From 40b2f83d967975ef088d50a967dd847daf674a1f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Andrew Blakeslee Moore <andrew@blakeslee.me>
Date: Fri, 10 Jul 2026 04:18:32 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] Merge nucleic/gentle-breezy-egret into dev

---
 .../Transcript/TranscriptProjection.swift     | 38 ++++++++++++++-----
 1 file changed, 29 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)

diff --git a/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Views/Transcript/TranscriptProjection.swift b/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Views/Transcript/TranscriptProjection.swift
index 2b60f2e..71f7be0 100644
--- a/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Views/Transcript/TranscriptProjection.swift
+++ b/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Views/Transcript/TranscriptProjection.swift
@@ -42,15 +42,27 @@ struct TranscriptItem: Identifiable, Equatable {
     }
 
     /// A row that draws nothing visible — an empty/redacted `.thinking` block (the agent streams
-    /// a finalized empty thinking item whenever the reasoning itself is redacted). Held aside
-    /// during tool-run coalescing so it doesn't split an otherwise-contiguous run of calls into
-    /// two cards with a gap. Mirrors the desktop projection's `rendersNothing`.
-    var rendersNothing: Bool {
+    /// a finalized empty thinking item whenever the reasoning itself is redacted). `ThinkingRow`
+    /// renders no content for it, so `flatItems` drops it outright rather than carrying a phantom
+    /// row into the transcript.
+    ///
+    /// It has to be dropped, not merely rendered as an empty view: the transcript is a
+    /// `VStack(spacing: 14)` over `TranscriptRow`s, and a row whose body resolves to nothing is
+    /// still a *child* of that stack — SwiftUI can't elide an opaque `View` struct the way it
+    /// elides a literal `EmptyView`, so it still claims its 14pt inter-row gap. A long tool run
+    /// interleaved with redacted thinking (one empty block per call) held them all aside and
+    /// re-emitted them after the block, stacking one gap each into a large band of blank space
+    /// between the card and the next row. Mirrors the desktop projection's `isEmptyThinking`.
+    var isEmptyThinking: Bool {
         if case .thinking(let text) = kind {
             return text.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines).isEmpty
         }
         return false
     }
+
+    /// Items that draw no visible row. They must not break a run of tool calls when coalescing:
+    /// an invisible row sitting between two calls would otherwise split them into two cards.
+    var rendersNothing: Bool { isEmptyThinking }
 }
 
 /// One tool call's coalesced lifecycle: start → input deltas → complete → result → file changes.
@@ -409,10 +421,13 @@ enum TranscriptProjection {
 
     /// Collapses maximal runs of adjacent `.tool` items (length ≥2) into one `.toolBlock`.
     ///
-    /// Items that draw nothing (empty `.thinking` blocks — see `rendersNothing`) never break a
-    /// run: an invisible row landing between two tool calls must not split them into two cards
-    /// with a gap. Such items are held aside and re-emitted right after the block, so they still
-    /// render in place while the calls stay one contiguous block. Mirrors the desktop projection.
+    /// Items that draw nothing (see `rendersNothing`) never break a run: an invisible row landing
+    /// between two tool calls must not split them into two cards with a gap. Such items are held
+    /// aside and re-emitted right after the block, so the calls stay one contiguous block.
+    /// Mirrors the desktop projection.
+    ///
+    /// `flatItems` already drops the only kind the phone has (empty redacted thinking), so the
+    /// hold path is a guard for a caller passing unfiltered items — not a live case.
     static func coalesceToolRuns(_ flat: [TranscriptItem]) -> [TranscriptItem] {
         var out: [TranscriptItem] = []
         var run: [TranscriptItem] = []          // consecutive `.tool` items
@@ -510,7 +525,12 @@ enum TranscriptProjection {
                                    kind: .raw(type: event.nativeType ?? "raw", body: raw.native.compactSummary)))
             }
         }
-        return items
+        // A redacted (empty) thinking block draws no row but would still cost one inter-row gap
+        // in the transcript's spaced VStack — see `isEmptyThinking`. Drop it here, after the
+        // coalescing upserts, so a *streaming* thinking item is judged on its accumulated text
+        // rather than on the empty first delta. A thinking message never straddles a segment
+        // seam (`buildSegment`'s precondition), so this stays fold-equivalent per segment.
+        return items.filter { !$0.isEmptyThinking }
     }
 
     // MARK: - Coalescing helpers