fix: robust WebSocket reconnection after daemon restart

Matthias Nott

2026-03-08 6cbe1fb2618af557262a8717c494e7958494bf2d

fix: robust WebSocket reconnection after daemon restart

- Add 5s connection timeout per attempt (prevents hanging on unreachable URLs)
- Always try local URL first on reconnect (daemon restarts are local)
- Add "reconnecting" status so UI shows yellow dot instead of red during auto-reconnect
- Track wasConnected/reconnectAttempt for smarter retry logic
- Clean up connectTimer in cleanup()

 app/settings.tsx
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@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@
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   }, [host, localHost, port, macAddress, saveServerConfig]);
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   const handleConnect = useCallback(() => {
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-    if (status === "connected" || status === "connecting") {
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+    if (status === "connected" || status === "connecting" || status === "reconnecting") {
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       disconnect();
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     } else {
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       connect();
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@@ -155,6 +155,8 @@
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                       ? "Connected"
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                       : status === "connecting"
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                       ? "Connecting..."
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+                      : status === "reconnecting"
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+                      ? "Reconnecting..."
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                       : "Disconnected"}
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                   </Text>
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                 </View>
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@@ -349,8 +351,8 @@
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                 >
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                   {status === "connected"
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                     ? "Disconnect"
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-                    : status === "connecting"
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-                    ? "Connecting..."
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+                    : status === "connecting" || status === "reconnecting"
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+                    ? "Reconnecting..."
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                     : "Connect"}
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                 </Text>
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               </Pressable>
 components/ui/StatusDot.tsx
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@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
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       ? "#22c55e"
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       : status === "compacting"
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       ? "#3b82f6"
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-      : status === "connecting"
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+      : status === "connecting" || status === "reconnecting"
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       ? "#eab308"
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       : "#ef4444";
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 contexts/ConnectionContext.tsx
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@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@
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     wsClient.setCallbacks({
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       onOpen: () => setStatus("connected"),
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       onClose: () => setStatus("disconnected"),
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+      onReconnecting: () => setStatus("reconnecting"),
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       onError: () => setStatus("disconnected"),
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       onMessage: (data) => {
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         const msg = data as unknown as WsIncoming;
 services/websocket.ts
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@@ -4,12 +4,14 @@
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 type WebSocketMessage = Record<string, unknown>;
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 type MessageCallback = (data: WebSocketMessage) => void;
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 type StatusCallback = () => void;
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+type ReconnectCallback = (attempt: number) => void;
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 type ErrorCallback = (error: Event) => void;
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 interface WebSocketClientOptions {
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   onMessage?: MessageCallback;
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   onOpen?: StatusCallback;
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   onClose?: StatusCallback;
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+  onReconnecting?: ReconnectCallback;
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   onError?: ErrorCallback;
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 }
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@@ -17,6 +19,7 @@
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 const MAX_RECONNECT_DELAY = 30000;
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 const RECONNECT_MULTIPLIER = 2;
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 const LOCAL_TIMEOUT = 2500;
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+const CONNECT_TIMEOUT = 5000; // max time for any single connection attempt
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 const HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL = 30000; // 30s ping to detect zombie sockets
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 export class WebSocketClient {
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@@ -25,11 +28,14 @@
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   private urlIndex: number = 0;
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   private reconnectDelay: number = INITIAL_RECONNECT_DELAY;
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   private reconnectTimer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null = null;
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+  private connectTimer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null = null;
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   private localTimer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null = null;
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   private heartbeatTimer: ReturnType<typeof setInterval> | null = null;
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   private lastMessageAt: number = 0; // timestamp of last received message (any type)
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   private shouldReconnect: boolean = false;
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   private connected: boolean = false;
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+  private wasConnected: boolean = false; // true if we ever connected (for reconnect logic)
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+  private reconnectAttempt: number = 0;
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   private callbacks: WebSocketClientOptions = {};
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   constructor() {
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@@ -68,6 +74,7 @@
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   private cleanup() {
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     if (this.localTimer) { clearTimeout(this.localTimer); this.localTimer = null; }
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     if (this.reconnectTimer) { clearTimeout(this.reconnectTimer); this.reconnectTimer = null; }
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+    if (this.connectTimer) { clearTimeout(this.connectTimer); this.connectTimer = null; }
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     this.stopHeartbeat();
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     if (this.ws) {
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       const old = this.ws;
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@@ -139,9 +146,22 @@
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       }, LOCAL_TIMEOUT);
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     }
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+    // Timeout: if this connection attempt doesn't succeed within CONNECT_TIMEOUT,
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+    // treat it as failed. Prevents hanging on unreachable remote URLs.
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+    this.connectTimer = setTimeout(() => {
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+      this.connectTimer = null;
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+      if (ws === this.ws && !this.connected) {
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+        // Force close and let onclose trigger reconnect
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+        try { ws.close(); } catch { /* ignore */ }
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+      }
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+    }, CONNECT_TIMEOUT);
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+
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     ws.onopen = () => {
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       if (ws !== this.ws) return; // stale
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+      if (this.connectTimer) { clearTimeout(this.connectTimer); this.connectTimer = null; }
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       this.connected = true;
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+      this.wasConnected = true;
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+      this.reconnectAttempt = 0;
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       if (this.localTimer) { clearTimeout(this.localTimer); this.localTimer = null; }
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       this.reconnectDelay = INITIAL_RECONNECT_DELAY;
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       this.startHeartbeat();
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@@ -178,15 +198,19 @@
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   private scheduleReconnect() {
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     if (this.reconnectTimer) clearTimeout(this.reconnectTimer);
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+    this.reconnectAttempt++;
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+    // Signal reconnecting state to UI so it shows yellow/orange, not red
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+    this.callbacks.onReconnecting?.(this.reconnectAttempt);
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     this.reconnectTimer = setTimeout(() => {
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       this.reconnectTimer = null;
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       this.reconnectDelay = Math.min(
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         this.reconnectDelay * RECONNECT_MULTIPLIER,
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         MAX_RECONNECT_DELAY
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       );
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-      // Alternate between URLs on each reconnect attempt
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+      // Always try local first (daemon restarts are local), then remote on retry
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       if (this.urls.length > 1) {
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-        this.urlIndex = this.urlIndex === 0 ? 1 : 0;
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+        // First attempt: local. Second: remote. Then alternate.
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+        this.urlIndex = this.reconnectAttempt % 2 === 1 ? 0 : 1;
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       }
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       this.tryUrl();
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     }, this.reconnectDelay);
 types/index.ts
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@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
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   macAddress?: string;
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 }
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-export type ConnectionStatus = "disconnected" | "connecting" | "connected" | "compacting";
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+export type ConnectionStatus = "disconnected" | "connecting" | "reconnecting" | "connected" | "compacting";
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 // --- WebSocket protocol ---
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