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
- Fix WebSocket race condition: wait for connection to open before
sending first message, preventing silent message loss after pairing
or project selection
- Fix response text appearing above tool calls: finalize placeholder
before tool_use blocks so post-tool text gets a new message
- Remove noisy tool_use and tool_result messages from IM output;
thinking indicator is preserved, details visible in Desktop
- Fix /new command using default project dir instead of always showing
project picker
- Fix duplicate projects in list by deduping on realPath instead of
projectPath
- Improve formatToolUse with human-readable summaries for common tools
- Add send failure feedback to users
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Previously, creating a new session without selecting a project directory
defaulted to process.cwd(), which in the desktop app resolves to the app
installation path. Now it defaults to os.homedir().
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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>
