Sentinel-released processes exposed a second bare-sample assertion in the
same file. The unread-dot check ran a synchronous .count() 140ms after the
running dot cleared:
15.91s poll "dot should disappear" -> 2
16.05s ... -> 0 (running dot gone)
16.05s bare .count() for unread dot -> 0 FAIL
"Finished — unread" is an event-driven transition that lands just after the
running dot clears. The old fixed `sleep 5` happened to leave enough slack
between the two that a single sample usually caught it; releasing the
process deterministically removed that incidental slack and made the latent
race deterministic instead.
Poll for it, matching how sidebar-states.spec.ts already asserts this exact
dot. The split-tile assertion at line 234 stays a bare sample on purpose —
it asserts an absence (toBe(0)), where polling would only wait for something
that must never appear.
The cross-session sidebar specs asserted a state that could expire before
they looked at it, making them the flakiest tests in the suite — two reds
on unrelated PRs within three minutes on 2026-07-26.
Root cause, from the failing run's trace: the tests need a background
process that is still RUNNING after the agent turn finishes, but the
process was a fixed `sleep 5` racing two other clocks — the turn itself
(two model round trips plus a real subagent delegation) and the 4s
success linger before a finished task auto-dismisses. On a loaded runner
the "dot should appear" poll took 7.5s to see the dot; by then `sleep 5`
had already exited, `waitForFunction(finalText)` returned in 0.08s
because the turn was long done, and the next line — a bare synchronous
`.count()`, not a wait — sampled 0.
The process lifetime is now test-controlled: `createBackgroundReleaseHandle()`
mints a sentinel path, the scripted command blocks until that file
appears, and the test releases it exactly when it wants the dot to clear.
One clock instead of three, and the "turn done, process still running"
state is stable rather than a window to catch. The wait is bounded (60s)
so a forgotten release can't hang a worker, and `sleep 5` stays as the
default for callers that pass no handle.
No product code touched — E2E harness only.
* test(desktop): e2e test for interim assistant message preservation (#65919)
Adds a Playwright E2E test that reproduces the fix from PR #65919 across
all three layers (agent core → tui_gateway → desktop renderer). The mock
inference server is upgraded with a multi-turn scripted response that
exercises several interleaved patterns:
1. text + tool_call → should produce an interim message
2. text + tool_call → another interim message
3. no text + tool_call → NO interim (no visible text alongside tools)
4. text + tool_call → another interim message
5. final answer (stop) → message.complete, different from all interims
Two describe blocks exercise display.interim_assistant_messages both on
(default) and off:
- ON: all interim texts + the final answer visible in the transcript
- OFF: only the final answer visible, all interim texts wiped
Also fixes a footgun: test:e2e now runs `npm run build` as a pretest
hook so the renderer dist/ is always fresh. Previously, running
`npx playwright test` locally would silently load a stale dist/ that
predated renderer fixes — the python backend ran from source (had the
fix) but the renderer was frozen in an old bundle. CI already built
fresh, so the explicit build step there is removed to avoid duplication.
* test(desktop): e2e sidebar states — background dot, subagent, cross-session
Add sidebar-states.spec.ts with three E2E tests exercising the desktop
sidebar's session dot states driven by real gateway events:
1. Background process dot appears during a terminal(background=true)
call and disappears after auto-dismiss; subagent (delegate_task)
runs concurrently; final answer is visible in the transcript.
2. Background dot remains visible while a subagent runs concurrently
(longer sleep 5 background process so the dot is catchable).
3. Cross-session dot transition: start a turn with a background process,
wait for the turn to complete, open a new session, then verify the
original session's dot transitions from 'background running' to
'finished — unread' when the background process exits.
The mock server gains SIDEBAR_SCRIPT and SIDEBAR_CROSS_SCRIPT trigger
keywords that return tool_calls for terminal(background=true) and
delegate_task — the agent executes these for real (real background
process, real subagent), so the tests assert against genuine gateway
events rather than mocked UI state.
Verified: 3 passed (1.2m) under cage headless wlroots.
* test(desktop): e2e tests for tile-unread bug (tab passes, split fails)
Two scenarios for the tile-unread bug where a session that finishes
while visible on-screen gets the green 'finished unread' dot even
though the user is looking right at it.
The unread check in handleTransition (session-states.ts:174) only
compares against $selectedStoredSessionId and ignores $sessionTiles,
so a session visible in a tile gets marked unread even though it's
on screen.
1. TAB (hidden, PASSES): ⌃-click opens the session as a stacked tab
that is NOT visible on screen. The unread dot IS correct here —
the user isn't looking at it.
2. SPLIT (visible, FAILS): drag the session row to the workspace's
right edge to create a side-by-side split tile. Both sessions are
visible on screen. The unread dot is WRONG — the session is visible
in the split tile, so it should not be marked 'unread'. This test
is RED until the fix lands.
Also adds explicit page.screenshot() calls at key assertion points in
sidebar-states.spec.ts so the trace viewer has full-res captures of the
sidebar dot states during the test.
* test(desktop): cover compression and queued stop lifecycle
Add real desktop E2E coverage for session compression continuation and
queue parking after an explicit Stop. Extend the mock server with a
blocking scripted turn and submitted-prompt assertions.
* test(desktop): cover busy composer submit routing
Replace the invalid queued-stop E2E scenario: plain text redirects a busy
turn rather than entering the queue. Add focused submit-routing coverage for
plain text, slash commands, attachments, explicit Stop, and idle submission.
Hermes Agent
ethernet