fix: the API emitted undefined optionals as null, and the UI couldn't decode them (v0.3.2)

`Schema.optional(X)` means `X | undefined`, and the plain Schema encoder omits a
present-but-undefined key — but the HttpApi RESPONSE path serialises it as
`null`, which `X | undefined` then refuses when the client decodes it. Two
user-visible failures shipped in 0.3.1:

  - GET /api/status on a never-synced host returned `"lastSync":null`, so the
    Overview page could not decode its own status — i.e. every fresh install
    until the first successful sync.
  - POST /api/detect on a box with any emulator installed returned
    `"contested":null` / `"appId":null`, so the Emulators page's Detect button
    could not decode the result. It only looked fine because a value that has
    round-tripped through cache.json has those keys ABSENT rather than present
    -and-undefined, and absent keys encode correctly.

Nothing on this wire is `undefined` any more. EngineStatus.{lastSync,lastReport,
detectedAt} are `Schema.NullOr` and the engine sends explicit nulls. The
DetectedEmulator fields use `Schema.optional(Schema.NullOr(...))` instead —
tolerant of absent, undefined and null — because they also live in cache.json,
and requiring them would fail the whole cache decode on upgrade and silently
discard every art verdict.

plugin/test/wire.test.ts pins it: it drives the real makeApi handler stack
through toWebHandler and decodes the bytes with the shared contract schemas.
Against the old schema all five of its assertions fail; a unit test of either
side in isolation passes while the product is broken.

Also: the SSE feed now emits the current status on subscribe rather than only on
the next engine transition, so a freshly-opened console page is correct
immediately instead of stale until something happens.

contract/src/domain.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,23 @@
 // Domain DTOs shared by the plugin server and the UI — Schemas are the source of truth,
 // the derived types keep the original domain names so the pure core reads unchanged.
+//
+// TRAP, measured (see plugin/test/wire.test.ts, which pins it): the HttpApi RESPONSE path
+// serialises a present-but-`undefined` key as `null`, where the plain Schema encoder omits
+// it. So a `Schema.optional(X)` field the server assembles as `{ k: undefined }` goes out
+// as `"k":null` — which `X | undefined` then REFUSES when the client decodes it. It fails
+// silently in the SSE feed (`sseAtom` drops schema-invalid frames, so the page just stops
+// updating) and loudly in the typed AtomHttpApi client.
+//
+// The rule here: **nothing on this wire is `undefined`.** Server-assembled fields are
+// `Schema.NullOr` with an explicit null; fields that also round-trip through cache.json use
+// `Schema.optional(Schema.NullOr(...))` so an older cache (absent keys) still decodes while
+// the wire's null is accepted too.
 import { Schema } from "effect";
 
+/** Absent | undefined | null on the way in, `null` on the way out — see the trap above. */
+const nullish = <S extends Schema.Top>(schema: S) =>
+	Schema.optional(Schema.NullOr(schema));
+
 /** Host OS as the launch/quoting domain sees it (macOS hosts use the linux lane). */
 export const Os = Schema.Literals(["linux", "windows"]);
 export type Os = typeof Os.Type;
@@ -51,13 +67,16 @@ export const DetectedEmulator = Schema.Struct({
 	name: Schema.String,
 	template: Schema.String,
 	supportsArchives: Schema.Boolean,
-	contested: Schema.optional(Schema.Boolean),
+	// `nullish`, not plain NullOr: these also live in cache.json, and a cache written by
+	// 0.3.1 has the keys ABSENT — requiring them would fail the whole cache decode and
+	// silently discard every art verdict on upgrade.
+	contested: nullish(Schema.Boolean),
 	exeToken: Schema.String,
-	exePath: Schema.optional(Schema.String),
+	exePath: nullish(Schema.String),
-	appId: Schema.optional(Schema.String),
+	appId: nullish(Schema.String),
 	via: Schema.Literals(["path", "file", "flatpak"]),
-	coresDir: Schema.optional(Schema.String),
+	coresDir: nullish(Schema.String),
-	cores: Schema.optional(Schema.Array(Schema.String)),
+	cores: nullish(Schema.Array(Schema.String)),
 });
 export type DetectedEmulator = typeof DetectedEmulator.Type;
 
