Recipient search warms its pipes on focus, not first keystroke: the Primal cache socket, the registrar's TLS session, and the NIP-50 relay connections each cost a handshake that used to land on the first query — the cold second of dead air. Touching the send recipient field, opening user search, or unfolding New message now pre-opens all three (throttled; the idle reaper still closes the socket a minute after real use)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <[email protected]>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01MrkLsNScXe9b6BviUSdmMr

3 files changed, 47 insertions, 23 deletions

diff --git a/src/app.js b/src/app.js
index a818d67..da724dc 100644
--- a/src/app.js
+++ b/src/app.js
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
 import { Wallet, newMnemonic, isValidMnemonic, accountXpubFor, cacheKeyFor, utxoId, parseExtendedKey, xpubToZpub, encryptVault, decryptVault } from './wallet.js';
 import { qrSvg } from './qr.js';
-import { makeSearcher, resultRows, searchable, punkUrl } from './recipient-search.js';
+import { makeSearcher, resultRows, searchable, punkUrl, warmSearch } from './recipient-search.js';
 import { npubOf } from './nostr.js';
 import { nip98Header } from './nip98.js';
 import { NOSTR_MARK } from './features/nostrlogin.js';
@@ -3870,8 +3870,10 @@ function recipientRow(s, r, i) {
     type: 'text', class: 'mono-input grow', placeholder: i === 0 ? t('destPlaceholder') : 'bc1q…',
     autocapitalize: 'none', autocomplete: 'off', spellcheck: 'false', value: r.address,
     // the delay lets the keyboard start opening (and any render() swap of
-    // this input) before parkSendField measures the live activeElement
-    onFocus: () => setTimeout(parkSendField, 300),
+    // this input) before parkSendField measures the live activeElement.
+    // warmSearch pre-opens the search transports so the first keystroke's
+    // results don't pay three cold handshakes.
+    onFocus: () => { warmSearch(); setTimeout(parkSendField, 300); },
     onInput: (e) => {
       const v = e.target.value;
       r.address = v; syncCheck();
diff --git a/src/features/messages.js b/src/features/messages.js
index ce1975e..3f494e4 100644
--- a/src/features/messages.js
+++ b/src/features/messages.js
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ import {
 } from '../concord.js';
 import { makeDMRumor, unwrapDM, wrapDM } from '../dm.js';
 import { saveInbox } from '../dm-inbox.js';
-import { makeSearcher, resultRows, fallbackAvatar } from '../recipient-search.js';
+import { makeSearcher, resultRows, fallbackAvatar, warmSearch } from '../recipient-search.js';
 import { getNetwork } from '../api.js';
 import { hexToBytes, bytesToHex } from '@noble/hashes/utils';
 import { t } from '../i18n.js';
@@ -2299,7 +2299,7 @@ export function messagesFeature(ctx) {
     // ---- DMs
     kids.push(h('div', { class: 'row between', style: 'align-items:baseline' },
       h('h3', { style: 'margin:0' }, t('msgDmsTitle')),
-      h('button', { class: 'btn-sm', onClick: () => { ui.msgHomePanel = ui.msgHomePanel === 'newdm' ? null : 'newdm'; render(); } }, t('msgNewDm'))));
+      h('button', { class: 'btn-sm', onClick: () => { ui.msgHomePanel = ui.msgHomePanel === 'newdm' ? null : 'newdm'; if (ui.msgHomePanel === 'newdm') warmSearch(); render(); } }, t('msgNewDm'))));
     if (ui.msgHomePanel === 'newdm') {
       const openThread = (pk) => {
         dmSearcher.clear();
@@ -2750,6 +2750,7 @@ export function messagesFeature(ctx) {
       ui.chatOpen = false;
       ui.profilePk = null;
       ui.userSearch = { q: '', rows: null };
+      warmSearch(); // the field is about to be typed into — open the pipes
       return true;
     },
     // nostr-login just connected or resumed a signer: wraps the backfill
diff --git a/src/recipient-search.js b/src/recipient-search.js
index bd1767b..a5c5f46 100644
--- a/src/recipient-search.js
+++ b/src/recipient-search.js
@@ -46,28 +46,49 @@ function primalSearch(q, limit = MAX_RESULTS) {
     pwsIdle = setTimeout(() => { try { pws?.close(); } catch {} pws = null; }, 60_000);
     const send = () => { try { pws.send(JSON.stringify(['REQ', sid, { cache: ['user_search', { query: q, limit }] }])); } catch { finish(); } };
     if (pws && pws.readyState === 1) return send();
-    if (!pws || pws.readyState > 1) {
-      try { pws = new WebSocket(PRIMAL_CACHE); } catch { pws = null; return finish(); }
-      pws.onmessage = (ev) => {
-        try {
-          const m = JSON.parse(ev.data);
-          const sub = pwsSubs.get(m[1]);
-          if (!sub) return;
-          if (m[0] === 'EVENT' && m[2] && m[2].kind === 0) sub.rows.push(m[2]);
-          if (m[0] === 'EOSE') sub.finish();
-        } catch {}
-      };
-      pws.onerror = pws.onclose = () => {
-        pws = null;
-        const waiting = [...pwsSubs.values()];
-        pwsSubs.clear();
-        for (const s of waiting) s.finish();
-      };
-    }
+    if (!ensurePws()) return finish();
     pws.addEventListener('open', send, { once: true });
   });
 }
 
+function ensurePws() {
+  if (pws && pws.readyState <= 1) return true;
+  try { pws = new WebSocket(PRIMAL_CACHE); } catch { pws = null; return false; }
+  pws.onmessage = (ev) => {
+    try {
+      const m = JSON.parse(ev.data);
+      const sub = pwsSubs.get(m[1]);
+      if (!sub) return;
+      if (m[0] === 'EVENT' && m[2] && m[2].kind === 0) sub.rows.push(m[2]);
+      if (m[0] === 'EOSE') sub.finish();
+    } catch {}
+  };
+  pws.onerror = pws.onclose = () => {
+    pws = null;
+    const waiting = [...pwsSubs.values()];
+    pwsSubs.clear();
+    for (const s of waiting) s.finish();
+  };
+  return true;
+}
+
+// Pre-open every search transport BEFORE the first keystroke: the Primal
+// socket, the registrar's TLS session, and the NIP-50 relay connections
+// each cost a handshake that otherwise lands ON the first query — the
+// "cold" second of dead air after typing begins. Call on focus of any
+// search-capable field; throttled, and the idle timer still reclaims the
+// socket a minute after the last real use.
+let warmedAt = 0;
+export function warmSearch() {
+  if (Date.now() - warmedAt < 15_000) return;
+  warmedAt = Date.now();
+  ensurePws();
+  clearTimeout(pwsIdle);
+  pwsIdle = setTimeout(() => { try { pws?.close(); } catch {} pws = null; }, 60_000);
+  fetch(`${REGISTRAR}/health`).catch(() => {});
+  queryOn(SEARCH_RELAYS, { kinds: [0], limit: 1 }, 800).catch(() => {});
+}
+
 // Caches survive reloads: a name searched yesterday paints instantly today.
 // Profiles cap at 200 by recency; whole-query results keep for 12 hours.
 const PROF_KEY = 'btc-wallet-search-profiles';