* fix(native-chat): a refused queued message still blocks the queue when its card write fails Every reader of a queued card goes through one derived view of the journal's dispatch facts, so a card whose message was refused reads as returned even when its card-table update and heal both failed. One decision and one writer store the derived state for every action. * refactor(native-chat): keep each queued message in the chat's journal, not a second table A queued message lived in its own SQL table, and a hook that may be skipped copied each refusal from the journal into it. When that write failed, a refused card vanished: the cards behind it sent, and its Send and Delete did nothing. Each queued message is now a `queue` row in the chat's journal beside the submission that hands it off and the dispatch row that answers it. The reducer folds the card from those rows, so a refusal returns the card and holds the cards behind it with nothing written, and replay reads the same. Every action writes its own rows in one transaction. Cards an earlier build stored are read through the same classification until they move: each action moves its own card, and a bulk import runs once per open. A new epoch restates every card still owed an answer in the transaction that deletes the old rows. The settlement hook and its savepoint, the open-time heal, the drain's heal and the derived-card view are gone. The published card list is unchanged. * test(native-chat): adapt the queue tests to cards kept in the journal Cards are written through the journal, so tests queue them with their body alone and hand them off under their real fingerprint. Tests of the removed settlement hook, heal and SQL store are deleted; the text-update spec now covers the edit decision alone, and a test of an earlier build's stored holds seeds the legacy table and reads the imported cards. Rolling over an epoch now keeps a card whose hand-off was never handed over, so that test checks the retried id never sends rather than that nothing sends. * test(native-chat): a refused card holds the queue through rewind, a new epoch and a restart One whole-flow test through the host: the refusal writes no card row, a rewind that retires the refused hand-off and a rolled-over epoch keep the card returned, a restart and Resume send nothing behind it, its own Send refused again still holds the queue, and its Delete releases the next card in order. * test(native-chat): an earlier build's queued cards move into the journal once, each read the same One mixed-import test through the host. The first open's import fails and moves nothing, yet every card reads as it will; Delete and Send each move only their own card. The next open moves the rest in one transaction, writing a refusal only where its hand-off is gone, nothing for answered cards, and leaving an unreadable row on disk. A later command turn spends a moved command card, a third open writes nothing, an old Delete replays from its receipt, and a chat with only answered legacy rows clears them in a delete-only transaction. * test(native-chat): adapt typechecked tests to cards kept in the journal The row-kind table lists a queue row, the clear and legacy-import tests match the current signatures, and the downgrade test keeps only the leftover-send case: a queued card is now a newer-version journal row an older build keeps read-only, and users don't downgrade. * refactor(native-chat): drop the journal row writer's unused transaction hook No caller passes one since the queue's savepoint bookkeeping left. * test(native-chat): downgrade probes write rows at the version older builds read The highest version this build reads is now 4, the queue row's. A newer build's row in these probes is written at version 3 so the older build meets its kind, not a newer version, and the Stop-event probe hands the older build the rows as stored, since a read raises each row's version. * test(native-chat): unit tests follow the queue row's version 4 The legacy-import test opens real SQLite, so it runs in the Node runtime project. The newest version this build reads is now 4, and a read raises a row's version to it, so the turn-lifecycle test no longer pins the in-memory version (the written one stays pinned by journalRowSchemaVersion). * fix(native-chat): one batch echoing two refused queued messages spends both The per-row delivery check returned only the first waiting card an echo proved delivered, so when one settlement carried echoes for two cards the second stayed waiting and was sent again. It now returns every card the row proves delivered, and the fold withdraws each; replay folds the same. * fix(native-chat): a rewind moves an earlier build's cards into the journal first While the open's import had failed, an earlier build's card that read as refused through its hand-off lost that reading when an in-place rewind retired the hand-off: it disappeared and the card behind it sent. The rewind now adopts every legacy card ahead of its tombstones and deletes their rows in its own transaction, as an epoch replacement already does, so the fold latches each card's reading before its hand-off is gone. * fix(native-chat): keep an earlier build's card whose hand-off is still unconfirmed The import dropped a legacy card handed off as a send whose delivery was unknown, though the fold keeps such a