Jinwoo Hong
6731f08c0b
* feat(mobile): give the hybrid shell switches a third answer for the unresolved flag Every route switch read the flag as `enabled !== true`, which spends the window before the read settles on the native screen. With the flag on that window costs a full native mount — subscriptions opened, screen painted — that the shell then tears down and replaces. `shellSwitchDecision` answers `pending` there instead, and `ShellSwitchPendingScreen` is what a switch paints while it waits: the base background with nothing on it, lifted out of the `web` route where this view already was rather than written again. A route the shell could never open is still answered `native` with no wait, because the flag cannot change that outcome and a neutral frame in front of a decided one is the flash this removes. No switch is wired to it yet. Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01JNnE9qzUZMMnqpZWCqM3nb * fix(mobile): hold every hybrid shell switch on the neutral state while the flag is null All ten switches read the flag as `enabled !== true`, so the window before the storage read settles was spent on the native renderer. With the flag on that window costs a full native mount — the session screen opens its terminal, chat and tab subscriptions — which the shell then tears down and replaces, and the user sees the native screen flash before the page. Each now asks `useShellSwitchDecision` and paints `ShellSwitchPendingScreen` while the answer is `pending`, so exactly one renderer mounts and it mounts once. `tasks` and `agent-history` build their route before the decision rather than after it, because the decision needs to know whether the shell is a possible outcome at all. `web` already had this frame inline and now takes the shared one; its spinner's accessible name moves from "Checking host" to "Loading". The two cases that pinned the old behaviour — "renders the native panel while the flag read is still settling" on the files and agent-history routes — now assert that neither renderer mounts there. `shell-switch-null-flag.test.tsx` drives all nine switched routes through the three states and counts committed mounts rather than renders. Five route tests gain a `react-native` mock, which the neutral screen's `View` is the first thing in their graphs to need. Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01JNnE9qzUZMMnqpZWCqM3nb * test(mobile): fence the neutral state across every hybrid shell switch Reading the flag through the shared decision is not on its own enough. A tenth switch could ask `useShellSwitchDecision`, ignore `pending` and fall through to its native screen, satisfying the reader rule and still flashing native in front of a flag-on user. So the census also says every switch names the neutral screen — existence, not shape; where it names it is the route tests' business. `matchesOf` is the snippet reader beside the three rules: the needles are identifiers, and a list of paths says which file moved but nothing about what in it did. Verified as a fence by deleting the `pending` branch from the tasks switch, which the rule caught and named. Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01JNnE9qzUZMMnqpZWCqM3nb * test(mobile): measure what the neutral window costs a released phone The only thing this change costs a user with the flag off is the window itself, so it is worth a number rather than a claim. `loadMobileWebShellEnabled` answers `false` outside `__DEV__` before it looks at the key, so a release build reaches AsyncStorage zero times: the window is React's own passive-effect flush and one microtask, not a bridge round trip, and the switch has its answer on the first turn after the first commit. Pinned per switch, because a reader that grew a storage call would move it from a microtask to a bridge hop. Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01JNnE9qzUZMMnqpZWCqM3nb * test(mobile): type the switch table so the tests-typecheck ratchet reads it `as const` on the table made the catch-all's `page` a readonly tuple, which `useLocalSearchParams`' own param type does not admit, and the file dropped out of `tsconfig.test.json`. An explicit element type says the same thing and checks. Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01JNnE9qzUZMMnqpZWCqM3nb * fix(mobile): keep release builds out of the neutral state entirely Review round 1 (pullfrog). The hook started at `null` on every build, so a store build committed one neutral frame before its native renderer — the one cost this change landed on every released phone, and it bought nothing there, because the flag cannot be turned on outside `__DEV__`. `mobileWebShellFlagCanBeOn` names that build-kind test once, beside the reader that already made it, and the hook starts its state on the answer. Outside `__DEV__` the hook holds `false` from its first render, the `pending` branch is unreachable, and a store build commits native on frame one. The effect still runs and still answers `false`; the initialiser is a starting point, not a second read path. Red-first, both build kinds pinned rather than inherited from the runner: 18 of 54 cases failed — "commits native on its first frame" and "does the same when the bundler defined no `__DEV__` at all", nine switches each. The neutral screen is mocked with a mount counter now, because a frame committed and replaced inside one `act` leaves nothing in the tree; its shape stays pinned in the web route's test, which renders the real one. The census gains the build-kind fence as a third rule. Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01JNnE9qzUZMMnqpZWCqM3nb
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 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 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_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