@m13v/s4l 1.7.6 → 1.7.7-rc.10

package/bin/cli.js

@@ -456,6 +456,18 @@ function installBrowserHarness() {
         label: 'focus-suppression + tab-event observability',
         absentWarn: 'harness Chrome may steal OS focus on every tab switch',
       },
+      {
+        // Daemon attach_first_page: reuse an existing blank tab and create in
+        // the BACKGROUND when truly tabless. Without it, a blank-only browser
+        // traps the daemon in a stale-session loop where every re-attach mints
+        // a foreground about:blank = one macOS focus steal per iteration
+        // (2026-08-03, 30+/day on the reddit harness).
+        file: 'browser-harness-daemon-blank-tab-attach.patch',
+        sentinelFile: path.join('src', 'browser_harness', 'daemon.py'),
+        sentinelStr: 'no page tabs at all',
+        label: 'daemon blank-tab background attach',
+        absentWarn: 'harness daemon re-attach may pop the Chrome window (focus steal)',
+      },
     ];
     for (const p of vendoredPatches) {
       const patchPath = path.join(PKG_ROOT, 'scripts', 'patches', p.file);

package/mcp/dist/index.js

@@ -131,10 +131,13 @@ const STALL_WATCH_INTERVAL_SECS = 120;
 // S4L_OVERLAY_WATCH=0.
 const OVERLAY_WATCH_LABEL = "com.m13v.social-overlay-watch";
 const OVERLAY_WATCH_PLIST = path.join(os.homedir(), "Library", "LaunchAgents", `${OVERLAY_WATCH_LABEL}.plist`);
-// Daily self-updater. Enabled alongside autopilot so a hands-free (headless)
-// install keeps itself current — the interactive `runtime` tool (action:'update')
-// only helps when
-// a human-facing agent session is open, which an autopilot box never has.
+// Legacy daily self-updater launchd job. BANNED (user decision 2026-07-31):
+// it ran s4l_box_update.sh unattended, which kills and relaunches Claude
+// Desktop with no human in the loop. Updates are user-initiated only (menubar
+// "Update now & restart Claude Desktop", the panel button, `runtime`
+// action:'update', or an operator running s4l_box_update.sh explicitly). The
+// label/plist constants survive so ensureUpdaterRemoved() can clean the job
+// off every box that got it from v1.7.1..v1.7.7-rc.4.
 const UPDATER_LABEL = "com.m13v.social-autoposter-update";
 const UPDATER_PLIST = path.join(os.homedir(), "Library", "LaunchAgents", `${UPDATER_LABEL}.plist`);
 // A sane PATH for launchd jobs (launchd starts with a bare PATH). Include the
@@ -4874,68 +4877,21 @@ async function ensureOverlayWatchInstalled() {
         return { ok: false, detail: e?.message || String(e) };
     }
 }
-// Install/refresh the daily self-updater launchd job. This used to be bundled
-// into the now-deleted `autopilot` MCP tool (removed 2026-06-19, 88bd1cb9):
-// calling `autopilot enable` installed this job as a side effect, so removing
-// the tool silently orphaned it — UPDATER_LABEL/UPDATER_PLIST and the
-// auto_update_on status check survived (buildSnapshot still reports them), but
-// nothing has installed the plist since, on ANY box provisioned after that
-// commit (auto_update_on reads false forever). Restored here as its own
-// deterministic boot-time job, same pattern as its five siblings above.
-//
-// Points at scripts/s4l_box_update.sh, NOT skill/social-autoposter-update.sh:
-// the latter is the npm-lane updater (npm view + npx update) and is a silent
-// no-op on a .mcpb box, which has no npm/npx on PATH (see version.ts). The
-// .mcpb-lane equivalent downloads the .mcpb directly from the channel-resolved
-// GitHub release and unpacks it over the extension dir — see that script's own
-// header for the channel/no-downgrade/retry guards. Default mode there
-// downloads + unpacks + restarts Claude Desktop with NO human in the loop,
-// matching the original bundled updater's intent ("keeps a headless install
-// current"); RunAtLoad so a box that boots already-behind checks promptly.
-async function ensureUpdaterInstalled() {
+// Remove the legacy daily self-updater launchd job (see UPDATER_LABEL's
+// comment). Boot-time, idempotent, best-effort: unload the job if launchd has
