fix(web): allow creating new sessions in projects from the web UI

[justemu]

Summary

Fixes the "not running in the desktop app" error when creating a new session under a project from the web UI (Remote Access Gateway mode), and ensures the created session actually lands in the selected project directory.

Closes #81.

Problem

Two distinct issues when the web UI (browser) tries to create a session under a user-selected project:

1. Tauri-only call crashes in browser

The newSessionIn() function in Sidebar.tsx calls switchWorkspace(), which calls setWorkspace() — a Tauri-only command that throws when window.__TAURI_INTERNALS__ is absent (i.e., in a browser).

Sidebar.newSessionIn(project)
  → startDraftInWorkspace(project.path)
    → switchWorkspace({ path })
      → setWorkspace(path)  // throws: "not running in the desktop app"

2. Session silently lands in the wrong directory

Even after fixing the crash, three independent information paths are broken in web mode, so the session creation request never carries the selected directory:

Break point A — first-send ignores draftWorkspaces in web mode.
runtime.ts line 810:

const chosen = isTauri ? get().draftWorkspaces[draftSrc] : undefined;

isTauri is false in the browser, so chosen is always undefined. The user selected a project, switchWorkspace stored the path in draftWorkspaces, but the first-send logic never reads it.

Break point B — OpenCodeClient is scoped to /v1/whoami, not the selected project.
connect() lines 1459–1480:

if (isGatewayWeb) {
  directory = null;                        // ← cleared
  const who = await fetch('/v1/whoami');   // ← returns the HOST's active workspace
  directory = who.directory;
}

/v1/whoami returns the desktop host's currently active workspace — not the project the user clicked in the web UI. The OpenCodeClient is constructed with this directory, and all subsequent API calls (createSession, SSE, permissions, files) route through ?directory= using it.

Break point C — switchWorkspace stores the path but does not reconnect.
The original PR patch stored the path in draftWorkspaces but skipped connectRetry(). The OpenCodeClient instance kept its original directory from the initial connect() call, so the stored path was never used.

Fix

Introduce webOverrideDirectory — a module-level variable that carries the user-selected project directory in web mode and persists across reconnects.

switchWorkspace (web mode)

Set webOverrideDirectory = target.path, then call connectRetry() so the OpenCodeClient is reconstructed with the correct directory.

connect() (web mode)

Initialize directory = webOverrideDirectory. Only fall back to the /v1/whoami response when no override is set:

directory = webOverrideDirectory;
// ...
if (!directory) directory = who.directory ?? null;

first-send block

Read chosen from draftWorkspaces for both Tauri and web mode (no longer gated on isTauri). When web mode has a chosen directory, set webOverrideDirectory and connectRetry() before creating the session. The createSession() call uses dirQuery() → ?directory=PATH, so the session is created in the correct project.

Why this works end-to-end

OpenCodeClient.createSession() sends POST /session?directory=PATH. The directory field is set at construction time and used by dirQuery() for all directory-scoped calls: session creation, SSE event stream, permissions/questions, and file operations. By overriding it at connect() time, all downstream operations automatically scope to the selected project.

Testing

• Added regression test: createSession with a directory sends ?directory= in the URL
• Added regression test: createSession without a directory sends no query parameter
• Manual testing: web UI "New Session" under a project creates the session in that project (not the host active workspace)

Files changed

• apps/desktop/src/lib/runtime.ts — webOverrideDirectory, switchWorkspace, connect(), first-send logic
• apps/desktop/src/test/opencode-client.sessions.test.ts — 2 regression tests

[noahbenjamin1994]

Thanks for addressing the visible error, but this does not yet create the session in the selected project: the web path is only stored in draftWorkspaces, while first-send still sets chosen only when isTauri, the existing OpenCodeClient remains scoped to /v1/whoami, and this patch skips the reconnect, so the session can silently land in the host's active workspace. Please carry the selected directory as client-local web state, use it consistently for session creation, SSE, permissions/questions, and files, and add a regression test asserting the created session's directory equals the selected project path; also note that the UI creates through /session?directory=PATH, not /v1/sessions.

[justemu]

Hi @noahbenjamin1994, thanks for the detailed review!

We've addressed all your feedback in the follow-up commit (20b72c1) and rebased onto the latest master to resolve merge conflicts. Here's what the fix commit covers:

webOverrideDirectory module-level variable — Carries the user-selected project directory in web mode, persisted across reconnects. Falls back to /v1/whoami only when no override is set.

switchWorkspace (web mode) — Sets webOverrideDirectory = target.path and calls connectRetry() so the OpenCodeClient is reconstructed with the correct directory.

connect() (web mode) — Initializes directory = webOverrideDirectory; only falls back to the /v1/whoami response when no override is set.

First-send block — Reads chosen from draftWorkspaces for both Tauri and web mode (no longer gated on isTauri). When web mode has a chosen directory, sets webOverrideDirectory and calls connectRetry() before creating the session.

Session creation — Uses /session?directory=PATH (via dirQuery()), so the directory flows through OpenCodeClient for all downstream operations (SSE, permissions/questions, files).

Regression tests — 2 new tests: createSession with directory sends ?directory=, without directory sends no query parameter.

The branch has been rebased onto the latest master (was 47 commits behind) to resolve merge conflicts with recent changes to runtime.ts. Could you please re-review when you get a chance? Thanks!