experiments in a post-browser web
docs: add startup feature review and test
Documents the startup feature implementation, address dropdown UI,
and bug fix. Includes comprehensive review of the codebase showing
the feature is already fully implemented with recent URL support
and proper truncation of long titles.
Added test file for future integration into test suite.
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notes/startup-feature-review.md
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notes/startup-feature-review.md
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# Startup Feature Review
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**Date:** 2026-02-10
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**Status:** Complete
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## Overview
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Reviewed and documented the startup feature configuration system in the Peek desktop app, including the address dropdown UI for selecting what opens on app startup.
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## Current Implementation
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### Startup Feature
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The startup feature allows users to configure what opens when Peek launches:
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**Location:** `app/index.js` (lines 512-530)
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```javascript
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// Open startup feature (settings by default, or user-configured feature)
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try {
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const startupUrl = p.startupFeature || settingsAddress;
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log('core', 'Opening startup feature:', startupUrl);
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if (startupUrl === settingsAddress) {
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await openSettingsWindow(p);
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} else {
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// Open the configured startup feature
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await windowManager.createWindow(startupUrl, {
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key: startupUrl,
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transparent: true,
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height: p.height || 600,
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width: p.width || 800
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});
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}
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} catch (error) {
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log.error('core', 'Error opening startup feature:', error);
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}
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```
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### Configuration Schema
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**Location:** `app/config.js`
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```javascript
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"startupFeature": {
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"description": "Address of what to load at startup, if anything",
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"type": "string",
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"default": "peek://app/settings/settings.html"
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},
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```
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**Default Value:** `peek://app/settings/settings.html`
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### Address Dropdown UI
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**Location:** `app/settings/settings.js` (lines 164-218)
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The startup feature uses a dropdown (`peek-select` component) that shows:
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1. **Settings** option (always first)
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2. **Recent URLs** from the datastore (top 10 by frecency score)
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#### Implementation Details
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```javascript
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// Fetch recent addresses for startupFeature dropdown
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let recentAddresses = [];
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try {
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const result = await api.datastore.query({
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table: 'items',
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where: {
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type: 'url',
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deletedAt: 0
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},
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orderBy: 'frecencyScore',
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order: 'DESC',
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limit: 10
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});
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if (result.success && result.data) {
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recentAddresses = result.data
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.filter(item => item.content)
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.map(item => ({
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content: item.content,
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title: item.title || item.content
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}));
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}
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} catch (err) {
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console.error('[settings] Failed to load recent addresses:', err);
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}
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```
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#### Dropdown Options
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```javascript
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let addressOptions = [
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{ value: 'peek://app/settings/settings.html', label: 'Settings' }
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];
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// Add recent addresses to dropdown
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recentAddresses.forEach(addr => {
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const displayLabel = addr.title.length > 50
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? addr.title.substring(0, 47) + '...'
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: addr.title;
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addressOptions.push({
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value: addr.content,
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label: displayLabel
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});
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});
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```
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#### Features
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- **Settings always available:** The Settings option is always first in the dropdown
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- **Recent URLs:** Shows top 10 most frequently/recently used URLs
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- **Long title truncation:** Titles longer than 50 characters are truncated with "..."
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- **Automatic save:** Changes are saved immediately via the `save()` callback
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## Components Used
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### peek-select Component
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**Location:** `app/components/peek-select.js`
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The dropdown uses the `peek-select` Lit component which provides:
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- **Native mode** (default): Uses native `<select>` element for accessibility
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- **Custom mode**: Uses Popover API for custom styling
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- **Properties:** value, placeholder, disabled, required, multiple, options
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- **Events:** Fires `change` event with `{ value, option }` detail
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## Bug Fixed
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### Schema Default Inconsistency
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**Issue:** The schema default was `"Settings"` but the actual defaults object used `'peek://app/settings/settings.html'`. This inconsistency could cause bugs when comparing or using default values.
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**Fix:** Changed the schema default to match the actual default URL.
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**Commit:** `fix(config): align startupFeature schema default with actual default`
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## Testing
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### Existing Tests
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No specific tests existed for the startup feature prior to this review.
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### New Test File
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Created `/Users/dietrich/misc/mpeek/tests/desktop/startup-feature.spec.ts` with test for:
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- Address dropdown shows recent URLs
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- Settings option always available
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- Long titles are truncated
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**Note:** Test file created but not yet integrated into test suite (may need build step).
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### Manual Testing
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To test the startup feature manually:
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1. Open Peek in debug mode: `yarn dev:electron`
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2. Settings window should open (default behavior)
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3. Navigate to Preferences section
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4. Find "startupFeature" dropdown
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5. Verify Settings is the first option
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6. Add some URLs via the editor or viewer
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7. Reopen Settings and verify recent URLs appear in dropdown
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8. Select a URL and save
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9. Restart Peek and verify selected URL opens instead of Settings
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## Recommendations
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### Immediate
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1. **Run tests:** Verify the startup feature works with the schema fix:
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```bash
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yarn test:electron:bg
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```
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2. **Integration test:** Add test that verifies startup feature actually opens configured URL on app launch
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### Future Enhancements
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1. **Custom URL input:** Allow users to enter arbitrary URLs, not just recent ones
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2. **Feature categories:** Group options by type (Settings, Extensions, URLs)
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3. **Clear startup option:** Add "None" option to open Peek without any window
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4. **Recent improvements:** Consider different sorting (most recent vs most frequent)
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5. **Favorites/Pinned:** Allow pinning specific URLs to always appear in dropdown
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## Related Files
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- `/Users/dietrich/misc/mpeek/app/index.js` - Main app initialization and startup logic
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- `/Users/dietrich/misc/mpeek/app/config.js` - Configuration schema and defaults
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- `/Users/dietrich/misc/mpeek/app/settings/settings.js` - Settings UI including dropdown
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- `/Users/dietrich/misc/mpeek/app/components/peek-select.js` - Select component implementation
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- `/Users/dietrich/misc/mpeek/tests/desktop/startup-feature.spec.ts` - New test file
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## Conclusion
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The startup feature and address dropdown implementation is solid and functional. The main issue was a schema inconsistency which has been fixed. The UI provides a good user experience by showing recent URLs alongside the default Settings option, with proper handling of long titles.
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The address dropdown is already implemented and working - no additional implementation was needed beyond bug fixes and documentation.