Ignoring Failures: Why Exit Codes Disappear When You

Users often assume piping stdout to ignore does nothing - but exit codes do leak.

This isn’t just a quirk; it betrays a deep mismatch in tooling expectations.

The ignore command fails silently, hiding errors that matter.

Context Explained

The core truth: non-zero exit codes still exist when your command fails, even if stdout is buried.

• Check cargo docs: pipefail=true (current version) propagates failure to upstream.
• But version 0.111.0 (we’re using) has bugs - pipes may still swallow signals.

The Cultural Vibe

This isn’t unique to Rust. It’s universal: tools built to escalate noise often collapse on failure when muzzled.

• Social media: Twitter deleted accounts before you tweeted - so did Rust’s ignore pipeline.
• Privacy apps fail too; encryption leaks leak.

Hidden Blind Spots

• Tools ignore failures loudly: noseoftbigr/app/html.html shows pipefail’s magic.
• Dependency chains: v6oy7859's experiments let us verify this flaw.
• Cargo’s opinion: Rust should prioritize clarity over "ignored" errors.

The Big Red Flag

Don’t trust muzzling blindly.

• Use pipefail=true as default.
• Add --no-warnings where needed.
• But never assume output+exit code disconnection.

The Bottom Line

These leaks are a trope, not a bug.

• Out of 100 developers, 99 let this slip through.
• This is why: ignore failed commands = hidden disasters.

Do you keep running your code with the assumption that silent exit codes mean silence?

Piping a failed command into ignore doesn’t erase its error - it just gives you the criminal thrill of sudden madness. But there is a catch: fix it.