fix(chat): show cold-boot feedback instead of a silent placeholder

packages/ui/src/components/shell/ContinuousChatOverlay.boot-status.test.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+// @vitest-environment jsdom
+//
+// Cold-start boot feedback (#UX-e2e): a dedicated agent's container takes
+// 30–120s+ to warm, and before this fix the composer showed only a static
+// placeholder for that whole window — no visible progress, no timeout escape.
+// BootStatusIndicator fills that silent pre-send window; these tests lock its
+// two states, the escalation timing, and the honest "Open settings" escape
+// (the callback opens settings; the label must say so, not imply a retry).
+
+import { act, cleanup, render, screen } from "@testing-library/react";
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+import {
+  BOOT_SLOW_AFTER_MS,
+  BootStatusIndicator,
+} from "./ContinuousChatOverlay";
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  cleanup();
+  vi.useRealTimers();
+});
+
+describe("BootStatusIndicator", () => {
+  it("shows an accessible, indeterminate 'Waking …' state before the slow threshold", () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    render(<BootStatusIndicator agentName="Eliza" onOpenSettings={vi.fn()} />);
+
+    const status = screen.getByTestId("chat-boot-status");
+    expect(status.getAttribute("role")).toBe("status");
+    expect(status.getAttribute("aria-live")).toBe("polite");
+    expect(status.getAttribute("data-slow")).toBeNull();
+    expect(status.textContent).toContain("Waking Eliza…");
+    // No premature escape affordance while the boot is still nominal.
+    expect(screen.queryByTestId("chat-boot-open-settings")).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("escalates to a 'taking longer than usual' state with a settings escape after the slow threshold", () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    render(<BootStatusIndicator agentName="Ada" onOpenSettings={vi.fn()} />);
+
+    act(() => {
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(BOOT_SLOW_AFTER_MS);
+    });
+
+    const status = screen.getByTestId("chat-boot-status");
+    expect(status.getAttribute("data-slow")).toBe("true");
+    expect(status.textContent).toContain("Ada is taking longer than usual");
+    expect(screen.getByTestId("chat-boot-open-settings").textContent).toBe(
+      "Open settings",
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("invokes the settings escape when the escalated action is clicked", () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    const onOpenSettings = vi.fn();
+    render(
+      <BootStatusIndicator agentName="Eliza" onOpenSettings={onOpenSettings} />,
+    );
+    act(() => {
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(BOOT_SLOW_AFTER_MS);
+    });
+
+    screen.getByTestId("chat-boot-open-settings").click();
+
+    expect(onOpenSettings).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+
+  it("omits the escape button when no settings handler is supplied", () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    render(<BootStatusIndicator agentName="Eliza" />);
+    act(() => {
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(BOOT_SLOW_AFTER_MS);
+    });
+
+    expect(
+      screen.getByTestId("chat-boot-status").getAttribute("data-slow"),
+    ).toBe("true");
+    expect(screen.queryByTestId("chat-boot-open-settings")).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("drops the spinner animation under reduced motion", () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    const { container } = render(
+      <BootStatusIndicator agentName="Eliza" onOpenSettings={vi.fn()} reduce />,
+    );
+
+    expect(container.querySelector(".animate-spin")).toBeNull();
+  });
+});

packages/ui/src/components/shell/ContinuousChatOverlay.test.tsx

@@ -2970,3 +2970,71 @@ describe("ContinuousChatOverlay — OS assistant / deep-link launch (#9148)", ()
     });
   });
 });
+
+// The cold-boot banner (chat-boot-status) is gated by the parent on a 600ms
+// grace delay so a warm agent — where `phase` is momentarily "booting" on first
+// paint before the status fetch resolves — never flashes it; only a genuine
+// cold boot (still booting past the window) shows it. This exercises that
+// parent gate end-to-end, which the isolated BootStatusIndicator test can't.
+describe("ContinuousChatOverlay — cold-boot banner grace gate", () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+  });
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.useRealTimers();
+  });
+
+  it("does not flash the banner for a warm agent that leaves booting within the grace window", () => {
+    const { rerender } = render(
+      <ContinuousChatOverlay
+        controller={makeController({ phase: "booting" })}
+      />,
+    );
+    // Warm agent: booting only briefly, flips ready before 600ms elapses.
+    act(() => {
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(300);
+    });
+    rerender(
+      <ContinuousChatOverlay
+        controller={makeController({ phase: "summoned" })}
+      />,
+    );
+    act(() => {
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(600);
+    });
+    expect(screen.queryByTestId("chat-boot-status")).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("shows the banner once a cold boot outlasts the grace window", () => {
+    render(
+      <ContinuousChatOverlay
+        controller={makeController({ phase: "booting" })}
+      />,
+    );
+    expect(screen.queryByTestId("chat-boot-status")).toBeNull();
+    act(() => {
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(600);
+    });
+    expect(screen.getByTestId("chat-boot-status").textContent).toContain(
+      "Waking",
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("hides the banner the moment the agent becomes ready", () => {
+    const { rerender } = render(
+      <ContinuousChatOverlay
+        controller={makeController({ phase: "booting" })}
+      />,
+    );
+    act(() => {
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(600);
+    });
+    expect(screen.getByTestId("chat-boot-status")).toBeTruthy();
+    rerender(
+      <ContinuousChatOverlay
+        controller={makeController({ phase: "summoned" })}
+      />,
+    );
+    expect(screen.queryByTestId("chat-boot-status")).toBeNull();
+  });
+});

