + 21:14:16, verbatim intent)

v0.2.50 Windows installs failed with the installer reporting:

Could not find platform independent libraries <prefix>
Fatal Python error: Failed to import encodings module
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'encodings'

and no stop_all.log was produced (stop_all.py crashed at startup, before log tee).

Root cause: -I was introduced in v0.2.50 (make-installer.sh) under the hypothesis that python-dist's site config loads install\lib modules (websockets → speedups pyd), self-locking the files to delete. Windows standalone python (python-build-standalone) locates stdlib via its directory structure / ._pth mechanism, which -I (isolated mode) ignores → stdlib not found → crash at startup.

Hypothesis falsified: v0.2.49 module-holder enumeration showed stop_all (a pure-stdlib single file) only loads python-dist DLLs, never websockets — the self-lock never happened. The real installer blocker was verify misjudging its own python-dist lock as residual, already fixed by #847 (self-held attribution). stop_all's excluded-chain already excludes self + ancestor processes (it never kills itself), and #847 handles self-held locks — self-exclusion + self-held is the complete solution, no replacement flag needed.

Changes

1. packaging/make-installer.sh — remove -I from the Exec line; replace the stale -I rationale comment with the removal explanation (python-build-standalone stdlib discovery + falsified hypothesis).
2. emrg/_stop_all.py — build stamp no longer claims "isolated -I" (now: module-holder enumeration + createfile-probe + taskkill RM + excluded-chain self-exclusion + self-lock guard).
3. tests/test_installer_stop.py — assert the new -I-free invocation is present and the -I invocation is absent; updated the rationale comment.

Verification

• uv run pytest tests/test_installer_stop.py tests/test_stop_all.py → 89 passed
• Full suite: 960 passed + 1 skipped (961 collected, Agent.md unchanged)
• Import + CLI checks pass

Note: -I was the only functional difference vs v0.2.49, which produced a full stop_all.log on Windows. Host acceptance: Windows install v0.2.51 → stop_all.log generated completely → external process killed → self-held python-dist lock marked non-blocking → exit 0 → installer succeeds.

[argszero]

✅ LGTM — cycle 766. Diff verified: (1) make-installer.sh Exec now (v0.2.49 form, no -I) — python-build-standalone stdlib discovery via directory structure/._pth is not bypassed; comment updated with falsified-hypothesis reasoning (excluded-chain self-exclusion + #847 self-held = complete solution, no replacement flag); (2) _STOP_ALL_STAMP drops the -I claim; (3) test asserts the -I-free invocation is present AND the -I form is absent (triple-quoted literal matching the exact Pascal text — no NameError). CI test + test-windows PASS (run 32141624883). Local: pytest 960 passed + 1 skipped (961 collected), import + CLI OK.

[argszero]

✅ LGTM — cycle 766. Diff verified: (1) make-installer.sh Exec now uses the v0.2.49 form (quoted PythonExe + quoted StopScript, no -I) — python-build-standalone stdlib discovery via directory structure / ._pth is not bypassed; comment updated with falsified-hypothesis reasoning (excluded-chain self-exclusion + #847 self-held = complete solution, no replacement flag); (2) _STOP_ALL_STAMP drops the -I claim; (3) test asserts the -I-free invocation is present AND the -I form is absent (triple-quoted literal matching the exact Pascal text — no NameError). CI test + test-windows PASS (run 32141624883). Local: pytest 960 passed + 1 skipped (961 collected), import + CLI OK.

[argszero]

✅ LGTM — cycle 767. Independent re-review: head 22718b1 unchanged, CI test + test-windows PASS (run 32141624883), MERGEABLE. Diff: (1) make-installer.sh Exec restores v0.2.49 form (no -I) — python-build-standalone stdlib discovery preserved; (2) _STOP_ALL_STAMP updated; (3) test asserts -I-free invocation present + -I form absent via exact triple-quoted Pascal literals. Local: test_installer_stop + test_stop_all 89 passed on this head. (Note: cycle 766 accidentally left a duplicate review with a shell-mangled body — same verdict, informational only.)

[argszero]

✅ LGTM — cycle 768. 3rd consecutive approval (cycles 766/767/768, no ❌ between). Head 22718b1 unchanged, CI test + test-windows PASS (run 32141624883), MERGEABLE. This implements step 1 of the superseding final rant 21:24:48 (remove -I); the verify-flow extensions (re-kill strategies, self-held relaxation, per-file logs) will follow in a separate PR. Proceeding to merge.