(remote): light a pip while a remote session writes

eslint.config.js

@@ -145,6 +145,7 @@ const rendererCrossFileGlobals = {
   reconcileBusyState: 'readonly',
   currentActivitySeq: 'readonly',
   forgetActivitySeq: 'readonly',
+  pruneRemoteActivityTimers: 'readonly',
 
   // Third-party renderer libs loaded as <script>
   morphdom: 'readonly',

main.js

@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@
 }
 
 // Shell profiles → shell-profiles.js
 const { discoverShellProfiles, getShellProfiles, resolveShell, isWindows, isWslShell, windowsToWslPath, shellArgs, quoteArgvForShell } = require('./shell-profiles');
 const { startScheduler } = require('./schedule-runner');
 const { encodeProjectPath } = require('./encode-project-path');
 const { isSensitivePath, isAllowedMemoryPath: _isAllowedMemoryPath, resolveAllowedMemoryPath: _resolveAllowedMemoryPath, isKnownProjectRoot: _isKnownProjectRoot } = require('./ipc-path-validator');
@@ -453,8 +453,8 @@
     isInitialScanComplete, setInitialScanComplete,
   },
 });
 const { readSessionFile, readFolderFromFilesystem, refreshFolder, reconcileCacheFromFilesystem,
         buildProjectsFromCache, notifyRendererProjectsChanged, sendStatus, populateCacheViaWorker,
         scanFoldersViaWorker, setRemoteRoots, resolveFolderDir } = sessionCache;
 const { resolveJsonlPath, enumerateSessionFiles } = require('./read-session-file');
 
@@ -464,6 +464,7 @@
 const { createSshTransport } = require('./remote-transport');
 const { createRemoteIndexer } = require('./remote-index');
 const { createRemoteWatcher } = require('./remote-watch');
+const { createRemoteActivityTracker } = require('./remote-activity');
 
 const remoteTransport = createSshTransport({ log });
 const remoteIndexer = createRemoteIndexer({
@@ -483,14 +484,26 @@
 const remoteWatcher = createRemoteWatcher({ log });
 let watchedAliases = new Set();
 function onRemoteWatchEvent(alias) { remoteIndexer.refreshHostNow(alias).catch(() => {}); }
+
+// see .ai/contexts/session-cache.md ("Remote hosts — activity pip")
+const remoteActivityTracker = createRemoteActivityTracker({});
+
+function onRemoteWatchActivity(alias, rel) {
+  const result = remoteActivityTracker.record(alias, rel);
+  if (!result) return;
+  if (mainWindow && !mainWindow.isDestroyed()) {
+    mainWindow.webContents.send('remote-activity', result);
+  }
+}
+
 function syncRemoteWatchers() {
   const declared = enabledHosts((getSetting('global') || {}).remoteHosts);
   const wanted = new Set(declared.map(h => h.alias));
   for (const alias of watchedAliases) {
     if (!wanted.has(alias)) remoteWatcher.stop(alias);
   }
   for (const host of declared) {
-    if (!remoteWatcher.isRunning(host.alias)) remoteWatcher.start(host.alias, onRemoteWatchEvent);
+    if (!remoteWatcher.isRunning(host.alias)) remoteWatcher.start(host.alias, onRemoteWatchEvent, onRemoteWatchActivity);
   }
   watchedAliases = wanted;
 }
@@ -525,6 +538,7 @@
       session.remoteAttachable = !!(descriptor && remoteAttachAdapter.supports(descriptor));
       session.remoteStatus = descriptor ? (descriptor.status || null) : null;
       session.remoteStatusUpdatedAt = descriptor ? (descriptor.statusUpdatedAt || null) : null;
+      session.remoteActiveAt = remoteActivityTracker.activeAt(session.remoteAlias, session.sessionId);
     }
   }
   return projects;
@@ -2115,7 +2129,7 @@
   // WSL profiles only work for plain terminals — Claude CLI sessions need the
   // Windows shell because session data lives on the Windows filesystem.
   const requestedProfile = resolveShell(effectiveProfileId);
   const useWslProfile = isWslShell(requestedProfile.path) && isPlainTerminal;
   const shellProfile = (isWslShell(requestedProfile.path) && !isPlainTerminal)
     ? resolveShell('auto')
     : requestedProfile;

