refactor: replace snackbars with persistent info popups (#315)

ui.showSnackbar has a few issues that make it unreliable for surfacing
errors and notifications:

- Limited lifetime: a snackbar launched while the window is hidden is
often never shown if more than a few seconds pass before the window
becomes visible.
- Only the last of several snackbars launched in a row is displayed.
- Toolbox keeps the coroutine suspended for the snackbar's lifetime and
cancels (rather than resumes) it on dismissal, propagating the cancel to
the caller and skipping any follow-up code such as resetting the busy
state.

Switch to ui.showInfoPopup, which is backed by a persistent dialog
state: it is still rendered once the window becomes visible, resumes
normally on dismissal, and is serialized via a mutex so popups are shown
one after another instead of overwriting each other.

Since popups render after the window becomes visible, the ErrorReporter
buffer-and-flush abstraction is no longer needed. Remove it along with
the parallel errorBuffer in CoderRemoteProvider and the visibilityState
plumbing threaded through the setup wizard steps; errors are now shown
directly where they occur.

- resolves https://linear.app/codercom/issue/DEVEX-408/

Author: fioan89

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 ### Changed
 
 - skip the Coder TLS alternate hostname when fetching IDE metadata from JetBrains
+- notifications are now persistent popups instead of snackbars, so they survive a hidden window and no longer get dropped
 
 ## 0.9.0 - 2026-05-14
 

src/main/kotlin/com/coder/toolbox/CoderRemoteProvider.kt

@@ -92,12 +92,6 @@ class CoderRemoteProvider(
             }
         }
     }
-    private val visibilityState = MutableStateFlow(
-        ProviderVisibilityState(
-            applicationVisible = false,
-            providerVisible = false
-        )
-    )
     private val linkHandler = CoderProtocolHandler(context, IdeFeedManager(context))
 
     override val loadingEnvironmentsDescription: LocalizableString = context.i18n.ptrl("Loading workspaces...")
@@ -109,8 +103,6 @@ class CoderRemoteProvider(
         context.envPageManager.showPluginEnvironmentsPage()
     }
 
-    private val errorBuffer = mutableListOf<Throwable>()
-
     private val router = PageRouter()
 
     /**
@@ -158,13 +150,17 @@ class CoderRemoteProvider(
                     if (elapsed > POLL_INTERVAL * 2) {
                         context.logger.info("wake-up from an OS sleep was detected")
                     } else {
-                        context.logger.error(ex, "workspace polling error encountered")
                         if ((ex is APIResponseException && ex.isTokenExpired) || ex is OAuthTokenResponseException) {
                             close()
                             context.envPageManager.showPluginEnvironmentsPage()
-                            errorBuffer.add(ex)
+                            context.logAndShowError(
+                                "Error encountered while setting up Coder",
+                                "Your Coder session has expired. Please re-authenticate and try again.",
+                                ex
+                            )
                             break
                         }
+                        context.logger.error(ex, "workspace polling error encountered")
                     }
                 }
 
@@ -331,9 +327,6 @@ class CoderRemoteProvider(
      *        and a manual refresh button.
      */
     override fun setVisible(visibility: ProviderVisibilityState) {
-        visibilityState.update {
-            visibility
-        }
         if (visibility.providerVisible) {
             context.cs.launch(CoroutineName("Notify Plugin Visibility")) {
                 triggerProviderVisible.send(true)
@@ -378,7 +371,7 @@ class CoderRemoteProvider(
                 // showPluginEnvironmentsPage() pull it through getOverrideUiPage.
                 val credentials = newToken?.let { Credentials.Token(it) } ?: Credentials.MTls
                 val wizard = CoderSetupWizardPage.connectStep(
-                    context, settingsPage, visibilityState,
+                    context, settingsPage,
                     url = newUrl,
                     credentials = credentials,
                     onConnect = onConnect.andThen(deferredLinkHandler(params, newUrl)),
@@ -458,7 +451,7 @@ class CoderRemoteProvider(
             val oauthSessionContext = pendingOAuthConnection.session
             val tokenResponse = OAuth2Client(context).exchangeCode(oauthSessionContext, code)
             val wizard = CoderSetupWizardPage.connectStep(
-                context, settingsPage, visibilityState,
+                context, settingsPage,
                 url = pendingOAuthConnection.url,
                 credentials = Credentials.OAuth(oauthSessionContext.copy(tokenResponse = tokenResponse)),
                 onConnect = onConnect,
@@ -555,36 +548,30 @@ class CoderRemoteProvider(
             try {
                 val url = context.deploymentUrl
                 val credentials = autoSetupCredentials(url) ?: return CoderSetupWizardPage.deploymentUrlStep(
-                    context, settingsPage, visibilityState,
+                    context, settingsPage,
                     onConnect = onConnect,
                     onTokenRefreshed = ::onTokenRefreshed,
                 )
                 return CoderSetupWizardPage.connectStep(
-                    context, settingsPage, visibilityState,
+                    context, settingsPage,
                     url = url,
                     credentials = credentials,
                     onConnect = onConnect,
                     onTokenRefreshed = ::onTokenRefreshed,
                 )
             } catch (ex: Exception) {
-                errorBuffer.add(ex)
+                context.logAndShowError("Error encountered while setting up Coder", "Failed to set up Coder", ex)
             } finally {
                 firstRun = false
             }
         }
 
