feat(signal): initiate-message workflow (picker, guard, cache, keymap)

I built pieces 2-7 of the initiate-message workflow from docs/design/signal-client.org and added tests covering the fork's clobber-fix (commit 5ec56c0 over there). The picker is the user-facing change: a single key opens a name-based completing-read for any contact, with "Note to Self" pinned first.

The picker stack from the bottom up:

cj/signel--ensure-started is the daemon guard. With a live process it's a no-op. With signel-account set but no process it calls signel-start and pre-warms the contact cache. With signel-account nil it user-errors naming the remedy. Pre-warming on start means the picker feels instant on first use.

cj/signel--fetch-contacts issues a listContacts RPC through the new request-callback contract (signel--send-rpc with a success-callback). The callback runs the result through the verified cj/signal--parse-contacts and stores the (LABEL . RECIPIENT) alist in cj/signel--contact-cache, a cj-owned variable kept separate from signel's receive-time contact-map. An empty result populates the cache as nil, distinct from an RPC failure (which never invokes the callback so the prior cache survives). cj/signel-refresh-contacts is the user-facing command that clears and refetches.

cj/signel-message is the picker. Warm cache opens completing-read immediately. Cold cache kicks off a fetch and accept-process-outputs up to cj/signel-fetch-timeout seconds (3s default), then user-errors if the daemon hasn't responded so a wedged process can't hang Emacs. The candidate list pins "Note to Self" first (resolves to signel-account) with a display-sort metadata function that preserves the given order rather than alphabetizing.

cj/signel-message-self skips the picker and goes straight to signel-account. cj/signel-connect is the friendly verb on the prefix key.

cj/signel-prefix-map binds m / s / d / q / SPC and attaches under C-; M via with-eval-after-load keybindings so the binding survives load-order. l stays unbound for the future link command.

15 new ERT tests cover the ensure-started branches, the fetch + cache contract (issued, populated, empty), refresh-contacts, the picker's four scenarios (warm-cache contact, warm-cache Note to Self, cold-cache resolves in time, cold-cache timeout), message-self, and the keymap bindings. Plus 4 new tests in tests/test-signel-input-preservation.el for the fork's clobber fix: pending-input captures typed text and returns nil when empty; both signel--insert-msg and signel--insert-system-msg redraw the prompt without clobbering "halfwritten".

todo.org closes three tasks as dated event-log entries: the contact picker, the input clobber, and the use-package wiring.

1 files changed, 68 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/tests/test-signel-input-preservation.el b/tests/test-signel-input-preservation.el
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e8ce4ddb
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+++ b/tests/test-signel-input-preservation.el
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+;;; test-signel-input-preservation.el --- Regression for signel #2 input clobber -*- lexical-binding: t; -*-
+
+;;; Commentary:
+;; signel-chat-mode buffers have an editable prompt area starting at
+;; `signel--input-marker'.  Before this fix, both `signel--insert-msg' (the
+;; receive path) and `signel--insert-system-msg' (the RPC-error path)
+;; called `(delete-region (point) (point-max))' to clear the old prompt
+;; before redrawing it, which destroyed any text the user was mid-typing.
+;;
+;; These tests lock the preservation contract: a small `signel--pending-input'
+;; helper captures the in-progress input from the marker to `point-max', and
+;; both inserters restore it after the freshly drawn prompt.  The chat-mode
+;; buffer is constructed in a temp buffer; `signel--insert-msg' is steered
+;; to it via a stub on `signel--get-buffer'.
+
+;;; Code:
+
+(require 'ert)
+(require 'cl-lib)
+
+(eval-and-compile
+  (add-to-list 'load-path (expand-file-name "~/code/signel")))
+(require 'signel)
+
+(defmacro test-signel--with-chat-buffer (&rest body)
+  "Set up a temp signel-chat-mode buffer with prompt drawn and run BODY."
+  (declare (indent 0))
+  `(with-temp-buffer
+     (signel-chat-mode)
+     (setq signel--chat-id "+15555550100")
+     (signel--draw-prompt)
+     ,@body))
+
+(ert-deftest test-signel-input-pending-returns-typed-text ()
+  "Normal: with text after the prompt marker, `signel--pending-input'
+returns the captured text."
+  (test-signel--with-chat-buffer
+    (insert "halfwritten")
+    (should (equal (signel--pending-input) "halfwritten"))))
+
+(ert-deftest test-signel-input-pending-returns-nil-when-empty ()
+  "Boundary: an empty input area returns nil so callers don't restore an
+empty string after the prompt."
+  (test-signel--with-chat-buffer
+    (should-not (signel--pending-input))))
+
+(ert-deftest test-signel-input-system-msg-preserves-pending-input ()
+  "Regression for #2: `signel--insert-system-msg' redraws the prompt
+without clobbering text the user was mid-typing."
+  (test-signel--with-chat-buffer
+    (insert "halfwritten")
+    (signel--insert-system-msg "An error happened" 'signel-error-face)
+    (should (string-match-p "An error happened" (buffer-string)))
+    (should (equal (signel--pending-input) "halfwritten"))))
+
+(ert-deftest test-signel-input-msg-preserves-pending-input ()
+  "Regression for #2: `signel--insert-msg' (the receive path) redraws the
+prompt without clobbering the user's in-progress input."
+  (test-signel--with-chat-buffer
+    (insert "halfwritten")
+    (cl-letf (((symbol-function 'signel--get-buffer)
+               (lambda (_) (current-buffer))))
+      (signel--insert-msg "+15555550100" "Alice" "Hi there" nil nil nil))
+    (should (string-match-p "Hi there" (buffer-string)))
+    (should (equal (signel--pending-input) "halfwritten"))))
+
+(provide 'test-signel-input-preservation)
+;;; test-signel-input-preservation.el ends here