AI chat window not displaying after app update

[hyper-charlie]

Issue

The AI chat window is not being displayed in the app. This issue started after updating to the latest version and occurs consistently.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open Hyprnote 1.0.6
2. Attempt to access the AI chat feature
3. The window does not appear

Expected Behavior

The AI chat window should open and be accessible.

Actual Behavior

The AI chat window is not displayed. User cannot open it.

Environment

• Platform: macOS
• OS Version: 26.2.0
• App Version: 1.0.6
• Build: 9820787
• Locale: en-US
• User: chad.s.smith@gmail.com

Notes

• Issue started after updating the app (previous version unknown)
• Occurs every time, consistently

[devin-ai-integration]

Investigation Findings

Root Cause: Feature Flag Gates Chat in Release Builds

The AI chat window is gated behind a compile-time feature flag that evaluates to false in production release builds.

Flow:

1. TabChatButton in apps/desktop/src/components/main/body/index.tsx:632-646 checks flagCommands.isEnabled("chat") — if this returns false, the entire chat button (both the floating trigger and the chat view) is not rendered.
2. The is_enabled command calls into plugins/flag/src/ext.rs:9-15, which resolves the strategy for Feature::Chat.
3. Feature::Chat's strategy in plugins/flag/src/feature.rs:24-27:
   • If CHAT env var is set at compile time → Hardcoded(true) → chat enabled
   • If CHAT env var is not set → Debug → resolves to cfg!(debug_assertions) → true in dev, false in release
4. The CD workflow does not set CHAT in the build environment. So production builds get FlagStrategy::Debug, which is false.

Relevant Files

File	Role
plugins/flag/src/feature.rs	Defines Feature::Chat strategy (compile-time CHAT env or Debug)
plugins/flag/src/ext.rs	Resolves FlagStrategy::Debug → cfg!(debug_assertions)
apps/desktop/src/components/main/body/index.tsx	TabChatButton component that checks the flag before rendering
apps/desktop/src/components/chat/index.tsx	ChatFloatingButton — the actual chat trigger + view
apps/desktop/src/contexts/shell/chat.ts	useChatMode hook — manages chat state machine (mode transitions, mod+j hotkey)
apps/desktop/src/store/zustand/tabs/chat-mode.ts	Chat mode FSM: FloatingClosed → FloatingOpen → RightPanelOpen → FullTab
.github/workflows/desktop_cd.yaml	Build workflow — does not include CHAT env var

Relevant Commit History

• a6a15bdd5 — "conditionally render chat button based on feature flag" — introduced the flag, initially Debug-only (debug builds only)
• f1e776182 — "update flag plugin" — refactored to FlagStrategy enum, still defaults to Debug
• 52ab89a82 (fix: chat floating button not responding to clicks #3679) — "fix: chat floating button not responding to clicks" — added option_env!("CHAT") override, but default remains Debug
• 61d08d6d6 (replace xstate with zustand for chat ui state #3776) — "replace xstate with zustand for chat ui state" — migrated chat state management

Notes

• The Cmd+Shift+J shortcut opens a full chat tab via openNew({ type: "chat" }), which bypasses the TabChatButton flag check. The tab content at line 616-618 renders TabContentChat without a flag gate — so this shortcut may still work as a workaround in release builds.
• The Cmd+J toggle shortcut updates the zustand chat mode state, but the floating button still won't render because TabChatButton returns null when the flag is disabled.
• To enable chat in release builds, either add CHAT=1 to the CD workflow env vars, or change the default strategy from FlagStrategy::Debug to FlagStrategy::Hardcoded(true) (or a PostHog-based flag for gradual rollout).