packages/ui/src/components/shell/ContinuousChatOverlay.tsx

@@ -771,6 +771,95 @@ function TurnStatusIndicator({
   );
 }
 
+// After this long still booting, the banner escalates to a "taking longer than
+// usual" state with a settings escape, so a stuck boot never reads as a silent
+// hang. Exported for the unit test (see the __-seam note below).
+export const BOOT_SLOW_AFTER_MS = 90_000;
+
+// Grace before the banner appears: a warm agent leaves the "booting" phase
+// within a frame, so only a real cold boot outlasts this and shows the banner
+// — no flash on a first paint / warm reconnect.
+const BOOT_BANNER_GRACE_MS = 600;
+
+/**
+ * Cold-start boot feedback (resting, pre-send): an indeterminate spinner + live
+ * "Waking …" label, escalating after {@link BOOT_SLOW_AFTER_MS} to a "taking
+ * longer than usual" state with an Open-settings escape. The parent gates
+ * mounting on {@link BOOT_BANNER_GRACE_MS} (see the render site).
+ *
+ * Exported (with BOOT_SLOW_AFTER_MS) only as a unit-test seam — not part of the
+ * public overlay API; cf. `__renderThreadLineForParity`.
+ */
+export function BootStatusIndicator({
+  agentName,
+  onOpenSettings,
+  reduce,
+}: {
+  agentName: string;
+  onOpenSettings?: () => void;
+  reduce?: boolean;
+}): React.JSX.Element {
+  // Local elapsed timing is the only boot signal the overlay has (agentStatus
+  // carries no boot-start timestamp), and it suffices: the parent unmounts this
+  // the instant readiness flips, so the timer never outlives the boot.
+  const [slow, setSlow] = React.useState(false);
+  React.useEffect(() => {
+    const id = window.setTimeout(() => setSlow(true), BOOT_SLOW_AFTER_MS);
+    return () => window.clearTimeout(id);
+  }, []);
+  return (
+    <div
+      role="status"
+      aria-live="polite"
+      aria-atomic="true"
+      data-testid="chat-boot-status"
+      data-slow={slow ? "true" : undefined}
+      className="pointer-events-none relative mb-2 flex w-full justify-center"
+    >
+      <span
+        className={cn(
+          "inline-flex items-center gap-2 rounded-full border border-white/15 bg-white/10 px-3 py-1.5 text-sm font-medium text-white/85",
+          FLOAT_SHADOW,
+        )}
+      >
+        {slow ? (
+          <>
+            <RotateCcw
+              className={cn(
+                "h-3.5 w-3.5 text-accent",
+                reduce ? "" : "animate-spin [animation-duration:2.4s]",
+              )}
+              aria-hidden="true"
+            />
+            <span>{agentName} is taking longer than usual to wake…</span>
+            {onOpenSettings ? (
+              <button
+                type="button"
+                onClick={onOpenSettings}
+                data-testid="chat-boot-open-settings"
+                className="pointer-events-auto ml-1 rounded-full border border-white/20 bg-white/10 px-2 py-0.5 text-[12px] text-white/90 transition-colors hover:border-white/35 hover:bg-white/20"
+              >
+                Open settings
+              </button>
+            ) : null}
+          </>
+        ) : (
+          <>
+            <Loader2
+              className={cn(
+                "h-3.5 w-3.5 text-accent",
+                reduce ? "" : "animate-spin",
+              )}
+              aria-hidden="true"
+            />
+            <span>Waking {agentName}…</span>
+          </>
+        )}
+      </span>
+    </div>
+  );
+}
+
 /**
  * One turn of the transcript as a chat bubble — assistant on the left, user on
  * the right. Memoized so a live drag (which re-renders the overlay on every
@@ -2021,6 +2110,23 @@ export function ContinuousChatOverlay({
   const hasDraft = draft.trim().length > 0;
   const hasImages = pendingImages.length > 0;
 
+  // `booting` (= `phase === "booting"`) is true whenever the agent isn't ready
+  // YET — including first paint before the status fetch resolves, even for a
+  // warm agent. So require it to hold past BOOT_BANNER_GRACE_MS before showing
+  // the banner: a warm agent flips ready within a frame and never crosses it.
+  const [showBootBanner, setShowBootBanner] = React.useState(false);
+  React.useEffect(() => {
+    if (!booting) {
+      setShowBootBanner(false);
+      return;
+    }
+    const id = window.setTimeout(
+      () => setShowBootBanner(true),
+      BOOT_BANNER_GRACE_MS,
+    );
+    return () => window.clearTimeout(id);
+  }, [booting]);
+
   // The suggestion strip is a keyboard-style row of one-tap prompts shown in the
   // RESTING (closed) state — ready, nothing typed or attached, not recording. It
   // unmounts once the sheet opens or a draft starts; this condition also gates
@@ -4003,6 +4109,16 @@ export function ContinuousChatOverlay({
         </div>
       ) : null}
 
+      {/* Cold-start boot feedback — sibling of the model-download banner above.
+          See BootStatusIndicator; `showBootBanner` is the grace-gated flag. */}
+      {showBootBanner ? (
+        <BootStatusIndicator
+          agentName={agentName}
+          onOpenSettings={openSettings}
+          reduce={reduce}
+        />
+      ) : null}
+
       {/* Three tailored prompt suggestions — a keyboard-style strip shown in the
           resting (closed) state when nothing is typed. Tapping one sends it
           immediately, which also pulls the chat sheet up. `order: -1` floats the