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(errors): remaining failure dialogs say what to do, on the surface where they happen #709
Description
Split from #566 (decided by Jean-Baptiste in person, 2026-10-18: the remaining error dialogs are a separate issue).
#566 moved row actions, Run now and restore failures to the persistent notice brick (B8, public/app-notices.js). These failures still open a one-button modal (appAlert, title "Switchboard"), and most of them only say "X failed: " without saying what to do:
| Surface | Site (main a80a49b) | Text today |
|---|---|---|
| File panel, save | public/file-panel.js:472, :475 |
Save failed: <error> |
| Activity trace panel, read | public/activity-trace-panel.js:70 |
Could not read <file>: <error> |
| Activity trace panel, delete | public/activity-trace-panel.js:133 |
Delete failed: <error> |
| Viewer panel (Memory / Work Files), delete | public/viewer-panel.js:290, :293 |
Delete failed: <error> |
| Sidebar, remap missing project | public/sidebar.js:1412 |
Failed to remap: <error> |
| Sidebar, delete worktree | public/sidebar.js:1469 |
Failed to delete worktree: <error> |
Left as is on purpose: the "Scheduled task already running" information in guardResume (public/app.js:1931, public/resume-guard.js:20) belongs to #567.
Expected, per the #566 rule: each failure says what happened and what to do, on the surface where it happened. Where a panel exists, an inline error next to the thing that failed (brick B9 in docs/product/BUILDING-BLOCKS.md); otherwise a B8 error notice that stays until dismissed. Decide per site whether a modal is still warranted (a failed save with unsaved edits may be).
Activity
devsuitup commentedon Oct 28, 2026
Same rule as #835 (#566: a refusal says what to do), on another surface.
devsuitup commentedon Oct 29, 2026
Re-checked against main 2fb1779 (audit of 2026-10-29, recommendation 5). The sites in the table have moved; one is done:
public/file-panel.js:541,:544appAlertpublic/activity-trace-panel.js:70appAlertpublic/activity-trace-panel.js:133appAlertpublic/viewer-panel.js:290,:293appAlertpublic/sidebar.js:1754appAlertpublic/sidebar.js:1806-1836,:2756showSessionActionFailure(B8)That is 7
appAlertcalls left, all "X failed: ", none saying what to do.The audit proposes one
reportFailure(op, err).showSessionActionFailure(operation, session, error, recovery, onRetry, …)inpublic/app-notices.js:17already is that helper for row actions; for panels the rule here is B9 inline first, so a second generic helper is not obviously needed. Suggest reusingshowSessionActionFailure/showAppNoticewhere no panel exists rather than adding a new function.Two silent failures the audit found, outside this issue's table — proposed as a separate issue rather than widening this one:
search-worker-client.js:78-82: a search worker reply withmsg.errorresolves[], anddrainPending()(:51-53, called on worker error/exit at:90,:101,:163) does the same. The user sees "no results" instead of "search failed".loadProjects()calls inpublic/*.jsend in.catch(console.warn): a failed reload leaves a stale sidebar with no notice.Acceptance for the remaining 7 sites (unchanged from the issue): each failure says what happened and what to do, inline (B9) where a panel exists, otherwise a B8 notice; a DOM test per site asserts no
appAlertcall and the presence of the notice/inline text.