- settings: compaction.thresholdTokens row on the Agent tab (owner pick)
in a Context group — CommitInput mirroring the graph budget row, hint
resolved through the SAME core resolver the trigger reads; PUT rejects
below the 32k floor with the anti-churn rationale; own section
(compaction) in SETTINGS_SECTIONS + the settings-signal union
- view fold: one marker → two dividers — the minimal MOMENT divider at
the marker (retrying-message register, no rule lines) and the longer
CUT divider emitted immediately before the first kept message
(phase-divider geometry, chip carries '· Nk tok'); both carry the full
summary payload; full history stays visible to the user
- components/compaction-divider.tsx: the dividers + summary dialog
(pure exported body for SSR pins, the delete-dialog pattern; Esc +
Close dismiss, backdrop does not)
- chat.tsx: compaction-changed SSE flips the running state — composer
canSend, onSend/doSend/doSteerOrSend, and both docks' submit + hint
('compacting session…') gate on it (the server's registry mutex is the
structural gate; this is the affordance); dialog mounts beside the
abort dialog
- pins: settings-body (4), view fold (2), divider SSR (4)
The reported bug (2026-09-28): every chat ran glm-5.3-flash regardless of
any pick, while composer and settings UIs agreed with each other and lied
about the run. Root cause: a fossil default-settings record (settings.json
chat section, frozen pre-slots-wave) was stamped verbatim into every new
chat at birth by the new-session flow, and resolveConversationSpec prefers
the per-chat record over the strong slot forever.
Owner redesign — models are per session, always; the strong slot is the
new-session default:
- POST /api/chats stamps the newborn verbatim from the strong slot
(model + thinking level); no client settings PUT on create anymore
- the composer control is dual-bound: in-session it reads/writes the
session's own record (GET /api/chats/:id, PUT .../settings); on the
draft surfaces it binds the strong slot (picking there = changing the
default)
- thinking levels follow the identical mechanics (confirmed by owner)
- the zombie default-settings system dies whole: useDefaultSettings,
/api/settings/defaults, src/store/default-settings.ts, the chat
section of UserSettings (sanitizer strips fossil copies), the legacy
default-settings.json fold, and DEFAULT_SETTINGS_FILE
- catalogDefaultsFor collapses to the strong slot alone
- thinking display for a legacy unstamped session resolves exactly like
the engine (session ?? strong ?? model ladder)
Tests: new chat-birth-stamp suite pins the stamp, the unconfigured boot,
the unset level, and the copy-not-live-view regression; defaults pins
rewritten strong-only; legacy-migration suite deleted.
Contract-fix interlude (2026-09-26), two bugs from UI's prompts-overhaul
(6edc220):
(a) ORPHAN-400 TRAP: an ON switch whose override file dies orphaned the
record; every agent-section write then 400'd (ON-must-have-file) while
the disabled toggle couldn't reach the OFF escape hatch — a user stuck
unable to write settings. Verified live on 3004 before the fix.
Two-layer fix:
- DELETE /api/settings/prompts/[...segment] now clears the record's
switch in the same operation (switch-first order: a crash between the
two leaves the valid off+file state, never an orphan). Response gains
switchCleared (additive). Overrules the 2026-09-19 switch-survives-
delete note — the delete route and the record agree by construction.
- PUT /api/settings/[section] agent writes HEAL an orphaned ON to OFF
(key dropped) inside the write — never a 400 (defense in depth: disk
wipes outside the app can still orphan). A valid ON with its file
stays valid; the invariant: a user can never get stuck unable to
write settings, and the record never contradicts file reality for
long. Heal logs at info.
(b) TEST WIPES REAL DATA: tests/prompt-overrides.test.ts wiped
data/prompts/ (REAL user override files) in after() and its empty-list
case — every npm test killed actual overrides and orphaned their ON
switches (feeding trap a). Isolated via the established LH_DATA_DIR
seam (mkdtemp + env set before the first config.ts-loading import; all
app-module imports dynamic). after() now snapshots the REAL repo
data/prompts before/after and fails the suite if it changed; the seam is
pinned (writes land under the temp dir).
Pins: delete-clears-switch (incl. idempotent no-op), the exact repro
(disk-level wipe → mirror-the-orphan + tool toggle → 200, healed key,
rest of the write landed), vanished-fragment ON heals, valid ON stays.
Live: the 400-forever write now lands 200, heal info-logged, record
clean.
Gates: 967/967 (+5), typecheck, lint, build green.
Fix 1 — clamp, never reject (owner ruling, interlude 2026-09-22): a
model swap with a pinned thinking level must JUST WORK. The owner hit
the write-side 400 live (Claude Fable 5.1/xhigh → GLM 5.3 flash:
"z-ai/glm-5.3-flash does not support thinking level xhigh"). The
supported-level verdicts in validateChatSettings and
validateModelsSettings are DEAD — the WRITE clamps the pin to the new
model's nearest supported level (pi's clampThinkingLevel, the same
translation piEngineForSpec applies at runtime) and stores the clamped
result; the server is the truth — the record shows the clamped level
after write.
New pure helpers in model-catalog.ts, applied by ALL THREE write
routes (section, defaults, per-chat — one verdict seam, so every
surface that used the old 400 gets the clamp uniformly):
- clampModelsLevels: every slot's level clamps against the SLOT'S OWN
model (the parser already requires a model on each slot write).
