# ConPTY interactive sessions & launch specs

> **Explore-note — verify before trusting.** Distilled map of a subsystem, not authoritative.
> Last verified against commit `aac84e4` (2026-08-06).
> Drift check: `git log --oneline bdee731..HEAD -- src/ClaudeDo.Worker/Planning src/ClaudeDo.Worker/Hub src/ClaudeDo.Worker/Runner/ClaudeArgsBuilder.cs src/ClaudeDo.Ui/ViewModels/MissionControlViewModel.cs src/ClaudeDo.Ui/Views/InteractiveTerminalView.axaml`
> Stable structure only (no line numbers). See docs/explore-notes/README.md.

Covers `InteractiveLaunchSpecService` and the four kinds of embedded ConPTY session the UI
process hosts (real `claude` TUI in a Mission Control tile).

Autonomous queue tasks are **not** covered here — they stay on the stream-json path via
`TaskRunner`. See [worker-task-pipeline.md](worker-task-pipeline.md).

## The four session kinds

| Kind | Hub spec method | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Task session | `GetInteractiveLaunchSpec` | Effort from the task/list model preset |
| Ad-hoc | `GetAdHocLaunchSpec` | Effort from the global default |
| Planning | (planning start/resume) | Effort from `PlanningAlias`; uses `--permission-mode default`, **not** `plan` |
| List handler | `GetMergeHelperLaunchSpec` | Effort from list config; `--permission-mode auto` (unattended) |

## ⚠️ Gotcha: never pass task free-text as a CLI argument

**No ConPTY path ever passes task free-text (title / description / brief) as a CLI argument.**
Every one of them writes it to a file first and hands `claude` a single-line kickoff pointing at
that file, exposed via `--add-dir`.

Two independent reasons:

1. The ConPTY host flattens `Args` into **one command line** to spawn the process, and `claude`
   re-splits that line on whitespace. Any token starting with `-` in real task text (e.g. `->`,
   `--abort`) is then misread as an unknown option.
2. A raw multi-line positional prompt truncates at its **first newline** regardless.

A fresh task session's brief lives at `~/.todo-app/task-sessions/<taskId>/brief.md`
(`InteractiveLaunchSpecService.BuildFreshTaskArgsAsync`). A task with neither title nor
description skips the file **and** the positional arg entirely.

## Argument ordering

Every spec passes `--effort <level>` from the relevant model's preset. It **leads** the args —
except for a fresh task session with a brief, where `--add-dir <sessionDir>` must come first so
`--effort` (a single-value flag) can sit directly before the positional kickoff.

`--model` is deliberately **NOT** forced on an interactive session — the user can still switch
models in the TUI.

## List handler ("Let Claude handle it")

`BuildForMergeHelperAsync` uses `--permission-mode auto` so it runs unattended. The
`--allowedTools` allowlist is the security boundary:
`mcp__claudedo__*,Read,Grep,Glob,Edit,Bash,WebFetch,WebSearch,Skill`.

`MCP_TOOL_TIMEOUT` is 200 s here — `TaskWaitMcpTools` clamps its own timeout to 170 s to stay
comfortably under it (see [external-mcp.md](external-mcp.md)).

### The host task and its commit range

The handler run **owns a real ClaudeDo task**, created by `CreateMergeHelperTask` (hub) →
`InteractiveLaunchSpecService.CreateMergeHelperTaskAsync`, called by the UI *before* it opens
the tile:

- One new task per run in that list, `Idle` + `IsManual=true` (never queued).
- Title/description localized via `missionControl.mergeHelperTaskTitle` /
  `mergeHelperTaskDescriptionHeader`.
- `TaskEntity.HandlerBaseCommit` stamped to the list repo's current HEAD.

The host task **never gets a worktree of its own** — the handler commits straight into the
list's working dir and merges the tasks it handles itself. Consequences:

- `SubmitTaskForReview` branches on whether the task has a `WorktreeEntity`: with one, it
  commits the worktree; without one, it stamps `HandlerHeadCommit` to the list repo's current
  HEAD. Both paths then flip the task `Idle`/`Failed` → `WaitingForReview`.
- `GetTaskDiff` and the UI's `DetailsIslandViewModel` / `MergeSectionViewModel` fall back to the
  `HandlerBaseCommit`..`HandlerHeadCommit` range whenever `Worktree` is null.

### UI flow

`MergeHelperSelectionModalViewModel` — checkbox picker over one list's non-terminal, non-manual
tasks, pre-ticking the actionable ones. **List-scoped only** (`Configure(listId, listName)`, no
global scope). Opened from the list row's context menu, which is hidden when the list has no
working dir.

On confirm: `ListsIslandViewModel` raises `LetClaudeHandleRequested` → shell →
`MissionControlViewModel.OpenMergeHelperConPtySessionAsync`, which calls
`CreateMergeHelperTaskAsync` and then opens a **task-based** tile (deduped by `TaskId` like
`OpenConPtySessionAsync`, **not** `CreateAdHoc`) running the five-phase handler prompt.

## Tile lifecycle

`ConPtyPaneViewModel` resolves its own launch spec — the ctor takes a descriptor **factory**,
the host wires handlers and then calls `Start()`. So the tile appears **immediately** with its
spinner while the worker is still preparing the worktree. A failed launch keeps the tile with an
inline error banner instead of the tile never appearing.

