Brennan Benson
4343dc212a
* fix(native-chat): report missing saved conversations once * fix(native-chat): keep failures of answered Claude sends and translate the missing-conversation row A Claude result settles its own send before the journal sees it, so a failed send with no echo yet lost its owner and its failure row. The result now carries the send it answered. Desktop and phone rows also show the missing saved conversation sentence in the reader's language. * fix(native-chat): keep failures of Claude results that name a user message A root failure result that names a user message answered accepted input, so it keeps its row even when that send's waiter was retired, in doubt or ambiguously written. Only a result with no turn, no started send and no named user message (the pre-init missing-resume capture) is left to the host's final startup row. This replaces the per-frame settlement carry, so the acquisition and sign-in tests return to main. Also ship the new missing-conversation sentence in the runtime English catalog. * fix(native-chat): leave only a starting Claude session's failure to the startup row A Claude failure result with no turn now writes no row only while its own session is still opening (initialize and resume catch-up). Once open succeeds, every failure result is reported as before, whatever send evidence it carries, so per-send ownership checks are removed. * fix(native-chat): fail a starting Claude session with the startup failure it reports A turnless failure result that names no user input or resumed turn, arriving while its own acquisition is still starting, now fails that acquisition's open (initialize and resume catch-up) with Claude's own diagnostic; only then is its provider row left to the host's final startup row. Results naming input, and every result once open succeeds, keep main's reporting. The missing-conversation classifier is shared by stderr and the result's errors, so the typed refusal ends in one attempt whichever arrives first; other reported startup failures stay retryable through the existing provider-request error. * fix(native-chat): keep a Claude startup result's row once another failure ended the start A Claude startup failure result was still taken by its acquisition's startup outcome after initialize, a transport fault or an unexpected exit had already failed that start, so its diagnostic was neither shown nor kept in the final failure. The outcome now declines once the open fails by another route or the exit is observed (synchronously, before buffered frames drain), so such a result keeps its row as on main. It still takes a repeated result it already accepted, and a result whose refusal the ending exit already carries; a Stop still owns its start. * fix(native-chat): report a Claude start's first ending cause from its open The startup outcome now records the first cause that ends a start: an accepted startup result, the raced initialize or catch-up rejecting, a transport fault or unexpected exit, or any other open failure. That cause rejects the pending race, open() refuses success after it, and the open rejects with it, so a hidden result is always the open's error and any other result keeps its row. * test(native-chat): check the startup rejection with a type guard instead of an assertion
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 native ensure ios # or: pnpm native ensure android [--device <name|udid|serial>]
pnpm start --dev-client
ensure computes the Expo fingerprint of the native inputs (native dependencies, config plugins,
modules/, patches/, and the Expo config). On a HIT it installs the cached build on the booted
simulator or the running emulator in a few seconds. On a MISS it regenerates ios/ or android/,
runs expo run:<platform>, and caches the result. --rebuild forces a fresh build.
Builds are cached per fingerprint in the user cache directory (~/Library/Caches/orca-mobile/native-builds
on macOS, $XDG_CACHE_HOME/orca-mobile/native-builds on Linux, %LOCALAPPDATA%\orca-mobile\native-builds
on Windows, or ORCA_MOBILE_NATIVE_BUILD_CACHE_DIR), so every worktree reuses them. The newest three
per platform are kept. app.config.js also registers the cache as Expo's buildCacheProvider, so a
plain pnpm ios / pnpm android installs a cached build instead of compiling. Only ensure writes to
the cache, because expo run reuses an existing ios/ or android/ directory even when it was
generated from older inputs. Expo caches iOS Simulator builds only, not physical devices.
pnpm native fingerprint prints the current hashes. On pull requests, the Mobile native fingerprint
job reports in its summary whether the PR changes them, which means dev clients need a native rebuild.
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.
Localization
UI copy goes through src/i18n, with the same call shape and languages as desktop:
- In components and hooks:
const t = useMobileTranslation(), thent('area.thing.label', 'English text'). The function changes with the language, so list it in memo and callback dependencies. - In helpers and imperative code (alerts, notifications):
translate(key, fallback, options)fromsrc/i18n/mobile-i18n, called when the text is shown, never at module scope. - Counts:
count === 1 ? t('x.files_one', '{{count}} file', { count }) : t('x.files_other', '{{count}} files', { count }). - Dates and numbers: pass
getUiIntlLocale()toIntlformatters instead ofundefined. - Keep identity separate from display text: never compare or key on a translated string.
Run pnpm sync:mobile-localization from the repo root to add new keys to src/i18n/locales/en.json;
other catalogs may lag and fall back to English. pnpm verify:mobile-localization and
pnpm verify:mobile-localization-coverage run in CI. iOS permission prompts live in locales/<lang>.json.
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