+// it and delete the plist so the daily silent Claude Desktop restart can never
+// fire again. Do NOT reintroduce an install path for this job — any future
+// auto-update mechanism must be user-visible and user-confirmed.
+async function ensureUpdaterRemoved() {
     try {
         if (process.platform !== "darwin")
-            return { ok: false, detail: "not macOS" };
-        if ((process.env.S4L_AUTO_UPDATE) === "0")
-            return { ok: false, detail: "disabled (S4L_AUTO_UPDATE=0)" };
-        const logDir = path.join(repoDir(), "skill", "logs");
-        try {
-            fs.mkdirSync(logDir, { recursive: true });
-        }
-        catch {
-            /* best-effort */
-        }
-        const xml = plistXml({
-            label: UPDATER_LABEL,
-            programArgs: ["/bin/bash", path.join(repoDir(), "scripts", "s4l_box_update.sh")],
-            intervalSecs: 86_400,
-            runAtLoad: true,
-            stdoutLog: path.join(logDir, "launchd-self-update-stdout.log"),
-            stderrLog: path.join(logDir, "launchd-self-update-stderr.log"),
-        });
+            return { ok: true, detail: "not macOS" };
         const uid = process.getuid ? process.getuid() : 0;
-        let cur = null;
-        try {
-            cur = fs.readFileSync(UPDATER_PLIST, "utf-8");
-        }
-        catch {
-            cur = null;
-        }
-        let detail;
-        if (cur === xml) {
-            const res = await loadPlist(UPDATER_LABEL, UPDATER_PLIST, uid);
-            detail = `current (load rc=${res.code})`;
-        }
-        else {
-            if (cur !== null) {
-                await unloadPlist(UPDATER_LABEL, UPDATER_PLIST, uid);
-            }
-            fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(UPDATER_PLIST), { recursive: true });
-            fs.writeFileSync(UPDATER_PLIST, xml, "utf-8");
-            const res = await loadPlist(UPDATER_LABEL, UPDATER_PLIST, uid);
-            detail = cur === null ? "installed + loaded" : `rewritten + reloaded (rc=${res.code})`;
-        }
-        return { ok: true, detail };
+        const existed = fs.existsSync(UPDATER_PLIST);
+        await unloadPlist(UPDATER_LABEL, UPDATER_PLIST, uid);
+        if (existed)
+            fs.rmSync(UPDATER_PLIST, { force: true });
+        return { ok: true, detail: existed ? "removed" : "absent" };
     }
     catch (e) {
         return { ok: false, detail: e?.message || String(e) };
@@ -6134,13 +6090,12 @@ async function main() {
     void ensureOverlayWatchInstalled()
         .then((r) => console.error(`[overlay-watch] launchd supervisor: ${r.ok ? "ok" : "skip"} (${r.detail})`))
         .catch((e) => console.error("[overlay-watch] supervisor install failed:", e?.message || e));
-    // Daily self-updater: restored 2026-07-08 after 88bd1cb9 ("Remove autopilot
-    // tool") silently dropped its only install path (it used to be bundled into
-    // the deleted `autopilot enable` action). Best-effort; never blocks boot.
-    // Disable with S4L_AUTO_UPDATE=0.
-    void ensureUpdaterInstalled()
-        .then((r) => console.error(`[self-update] launchd updater: ${r.ok ? "ok" : "skip"} (${r.detail})`))
-        .catch((e) => console.error("[self-update] updater install failed:", e?.message || e));
+    // Silent daily self-updates are banned (user decision 2026-07-31): the job
+    // restarted Claude Desktop unattended. Clean it off every box that got it
+    // from v1.7.1..v1.7.7-rc.4. Best-effort; never blocks boot.
+    void ensureUpdaterRemoved()
+        .then((r) => console.error(`[self-update] legacy launchd updater: ${r.ok ? "ok" : "skip"} (${r.detail})`))
+        .catch((e) => console.error("[self-update] updater removal failed:", e?.message || e));
     // Heal installs onboarded before short_links_live defaulted to false: such a
     // project wraps short links against the customer's own domain, which has no
     // /r/[code] resolver, so every minted link 404s. Re-point them at the s4l.ai