preload.js

@@ -99,6 +99,9 @@ contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld('api', {
   onProjectsChanged: (callback) => {
     ipcRenderer.on('projects-changed', () => callback());
   },
+  onRemoteActivity: (callback) => {
+    ipcRenderer.on('remote-activity', (_event, payload) => callback(payload));
+  },
   onStatusUpdate: (callback) => {
     ipcRenderer.on('status-update', (_event, text, type) => callback(text, type));
   },

public/app.js

@@ -503,6 +503,7 @@ function refreshSidebar({ resort = false } = {}) {
   }
 
   renderProjects(projects, resort);
+  pruneRemoteActivityTimers();
 }
 
 // --- Archive toggle ---

public/index.html

@@ -138,6 +138,7 @@
   <script src="jsonl-viewer.js"></script>
   <script src="dialogs.js"></script>
   <script src="sidebar.js"></script>
+  <script src="remote-activity-ui.js"></script>
   <script src="memory-workfiles-view.js"></script>
   <!-- restore-plan.js decides working-set restore vs. defer-and-retry; consumed by app.js only. -->
   <script src="restore-plan.js"></script>

public/remote-activity-ui.js

@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+// See .ai/contexts/session-cache.md ("Remote hosts — activity pip").
+
+const PIP_DECAY_MS = 20000;
+const remoteActivityDecayTimers = new Map();
+
+function remoteActivityDotFor(sessionId) {
+  const item = document.querySelector(`.session-item[data-session-id="${sessionId}"]`);
+  return item ? item.querySelector('.remote-activity-dot') : null;
+}
+
+function clearRemoteActivityTimer(sessionId) {
+  const t = remoteActivityDecayTimers.get(sessionId);
+  if (t) {
+    clearTimeout(t);
+    remoteActivityDecayTimers.delete(sessionId);
+  }
+}
+
+function pruneRemoteActivityTimers() {
+  for (const sessionId of remoteActivityDecayTimers.keys()) {
+    if (!remoteActivityDotFor(sessionId)) clearRemoteActivityTimer(sessionId);
+  }
+}
+
+function onRemoteActivityEvent(payload) {
+  const sessionId = payload && payload.sessionId;
+  if (typeof sessionId !== 'string' || !sessionId) return;
+  const dot = remoteActivityDotFor(sessionId);
+  if (dot) dot.classList.add('active');
+  clearRemoteActivityTimer(sessionId);
+  remoteActivityDecayTimers.set(sessionId, setTimeout(() => {
+    remoteActivityDecayTimers.delete(sessionId);
+    const el = remoteActivityDotFor(sessionId);
+    if (el) el.classList.remove('active');
+  }, PIP_DECAY_MS));
+}
+
+window.api.onRemoteActivity(onRemoteActivityEvent);

public/sidebar.js

@@ -9,6 +9,9 @@
 // showNewSessionPopover, openSettingsViewer, showResumeSessionDialog,
 // showJsonlViewer, forkSession, openSession, loadProjects (app.js/dialogs.js)
 
+// see .ai/contexts/session-cache.md ("Remote hosts — activity pip")
+const REMOTE_ACTIVITY_DECAY_MS = 20000;
+
 function slugId(slug) {
   return 'slug-' + slug.replace(/[^a-zA-Z0-9_-]/g, '_');
 }
@@ -1299,6 +1302,16 @@ function buildSessionItem(session) {
   const dot = document.createElement('span');
   dot.className = 'session-status-dot' + (activePtyIds.has(session.sessionId) ? ' running' : '');
 
+  // see .ai/contexts/session-cache.md ("Remote hosts — activity pip")
+  let activityDot = null;
+  if (session.remoteAlias) {
+    activityDot = document.createElement('span');
+    const isActive = Number.isFinite(session.remoteActiveAt) &&
+      (Date.now() - session.remoteActiveAt) < REMOTE_ACTIVITY_DECAY_MS;
+    activityDot.className = 'session-status-dot remote-activity-dot' + (isActive ? ' active' : '');
+    activityDot.title = 'Remote session is writing its transcript';
+  }
+
   // Info block
   const info = document.createElement('div');
   info.className = 'session-info';
@@ -1395,6 +1408,7 @@ function buildSessionItem(session) {
 
   row.appendChild(pin);
   row.appendChild(dot);
+  if (activityDot) row.appendChild(activityDot);
   row.appendChild(info);
   row.appendChild(actions);
   item.appendChild(row);

public/style.css

@@ -969,6 +969,22 @@ body { display: flex; flex-direction: column; }
   background: #3ecf5a;
 }
 
