Brennan Benson
04b4e962a7
* fix: start a new Claude chat on the listed default when its remembered model is gone The remembered new-chat model was launched as-is even after Claude stopped offering it, so every new chat failed its first message. The host create and the desktop new-chat picker now derive the same replacement from the host's saved model list: the listed default, effort moved to the nearest level it offers. Explicit models (--model, held picks) run as given; with no saved list the remembered model is kept. * fix: read the host's model list only for a Claude create that needs it The check read host.deps before ruling out other agents and explicit models, so creates whose host carries no deps (and every non-Claude create) paid for a lookup they never use. * fix: picker derives the fallback only where the host would A held model runs as picked on the host, so the picker no longer derives an effort beside it. A cached list whose default marker was dropped for this workspace keeps the placeholder instead of naming its first row. * fix: the new-chat picker picks the replacement for a gone Claude model The host-side check read the saved list separately from the picker, so the two disagreed and a cold start never fired it. The desktop new-chat picker now picks the replacement it shows, once, through the existing pick path, so the first send runs it and the remembered selection heals. The host is back to main. * fix: decide a gone Claude model's replacement at send, from the list in hand The open-time auto-pick raced the chat's create and the list's arrival, so the first send could still launch the gone model. Now, like the common pattern, the picker shows the replacement for a model the host's loaded list lacks, and the send step applies it through the existing pick call, awaited, right before the message goes out. A failed pick never holds the send back. * fix: one verified list decides a gone model's replacement The picker, the send step and the option setter now all read the list the picker shows, less the row a session adds for its own unlisted model, so what is shown is what applies and an explicit pick from that list stays. A listing that is still running, failed, or absent keeps the model. The send step re-derives from the chat's state when it runs, so a second send behind one that already moved the model applies nothing. * fix: only rows a finished host listing names can replace a gone model A single verified flag outlived the catalog it described: live options built from the built-in fallback list, or a malformed or empty host answer, still authorized a replacement the host would refuse. The state now keeps the ids a finished, well-formed host listing names, and a replacement must be both shown in the picker and named there. * fix(native-chat): the send carries the composer's Claude model and effort Every composer send (desktop and phone) carries the model and effort the picker shows, as optional agentSession.send options, only to a host that advertises agent-session.send-options.v1. The host writes a carried value that differs from the chat's own through the existing pick path before accepting the message, so the turn starts on it and the chat records it. A queued card keeps its options and applies them when it goes out; a launch's create call carries the replacement for its first message. Replaces the separate awaited pick before each send. * chore: drop an unrelated lockfile change * refactor(native-chat): one helper names a send's control fields for client and host * ci: rerun against current main * fix(native-chat): a message runs on the model and effort it was sent with The carried selection is now stored with the message (its submission row, and a queued card's row) and applied through the shared option writer as the delivery loop hands the message over, or before the start it needs. A pick made after the message was accepted no longer changes the model it runs on. Direct sends, queue drains and Send now share that one apply point; the early apply before acceptance and the queue-only apply are gone. The picker and the send read one effective selection: the replacement for a model the host's finished listing lacks shows only for a host that takes a send's selection, the phone validates picks against what it shows, a send carries the default the composer shows, a resumed launch's first message gets the same resolution, and only the listing proves a row (no label heuristic). * docs(native-chat): a submission's options are the host's alone * fix(native-chat): an opening message keeps its model; a pending pick resolves like the picker The opening message a create sends now stores the model and effort the chat was created with, so a pick made before its handover no longer changes what it runs on, and a card kept after a restart keeps them. A pick on its way to the host resolves through the same option view the picker shows before a send carries it, so a gone model it names is replaced too; the send selection reads only the shown snapshot. The option writer builds its own record-and-publish context, so the message path no longer duplicates it, and the client and host share one function for a send's fingerprint fields. * ci: rerun against current main
Orca Mobile
React Native companion app for Orca. Monitor worktrees, view terminal output, and send commands from your phone.
Local development uses two processes:
- Orca desktop/Electron from the repo root. This hosts the mobile WebSocket RPC server on port
6768. - Expo Metro from
mobile/. This serves the React Native app on port8081.
Unless a command says otherwise, run mobile app commands from the mobile/ directory.
The Node commands pnpm rpc:diff and pnpm rpc:record use a development dependency linked to ../src/packages/process-host. Mobile's install supplies the link, and tsx runs its source with the orca-source condition, so these command wrappers do not require a desktop install or package build. Keep that source directory in sparse checkouts. The recording suites still need root dependencies when they exercise desktop modules. The React Native app does not import this host package.