package/mcp/dist/repo.js

@@ -71,6 +71,18 @@ export function run(cmd, args, opts = {}) {
         catch {
             /* a spawn observer must never break the run */
         }
+        if (opts.stdin != null) {
+            // Swallow async pipe errors (e.g. EPIPE when the child exits before
+            // reading) — an unhandled stream error would crash the whole process.
+            child.stdin.on("error", () => { });
+            try {
+                child.stdin.write(opts.stdin);
+                child.stdin.end();
+            }
+            catch {
+                /* a closed stdin must never break the run */
+            }
+        }
         let stdout = "";
         let stderr = "";
         // Per-stream partial-line buffers so onLine fires on whole lines only,
@@ -199,7 +211,9 @@ export function readPlan(batchId) {
     }
 }
 export function writePlan(batchId, plan) {
-    fs.writeFileSync(planPath(batchId), JSON.stringify(plan, null, 2), "utf-8");
+    // Compact (no indent): the review store reached 65 MB with pretty-printing
+    // (2026-08-02 lag incident) and every reader pays the parse.
+    fs.writeFileSync(planPath(batchId), JSON.stringify(plan), "utf-8");
 }
 // Find the newest plan file when no batch id is supplied.
 export function latestBatchId() {

package/mcp/dist/runtime.js

@@ -34,6 +34,82 @@ const BROWSER_HARNESS_PIN = "6d20866664ea3d9691b27bbf64f42ae097437dc3";
 const BROWSER_HARNESS_REPO = "https://github.com/browser-use/browser-harness";
 const HARNESS_DIR = path.join(os.homedir(), "Developer", "browser-harness");
 const HARNESS_BIN = path.join(os.homedir(), ".local", "bin", "browser-harness");
+// Vendored fixes applied on top of the pin (we don't control upstream).
+// KEEP IN SYNC WITH bin/cli.js `vendoredPatches`. Each: patch file under
+// scripts/patches/ + a sentinel (file, substring) that means the fix is
+// already present (upstream merged it, or we applied it), so a non-applying
+// patch only warns when the fix is genuinely absent. Order matters: patches
+// are generated to apply sequentially onto the pristine pin (each also
+// applies standalone, verified 2026-08-03). NEVER fail install over these.
+const HARNESS_VENDORED_PATCHES = [
+    {
+        file: "browser-harness-loopback-cdp-proxy.patch",
+        sentinelFile: path.join("src", "browser_harness", "admin.py"),
+        sentinelStr: "cdp_urlopen",
+        label: "loopback-proxy",
+        absentWarn: "CDP probes may 403 behind a system proxy",
+    },
+    {
+        // Suppress OS-focus-stealing Target.activateTarget on offscreen automation
+        // harnesses; [bh_tab_event] observability. Was previously applied only by
+        // the npm installer (bin/cli.js) — a bare .mcpb provision skipped it, so
+        // mcpb-only boxes ran upstream helpers that steal focus on every tab
+        // switch (gap closed 2026-08-03).
+        file: "browser-harness-focus-and-observability.patch",
+        sentinelFile: path.join("src", "browser_harness", "helpers.py"),
+        sentinelStr: "_is_offscreen_harness",
+        label: "focus-suppression + tab-event observability",
+        absentWarn: "harness Chrome may steal OS focus on every tab switch",
+    },
+    {
+        // Daemon attach_first_page: reuse an existing blank tab and create in the
+        // BACKGROUND when truly tabless. Without it, a blank-only browser traps
+        // the daemon in a stale-session loop where every re-attach mints a
+        // foreground about:blank = one macOS focus steal per iteration.
+        file: "browser-harness-daemon-blank-tab-attach.patch",
+        sentinelFile: path.join("src", "browser_harness", "daemon.py"),
+        sentinelStr: "no page tabs at all",
+        label: "daemon blank-tab background attach",
+        absentWarn: "harness daemon re-attach may pop the Chrome window (focus steal)",
+    },
+];
+/** Apply every vendored patch to HARNESS_DIR (check-then-apply, sentinel-aware).
+ * Returns a human-readable summary; never throws. */
+async function applyHarnessVendoredPatches() {
+    const results = [];
+    for (const p of HARNESS_VENDORED_PATCHES) {
