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Omarchy
ProbeLabs65 findings · 95 requirementsA proof layer — requirements, tests and verified fixes — for two of Omarchy's subsystems: the application menu (launcher scripts, QML model, JSONC config, search and selection) and the lock screen (lock scripts, QML, PAM authentication). Scope is deliberately limited to those components of omacom/omarchy; the rest of the distribution is not covered.
omarchy windows vm launch fails ("Failed to start Windows VM!"): numeric chmod 0700 cannot clear the setgid bit on ~/Windows
Reported by zakkoo · filed Sep 1, 2026Closed upstream on 2026-09-20 by bjarneo via an automated message, as a duplicate of #9334 (R-1173). GitHub close reason: completed.
At a glance
- 1 · What is claimed?
- Only the report text below — no validator has restated it as checkable claims yet.
- 2 · What does it affect?
- Not yet mapped to any requirement or component.
- 3 · Is it reproducible?
- No validation has been run yet.
- 4 · What remains unclear?
- Not validated yet: no claims, no reproducer.
- 5 · What happens next?
- Our staff decide whether the report is valid. Where this project allows it, agents decide whether it duplicates another report or a known issue. No decision has been recorded yet.
Original report
Summary
omarchy windows vm launch (and the "Windows" desktop launcher) fails with
"❌ Failed to start Windows VM!" even when the Windows container is running
and healthy. The failure is actually in the mount-safety check, not in starting
the VM, so the message is misleading.
Root cause: in bin/omarchy-windows-vm, prepare_caller_mounts()
normalizes the bind-mount source directories with a numeric chmod 0700,
then asserts each is exactly mode 700. GNU chmod with a numeric mode does
not clear the setgid bit on a directory (only a symbolic g-s does).
After a VM session the shared folder ~/Windows carries the setgid bit
(mode 2700), so stat -c %a returns 2700, the [[ $shared_mode != 700 ]]
guard trips, prepare_caller_mounts returns 1, assert_mounts_safe fails, and__priv_up_wait returns 1 — surfaced by launch_windows as
"Failed to start Windows VM!".
Steps to reproduce
omarchy windows vm install, complete the Windows install, log in, use the
VM, then shut Windows down.
2. Run omarchy windows vm launch (or click the "Windows" app) again.
3. → "❌ Failed to start Windows VM!", even though the container starts fine
and RDP is reachable.
After a session, ~/Windows is mode 2700 (setgid). The bit is applied during
the VM run — the dockur/windows container provisioning the /shared Samba
share, which is bind-mounted from ~/Windows.
Root-cause detail
prepare_caller_mounts() in bin/omarchy-windows-vm:
chmod 0700 -- "/proc/$BASHPID/fd/$storage_fd" "/proc/$BASHPID/fd/$shared_fd" || {
exec {storage_fd}<&-
exec {shared_fd}<&-
return 1
}
storage_mode=$(stat -Lc '%a' "/proc/$BASHPID/fd/$storage_fd" 2>/dev/null) || storage_mode=""
shared_mode=$(stat -Lc '%a' "/proc/$BASHPID/fd/$shared_fd" 2>/dev/null) || shared_mode=""
if [[ $storage_mode != 700 || $shared_mode != 700 ]]; then
exec {storage_fd}<&-
exec {shared_fd}<&-
return 1
fiThe chmod 0700 is meant to normalize the mode, but on a directory GNU
coreutils preserves the setuid/setgid bits for numeric modes, so a 2700
source stays 2700 and the equality check fails.
Minimal, self-contained repro (GNU coreutils 9.11):
$ d=$(mktemp -d); chmod 2700 "$d"; stat -c %a "$d" # 2700
$ chmod 0700 "$d"; stat -c %a "$d" # 2700 <-- setgid NOT cleared
$ chmod g-s "$d"; stat -c %a "$d" # 700 <-- symbolic clears itTrace of the failing privileged action (__priv up_wait, run under bash -x):
+ chmod 0700 -- /proc/.../fd/11 /proc/.../fd/12
+ storage_mode=700
+ shared_mode=2700
+ [[ 2700 != 700 ]]
+ return 1Suggested fix
Explicitly clear the special bits with a symbolic mode alongside the numeric
chmod, e.g.:
chmod 0700 -- "$a" "$b" && chmod ug-s -- "$a" "$b" || { …; return 1; }Actually clearing the bit is preferable to loosening the check, so the bind
source is genuinely 700. The same "numeric chmod then compare == 700"
pattern appears in the other anchor/source validation paths too, so it is worth
auditing all of them (mounted_leaf_matches, prepare_boundary_component,
etc.).
Separately: consider making the user-facing message distinguish a mount-safety
rejection from a genuine start failure — "Failed to start Windows VM!" is
confusing when the VM is actually running.