@@ -97,9 +116,11 @@ export const EngineStatus = Schema.Struct({
 	os: Os,
 	artProvider: Schema.NullOr(Schema.String),
 	syncing: Schema.Boolean,
-	lastSync: Schema.optional(LastSync),
+	// Assembled fresh by the engine on every read and never persisted, so these can be
-	lastReport: Schema.optional(SyncReport),
+	// strict: an explicit null on the wire, never an absent or undefined key.
-	detectedAt: Schema.optional(Schema.Number),
+	lastSync: Schema.NullOr(LastSync),
+	lastReport: Schema.NullOr(SyncReport),
+	detectedAt: Schema.NullOr(Schema.Number),
 	paths: Schema.Struct({
 		dir: Schema.String,
 		config: Schema.String,

plugin/package.json

@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 {
 	"name": "@punktfunk/plugin-rom-manager",
-	"version": "0.3.1",
+	"version": "0.3.2",
 	"private": false,
 	"type": "module",
-	"description": "Punktfunk plugin: scans ROM directories, maps them to emulators, and reconciles them into the host game library as a provider — with a console-hosted web UI. The reference plugin built on @punktfunk/plugin-kit.",
+	"description": "Punktfunk plugin: scans ROM directories, maps them to emulators, and reconciles them into the host game library as a provider \u2014 with a console-hosted web UI. The reference plugin built on @punktfunk/plugin-kit.",
 	"license": "MIT OR Apache-2.0",
 	"homepage": "https://git.unom.io/unom/punktfunk-plugin-rom-manager",
 	"repository": {

plugin/src/services/engine.ts

@@ -212,9 +212,10 @@ function make(): Effect.Effect<
 				os,
 				artProvider: selectArtProvider(config)?.id ?? null,
 				syncing: engineStatus.syncing,
-				lastSync: engineStatus.lastSync,
+				// Explicit nulls, never undefined — see the trap note in contract/domain.ts.
-				lastReport: engineStatus.lastReport,
+				lastSync: engineStatus.lastSync ?? null,
-				detectedAt: c.detect?.at,
+				lastReport: engineStatus.lastReport ?? null,
+				detectedAt: c.detect?.at ?? null,
 				paths: {
 					dir: nodePath.dirname(cfg.path),
 					config: cfg.path,
@@ -228,7 +229,14 @@ function make(): Effect.Effect<
 			preview: computeWith(false),
 			detect,
 			status,
-			statusChanges: engine.changes.pipe(Stream.mapEffect(() => status)),
+			// A fresh subscriber gets the CURRENT status immediately, then one frame per
+			// engine transition — so the console's live view is right the moment it
+			// connects, rather than stale until the next sync. Each frame is a full
+			// snapshot, so the sliver between the two stages costs nothing.
+			statusChanges: Stream.concat(
+				Stream.fromEffect(status),
+				engine.changes.pipe(Stream.mapEffect(() => status)),
+			),
 		} satisfies RomSyncService;
 	});
 }

