Refactor set_forkserver_preload to use on_error parameter

Changed from a boolean raise_exceptions parameter to a more flexible on_error parameter that accepts 'ignore', 'warn', or 'fail'. - 'ignore' (default): silently ignores import failures - 'warn': emits ImportWarning from forkserver subprocess - 'fail': raises exception, causing forkserver to exit Also improved error messages by adding .add_note() to connection failures when on_error='fail' to guide users to check stderr. Updated both spawn.import_main_path() and module __import__() failure paths to support all three modes using match/case syntax. Co-authored-by: aggieNick02 <nick@pcpartpicker.com> Co-authored-by: Claude (Sonnet 4.5) <noreply@anthropic.com> Co-authored-by: Gregory P. Smith <greg@krypto.org>
python · gpshead · Jan 18, 2026 · Nov 23, 2025 · Nov 23, 2025 · Nov 23, 2025
commit 75495cc9e25f7bdeda7b260321100c2ca7325a0c
@@ -1211,7 +1211,7 @@ Miscellaneous
    .. versionchanged:: 3.11
       Accepts a :term:`path-like object`.
 
-.. function:: set_forkserver_preload(module_names, *, raise_exceptions=False)
+.. function:: set_forkserver_preload(module_names, *, on_error='ignore')
 
    Set a list of module names for the forkserver main process to attempt to
    import so that their already imported state is inherited by forked
@@ -1221,20 +1221,21 @@ Miscellaneous
    For this to work, it must be called before the forkserver process has been
    launched (before creating a :class:`Pool` or starting a :class:`Process`).
 
-   By default, any :exc:`ImportError` when importing modules is silently
-   ignored. If *raise_exceptions* is ``True``, :exc:`ImportError` exceptions
-   will be raised in the forkserver subprocess, causing it to exit. The
-   exception traceback will appear on stderr, and subsequent attempts to
-   create processes will fail with :exc:`EOFError` or :exc:`ConnectionError`.
-   Use *raise_exceptions* during development to catch import problems early.
+   The *on_error* parameter controls how :exc:`ImportError` exceptions during
+   module preloading are handled: ``'ignore'`` (default) silently ignores
+   failures, ``'warn'`` causes the forkserver subprocess to emit an
+   :exc:`ImportWarning` to stderr, and ``'fail'`` causes the forkserver
+   subprocess to exit with the exception traceback on stderr, making
+   subsequent process creation fail with :exc:`EOFError` or
+   :exc:`ConnectionError`.
 
    Only meaningful when using the ``'forkserver'`` start method.
    See :ref:`multiprocessing-start-methods`.
 
    .. versionadded:: 3.4
 
    .. versionchanged:: next
-      Added the *raise_exceptions* parameter.
+      Added the *on_error* parameter.
 
 .. function:: set_start_method(method, force=False)
 

@@ -177,15 +177,15 @@ def set_executable(self, executable):
         from .spawn import set_executable
         set_executable(executable)
 
-    def set_forkserver_preload(self, module_names, *, raise_exceptions=False):
+    def set_forkserver_preload(self, module_names, *, on_error='ignore'):
         '''Set list of module names to try to load in forkserver process.
 
-        If raise_exceptions is True, ImportError exceptions during preload
-        will be raised instead of being silently ignored. Such errors will
-        break all use of the forkserver multiprocessing context.
+        The on_error parameter controls how import failures are handled:
+        'ignore' (default) silently ignores failures, 'warn' emits warnings,
+        and 'fail' raises exceptions breaking the forkserver context.
         '''
         from .forkserver import set_forkserver_preload
-        set_forkserver_preload(module_names, raise_exceptions=raise_exceptions)
+        set_forkserver_preload(module_names, on_error=on_error)
 
     def get_context(self, method=None):
         if method is None:

@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ def __init__(self):
         self._inherited_fds = None
         self._lock = threading.Lock()
         self._preload_modules = ['__main__']
-        self._raise_exceptions = False
+        self._preload_on_error = 'ignore'
 
     def _stop(self):
         # Method used by unit tests to stop the server
@@ -65,17 +65,22 @@ def _stop_unlocked(self):
         self._forkserver_address = None
         self._forkserver_authkey = None
 
-    def set_forkserver_preload(self, modules_names, *, raise_exceptions=False):
+    def set_forkserver_preload(self, modules_names, *, on_error='ignore'):
         '''Set list of module names to try to load in forkserver process.
 
