From 0dfc3e39b95bf47522a1ae33782d668bf71c583e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Brooklyn Nicholson <brooklyn.bb.nicholson@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 2026 11:13:03 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] fix(bots): keep the Bot Chat stale-tile probe discard-only so
 background refreshes never take focus

---
 .../hermes-bots/canonical-chat-stale-tiles.test.ts   | 12 +++++++++++-
 .../src/plugins/hermes-bots/canonical-chat.ts        |  6 ++++--
 2 files changed, 15 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/canonical-chat-stale-tiles.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/canonical-chat-stale-tiles.test.ts
index e426f3c0ee..3753a8b1a9 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/canonical-chat-stale-tiles.test.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/canonical-chat-stale-tiles.test.ts
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ describe('120810: compressed Bot Chat discards the stale tile', () => {
     expect(focusMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
     const [ownerKey, probe, onlyIds] = focusMock.mock.calls[0]
     expect(ownerKey).toBe('bot:ops')
-    expect(onlyIds).toEqual(expect.arrayContaining(['root-1', 'tip-9']))
+    expect(onlyIds).toEqual([])
     // Stale: Bot Chat-titled tile at an id that is neither registry nor tip.
     expect(probe({ storedSessionId: 'old-segment', workspaceTabTitle: 'Bot Chat' })).toBe(true)
     // Live tip and registry row are never stale.
@@ -79,4 +79,14 @@ describe('120810: compressed Bot Chat discards the stale tile', () => {
     // Tip opens after the probe.
     expect(hostMock.openSession.mock.calls[0][0]).toBe('tip-9')
   })
+
+  it('a background refresh discards stale tiles without fronting the live one (#121874)', async () => {
+    const { openBotCanonicalChat } = await loadModule()
+    await openBotCanonicalChat('ops', { background: true })
+
+    expect(focusMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+    const [, probe, onlyIds] = focusMock.mock.calls[0]
+    expect(onlyIds).toEqual([])
+    expect(probe({ storedSessionId: 'old-segment', workspaceTabTitle: 'Bot Chat' })).toBe(true)
+  })
 })
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/canonical-chat.ts b/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/canonical-chat.ts
index b40c94ccf0..33ecf3c1bc 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/canonical-chat.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/canonical-chat.ts
@@ -157,9 +157,11 @@ async function openStoredBotChat(
   // Compression rotates the tip while tiles stay keyed by segment, and hidden
   // Bot Chats never reach the sidebar listing the lineage guard reads, so the
   // old-segment tile is discarded here or it survives beside the tip
-  // (hermes-agent#120810). Same owner-scoped probe the roster click runs.
+  // (hermes-agent#120810). Same owner-scoped probe the roster click runs, but
+  // discard-only (`[]` fronts nothing): a background refresh must never take
+  // the tab strip (#121874), and the openSession below fronts explicit opens.
   const canonicalIds = [...new Set([summary?.id, storedId].filter(Boolean).map(String))]
-  host.focusOpenWorkspaceSession?.(ownerKey, isStaleBotChatTile(canonicalIds), canonicalIds)
+  host.focusOpenWorkspaceSession?.(ownerKey, isStaleBotChatTile(canonicalIds), [])
 
   await host.openSession(storedId, {
     ...(route