plugin/test/wire.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,178 @@
+// The wire contract: whatever the server ENCODES, the client must be able to DECODE.
+//
+// This exists because a whole class of bug is invisible to unit tests of either side.
+// `Schema.optional(X)` describes `X | undefined`, and the plain Schema encoder omits a
+// present-but-undefined key — but the HttpApi RESPONSE path serialises it as `null`, which
+// `X | undefined` then refuses on the way back in. The result shipped in 0.3.1: a
+// never-synced host's `GET /api/status` returned `"lastSync":null` and the Overview page
+// could not decode it, and `POST /api/detect` on a box with any emulator installed returned
+// `"contested":null` and the Emulators page could not decode that.
+//
+// So these tests drive the REAL `makeApi` handler stack through `toWebHandler` and decode
+// the bytes with the shared contract schemas. A unit test of the engine, or of the schema
+// in isolation, passes happily while the product is broken.
+import { describe, expect, test } from "bun:test";
+import type {
+	CacheStore,
+	ConfigService,
+	SyncEngine,
+} from "@punktfunk/plugin-kit";
+import {
+	type DetectedEmulator,
+	EmulatorsPayload,
+	EngineStatus,
+	type PreviewResult,
+	type RomConfigSchema,
+	resolveConfig,
+	type SyncReport,
+} from "@rom-manager/contract";
+import { Effect, Schema, Stream } from "effect";
+import { HttpRouter } from "effect/unstable/http";
+import { makeApi } from "../src/services/api.js";
+import type { CacheSchema } from "../src/services/cache.js";
+import type { RomSyncService } from "../src/services/engine.js";
+
+const EMPTY_REPORT: SyncReport = {
+	considered: 0,
+	included: 0,
+	skipped: [],
+	excluded: [],
+	warnings: [],
+	truncated: 0,
+	perPlatform: {},
+	overWarn: false,
+};
+
+/** A never-synced, never-detected host — what every fresh install looks like. */
+const FIRST_RUN_STATUS: EngineStatus = {
+	rootsConfigured: 0,
+	os: "linux",
+	artProvider: null,
+	syncing: false,
+	lastSync: null,
+	lastReport: null,
+	detectedAt: null,
+	paths: { dir: "/s", config: "/s/config.json", cache: "/s/cache.json" },
+};
+
+/**
+ * A detection result exactly as `detectAll` builds it: the optional keys are PRESENT with
+ * `undefined` values, not absent. That distinction is the whole bug — a value round-tripped
+ * through cache.json has them absent instead, and absent keys encode correctly, which is
+ * why this only ever broke right after a live detect.
+ */
+const FRESHLY_DETECTED: DetectedEmulator = {
+	id: "duckstation",
+	name: "DuckStation",
+	template: "{exe} -batch {rom}",
+	supportsArchives: true,
+	contested: undefined,
+	exeToken: "duckstation-qt",
+	exePath: "/usr/bin/duckstation-qt",
+	appId: undefined,
+	via: "path",
+	coresDir: undefined,
+	cores: undefined,
+};
+
+const stubDeps = () => {
+	const engine = {
+		sync: () => Effect.succeed({ _tag: "Unchanged", report: EMPTY_REPORT }),
+		status: Effect.succeed({ syncing: false }),
+		changes: Stream.empty,
+		start: Effect.void,
+		reconfigure: Effect.void,
+	} as unknown as SyncEngine<SyncReport>;
+
+	const sync: RomSyncService = {
+		engine,
+		preview: Effect.succeed({
+			entries: [],
+			report: EMPTY_REPORT,
+		} satisfies PreviewResult),
+		detect: () => Effect.succeed([FRESHLY_DETECTED]),
+		status: Effect.succeed(FIRST_RUN_STATUS),
+		statusChanges: Stream.empty,
+	};
+
+	const config = {
+		load: Effect.succeed(resolveConfig({})),
+		loadRaw: Effect.succeed({}),
+		saveRaw: () => Effect.succeed(resolveConfig({})),
+		changes: Stream.empty,
+		path: "/s/config.json",
+	} as unknown as ConfigService<typeof RomConfigSchema>;
+
+	const cache = {
+		get: Effect.succeed({ art: {} }),
+		modify: () => Effect.succeed(undefined),
+		update: () => Effect.void,
+		path: "/s/cache.json",
+	} as unknown as CacheStore<typeof CacheSchema>;
+
+	return { sync, config, cache };
+};
+
+/** Drive one request through the real handler stack and hand back the parsed body. */
+const call = async (method: string, path: string): Promise<unknown> => {
+	const { handler, dispose } = HttpRouter.toWebHandler(makeApi(stubDeps()));
+	try {
+		const response = await handler(
+			new Request(`http://localhost${path}`, { method }),
+		);
+		expect(response.status).toBe(200);
+		return await response.json();
+	} finally {
+		await dispose();
+	}
+};
+
+describe("the status endpoint survives a round trip", () => {
+	test("a never-synced host's status decodes on the client", async () => {
+		const body = await call("GET", "/api/status");
+		// The assertion that matters: the UI's own decoder accepts the server's bytes.
+		expect(() => Schema.decodeUnknownSync(EngineStatus)(body)).not.toThrow();
+	});
+
+	test("absent values arrive as null, not as a missing key", async () => {
+		// Pinning the shape, not just its decodability: the UI branches on `=== null`.
+		const body = (await call("GET", "/api/status")) as Record<string, unknown>;
+		expect(body.lastSync).toBeNull();
+		expect(body.lastReport).toBeNull();
+		expect(body.detectedAt).toBeNull();
+	});
+});
+
+describe("the emulator endpoints survive a round trip", () => {
+	test("a freshly detected emulator decodes on the client", async () => {
+		const body = await call("POST", "/api/detect");
+		expect(() =>
+			Schema.decodeUnknownSync(EmulatorsPayload)(body),
+		).not.toThrow();
+	});
+
+	test("the cached-read path decodes too", async () => {
+		const body = await call("GET", "/api/emulators");
+		expect(() =>
+			Schema.decodeUnknownSync(EmulatorsPayload)(body),
+		).not.toThrow();
+	});
+});
+
+describe("the trap itself", () => {
+	test("the HttpApi response path turns undefined into null", async () => {
+		// Documents WHY the contract avoids `Schema.optional(X)` on this API. If a future
+		// effect release stops doing this, the schemas can relax — this test will say so.
+		const body = (await call("POST", "/api/detect")) as {
+			detected: Array<Record<string, unknown>>;
+		};
+		const emulator = body.detected[0]!;
+		expect(emulator.contested).toBeNull();
+		expect(emulator.appId).toBeNull();
+		// …while the plain Schema encoder omits the very same keys.
+		const encoded = Schema.encodeUnknownSync(EngineStatus)({
+			...FIRST_RUN_STATUS,
+		}) as Record<string, unknown>;
+		expect(encoded).toHaveProperty("lastSync");
+	});
+});

