pi-extension: make startup notification opt-out via quietStartup (#308)

The status bar already shows the active ponytail mode at all times, but the
startup toast is also a deliberate trust-heartbeat for a behavior-modifying
extension (it confirms ponytail loaded, in which mode, and survives session
resume where the persisted mode may differ from the default). Default
behavior is preserved.

Users who prefer a clean startup can now silence it via:

  - config:  ~/.config/ponytail/config.json -> { "quietStartup": true }
  - env var: PONYTAIL_QUIET_STARTUP=1

Resolution order mirrors the existing defaultMode setting: env var > config
file > default (false). Added readQuietStartup export and a test covering
all three layers.

Co-authored-by: blissini <blissini@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Emeriko <dietrich.gebert@gmail.com>

Author: blissini

hooks/ponytail-config.js

@@ -96,6 +96,23 @@ function getDefaultMode() {
   return DEFAULT_MODE;
 }
 
+// Silence the pi "Ponytail loaded" startup toast while keeping ponytail active.
+// PONYTAIL_QUIET_STARTUP=1 (or any truthy value; 0/false/empty mean "show it")
+// takes precedence, else config.quietStartup === true. Mirrors getHideStatus.
+function getQuietStartup() {
+  const env = process.env.PONYTAIL_QUIET_STARTUP;
+  if (env !== undefined) {
+    const v = env.trim().toLowerCase();
+    return v !== '' && v !== '0' && v !== 'false' && v !== 'no';
+  }
+  try {
+    const config = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(getConfigPath(), 'utf8').replace(/^\uFEFF/, ''));
+    return config.quietStartup === true;
+  } catch (_) {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
 // Hide the status-bar indicator while keeping ponytail active (#324).
 // PONYTAIL_HIDE_STATUS=1 (or any truthy value; 0/false/empty mean "don't hide")
 // takes precedence, else config.hideStatus === true.
@@ -138,6 +155,7 @@ module.exports = {
   getConfigPath,
   getClaudeDir,
   getHideStatus,
+  getQuietStartup,
   isShellSafe,
   normalizeMode,
   normalizeConfigMode,

pi-extension/index.js

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ const {
   DEFAULT_MODE,
   RUNTIME_MODES,
   getDefaultMode,
+  getQuietStartup,
   getHideStatus,
   normalizeMode,
   normalizeConfigMode,
@@ -16,6 +17,7 @@ const { getPonytailInstructions, filterSkillBodyForMode } = require("../hooks/po
 
 export { filterSkillBodyForMode };
 export const readDefaultMode = getDefaultMode;
+export const readQuietStartup = getQuietStartup;
 
 const RUNTIME_MODE_LIST = RUNTIME_MODES.join("|");
 const PONYTAIL_COMMAND_DESCRIPTION = `Set mode: ${RUNTIME_MODE_LIST}. Commands: status, default <mode>`;
@@ -178,7 +180,9 @@ export default function ponytailExtension(pi) {
     hideStatus = getHideStatus();
     currentMode = resolveSessionMode(entries, configuredDefaultMode);
     syncStatus(ctx);
-    ctx?.ui?.notify?.(`Ponytail loaded: ${currentMode}`, "info");
+    if (!getQuietStartup()) {
+      ctx?.ui?.notify?.(`Ponytail loaded: ${currentMode}`, "info");
+    }
   });
 
   pi.on("agent_start", async (_event, ctx) => {

pi-extension/test/helpers.test.js

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
-import { existsSync, mkdtempSync, readFileSync, rmSync } from "node:fs";
+import { existsSync, mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, readFileSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import { join } from "node:path";
 import test from "node:test";
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import {
   filterSkillBodyForMode,
   parsePonytailCommand,
   readDefaultMode,
+  readQuietStartup,
   resolveSessionMode,
   writeDefaultMode,
 } from "../index.js";
@@ -61,6 +62,38 @@ test("readDefaultMode and writeDefaultMode use XDG config path", () => {
   }
 });
 
+test("readQuietStartup resolves env var, config file, and default in that order", () => {
+  const tempDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "ponytail-quiet-"));
+  const previousXdg = process.env.XDG_CONFIG_HOME;
+  const previousEnv = process.env.PONYTAIL_QUIET_STARTUP;
+  const configDir = join(tempDir, "ponytail");
+  const configPath = join(configDir, "config.json");
+  process.env.XDG_CONFIG_HOME = tempDir;
+  delete process.env.PONYTAIL_QUIET_STARTUP;
+
+  try {
+    // No env, no config -> default false (toast still shows)
+    assert.equal(readQuietStartup(), false);
+
+    // Config file true -> respected
+    mkdirSync(configDir, { recursive: true });
+    writeFileSync(configPath, JSON.stringify({ quietStartup: true }), "utf8");
+    assert.equal(readQuietStartup(), true);
+
+    // Env var overrides config
+    process.env.PONYTAIL_QUIET_STARTUP = "false";
+    assert.equal(readQuietStartup(), false);
+    process.env.PONYTAIL_QUIET_STARTUP = "1";
+    assert.equal(readQuietStartup(), true);
+  } finally {
+    if (previousXdg === undefined) delete process.env.XDG_CONFIG_HOME;
+    else process.env.XDG_CONFIG_HOME = previousXdg;
+    if (previousEnv === undefined) delete process.env.PONYTAIL_QUIET_STARTUP;
+    else process.env.PONYTAIL_QUIET_STARTUP = previousEnv;
+    rmSync(tempDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  }
+});
+
 test("filterSkillBodyForMode keeps only requested intensity examples and rows", () => {
   const body = `---\nname: ponytail\n---\n| **lite** | keep lite |\n| **full** | keep full |\n| **ultra** | keep ultra |\n- lite: Lite example\n- full: Full example\n- ultra: Ultra example\nOther line`;