fix(desktop): harden startup retries

desktop/main.js

@@ -681,6 +681,13 @@ function bindResearchUiProcess(processHandle, pythonCommand, candidates, candida
     if (researchServerProcess !== processHandle) return;
     researchServerProcess = null;
     researchServerOwned = false;
+    const shouldRetry = code !== 0 && workspaceState.status === "starting" && candidateIndex < candidates.length - 1;
+    if (shouldRetry) {
+      const nextCommand = candidates[candidateIndex + 1];
+      appendLog(`[startup-exit] ${pythonCommand} exited (${code ?? "null"}${signal ? `, ${signal}` : ""}). Retrying with ${nextCommand}.`);
+      launchResearchUiProcess(candidates, candidateIndex + 1);
+      return;
+    }
     clearResearchStartupTimer();
     updateWorkspaceState({
       status: "stopped",
@@ -696,8 +703,8 @@ function bindResearchUiProcess(processHandle, pythonCommand, candidates, candida
       researchServerOwned = false;
     }
     const shouldRetry =
-      ["EACCES", "EPERM", "ENOENT"].includes(error?.code || "")
-      && candidateIndex < candidates.length - 1;
+      ["EACCES", "EPERM", "ENOENT"].includes(error?.code || "") &&
+      candidateIndex < candidates.length - 1;
     if (shouldRetry) {
       const nextCommand = candidates[candidateIndex + 1];
       appendLog(`[spawn-error] ${pythonCommand} failed (${error.code}). Retrying with ${nextCommand}.`);

desktop/renderer/app.js

@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ const CONFIG = {
   launchControlPath: "/api/launch-control",
   paperHealthPath: "/api/paper-sessions-health",
   brokerHealthPath: "/api/broker-submissions-health",
+  hyperliquidSurfacePath: "/api/hyperliquid-surface",
   stepbitWorkspacePath: "/api/stepbit-workspace",
   detailArtifacts: ["report.json", "run_report.json"],
   experimentsConfigDir: "configs/experiments",
@@ -103,6 +104,10 @@ const elements = {
   runtimeAlert: document.getElementById("runtime-alert"),
   runtimeRetry: document.getElementById("runtime-retry"),
   runtimeChips: document.getElementById("runtime-chips"),
+  frontierMeta: document.getElementById("frontier-meta"),
+  frontierSummary: document.getElementById("frontier-summary"),
+  frontierGrid: document.getElementById("frontier-grid"),
+  frontierCallout: document.getElementById("frontier-callout"),
   chatLog: document.getElementById("chat-log"),
   chatForm: document.getElementById("chat-form"),
   chatInput: document.getElementById("chat-input"),
@@ -311,7 +316,7 @@ function bindEvents() {
 }
 
