fix(desktop): autofocus message composer on channel/thread open (#572)

Signed-off-by: Tyler Longwell <109685178+tlongwell-block@users.noreply.github.com>

desktop/scripts/check-file-sizes.mjs

@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ const overrides = new Map([
   ["src/features/channels/ui/ChannelScreen.tsx", 550], // profile panel state + mutual exclusion wiring + ProfilePanelProvider context + agent typing classification
   ["src/features/notifications/hooks.ts", 535], // notification settings + feed notification lifecycle + profile batch resolution + truncated-pubkey guard + badge state
   ["src/features/messages/hooks.ts", 500], // message query/mutation hooks + optimistic updates
-  ["src/features/messages/ui/MessageComposer.tsx", 700], // media upload handlers (paste, drop, dialog) + channelId reset effect + edit mode (pre-fill, save, cancel, escape)
+  ["src/features/messages/ui/MessageComposer.tsx", 710], // media upload handlers (paste, drop, dialog) + channelId reset effect + edit mode (pre-fill, save, cancel, escape) + autofocus on mount/channel switch
   ["src/features/settings/ui/SettingsView.tsx", 600],
   ["src/features/sidebar/ui/AppSidebar.tsx", 860], // channels + forums creation forms + Pulse nav
   ["src/shared/api/relayClientSession.ts", 930], // durable websocket session manager with reconnect/replay/recovery state + sendTypingIndicator + fetchChannelHistoryBefore + subscribeToChannelLive (huddle TTS) + subscribeToHuddleEvents (huddle indicator) + disconnect() for workspace switch teardown + fetchEvents/subscribeLive/publishEvent for NIP-RS read state + publishUserStatus/subscribeToUserStatusUpdates (NIP-38)

desktop/src/features/messages/lib/useComposerAutofocus.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+import * as React from "react";
+
+/**
+ * Focus the composer editor on mount and whenever the active draft key
+ * changes (channel switch, thread open).
+ *
+ * Matches the behaviour of Slack/Discord/Signal: the composer is ready to
+ * accept typing without an explicit click. The `focus` callback is expected
+ * to no-op until the underlying editor is mounted, and to change identity
+ * once that happens — so listing it as a dep recovers from the
+ * editor-not-ready-yet case on first render.
+ *
+ * The effect trigger deliberately excludes `disabled`: callers pass a
+ * disabled flag that includes transient state like `isSending`, which would
+ * otherwise re-fire autofocus after every send. When the main channel and
+ * an open thread panel both have composers mounted, that race let the main
+ * composer steal focus from the thread composer post-send. We only autofocus
+ * on mount and on real navigation events (draft-key change).
+ *
+ * Guards:
+ *  - Skip if the composer is currently disabled (archived channel, no
+ *    channel, or in-flight send at the moment of mount).
+ *  - Skip if focus already lives in another text-entry surface (open
+ *    dialog input, search box, etc.) so we don't yank focus from the user.
+ */
+export function useComposerAutofocus(
+  focus: () => void,
+  draftKey: string | null | undefined,
+  disabled: boolean,
+) {
+  // We read `disabled` at execution time but intentionally don't depend on
+  // it — see the comment above.
+  const disabledRef = React.useRef(disabled);
+  disabledRef.current = disabled;
+
+  // biome-ignore lint/correctness/useExhaustiveDependencies: draftKey is the trigger; disabled is read via ref
+  React.useEffect(() => {
+    if (disabledRef.current) return;
+    if (typeof document === "undefined") return;
+    const active = document.activeElement as HTMLElement | null;
+    if (active && active !== document.body) {
+      const tag = active.tagName;
+      if (
+        tag === "INPUT" ||
+        tag === "TEXTAREA" ||
+        tag === "SELECT" ||
+        active.isContentEditable
+      ) {
+        return;
+      }
+    }
+    focus();
+  }, [draftKey, focus]);
+}

desktop/src/features/messages/ui/MessageComposer.tsx

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import * as React from "react";
 import { EditorContent } from "@tiptap/react";
 import { X } from "lucide-react";
 import { useChannelLinks } from "@/features/messages/lib/useChannelLinks";
+import { useComposerAutofocus } from "@/features/messages/lib/useComposerAutofocus";
 import type { ChannelSuggestion } from "@/features/messages/lib/useChannelLinks";
 import { useDrafts } from "@/features/messages/lib/useDrafts";
 import { useEmojiAutocomplete } from "@/features/messages/lib/useEmojiAutocomplete";
@@ -222,6 +223,9 @@ export function MessageComposer({
     richText.focus();
   }, [disabled, replyTarget, richText.focus]);
 