+/* see .ai/contexts/session-cache.md ("Remote hosts — activity pip") */
+.remote-activity-dot {
+  background: transparent;
+  margin-left: -4px;
+}
+
+.remote-activity-dot.active {
+  background: #b388ff;
+  animation: remote-activity-pulse 1s ease-in-out infinite;
+}
+
+@keyframes remote-activity-pulse {
+  0%, 100% { opacity: 0.45; transform: scale(0.85); }
+  50% { opacity: 1; transform: scale(1.2); }
+}
+
 /* ---- CLI busy spinner (braille spinner detected) ---- */
 /* needs-attention takes precedence — when both are set, the attention indicator shows */
 /* Braille spinner via content keyframes — see docs/decisions/0002 */

remote-activity.js

@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+// see .ai/contexts/session-cache.md ("Remote hosts — activity pip")
+'use strict';
+
+const SESSION_ID_RE = /^[0-9a-f]{8}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{12}$/i;
+const DEFAULT_DECAY_MS = 20000;
+const DEFAULT_IPC_MIN_MS = 1000;
+
+function sessionIdFromRel(rel) {
+  const base = (typeof rel === 'string' ? rel : '').split('/').pop() || '';
+  const sessionId = base.endsWith('.jsonl') ? base.slice(0, -'.jsonl'.length) : base;
+  return SESSION_ID_RE.test(sessionId) ? sessionId : null;
+}
+
+function createRemoteActivityTracker(opts = {}) {
+  const decayMs = opts.decayMs || DEFAULT_DECAY_MS;
+  const ipcMinMs = opts.ipcMinMs || DEFAULT_IPC_MIN_MS;
+  const now = opts.now || Date.now;
+
+  const seenAt = new Map();
+  const ipcAt = new Map();
+
+  function key(alias, sessionId) {
+    return alias + ' ' + sessionId;
+  }
+
+  function prune(t) {
+    for (const [k, at] of seenAt) {
+      if (t - at > decayMs) seenAt.delete(k);
+    }
+    for (const [k, at] of ipcAt) {
+      if (t - at > decayMs) ipcAt.delete(k);
+    }
+  }
+
+  function record(alias, rel) {
+    const sessionId = sessionIdFromRel(rel);
+    if (!sessionId) return null;
+    const t = now();
+    const k = key(alias, sessionId);
+    seenAt.set(k, t);
+    prune(t);
+    const lastIpc = ipcAt.has(k) ? ipcAt.get(k) : -Infinity;
+    if (t - lastIpc < ipcMinMs) return null;
+    ipcAt.set(k, t);
+    return { alias, sessionId, at: t };
+  }
+
+  function activeAt(alias, sessionId) {
+    prune(now());
+    const k = key(alias, sessionId);
+    return seenAt.has(k) ? seenAt.get(k) : null;
+  }
+
+  function stats() {
+    return { seen: seenAt.size, ipc: ipcAt.size };
+  }
+
+  return { record, activeAt, stats };
+}
+
+module.exports = { createRemoteActivityTracker, sessionIdFromRel, SESSION_ID_RE };

remote-watch.js

@@ -86,6 +86,7 @@ function createRemoteWatcher(opts = {}) {
     }
     const parsed = parseWatchLine(line);
     if (!parsed) return;
+    if (parsed.kind === 'project' && s.onActivity) s.onActivity(s.alias, parsed.rel);
     emitCoalesced(s, parsed.kind);
   }
 
@@ -140,7 +141,7 @@ function createRemoteWatcher(opts = {}) {
     if (!s) {
       s = {
         alias, child: null, buf: '', stopped: true, unwatchable: false,
-        failures: 0, spawnedAt: 0, restartTimer: null, onEvent: null,
+        failures: 0, spawnedAt: 0, restartTimer: null, onEvent: null, onActivity: null,
         cooldown: { project: false, session: false },
         pending: { project: false, session: false },
       };
@@ -149,14 +150,15 @@ function createRemoteWatcher(opts = {}) {
     return s;
   }
 