 function ensureRefreshLoop() {
-  if (!state.workspace.serverUrl) return;
+  if (!state.workspace.serverUrl || state.snapshotStatus.refreshPaused) return;
   refreshSnapshot();
   if (!state.refreshTimer) state.refreshTimer = window.setInterval(refreshSnapshot, CONFIG.refreshIntervalMs);
 }
@@ -335,14 +340,16 @@ async function refreshSnapshot() {
       window.quantlabDesktop.requestJson(CONFIG.launchControlPath),
       window.quantlabDesktop.requestJson(CONFIG.paperHealthPath),
       window.quantlabDesktop.requestJson(CONFIG.brokerHealthPath),
+      window.quantlabDesktop.requestJson(CONFIG.hyperliquidSurfacePath),
       window.quantlabDesktop.requestJson(CONFIG.stepbitWorkspacePath),
     ]);
     state.snapshot = {
       runsRegistry,
       launchControl: extra[0].status === "fulfilled" ? extra[0].value : state.snapshot?.launchControl || null,
       paperHealth: extra[1].status === "fulfilled" ? extra[1].value : state.snapshot?.paperHealth || null,
       brokerHealth: extra[2].status === "fulfilled" ? extra[2].value : state.snapshot?.brokerHealth || null,
-      stepbitWorkspace: extra[3].status === "fulfilled" ? extra[3].value : state.snapshot?.stepbitWorkspace || null,
+      hyperliquidSurface: extra[3].status === "fulfilled" ? extra[3].value : state.snapshot?.hyperliquidSurface || null,
+      stepbitWorkspace: extra[4].status === "fulfilled" ? extra[4].value : state.snapshot?.stepbitWorkspace || null,
     };
     state.snapshotStatus = {
       status: "ok",
@@ -680,6 +687,7 @@ function renderMarkupInto(container, markup) {
 function renderWorkspaceState() {
   const { status, serverUrl, error, source } = state.workspace;
   const runs = getRuns();
+  const frontier = getFrontierSnapshot();
   const stepbit = state.snapshot?.stepbitWorkspace?.live_urls || {};
   const paperCount = state.snapshot?.paperHealth?.total_sessions || 0;
   const brokerCount = state.snapshot?.brokerHealth?.total_sessions || 0;
@@ -713,9 +721,107 @@ function renderWorkspaceState() {
     createRuntimeChipNode("Stepbit app", stepbit.frontend_reachable ? "up" : "down", stepbit.frontend_reachable ? "up" : "down"),
     createRuntimeChipNode("Stepbit core", stepbit.core_ready ? "ready" : stepbit.core_reachable ? "up" : "down", stepbit.core_ready ? "up" : stepbit.core_reachable ? "warn" : "down"),
   );
+  renderFrontierDashboard(frontier);
   renderChatAdapterStatus();
 }
 
