community: the inbox check belongs to the app, not to the page that happened to be open

src/App.svelte

@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@
         refreshRecents,
         restoreSession,
     } from "./lib/state.svelte.js";
+    import { startInboxWatch } from "./lib/community.svelte.js";
     import { floatScroll } from "./lib/scrollbar.js";
     import { initMiniBridge } from "./lib/miniBridge.svelte.js";
     import { applyGlass, armGlassResizeGuard } from "./lib/glass.js";
@@ -134,6 +135,9 @@
     // this way the mode can be toggled mid-drag without leaving stale state.
     armGlassResizeGuard();
     autoConnect();
+    // Sealed cargo arrives on the inbox check, and that has to keep happening
+    // wherever the user is — not only while the Community page is mounted.
+    void startInboxWatch();
     refreshLibrary();
     refreshPlaylists();
     refreshRecents();

src/lib/community.svelte.js

@@ -314,12 +314,12 @@ export function toggleRoomFav(name) {
 }
 
 // ---- boot -------------------------------------------------------------------------
-let booted = false;
+let wired = false;
-/** Idempotent: the first Community mount wires the listeners and pulls the
+/** The backend's community events, wired once per session. Both the app-wide
- *  initial state; later mounts only refresh. */
+ *  inbox watch and the Community page need them; whoever arrives first wires. */
-export async function initCommunity() {
+function wireEvents() {
-    if (!booted) {
+    if (!wired) {
-        booted = true;
+        wired = true;
         api.onEvent("freenet:status", (status) => {
             if (community.freenet) community.freenet.status = status;
             else void refreshFreenet();
@@ -348,10 +348,59 @@ export async function initCommunity() {
             if (p.status === 1 || p.status === 2) noteSeen(p.username);
         });
     }
+}
+
+/** Idempotent: pulls the state the Community page draws. */
+export async function initCommunity() {
+    wireEvents();
     await Promise.all([refreshFreenet(), loadContacts(), refreshLinks(), refreshFriends(), refreshShares(), refreshPublished(), refreshInbox(), refreshSpaces(), refreshOverlap()]);
     await refreshPersona();
 }
 
+// ---- the inbox watch ---------------------------------------------------------------
+/** Everything sealed — friend requests, shares, proposal pings — arrives on one
+ *  inbox check, and that check used to live in Community.svelte's effect. So
+ *  nothing arrived unless that page happened to be open: a friend request sat
+ *  unseen while you were in the Library, and the proposal toast could only fire
+ *  somewhere it was least needed. The watch belongs to the app.
+ *
+ *  App.svelte starts it once at boot. The gate is re-read every tick, so a node
+ *  that comes up later — or an inbox published later — simply starts working
+ *  without anything having to restart the timer. */
+const INBOX_POLL_MS = 90_000;
+let inboxWatch = 0;
+let polling = false;
+
+export async function startInboxWatch() {
+    if (inboxWatch) return;
+    wireEvents();
+    inboxWatch = setInterval(() => void pollInbox(), INBOX_POLL_MS);
+    await refreshFreenet();
+    await pollInbox();
+}
+
+/** One tick, and quiet by design: a node that is down or an inbox that was
+ *  never published is the resting state of this app, not an error to show. */
+async function pollInbox() {
+    if (polling) return;
+    polling = true;
+    try {
+        // If the first read failed we have no status to gate on, and the
+        // status event only speaks when something changes — so try again
+        // rather than sit inert for the session.
+        if (!community.freenet) await refreshFreenet();
+        await refreshInbox();
+        if (!adapterConnected(community.freenet?.status)) return;
+        if (!community.inbox?.published) return;
+        await readInbox();
+    } catch {
+        // A background poll never surfaces; the manual button is the one that
+        // reports. The backend logs the reason either way.
+    } finally {
+        polling = false;
+    }
+}
+
 // ---- native Soulseek cards ---------------------------------------------------------
 /** Fetch a person's native card and interests once per session, both in
  *  flight together; errors are kept per person so the drawer can say so. */
@@ -527,12 +576,15 @@ export const publishInbox = () =>
         community.inbox = await api.inboxPublish();
     });
 /** Read our inbox through the node, act on sealed cargo, prune it. */
-export const checkInbox = () =>
+async function readInbox() {
-    run("inboxcheck", async () => {
+    community.inboxLast = await api.inboxCheck();
-        community.inboxLast = await api.inboxCheck();
+    await Promise.all([refreshInbox(), refreshFriends(), refreshShares()]);
-        await Promise.all([refreshInbox(), refreshFriends(), refreshShares()]);
+    return community.inboxLast;
-        return community.inboxLast;
+}
-    });
+/** The Check now button: busy state, and a failure the page can show. The
+ *  background watch below deliberately does NOT go through this — a poll that
+ *  fails must not stamp the shared error slot. */
+export const checkInbox = () => run("inboxcheck", readInbox);
 export const friendRequestByKey = (personaKey) => friendAction("friend:" + personaKey, () => api.friendRequestByKey(personaKey));
 export const friendshipForKey = (key) => {
     const mine = community.friends.filter((f) => f.persona_key === key);

src/views/Community.svelte

@@ -134,6 +134,11 @@
     const hue = $derived(key ? hueOf(key) : null);
     const freenetOn = $derived(!!community.freenet?.enabled);
     const nodeUp = $derived(adapterConnected(community.freenet?.status));
+    // A boolean, deliberately: reading community.inbox?.published straight from
+    // an effect makes that effect depend on the whole record, and a check
+    // REPLACES the record — which re-ran the effect, which checked again. A
+    // derived only notifies when its value actually flips.
+    const inboxLive = $derived(!!community.inbox?.published);
     const online = $derived(app.connection === "online");
     const me = $derived(app.username ?? "");
     const ownLink = $derived(community.links?.own ?? null);
@@ -449,14 +454,12 @@
         const id = await shareImport(card);
         if (id) goToView("playlist", { playlistId: id, label: card.name });
     }
-    // The inbox is polled while this page is open and the node is up: on
+    // The app polls the inbox for the whole session (startInboxWatch, in
-    // arrival and every 90 s. Sealed cargo becomes friend requests and share
+    // community.svelte.js) — arriving here only asks for a fresh read now, so
-    // cards through the same stores the PM carry feeds.
+    // the page opens on current state instead of waiting out the interval.
     $effect(() => {
-        if (!nodeUp || !key || !community.inbox?.published) return;
+        if (!nodeUp || !key || !inboxLive) return;
         untrack(() => void checkInbox());
-        const t = setInterval(() => void checkInbox(), 90_000);
-        return () => clearInterval(t);
     });
     let addKey = $state("");
     // ---- spaces ------------------------------------------------------------