         // Login flow.
-        val setupWizardPage = CoderSetupWizardPage.deploymentUrlStep(
-            context, settingsPage, visibilityState,
+        return CoderSetupWizardPage.deploymentUrlStep(
+            context, settingsPage,
             onConnect = onConnect,
             onTokenRefreshed = ::onTokenRefreshed,
         )
-        // We might have navigated here due to a polling error.
-        errorBuffer.forEach {
-            setupWizardPage.notify("Error encountered", it)
-        }
-        errorBuffer.clear()
-        return setupWizardPage
     }
 
     /**

src/main/kotlin/com/coder/toolbox/CoderToolboxContext.kt

@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ import kotlinx.coroutines.CoroutineName
 import kotlinx.coroutines.CoroutineScope
 import kotlinx.coroutines.launch
 import java.net.URL
-import java.util.UUID
 
 @Suppress("UnstableApiUsage")
 data class CoderToolboxContext(
@@ -34,8 +33,9 @@ data class CoderToolboxContext(
     val settingsStore: CoderSettingsStore,
     val secrets: CoderSecretsStore,
     val proxySettings: ToolboxProxySettings,
-    val connectionMonitoringService: ConnectionMonitoringService,
 ) {
+    val connectionMonitoringService: ConnectionMonitoringService = ConnectionMonitoringService(this)
+
     /**
      * Try to find a URL.
      *
@@ -54,49 +54,50 @@ data class CoderToolboxContext(
 
     fun logAndShowError(title: String, error: String) {
         logger.error(error)
-        showSnackbar(title, error)
+        showInfoPopup(title, error)
     }
 
     fun logAndShowError(title: String, error: String, exception: Exception) {
         logger.error(exception, error)
-        showSnackbar(title, error)
+        showInfoPopup(title, error)
     }
 
     fun logAndShowWarning(title: String, warning: String) {
         logger.warn(warning)
-        showSnackbar(title, warning)
+        showInfoPopup(title, warning)
     }
 
     fun logAndShowInfo(title: String, info: String) {
         logger.info(info)
-        showSnackbar(title, info)
+        showInfoPopup(title, info)
     }
 
