Replies whose post can't be found leave the Conversations view, and fewer go missingHEADmaster

A reply under "Couldn't find that note on the relays" told nobody anything (Adam, 2026-10-20), so once every lookup comes back without its post it isn't shown in a feed's Conversations view (its thread, notifications and the replier's own Replies tab keep it; a lookup that later finds the post brings it back).

The lookups miss less:
- A NIP-22 comment (kind 1111) names its parent's author at e-tag [3], not NIP-10's [4], so every comment's parent lost its author and the author's outbox went unasked. fiatjaf's comment on Kieran's routstr post lives on relay.snort.social (its hint), Kieran's pyramid.fiatjaf.com and ditto: none of ours.
- A reply that names no author asks the outboxes of the people it's addressed to (its p tags, up to three).
- The relay the reference itself names is asked even when this device has marked it sick.
- A post read in Following (or the feed in use) is found in that feed's disk cache too, so a Conversations view opened right after a reload doesn't take its replies for orphans.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <[email protected]>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_013ZDf1cyCQLkfjftYhymZAg

3 files changed, 47 insertions, 11 deletions

diff --git a/src/features/messages.js b/src/features/messages.js
index 7824a6f..d09ad83 100644
--- a/src/features/messages.js
+++ b/src/features/messages.js
@@ -4960,12 +4960,20 @@ export function messagesFeature(ctx) {
     else tag = es.find((x) => x[3] === 'reply') || es.find((x) => x[3] === 'root') || es[es.length - 1];
     if (!tag) return null;
     const ref = { type: 'event', id: tag[1], relays: tag[2] ? [tag[2]] : [] };
-    if (/^[0-9a-f]{64}$/i.test(tag[4] || '')) ref.author = tag[4].toLowerCase();
+    // the parent's author: NIP-22 carries it at [3], NIP-10 at [4] (read at
+    // [4] only, every comment's parent lost its author, and its outbox went
+    // unasked: fiatjaf's comment on Kieran's, 2026-10-20). Without one, the
+    // people the reply is addressed to: their outboxes are where it was written.
+    const hex = (x) => (/^[0-9a-f]{64}$/i.test(x || '') ? x.toLowerCase() : null);
+    ref.author = hex(ev.kind === 1111 ? tag[3] : tag[4]) || hex(tag[3]);
+    if (!ref.author) ref.authors = [...new Set((ev.tags || []).filter((x) => x[0] === 'p').map((x) => hex(x[1])).filter((p) => p && p !== ev.pubkey))].slice(0, 3);
     return ref;
   }
   // A note already in hand — in a feed, a thread, someone's page — before
   // asking any relay for it: the post a reply answers is usually right
   // there in the Following feed.
+  // a reply whose parent every lookup came back without
+  const orphaned = (ev) => { const p = parentRefOf(ev); const q = p && quoted.get(p.id); return !!q && q.status === 'missing' && !q.ev; };
   function noteInHand(id) {
     for (const c of feedStates.values()) for (const e of c.notes) {
       if (e.id === id) return e;
@@ -4976,6 +4984,24 @@ export function messagesFeature(ctx) {
       for (const e of c.replies || []) if (e.id === id) return e;
     }
     for (const c of notesCache.values()) for (const e of c.notes || []) if (e.id === id) return e;
+    return noteOnDisk(id);
+  }
+  // ...or on disk with the feed it was read in: a Conversations view opened
+  // straight after a reload has the posts its replies answer in Following's
+  // cache, not in any feed state yet (and without them, those replies were
+  // taken for replies to nothing and left out)
+  const diskHeld = new Map(); // feed id -> Map(note id -> note), read once a session
+  function noteOnDisk(id) {
+    for (const f of new Set([FOLLOWING, curFeedId])) {
+      let m = diskHeld.get(f);
+      if (!m) {
+        let notes = null;
+        try { notes = feedDisk()?.peekNotes(f) || wallet.loadFeatureState(feedCacheKey(f), []); } catch {}
+        m = new Map((Array.isArray(notes) ? notes : []).filter((e) => e && e.id).map((e) => [e.id, e]));
+        diskHeld.set(f, m);
+      }
+      if (m.has(id)) return m.get(id);
+    }
     return null;
   }
   function notesFor(pk) {
@@ -7222,6 +7248,7 @@ export function messagesFeature(ctx) {
       await noteReady(e, undefined, 0, { parent: feedReplies(c) });
       unstage(e);
       if (c.stopped) return false;
+      if (feedReplies(c) && orphaned(e)) return false; // a reply to nothing anyone can find
       // Cached rows can still be warming. This new row is already prepared
       // and can take its stable presentation without waiting for that page.
       if (c.booting) { c.prepared ||= new Set(); c.prepared.add(e.id); }
@@ -8328,8 +8355,10 @@ export function messagesFeature(ctx) {
   // dozen relays a fresh REQ for each quote it met).
