Tool call timeout zombie handler

open

1 independent reportacross 1 sourceon 1 stacklast reported 2026-07-02

What this is

When a tool call times out, the system stops waiting but never cancels the underlying handler, which keeps executing in the background and can trigger the same real-world action twice.

Status open: reported and still open where it was reported.

Evidence

Sarita-Joshi2026-07-02pipecatGitHub issuesgithub.com/…/4936

Function call timeout doesn't cancel the handler — it keeps running as a zombie, and its late result is silently dropped (double-side-effect risk)

First seen 2026-07-02 · our copy fetched 2026-07-31T16:09:20Z · SHA-256 of that copy begins d240c6d29dcd44a9… · profile

Quotes run to 30 words around the reported failure and link to the post.Add your call to this entry Take a quote down within 24 hours.

What is measurable

Signal	This record stands on its own linked sources. To put a number on your own call, `hotato autopsy ./call.wav` reads a recording you already have and ranks the timing incidents in it.
Establishes	Every report below links to the original post and names the handle that wrote it; the quote is at most 30 words around the reported failure. What else it establishes, and what your own trace settles The status changes only when a re-check stores the evidence link, the quote and the date behind the change. Every timestamp comes from the fetched artifact it describes, recorded with the sha256 of the response body it was read from. What your trace settles Reproducing the mode on your own stack is the next step: the reports below carry the configuration each reporter was running.
Tier	Atlas record: every field on this page traces to a fetched public artifact. hotato is MIT and runs locally, getting started.

Status history

The record has carried one status since it opened: open, reported and still open where it was reported. A move lands here with the link, the quote and the date that show it.

Mode	Status	Shares
TTS word drop context race	fixed	reported on pipecat; reported on github
Dead-air after caller	open	reported on pipecat; reported on github
Turn completion filter dead-air timer orphan	open	reported on pipecat; reported on github

Discussion

Reader discussion of this mode: what fixed it and what did not. The reports above are attributed and linked; a comment is a comment.

Open this discussion on GitHub

The record

Ids, digests, every link this entry stands on, and how to take a quote down

Atlas id	`VFA-2026-0023`
Mode id	`pat_322c4bcc269bf13643ba5470`
Content digest	`sha256:322c4bcc269bf13643ba5470b3d46c484698f5dc388bc104f0371f996dc55766`
First reported	`2026-07-02`
Last reported	`2026-07-02`
First seen by the atlas	`2026-07-02T18:30:21Z`
Last re-checked	`2026-07-02T18:30:21Z`
Reported on	pipecat
Sources	GitHub issues
Scope	1 independent public report across 1 source. This entry states where the mode has been reported; where else it can occur is what the next report settles.
References	reporthttps://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/issues/4936 · Sarita-Joshi · GitHub issues · 2026-07-02
Machine surfaces	feed.json feed.atom feed.schema.json atlas.llms.txt
Removal	If you wrote something quoted on this page and want it gone, one email to [email protected] does it. The removal path takes the quote, the handle and the link off this page, out of the feeds and out of the llms.txt within 24 hours, and tombstones the id so the entry cannot quietly return at a new address.