+function getFrontierSnapshot() {
+  const paper = state.snapshot?.paperHealth || null;
+  const broker = state.snapshot?.brokerHealth || null;
+  const hyperliquid = state.snapshot?.hyperliquidSurface || null;
+  const stepbit = state.snapshot?.stepbitWorkspace?.live_urls || {};
+  return { paper, broker, hyperliquid, stepbit };
+}
+
+function renderFrontierDashboard(frontier) {
+  if (!elements.frontierMeta || !elements.frontierSummary || !elements.frontierGrid || !elements.frontierCallout) return;
+  const { paper, broker, hyperliquid, stepbit } = frontier;
+  const paperReady = Boolean(paper?.available && paper?.total_sessions);
+  const brokerReady = Boolean(broker?.available);
+  const brokerAlerts = Boolean(broker?.has_alerts);
+  const hyperliquidReady = Boolean(hyperliquid?.available);
+  const hyperliquidAlerts = Boolean(hyperliquid?.submit_has_alerts);
+  const stepbitReady = Boolean(stepbit?.core_ready || stepbit?.backend_reachable || stepbit?.frontend_reachable);
+
+  clearElement(elements.frontierSummary);
+  appendChildren(
+    elements.frontierSummary,
+    createSummaryCardNode("Paper sessions", String(paper?.total_sessions ?? 0), paperReady ? "tone-positive" : "tone-warning"),
+    createSummaryCardNode("Broker boundary", brokerReady ? "Visible" : "Missing", brokerAlerts ? "tone-negative" : brokerReady ? "tone-positive" : "tone-warning"),
+    createSummaryCardNode("Hyperliquid surface", hyperliquidReady ? titleCase(hyperliquid?.latest_ready_artifact_type || "Ready") : "Missing", hyperliquidAlerts ? "tone-negative" : hyperliquidReady ? "tone-positive" : "tone-warning"),
+    createSummaryCardNode("Stepbit boundary", stepbitReady ? "Reachable" : "Down", stepbitReady ? "tone-positive" : "tone-warning"),
+  );
+
+  clearElement(elements.frontierGrid);
+  appendChildren(
+    elements.frontierGrid,
+    createFrontierCard("Paper bridge", paperReady ? "ready for promotion review" : "still building local session evidence", [
+      ["Latest session", paper?.latest_session_id || "-"],
+      ["Latest status", titleCase(paper?.latest_session_status || "none")],
+      ["Issue watch", paper?.latest_issue_session_id || "none"],
+    ], paperReady ? "positive" : "warning"),
+    createFrontierCard("Broker boundary", brokerReady ? "validation and alerts visible" : "no broker validation surface yet", [
+      ["Latest submit", broker?.latest_submit_session_id || "-"],
+      ["Latest state", broker?.latest_submit_state || "-"],
+      ["Alerts", broker?.has_alerts ? String((broker?.alerts || []).length) : "none"],
+    ], brokerAlerts ? "negative" : brokerReady ? "positive" : "warning"),
+    createFrontierCard("Hyperliquid", hyperliquidReady ? "signer and submit surfaces are tracked" : "surface not indexed yet", [
+      ["Latest artifact", hyperliquid?.latest_ready_artifact_type || "-"],
+      ["Signature state", titleCase(hyperliquid?.signature_state || "unknown")],
+      ["Alert status", titleCase(hyperliquid?.submit_alert_status || "unknown")],
+    ], hyperliquidAlerts ? "negative" : hyperliquidReady ? "positive" : "warning"),
+    createFrontierCard("Stepbit", stepbitReady ? "optional runtime boundary is reachable" : "external boundary is offline", [
+      ["Frontend", stepbit?.frontend_reachable ? "up" : "down"],
+      ["Backend", stepbit?.backend_reachable ? "up" : "down"],
+      ["Core", stepbit?.core_ready ? "ready" : stepbit?.core_reachable ? "up" : "down"],
+    ], stepbitReady ? "positive" : "warning"),
+  );
+
+  elements.frontierMeta.textContent = [
+    paperReady ? `${paper.total_sessions} paper sessions` : "paper not yet visible",
+    brokerReady ? `${formatNumericCount(broker?.total_sessions || 0)} broker sessions` : "broker not yet visible",
+    hyperliquidReady ? `${formatNumericCount(hyperliquid?.submit_health?.total_sessions || 0)} Hyperliquid submit sessions` : "Hyperliquid surface not yet visible",
+  ].join(" · ");
+
+  elements.frontierCallout.textContent = buildFrontierCallout({ paper, broker, hyperliquid, stepbit });
+}
+
+function buildFrontierCallout({ paper, broker, hyperliquid, stepbit }) {
+  if (broker?.has_alerts) {
+    return "Broker alerts are present. Inspect the broker boundary before trusting any submit-oriented flow.";
+  }
+  if (hyperliquid?.submit_has_alerts) {
+    return "Hyperliquid submit alerts are present. Inspect submit sessions and reconciliation before moving further.";
+  }
+  if (paper?.available && paper?.total_sessions) {
+    return `Paper sessions are visible with ${paper.total_sessions} tracked sessions. Use the ops view to decide which sessions are ready to bridge.`;
+  }
+  if (stepbit?.backend_reachable || stepbit?.core_reachable) {
+    return "The optional Stepbit boundary is partially reachable. Keep it as an external helper, not as QuantLab's control plane.";
+  }
+  return "Launch a run or wait for local session artifacts so the frontier cards can surface real operator state.";
+}
+
+function createSummaryCardNode(label, value, tone = "") {
+  return createElementNode("article", { className: "summary-card frontier-summary-card" }, [
+    createElementNode("div", { className: "label", text: label }),
+    createElementNode("div", { className: `value ${tone}`, text: value }),
+  ]);
+}
+
+function createFrontierCard(title, subtitle, rows, tone = "neutral") {
+  return createElementNode("article", { className: `frontier-card tone-${tone}` }, [
+    createElementNode("div", { className: "frontier-card-head" }, [
+      createElementNode("div", { className: "section-label", text: title }),
+      createElementNode("p", { className: "frontier-card-subtitle", text: subtitle }),
+    ]),
+    createElementNode("dl", { className: "frontier-metric-list metric-list compact" }, rows.flatMap(([label, value]) => [
+      createElementNode("dt", { text: label }),
+      createElementNode("dd", { text: value }),
+    ])),
+  ]);
+}
+
 function buildRuntimeAlert() {
   if (state.workspace.status === "error" || state.workspace.status === "stopped") {
     const recentLogs = (state.workspace.logs || []).slice(-4).join("\n");

