fix(server): count a live session as connection evidence in initialize by drakeo338 · Pull Request #1192 · reticlehq/reticle

drakeo338 · 2026-09-29T09:40:43Z

What & why

Closes #1138.

Both initialize call sites used only hasAnyProjectConnectedBefore, durable memory that can be empty or stale for a project wired without .reticle.json. An agent attaching with a live browser session was still told "no app has ever connected" and pointed at init/restart. The fix ORs in bridge.sessions.count() > 0, so a live session outweighs stale durable memory.

I released my claim on the issue earlier while unsure a PR was wanted; since it is still open, here is the fix in case it helps. Happy to close it if you'd rather handle it differently.

How it was verified

New test in server/src/index.mcp-live-session.test.ts fails on the unfixed tree and passes with the fix. Per CONTRIBUTING.md's AI-assisted policy: checked.

Gates run

pnpm lint && pnpm typecheck && pnpm test:unit (~2 min — always)
pnpm test:e2e (~8 min) — touched the tool surface, core, an observer, or telemetry
pnpm gate:install (~15 min) — touched reticle init, vite-plugin, next, or babel-plugin
pnpm test:e2e:desktop (~3 min) — touched adapters/realm/electron, adapters/realm/tauri, or desktop capture
None of the above tiers apply to this change

Checklist

Every commit is signed off (git commit -s) — CI's DCO check fails the PR without it. Already pushed? git rebase --signoff origin/main && git push --force-with-lease
Tests added/updated (RED → GREEN); the change is covered by a test that would fail without it
No any, no free strings (wire strings live in @reticlehq/core), no non-null !
No console.log or internal tracking codes left in the diff
Each changed file is under the 1000-line cap
Docs updated, and a user-facing change adds a new file under .changes/ (never edit CHANGELOG.md — that file is assembled at release time, and editing it is what makes PRs conflict; format in .changes/README.md)
Security-affecting? Auth/redaction/trust-boundary changes keep the localhost-only, no-app-data-leaves-the-machine, no-arbitrary-JS posture (usage telemetry stays anonymous + opt-out per docs/telemetry.md) and are covered by a test — not applicable, no auth/redaction/trust-boundary change here

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

hasAnyProjectConnectedBefore alone decided whether the MCP `initialize` instructions led with the first-install steps. That durable memory can be empty or stale for a project the plugin wired without writing .reticle.json, so an agent attaching while a browser session was already live was told "no app has ever connected" and pointed at init/restart/load instead of getting straight to work. Both createMcpServer call sites (start(), startDaemon()) now OR in bridge.sessions.count() > 0, so a session connected right now outweighs empty or stale durable memory. Closes reticlehq#1138. AI-assisted: the added test was run against the unfixed tree and confirmed to fail before this change, per CONTRIBUTING.md's AI-assisted contributions policy. Signed-off-by: drakeo338 <paranoyouz@gmail.com>

github-actions · 2026-09-29T09:41:04Z

Thanks for your first pull request to Reticle! A maintainer aims to review within two days. Before then, pnpm verify locally catches most of what CI will, and CONTRIBUTING.md explains the rest. If CI does not start, a maintainer needs to approve it for first-time contributors; that is normal.

greptile-apps · 2026-09-29T09:44:39Z

Confidence Score: 3/5

[Medium risk] Changes the logic that decides whether to show first-install steps.

The PR is not ready to merge because another project’s session can suppress setup guidance and the standalone handshake can still miss a newly live session.

Findings

Other projects count as connected ▶
Standalone handshake misses later sessions ▶
Handshake test inlines wire strings ▶

Summary

The PR adds live browser sessions as evidence when choosing MCP initialize instructions and adds a daemon/SSE regression test and changelog entry. The new check needs project scoping, and the standalone stdio path still snapshots liveness before its handshake.

Diagram

%%{init: {'theme': 'neutral'}}%%
flowchart LR
  B[Browser sessions from multiple projects] --> C[Global session count]
  D[Directory project IDs] --> M[Durable connection memory]
  C --> O[Previously connected OR]
  M --> O
  O --> I[Initialize instructions]

_{Reviews (1) · Last reviewed commit: "fix(server): count a live session as con..."}

greptile-apps · 2026-09-29T09:44:43Z

      profile,
-      hasAnyProjectConnectedBefore(reticleStateHome(), port, projectIdsAt(process.cwd())),
+      // See the sibling call in `start`: a live session outweighs empty/stale durable memory (#1138).
+      bridge.sessions.count() > 0 ||


Other projects count as connected

A shared daemon can have a live browser session for project A while project B has never been wired. This count includes A’s session, so an agent attaching for B is treated as previously connected and does not receive B’s first-install instructions. The live-session check needs to consider the project or projects represented by the handshake.

greptile-apps · 2026-09-29T09:44:43Z

+      // stale for a project the plugin wired without writing `.reticle.json` (see connection-memory.ts's
+      // KNOWN LIMIT). Without this OR, that project's `initialize` led with the first-install steps
+      // while a real session was already connected — see #1138.
+      bridge.sessions.count() > 0 ||


Standalone handshake misses later sessions

The standalone stdio path reads the session count once while constructing the MCP server, before the client’s initialize. If a browser connects afterward and durable memory is empty, the instructions still say no app has connected, even though that session is live by the time the agent initializes.

greptile-apps · 2026-09-29T09:44:43Z

+      port,
+      endpoint.data,
+      rpc(1, 'initialize', {
+        protocolVersion: '2024-11-05',


Handshake test inlines wire strings

The new test inlines the JSON-RPC version, initialize method, and protocol version in its request. The repository’s “No free strings” directive requires domain and wire strings to be named constants. Please use contract constants or named fixture constants before merging.

Context Used: CLAUDE.md (source)

Note: If this suggestion doesn't match your team's coding style, reply to this and let me know. I'll remember it for next time!

drakeo338 requested a review from divshekhar as a code owner September 29, 2026 09:40

github-actions Bot added area/server Affects packages/server area/docs Documentation and docs site labels Sep 29, 2026

greptile-apps Bot reviewed Sep 29, 2026

View reviewed changes

divshekhar added this pull request to the merge queue Sep 29, 2026

Merged via the queue into reticlehq:main with commit 37d1022 Sep 29, 2026
29 checks passed

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fix(server): count a live session as connection evidence in initialize - #1192

fix(server): count a live session as connection evidence in initialize#1192
divshekhar merged 1 commit into
reticlehq:mainfrom
drakeo338:claude/1138-fix

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drakeo338 commented Sep 29, 2026

What & why

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Confidence Score: 3/5

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greptile-apps Bot commented Sep 29, 2026 •

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