Shell execution hangs on interactive commands (sudo, password prompts)
- Dominant language
- TypeScript
- Stars
- 2k
- Forks
- 807
- Avg merge
- 10h 12m
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 7
Description
## Problem
Amazon Q's shell command execution hangs or gets cancelled when executing commands that require interactive input, specifically `sudo` commands that prompt for a password. This prevents completion of system administration tasks that are common in development workflows.
## Steps to reproduce the issue
1. Open Amazon Q chat in VS Code
2. Ask Amazon Q to execute a shell command that requires interactive input
3. Example: Request to run `sudo chown $USER:$USER some-directory/`
4. Observe that the command execution either:
- Hangs indefinitely without prompting for password
- Gets cancelled with "Tool use was cancelled by the user" message
- Times out without completing
## Expected behavior
The shell execution should either:
- Provide a way to handle interactive prompts (password input)
- Clearly indicate that interactive commands are not supported
- Offer alternative approaches (like suggesting `sudo -n` for non-interactive execution)
Currently, the execution appears to start but never completes, leaving the user uncertain about what happened.
## System details
- OS: Windows 11 Pro version 10.0.26100.4351
- Visual Studio Code version: 1.101.1 (system setup)
- AWS Toolkit version: 3.66.0
- Amazon Q version: 1.77.0
**Additional Context:**
This issue affects common development workflows where system-level permissions are needed, such as:
- Fixing Docker volume mount permissions (`sudo chown`)
- Installing system packages (`sudo apt install`)
- Modifying system configuration files
- Any command requiring elevated privileges
**Workaround:**
Users must manually execute these commands in a separate terminal, which breaks the integrated development experience that Amazon Q provides.
Contributor guide
Research direction
Start by reproducing the issue in Amazon Q chat in VS Code with the reported sudo command and observe whether it hangs, is cancelled, or times out. Trace the shell execution path from that request; done means interactive commands are handled clearly or their unsupported status and alternatives are communicated without leaving execution unresolved.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- shell, typescript, vscode
- Domain
- devtools, tooling
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 35/100