fix(pi): keep imported transcript titles out of metadata.name

[luodeb]

What

Pi session auto-titling wrote the transcript title into metadata.name — the slot the web title helper (getSessionTitle) prefers and the one hub renameSession uses for manually chosen names. So an agent-set title (the hapi_set_title extension writes metadata.summary.text) never surfaced in the web session list; the imported first-message title kept winning.

The hub already documents its intended split (sessionCache.ts): "Keep the generated/native title separate from metadata.name. A manually chosen name must continue to win in the Web title helper, while the summary remains available as the agent-authored fallback."

Fix (fix the source, not the consumer)

• hub/src/web/routes/piSessions.ts: buildPiMetadata no longer claims metadata.name from transcript.title. An existing manual name is preserved; the imported title rides in the existing summary fallback (which already prefers lastUserMessage, then title).
• The Pi extension setTitle path stays on metadata.summary.text — it must not overwrite a manually chosen name.

Tests

• hub/src/web/routes/piSessions.test.ts (new, x2): imported transcript title stays out of metadata.name when the session has no manual name (summary carries lastUserMessage); and a session with no user messages falls back to the transcript title in summary.
• cli/src/pi/extensionUiHandler.test.ts: regression — with a manual metadata.name set, a setTitle delivers the title to the summary slot and the name survives unchanged.
• bun run typecheck green across all packages (relay/hub/cli/web); cli + hub suites pass.

Before/after

state	metadata.name	web list shows
before	transcript.title (auto)	first-message title, agent titles invisible
after	manual name only	manual name wins; else agent/import title from summary

---

AI disclosure: this change was implemented with assistance from the AI model deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash.

[github-actions]

Findings

• [Major] Pi auto-titling overwrites manually chosen session names — cli/src/pi/extensionUiHandler.ts:142. Details and suggested fix in the attached inline comment.

Summary

Review mode: initial

One regression found in the full four-file diff: generated titles now replace the manual-name field. Keep generated titles in summary and correct the Pi importer’s generated-name assignment.

Testing

Not run (automation). Inspected added tests and existing title/import coverage. Missing regression coverage for preserving manual names through setTitle and displaying updated titles after Pi import. GitHub test checks were pending when inspected.

HAPI Bot

[github-actions]

[Major] Preserve manually chosen titles during Pi auto-titling

With a session renamed through the web (metadata.name = "My custom HAPI title"), the next different hapi_change_title / extension setTitle now replaces that saved name. The bundled tool is automatic (cli/src/pi/titleExtension.ts:29), and the new name-target updater overwrites any existing name (cli/src/agent/nativeSessionTitle.ts:58–61). Previously it only updated the summary, preserving the manual title. This violates the precedence explicitly maintained by hub/src/sync/sessionCache.ts:876 and covered by hub/src/sync/sessionCache.titleSummary.test.ts:14.

Keep extension-generated titles in the summary slot; fix the generated-name source in hub/src/web/routes/piSessions.ts:89 so imported transcript titles populate summary instead of claiming name. Preserve existing explicit names there. Suggested fix for this call:

this.syncTitle = createNativeSessionTitleMetadataSync(options.session);

Add a regression test starting with a custom metadata.name, delivering a different setTitle, and asserting that the name survives while the summary changes; separately test that an imported session without a manual name displays the new generated title.

[luodeb]

Thanks for the catch — you are right, and the fix now goes the other way.

Updated approach (6203d0d): keep the Pi extension setTitle on the summary slot (no name targeting), and fix the generated-name source instead:

• hub/src/web/routes/piSessions.ts (buildPiMetadata): imported transcript.title no longer claims metadata.name; an existing manual name is preserved, and the import title rides in the existing summary fallback.
• Regression tests: Pi import keeps metadata.name empty for unnamed sessions (summary carries lastUserMessage, falling back to transcript.title); extensionUiHandler.setTitle preserves a manual metadata.name while updating the summary.

So: manual names survive every auto-title path, and import titles no longer shadow agent-set titles in the web list.

[github-actions]

Findings

• [Minor] Imported native titles disappear when user messages exist — hub/src/web/routes/piSessions.ts:89. Removing name exposes the last-message-first summary: a native title “Fix login” becomes “thanks” after import. Preserve the transcript title in the summary.

  Suggested fix (summary selection at line 81):

  const summaryText = transcript.title ?? transcript.lastUserMessage

Summary

Review mode: follow-up after new commits

Reviewed the full latest three-file diff. The previous manual-name overwrite is resolved; one import-title regression remains.