+        const patchPath = path.join(MATERIALIZED_REPO, "scripts", "patches", p.file);
+        if (!fs.existsSync(patchPath)) {
+            results.push(`${p.label}: patch file missing`);
+            continue;
+        }
+        const chk = await sh("git", ["-C", HARNESS_DIR, "apply", "--check", patchPath], {
+            timeoutMs: 30000,
+        });
+        if (chk.code === 0) {
+            const app = await sh("git", ["-C", HARNESS_DIR, "apply", patchPath], { timeoutMs: 30000 });
+            results.push(`${p.label}: ${app.code === 0 ? "applied" : `apply failed (${app.code})`}`);
+            continue;
+        }
+        let present = false;
+        try {
+            present = fs
+                .readFileSync(path.join(HARNESS_DIR, p.sentinelFile), "utf-8")
+                .includes(p.sentinelStr);
+        }
+        catch {
+            /* file moved — fall through to the warning */
+        }
+        if (present) {
+            results.push(`${p.label}: already present`);
+        }
+        else {
+            console.error(`[runtime] browser-harness ${p.label} patch no longer applies and the fix is absent upstream; ${p.absentWarn}`);
+            results.push(`${p.label}: ABSENT (patch stale)`);
+        }
+    }
+    return results.join("; ");
+}
 // The harness drives a REAL Google Chrome over CDP (see twitter-backend.sh
 // _resolve_chrome_bin). Nothing installs Chrome, the runtime only ever
 // downloaded Playwright's Chromium (which the cycle does NOT use), so a .mcpb
@@ -733,40 +809,37 @@ export async function ensureHarnessPatched() {
         // installing) rather than racing on the same checkout.
         if (anotherProcessProvisioning())
             return { ok: false, detail: "provisioning in progress elsewhere" };
-        // Version marker of the CURRENT vendored patch: a symbol that exists only
-        // in its newest revision (v2 added the daemon.py websocket-proxy
-        // neutralization after v1's cdp_urlopen alone proved insufficient — the
-        // WS dial still routed through the macOS system proxy and died with
-        // "proxy rejected connection: HTTP 503"). Bump this string whenever the
-        // patch gains a new hunk, or upgraded installs will silently keep the
-        // previous revision.
+        // Version markers of the CURRENT vendored patches. A patch revision's
+        // marker is a symbol that exists only in its newest revision (the proxy
+        // patch's v2 added the daemon.py websocket-proxy neutralization —
+        // s4l_no_proxy_ws — after v1's cdp_urlopen alone proved insufficient).
+        // A NEW fix gets a NEW patch file + sentinel (see HARNESS_VENDORED_PATCHES)
+        // rather than new hunks in an old patch, or upgraded installs whose old
+        // sentinel still matches would silently keep the previous revision.
         const daemonPy = path.join(HARNESS_DIR, "src", "browser_harness", "daemon.py");
         if (!fs.existsSync(daemonPy))
             return { ok: false, detail: "harness not installed yet" };
-        if (fs.readFileSync(daemonPy, "utf-8").includes("s4l_no_proxy_ws")) {
+        const daemonSrc = fs.readFileSync(daemonPy, "utf-8");
+        const helpersPy = path.join(HARNESS_DIR, "src", "browser_harness", "helpers.py");
+        const helpersSrc = fs.existsSync(helpersPy) ? fs.readFileSync(helpersPy, "utf-8") : "";
+        if (daemonSrc.includes("s4l_no_proxy_ws") &&
+            daemonSrc.includes("no page tabs at all") &&
+            helpersSrc.includes("_is_offscreen_harness")) {
             return { ok: true, detail: "already patched" };
         }
-        const harnessPatch = path.join(MATERIALIZED_REPO, "scripts", "patches", "browser-harness-loopback-cdp-proxy.patch");
-        if (!fs.existsSync(harnessPatch))
-            return { ok: false, detail: "patch file missing from package" };
-        // Discard any PRIOR vendored-patch revision (e.g. v1) so the cumulative
-        // patch applies onto pristine pinned sources. Only src/ is touched; the
-        // checkout is a managed artifact, never a place for local edits.
+        // Discard any PRIOR vendored-patch revision so the patch set applies onto
