feat(settings): context-aware Cmd+K settings search (from #349)

[ruzin]

Summary

Adds context-aware Cmd+K to Settings: while the Settings page is open, the global command palette switches to "Search settings…" mode — it filters an index of the app's settings (theme, microphone, AI provider, export, …) and jumps to the tab each one lives on, instead of searching notes.

This is the settings-search piece of @Vassista's #349, extracted and adapted to the current nav-rail Settings design so it does not change how Settings looks.

What changed

• CommandPalette.tsx — when the route is /settings, the palette searches a SETTINGS_INDEX and navigates to /settings?tab=<id>. Placeholder/aria/empty-state all switch to settings mode; note search is unchanged elsewhere. The index is retargeted to the current tabs (transcription settings live on the AI tab now; added an About entry) — the original PR's index used the pre-v0.6.2 tab layout.
• Settings.tsx — the visible tab now re-derives from the ?tab= param after mount (previously mount-only), so selecting a result switches tabs even when Settings is already open. Purely behavioral — no layout/visual change.

Why not just merge #349

#349 is 17 commits stale and its centrepiece is a Settings-UI refactor that predates (and would undo) the v0.6.2 nav-rail redesign. This PR takes only the search, rebuilt on the current design. Cloud transcription, notification, and other pieces of #349 are being extracted as separate PRs.

Tests

• New T1 settings-cmdk-search.t1.spec.ts: settings-mode search + filtering, and the route-reactive tab switch (jump from the AI tab to a General-tab setting). Existing notes-search palette specs still pass.
• typecheck:renderer green.

Credit: @Vassista (#349).

---

Summary by cubic

Adds context-aware Cmd+K to Settings: while on /settings, the palette switches to “Search settings…” and jumps to the right tab. Note search stays the same elsewhere.

• New Features
  • Cmd+K detects /settings, filters a settings index, and opens /settings?tab=… for the selected item; placeholder/aria/empty-state switch to settings mode. Note search is unchanged on other routes.
  • Settings now reacts to ?tab= changes after mount so selections switch tabs even when Settings is already open; adds a T1 spec covering settings-mode search, query trimming, and tab switching.
  • Polish from review: trim queries, guard aria-activedescendant when the list shrinks, match real labels (e.g., “Post meeting notifications”), and expand the index (Scheduled meetings, Storage location, dock icon); reset the Templates editor flag when leaving that tab.

^{Written for commit dd2faaf. Summary will update on new commits.}

[cubic-dev-ai]

1 issue found across 3 files

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Prompt for AI agents (unresolved issues)

Check if these issues are valid — if so, understand the root cause of each and fix them. If appropriate, use sub-agents to investigate and fix each issue separately.


<file name="app/renderer/src/routes/Settings.tsx">

<violation number="1" location="app/renderer/src/routes/Settings.tsx:93">
P2: Changing the hash from a valid deep link such as `/settings?tab=ai` to `/settings` (or to an invalid tab) leaves the old tab visible because this effect has no fallback branch. The route-sync logic should also reset `tab` to `'general'` when `requested` is absent or invalid, matching the mount behavior.</violation>
</file>

<sub>Reply with feedback, questions, or to request a fix.

Re-trigger cubic</sub>

[cubic-dev-ai]

P2: Changing the hash from a valid deep link such as /settings?tab=ai to /settings (or to an invalid tab) leaves the old tab visible because this effect has no fallback branch. The route-sync logic should also reset tab to 'general' when requested is absent or invalid, matching the mount behavior.

Prompt for AI agents

Check if this issue is valid — if so, understand the root cause and fix it. At app/renderer/src/routes/Settings.tsx, line 93:

<comment>Changing the hash from a valid deep link such as `/settings?tab=ai` to `/settings` (or to an invalid tab) leaves the old tab visible because this effect has no fallback branch. The route-sync logic should also reset `tab` to `'general'` when `requested` is absent or invalid, matching the mount behavior.</comment>

<file context>
@@ -84,6 +84,16 @@ export function Settings() {
+  // so without this the hash would update but the tab wouldn't switch.
+  React.useEffect(() => {
+    const requested = getRouteParam(route, 'tab');
+    if (requested && (DEEP_LINK_IDS as readonly string[]).includes(requested)) {
+      setTab(resolveTab(requested as DeepLinkId));
+    }
</file context>

Suggested change

	if (requested && (DEEP_LINK_IDS as readonly string[]).includes(requested)) {
	setTab(resolveTab(requested as DeepLinkId));
	}
	if (requested && (DEEP_LINK_IDS as readonly string[]).includes(requested)) {
	setTab(resolveTab(requested as DeepLinkId));
	} else {
	setTab('general');
	}

[ruzin]

Addressed the cubic review in dd2faaf:

• P3 (conf 10) — "Post meeting notifications" not findable: index title had a hyphen the real label doesn't; matched it exactly. ✅
• P3 (conf 10) — whitespace query returns nothing: now trim before lowercasing/filtering. ✅
• P3 — aria-activedescendant can reference a nonexistent option: restored a guard so it's only set when an option exists at selected. ✅
• P2 — undiscoverable settings: added Storage location and Scheduled meetings, and surfaced the menu-bar/tray setting in the dock entry's subtitle. ✅
• P2 — stale templateEditorOpen: reset it whenever the active tab isn't Templates (covers both the nav rail and the ⌘K search path). ✅

Not changing — P2 (Settings.tsx: navigating to /settings or an invalid tab leaves the old tab visible): this isn't a regression. Before this PR the tab was consumed on mount only, so no post-mount hash change switched tabs at all; the new effect strictly improves that by switching on any valid ?tab=. The settings search always navigates to a valid ?tab=, so the flagged path isn't reachable through the feature. Deliberately preserving the current tab on a param-less /settings avoids clobbering the tab on unrelated internal navigations that land on /settings without a param. Extended the T1 spec to cover the trim + real-label cases.

[Optic00]

Same timing story as #401: review finalised as it merged. One interaction bug worth a follow-up landed in #405 - after a manual tab switch, a repeated ⌘K settings search can silently no-op because tab state and URL diverge. Repro + fix directions in the issue.