[eric] mac: after a crash relaunch user sees a tiny 'we had a hiccup, sessions are still here' chip for 8s instead of nothing

electron/crash-watchdog.js

@@ -34,6 +34,10 @@ const SUPPORT_DIR = path.join(os.homedir(), 'Library', 'Application Support', 'o
 const UPDATING_LOCK = path.join(SUPPORT_DIR, 'updating.lock');
 const CLEAN_QUIT_LOCK = path.join(SUPPORT_DIR, 'clean-quit.lock');
 const RELAUNCH_LOG = path.join(SUPPORT_DIR, 'crash-watchdog-relaunches.log');
+// Touched ONLY when watchdog decides to relaunch. main.js reads + deletes it on
+// next startup, forwards to renderer, which shows a small "We recovered from
+// a crash" chip. Renderer-side: ipcMain.handle 'crash-recovery-info'.
+const RECOVERY_MARKER = path.join(SUPPORT_DIR, 'crash-recovery.json');
 
 const MIN_UPTIME_MS = 30_000;
 const POLL_INTERVAL_MS = 2_000;
@@ -91,6 +95,15 @@ async function sleep(ms) {
   // All guards passed: relaunch. `open -n` opens a fresh instance even if the
   // app is registered, which it always will be (LaunchServices remembers).
   recordRelaunch();
+  // Mark the relaunch so the next startup can show a "recovered" chip. Best-effort
+  // write; if the disk is full or perms fail, watchdog still relaunches silently.
+  try {
+    fs.writeFileSync(RECOVERY_MARKER, JSON.stringify({
+      ts: Date.now(),
+      parent_pid: PARENT_PID,
+      uptime_ms: uptime,
+    }));
+  } catch (_) {}
   try {
     spawn('open', ['-n', APP_BUNDLE_PATH], { detached: true, stdio: 'ignore' }).unref();
   } catch (_) {}

electron/main.js

@@ -2102,6 +2102,27 @@ ipcMain.handle('get-webview-preload-path', () => {
 
 ipcMain.handle('get-update-status', () => cachedUpdateStatus);
 
+// One-shot recovery info: if the crash-watchdog relaunched us, returns the
+// {ts, parent_pid, uptime_ms} JSON it wrote and then DELETES the file so the
+// chip only shows once. Returns null if no marker present (normal launch).
+// macOS-only path; Windows/Linux always returns null.
+let _cachedRecoveryInfo = undefined;
+ipcMain.handle('get-crash-recovery-info', () => {
+  if (process.platform !== 'darwin') return null;
+  if (_cachedRecoveryInfo !== undefined) return _cachedRecoveryInfo;
+  const markerPath = path.join(os.homedir(), 'Library', 'Application Support', 'openswarm', 'crash-recovery.json');
+  try {
+    if (!fs.existsSync(markerPath)) { _cachedRecoveryInfo = null; return null; }
+    const raw = fs.readFileSync(markerPath, 'utf-8');
+    _cachedRecoveryInfo = JSON.parse(raw);
+    try { fs.unlinkSync(markerPath); } catch (_) {}
+    return _cachedRecoveryInfo;
+  } catch (_) {
+    _cachedRecoveryInfo = null;
+    return null;
+  }
+});
+
 ipcMain.handle('check-for-updates', async () => {
   if (!autoUpdater || !isPackaged) {
     sendToRenderer('update-error', 'Update check is only available in the packaged app.');

electron/preload.js

@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld('openswarm', {
   cdpCacheClear: (wcId) => ipcRenderer.invoke('cdp-cache-clear', wcId),
   capturePage: (rect) => ipcRenderer.invoke('capture-page', rect),
   getUpdateStatus: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('get-update-status'),
+  getCrashRecoveryInfo: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('get-crash-recovery-info'),
   checkForUpdates: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('check-for-updates'),
   downloadUpdate: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('download-update'),
   installUpdate: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('install-update'),

frontend/src/app/Main.tsx

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import React, { useMemo, useEffect, useState, useRef, Suspense } from 'react';
 import { Provider } from 'react-redux';
 import { HashRouter, Routes, Route } from 'react-router-dom';
 import { ThemeProvider as MuiThemeProvider, createTheme, CssBaseline } from '@mui/material';
+import Box from '@mui/material/Box';
 import Snackbar from '@mui/material/Snackbar';
 import Alert from '@mui/material/Alert';
 import { store } from '../shared/state/store';
@@ -368,6 +369,46 @@ const DefaultModelGuard: React.FC<{ children: React.ReactNode }> = ({ children }
   );
 };
 
+/** Surfaces a brief recovery chip if the crash-watchdog relaunched us last cycle.
+ *  Mac-only path (watchdog only runs on darwin); main.js returns null elsewhere.
+ *  Auto-hides after 8s. No interaction required from the user; sessions are server-side
+ *  so reattachment is automatic via the WS dashboard subscription that's already wired. */
+const CrashRecoveryChip: React.FC = () => {
+  const [show, setShow] = React.useState(false);
+  React.useEffect(() => {
+    const api = (window as any).openswarm as OpenSwarmAPI | undefined;
+    if (!api?.getCrashRecoveryInfo) return;
+    api.getCrashRecoveryInfo().then((info) => {
+      if (info) setShow(true);
+    }).catch(() => {});
+  }, []);
+  React.useEffect(() => {
+    if (!show) return;
+    const t = setTimeout(() => setShow(false), 8000);
+    return () => clearTimeout(t);
+  }, [show]);
+  if (!show) return null;
+  return (
+    <Box sx={{
+      position: 'fixed', top: 16, right: 16, zIndex: 1500,
+      display: 'flex', alignItems: 'center', gap: 1,
+      bgcolor: 'background.paper',
+      border: '1px solid', borderColor: 'divider',
+      boxShadow: 3, borderRadius: '10px',
+      px: 1.75, py: 1, fontSize: '0.85rem',
+      maxWidth: 360,
+    }}>
+      <Box component="span" sx={{
+        width: 8, height: 8, borderRadius: '50%',
+        bgcolor: 'success.main',
+      }} />
+      <Box component="span">
+        We had a hiccup and brought you back. Your sessions are still here.
+      </Box>
+    </Box>
+  );
+};
+
 const UpdateListener: React.FC<{ children: React.ReactNode }> = ({ children }) => {
   const dispatch = useAppDispatch();
 
@@ -446,6 +487,7 @@ const ThemedApp: React.FC = () => {
             <SignInGateLoader>
             <DefaultModelGuard>
             <UpdateListener>
+              <CrashRecoveryChip />
               <DeepLinkListener>
                 <ErrorBoundary scope="routes">
                   <Suspense fallback={null}>

frontend/src/types/electron.d.ts

@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ declare global {
     getAppVersion: () => Promise<string>;
     getBuildInfo: () => Promise<{ sha: string; shortSha: string; builtAt: string | null; channel: string }>;
     getUpdateStatus: () => Promise<{ status: string; info: any; error: string | null }>;
+    getCrashRecoveryInfo?: () => Promise<{ ts: number; parent_pid: number; uptime_ms: number } | null>;
     checkForUpdates: () => Promise<{ success: boolean; version?: string; error?: string }>;
     downloadUpdate: () => Promise<{ success: boolean; error?: string }>;
     installUpdate: () => Promise<void>;