fix: stabilize task creation UI warnings and clean up temporary diagnostics

[rabanspiegel]

Summary\n- keep reserve claims fast by keying reserves by base ref and prewarming on branch/default-base changes\n- collapse reserve claim + task persistence into one IPC path and add coverage in worktree IPC tests\n- unify task creation loading UX across single and multi-agent task flows\n- fix Task modal warnings by stabilizing controlled Select values and adding dialog description metadata\n- clean up PTY started listener lifecycle to prevent listener buildup over repeated terminal starts\n- remove temporary task-creation trace instrumentation after investigation\n\n## Validation\n- pnpm run format\n- pnpm run type-check\n- manual verification of create-task UX for single-worktree flows (modal close -> loading -> chat mount)

closes #972

---

Note

Medium Risk
Touches the task creation and git worktree pooling paths (including ref fetching and persistence timing), so regressions could impact task/worktree creation or base-branch correctness despite being scoped and covered by new IPC tests.

Overview
Task creation now shows a single, consistent “Creating task…” overlay across both single- and multi-agent flows, and clears it when the task interface mounts (with a 30s safety timeout) instead of relying on per-view spinners.

Worktree reserve pooling is updated to be base-ref aware (keyed by projectId::baseRef) with prewarming on base-branch selection changes, plus an additional IPC path worktree:claimReserveAndSaveTask to claim a reserve and persist the task in one round-trip (with new tests). Reserve creation behavior is adjusted to refresh git refs during reserve creation and the previous claim-time base-ref switching/reset logic is removed.

Fixes several UI stability issues by ensuring controlled Select components always have a defined value (branch/issue selectors, titlebar task selector) and adds DialogDescription metadata to the new-task modal. Also tightens PTY start listener cleanup to avoid accumulating onPtyStarted handlers, and updates .gitignore to ignore .notes in both file/dir forms.

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Project	Deployment	Actions	Updated (UTC)
docs	Ready	Preview, Comment	Feb 21, 2026 3:00am

[greptile-apps]

Greptile Summary

This PR improves task creation responsiveness by optimizing the worktree pooling system and unifying the loading UX:

Key improvements:

• Reserve worktrees now keyed by ${projectId}::${baseRef} for per-branch pooling, with automatic prewarming when base ref changes
• Collapsed reserve claim + task persistence into single IPC call (worktreeClaimReserveAndSaveTask) to reduce round-trips
• Moved git fetch from claim path (blocking) to reserve creation path (background) to keep claims instant
• Unified task creation loading overlay across single and multi-agent flows for consistent UX
• Fixed React Select controlled component warnings by using stable placeholder values instead of undefined
• Added DialogDescription to TaskModal for accessibility compliance
• Fixed PTY started listener cleanup to prevent listener buildup on repeated terminal starts
• Removed temporary task creation trace instrumentation after investigation

Test coverage:

• Added comprehensive worktree IPC tests covering claim+save success, reserve miss, database errors, and remote project rejection

Confidence Score: 4/5

• Safe to merge with minor attention to worktree pooling edge cases
• Well-tested refactoring with comprehensive test coverage for the new IPC flow. The reserve keying change is well-architected but introduces complexity in reserve lookup logic. PTY listener cleanup is correct. All Select component fixes follow the same safe pattern.
• Pay close attention to src/main/services/WorktreePoolService.ts for reserve lookup behavior with multiple base refs per project

Important Files Changed

Filename	Overview
src/main/services/WorktreePoolService.ts	Refactored reserve keying to include base ref for per-branch pooling, moved git fetch to reserve creation instead of claim path for faster claims
src/main/services/worktreeIpc.ts	Added new IPC handler to claim reserve and persist task in single round-trip
src/renderer/lib/taskCreationService.ts	Unified task creation flow to use combined claim+save IPC, added return value to signal creation start
src/renderer/App.tsx	Added isCreatingTask state management with 30s timeout and callback propagation
src/renderer/components/MainContentArea.tsx	Added TaskCreationLoading overlay during task creation
src/renderer/terminal/TerminalSessionManager.ts	Fixed PTY started listener cleanup to prevent listener buildup
src/test/main/worktreeIpc.test.ts	Added comprehensive tests for claim-and-save flow covering success, miss, error, and remote rejection cases

Sequence Diagram

sequenceDiagram
    participant User
    participant TaskModal
    participant App
    participant taskCreationService
    participant IPC
    participant WorktreePool
    participant Database
    participant ChatInterface

    User->>TaskModal: Click "Create Task"
    TaskModal->>taskCreationService: createTask()
    TaskModal->>App: onClose() (modal closes immediately)
    
    App->>App: setIsCreatingTask(true)
    App->>MainContentArea: Show TaskCreationLoading overlay
    
    taskCreationService->>IPC: worktreeClaimReserveAndSaveTask()
    IPC->>WorktreePool: claimReserve(projectId, baseRef)
    
    alt Reserve available
        WorktreePool-->>IPC: {worktree, needsBaseRefSwitch: false}
        IPC->>Database: saveTask(worktree + metadata)
        Database-->>IPC: success
        IPC-->>taskCreationService: {success: true, worktree, task}
        taskCreationService->>App: Update UI state (setActiveTask)
        App->>ChatInterface: Mount with task
        ChatInterface->>App: onTaskInterfaceReady()
        App->>App: setIsCreatingTask(false)
        App->>MainContentArea: Hide loading overlay
    else Reserve miss
        WorktreePool-->>IPC: null
        IPC-->>taskCreationService: {success: false}
        taskCreationService->>IPC: worktreeCreate() (fallback)
        Note over IPC: Regular sync worktree creation
        taskCreationService->>IPC: saveTask() (separate call)
        taskCreationService->>App: Update UI state
    end
    
    Note over WorktreePool: Background: replenishReserve(projectId, baseRef)

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[greptile-apps]

_{21 files reviewed, 1 comment}

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[greptile-apps]

dependency array includes selectedProject?.id but guards with if (!selectedProject) - effect will run when selectedProject object reference changes even if the id/path haven't changed

Suggested change

	}, [
	selectedProject?.id,
	selectedProject?.path,
	selectedProject?.gitInfo?.isGitRepo,
	projectDefaultBranch,
	prewarmReserveForBaseRef,
	]);
	}, [
	selectedProject,
	projectDefaultBranch,
	prewarmReserveForBaseRef,
	]);

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