   const findQ = new Map(); // relay -> Map(id -> waiters)
   let findTimer = null;
-  function askNote(relays, id) {
-    relays = readRelayList(relays);
+  function askNote(relays, id, hints = []) {
+    // (a relay the reference itself names is asked even when this device has
+    // marked it sick: it's the strongest clue there is to where the note lives)
+    relays = [...new Set([...readRelayList(relays), ...hints.filter((r) => /^wss:\/\/[^\s]+$/.test(r || '')).map(normRelay)])];
     if (!relays.length) return Promise.resolve(null);
     return new Promise((resolve) => {
       const w = { left: relays.length, resolve, done: false };
@@ -8366,9 +8395,10 @@ export function messagesFeature(ctx) {
   function findNote(ref) {
     const ask = (relays) => askNote(relays, ref.id);
     const near = [...new Set([...(ref.relays || []), ...zapRelays()])];
+    const authors = [...new Set([ref.author, ...(ref.authors || [])].filter(Boolean))];
     const asks = [
-      ask(near),
-      ref.author ? relaysOf(ref.author).catch(() => []).then((rs) => ask(rs.filter((r) => !near.includes(r)))) : Promise.resolve(null),
+      askNote(near, ref.id, ref.relays || []),
+      ...authors.map((a) => relaysOf(a).catch(() => []).then((rs) => ask(rs.filter((r) => !near.includes(r))))),
       ask(WIDE_RELAYS.filter((r) => !near.includes(r))),
     ];
     return new Promise((resolve) => {
@@ -15693,7 +15723,10 @@ export function messagesFeature(ctx) {
     // their settled presentation once the warm-up lands. The spinner is
     // for a feed with nothing cached at all.
     const curatedFeed = !!(feedDef(c.id) || {}).curated;
-    const shownHere = (ev) => !hidden(ev) && !(curatedFeed && notForPublic(ev));
+    // (a reply whose post every lookup came back without isn't shown: a
+    // "Couldn't find that note" over it told nobody anything — Adam, 2026-10-20)
+    const repliesHere = feedReplies(c);
+    const shownHere = (ev) => !hidden(ev) && !(curatedFeed && notForPublic(ev)) && !(repliesHere && orphaned(ev));
     const visible = c.notes.filter(shownHere);
     // Every child keyed by its post, hairlines included, so the morph
     // reconciles the list by post: a new one at the top is inserted as its
@@ -18220,7 +18253,7 @@ export function messagesFeature(ctx) {
       stCache = null; stAt = 0; // the next account's state, not this one's
       if (profFlush) { clearTimeout(profFlush); flushProfiles(); } // this account's faces, written before the blob is dropped
       profBlob = null;
-      timedActivity.clear(); reacts.clear(); boosts.clear(); seenNoteEv.clear(); myReactEv.clear(); quoted.clear();
+      timedActivity.clear(); diskHeld.clear(); reacts.clear(); boosts.clear(); seenNoteEv.clear(); myReactEv.clear(); quoted.clear();
       noteCountsReady.clear();
       // what happened to THEIR posts stays with them — the next identity
       // starts its list empty and asks the relays under its own key
diff --git a/src/feed-cache.js b/src/feed-cache.js
index a4f3ac9..cf3323e 100644
--- a/src/feed-cache.js
+++ b/src/feed-cache.js
@@ -54,6 +54,8 @@ export function createFeedCache(storage, prefix, now = Date.now) {
         return value.notes;
       } catch { return []; }
     },
+    // a feed's posts as stored, without counting as a read
+    peekNotes(id) { const v = peek(id); return v && Array.isArray(v.notes) ? v.notes : null; },
     save(id, notes) {
       try { storage.setItem(keyOf(id), JSON.stringify({ at: now(), notes: compact(notes) })); sweep(keyOf(id)); } catch {}
     },
diff --git a/tools/feed-conversations-test.js b/tools/feed-conversations-test.js
index e762d1a..f16fc35 100644
--- a/tools/feed-conversations-test.js
+++ b/tools/feed-conversations-test.js
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ try {
   const following = await rowIds();
   check('…only posts: no replies in Following', following.includes(A1.id) && following.includes(B1.id) && !following.includes(R1.id) && !following.includes(R2.id), following.map((x) => x.slice(0, 6)).join(','));
   const modes = () => page.$$eval('.media-mode', (l) => l.map((e) => e.getAttribute('data-mode') + '=' + e.textContent.trim() + (e.classList.contains('on') ? '*' : '')).join(' '));
-  check('Notes and Conversations lead the view chips', await modes() === 'all=Notes* replies=Conversations images=Images videos=Videos articles=Articles', await modes());
+  check('Notes and Conversations lead the view chips', await modes() === 'all=Notes* replies=Conversations images=Images videos=Videos live=Live articles=Articles', await modes());
   check('no Conversations feed chip of its own', !(await page.$$eval('.feed-chips > .feed-chip', (l) => l.some((e) => /Conversations/.test(e.textContent)))));
 