- clampChatLevel: the body's own model, else the record's resolved
strong slot (the chain's fallback); no model anywhere → rides
unchecked (runtime clamps at engine build; the turn gate refuses
the model-less chat anyway).
Fix 2 — DEFAULT_THINKING_ORDER moves from config.ts to core/settings
(core barrel, AUTH_KEYS precedent — one source of truth, no drift).
The UI imports it to auto-populate a thinking level on FRESH model
picks; the ordering has no other client role. Legacy unset records
keep the runtime defaultThinkingLevel fallback at engine build
untouched. Import sites updated: agent/models.ts, tests.
Verified live on 3004: the owner's exact case stores max (not 400);
a bare chat-level write clamps to low against the strong slot's glm;
unknown provider/model still 400s with the provider list.
Tests: the level-verdict suites became clamp suites (the owner's case
pinned verbatim: xhigh→max, minimal→low, off→low, supported
pass-through, level-less slots ride); the machine-aware
expectBareLevelVerdict chain is retired — clampChatLevel takes the
strong slot as an explicit param, so the tests are pure again.
Gates: typecheck, lint, 839/839, build.
Model slots wave (2026-09-20), chunk B:
- settings: new `models` section {strong, cheap, vision} slots (each
field independent, same shape as a role override); ROLE_SLOT maps all
nine roles to tiers (strong=prober+teacher, cheap=researcher/
demoBuilder/extractor/auditor/labeler, vision=visualMaker+pdfReader);
resolution chain per role: override → slot → factory pin.
- config: ModelSpec gains provider (all pins openrouter, the BYOK
default); MODEL_PINS in stores.ts now spans all nine roles (the strong
slot's factory rep IS the prober pin).
- engine: piModels() registers EVERY builtin provider catalog;
piEngineForSpec(resolved spec) is the new engine factory (pi-ai
resolves per-provider keys from env itself); piEngineFor stays as the
config-pin fallback. chat-handler resolves the conversation chain
(chat override → strong slot → pin) and injects engineFor into the job
runner, closing the old gap where per-role overrides never reached
job engines.
- /api/models: models federate ONLY keyed providers (providers surface
with keyPresent, env-wins, fresh per call); slots (resolved tier pins)
join rolePins; catalogDefaultsFor inherits the strong slot; the models
settings section gets the same catalog gate as chat.
- pricing: PRICES/CONTEXT_LIMITS uniformly keyed provider:id
(regenerated from ALL pi-ai catalogs, 1354 keys); usage stamps
(TurnUsage, JobUsage, extraction stages) switch to provider:id —
owner decision: no legacy compat, old stamps render unpriced.
Owner reframe (2026-09-18): the model + thinking + context controls on
the home graph view and /chat/new are not a draft overlay on a baked-in
default — they ARE the settings page for the default model, and the
user's last choice IS the default. BYOK first boot has no keys and
possibly no OpenRouter, so there is NO default to show: the controls
render 'no model' ('—') until the first pick.
The flash was the deeper symptom: the surfaces rendered from client
state that started empty and fetched truth afterward, so every visit
flashed the config pin (GLM/low — a dev artifact) for a few frames.
Fix at the root: both pages are now force-dynamic server components
that read the record (readDefaultSettings → initialSettings) and hand
it to the client — the first frame shows truth. Dynamic routes aren't
cached client-side (staleTimes.dynamic = 0), so every navigation
re-reads the record; the useDefaultSettings hook keeps only save-side
state (optimistic set + PUT). The GET-on-mount and its touch-guard are
gone.
ModelControl gains noDefaultModel (the default surfaces only): unset
settings render no model/level, never the catalog pin; the thinking
menu no-ops until a model exists. Chat surfaces keep the catalog
fallback — the engine runs the config pin when a session record has no
override, so the control keeps showing what will actually run.
Renamed draft→default throughout: data/default-settings.json,
GET/PUT /api/settings/defaults, useDefaultSettings. New sessions
still inherit the default on creation exactly as before.
Live-verified: first-boot 'no model' with zero flash, picker +
Shift+Tab cycle, values held across session→/chat/new→home roundtrips
and a reload (10×100ms samples, never the old default), zero console
errors.
Both new-session pages (the home graph view's topic dock and /chat/new)
held their model + thinking + knowledge-context choices in plain
useState(undefined) — every navigation reset them to config defaults.
Now both surfaces read/write ONE server-side record
(data/draft-settings.json via GET/PUT /api/settings/draft, the
render-settings pattern): whatever the learner last left the controls on
is what every later visit shows. useDraftSettings loads on mount with a
touch-guard (a slow GET never clobbers a fast choice), saves
optimistically. Session creation still carries the choice into the new
chat exactly as before; per-session settings are untouched.
The PUT validation is the exact per-chat contract — parseSettingsBody
extracted verbatim from app/api/chats/[id]/settings and shared by both
routes (unknown model/level → 400 with the supported list, never a
silent clamp). 400s on garbage, {} = the clear-overrides write.
Live-verified: Cmd+K+Enter model pick, Shift+Tab thinking cycle, context
slider — all held across home → session → home → /chat/new, and carried
into a created session's record.
amosblomqvist