The desktop app previously lost project-level skills in two places: the
settings browser only queried user skills, and the slash-command picker for a
fresh session depended on CLI init state that does not exist before the first
turn. This change makes the skills APIs cwd-aware, falls back to project skill
loading before CLI init, syncs sidebar session deletion with open tabs, and
aligns the empty-session composer styling so the pre-message session UI stays
consistent.
Constraint: Fresh desktop sessions need slash-command discovery before the CLI websocket emits system/init
Constraint: Only repository code should be committed; build artifacts, installs, and /tmp smoke fixtures stay out of git
Rejected: Rebuild slash-command listings from full getCommands() in the sessions API | introduced auth-gated command dependencies unrelated to local skill discovery
Rejected: Unify EmptySession and ChatInput into one full component now | higher regression risk for normal chat interactions than a visual-only hero variant
Confidence: high
Scope-risk: moderate
Reversibility: clean
Directive: Keep pre-message skill discovery keyed to session workDir so project-level .claude/skills remain visible before the first turn
Tested: bun test src/server/__tests__/sessions.test.ts; cd desktop && bun run test -- --run src/__tests__/skillsSettings.test.tsx src/components/layout/Sidebar.test.tsx src/__tests__/pages.test.tsx src/pages/ActiveSession.test.tsx; cd desktop && bun run lint
Not-tested: Manual desktop smoke test against the rebuilt .app bundle in the local GUI
The desktop chat view flattened Agent tool activity, which made sub-agent work
hard to follow and separated key evidence from the main conversation. This
change threads parent tool linkage through the server bridge and desktop store,
renders dispatched sub-agents as grouped cards with nested tool activity, and
moves long final outputs into a markdown preview dialog so the main transcript
stays readable on narrow layouts.
Constraint: Existing sessions and live websocket events both needed to preserve parent-child relationships
Rejected: Add brand-new subagent websocket event types | unnecessary protocol expansion when parent linkage already existed upstream
Rejected: Inline full sub-agent markdown in the card body | too cramped for narrow desktop chat layouts
Confidence: medium
Scope-risk: moderate
Reversibility: clean
Directive: Keep Agent card summaries compact; route long-form sub-agent output through the preview dialog unless the main chat layout is widened substantially
Tested: cd desktop && bun run test -- MessageList.test.tsx chatStore.test.ts
Tested: cd desktop && bun run lint
Tested: bun test src/server/__tests__/sessions.test.ts -t should\ reconstruct\ parent\ agent\ tool\ linkage\ from\ parentUuid\ chains
Not-tested: Full end-to-end visual verification against live CLI sessions with sub-agent text/thinking nested inline
The desktop app now keeps the composer stable while turns are active,
reduces low-signal tool noise in the transcript, restores project context
under the composer after session creation, and relies on the CLI's own
permission requests instead of injecting broader desktop-side Bash asks.
This also brings in the supporting desktop app source tree and the server
routes/session metadata needed for git info, filesystem browsing, session
resume, slash commands, and SDK-backed permission bridging so the UI can
operate as a coherent feature instead of a partial patch.
Constraint: Desktop transcript needs to stay usable during long multi-tool sessions without hiding file-change diffs
Constraint: Permission prompts must mirror CLI behavior closely enough that read-only commands do not get desktop-only prompts
Rejected: Keep rendering Read/Bash bodies inline | too noisy and unlike the intended transcript model
Rejected: Commit only the touched desktop files | would leave the newly introduced desktop app incomplete in git history
Confidence: medium
Scope-risk: broad
Reversibility: messy
Directive: Treat non-writing tools as summary-first transcript events; do not re-expand them by default without validating the UX against long sessions
Tested: cd desktop && bun run lint
Tested: cd desktop && bun run test -- --run
Tested: bun test src/server/__tests__/conversations.test.ts
Not-tested: Manual visual regression against the exact screenshots in a live desktop session
Not-tested: Full root TypeScript check (repository still has unrelated extracted-native parse failures)
Add complete server-side implementation for the Claude Code Desktop App UI:
- REST API: sessions, conversations, settings, models, scheduled tasks,
search, agents, and status endpoints (9 modules, 30+ endpoints)
- WebSocket: real-time chat streaming with state transitions, ping/pong,
permission request forwarding, and stop generation support
- Services: sessionService (JSONL read/write, CLI-compatible),
settingsService (atomic writes), cronService, searchService (ripgrep),
agentService (YAML management)
- Middleware: CORS (localhost-only), auth, unified error handling
- Tests: 180 tests (unit + E2E + business flow), all passing
- Docs: PRD, UI design spec, server architecture design
Non-invasive: all new code under src/server/, no changes to existing CLI code.
CLI/UI data interop: reads/writes the same JSONL/JSON files as the CLI.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