card linked and a later refusal returns it. The import now keeps every card whose hand-off a later row can still answer, through the same check the reducer folds dispatch rows by. * fix(native-chat): one delivery echo withdraws at most one queued card One provider echo proves one delivery, yet it withdrew every waiting card with the same text whose hand-off was refused, so a second identical card was lost. The fold now pairs each echo with one card: on its own row the earliest-positioned match no other echo of that row took, and for a card that waits again the earliest applied echo no card has taken. Paired echoes live in the fold's state, so live and replay pair the same; readers of cards not yet imported work on a copy. * fix(native-chat): a queued message handed to the agent is sent again only on proof it never got it Pressing Stop after Orca handed a queued or steered message to the agent, before the agent confirmed it, put the card back in the queue, and Resume or the next send sent it again. A check matching the agent's echo of the text was the only guard against a double send, and it kept trading a resend for a lost card. Whether the card waited again was decided by the rejection's category, not by proof the agent never got the message. A refused hand-off now waits again only where Orca proves the agent never received it: the host still held it, or whoever settled it recorded that. A failure still returns the card and holds the cards behind it. Anything else may have reached the agent, so the card is spent and its message reads as sent, derived on every fold from the stored rejection: with the turn it was answered into, as that turn's unconfirmed message where it was handed over; withdrawn before any turn opened, as a person's own send a Stop took back. The reopen mark ignores a recovered doubt, and the restart reconciler no longer judges a queued hand-off unsent from what history lacks. The echo text matching and its pairing are deleted. A close or quit while the agent starts settles sends with the unrun hold. The host hands nothing to a child before its start answers (structured-agent-session-delivery-loop.ts: a handover needs phase ready), so such a send went to an earlier child and may have run: it now reads as sent instead of waiting again. * fix(native-chat): Claude's report that it removed a queued message unrun lets the card wait again Claude says when it removed a send without running it: the interrupt receipt's cancelled list, or a command_lifecycle cancelled, discarded or refused frame for a command that never started. Every one settles through rejectClaudeDispatchWaiters, which now marks the settlement unrun. For a queued card's hand-off the host records that as proof the agent never got it, so the card waits again under the queue's pause. A direct send keeps the plain refusal: there the proof would owe it as stopped history. * fix(native-chat): an earlier build's card stopped after hand-over follows the same rule on upgrade Earlier builds put a card back to waiting after any refusal without a verdict and cleared its link, so a card the agent may already have would be sent again after the upgrade. The card's own hand-offs in the journal decide now: unchanged and last sent as one that may have reached the agent, it is spent on that hand-off and its message reads as sent; edited or sent again since, it is held for its own Send under a host-only marker that publishes as a plain hold; with no hand-off in doubt, including one that never left Orca, it waits as before. The import writes a card spent on a hand-off in doubt, so its message shows. * fix(native-chat): read a queued row's hand-off before the lookup that uses it The lookup's callback lost the narrowing of the row's change, which the mobile test typecheck rejects. * test(native-chat): a card steered into a turn a Stop ends stays sent in the Stop tests Three tests pinned the old rule, that a card handed into a running turn comes back to waiting when a Stop ends it. Under the new rule nothing proves the agent never got it, so the card is spent: with the turn named, its message reads as that turn's unconfirmed one; without, as a send the Stop took back. Neither is ever sent again. * fix(native-chat): a queued message stopped before Orca handed it to the agent waits again A Stop that aborts a hand-off after its row is written but before the agent call now records the withdrawal as never reaching the agent, for queued hand-offs only, so plan D's rule returns the card to waiting under the Stop's pause instead of spending it. Direct sends keep the plain withdrawal (the flag would owe them as stopped history). The agent's own refusal while aborted is kept rather than overwritten, and an abort thrown during the call stays in doubt. * fix(native-chat): a queued message stopped while the agent prepares it waits again The abort signal reaches only an adapter's preparation (its options, the previous turn opening), never its write, so the signal's own reason thrown back is the adapter saying nothing was written. The handover now reads that, for queued hand-offs only, as never reaching the agent, so the card waits again under the Stop's pause. Claude no longer wraps that abort as an option refusal, which had returned a stopped card as a refused one blocking the queue. A real refusal keeps its cause and