+        // pristine pinned sources, then re-apply ALL vendored patches (the old
+        // single-patch flow re-applied only the proxy fix here, silently wiping
+        // the focus + daemon patches whenever this boot-repair fired). Only src/
+        // is touched; the checkout is a managed artifact, never a place for
+        // local edits.
         await sh("git", ["-C", HARNESS_DIR, "checkout", "--", "src/browser_harness"], {
             timeoutMs: 30000,
         });
-        const chk = await sh("git", ["-C", HARNESS_DIR, "apply", "--check", harnessPatch], {
-            timeoutMs: 30000,
-        });
-        if (chk.code !== 0) {
-            return { ok: false, detail: "patch does not apply (dirty or diverged checkout)" };
-        }
-        const app = await sh("git", ["-C", HARNESS_DIR, "apply", harnessPatch], { timeoutMs: 30000 });
-        if (app.code !== 0)
-            return { ok: false, detail: `git apply failed (exit ${app.code})` };
+        const summary = await applyHarnessVendoredPatches();
         // Reload the daemon so the long-lived process re-imports the patched source.
         await sh(HARNESS_BIN, ["--reload"], { timeoutMs: 30000 });
-        return { ok: true, detail: "patched + daemon reloaded" };
+        return { ok: true, detail: `patched + daemon reloaded (${summary})` };
     }
     catch (e) {
         return { ok: false, detail: String(e?.message || e) };
@@ -1011,37 +1084,12 @@ async function provision(progress) {
             timeoutMs: 120000,
         });
         await sh("git", ["-C", HARNESS_DIR, "reset", "--hard", "FETCH_HEAD"], { timeoutMs: 60000 });
-        // Vendored fix on top of the pin: loopback CDP requests must never route
-        // through a proxy. macOS system proxy settings leak into urllib's default
-        // opener, and a box-wide forwarder 403s every 127.0.0.1 probe, so Chrome
-        // reads as "wedged"/logged-out while it is actually fine (2026-07-13).
-        // Upstream doesn't carry the fix and we don't control that repo, so apply
-        // our patch at install time, on every machine. If it stops applying
-        // cleanly, upstream has either merged the fix (detected below; fine) or
-        // refactored the files (warn); never fail the install over it.
-        const harnessPatch = path.join(MATERIALIZED_REPO, "scripts", "patches", "browser-harness-loopback-cdp-proxy.patch");
-        if (fs.existsSync(harnessPatch)) {
-            const chk = await sh("git", ["-C", HARNESS_DIR, "apply", "--check", harnessPatch], {
-                timeoutMs: 30000,
-            });
-            if (chk.code === 0) {
-                await sh("git", ["-C", HARNESS_DIR, "apply", harnessPatch], { timeoutMs: 30000 });
-            }
-            else {
-                let fixedUpstream = false;
-                try {
-                    fixedUpstream = fs
-                        .readFileSync(path.join(HARNESS_DIR, "src", "browser_harness", "admin.py"), "utf-8")
-                        .includes("cdp_urlopen");
-                }
-                catch {
-                    /* file moved — fall through to the warning */
-                }
-                if (!fixedUpstream) {
-                    console.error("[runtime] browser-harness loopback-proxy patch no longer applies and the fix is absent upstream; CDP probes may 403 behind a system proxy");
-                }
-            }
-        }
+        // Vendored fixes on top of the pin (loopback-proxy, focus-suppression,
+        // daemon blank-tab attach — see HARNESS_VENDORED_PATCHES). Applied at
+        // install time on every machine since we don't control upstream. This
+        // previously applied ONLY the proxy patch, so bare .mcpb boxes ran
+        // upstream helpers/daemon that steal OS focus (gap closed 2026-08-03).
+        await applyHarnessVendoredPatches();
         // Install the CLI via uv tool (lands at ~/.local/bin/browser-harness).
         // --force so a refreshed source / changed entry point is reinstalled.
         const inst = await sh(uv, ["tool", "install", "--force", "-e", HARNESS_DIR], {