   console.log('\n[Conversations]');
@@ -79,7 +79,8 @@ try {
   const c1 = await contextOf(R1.id);
   check('a reply sits under the post it answers (in hand from Following, no relay asked)', !!c1 && c1.of === B1.id && c1.card && /Replying to/.test(c1.text) && /Bob Asker/.test(c1.text) && /bob root here/.test(c1.text), JSON.stringify(c1));
   check('…and the header no longer repeats "reply"', !(await page.$eval('.notes-feed .note-post[data-zap-post="' + R1.id + '"] .note-header', (e) => /\breply\b/i.test(e.innerText))));
-  check('a parent nobody has: the card says so', await waitFor((id) => { const c = document.querySelector('.note-post[data-zap-post="' + id + '"] .note-context'); return !!c && /find that note/i.test(c.innerText); }, R2.id, 8000), (await contextOf(R2.id) || {}).text);
+  // (a "Couldn't find that note" card over it told nobody anything: Adam, 2026-10-20)
+  check('a parent nobody has: the reply leaves the feed once every lookup comes back without it', await waitFor((ids) => !document.querySelector('.note-post[data-zap-post="' + ids[0] + '"]') && !!document.querySelector('.note-post[data-zap-post="' + ids[1] + '"]'), [R2.id, R1.id], 12000), (await rowIds()).map((x) => x.slice(0, 6)).join(','));
   // the reply's own tap (its text, not the card above it): its thread, at the reply
   await page.evaluate((id) => document.querySelector('.note-post[data-zap-post="' + id + '"] > .note-content > .note-text').click(), R1.id);
   check('tapping the reply opens the thread at the reply', await waitFor((id) => !!document.querySelector('[data-focus-note="1"][data-zap-post="' + id + '"]'), R1.id, 8000));
@@ -114,7 +115,7 @@ try {
   });
   await click('save'); await sleep(600);
   check('saved as a chip', await waitFor(() => [...document.querySelectorAll('.feed-chip')].some((e) => e.textContent.trim() === 'Alice talks' && e.classList.contains('on')), null, 6000));
-  check('…opened in the Conversations view, the replies borrowed from the feeds in hand', /replies=Conversations\*/.test(await modes()) && await waitFor((ids) => { const got = [...document.querySelectorAll('.notes-feed .note-post[data-zap-post]')].map((r) => r.getAttribute('data-zap-post')); return got.length === 2 && got.includes(ids[0]) && got.includes(ids[1]); }, [R1.id, R2.id], 8000), (await rowIds()).map((x) => x.slice(0, 6)).join(','));
+  check('…opened in the Conversations view, the replies borrowed from the feeds in hand', /replies=Conversations\*/.test(await modes()) && await waitFor((ids) => { const got = [...document.querySelectorAll('.notes-feed .note-post[data-zap-post]')].map((r) => r.getAttribute('data-zap-post')); return got.length === 1 && got.includes(ids[0]) && !got.includes(ids[1]); }, [R1.id, R2.id], 8000), (await rowIds()).map((x) => x.slice(0, 6)).join(','));
   check('…each with its context', (await contextOf(R1.id) || {}).of === B1.id);
   await page.evaluate(() => document.querySelector('.media-mode[data-mode="all"]').click());
   check('Notes: the same feed\'s posts', await waitFor((ids) => { const got = [...document.querySelectorAll('.notes-feed .note-post[data-zap-post]')].map((r) => r.getAttribute('data-zap-post')); return got.length === 2 && got.includes(ids[0]) && got.includes(ids[1]); }, [A1.id, B1.id], 8000), (await rowIds()).map((x) => x.slice(0, 6)).join(','));
@@ -122,7 +123,7 @@ try {
   await page.evaluate(() => document.querySelector('.feed-chip[data-key="chip:following"]').click());
   check('Following in Notes is posts only', await waitFor((ids) => { const got = [...document.querySelectorAll('.notes-feed .note-post[data-zap-post]')].map((r) => r.getAttribute('data-zap-post')); return got.includes(ids[0]) && !got.includes(ids[1]); }, [A1.id, R1.id], 8000));
   await page.evaluate(() => document.querySelector('.media-mode[data-mode="replies"]').click());
-  check('…and its Conversations view is back at once', await waitFor((ids) => { const got = [...document.querySelectorAll('.notes-feed .note-post[data-zap-post]')].map((r) => r.getAttribute('data-zap-post')); return got.length === 2 && got[0] === ids[0]; }, [R2.id], 8000));
+  check('…and its Conversations view is back at once', await waitFor((ids) => { const got = [...document.querySelectorAll('.notes-feed .note-post[data-zap-post]')].map((r) => r.getAttribute('data-zap-post')); return got.length === 1 && got[0] === ids[0]; }, [R1.id], 8000));
   await page.reload({ waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' });
   await waitText('receive', 20000);
   await page.evaluate(() => document.querySelector('.app-nav-button[aria-label="Feed"]').click());