Three layered bugs all manifesting as "the group name doesn't show / the
placeholder is a 40-character wall of names":
1. **WS ready payload was missing `name`/`icon`.** The handler serialized
DmChannel rows with only `id, federatedId, ownerId, createdAt, members,
lastMessage`. The optional metadata fields were silently dropped, so
the client store never received `dm.name` until a subsequent
`dm_channel_updated` event fired (i.e. only mid-session renames worked,
never the initial render). `ownerHomeUserId`, `ownerHomeInstance`, and
`metadataUpdatedAt` were also missing — added too because federated
routing depends on `ownerHomeInstance` (`getDmOwnerHomeInstance`).
2. **Header surfaces silently dropped `dm.name`.** `MainContent` (desktop
chat header) and `MobileChatScreen` always rendered the joined member
names, even when `dm.name` was set. Five other surfaces (`DmListItem`,
`MobileDmsScreen`, `MessageList` welcome hero, `MobileGroupDmInfo`,
`GroupDmSettings`) honored it correctly, so a renamed group showed
different titles depending on which surface you looked at.
3. **Message-input placeholder rendered joined names.** Once a group
has 4+ members "Message #Alice, Bob, Charlie, Dave" overflows the
textarea and obscures the call-to-action.
Consolidates the display-name logic behind two utilities in
`dmFormatters.ts`:
- `formatDmHeaderName(dm, currentUser)` — `dm.name` verbatim if set,
else joined names (excluding self); falls back to `'Group'` /
`'Direct Message'`. Used by all 5 header surfaces (was inlined
5 different ways).
- `formatDmInputLabel(dm, currentUser)` — `'#<name>'` if set,
`'the group'` for unnamed groups (collapses the unreadable
joined-names form), `'@<partner>'` for 1-on-1.
`MessageInput` accepts an optional `placeholder` prop that bypasses the
default `Message {#|@}<channelName>` derivation; DM call sites use it
to inject the `formatDmInputLabel`-based form. 1-on-1 DMs keep the
canonical-view lookup so replicated aliases still surface the home
account's displayName; the placeholder reuses the canonical `dmName`
so header + placeholder stay aligned even when raw partner ≠ canonical.
13 new unit tests covering `formatDmHeaderName` (8 cases: named, blank,
joined, federated-username base, empty group, 1-on-1, no-displayName,
no-partner) and `formatDmInputLabel` (4 cases: named, unnamed,
whitespace-only, 1-on-1). 365 → 377 web tests, 1053 server tests,
typecheck clean.
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.
DmLastMessagePreview lacked a `type` field, so the sidebar rendered
`lastMessage.content` verbatim — surfacing JSON like
`{"event":"space_invite",...}` for space invites and member-add events.
Adds `type` to the preview payload (populated server-side from
`dm_messages.type`) and routes all sidebar call sites through a single
`formatDmSidebarPreview` helper that renders human-readable text for
each system event and skips the group `Sender:` prefix on system rows.
Extracts the inline DM list item rendering (~105 lines) from
ChannelSidebar.tsx into a standalone component. Applies cohesive
hover states, 6px border radius, 44px row height, and a selected-
state accent bar matching ChannelItem's pattern.
Jannis Braun