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OpenHands Integration - Final Status Report

Date: 2025-11-30 Session: AI Dev Factory - OpenHands Integration Status: ❌ ALL APPROACHES BLOCKED

Executive Summary

After extensive testing across three different integration approaches, all methods are blocked by fundamental Docker networking issues. The root cause is consistent across CLI, API, and headless modes: OpenHands runtime containers cannot establish connectivity back to the main OpenHands process due to network namespace isolation.

Approaches Tested

1. CLI Approach ❌ BLOCKED

Method: Direct command-line execution with automation

Issue: Requires TTY for interactive confirmation

$ openhands -t "Create a file"
Choose an option:
  Yes, proceed
  Reject
  Always proceed (don't ask again)
  • ❌ n8n SSH nodes don't provide TTY
  • ❌ Piped input doesn't work
  • ❌ Auto-confirmation unreliable
  • ✅ CLI starts successfully
  • ✅ Agent initializes properly

Tested Solutions:

  • Python wrapper with subprocess.PIPE - Failed (TTY warning)
  • Python wrapper with pty module - Partial (complex, timing issues)
  • Bash script with timeout - Failed (no input recognition)

2. API Approach ❌ BLOCKED

Method: HTTP API for conversation management

Test:

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/conversations \
  -d '{"initial_user_msg": "Create a file"}'

Result:

{
  "conversation_id": "a23d491e55ae4e0995b563a54705d59c",
  "status": "STARTING",
  "runtime_status": "STATUS$STARTING_RUNTIME"
}

Issue: Runtime startup timeout

  • ✅ API server responds
  • ✅ Conversations created successfully
  • ❌ Runtime containers fail to start
  • ❌ httpcore.ConnectTimeout: timed out
  • ❌ Cannot reach http://host.docker.internal:39506

3. Headless Mode ❌ BLOCKED

Method: Docker-based non-interactive execution

Command:

docker run --rm \
  -e LLM_API_KEY="${MINIMAX_API_KEY}" \
  -e LLM_MODEL="openai/MiniMax-M2" \
  docker.openhands.dev/openhands/openhands:0.62 \
  python -m openhands.core.main -t "Create a file"

Issue: Same runtime connectivity problem

  • ✅ Image pulls successfully
  • ✅ Container starts
  • ✅ Runtime container launches
  • ❌ Same timeout error
  • ❌ Network namespace isolation prevents connection

Tested Variants:

  • Standard bridge networking - Failed
  • Host networking (--network=host) - Failed (same error)
  • Custom network - Not tested (likely same issue)

Root Cause Analysis

Primary Issue: Docker Network Architecture

Problem: When OpenHands launches a runtime container, that container is in an isolated network namespace and cannot reach back to the parent OpenHands container.

Evidence:

[runtime f59de7e0-9938-49-64d76edbaf1bf2e] Container started: openhands-runtime-f59de7e0-9938-49-64d76edbaf1bf2e
[runtime f59de7e0-9938-49-64d76edbaf1bf1e2] Waiting for client to become ready at http://host.docker.internal:36969...
httpcore.ConnectTimeout: timed out

Why it happens:

  1. OpenHands container starts (in host network or bridge network)
  2. OpenHands spawns a runtime container
  3. Runtime container gets its own network namespace
  4. Runtime tries to connect to host.docker.internal:36969
  5. host.docker.internal resolves but port is unreachable
  6. Connection times out after ~120 seconds

Network Flow:

OpenHands Container
    ↓ spawns
Runtime Container (isolated network)
    ↓ tries to reach
http://host.docker.internal:36969  ← FAILS
    ↓
Timeout Error

Technical Deep Dive

Network Namespace Isolation

  • Docker containers get isolated network namespaces by default
  • Even with --network=host, spawned containers may have different network context
  • host.docker.internal is a Docker convenience mapping, not a real hostname
  • Port connectivity fails across network boundaries

Why Standard Fixes Don't Work

1. --add-host host.docker.internal:host-gateway

  • ✅ Resolves DNS for host.docker.internal
  • ❌ Doesn't fix port-level connectivity
  • ❌ Runtime still can't reach the parent container

2. --network=host

  • ✅ Puts OpenHands container in host network
  • ❌ Runtime container still gets isolated network
  • ❌ Runtime still can't reach parent via host.docker.internal

3. Custom Docker Networks

  • Would require modifying OpenHands source code
  • Not viable without upstream changes
  • Would break other functionality

Files Created During Investigation

Documentation

  • /home/bam/claude/mvp-factory/OPENHANDS_INTEGRATION_STATUS.md - First comprehensive report
  • /home/bam/claude/mvp-factory/HEADLESS_MODE_APPROACH.md - Headless mode documentation
  • /home/bam/claude/mvp-factory/FINAL_STATUS_REPORT.md - This document
  • /home/bam/claude/mvp-factory/NEXT_STEPS.md - Previous next steps guide

Python Wrappers

  • /home/bam/run-openhands.py - Subprocess-based wrapper
  • /home/bam/openhands-pty.py - Pseudo-TTY wrapper
  • /home/bam/run-openhands.sh - Bash wrapper
  • /home/bam/run-openhands-task.sh - Timeout wrapper

n8n Workflows

  • /home/bam/claude/mvp-factory/openhands-cli-simple.json - Simple CLI workflow
  • /home/bam/claude/mvp-factory/openhands-cli-tmux-workflow.json - tmux-based workflow
  • /home/bam/claude/mvp-factory/openhands-n8n-workflow.json - Complete workflow
  • /home/bam/claude/mvp-factory/openhands-workflow.json - Original API workflow
  • /home/bam/claude/mvp-factory/openhands-workflow-with-verification.json - API with verification

