| Single test | `npm test -- test/<file>.test.ts` (or `npx vitest run --config config/vitest.config.ts test/<file>.test.ts`) — ⚠ **never** run bare `npm test`, see Testing section |
**NEVER COM without verifying your changes actually work.** For every fix:
1.**Backend changes**: Hit the API endpoint with `curl` and verify the response
2.**Frontend changes**: Use Playwright to load the page and assert the UI renders correctly. Use `waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded'` (not `networkidle` — SSE keeps the connection open). Wait 3-4s for polling/async data to populate, then check element visibility, text content, and CSS values
3.**Only after verification passes**, proceed with COM
The production server caches static files for 1 year, `immutable` (`maxAge: '1y'` in `server.ts`). To avoid stale frontend after a deploy, `renderIndexHtml` runs `cacheBustAssets(html)` — it appends `?v=<mtime>` to **every same-origin `.js`/`.css`** reference (mtime memoized ~1s so a burst of renders is cheap; external/already-versioned/missing refs untouched). Because `index.html` is served `no-cache`, a **normal reload now picks up edited modules/styles — no hard refresh needed** (the gesture bundle is injected separately with its own `?v=`). If you add an asset referenced by an *absolute* URL or from JS rather than a `<script>/<link>` tag, it won't be auto-busted.
3. **Consume the changeset**: `npm run version-packages` (auto-bumps `package.json` files, updates `CHANGELOG.md`, runs `npm install --package-lock-only`, and verifies lockfile sync via `scripts/check-lockfile-sync.mjs` — all in one command; never hand-edit `CHANGELOG.md` or `package-lock.json` versions)
4. **Sync CLAUDE.md version**: Update the `**Version**` line below to match the new version from `package.json`
5. **Commit and deploy**: `git add -A && git commit -m "chore: version packages" && git push && npm run build && systemctl --user restart codeman-web`
6. **Wait for CI**: after `git push`, find the run with `gh run list -L 1 --json databaseId,headBranch -q '.[0].databaseId'` and watch it with `gh run watch <id> --exit-status`. Confirm all checks pass before considering the release done.
Codeman is a Claude Code session manager with web interface and autonomous Ralph Loop. Spawns Claude CLI via PTY, streams via SSE, supports respawn cycling for 24+ hour autonomous runs.
**Tech Stack**: TypeScript (ES2022/NodeNext, strict mode), Node.js, Fastify, node-pty, xterm.js. Supports both Claude Code and OpenCode AI CLIs via pluggable CLI resolvers.
`npm run dev` = dev server. Default port: `3000` (override with `--port` or the `CODEMAN_PORT` env var). To run this beta isolated alongside a prod Codeman, use `scripts/run-beta.sh` (sets `CODEMAN_INSTANCE=beta` + `CODEMAN_PORT=5000`). Commands not in Quick Reference:
| Override window title hostname | `npx tsx src/index.ts web --title-hostname <name>` (default: `os.hostname()` — `codeman:<name>` is used for tab title, title-flash, and OS desktop notification prefix) |
| Bind a non-loopback host | `npx tsx src/index.ts web --host 0.0.0.0` (or `-H`; env `CODEMAN_HOST`; default `127.0.0.1`). Without `CODEMAN_PASSWORD` it **starts but warns loudly** — see Common Gotchas + `docs/security-architecture.md` |
**CI**: `.github/workflows/ci.yml` runs `check:lockfile`, `typecheck`, `lint`, `format:check`, then a **server boot smoke test** (`tsx src/index.ts web --port 3151` must answer `/api/status` within 30s) on push to master/main and on PRs (Node 22). The unit test suite is excluded (it spawns tmux).