-        If raise_exceptions is True, ImportError exceptions during preload
-        will be raised instead of being silently ignored. Such errors will
-        break all use of the forkserver multiprocessing context.
+        The on_error parameter controls how import failures are handled:
+        'ignore' (default) silently ignores failures, 'warn' emits warnings,
+        and 'fail' raises exceptions breaking the forkserver context.
         '''
         if not all(type(mod) is str for mod in modules_names):
             raise TypeError('module_names must be a list of strings')
+        if on_error not in ('ignore', 'warn', 'fail'):
+            raise ValueError(
+                f"on_error must be 'ignore', 'warn', or 'fail', "
+                f"not {on_error!r}"
+            )
         self._preload_modules = modules_names
-        self._raise_exceptions = raise_exceptions
+        self._preload_on_error = on_error
 
     def get_inherited_fds(self):
         '''Return list of fds inherited from parent process.
@@ -114,6 +119,15 @@ def connect_to_new_process(self, fds):
                             wrapped_client, self._forkserver_authkey)
                     connection.deliver_challenge(
                             wrapped_client, self._forkserver_authkey)
+                except (EOFError, ConnectionError, BrokenPipeError) as exc:
+                    # Add helpful context if forkserver likely crashed during preload
+                    if (self._preload_modules and
+                        self._preload_on_error == 'fail'):
+                        exc.add_note(
+                            "Forkserver process may have crashed during module "
+                            "preloading. Check stderr for ImportError traceback."
+                        )
+                    raise
                 finally:
                     wrapped_client._detach()
                     del wrapped_client
@@ -159,8 +173,8 @@ def ensure_running(self):
                     main_kws['sys_path'] = data['sys_path']
                 if 'init_main_from_path' in data:
                     main_kws['main_path'] = data['init_main_from_path']
-                if self._raise_exceptions:
-                    main_kws['raise_exceptions'] = True
+                if self._preload_on_error != 'ignore':
+                    main_kws['on_error'] = self._preload_on_error
 
             with socket.socket(socket.AF_UNIX) as listener:
                 address = connection.arbitrary_address('AF_UNIX')
@@ -206,7 +220,7 @@ def ensure_running(self):
 #
 
 def main(listener_fd, alive_r, preload, main_path=None, sys_path=None,
-         *, authkey_r=None, raise_exceptions=False):
+         *, authkey_r=None, on_error='ignore'):
     """Run forkserver."""
     if authkey_r is not None:
         try:
@@ -224,15 +238,37 @@ def main(listener_fd, alive_r, preload, main_path=None, sys_path=None,
             process.current_process()._inheriting = True
             try:
                 spawn.import_main_path(main_path)
+            except Exception as e:
+                match on_error:
+                    case 'fail':
+                        raise
+                    case 'warn':
+                        import warnings
+                        warnings.warn(
+                            f"Failed to import __main__ from {main_path!r}: {e}",
+                            ImportWarning,
+                            stacklevel=2
+                        )
+                    case 'ignore':
+                        pass
             finally:
                 del process.current_process()._inheriting
         for modname in preload:
             try:
                 __import__(modname)
-            except ImportError:
-                if raise_exceptions:
-                    raise
-                pass
+            except ImportError as e:
+                match on_error:
+                    case 'fail':
+                        raise
+                    case 'warn':
+                        import warnings
+                        warnings.warn(
+                            f"Failed to preload module {modname!r}: {e}",
+                            ImportWarning,
+                            stacklevel=2
+                        )
+                    case 'ignore':
+                        pass
 
         # gh-135335: flush stdout/stderr in case any of the preloaded modules
         # wrote to them, otherwise children might inherit buffered data

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 import multiprocessing
 import multiprocessing.forkserver
 import unittest
+import warnings
 
 
 class TestForkserverPreload(unittest.TestCase):
@@ -23,9 +24,9 @@ def _send_value(conn, value):
         """Helper to send a value through a connection."""
         conn.send(value)
 
-    def test_preload_raise_exceptions_false_default(self):
+    def test_preload_on_error_ignore_default(self):
         """Test that invalid modules are silently ignored by default."""
-        # With raise_exceptions=False (default), invalid module is ignored
+        # With on_error='ignore' (default), invalid module is ignored
         self.ctx.set_forkserver_preload(['nonexistent_module_xyz'])
 
         # Should be able to start a process without errors
@@ -40,9 +41,9 @@ def test_preload_raise_exceptions_false_default(self):
         self.assertEqual(result, 42)
         self.assertEqual(p.exitcode, 0)
 
