experiments in a post-browser web
fix(external-url): delay URL processing to ensure app activation completes
Problem:
- Clicking URLs from external apps while Peek was in background caused the first
click to focus Peek but not open the URL
- Second click would work correctly because app was already focused
- Only affected macOS open-url event handler
Root cause:
- macOS fires 'open-url' event during app activation, not after
- The event handler fired before app was fully focused
- URL processing happened too early, before the app could properly handle it
Solution:
- Added 100ms delay for macOS 'open-url' events from OS
- Ensures app activation completes before processing URL
- Only applies to macOS + OS source (not CLI or second-instance)
- Non-macOS platforms process immediately (no delay)
Test:
- Added test that simulates external URL event (open-url from OS)
- Verifies URL opens correctly on first trigger
- Tests the external:open-url pubsub path
+77
-7
+20
-7
backend/electron/main.ts
+20
-7
backend/electron/main.ts
···
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return;
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}
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-
// Note: Using trackingSource/trackingSourceId because preload.js overwrites msg.source
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-
publish(getSystemAddress(), scopes.GLOBAL, 'external:open-url', {
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-
url,
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-
trackingSource: 'external',
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trackingSourceId: sourceId,
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timestamp: Date.now()
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-
});
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+
// On macOS, open-url fires during app activation, which can happen before
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// the app is fully focused. Wait a tick to ensure activation completes.
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// This fixes the issue where first click from external app focuses Peek
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// but doesn't open the URL (second click works because app is already focused).
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const processUrl = () => {
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// Note: Using trackingSource/trackingSourceId because preload.js overwrites msg.source
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publish(getSystemAddress(), scopes.GLOBAL, 'external:open-url', {
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url,
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+
trackingSource: 'external',
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trackingSourceId: sourceId,
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timestamp: Date.now()
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+
});
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};
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+
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// Small delay to ensure app activation completes before processing URL
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if (process.platform === 'darwin' && sourceId === 'os') {
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setTimeout(processUrl, 100);
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+
} else {
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processUrl();
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+
}
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}
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/**
+57
tests/desktop/smoke.spec.ts
+57
tests/desktop/smoke.spec.ts
···
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}, openResult.id);
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}
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});
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+
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+
test('external URL handler opens URL on first click (simulates OS open-url event)', async () => {
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// This test simulates clicking a URL from an external app (like clicking a link
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// in another app when Peek is set as default browser).
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// Tests the fix for: first click focuses app but doesn't open URL, second click works.
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+
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+
await waitForExtensionsReady(sharedBgWindow, 15000);
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+
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// Get initial window count
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const initialList = await sharedBgWindow.evaluate(async () => {
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+
return await (window as any).app.window.list();
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+
});
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const initialCount = initialList.windows?.length || 0;
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+
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+
// Simulate external URL open event (what happens when clicking URL from another app)
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+
// This bypasses the normal window.open flow and tests the handleExternalUrl path
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+
const testUrl = 'https://example.com/external-test';
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+
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// Trigger external:open-url event directly (simulates what handleExternalUrl does)
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+
await sharedBgWindow.evaluate(async (url: string) => {
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+
const api = (window as any).app;
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+
// Publish the same event that handleExternalUrl publishes
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+
await api.publish('external:open-url', {
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url,
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trackingSource: 'external',
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+
trackingSourceId: 'os',
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timestamp: Date.now()
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+
});
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}, testUrl);
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+
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+
// Wait for window to be created (give it time to process the event)
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+
await sleep(500);
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+
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// Verify URL was opened
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const finalList = await sharedBgWindow.evaluate(async () => {
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return await (window as any).app.window.list();
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+
});
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+
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expect(finalList.success).toBe(true);
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const finalCount = finalList.windows?.length || 0;
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+
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// Should have created a new window
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expect(finalCount).toBeGreaterThan(initialCount);
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+
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// Find the window with our test URL
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+
const externalWindow = finalList.windows?.find((w: any) =>
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w.url && (w.url.includes(testUrl) || w.url.includes(encodeURIComponent(testUrl)))
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+
);
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expect(externalWindow).toBeTruthy();
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+
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// Clean up
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+
if (externalWindow) {
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+
await sharedBgWindow.evaluate(async (id: number) => {
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+
await (window as any).app.window.close(id);
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+
}, externalWindow.id);
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+
}
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+
});
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});
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// ============================================================================