Save local refactor snapshot and transport settings

refactor.md

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+# Refactor Summary
+
+## Scope
+This branch captures local refactors focused on frontend UX polish, IPC call consolidation, transport abstraction, and channel page responsiveness.
+
+## Key Changes
+
+### 1. Frontend IPC consolidation
+- Replaced scattered direct `window.electron.ipcRenderer.invoke(...)` calls with unified `invokeIpc(...)` usage.
+- Added lint guard to prevent new direct renderer IPC invokes outside the API layer.
+- Introduced a centralized API client with:
+  - error normalization (`AppError`)
+  - unified `app:request` support + compatibility fallback
+  - retry helper for timeout/network errors
+
+### 2. Transport abstraction (extensible protocol layer)
+- Added transport routing abstraction inside `src/lib/api-client.ts`:
+  - `ipc`, `ws`, `http`
+  - rule-based channel routing
+  - transport registration/unregistration
+  - failure backoff and fallback behavior
+- Added default transport initialization in app entry.
+- Added gateway-specific transport adapters for WS/HTTP.
+
+### 3. HTTP path moved to Electron main-process proxy
+- Added `gateway:httpProxy` IPC handler in main process to avoid renderer-side CORS issues.
+- Preload allowlist updated for `gateway:httpProxy`.
+- Gateway HTTP transport now uses IPC proxy instead of browser `fetch` direct-to-gateway.
+
+### 4. Settings improvements (Developer-focused transport control)
+- Added persisted setting `gatewayTransportPreference`.
+- Added runtime application of transport preference in app bootstrap.
+- Added UI option (Developer section) to choose routing strategy:
+  - WS First / HTTP First / WS Only / HTTP Only / IPC Only
+- Added i18n strings for EN/ZH/JA.
+
+### 5. Channel page performance optimization
+- `fetchChannels` now supports options:
+  - `probe` (manual refresh can force probe)
+  - `silent` (background refresh without full-page loading lock)
+- Channel status event refresh now debounced (300ms) to reduce refresh storms.
+- Initial loading spinner only shown when no existing data.
+- Manual refresh uses local spinner state and non-blocking update.
+
+### 6. UX and component enhancements
+- Added shared feedback state component for consistent empty/loading/error states.
+- Added telemetry helpers and quick-action/dashboard refinements.
+- Setup/settings/providers/chat/skills/cron pages received targeted UX and reliability fixes.
+
+### 7. IPC main handler compatibility improvements
+- Expanded `app:request` coverage for provider/update/settings/cron/usage actions.
+- Unsupported app requests now return structured error response instead of throwing, reducing noisy handler exceptions.
+
+### 8. Tests
+- Added unit tests for API client behavior and feedback state rendering.
+- Added transport fallback/backoff coverage in API client tests.
+
+## Files Added
+- `src/lib/api-client.ts`
+- `src/lib/telemetry.ts`
+- `src/components/common/FeedbackState.tsx`
+- `tests/unit/api-client.test.ts`
+- `tests/unit/feedback-state.test.tsx`
+- `refactor.md`
+
+## Notes
+- Navigation order in sidebar is kept aligned with `main` ordering.
+- This commit snapshots current local refactor state for follow-up cleanup/cherry-pick work.