Brennan BensonandMerge Sim
8999a00281
* refactor(native-chat): give each structured dispatch state exactly one meaning
`unknown` meant five different things. Only one of them was genuine
ambiguity.
A transport write that the provider's input pump never took is provably
undelivered -- which is what `rejected` already means. It was recorded as
`unknown` anyway, and a one-entry allowlist then existed solely to teach
Retry that this particular `unknown` was safe to re-deliver.
Collapsing that case into `rejected` deletes the allowlist and turns a
predicate into an invariant: Retry never re-delivers an `unknown`, with no
exception to reason about. The four states now each assert one thing --
`pending` written and awaiting, `accepted` the provider has it, `rejected`
provably did not happen, `unknown` genuinely cannot tell.
A fail-closed guard is the right default here because the asymmetry is
severe: refusing a legitimate retry costs the user a retype, while allowing
an illegitimate one sends the model a second copy of their message.
Also fixed, found while auditing every reader of `rejected`:
- The renderer printed `submission.reason` verbatim, so a broken pipe put
the internal token `provider_write_failed: broken pipe` on screen in
destructive red. The journal reason is unchanged -- it is the durable
evidence and the transport-versus-content discriminator -- but the screen
now gets copy that names the cause and says the message is safe to
resend. Content rejections still show the provider's own words.
- The fallback copy "Message was not accepted" read as a content refusal.
A null reason now yields "Message was not sent.", which asserts only what
every rejection shares.
- A refused worker-start preamble threw a plain Error out of the dispatch
path. It now throws `OrchestrationError('dispatch_preamble_undelivered')`
so a coordinator can tell "we could not send it" from "we sent it and
something else broke" without parsing prose. Retain/discard behaviour is
unchanged; only the verdict's legibility improves.
Two behaviours improve as a consequence rather than by design: a provably
undelivered message no longer blocks conversation commands, and no longer
leaves the session reading as "working" in chat and in every session list.
Not addressed here, and named rather than implied: a message left `unknown`
by a dead child or a host restart still has no recourse but retyping. The
restart reconciler that would decide those on evidence is written and has
never had a production caller. Parking the refused entry instead would
reintroduce the head-of-queue wedge removed in #19863, so it is not an
option.
Note for whoever edits `journal-reducer.ts` next: it sits at 297 of its 300
counted lines. The next statement added there needs a split, not a shave.
* fix(native-chat): close two gaps review found in the rejection taxonomy
Both are narrow and both were real.
A journal written before a refused write became `rejected` still holds that
submission as `unknown` with the transport marker. The predicate this change
replaced excluded exactly that shape from provider-echo matching; the
state-only check that replaced it does not, so on replay such a row could
claim the echo of a later, genuinely delivered send of the same text and
attach the delivery to the wrong message. Fail-closed still prevented any
re-delivery, so nothing duplicated — but the wrong submission was credited.
Replay now excludes the legacy shape too.
And the content-versus-transport split had a third case neither side covers:
a local capacity refusal is neither the provider explaining itself nor a
frame that failed to leave. It fell through to the verbatim branch, so
`claude structured dispatch queue is full` reached the screen — the same
class of leak this change set out to fix, one reason short of being caught.
Internal reasons now get copy; only a provider's own words are shown as
written.
Each is pinned by a test that fails with its guard reverted and passes with
it restored.
* fix(native-chat): preserve dispatch refusal across clients
* fix(native-chat): rotate immediately rejected retries
* docs(native-chat): correct rejection taxonomy reference
* docs(native-chat): align mobile retry comment
* docs(native-chat): clarify unknown replay semantics
* fix(native-chat): keep a mobile send's operation id when delivery is unknown
Mobile released the retained operation id whenever a send came back
`unknown`, so the user's next send of the same text went out under a fresh
id. A fresh id has no ledger row, so the host treats it as a first delivery
and dispatches it -- even though `unknown` is the one answer that says the
provider may already have the message. That is the duplicate this branch
exists to remove, reintroduced on the client that has no outbox.
Which case that was matters. Mobile only ever sees `unknown` from ack-loss
(`isRpcDeliveryUnknown`: "the host may have processed it and only the ack
was lost"), because the mapper reported every `ok` result as `accepted`
without reading `dispatchState`. So the rotation fired exclusively where
delivery was ambiguous and never where it was provably refused, which is
the inverse of the rule this branch establishes.
Retaining the id is what makes a retry safe, and it costs no liveness:
`performSend` answers a second request under a recorded id from the journal
and never puts it back on the wire, so a reused id delivers when nothing
landed and replays when something did. Rotating can only ever add a second
copy. The retention stays bounded by the host's admission window, which
`retainStructuredSessionOperationId` already enforces.
`retryUnknown` goes with it: the host ignores it for delivery, and all it
does is skip the cached answer to re-read the same row.
Keeping the id exposes what the rotation was hiding, so fix that too: a
replayed `unknown` comes back `ok`, and mobile called it `accepted` and
cleared the composer as if the message had landed. `dispatchState` now
decides, in one pure function:
accepted/pending sent, and the id is spent
rejected provably did not happen and terminal in the reducer, so
reusing the id could only replay that rejection: spent,
and the next attempt is a first delivery under a new id
unknown keeps its id
Reading `dispatchState` at all is a pre-existing defect, fixed here because
the false "sent" cannot be removed without it, and scoped to the send path.
`mutate`'s rotation for prompt/option/cancel plans is untouched. The
rejection copy is the desktop's notice, so an internal reason
(`provider_write_failed: ...`) still never reaches a person.
Tests: the hook test that was flipped to assert a rotated id now pins the
opposite -- one id across an ack-loss and two `unknown` replays, each
reported `unknown` rather than `accepted`. The send fixture grew the durable
submission row a real host returns; without it every send test asserted
against a shape that cannot express the bug.
* fix(native-chat): enforce fail-closed structured send replay
* fix(native-chat): align retry and mobile RPC contracts
* fix(native-chat): keep transient admissions retryable
* test(tab-bar): expand nested create menu in harness
---------
Co-authored-by: Merge Sim <sim@local>
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.
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 lint
cd ..
pnpm typecheck:node
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 either the App Store (mobile too old) or GitHub Releases (desktop too old).
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_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