improvements to the ui

src/main/config.ts

@@ -46,9 +46,44 @@ const THEME_TEMPLATE = `/* Helder theme — custom CSS applied OVER the built-in
 }
 `
 
+/** Recently-opened files, newest first. Local machine state — git-ignored. */
+const RECENT_FILE = 'recent.json'
+const MAX_RECENT = 100
+const GITIGNORE_BODY = `# Helder — local, machine-specific state (do not commit)\n${RECENT_FILE}\n`
+
 let current: HelderConfig = DEFAULTS
 let themeCss = ''
 
+/** Create `.helder/.gitignore` (ignoring recent.json) only when it's missing. */
+async function ensureGitignore(dir: string): Promise<void> {
+  const path = join(dir, '.gitignore')
+  try {
+    await readFile(path, 'utf8')
+  } catch {
+    await writeFile(path, GITIGNORE_BODY)
+  }
+}
+
+export async function getRecent(root: string): Promise<string[]> {
+  try {
+    const arr = JSON.parse(await readFile(join(root, '.helder', RECENT_FILE), 'utf8'))
+    return Array.isArray(arr) ? arr.filter((p): p is string => typeof p === 'string').slice(0, MAX_RECENT) : []
+  } catch {
+    return []
+  }
+}
+
+export async function setRecent(root: string, list: string[]): Promise<void> {
+  try {
+    const dir = join(root, '.helder')
+    await mkdir(dir, { recursive: true })
+    await ensureGitignore(dir)
+    await writeFile(join(dir, RECENT_FILE), JSON.stringify(list.slice(0, MAX_RECENT), null, 2) + '\n')
+  } catch {
+    /* read-only / inaccessible root — recents just won't persist */
+  }
+}
+
 function isPlainObject(v: unknown): v is Record<string, unknown> {
   return !!v && typeof v === 'object' && !Array.isArray(v)
 }
@@ -83,6 +118,8 @@ export async function resolveConfig(root: string): Promise<void> {
       themeCss = THEME_TEMPLATE
       await writeFile(join(dir, 'theme.css'), THEME_TEMPLATE)
     }
+
+    await ensureGitignore(dir)
   } catch {
     // Read-only / inaccessible root: fall back to built-in defaults.
     current = DEFAULTS

src/main/index.ts

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import { getName, getRoot, openDialog } from './project'
 import { readAll, readProjectFile, readTree, writeProjectFile } from './fs-service'
 import { commit, discard, load, stage, unstage } from './git-service'
 import { createPty, killAllPtys, killPty, ptyAvailable, resizePty, writePty } from './pty-service'
-import { getConfig, getThemeCss, resolveConfig } from './config'
+import { getConfig, getRecent, getThemeCss, resolveConfig, setRecent } from './config'
 import { listFiles, searchContent } from './search-service'
 
 const isDev = !!process.env['ELECTRON_RENDERER_URL']
@@ -112,6 +112,9 @@ function registerIpc(): void {
   ipcMain.handle('config:get', () => getConfig())
   ipcMain.handle('config:theme', () => getThemeCss())
 
+  ipcMain.handle('recent:get', () => getRecent(getRoot()))
+  ipcMain.handle('recent:set', (_e, list: string[]) => setRecent(getRoot(), list))
+
   ipcMain.handle('search:content', (_e, query: string) => searchContent(getRoot(), query))
   ipcMain.handle('search:files', () => listFiles(getRoot()))
 

src/main/project.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { basename } from 'node:path'
+import { basename, resolve } from 'node:path'
 import { existsSync, statSync } from 'node:fs'
 import { dialog, BrowserWindow } from 'electron'
 
@@ -6,12 +6,16 @@ import { dialog, BrowserWindow } from 'electron'
  * One project per window. The root is resolved (in order) from $HELDER_PROJECT,
  * a directory passed on argv, or the process working directory — then it can be
  * changed at runtime via the Open Folder dialog.
+ *
+ * Always store an absolute path: in dev the app is launched as `electron .`, so
+ * argv carries a bare "." — `basename(".")` is "." (the repo name would show as a
+ * lone dot). `resolve()` turns it into the real directory before we name it.
  */
 function resolveInitialRoot(): string {
   const envRoot = process.env.HELDER_PROJECT
-  if (envRoot && existsSync(envRoot) && statSync(envRoot).isDirectory()) return envRoot
+  if (envRoot && existsSync(envRoot) && statSync(envRoot).isDirectory()) return resolve(envRoot)
   const argDir = process.argv.slice(1).find((a) => !a.startsWith('-') && existsSync(a) && safeIsDir(a))
-  if (argDir) return argDir
+  if (argDir) return resolve(argDir)
   return process.cwd()
 }
 
@@ -30,7 +34,7 @@ export function getName(): string {
 }
 
 export function setRoot(next: string): void {
-  root = next
+  root = resolve(next)
 }
 
 export async function openDialog(win: BrowserWindow | null): Promise<string | null> {