package/mcp/dist/version.js

@@ -195,16 +195,63 @@ async function latestFromGithubRedirect() {
         return null;
     }
 }
+// Optional GitHub token (2026-07-30): authenticated probes get 5000/h instead
+// of the anonymous 60/h-per-IP quota that silenced the staging update banner
+// on 2026-07-13 and again on 2026-07-30. Sources, in order: GITHUB_TOKEN /
+// GH_TOKEN env, then `gh auth token` when the gh CLI exists (dev/operator
+// machines; .mcpb boxes have neither and resolve to null instantly). The token
+// is only ever sent to api.github.com, always via stdin (curl -H @-) so it
+// never appears in argv/`ps`, and the `gh auth token` shell-out is noTee so it
+// never reaches the telemetry relay. Keep in lockstep with
+// scripts/snapshot.py::_github_token.
+let ghTokCache = { at: 0, tok: null };
+const GH_TOK_TTL_MS = 900_000;
+async function githubToken() {
+    const now = Date.now();
+    if (ghTokCache.at && now - ghTokCache.at < GH_TOK_TTL_MS)
+        return ghTokCache.tok;
+    let tok = process.env.GITHUB_TOKEN || process.env.GH_TOKEN || null;
+    if (!tok) {
+        for (const gh of ["/opt/homebrew/bin/gh", "/usr/local/bin/gh", "gh"]) {
+            const res = await run(gh, ["auth", "token"], { timeoutMs: 5000, noTee: true });
+            if (res.code === -1)
+                continue; // not spawnable at this path; try the next
+            const cand = (res.stdout || "").trim();
+            if (res.code === 0 && cand)
+                tok = cand;
+            break;
+        }
+    }
+    ghTokCache = { at: now, tok };
+    return tok;
+}
 // Conditional-request state lives in the SHARED cache file (latest-release.json)
 // so the ETag survives process boundaries: short-lived MCP respawns used to pay
 // a full 200 per process; now every probe sends If-None-Match and gets a free
-// 304 between releases.
+// 304 between releases. Probes authenticate when a GitHub token is available;
+// a 401 (revoked/expired token) retries anonymously so a bad token is never
+// worse than no token.
 async function curlConditional(url, etag) {
+    const tok = await githubToken();
+    const first = await curlOnce(url, etag, tok);
+    if (first.status === 401 && tok) {
+        ghTokCache = { at: Date.now(), tok: null }; // drop the dead token
+        return curlOnce(url, etag, null);
+    }
+    return first;
+}
+async function curlOnce(url, etag, token) {
     const args = ["-sS", "-m", "10", "-H", "Accept: application/vnd.github+json"];
+    if (token)
+        args.push("-H", "@-"); // Authorization arrives via stdin, never argv
     if (etag)
         args.push("-H", `If-None-Match: ${etag}`);
     args.push("-w", "\n__CURL_STATUS__:%{http_code}\n__CURL_ETAG__:%header{etag}", url);
-    const res = await run("curl", args, { timeoutMs: 12000, noTee: true });
+    const res = await run("curl", args, {
+        timeoutMs: 12000,
+        noTee: true,
+        stdin: token ? `Authorization: Bearer ${token}` : undefined,
+    });
     let status = 0;
     let newEtag = null;
     const body = [];

package/mcp/dist/version.json

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 {
-  "version": "1.7.6",
-  "installedAt": "2026-07-18T17:32:42.014Z"
+  "version": "1.7.7-rc.10",
+  "installedAt": "2026-08-04T02:28:00.288Z"
 }