- **Global regex `lastIndex`** — Shared `g`-flag patterns in loops must reset `lastIndex = 0` first, or use the `execPattern()` helper in `utils/regex-patterns.ts` (resets automatically)
- **`envOverrides` flow `CLAUDE_CODE_*` / `OPENCODE_*` env vars** — Set via `POST /api/sessions { envOverrides }`, stored on `Session._envOverrides`, exported by `tmux-manager.buildEnvExports()` at spawn time, persisted in `SessionState.envOverrides`. **Do NOT** write these to `<case>/.claude/settings.local.json` — that's the old path and creates UI/disk drift
- **Effort is NOT an env var** — never carry effort as `CLAUDE_CODE_EFFORT_LEVEL`: the env var hard-locks effort and blocks in-session `/effort` switching (incl. ultracode). It flows as the dedicated `effort` payload field → `Session._effort` → `claude --effort <level>` for regular levels incl. `max` (the settings `effortLevel` key is `enum(["low","medium","high","xhigh"]).catch(undefined)` — `max` gets SILENTLY dropped there), or `claude --settings '{"ultracode":true}'` for ultracode (rejected by `--effort`). Both are soft defaults the user can override anytime. Legacy env-var entries are auto-migrated by the Session constructor and unset from tmux sessions in `applyEnvOverrides()`. See `buildEffortCliArgs()` in `session-cli-builder.ts`, tests in `test/effort-injection.test.ts`
- **Dual-CLI prefix discipline** — Codeman supports both Claude Code and OpenCode (`claude-cli-resolver.ts` / `opencode-cli-resolver.ts`); env-var prefix is CLI-specific (`CLAUDE_CODE_*` vs `OPENCODE_*`) and the allowlist in `schemas.ts` enforces this. When adding settings, decide which CLI(s) it applies to and gate the env export accordingly — don't blindly forward both prefixes. See `docs/opencode-integration.md` for the OpenCode resolver design
- **Zod `.optional()` rejects `null`** — accepts `undefined` only. When the frontend builds a request body with `JSON.stringify`, an explicit `null` field is preserved on the wire and fails validation with `INVALID_INPUT`. Convert `null` → `undefined` before stringifying (e.g. `field: value ?? undefined`), or declare the schema `.nullish()`. Real bugs caused: 0.6.4 (`durationMinutes` for ∞ respawn), and the same shape pattern hit `opusContext1mEnabled` in 0.6.3
- **`xterm-zerolag-input` is duplicated** — the local-echo overlay lives in BOTH `packages/xterm-zerolag-input/src/` (published to npm as a standalone library for external consumers — see README "Published Packages") AND inline inside `src/web/public/app.js` (runtime copy the web UI actually loads, since the page ships as plain JS without a bundler). Any change to overlay behavior MUST be applied to both, or dev and prod diverge — and a public API break in the package warrants a separate version bump for `xterm-zerolag-input` in the changeset. Always test on mobile after touching it. See `docs/local-echo-overlay-plan.md`.
- **Default bind is loopback-only; non-loopback without a password starts but warns** — since COD-29 (PR #107) the web server defaults to `--host 127.0.0.1` (was `0.0.0.0`). As of **0.9.0** binding a non-loopback host (`--host`/`-H`/`CODEMAN_HOST`) without `CODEMAN_PASSWORD` **no longer refuses to start — it starts and prints a loud warning** listing the fixes (set `CODEMAN_PASSWORD`, bind loopback + tunnel/`tailscale serve`, or `--allow-unauthenticated-network` / `CODEMAN_ALLOW_UNAUTHENTICATED_NETWORK=1` to acknowledge → terser note). Host classification is `isLoopbackBindHost()` in `network-auth-policy.ts`; the warn-vs-start logic is in `server.ts` `start()`; flags wired in `cli.ts`. ⚠️ Operational note: the production systemd unit runs `node dist/index.js web --https` with no `--host`, so it binds **localhost only** — reach it remotely via `tailscale serve`/tunnel to `127.0.0.1`, or add `Environment=CODEMAN_HOST=0.0.0.0` + `Environment=CODEMAN_PASSWORD=…` to `~/.config/systemd/user/codeman-web.service`. A loopback bind is reachable through a same-host tunnel (cloudflared/tailscale → `127.0.0.1`) but NOT by a browser hitting the box's LAN IP. Auth user defaults to `admin`. **Full model: `docs/security-architecture.md`.**
- **Instance isolation / multi-instance attach danger** — data dir (`~/.codeman`) and tmux socket (`tmux -L codeman`) are PROCESS-WIDE and shared by every Codeman on the machine, derived from `CODEMAN_INSTANCE` via `src/config/instance.ts` (`getDataDir()`/`dataPath()`/`DEFAULT_TMUX_SOCKET`). ⚠️ A 2nd instance on the SAME socket **discovers and attaches PTYs to the first instance's live sessions** (`tmux -L codeman attach-session …`), resizing/mutating them — `$HOME` isolation is NOT enough (tmux is system-global). To run two instances, give each a distinct `CODEMAN_INSTANCE` (scopes BOTH dir+socket: `~/.codeman-<name>` + `-L codeman-<name>`), or set `CODEMAN_TMUX_SOCKET` + `CODEMAN_DATA_DIR` individually. **`CODEMAN_INSTANCE` defaults to empty = the production layout (`~/.codeman`, `-L codeman`, port 3000)**, so this branch is safe to ship to master without disturbing existing installs. To run THIS beta alongside prod, launch with `scripts/run-beta.sh` (`CODEMAN_INSTANCE=beta` + `CODEMAN_PORT=5000`) — it never collides with prod's data dir/socket/port. Any new `~/.codeman/...` path MUST go through `dataPath()`, never `join(homedir(), '.codeman', …)`.