-  function start(alias, onEvent) {
+  function start(alias, onEvent, onActivity) {
     if (typeof alias !== 'string' || !alias || typeof onEvent !== 'function') return;
     const s = getState(alias);
     if (!s.stopped && !s.unwatchable) return;
     s.stopped = false;
     s.unwatchable = false;
     s.failures = 0;
     s.onEvent = onEvent;
+    s.onActivity = typeof onActivity === 'function' ? onActivity : null;
     spawnChild(s);
   }
 

test/dom-sidebar-remote-activity-pip.test.js

@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+// Issue #242: a rebuilt sidebar (or a fresh launch) must paint the remote
+// activity pip from session.remoteActiveAt without waiting for the next
+// live remote-activity IPC message — see .ai/contexts/session-cache.md
+// ("Remote hosts — activity pip"). The live-update path itself is covered
+// by test/remote-activity-ui.test.js.
+
+const test = require('node:test');
+const assert = require('node:assert/strict');
+
+const { setupSidebarDom, makeSampleProject } = require('./dom-setup');
+
+function remoteProject(session) {
+  return makeSampleProject({
+    projectPath: '/srv/supervision',
+    folder: 'planificator::-srv-supervision',
+    remoteAlias: 'planificator',
+    sessions: [session],
+  });
+}
+
+test('a session active within the decay window paints the pip lit on first render', () => {
+  const ctx = setupSidebarDom();
+  try {
+    const session = {
+      sessionId: 'remote-active', summary: 'live now', modified: '2026-09-06T10:00:00.000Z',
+      starred: false, archived: 0, messageCount: 1,
+      remoteAlias: 'planificator', remoteActiveAt: Date.now() - 5000,
+    };
+    ctx.sidebar.renderProjects([remoteProject(session)], true);
+
+    const dot = ctx.document.querySelector('#si-remote-active .remote-activity-dot');
+    assert.ok(dot, 'a remote session must carry the activity pip element');
+    assert.ok(dot.classList.contains('active'), 'a sighting 5s ago is still inside the 20s decay window');
+  } finally { ctx.destroy(); }
+});
+
+test('a session last active past the decay window renders the pip off', () => {
+  const ctx = setupSidebarDom();
+  try {
+    const session = {
+      sessionId: 'remote-stale', summary: 'quiet now', modified: '2026-09-06T10:00:00.000Z',
+      starred: false, archived: 0, messageCount: 1,
+      remoteAlias: 'planificator', remoteActiveAt: Date.now() - 60000,
+    };
+    ctx.sidebar.renderProjects([remoteProject(session)], true);
+
+    const dot = ctx.document.querySelector('#si-remote-stale .remote-activity-dot');
+    assert.ok(dot);
+    assert.ok(!dot.classList.contains('active'), 'a sighting a minute ago is well past the 20s decay window');
+  } finally { ctx.destroy(); }
+});
+
+test('a session with no remoteActiveAt at all renders the pip off, not crashing on undefined', () => {
+  const ctx = setupSidebarDom();
+  try {
+    const session = {
+      sessionId: 'remote-never', summary: 'never seen writing', modified: '2026-09-06T10:00:00.000Z',
+      starred: false, archived: 0, messageCount: 1,
+      remoteAlias: 'planificator',
+    };
+    ctx.sidebar.renderProjects([remoteProject(session)], true);
+
+    const dot = ctx.document.querySelector('#si-remote-never .remote-activity-dot');
+    assert.ok(dot);
+    assert.ok(!dot.classList.contains('active'));
+  } finally { ctx.destroy(); }
+});
+
+test('a local session carries no activity pip at all', () => {
+  const ctx = setupSidebarDom();
+  try {
+    const project = makeSampleProject({
+      sessions: [{
+        sessionId: 'local-1', summary: 'local work', modified: '2026-09-06T10:00:00.000Z',
+        starred: false, archived: 0, messageCount: 2,
+      }],
+    });
+    ctx.sidebar.renderProjects([project], true);
+
+    assert.equal(ctx.document.querySelector('#si-local-1 .remote-activity-dot'), null);
+  } finally { ctx.destroy(); }
+});