<!-- Keep under ~2K tokens. Old handoffs live in SESSION_LOG.md. Do not let this file accumulate history. -->

# HANDOFF.md

**Last updated:** 2026-04-26 03:50 EDT

**Active task:** Ship PR #153 — the AssistantChatPage prefill `currentChatRef` bug fix. See [CURRENT_TASK.md](CURRENT_TASK.md).

**Branch:** `fix/tasklane-prefill-ref` → PR #153.

## Current resume point

PR #150 is merged. Branch `fix/tasklane-prefill-ref` has been rebased onto the new `main` (HEAD `1559feb`) and force-pushed; that pulled in the workflow fixes from #150, so the prior backend port-conflict and frontend upload-artifact failures are gone structurally.

CI was kicked off automatically on the rebased SHA. Watch:

- `CI / backend (pull_request)` — should pass now that postgres uses the docker-network DNS name `postgres:5432` (no host port race).
- `CI / frontend (pull_request)` — should pass now that the `actions/upload-artifact@v4` step is removed.
- `CI / e2e (pull_request)` — runs on its own postgres + builds frontend inline. Includes the new `e2e/assistant-chat-prefill.spec.ts` regression test, which stubs `/ai-sessions/*/chat` with `page.route` and is independent of Anthropic.

If all three go green, merge #153 into `main`.

## What this PR fixes

Reported symptom: in a troubleshooting (chat) session, after answering a subset of the task-lane questions and clicking *Send N of M Responses*, no AI response appeared.

Root cause: the dashboard prefill effect in `AssistantChatPage` set `activeChatId` after creating a new session but never updated `currentChatRef.current`. The `currentChatRef.current !== sentForChatId` guard inside `handleSend` and `handleTaskSubmit` then bailed silently on every later request and discarded the AI's reply.

Fix is a single line: assign `currentChatRef.current = session.session_id` immediately after `setActiveChatId(session.session_id)` in the prefill effect, mirroring `handleNewChat` and `handleResumeNew`.

## Verification completed

- New regression test `frontend/e2e/assistant-chat-prefill.spec.ts` drives the real dashboard prefill flow against the real backend, stubs `/ai-sessions/*/chat` for deterministic turn-1/turn-2 responses, asserts the second AI message renders. Confirmed it fails on unfixed code at the exact assertion (`Got it — based on your answer…` never appears) and passes once the fix is restored.
- `tsc -b` clean. No new lint errors. Adjacent specs (`flowpilot-chat`) still pass.

## Branch protection on main (current)

- PR-only merges
- `CI / frontend (pull_request)` required
- `CI / backend (pull_request)` required (added during PR #150 close-out)
- Force-push blocked
- No review required (solo)

## Immediate next steps

1. Watch PR #153 CI on `1559feb`.
2. Merge PR #153 when all three checks are green.
3. After merge, decide whether to promote `CI / e2e (pull_request)` to required (would make this two consecutive green PR e2e runs in a row, the threshold from the prior CURRENT_TASK).
4. Pick next item from `.ai/TODO.md` — top "Up next" is the `data-testid` audit; the `currentChatRef` silent-return follow-up is in Backlog and is a natural pairing with this fix.

## Useful breadcrumbs

- Bug fix: [`frontend/src/pages/AssistantChatPage.tsx`](../frontend/src/pages/AssistantChatPage.tsx) around line 258 — the `currentChatRef.current = session.session_id` line in the prefill `sendPrefill` effect.
- Regression test: [`frontend/e2e/assistant-chat-prefill.spec.ts`](../frontend/e2e/assistant-chat-prefill.spec.ts).
- TODO entry tracking the broader silent-return audit: [`.ai/TODO.md`](TODO.md).