★ = Large file (>50KB). All files have `@fileoverview` JSDoc — read that before diving in. Discovery aid: `grep -l '@fileoverview' src/web/routes/*.ts` lists all route modules; same grep works for `src/types/`, `src/web/public/*.js`.
**Local packages**: `packages/xterm-zerolag-input/` — local echo overlay for xterm.js; copy embedded in `app.js`. `packages/gesture-control/` (`codeman-gesture-control`) — hand-tracking overlay source; built to `src/web/public/gesture/gesture-codeman.js` via `npm run build:gesture` (see Frontend → Gesture control).
**Orchestrator**: State machine that turns a user goal into a phased plan and drives it to completion: `idle → planning → approval → executing → verifying → (replanning) → completed/failed`. `OrchestratorLoop` (engine) delegates plan generation to `orchestrator-planner` and per-phase verification gates to `orchestrator-verifier`, executing phases via team agents/`task-queue`. State persists under the `orchestrator` key in `state.json`. Distinct from Ralph (single-session autonomous loop) — orchestrator coordinates multi-phase, multi-agent execution. See `docs/orchestrator-loop-architecture.md`.
**Agent Teams**: `TeamWatcher` polls `~/.claude/teams/`, matches to sessions via `leadSessionId`. Teammates are in-process threads appearing as subagents. Enable: `CLAUDE_CODE_EXPERIMENTAL_AGENT_TEAMS=1`. See `docs/agent-teams/`.
**Self-update** (App Settings → Updates): in-app updater for **git-clone installs** supervised by systemd/launchd. The update restarts the very process running it, so the real work runs in a DETACHED `scripts/self-update.sh` (`git checkout <release tag> && npm install && npm run build && restart`) that outlives the restart; it writes progress to `dataPath('update-status.json')`, which the browser polls across the connection drop. Channel = latest `codeman@X.Y.Z` release tag; dirty trees are auto-stashed. `src/web/self-update.ts` splits PURE helpers (semver/tag parsing, reconcile decision — unit-tested) from IO wrappers (`getInstallInfo`/`checkForUpdate`/`startUpdate`/`reconcileUpdateOnBoot`). Routes: `GET /api/system/update/check`, `POST /api/system/update`, `GET /api/system/update/status`. Types: `src/types/update.ts`. npm installs report as non-updatable.
**Multi-monitor button** (header, top-right; the notification bell it sits beside stays hidden — notifications live in Settings → Notifications). `app.launchMultiMonitor()` (in `panels-ui.js`) POSTs `/api/system/span-displays`, which spawns `scripts/span-codeman.sh` — a fresh, maximized browser `--app` window sized to the union of all displays (macOS; needs "Displays have separate Spaces" OFF). Supports the gesture layer's in-page floating session panels dragging across the physical monitor seam. **Opt-in:** hidden by default; enable under App Settings → Display → **Header Displays** ("Multi-monitor Button", `showMultiMonitorButton`). The button carries a `btn-multimonitor--hidden` class in the template; `renderIndexHtml` strips that class at render when the setting is on (a unique class token, not a brittle match on the aria-label/style copy), and `applyHeaderVisibilitySettings()` toggles the same class live on save. Solo (detached) windows hide it via `body.solo-mode`.
**Gesture control** (the camera hand-tracking overlay) is **opt-in, default OFF**, under App Settings → Display → **Input** (`gestureControlEnabled`). `CODEMAN_GESTURE=1` makes the feature *available* on the instance (CSP widening + `/gesture/` assets) and sets `window.__codemanGestureAvailable` (the Input section only shows when set); the overlay bundle is injected by `renderIndexHtml` **only when the setting is enabled**, so that method is `async` and reads `settings.json` via `readSettings(true)` — the `true` forces a **fresh** read (bypassing the 2s `_settingsCache`), because a post-save reload happens within that TTL and the cached value would otherwise render the pre-toggle state. Toggling the setting reloads the page (the bundle is render-injected).
**Gesture-control source lives in-repo** at `packages/gesture-control/` (workspace package `codeman-gesture-control`, was the standalone `Ark0N/codeman-gesture-control` repo). The transport-agnostic core is `src/gesture/*` (MediaPipe GestureRecognizer → One-Euro-filtered cursor → pinch state machine); `src/codeman/entry.ts` is the Codeman *consumer* that maps grab/drag/drop onto real `.session-tab`/toolbar buttons and is the bundle entry. **Edit there, then run `npm run build:gesture`** (`scripts/build-gesture-bundle.mjs` → esbuild bundles `entry.ts`, MediaPipe JS included, into `src/web/public/gesture/gesture-codeman.js`) and **commit the regenerated bundle** — the committed bundle is what dev/`tsx` serves (no bundler at runtime), and `scripts/build.mjs` reruns the same step so prod always reflects current source. The MediaPipe **wasm + model** are NOT bundled — loaded at runtime from same-origin `/gesture/wasm` + `/gesture/gesture_recognizer.task`, fetched by `scripts/fetch-gesture-assets.mjs` (gitignored, see Gotchas). `entry.ts` mounts `window.__codemanGesture = new GestureBridge()` idempotently at module-eval. A standalone vite playground (`npm run dev` in the package — fake tabs, no Codeman) lets you iterate on gesture *feel* in isolation. ⚠️ Keep `MP_VERSION` in `fetch-gesture-assets.mjs` in sync with `@mediapipe/tasks-vision` in `packages/gesture-control/package.json`.
