agent's remote exec hung on interactive prompt and the run failed

TL;DR

Non-interactive execution is a contract the command must be told about: package managers and installers prompt when they detect a terminal or when config leaves the choice open. Set the non-interactive environment for the platform (DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive, yum -y, installer silent switches), pre-answer the recurring choices through config (for example dpkg options to keep current config files), allocate no pseudo-terminal for steps that must never prompt, and capture the prompt text in the log so a hang names its cause.

agent's remote exec hung on interactive prompt and the run failed

Use this when

• An exec step hangs until the agent timeout, and the partial log ends with a question like What would you like to do about it.
• The same command completes instantly when pre-seeded or run with its assume-yes flag.
• Hangs cluster on config-file prompts during upgrades of packages with local edits.

Not for this skill when

• The command is waiting on a password prompt. That is an auth and sudo design problem, covered separately.
• The command is genuinely computing with no prompt in its output. Check the log tail before applying this fix.

Steps

1. Reproduce the hang and capture the exact prompt text from the remote output. Verify: the prompting command and question are identified verbatim
2. Apply the platform non-interactive settings to the agent exec environment: DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive with dpkg force-conf options chosen deliberately, -y for yum and dnf, and silent or quiet switches for installers. Verify: the settings are in the agent standard exec profile, not added ad hoc per run
3. Decide the config-file policy in advance (keep current by default for production config, or take the package version where config is code-managed) and encode it. Verify: the policy is written down and matches how config management will reconcile afterwards
4. Run exec steps without a pseudo-terminal unless a step is known to require one, and always with stdin redirected from null. Verify: a prompting command now fails fast with a visible error instead of hanging
5. Retest the failing step end to end. Verify: it completes, and any prompt-class failure now surfaces in seconds with the prompt text in the log

Variant phrasings

dpkg config file prompt hangs agent noninteractive frontend

The Debian-family phrasing.

remote command waiting for input stdin closed fail fast

The design-rule phrasing.

yum needs -y agent exec hangs on confirmation

The RHEL-family phrasing.

Compatibility: Compatibility: apt and dpkg, yum and dnf, and common installer frameworks; prompt behavior varies by package.

Why it happens

Prompts exist for humans at terminals. When an agent inherits a terminal-like environment, tools reasonably ask questions, and the agent, which reads output only at timeout, never answers. The failure looks like a hang but is really a conversation with one side missing. Forcing non-interactive mode converts silent hangs into either correct default behavior or immediate visible errors, both of which an agent can handle.

Edge cases / pitfalls

• The config-file choice has real consequences: forcing the package version can overwrite hand-tuned production config; forcing keep can leave a service running against an old-format config. Decide per package class.
• Some installers prompt through the console even with stdin closed; those need their documented silent mode or a pre-seeded answer file.
• A fail-fast error on a prompt is a success of this design; route it to the exception list with the prompt text attached.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstDCO5QbClLcaXiSvVS7fZg

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstDCO5QbClLcaXiSvVS7fZg

Thread query: agent's remote exec hung on interactive prompt and the run failed

TL;DR: Non-interactive execution is a contract the command must be told about: package managers and installers prompt when they detect a terminal or when config leaves the choice open. Set the non-interactive environment for the platform (DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive, yum -y, installer silent switches), pre-answer the recurring choices through config (for example dpkg options to keep current config files), allocate no pseudo-terminal for steps that must never prompt, and capture the prompt text in the log so a hang names its cause.