### ⚠️ Gotcha: the terminal library kills its child on visual-tree detach

`Iciclecreek.Avalonia.Terminal`'s `TerminalView.OnDetachedFromLogicalTree` calls
`CleanupProcess()` (kills the PTY child) unless `BeginReparent()` suppressed it — and Mission
Control detaches pane views routinely (`RebuildOverviewGrid` recreates everything on any pane
add/remove/column change; focus-mode tab switches re-present content). Two-part defense (since
`aac84e4`):

1. `PtyTerminalSession.StartAsync` puts the control in **permanent reparent mode** right after
   `LaunchProcess()` — `EndReparent` is deliberately never called. Teardown is explicit only:
   `ConPtyPaneViewModel.Dispose` → `Terminal.Kill()` (pane close, VM disposal via DI on exit).
2. `ConPtyPaneHost` (the DataTemplate content for a pane) reparents **one long-lived
   `ConPtyPaneView` per pane VM** (`ConditionalWeakTable`, view pins its own `DataContext`)
   instead of letting the template instantiate a fresh view — a fresh view would render a dead,
   empty terminal because the running session is bound to the original `TerminalControl`.
   Hosts only steal the view while `IsEffectivelyVisible`; the layout toggle posts a reclaim
   pass (`MissionControlView.ReclaimVisiblePaneHosts`) so the now-visible layout re-steals.

`Ellipse.spinner` (IslandStyles) is the shared indeterminate spinner — used for a starting pane
(`InteractiveTerminalViewModel.IsStarting`) and in place of the refine button while
`TaskRowViewModel.IsRefining`.

## Focus / key handling

`InteractiveTerminalView` lives in `MissionControlWindow`, so the `FocusClearing` Escape handler
(scoped to `MainWindow` via `AddClassHandler<MainWindow>`) never runs there — **Escape always
reaches the PTY**. See the note in `src/ClaudeDo.Ui/CLAUDE.md`.

`TaskRowViewModel.HasInteractiveSession` shows an accent "Interactive" chip instead of "Parked";
tapping it jumps to that Mission Control pane. `TasksIslandViewModel.SyncInteractiveSessions`
mirrors Mission Control's open panes onto the rows.

## System-prompt matrix (autonomous vs. interactive)

Autonomous and interactive sessions do **not** share a system prompt. Per start path:

| Start path | Entry point | System prompt |
|---|---|---|
| Autonomous run/continue/retry | `TaskRunner.ResolveConfigAsync` → `ClaudeArgsBuilder.Build` | `--append-system-prompt <text>`, recomputed and re-sent on **every** invocation including a `--resume` continue (`PromptKind.System` + improvement/list/task overrides) |
| Interactive task session, fresh | `InteractiveLaunchSpecService.BuildForTaskAsync` → `BuildFreshTaskArgsAsync` | none — no `--append-system-prompt(-file)` at all |
| Interactive task session, resume | `InteractiveLaunchSpecService.BuildForTaskAsync` → `WindowsTerminalLauncher.BuildResumeArgs` | none — only `--resume <id>` (+ `--effort`) |
| Ad-hoc directory session | `InteractiveLaunchSpecService.BuildForDirectoryAsync` | none |
| Planning session start | `InteractiveLaunchSpecService.BuildPlanningStart` → `WindowsTerminalLauncher.BuildPlanningStartArgs` | `--append-system-prompt-file <path>` (`PromptKind.Planning`) |
| Planning session resume | `InteractiveLaunchSpecService.BuildPlanningResume` → `WindowsTerminalLauncher.BuildPlanningResumeArgs` | none — only `--permission-mode default --allowedTools <planning allowlist> --resume <id>` |
| List handler ("Let Claude handle it") | `InteractiveLaunchSpecService.BuildForMergeHelperAsync` | `--append-system-prompt-file <path>` (`PromptKind.MergeHelper`), always fresh — this path never resumes |

So every interactive resume (task session and planning) drops the system prompt entirely — it's
not that they inherit the autonomous one, it's that **no** `claude` process on any resume path
ever passes `--append-system-prompt(-file)`.

### Does `--resume` bring back a prior `--append-system-prompt`? No.

Checked by reading real session transcripts (`~/.claude/projects/<cwd>/<sessionId>.jsonl`) for
several autonomous ClaudeDo task runs, including ones with multiple invocations (initial run +
`ContinueAsync`/retry on the same session id, confirmed via that project's `task_runs` history).
Grepped for the `PromptKind.System` default text ("You are completing one well-defined task
autonomously...") and for any `"type":"system"` entry or `message.role == "system"` anywhere in
those files: the prompt text only ever showed up as ordinary tool-result content (e.g. a task
that happened to read `PromptFiles.cs`'s own source), never as a persisted system/config entry.
No session transcript — autonomous or interactive — carries a system-role message or a
per-session record of the CLI flags it was launched with; there is no sidecar file next to the
`.jsonl` either. The system prompt is purely a per-process request parameter the CLI builds fresh
from that invocation's own flags, never replayed from a resumed session's history. This matches
why `TaskRunner.ContinueAsync` (autonomous) explicitly re-resolves and re-passes
`--append-system-prompt` on every continue instead of relying on `--resume` to carry it —
if inheritance worked, that re-resolution would be redundant.

**Conclusion: no leak.** An interactive resume (task or planning) does not pick up the autonomous
run's `--append-system-prompt` text — including the "commit your work" / `CLAUDEDO_BLOCKED`
instructions from `PromptKind.System`. It simply runs with the `claude` CLI's own baseline system
prompt, same as every other path in this table that passes no system-prompt flag. No code change
needed here.

## Related hub methods

`GetInteractiveLaunchSpec`, `GetAdHocLaunchSpec`, `GetMergeHelperLaunchSpec`,
`CreateMergeHelperTask`, `SubmitTaskForReview`.

Planning sessions: `StartPlanningSession`, `ResumePlanningSession`, `DiscardPlanningSession`,
`FinalizePlanningSession`, `QueuePlanningSubtasks`, `GetPendingDraftCount`,
`GetPlanningAggregate`, `BuildPlanningIntegrationBranch`.