| **Auth** | Optional HTTP Basic via `CODEMAN_USERNAME` (defaults to `admin`) / `CODEMAN_PASSWORD` env vars. Active only when `CODEMAN_PASSWORD` is set (`middleware/auth.ts`) |
| **Network bind** | Defaults to `127.0.0.1` (loopback). A non-loopback bind (`--host`/`CODEMAN_HOST`) without `CODEMAN_PASSWORD` **starts but warns loudly** (0.9.0; was fail-closed in COD-29/#107). `--allow-unauthenticated-network` / `CODEMAN_ALLOW_UNAUTHENTICATED_NETWORK=1` acknowledges the warning. Classifier: `network-auth-policy.ts` |
| **Host guard** | Always-on Host-header allowlist blocks DNS rebinding (RCE on the default no-auth loopback install). Allows loopback, any IP literal, the bind host, `*.ts.net`/`*.trycloudflare.com`/`*.cfargotunnel.com`, the active managed tunnel, and `CODEMAN_ALLOWED_HOSTS`. ⚠️ **Custom reverse-proxy domains are rejected** unless added via `CODEMAN_ALLOWED_HOSTS=host,.suffix`. `registerHostGuard` in `server.ts`; policy in `network-auth-policy.ts` (`buildHostPolicy`/`isAllowedRequestHost`/`isAllowedRequestOrigin`) |
| **CSRF / Origin** | Always-on cross-site Origin guard rejects state-changing requests from foreign origins (covers self-update, session create/input, settings/tunnel toggles). **A missing Origin is allowed** so curl/CLI and Claude Code hooks keep working. The global body parser keeps `text/plain` RAW (no auto-JSON-parse, which had enabled simple-request CSRF); `/api/crash-diag` self-parses. WebSocket upgrade validates Origin+Host (anti-CSWSH) in `ws-routes.ts`. Added in `c669518` (closes 2026-06-09 review CRITICALs) |
- **API endpoint**: Types in `src/types/` domain file, route in `src/web/routes/*-routes.ts`, use `createErrorResponse()`. Validate with Zod schemas in `schemas.ts`.
- **SSE event**: Add to `src/web/sse-events.ts` + `SSE_EVENTS` in `constants.js`, emit via `broadcast()`, handle in `app.js` (`addListener(`)
- **Session setting**: Add to `SessionState`, include in `session.toState()`, call `persistSessionState()`
- **Hook event**: Add to `HookEventType`, add hook in `hooks-config.ts:generateHooksConfig()`, update `HookEventSchema`
- **Mobile feature**: Add to relevant singleton, guard with `MobileDetection.isMobile()`
**CRITICAL: You are running inside a Codeman-managed tmux session.** Never run `npx vitest run` (full suite) — it spawns/kills tmux sessions and will crash your own session. Only run individual files:
**Respawn tests**: Use `MockSession` from `test/respawn-test-utils.ts`. **Route tests**: `app.inject({ method, url, payload })` in `test/routes/` — no live port needed. **Mobile tests**: Playwright suite in `test/mobile/` (135 device profiles).
Target: 20 sessions, 50 agent windows at 60fps. Limits in `src/config/`: terminal 2MB, text 1MB, messages 1000, max agents 500, max sessions 50, max SSE clients 100. Use `LRUMap` for bounded caches, `StaleExpirationMap` for TTL cleanup. Anti-flicker pipeline: `docs/terminal-anti-flicker.md`.
**Memory leaks (24+ hour sessions)**: use `CleanupManager`, clear Maps in `stop()`, guard async with `if (this.cleanup.isStopped) return`. Frontend: store handler refs, clean in `close*()`. Verify: `npm test -- test/memory-leak-prevention.test.ts`.
Key scripts: `scripts/tmux-manager.sh` (safe tmux mgmt), `scripts/tunnel.sh start|stop|url` (tunnel). Production services: `scripts/codeman-web.service`, `scripts/codeman-tunnel.service`. **Always set `CODEMAN_PASSWORD`** before exposing via tunnel.