its barrier; any other throw stays in doubt and is never resent. * test(native-chat): the usage-limit Continue backlog case writes its card through the journal queue Main's #30396 wrote its backlog card with the stored fingerprint and host-instance stamp the journal queue derives instead; the card the Continue must yield to is the same waiting card. * test(claude): the real-CLI queued Stop expects the unrun mark Claude's cancelled-unrun receipt carries * feat(mobile): edit a queued message's images on the phone: remove or attach * fix(mobile): gate queued image edits on the host reader verdict * test(mobile): declare the upload fixture chat mode * fix(native-chat): retain spent legacy messages when import fails * fix(mobile): reveal the full queued image editor on open * fix(mobile): invalidate queued editor geometry without a render ref write * refactor(chat): prepare composer drafts and measured queue dragging * feat(native-chat): add conditional queue removal and authoritative reordering * feat(native-chat): move queued edits into the normal composer on desktop and phone * fix(native-chat): own complete phone drafts before authoring * fix: preserve submitted composer drafts across storage replacement * fix composer validation and mobile CI diagnostics * fix mobile composer test contracts and diagnostic output * Capture mobile test compiler diagnostics in CI * Fix queued message contract typing and English strings * test: complete queued extraction transport fixtures * refactor: separate composer skill binding from send mutations * fix(mobile): grant draft storage within route limits * fix(native-chat): settle each draft save on its own and publish complete composer drafts Phone: a queued Edit copy no longer consumes the save that later typing owns. Each ordinary save and the exact copy settle only their own result; an explicit save waits for its own pending write, and a failed or retired write never schedules another or revives the copy. Desktop: a pasted-text leaf no longer shifts which selected file binds where, and a hand-back held during an IME composition reaches the store only merged with the visible editor document, including writes the editor admits without an update and the composition settle. * fix(native-chat): import the draft type once in the draft cache * test(mobile): type the held-write state without an assertion * test(native-chat): assert the handed-back file on Send without reading a typed transport as a mock * test(mobile): pass main's agent-confirmed flag to the submitted-files harness * fix: reveal queued reorder grip on touch screens * fix: save reopened phone drafts and batch reorder measurements * test: use an explicit React module type * Preserve queued message sortable identities on unchanged renders * Prevent stale queued drag completion after unmount * fix(mobile): hand off navigation across session workspaces * test(mobile): use resolved session identity in dictation fixture * feat: edit queued messages inline with the chat composer * fix: normalize queued edit skill ownership * fix: retire phone skill selections with the sent draft * fix: consolidate queued edit module imports * fix: separate edit save action and stabilize image callbacks * fix: complete phone inline composer integration * fix: retain same-name queued skill selections * fix: complete desktop queued composer integration * test: use typed phone composer host lookups * fix: include queued edit localization keys * Preserve inline edit input across save and attachment completion * Preserve complete queued edits across delayed saves * Preserve queued edit input across delayed completion * Complete queued edit lease loss and pending cancellation * Use recognized queued edit test fixtures * Consolidate queued edit imports and type host test spy * Print mobile test compiler diagnostics on ratchet failure * Correct queued edit integration fixture types * fix: keep queued edit placeholder independent of readiness * Fix queued edit compiler fixture boundaries * Align upload completion test with ordinary insertion * Combine mobile composer draft imports * Load queued edit host fixture during test collection * Size inline phone queue editor to available space * Use typed scroll components in phone presentation contract * Save typed text in a queued edit as written The inline editor is the chat composer, so it keeps the composer's own identity model and no longer refuses Save for text that looks like a command. Command rows picked from the menu are still refused, Enter still means Save, and Edit never sends or runs anything. Regression tests cover Undo after deleting an accepted command or skill pill, a scanned skill named like a command, two saved files behind one token, and typed command text saving literally. Also fixes two merge leftovers in tests: a missing import and a fixture that stored the whole menu row as a skill. * Keep ordinary sends on the main composer contract * Fix mobile composer imports and fixture loading * Consolidate queued edit imports and duplicate regression * Restore ordinary send catalog short circuit and repair test boundaries * Preserve returned rich drafts through send acceptance * Remove obsolete queued editor strings from new locales
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.
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