Prerequisites
- Node.js 24+
- pnpm
- Xcode and/or Android Studio tooling for simulator or device builds
- Expo Go on your phone, or a development client build when native modules are needed
- Phone and desktop on the same LAN when testing a physical phone
Start Desktop Orca
From the repository root:
pnpm install
pnpm dev
Confirm the mobile RPC server is listening:
lsof -nP -iTCP:6768 -sTCP:LISTEN
Restart pnpm dev after changing Electron main-process code. Metro hot reload only applies to the mobile JavaScript bundle.
Start The Mobile App
cd mobile
pnpm install
pnpm start
Scan the Expo QR code with your phone's camera on iOS, or Expo Go on Android.
For a native dev-client build:
pnpm exec expo run:android
pnpm exec expo run:ios
pnpm start --dev-client
Pair With Desktop Orca
- Open Orca desktop.
- Go to Settings > Mobile.
- Scan the pairing QR code from the mobile app.
- Confirm the mobile host endpoint is
ws://<desktop-ip>:6768.
For the Android emulator, use ws://10.0.2.2:6768. For a physical phone, use the desktop LAN IP, for example ws://192.168.0.179:6768.
If the phone has a stale host entry, remove it from the app and pair again.
Development Paths
Android Phone
- Install Expo Go from Google Play
- Run
pnpm start, scan QR with Expo Go - For native modules:
pnpm exec expo run:android - Run with
pnpm start --dev-client
iOS Simulator
- Install Xcode from the App Store
- Run
pnpm start --iosto open in iOS Simulator
Physical Phone Debugging
The phone can be inspected through the connected device tooling:
orca snapshot --json
orca click --element @e3 --json
orca fill --element @e1 --value "ls" --json
orca screenshot --json
Use snapshot first to find the current element refs, then click/fill those refs. After mobile file edits, Metro usually hot reloads automatically, but navigating out of and back into the session screen can be useful because it re-runs terminal.subscribe.
Terminal Streaming Repro Without A Phone
Use this when terminal output does not render on device and you need to split server streaming bugs from WebView/UI bugs:
cd mobile
ORCA_MOBILE_WS_URL=ws://127.0.0.1:6768 pnpm exec tsx scripts/test-subscribe.ts <deviceToken> <serverPublicKeyB64>
You can pass a worktree selector as the third argument:
pnpm exec tsx scripts/test-subscribe.ts <deviceToken> <serverPublicKeyB64> "id:<worktreeId>"
pnpm exec tsx scripts/test-subscribe.ts <deviceToken> <serverPublicKeyB64> "path:/absolute/worktree/path"
pnpm exec tsx scripts/test-subscribe.ts <deviceToken> <serverPublicKeyB64> "name:my-worktree"
The expected result includes:
streamSawMarker: true
readSawMarker: true
If this repro fails, debug the desktop runtime/PTY path before the mobile WebView. If it passes but the phone is blank, debug the session screen or TerminalWebView readiness/queueing path.
Terminal Color Repro Without A Phone
Use this when terminal colors disappear after switching tabs. Open a Claude Code terminal and at least one other terminal in the target worktree, then run:
cd mobile
ORCA_MOBILE_WS_URL=ws://127.0.0.1:6768 pnpm exec tsx scripts/repro-terminal-colors.ts \
<deviceToken> <serverPublicKeyB64> "id:<worktreeId>"
The script captures terminal.subscribe snapshots in an A → B → A sequence and writes raw snapshots to mobile/terminal-color-repro/. If the two A snapshots have different sgrColor counts, the desktop snapshot changed during the switch. If they match, the ANSI color data is still present and the bug is in mobile replay/rendering.
Validation
Run these checks before committing mobile terminal changes:
cd mobile
pnpm exec tsc --noEmit
pnpm run check:tests-typecheck
pnpm lint
cd ..
pnpm typecheck:node
tsc --noEmit reads tsconfig.json, which excludes test files so Metro never bundles them.
tsconfig.test.json puts them back, and pnpm run typecheck:tests shows their errors in full.
check:tests-typecheck is the gate over it: a ratchet against tests-typecheck-baseline.txt, the
127 test files that do not typecheck yet. It fails when a file that checks today stops checking,
and when a baseline entry starts checking (prune it with
node scripts/check-tests-typecheck-ratchet.mjs --prune). The list may only shrink.
The same gate censuses the program first: every *.test.ts(x) on disk must be in it, or named in
the script's TESTS_OUTSIDE_PROGRAM with a reason. Without that, a test excluded from
tsconfig.test.json — or a Foo.test.tsx shadowed by a Foo.test.ts beside it, which a wildcard
include drops for the higher-priority extension — would leave the ratchet silently.