Testing

Not run (automation). Inspected added tests and surrounding title/import handling; CI test checks were pending. Add coverage for importing a named native session with a different last user message, and for displaying a subsequent extension title after import.

HAPI Bot

[github-actions]

[Minor] Preserve the native transcript title in the summary

Removing the generated name makes summary the displayed title, but buildPiMetadata still chooses transcript.lastUserMessage before transcript.title (line 81). For a native session named “Fix login” whose last user message is “thanks”, a fresh import now displays “thanks”; previously it displayed “Fix login”. The native name is not retained anywhere in the imported metadata.

transcript.title includes explicit Pi session_info.name values (cli/src/modules/common/piSessions.ts:396, 420), not just generated first-message titles. Preserve that title in the summary while retaining this change to the manual-name slot:

const summaryText = transcript.title ?? transcript.lastUserMessage

Add an import regression with a native title and a different last user message; assert metadata.name is absent and getSessionTitle returns the native title. The new test at hub/src/web/routes/piSessions.test.ts:229 currently asserts the message takes precedence and misses this regression.

[luodeb]

Good catch on the last-user-message precedence (e0d5a8a).

Now buildPiMetadata computes summaryText = transcript.title ?? transcript.lastUserMessage, so a native Pi title (including explicit session_info.name values) survives the import and displays in the web list, while a manual metadata.name still wins over everything. The import summary regressions now assert: unnamed session → metadata.name absent + summary carries the transcript title; native title + last message thanks → title wins for display.

[github-actions]

Findings

No reportable issues found in the full latest PR diff.

Summary

Review mode: follow-up after new commits

The prior native-title precedence finding is resolved at hub/src/web/routes/piSessions.ts:81. Remaining testing gap: the added tests check import metadata and extension updates separately, without exercising import → extension title update → displayed title together.

Testing

Not run (automation). Inspected the added tests and existing manual-name reconciliation and web title fallback coverage. CI test checks were pending when inspected. Suggested regression: import a session, apply setTitle, and assert the web title changes while a manual name still takes precedence.

HAPI Bot

[luodeb]

Also closed the remaining combination gap (2317b33): a hub test now covers import → later extension-style summary write landing through the metadata merge, asserting the manual-name slot stays empty so the web title helper keeps preferring the agent title.

[github-actions]

Findings

No reportable issues found in the full latest PR diff.

Summary

Review mode: follow-up after new commits

Residual testing gap: hub/src/web/routes/piSessions.test.ts:273 simulates the title update with a direct store write; the complete import → extension setTitle → displayed title path remains untested.

Testing

Not run (automation). Inspected added tests, existing manual-name reconciliation coverage, and web title precedence tests. Suggested integration regression: import, apply setTitle, assert the displayed title, then rename manually and verify subsequent agent titles preserve that name. CI test check was pending when inspected.

HAPI Bot

[luodeb]

Behavior before/after this change (for review convenience)

The whole fix is about who owns metadata.name: before, Pi imports claimed it with the transcript title; after, the slot belongs to manual renames only, and generated/native titles live in metadata.summary.text (the web title helper already prefers name > summary.text).

Field placement on import

field	before	after
metadata.name	existing.name ?? transcript.title (auto title takes the slot)	existing.name ?? undefined (manual names only)
metadata.summary.text	lastUserMessage ?? transcript.title	transcript.title ?? lastUserMessage (native title wins)
cli hapi_set_title landing	summary.text (unchanged)	summary.text (unchanged)
web shown title (getSessionTitle)	name > summary (unchanged)	name > summary (unchanged)

Scenario comparison

scenario	before	after
Pi session without a manual name; agent calls hapi_set_title("new title")	title written to summary, but the web kept showing the import-claimed auto name → agent title invisible	name slot empty → agent title visible right away (the point of this PR)
imported session's list title	transcript.title (via name)	transcript.title (via summary) — visually the same
user renames in the web app	manual name wins, agent titles never override	same: manual name always wins (unbroken hub principle)
native title vs last user message ("fix login" vs "thanks")	summary got clobbered by "thanks" (masked by name = title)	summary directly holds "fix login" (the follow-up Minor fix)
peer labels (list_peers / inspect-peer)	name first → auto title	manual name > summary (native/agent title) — consistent with web

Unchanged

• Manual rename (web → renameSession → metadata.name) keeps priority, always.
• The hapi_set_title extension semantics are untouched.

One caveat (existing data)

The change only affects newly imported sessions. Sessions already imported before this change keep the old auto title in metadata.name (it is not cleared by re-import reconcile, which preserves existing.name). For those, a manual rename is the way to update what the web shows.