Workaround
chmod g-s ~/Windows # before launchingSystem
- Omarchy: 4.0.2-1
- Kernel: 7.1.9-arch1-2 (Arch Linux)
- CPU: Intel Core i7-11850H
- GPU: Intel UHD Graphics (TigerLake-H) + NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile
- RAM: 62 GB
- Docker: 29.7.2 · Compose: 5.5.0
- coreutils: 9.11
- Image:
dockurr/windows@sha256:0cff9eb0e7aee9953e55bc682852ca4fdca233145a58ae1ec94f0b0c01a2ed30
View raw text
## Summary
`omarchy windows vm launch` (and the "Windows" desktop launcher) fails with
**"❌ Failed to start Windows VM!"** even when the Windows container is running
and healthy. The failure is actually in the mount-safety check, not in starting
the VM, so the message is misleading.
**Root cause:** in `bin/omarchy-windows-vm`, `prepare_caller_mounts()`
normalizes the bind-mount source directories with a **numeric** `chmod 0700`,
then asserts each is exactly mode `700`. GNU `chmod` with a *numeric* mode does
**not** clear the **setgid** bit on a *directory* (only a symbolic `g-s` does).
After a VM session the shared folder `~/Windows` carries the setgid bit
(mode `2700`), so `stat -c %a` returns `2700`, the `[[ $shared_mode != 700 ]]`
guard trips, `prepare_caller_mounts` returns 1, `assert_mounts_safe` fails, and
`__priv_up_wait` returns 1 — surfaced by `launch_windows` as
"Failed to start Windows VM!".
## Steps to reproduce
1. `omarchy windows vm install`, complete the Windows install, log in, use the
VM, then shut Windows down.
2. Run `omarchy windows vm launch` (or click the "Windows" app) again.
3. → **"❌ Failed to start Windows VM!"**, even though the container starts fine
and RDP is reachable.
After a session, `~/Windows` is mode `2700` (setgid). The bit is applied during
the VM run — the dockur/windows container provisioning the `/shared` Samba
share, which is bind-mounted from `~/Windows`.
## Root-cause detail
`prepare_caller_mounts()` in `bin/omarchy-windows-vm`:
```bash
chmod 0700 -- "/proc/$BASHPID/fd/$storage_fd" "/proc/$BASHPID/fd/$shared_fd" || {
exec {storage_fd}<&-
exec {shared_fd}<&-
return 1
}
storage_mode=$(stat -Lc '%a' "/proc/$BASHPID/fd/$storage_fd" 2>/dev/null) || storage_mode=""
shared_mode=$(stat -Lc '%a' "/proc/$BASHPID/fd/$shared_fd" 2>/dev/null) || shared_mode=""
if [[ $storage_mode != 700 || $shared_mode != 700 ]]; then
exec {storage_fd}<&-
exec {shared_fd}<&-
return 1
fi
```
The `chmod 0700` is meant to normalize the mode, but on a **directory** GNU
coreutils preserves the setuid/setgid bits for numeric modes, so a `2700`
source stays `2700` and the equality check fails.
Minimal, self-contained repro (GNU coreutils 9.11):
```console
$ d=$(mktemp -d); chmod 2700 "$d"; stat -c %a "$d" # 2700
$ chmod 0700 "$d"; stat -c %a "$d" # 2700 <-- setgid NOT cleared
$ chmod g-s "$d"; stat -c %a "$d" # 700 <-- symbolic clears it
```
Trace of the failing privileged action (`__priv up_wait`, run under `bash -x`):
```
+ chmod 0700 -- /proc/.../fd/11 /proc/.../fd/12
+ storage_mode=700
+ shared_mode=2700
+ [[ 2700 != 700 ]]
+ return 1
```
## Suggested fix
Explicitly clear the special bits with a symbolic mode alongside the numeric
chmod, e.g.:
```bash
chmod 0700 -- "$a" "$b" && chmod ug-s -- "$a" "$b" || { …; return 1; }
```
Actually clearing the bit is preferable to loosening the check, so the bind
source is genuinely `700`. The same "numeric `chmod` then compare `== 700`"
pattern appears in the other anchor/source validation paths too, so it is worth
auditing all of them (`mounted_leaf_matches`, `prepare_boundary_component`,
etc.).
Separately: consider making the user-facing message distinguish a mount-safety
rejection from a genuine start failure — "Failed to start Windows VM!" is
confusing when the VM is actually running.
## Workaround
```bash
chmod g-s ~/Windows # before launching
```
## System
- Omarchy: **4.0.2-1**
- Kernel: 7.1.9-arch1-2 (Arch Linux)
- CPU: Intel Core i7-11850H
- GPU: Intel UHD Graphics (TigerLake-H) + NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile
- RAM: 62 GB
- Docker: 29.7.2 · Compose: 5.5.0
- coreutils: 9.11
- Image: `dockurr/windows@sha256:0cff9eb0e7aee9953e55bc682852ca4fdca233145a58ae1ec94f0b0c01a2ed30`
Validation
Not checked yet. A validator will restate this report as checkable claims, map it to the project's requirements and write a reproducer that the proof engine runs.
Linked
Not linked to any known issue, other report or change yet.
Decision
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