sethmux/DECISIONS.md

sethmux — Decision Log

Project-local decisions specific to sethmux. Cross-cutting infra decisions live in ~/bin/DECISIONS.md.

Format: YYYY-MM-DD: <decision> — <why>

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2026-04-24

• Mobile compose bar instead of patching xterm.js IME handling. Added a third toolbar row (toggled by Type button) holding a real <input> with autocorrect=on/enterkeyhint=send. Enter/Send flushes the assembled string to stdin in one shot. Why: xterm.js reads from a hidden textarea via per-keystroke events, but Gboard/iOS autocorrect, swipe, and predictions mutate .value in bulk via inputType="insertReplacementText" events that xterm.js discards. Bridging that into xterm would mean forking; the compose bar sidesteps it entirely with a one-shot string send. The existing disableMobileAutocomplete() on .xterm-helper-textarea is preserved as belt-and-suspenders for chord/arrow keys typed outside the compose bar.

• Visual system: Google Workspace dark vocabulary, sethmux orange accent. Tokens: bar #202124, button surface #303134, hairline #3c4043, primary text #e8eaed, accent #D35400 (replaces Google blue), Roboto 12/500 + Roboto Mono 12/400 for chord keys. Why: the previous palette (#111/#222/2px orange top border) read as a generic terminal toolbar; the Workspace vocabulary makes the bar feel like a deliberate productivity surface while keeping #D35400 as sethmux brand identity.

• Manual deploy is split across TWO hosts. Static assets that Caddy serves directly (toolbar.js, manifest.json, icon-*.png) live in /opt/sethmux/ on the caddy CT (192.168.0.185, ssh caddy). The ttyd index (index.html) and notify-server (notify-server.py) live in /opt/sethmux/ on steel141 (192.168.0.141), where the systemd units run. Both hosts happen to use /opt/sethmux/ — easy to confuse. Why: Caddy's handle /toolbar.js { root * /opt/sethmux; file_server } resolves the root against Caddy's own filesystem, not the upstream's. Caddy is on the caddy CT, so that's where the file must live. Catch-all handle { reverse_proxy 192.168.0.141:7683 } proxies the index page request to ttyd on steel141, which serves --index /opt/sethmux/index.html from its own disk.

  Deploy commands:

  # Static assets served by Caddy → caddy CT
  scp static/toolbar.js static/manifest.json static/icon-*.png caddy:/opt/sethmux/
  
  # ttyd index + notify-server → steel141 (this host)
  sudo cp static/index.html /opt/sethmux/
  sudo cp notify-server.py /opt/sethmux/
  

  No daemon restart needed for static-asset changes. Restart sethmux.service (steel141) only when changing ttyd args or index.html.

Deferred / Rejected

• Forking xterm.js to handle inputType: insertReplacementText events. Considered as the "real" fix for mobile autocorrect. Rejected because compose-bar approach is smaller, preserves upstream xterm.js, and is more obviously correct (one-shot string send vs. interleaved IME state machine).

• inputmode="none" on the helper textarea ("nuclear option" from AUTOCOMPLETE_FIX.md). Considered if mobile keyboard autocorrect still corrupts xterm input despite hardening. Rejected for now because it would fully disable the soft keyboard, requiring a separate toggle UX. The compose bar gives users the autocorrect surface they actually want without removing per-keystroke typing.