Protocol Version Compatibility
Mobile and desktop talk over a versioned protocol. Because mobile updates lag desktop by 24-48h via the App Store, both sides exchange version numbers on status.get so a genuinely incompatible combo can hard-block instead of silently misbehaving.
Constants live in two files (Metro can't resolve outside mobile/):
src/shared/protocol-version.ts—DESKTOP_PROTOCOL_VERSION,MIN_COMPATIBLE_MOBILE_VERSIONmobile/src/transport/protocol-version.ts—MOBILE_PROTOCOL_VERSION,MIN_COMPATIBLE_DESKTOP_VERSION
Today all four are set so evaluateCompat always returns { kind: 'ok' } — nothing blocks. The wire format is in place to flip a switch when needed.
When to bump
Bump DESKTOP_PROTOCOL_VERSION (and the mobile mirror MOBILE_PROTOCOL_VERSION when relevant) for breaking changes:
- Removed RPC method or required parameter that mobile uses
- Changed meaning (units, nullability) of an existing field mobile reads
- Changed encryption, framing, or auth handshake
Do not bump for additive changes:
- New RPC methods
- New optional fields on existing methods
- New event types in
terminal.subscribe
Set MIN_COMPATIBLE_MOBILE_VERSION (kill-switch) when desktop ships a change that requires a minimum mobile version to function safely. Same for MIN_COMPATIBLE_DESKTOP_VERSION from the mobile side.
When a verdict is blocked, mobile/src/components/ProtocolBlockScreen.tsx renders a screen pointing the user at the update that clears it. When mobile is too old it opens the newest release if the installed app's update check knows one, otherwise the App Store (iOS) or GitHub Releases (Android). When desktop is too old it opens GitHub Releases.
To exercise the block screen locally: set MIN_COMPATIBLE_DESKTOP_VERSION = 999 in mobile/src/transport/protocol-version.ts, rebuild, pair to any desktop. Revert before merging.
Mock Server
Develop the mobile app without a running Orca desktop instance:
pnpm mock-server # starts mock WebSocket server on port 6768
Connect from the app using endpoint ws://localhost:6768 and token mock-device-token.
Environment variables
MOCK_NATIVE_CHAT=1— serve the native-chat scenario (one live agent tab, empty transcript, image upload) instead of the default terminal fixtures.MOCK_CHAT_AGENT=omp— withMOCK_NATIVE_CHAT=1, present an OMP tab and four decoded transcript messages, including a tool call and result, instead of the default Claude scenario. It deliberately omitstranscriptPathto exercise legacy-hook readability discovery; current OMP hooks may report a path.MOCK_SERVER_KEY_FILE— persist the server keypair across restarts so a paired device keeps its public-key pin. A missing or invalid file is re-keyed with a warning, which forces a re-pair.
Scenario control files
Read on every request, so behaviour can be flipped mid-session without a restart (a restart would re-key E2EE and force a re-pair). Write the mode into the file, or delete it for the default.
MOCK_SEND_MODE_FILE(defaultorca-mock-send-modein the system temporary directory) —accept(default) accepts the send,errorfails it withmobile_input_floor_unavailable, anything else reports the send as rejected.MOCK_TERMINAL_LIST_MODE_FILE(defaultorca-mock-terminal-list-modein the system temporary directory) —omitreturns an empty terminal list,otherreturns a list that omits the chat handle, anything else lists it.MOCK_TERMINAL_STREAM_MODE_FILE(defaultorca-mock-terminal-stream-modein the system temporary directory) —deadanswers a subscribe withsubscribedthenend(a gone PTY), which is what exercises the rearm bound and terminal prune; anything else streams normally.
Connecting to Real Orca
- Start Orca desktop with WebSocket transport enabled
- In Orca, go to Settings > Mobile and scan the QR code with this app
- The QR encodes the connection endpoint, device token, and TLS fingerprint
Project Structure
mobile/
├── app/ # Expo Router screens (file-based routing)
│ ├── _layout.tsx # Root layout with navigation stack
│ ├── index.tsx # Home screen — paired hosts list
│ └── pair-scan.tsx # QR code scanning screen
├── src/
│ ├── terminal/ # Terminal WebView and xterm bridge
│ └── transport/ # WebSocket RPC client
├── scripts/
│ ├── test-subscribe.ts # Desktop streaming repro without a phone
│ └── mock-server.ts # Standalone mock WebSocket server
└── assets/ # App icons and splash screen