ui/src/data/atoms.ts

@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ export const statusEventsAtom: Atom.Atom<ReadonlyArray<StatusEvent>> =
 					if (!prev.syncing && frame.syncing) push("Sync started");
 					if (prev.syncing && !frame.syncing) {
 						const report = frame.lastReport;
-						if (report === undefined) {
+						if (report === null) {
 							push("Sync finished");
 						} else {
 							push(
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ export const statusEventsAtom: Atom.Atom<ReadonlyArray<StatusEvent>> =
 						}
 					}
 					if (
-						frame.detectedAt !== undefined &&
+						frame.detectedAt !== null &&
 						frame.detectedAt !== prev.detectedAt
 					) {
 						push("Emulator detection finished");

ui/src/mocks/fixtures.ts

@@ -295,11 +295,16 @@ export const statusFor = (scenario: Scenario): EngineStatus => {
 	const report = reportFor(scenario, configFor(scenario));
 	switch (scenario) {
 		case "firstRun":
+			// Explicit nulls, exactly as the server sends them — a fixture that omitted
+			// these would no longer resemble the real wire shape.
 			return {
 				rootsConfigured: 0,
 				os: "linux",
 				artProvider: null,
 				syncing: false,
+				lastSync: null,
+				lastReport: null,
+				detectedAt: null,
 				paths: PATHS,
 			};
 		case "syncing":

ui/src/pages/emulators.tsx

@@ -174,14 +174,13 @@ const DetectedList = ({
 										contested
 									</Badge>
 								) : null}
-								{row.detected?.cores !== undefined &&
+								{(row.detected?.cores?.length ?? 0) > 0 ? (
-								row.detected.cores.length > 0 ? (
 									<Badge variant="outline" size="sm">
-										{row.detected.cores.length} cores
+										{row.detected?.cores?.length} cores
 									</Badge>
 								) : null}
 							</div>
-							{row.detected?.exePath !== undefined ? (
+							{row.detected?.exePath ? (
 								<p className="mt-0.5 truncate font-mono text-xs text-muted-foreground">
 									{row.detected.exePath}
 								</p>

ui/src/pages/overview.tsx

@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ const FirstRun = ({ navigate }: PageProps) => (
 );
 
 const lastSyncHint = (status: EngineStatus): string => {
-	if (status.lastSync === undefined) return "never synced";
+	if (status.lastSync === null) return "never synced";
 	const minutes = Math.max(
 		0,
 		Math.round((Date.now() - status.lastSync.at) / 60_000),
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ const SyncButton = ({ status }: { status: EngineStatus }) => {
 
 const Warnings = ({ status }: { status: EngineStatus }) => {
 	const report = status.lastReport;
-	if (report === undefined) return null;
+	if (report === null) return null;
 	const count = report.warnings.length + (report.overWarn ? 1 : 0);
 	if (count === 0) return null;
 	return (