-    def test_preload_raise_exceptions_false_explicit(self):
-        """Test that invalid modules are silently ignored with raise_exceptions=False."""
-        self.ctx.set_forkserver_preload(['nonexistent_module_xyz'], raise_exceptions=False)
+    def test_preload_on_error_ignore_explicit(self):
+        """Test that invalid modules are silently ignored with on_error='ignore'."""
+        self.ctx.set_forkserver_preload(['nonexistent_module_xyz'], on_error='ignore')
 
         # Should be able to start a process without errors
         r, w = self.ctx.Pipe(duplex=False)
@@ -56,27 +57,45 @@ def test_preload_raise_exceptions_false_explicit(self):
         self.assertEqual(result, 99)
         self.assertEqual(p.exitcode, 0)
 
-    def test_preload_raise_exceptions_true_breaks_context(self):
-        """Test that invalid modules with raise_exceptions=True breaks the forkserver."""
-        self.ctx.set_forkserver_preload(['nonexistent_module_xyz'], raise_exceptions=True)
+    def test_preload_on_error_warn(self):
+        """Test that invalid modules emit warnings with on_error='warn'."""
+        self.ctx.set_forkserver_preload(['nonexistent_module_xyz'], on_error='warn')
+
+        # Should still be able to start a process, warnings are in subprocess
+        r, w = self.ctx.Pipe(duplex=False)
+        p = self.ctx.Process(target=self._send_value, args=(w, 123))
+        p.start()
+        w.close()
+        result = r.recv()
+        r.close()
+        p.join()
+
+        self.assertEqual(result, 123)
+        self.assertEqual(p.exitcode, 0)
+
+    def test_preload_on_error_fail_breaks_context(self):
+        """Test that invalid modules with on_error='fail' breaks the forkserver."""
+        self.ctx.set_forkserver_preload(['nonexistent_module_xyz'], on_error='fail')
 
         # The forkserver should fail to start when it tries to import
         # The exception is raised during p.start() when trying to communicate
         # with the failed forkserver process
         r, w = self.ctx.Pipe(duplex=False)
         try:
             p = self.ctx.Process(target=self._send_value, args=(w, 42))
-            with self.assertRaises((EOFError, ConnectionError, BrokenPipeError)):
+            with self.assertRaises((EOFError, ConnectionError, BrokenPipeError)) as cm:
                 p.start()  # Exception raised here
+            # Verify that the helpful note was added
+            self.assertIn('Forkserver process may have crashed', str(cm.exception.__notes__[0]))
         finally:
             # Ensure pipes are closed even if exception is raised
             w.close()
             r.close()
 
-    def test_preload_valid_modules_with_raise_exceptions(self):
-        """Test that valid modules work fine with raise_exceptions=True."""
-        # Valid modules should work even with raise_exceptions=True
-        self.ctx.set_forkserver_preload(['os', 'sys'], raise_exceptions=True)
+    def test_preload_valid_modules_with_on_error_fail(self):
+        """Test that valid modules work fine with on_error='fail'."""
+        # Valid modules should work even with on_error='fail'
+        self.ctx.set_forkserver_preload(['os', 'sys'], on_error='fail')
 
         r, w = self.ctx.Pipe(duplex=False)
         p = self.ctx.Process(target=self._send_value, args=(w, 'success'))
@@ -89,6 +108,12 @@ def test_preload_valid_modules_with_raise_exceptions(self):
         self.assertEqual(result, 'success')
         self.assertEqual(p.exitcode, 0)
 
+    def test_preload_invalid_on_error_value(self):
+        """Test that invalid on_error values raise ValueError."""
+        with self.assertRaises(ValueError) as cm:
+            self.ctx.set_forkserver_preload(['os'], on_error='invalid')
+        self.assertIn("on_error must be 'ignore', 'warn', or 'fail'", str(cm.exception))
+
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
     unittest.main()
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2025-11-22-20-30-00.gh-issue-101100.frksvr.rst b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2025-11-22-20-30-00.gh-issue-101100.frksvr.rst
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2025-11-22-20-30-00.gh-issue-141860.frksvr.rst b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2025-11-22-20-30-00.gh-issue-141860.frksvr.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+Add an ``on_error`` keyword-only parameter to
+:func:`multiprocessing.set_forkserver_preload` to control how import failures
+during module preloading are handled. Accepts ``'ignore'`` (default, silent),
+``'warn'`` (emit :exc:`ImportWarning`), or ``'fail'`` (raise exception).
+Contributed by Nick Neumann.