package/mcp/manifest.json

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   "dxt_version": "0.1",
   "name": "social-autoposter",
   "display_name": "S4L",
-  "version": "1.7.6",
+  "version": "1.7.7-rc.10",
   "description": "Draft, review, approve, and autopilot X/Twitter posts.",
   "long_description": "## **⚠️ The disclaimer above is generic Claude boilerplate.** Anthropic shows the same warning on every plugin regardless of what it does; any plugin has the same level of access as any app you download from the internet.\n\nS4L is an open source product developed by Mediar.ai Incorporated, a VC-backed San Francisco-based startup.\n\nTo get started:\n\n1\\. Copy this prompt: **Set me up on S4L plugin end to end**\n\n2\\. Quit with CMD+Q, reopen Claude, paste into a new chat.\n\nWhat happens next:\n\n* About every 5 minutes S4L scans X for posts that match your topics and drafts replies in your voice.\n* Drafts show up as review cards, usually the first within a few minutes. Nothing is posted automatically; you approve each one.\n* Posting autopilot stays off until you explicitly turn it on.",
   "author": {

package/mcp/menubar/s4l_browser_foreground.py

@@ -79,6 +79,7 @@ class _Worker(threading.Thread):
         super().__init__(daemon=True, name="s4l-browser-foreground")
         self._pid_cache = {}  # pid -> (is_harness, details dict)
         self._prev_app = None  # last non-harness frontmost app name
+        self._prev_app_pid = None  # ...and its pid, for precise re-activation
         self._last_key = None  # (cause, pid) of last emitted event
         self._last_emit_at = 0.0
         self._suppressed = 0
@@ -108,13 +109,19 @@ class _Worker(threading.Thread):
         if "chrome" not in low and "chromium" not in low:
             if cause == "activated" and name:
                 self._prev_app = name
+                self._prev_app_pid = pid
             return
         is_harness, details = self._classify(pid)
         if not is_harness:
             # The user's own Chrome counts as their workspace too.
             if cause == "activated" and name:
                 self._prev_app = name
+                self._prev_app_pid = pid
             return
+        # Suppress focus on EVERY harness activation, BEFORE the telemetry
+        # dedupe — the log is rate-limited, but hiding must fire every time or
+        # a fast pop-burst would leave later pops sitting in the foreground.
+        self._suppress_focus(pid, details)
         now = time.time()
         key = (cause, pid)
         if key == self._last_key and now - self._last_emit_at < _DEDUPE_SECONDS:
@@ -137,6 +144,53 @@ class _Worker(threading.Thread):
             context="browser-foreground",
         )
 
+    def _suppress_focus(self, pid, details):
+        # OS-LEVEL FOCUS SUPPRESSION (2026-07-30). The per-path code fixes
+        # (bh-harness activate suppression, tab reuse/park) each cover ONE way
+        # of driving Chrome; the reddit pipeline reaches it via a DIFFERENT
+        # path (reddit_browser.py Playwright connect/new_page) that bypasses
+        # them, and a raw external Playwright connect bypasses everything. This
+        # acts on the OS window event itself, so it covers EVERY connector:
+        # when an OFFSCREEN automation harness (window parked at negative Y —
+        # twitter/reddit/linkedin; NOT the onscreen setup-login window) grabs
+        # the foreground, hide that specific Chrome process by pid, then force
+        # focus back to the app the user was in. Screenshots/clicks are
+        # unaffected (CDP is offscreen-raster + synthetic input; the occlusion
+        # flags keep hidden tabs painting).
+        # DEFAULT OFF (user decision 2026-07-30): only the telemetry above runs
+        # unless S4L_HARNESS_HIDE=1 opts in. S4L_NO_HARNESS_HIDE force-disables
+        # even when the opt-in is set.
+        if os.environ.get("S4L_NO_HARNESS_HIDE"):
+            return
+        if os.environ.get("S4L_HARNESS_HIDE") != "1":
+            return
+        pos = details.get("window_position") or ""
+        try:
+            offscreen = any(int(float(v)) < 0 for v in pos.split(",")[:2])
+        except Exception:
+            offscreen = False
+        if not offscreen:
+            return  # onscreen (e.g. setup login) — leave it visible
+        try:
+            from AppKit import NSRunningApplication
+
+            ra = NSRunningApplication.runningApplicationWithProcessIdentifier_(pid)
+            if ra is not None:
+                ra.hide()  # order the harness window out
+            # hide() alone does NOT reliably return focus here: all three
+            # harnesses share the "Google Chrome Beta" bundle, so hiding one
+            # process can leave the app-level active state on a sibling. Force
+            # focus back to the app the user was actually in.
+            if self._prev_app_pid and self._prev_app_pid != pid:
+                prev = NSRunningApplication.runningApplicationWithProcessIdentifier_(
+                    self._prev_app_pid
+                )
+                # NSApplicationActivateIgnoringOtherApps = 1 << 1
+                if prev is not None and not prev.isTerminated():
+                    prev.activateWithOptions_(1 << 1)
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+
     def run(self):
         while True:
             try:

