fix(desktop): prevent auth redirect on transient network errors

[AviPeltz]

Summary

• Fixes the auth flash issue where users get redirected to sign-in on temporary network drops
• Tracks "was ever authenticated" state to distinguish between confirmed sign-out vs transient errors
• Uses Better Auth's error state from useSession() to detect network failures

Problem

When the network drops temporarily, Better Auth's useSession() returns:

• isPending: false
• data: undefined (no session)
• error: <network error>

The previous code only checked isPending and session, so transient errors looked identical to "signed out", causing an incorrect redirect to /sign-in.

Solution

State	isPending	session	error	Action
Loading	true	-	-	Render nothing
Authenticated	false	✓	-	Render app
Transient error	false	undefined	✓	Keep authenticated UI
Signed out	false	undefined	-	Redirect to /sign-in

Test plan

• Verify normal sign-in/sign-out flow works correctly
• Simulate network drop (disable network briefly) while authenticated - should NOT flash sign-in
• Verify explicit sign-out still redirects to sign-in page
• Verify initial load without token redirects to sign-in

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Bug Fixes
  • Improved session error handling: transient network problems no longer force previously signed-in users to the sign-in screen; the app preserves the authenticated UI and avoids unexpected redirects.
  • More robust detection of auth vs network errors to reduce false sign-out behavior.

[coderabbitai]

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

Adds session error handling that tracks prior sign-in state and preserves the authenticated UI on transient network errors instead of redirecting to sign-in; introduces wasAuthenticatedRef, adjusts useEffect logic, and logs a warning when a transient error occurs after prior authentication.

Changes

Cohort / File(s)	Summary
Session error & auth flow apps/desktop/src/renderer/routes/_authenticated/layout.tsx	Adds wasAuthenticatedRef to remember prior signed-in state; captures error from authClient.useSession(), distinguishes transient/network errors from auth errors, preserves authenticated UI and logs a warning on transient failures, and retains existing isPending render behavior.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 3 (Moderate) | ⏱️ ~20 minutes

Possibly related PRs

• fix (desktop): reauth docker/auth flashing bug from race condition #1129: Modifies the same file's session-handling control flow and render/redirect behavior during transient auth states.
• fix(desktop): offline sign out behavior fixed #512: Implements transient network/offline handling to avoid signing users out, similar session-preservation intent.
• fix (desktop): superset landing page Application error due to auth cookie #692: Adds defensive session-fetch/error-handling changes that relate to avoiding crashes when auth fails.

Suggested reviewers

• CharlieHelps

Poem

🐰 I nibbled code where sessions play,
A ref to keep the night at bay,
When networks hiccup and errors cry,
The UI stays — no goodbye,
A logged soft warning, hop and try ✨

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 2 | ❌ 1

❌ Failed checks (1 warning)

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Docstring Coverage	⚠️ Warning	Docstring coverage is 0.00% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%.	Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.

✅ Passed checks (2 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly and concisely summarizes the main fix: preventing auth redirects on transient network errors, which matches the core change in the code.
Description check	✅ Passed	The description is comprehensive and well-structured, covering the problem, solution with a clear state matrix, and test plan. All template sections are adequately addressed.

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✨ Finishing touches

• 📝 Generate docstrings

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Post copyable unit tests in a comment
• Commit unit tests in branch fix/auth-network-resilience

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[github-actions]

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