refactor(process): extend preexec_fn→start_new_session swap to remaining Popen sites

PR #8399 replaced preexec_fn=os.setsid with start_new_session=<bool> in
tools/environments/local.py to use CPython's thread-safe POSIX fastpath
instead of a between-fork-and-exec callback. Apply the same swap to the
other three files covered by tests/tools/test_windows_compat.py so all
Popen call sites use a consistent idiom.

Also:
- Strip a trailing-whitespace line introduced by the original PR.
- Update CONTRIBUTING.md + website/docs/developer-guide/contributing.md
  to recommend start_new_session in the cross-platform process management
  section.
- Fix a stale docstring reference in tools/environments/base.py (_popen_bash).
- Extend test_windows_compat.py with a parallel regression guard that
  rejects bare start_new_session=True (must be gated on _IS_WINDOWS).

Scope note: this is code hygiene, not a fix for #8340 — the two forms
invoke the same setsid() syscall, so this swap alone does not change
behavior for the 'setsid ... & disown' hang scenario in that issue.
#8340 remains open.

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -543,8 +543,7 @@ Hermes runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows. When writing code that touches the OS:
 3. **Process management.** `os.setsid()`, `os.killpg()`, and signal handling differ on Windows. Use platform checks:
    ```python
    import platform
-   if platform.system() != "Windows":
+   kwargs["start_new_session"] = platform.system() != "Windows"
-       kwargs["preexec_fn"] = os.setsid
    ```
 
 4. **Path separators.** Use `pathlib.Path` instead of string concatenation with `/`.

gateway/platforms/whatsapp.py

@@ -372,7 +372,7 @@ class WhatsAppAdapter(BasePlatformAdapter):
                 ],
                 stdout=bridge_log_fh,
                 stderr=bridge_log_fh,
-                preexec_fn=None if _IS_WINDOWS else os.setsid,
+                start_new_session=not _IS_WINDOWS,
                 env=bridge_env,
             )
             

tests/tools/test_windows_compat.py

@@ -19,13 +19,13 @@ GUARDED_FILES = [
 PROJECT_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent.parent
 
 
-def _get_preexec_fn_values(filepath: Path) -> list:
+def _get_kwarg_values(filepath: Path, kwarg_name: str) -> list:
-    """Find all preexec_fn= keyword arguments in Popen calls."""
+    """Find all ``kwarg_name=...`` keyword arguments in function calls."""
     source = filepath.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
     tree = ast.parse(source, filename=str(filepath))
     values = []
     for node in ast.walk(tree):
-        if isinstance(node, ast.keyword) and node.arg == "preexec_fn":
+        if isinstance(node, ast.keyword) and node.arg == kwarg_name:
             values.append(ast.dump(node.value))
     return values
 
@@ -38,13 +38,33 @@ class TestNoUnconditionalSetsid:
         filepath = PROJECT_ROOT / relpath
         if not filepath.exists():
             pytest.skip(f"{relpath} not found")
-        values = _get_preexec_fn_values(filepath)
+        values = _get_kwarg_values(filepath, "preexec_fn")
         for val in values:
             # A bare os.setsid would be: Attribute(value=Name(id='os'), attr='setsid')
             assert "attr='setsid'" not in val or "IfExp" in val or "None" in val, (
                 f"{relpath} has unconditional preexec_fn=os.setsid"
             )
 
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize("relpath", GUARDED_FILES)
+    def test_start_new_session_is_guarded(self, relpath):
+        """start_new_session must not be an unconditional True.
+
+        The modern thread-safe replacement for ``preexec_fn=os.setsid`` is
+        ``start_new_session=<bool>``, but Windows' subprocess backend doesn't
+        support it — so it must always be gated on a platform check (typically
+        ``not _IS_WINDOWS``), never a bare ``True``.
+        """
+        filepath = PROJECT_ROOT / relpath
+        if not filepath.exists():
+            pytest.skip(f"{relpath} not found")
+        values = _get_kwarg_values(filepath, "start_new_session")
+        for val in values:
+            # A bare True literal would be: Constant(value=True)
+            assert val != "Constant(value=True)", (
+                f"{relpath} has unconditional start_new_session=True "
+                f"(must be guarded, e.g. `not _IS_WINDOWS`)"
+            )
+
 
 class TestIsWindowsConstant:
     """Each guarded file must define _IS_WINDOWS."""

tools/code_execution_tool.py

@@ -1065,7 +1065,7 @@ def execute_code(
             stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
             stderr=subprocess.PIPE,
             stdin=subprocess.DEVNULL,
-            preexec_fn=None if _IS_WINDOWS else os.setsid,
+            start_new_session=not _IS_WINDOWS,
         )
 
         # --- Poll loop: watch for exit, timeout, and interrupt ---

tools/environments/base.py

@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ def _popen_bash(
     """Spawn a subprocess with standard stdout/stderr/stdin setup.
 
     If *stdin_data* is provided, writes it asynchronously via :func:`_pipe_stdin`.
-    Backends with special Popen needs (e.g. local's ``preexec_fn``) can bypass
+    Backends with special Popen needs (e.g. local's ``start_new_session``) can bypass
     this and call :func:`_pipe_stdin` directly.
     """
     proc = subprocess.Popen(

tools/environments/local.py

@@ -267,7 +267,7 @@ class LocalEnvironment(BaseEnvironment):
             stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
             stderr=subprocess.STDOUT,
             stdin=subprocess.PIPE if stdin_data is not None else subprocess.DEVNULL,
-            preexec_fn=None if _IS_WINDOWS else os.setsid,
+            start_new_session=not _IS_WINDOWS,
         )
 
         if stdin_data is not None:

tools/process_registry.py

@@ -395,7 +395,7 @@ class ProcessRegistry:
             stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
             stderr=subprocess.STDOUT,
             stdin=subprocess.PIPE,
-            preexec_fn=None if _IS_WINDOWS else os.setsid,
+            start_new_session=not _IS_WINDOWS,
         )
 
         session.process = proc

website/docs/developer-guide/contributing.md

@@ -129,8 +129,7 @@ except UnicodeDecodeError:
 
 ```python
 import platform
-if platform.system() != "Windows":
+kwargs["start_new_session"] = platform.system() != "Windows"
-    kwargs["preexec_fn"] = os.setsid
 ```
 
 ### 4. Path separators