Fixes a render bug where a federated user (e.g. axel@nova) appeared with
the federation globe icon and a broken avatar when viewed on his own home
instance. Root cause: `populateFromReady` is first-wins by federatedId and
discards the entire skipped DM payload — including its `members` array —
so when a sibling instance's ready arrived first, the home instance's view
of every shared user was dropped on the floor.
Adds a render-only `userViews` cache that mirrors the `dmAlternatives`
philosophy: information from skipped ready payloads is preserved for
rendering. Every wire surface that delivers a User upserts into the cache
regardless of dedup outcome; render sites read through a Zustand selector
hook to surface the home view when one is loaded. The DM channel ingestion
race is left untouched — the existing no-flapping invariant on origin
reconnect is intentional and load-bearing for failover.
Layered changes:
- `identity.ts`: `normalizeOriginToHost`, `canonicalUserKey`,
`isDeliveryFromHome`, `isFederationGlobeApplicable` — single helpers
for origin/host normalization and the home/stub tier decision.
- `spaceStore.ts`: `userViews` Map, `UserViewEntry` type, `upsertUserView`
action with the home-wins preference rule, prune by `deliveredBy` in
`removeInstanceSpaces` (mirrors `dmAlternatives` cleanup), `reset`
clears.
- `userViewLookup.ts`: `useCanonicalUserView` (Zustand selector hook for
React) + `getCanonicalUserView` (sync getter for non-React paths).
Render reactivity is structural via the selector, not coincidence on
legacy update paths.
- `populateFromReady` upsert pass runs BEFORE the federatedId dedup so
members of skipped DMs still reach the cache.
- WS handlers (dm_message_*, message_*, user_updated, member_joined,
friend_request_*, dm_channel_created, dm_member_added) and REST
hydrators (socialStore, discoverStore, mutuals) feed the cache with
their delivering origin.
- Render-site routing through `useCanonicalUserView` at every audited
user-rendering site (sidebar, header, search, message bubble, reply
chips, profile popout/modal, group settings, voice tiles, mention
chips, member lists, friends, invites). Self-rendering sites compose
alongside via existing `isSelf`/`resolveDisplayIdentity`.
- Globe predicate hoisted to `isFederationGlobeApplicable` and applied
at three sites, gating on `domain !== window.location.host` so we
never show the globe for users whose home IS our own.
Tests: 31 new unit tests across `identity`, `userViews` store, and
`userViewLookup`. Full suite 276/276.
Docs: `client-federation.md` §3 gains a "User View Cache" section
parallel to "DM Origin Failover"; `dm-system.md` notes the new store
action and WS handler upserts.
Bug 3 (federation profile-sync gap — orbit's stale profile data on
nova-Axel after a clear/color-change on nova never propagated)
remains open. The user-view cache routes around it for the common case
(home instance is connected), but the underlying S2S relay gap is its
own diagnosis and follows in a separate branch.
All DM creation and add-member call sites now use the home api client
and pass homeUserId/homeInstance instead of routing to the remote instance.
Also updates addMember in the API client to accept AddDmMemberRequest.
Space avatars in the mutual spaces tab now use getSpaceGradient() instead of
a flat grey background, matching the sidebar appearance. Mutual friends and
spaces from remote instances show a globe icon with the instance hostname.
Also wires up federated mutuals loading, correct API client routing for
remote user profiles, and the new mutuals utility.
Replace the unreliable client-side DM dedup loop in populateFromReady with
a creation-time guard (findExistingDmForUser) that checks all instances
before opening a new DM. Guards added to FriendsPage, NewDmModal, and
UserProfilePopout.
Also fixes: corrupted read_states from temp_ optimistic message IDs (server
migration + client-side validation), federation-aware closeDm/addDmMember
API routing, isSelf-based DM member filtering in sidebar/header, and WS
event error isolation.
Avatar fallback gradients were hashed by display name alone when no
user prop was passed, causing the same person to appear in different
colors across messages, replies, member lists, voice panels, etc.
Added userId prop to Avatar and wired it through all 17 call sites
so the gradient always hashes by user ID.
Migrate all auth pages, modals, and shared UI components from Discord
visual language to Aether Drift design tokens. Zero discord-* classes
or raw Tailwind palette colors remain in components/auth/, modals/, ui/.
- Avatar: status dots use status-online/idle/dnd/offline tokens
- Tooltip, ContextMenu, UserProfilePopout: z-index raised to z-[200]
- LoginPage, RegisterPage: warm bg-surface-base with lavender glow
- All modals: inputs use surface-input, buttons use accent-primary
- Toggles: bg-status-online (on), bg-surface-input (off)
- ServerSettings: slider tracks, pills, danger zone fully tokenized
- Purged raw Tailwind green-500 leak in StreamingLimitsPanel success msg
- Add Backspace-design-prototype.html: finalized "Aether Drift" design
language with warm matte surfaces and subtle frosted glass accents
- Update CLAUDE.md with DESIGN SYSTEM section and remove Discord clone references
- Rename all Opencord references to Backspace across the full codebase
- Archive outdated design experiments and Discord-specific assets
- Add science-backed accessibility fallback (prefers-reduced-transparency)
Jannis Braun