eleven / messenger Public

web: shellverbs.js — the behaviour seam (docs/shell-modules.md § The verbs seam) (#955)

The shellstate trick applied to behaviour: an empty registry that
shell.js fills with one Object.assign at boot (hoisted function decls),
so extracted modules call verbs.openThread(id) with no import cycle and
no per-module hook soup. Registration only; no logic in the seam.

Co-authored-by: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Paul Campbell 3 months ago 49a2290dbd47edd2423b1eef4b8f41eded614b37 parent 5e53f38

3 files changed, +34 −0

docs/shell-modules.md +15 −0
web/static/shell.js +10 −0
web/static/shellverbs.js +9 −0

diff --git a/docs/shell-modules.md b/docs/shell-modules.md

index 5d4b489..7293f01 100644

--- a/docs/shell-modules.md

+++ b/docs/shell-modules.md

@@ -38,6 +38,21 @@ So the seam is `web/static/shellstate.js`:

- Nothing else lives in shellstate.js. It is a place for shared *state*, not

shared *behaviour*; helpers keep moving into their own modules.

+## The verbs seam

+The state seam unblocked modules that *read*; the remaining clusters also

+*act* — they open threads, reload the list, raise modals. Those verbs can't be

+imported from shell.js (it's the entry module; importing it back is a cycle),

+and injecting them per-module scales into hook soup.

+So the same trick again: `web/static/shellverbs.js` exports one empty

+registry object, and shell.js populates it in a single `Object.assign` at

+boot. Modules call `verbs.openThread(id)`. Registration only — no logic in

+the seam, nothing imported by it, no cycles. When a verb's implementation

+later moves into its own module, the registry entry moves with it and no

+caller churns. (searchui.js's `wireSearch` predates this seam and stays as

+is.)

## Rules for a slice

1. Verbatim move — refactor in a separate PR from relocation, never both.

diff --git a/web/static/shell.js b/web/static/shell.js

index bcf2562..ba3e0e7 100644

--- a/web/static/shell.js

+++ b/web/static/shell.js

@@ -133,6 +133,7 @@ import "/static/apps/admin.js"; // the admin panel (admin-only; opened via /admi

import "/static/apps/appstudio.js"; // make + manage your own member apps (docs/member-apps.md)

import { openMemoryPanel } from "/static/apps/memory.js"; // /memory — the AI-memory scratchpad (docs/eleven-memory.md)

import { setHost as setChatAppHost, setConnected as setChatAppConnected, appendNotice, setNoticeTyping, feedGlideToBottom, scrollToMessage } from "/static/apps/chat.js";

+import { verbs } from "/static/shellverbs.js"; // the behaviour seam (docs/shell-modules.md)

import { scheduleMessageSearch, wireSearch, searchIdx } from "/static/searchui.js"; // message search over the local store (#586)

import { loadMemberApps, setMemberSeeder, setSurfaceRefresh, setMemberAdmin, recentLocalDeploy, pushTheme } from "/static/sandbox.js"; // member-built apps, run sandboxed (docs/member-apps.md)

import { THEME_META, THEME_ORDER, currentTheme, currentAppearance, setTheme, setAppearance, currentTextSize, setTextSize, onThemeApplied } from "/static/theme.js"; // applies the saved theme/text-size on import

@@ -176,6 +177,15 @@ import {

} from "/static/store.js";

import { anyComposerHasText, formatAsYouTypePref, setFormatAsYouType, classicComposerPref, setClassicComposer } from "/static/composer.js";

+// Populate the behaviour seam: the core verbs extracted modules call through

+// (function declarations hoist, so these references are valid here).

+Object.assign(verbs, {

+ openThread, loadThreads, renderThreadList, renderActiveSurfaces,

+ paintThreadHeader, modal, toast, displayName, threadAvatarFor,

+ announceJoin, announceLeave, announceRemove, sendChatText,

+ loadBlobBytes, chatAppFor, chatAppLoadOlder, stashAppPane,

+});

onThemeApplied(pushTheme); // live-retint mounted sandbox frames on theme change

wireSearch({ openThread, chatAppFor, chatAppLoadOlder }); // navigation + thread predicate + scroll-back paging

diff --git a/web/static/shellverbs.js b/web/static/shellverbs.js

new file mode 100644

index 0000000..5ab4178

--- /dev/null

+++ b/web/static/shellverbs.js

@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@

+// The shell's behaviour seam (docs/shell-modules.md § The verbs seam) — the

+// shellstate.js idea applied to the core verbs. This registry starts empty;

+// shell.js populates it in one Object.assign at boot (function declarations

+// hoist, so the assignment can sit right after the imports). Extracted

+// modules call verbs.openThread(id) etc. Registration only — no logic lives

+// here, nothing is imported here, so there is never an import cycle. When a

+// verb's implementation later gets its own module home, the registry entry

+// follows it and callers don't churn.

+export const verbs = {};