deadpool-runner

deadpool-runner is a small Node utility that wraps any script, streams its output through unchanged, and when the script fails it asks an ACP-backed fixer to repair the repo before retrying.

Today it ships with a built-in Codex client. The runner is structured around a client interface so additional ACP clients can be added without changing the retry engine.

Pull requests are welcome.

What It Does

• Runs any command from the current repo, or from explicit CLI arguments
• Mirrors stdout and stderr to your terminal while also capturing them for failure analysis
• On non-zero exit, sends the failure context to an ACP client
• Retries the command after the fixer runs, up to a configurable maximum
• Accepts repo-specific context via deadpool-runner.config.ts and/or CLI flags

Install

From npm:

npm install -g deadpool-runner

Or run it without installing globally:

npx deadpool-runner --help

For local development in this repo:

vp install
vp run build
vp link . -- --global

That exposes the default binary as dp-run.

Quick Start

Create a deadpool-runner.config.ts in the repo you want to protect:

import type { DeadpoolRunnerConfig } from "deadpool-runner";

const config: DeadpoolRunnerConfig = {
  command: "vp test",
  retries: 3,
  initialPrompt: `
This repo uses Vite+.
Use vp commands instead of npm, pnpm, or yarn directly.
Fix the root cause instead of suppressing errors.
`.trim(),
  acpClient: {
    name: "codex",
    model: "gpt-5.4",
    fullAuto: true,
  },
};

export default config;

Then run:

dp-run

Or skip the config file and pass the command directly:

dp-run --retries 2 --prompt "This is a Node CLI package. Keep fixes minimal." -- vp test

CLI

dp-run [options] -- <command> [args...]

Options:

• --config <path>: explicit config file path
• --cwd <path>: working directory for the wrapped command and ACP client
• --client <name>: ACP client name, currently codex
• --retries <n>: maximum fixer attempts after the initial failure
• --prompt <text>: seed prompt with repo context for the fixer
• --model <name>: model override for the built-in Codex client
• --color <mode>: auto, always, or never for codex exec

Config

The runner looks for deadpool-runner.config.ts, deadpool-runner.config.mts, deadpool-runner.config.js, or deadpool-runner.config.mjs in the working directory unless --config is passed.

import type { DeadpoolRunnerConfig } from "deadpool-runner";

export default {
  command: ["vp", "test"],
  retries: 3,
  initialPrompt: "The repo uses strict TypeScript and Vite+ commands.",
  maxOutputChars: 20000,
  env: {
    CI: "1",
  },
  acpClient: {
    name: "codex",
    model: "gpt-5.4",
    fullAuto: true,
    color: "never",
    extraArgs: ["--skip-git-repo-check"],
  },
} satisfies DeadpoolRunnerConfig;

Built-In Codex Client

When a command fails, the built-in Codex client runs codex exec in the target repo and gives it:

• The failing command
• The attempt number and retry budget
• The seed prompt from config or CLI
• Captured stdout/stderr, truncated to the configured limit

By default the client runs with --full-auto. You can switch to a custom argument set through acpClient.extraArgs.

Development

vp install
vp check
vp test
vp run build