package/mcp/menubar/s4l_card.py

@@ -464,12 +464,12 @@ def _compact_arm(variant):
 
 
 def _reply_heading_suffix(d):
-    """Concise 'project/lane · viral N · t v4' readout appended straight onto the
-    'Reply (editable):' heading (2026-07-07), so the two facts a reviewer
-    checks first don't require opening the details eye. Pulled from the same
+    """Concise 'project · viral N · t v4' readout appended straight onto the
+    'Reply (editable):' heading (2026-07-07), so the facts a reviewer checks
+    first don't require opening the details eye. Pulled from the same
     fields _details_lines used to render as 'Project:'/'Lane:'/'Virality
-    score:' rows; those three are omitted from the popover now to avoid
-    showing the same numbers twice. Empty string when neither is known."""
+    score:' rows; those are omitted from the popover now to avoid showing
+    the same numbers twice. Empty string when neither is known."""
     d = d or {}
     project = (d.get("project") or "").strip()
     lane = ((d.get("experiments") or {}).get("lane") or "").strip()
@@ -480,20 +480,11 @@ def _reply_heading_suffix(d):
         # approve_() blocks posting on these and the reviewer should know why
         # before clicking rather than after.
         bits.append("⚠ SANDBOX — not postable")
-    # Project and lane are independent concepts most of the time (project
-    # "fazm" drafted under lane "personal_brand"), but the operator's own
-    # PersonalBrand project IS the personal_brand lane, so project=="PersonalBrand"
-    # + lane=="personal_brand" is the SAME fact twice, not two facts — compare
-    # with punctuation/case stripped so "PersonalBrand" vs "personal_brand"
-    # collapses to one token instead of "PersonalBrand/personal_brand".
-    same = project and lane and re.sub(r"[^a-z0-9]", "", project.lower()) == re.sub(
-        r"[^a-z0-9]", "", lane.lower()
-    )
-    if same:
-        bits.append(project)
-    elif project and lane:
-        bits.append(f"{project}/{lane}")
-    elif project:
+    # Heading shows the project/lane name only, never a combined
+    # "project/lane" string (2026-07-31, user call: the "/promotion" suffix
+    # on cards was confusing). Lane is still stamped on the candidate and
+    # readable in the details popover; it's just not concatenated here.
+    if project:
         bits.append(project)
     elif lane:
         bits.append(lane)
@@ -1973,7 +1964,12 @@ class _ReviewController(NSObject):
         """NSTimer target (2026-07-15): re-renders the header's age/expiry
         label every second so its countdown visibly counts down without
         needing hover. Not a python_method -- NSTimer invokes this through
-        the ObjC runtime."""
+        the ObjC runtime. No-op when the rendered text is unchanged: the
+        label usually shows a coarse "3h"-style value that only changes
+        every few minutes, and unconditionally re-styling it dirtied one
+        layer per tile per second -- with a 130-tile canvas that was a
+        constant CoreAnimation commit churn keeping the app at ~15% CPU
+        while idle (2026-08-02 lag incident)."""
         if self._age_expiry_label is None:
             return
         try:
@@ -1984,6 +1980,9 @@ class _ReviewController(NSObject):
             )
             if not text:
                 return
+            if (text, urgent) == getattr(self, "_age_expiry_last", None):
+                return
+            self._age_expiry_last = (text, urgent)
             self._age_expiry_label.setStringValue_(text)
             self._age_expiry_label.setFont_(_font(11, urgent))
             self._age_expiry_label.setTextColor_(