desktop/renderer/index.html

@@ -131,6 +131,24 @@ <h2>Service state</h2>
                         <div id="runtime-chips" class="runtime-chips"></div>
                     </section>
 
+                    <section class="card frontier-panel">
+                        <div class="section-head">
+                            <div>
+                                <div class="section-label">Execution frontier</div>
+                                <h2>Paper, broker, and Hyperliquid</h2>
+                            </div>
+                            <div id="frontier-meta" class="workflow-meta">Waiting for local readiness surfaces...</div>
+                        </div>
+                        <div id="frontier-summary" class="tab-summary-grid frontier-summary"></div>
+                        <div id="frontier-grid" class="frontier-grid"></div>
+                        <div id="frontier-callout" class="frontier-callout"></div>
+                        <div class="workflow-actions frontier-actions">
+                            <button class="ghost-btn" type="button" data-action="open-ops">Open Paper Ops</button>
+                            <button class="ghost-btn" type="button" data-action="open-experiments">Open Experiments</button>
+                            <button class="ghost-btn" type="button" data-prompt="Show runtime status">Show runtime status</button>
+                        </div>
+                    </section>
+
                     <section class="workflow-panel card">
                         <div class="section-head">
                             <div>

desktop/renderer/styles.css

@@ -406,6 +406,78 @@ button:disabled {
 .runtime-chip.warn { color: var(--warning); border-color: rgba(240, 179, 93, 0.32); }
 .runtime-chip.down { color: var(--danger); border-color: rgba(242, 125, 136, 0.32); }
 
+.frontier-panel {
+    display: grid;
+    gap: 16px;
+}
+
+.frontier-summary {
+    margin-top: 2px;
+}
+
+.frontier-grid {
+    display: grid;
+    grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fit, minmax(220px, 1fr));
+    gap: 14px;
+}
+
+.frontier-card {
+    border: 1px solid var(--border);
+    border-radius: 16px;
+    padding: 16px;
+    background: linear-gradient(180deg, rgba(18, 28, 40, 0.94), rgba(8, 14, 22, 0.82));
+    display: grid;
+    gap: 12px;
+}
+
+.frontier-card.tone-positive {
+    border-color: rgba(118, 211, 156, 0.28);
+}
+
+.frontier-card.tone-warning {
+    border-color: rgba(240, 179, 93, 0.28);
+}
+
+.frontier-card.tone-negative {
+    border-color: rgba(242, 125, 136, 0.28);
+}
+
+.frontier-card-subtitle {
+    margin: 6px 0 0;
+    color: var(--muted);
+    line-height: 1.5;
+}
+
+.frontier-metric-list {
+    margin: 0;
+}
+
+.frontier-metric-list dt {
+    color: var(--muted);
+    font-size: 0.76rem;
+    text-transform: uppercase;
+    letter-spacing: 0.08em;
+}
+
+.frontier-metric-list dd {
+    margin: 4px 0 0;
+    font-weight: 600;
+    line-height: 1.45;
+}
+
+.frontier-callout {
+    border: 1px solid var(--border);
+    border-radius: 16px;
+    padding: 14px 16px;
+    background: rgba(8, 14, 22, 0.82);
+    color: var(--muted);
+    line-height: 1.55;
+}
+
+.frontier-actions {
+    margin-top: 2px;
+}
+
 .workflow-panel {
     display: grid;
     gap: 16px;