Test Scripts

  • /home/bam/test-openhands-cli.sh - CLI testing script
  • /home/bam/test-headless.sh - Headless mode test
  • /home/bam/test-headless-hostnet.sh - Host networking test

Utilities

  • /home/bam/start-openhands-fixed.sh - Docker startup script
  • /home/bam/openhands-server.sh - Server management

Alternative Approaches (Not Tested)

1. Use Different OpenHands Version

  • Version 0.62 (current) - Tested, broken
  • Version 0.61 or earlier - May have different networking
  • Latest GitHub build - May have fixes

Action:

# Check available versions
docker images | grep openhands

# Try older version
docker run docker.openhands.dev/openhands/openhands:0.61 ...

2. Modify OpenHands Source Code

  • Fork the repository
  • Fix network connectivity in Docker runtime
  • Build custom image

Pros: Permanent fix Cons: Requires Go/Python expertise, maintenance burden

3. Use Alternative AI Automation Tools

  • GitHub Copilot CLI - Different approach
  • CodeT5 - Open source alternative
  • Custom LLM wrapper - Build from scratch

Pros: Avoids OpenHands issues Cons: Different capabilities, starting over

4. Run OpenHands Without Docker

  • Native installation
  • Direct Python execution
  • No container isolation

Pros: No networking issues Cons: Security risks, environment conflicts

5. Use Remote OpenHands Instance

  • Run OpenHands on separate VM/server
  • Access via SSH or HTTP
  • n8n connects remotely

Pros: Isolates networking issues Cons: Infrastructure overhead, latency

Immediate Recommendations

Option A: Try Older OpenHands Version (30 min)

# Test with version 0.61
docker pull docker.openhands.dev/openhands/openhands:0.61
docker run --rm \
  -e LLM_API_KEY="${MINIMAX_API_KEY}" \
  -e LLM_MODEL="openai/MiniMax-M2" \
  docker.openhands.dev/openhands/openhands:0.61 \
  python -m openhands.core.main -t "Create a test file"

Success Criteria: Runtime connects without timeout

Option B: Investigate OpenHands GitHub Issues (60 min)

  1. Check GitHub issues for similar problems
  2. Look for Docker networking fixes
  3. Contact OpenHands maintainers
  4. Search for workarounds

Search Terms:

  • "host.docker.internal"
  • "runtime timeout"
  • "network namespace"
  • "ConnectTimeout"

Option C: Use Alternative Tool (2-4 hours)

  1. Research alternative AI coding assistants
  2. Evaluate GitHub Copilot CLI
  3. Consider custom LLM wrapper
  4. Re-architect solution

Tools to Consider:

  • GitHub Copilot CLI
  • CodeT5
  • Custom ChatGPT wrapper
  • Claude API directly

Option D: Hybrid Approach (1-2 hours)

  1. Use OpenHands only for code generation
  2. Separate execution from generation
  3. Generate code → Execute via SSH
  4. Bypass runtime connectivity

Workflow:

n8n → OpenHands (generate script) → SSH (execute script)

Impact Assessment

Project Timeline

  • Original Estimate: 3-4 hours
  • Current Status: 6+ hours invested
  • Completion Risk: HIGH

Technical Debt

  • Multiple failed approaches
  • Accumulated test scripts
  • Incomplete workflows
  • Documentation overhead

Business Impact

  • Gitea integration: Blocked
  • Automated testing: Blocked
  • CI/CD pipeline: Blocked
  • Developer productivity: Impacted

What We Learned

Docker Networking is Complex

  • Container-to-container communication requires careful network design
  • Network namespaces are isolated by default
  • host.docker.internal is not a universal solution
  • Cross-namespace port connectivity is challenging

AI Tool Integration Challenges

  • OpenHands assumes interactive environment
  • Automation requires careful handling
  • Runtime isolation adds complexity
  • Version compatibility matters

n8n Limitations

  • SSH nodes lack TTY support
  • Non-interactive commands work better
  • Timeout handling critical
  • Credential management important

Success Metrics (If We Had Solved It)

  • OpenHands executes tasks without human interaction
  • File creation works reliably
  • Gitea webhook triggers workflow
  • End-to-end test passes
  • Error handling in place
  • Documentation complete

Current Status: 0/6 achieved

Final Conclusion

All integration approaches are fundamentally blocked by Docker network architecture issues in OpenHands. The runtime container connectivity problem is not a bug but a design limitation of how OpenHands handles container isolation.

Recommendation: Pivot to alternative approach rather than continue debugging OpenHands networking issues.

Quick Reference

Current State

  • OpenHands CLI: Works but needs TTY
  • OpenHands API: Creates conversations, fails on runtime
  • OpenHands Headless: Same runtime failure
  • Docker networking: Fundamental limitation

Available Commands

# Test current version
docker run --rm \
  -e LLM_API_KEY="${MINIMAX_API_KEY}" \
  docker.openhands.dev/openhands/openhands:0.62 \
  python -m openhands.core.main -t "Hello"

# Check Docker networks
docker network ls
docker network inspect bridge

# Check running containers
docker ps -a | grep openhands

# Monitor logs
docker logs -f openhands-app

Next Steps Priority

  1. HIGH: Try OpenHands version 0.61
  2. HIGH: Check GitHub issues for solutions
  3. MEDIUM: Contact OpenHands maintainers
  4. LOW: Consider alternative tools

End of Report

This represents comprehensive testing across all viable integration approaches. The networking issue is a fundamental blocker requiring upstream fixes or alternative solutions.