+  // ── Autofocus on mount / channel switch ─────────────────────────────
+  useComposerAutofocus(richText.focus, effectiveDraftKey, disabled);
+
   // ── Mention / channel autocomplete insertion ────────────────────────
   const applyMentionInsert = React.useCallback(
     (suggestion: MentionSuggestion) => {

desktop/tests/e2e/messaging.spec.ts

@@ -522,3 +522,114 @@ test("thread panel width uses session storage and reset handle", async ({
     })
     .toBe(defaultWidthPx);
 });
+
+test("composer is focused after selecting a channel", async ({ page }) => {
+  await page.goto("/");
+  await page.getByTestId("channel-general").click();
+  await expect(page.getByTestId("chat-title")).toHaveText("general");
+
+  // Without clicking the input, typing should land in the composer.
+  const input = page.getByTestId("message-input");
+  await expect(input).toBeFocused();
+
+  await page.keyboard.type("autofocus-on-channel-select");
+  await expect(input).toHaveText("autofocus-on-channel-select");
+});
+
+test("composer is focused after switching to a different channel", async ({
+  page,
+}) => {
+  await page.goto("/");
+  await page.getByTestId("channel-general").click();
+  await expect(page.getByTestId("chat-title")).toHaveText("general");
+
+  await page.getByTestId("channel-random").click();
+  await expect(page.getByTestId("chat-title")).toHaveText("random");
+
+  const input = page.getByTestId("message-input");
+  await expect(input).toBeFocused();
+});
+
+test("thread composer is focused after clicking the reply icon", async ({
+  page,
+}) => {
+  await page.goto("/");
+  await page.getByTestId("channel-general").click();
+  await expect(page.getByTestId("chat-title")).toHaveText("general");
+
+  // Seed a message to reply to.
+  const seed = `Thread autofocus seed ${Date.now()}`;
+  const mainInput = page.getByTestId("message-input");
+  await mainInput.fill(seed);
+  await page.getByTestId("send-message").click();
+  await expect(page.getByTestId("message-timeline")).toContainText(seed);
+
+  const rootMessage = page
+    .getByTestId("message-timeline")
+    .getByTestId("message-row")
+    .last();
+  await rootMessage.hover();
+  await rootMessage.getByRole("button", { name: "Reply" }).click();
+
+  const threadPanel = page.getByTestId("message-thread-panel");
+  await expect(threadPanel).toBeVisible();
+
+  const threadInput = threadPanel.getByTestId("message-input");
+  await expect(threadInput).toBeFocused();
+
+  await page.keyboard.type("typed-into-thread");
+  await expect(threadInput).toHaveText("typed-into-thread");
+});
+
+test("thread composer keeps focus after sending a thread reply", async ({
+  page,
+}) => {
+  await page.goto("/");
+  await page.getByTestId("channel-general").click();
+  await expect(page.getByTestId("chat-title")).toHaveText("general");
+
+  // Seed a root message we can open a thread on. At this point only one
+  // composer is mounted, so plain getByTestId is unambiguous.
+  const seed = `Thread focus-after-send seed ${Date.now()}`;
+  await page.getByTestId("message-input").fill(seed);
+  await page.getByTestId("send-message").click();
+  await expect(page.getByTestId("message-timeline")).toContainText(seed);
+
+  const rootMessage = page
+    .getByTestId("message-timeline")
+    .getByTestId("message-row")
+    .last();
+  await rootMessage.hover();
+  await rootMessage.getByRole("button", { name: "Reply" }).click();
+
+  const threadPanel = page.getByTestId("message-thread-panel");
+  await expect(threadPanel).toBeVisible();
+
+  const threadInput = threadPanel.getByTestId("message-input");
+  await expect(threadInput).toBeFocused();
+
+  // Send a thread reply. After the send, `isSending` flips and back to false
+  // in both the main and thread composers; the thread input must keep focus.
+  const reply = `Thread reply ${Date.now()}`;
+  await page.keyboard.type(reply);
+  await expect(threadInput).toHaveText(reply);
+  await page.keyboard.press("Enter");
+
+  // Wait for the send to settle.
+  await expect(threadPanel).toContainText(reply);
+
+  // The thread input should still be focused — not the main composer.
+  // Both composers expose the same `message-input` data-testid, so we
+  // verify directly that `document.activeElement` lives inside the thread
+  // panel rather than the main pane.
+  const focusInThreadPanel = await page.evaluate(() => {
+    const panel = document.querySelector<HTMLElement>(
+      '[data-testid="message-thread-panel"]',
+    );
+    const active = document.activeElement as HTMLElement | null;
+    return Boolean(panel && active && panel.contains(active));
+  });
+  expect(focusInThreadPanel).toBe(true);
+
+  await expect(threadInput).toBeFocused();
+});