     /**
-     * Displays a snackbar on a child of the plugin coroutine scope rather than on the
-     * caller's coroutine, without waiting for it.
+     * Displays an informational popup on a child of the plugin coroutine scope rather than on
+     * the caller's coroutine, without waiting for it.
+     *
+     * Unlike [ToolboxUi.showSnackbar], a popup is backed by a persistent dialog state: it is
+     * still rendered once the window becomes visible even if it was requested while the window
+     * was hidden, it is not silently dropped when several are requested, and dismissing it
+     * resumes the [ToolboxUi.showInfoPopup] coroutine normally instead of cancelling it.
      *
-     * Toolbox keeps the [ToolboxUi.showSnackbar] coroutine suspended for the entire lifetime
-     * of the snackbar and cancels it (rather than resuming it) when the snackbar goes away.
-     * Calling it directly on the caller's coroutine would therefore either block the caller
-     * until the snackbar is gone or, on dismissal, abruptly cancel the caller (e.g. the URI
-     * handler) - skipping any code that runs after the error is shown, such as resetting the
-     * busy state. Launching it fire-and-forget on the plugin scope lets the caller continue
-     * immediately while the snackbar lives independently.
+     * It is launched fire-and-forget so the caller is not suspended until the user closes the
+     * popup - the caller (e.g. the URI handler) can run any follow-up code, such as resetting
+     * the busy state, immediately. The popups are serialized via [popupMutex] so they are
+     * shown one after another rather than overwriting each other.
      */
-    fun showSnackbar(title: String, text: String) {
-        cs.launch(CoroutineName("snackbar")) {
+    fun showInfoPopup(title: String, text: String) {
+        cs.launch(CoroutineName("popup")) {
             try {
-                ui.showSnackbar(
-                    UUID.randomUUID().toString(),
+                ui.showInfoPopup(
                     i18n.pnotr(title),
                     i18n.pnotr(text),
                     i18n.ptrl("OK")
                 )
             } catch (_: CancellationException) {
-                // Expected when the snackbar is dismissed or the plugin scope shuts down.
+                // Expected when the plugin scope shuts down while the popup is open.
             } catch (ex: Exception) {
-                logger.error(ex, "Failed to display snackbar with title '$title'")
+                logger.error(ex, "Failed to display popup with title '$title'")
             }
         }
     }

src/main/kotlin/com/coder/toolbox/CoderToolboxExtension.kt

@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ package com.coder.toolbox
 import com.coder.toolbox.settings.Environment
 import com.coder.toolbox.store.CoderSecretsStore
 import com.coder.toolbox.store.CoderSettingsStore
-import com.coder.toolbox.util.ConnectionMonitoringService
 import com.jetbrains.toolbox.api.core.PluginSecretStore
 import com.jetbrains.toolbox.api.core.PluginSettingsStore
 import com.jetbrains.toolbox.api.core.ServiceLocator
@@ -45,12 +44,6 @@ class CoderToolboxExtension : RemoteDevExtension {
                 CoderSettingsStore(serviceLocator.getService<PluginSettingsStore>(), Environment(), logger),
                 CoderSecretsStore(serviceLocator.getService<PluginSecretStore>()),
                 serviceLocator.getService<ToolboxProxySettings>(),
-                ConnectionMonitoringService(
-                    cs,
-                    ui,
-                    logger,
-                    i18n
-                )
             )
         )
     }

src/main/kotlin/com/coder/toolbox/util/CoderProtocolHandler.kt

@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ import kotlinx.coroutines.delay
 import kotlinx.coroutines.launch
 import kotlinx.coroutines.time.withTimeout
 import java.net.URL
-import java.util.UUID
 import kotlin.time.Duration
 import kotlin.time.Duration.Companion.minutes
 import kotlin.time.Duration.Companion.seconds
@@ -273,8 +272,7 @@ open class CoderProtocolHandler(
             context.logger.info("Successfully installed $selectedIde on $environmentId.")
             return selectedIde
         } else {
-            context.ui.showSnackbar(
-                UUID.randomUUID().toString(),
+            context.ui.showInfoPopup(
                 context.i18n.pnotr("$selectedIde could not be installed"),
                 context.i18n.pnotr("$selectedIde could not be installed on time. Check the logs for more details"),
                 context.i18n.ptrl("OK")

src/main/kotlin/com/coder/toolbox/util/ConnectionMonitoringService.kt

@@ -1,22 +1,14 @@
 package com.coder.toolbox.util
 
+import com.coder.toolbox.CoderToolboxContext
 import com.coder.toolbox.sdk.v2.models.Workspace
 import com.coder.toolbox.sdk.v2.models.WorkspaceAgent
 import com.coder.toolbox.sdk.v2.models.WorkspaceAgentLifecycleState
 import com.coder.toolbox.sdk.v2.models.WorkspaceAgentStatus
 import com.coder.toolbox.sdk.v2.models.WorkspaceStatus
-import com.jetbrains.toolbox.api.core.diagnostics.Logger
-import com.jetbrains.toolbox.api.localization.LocalizableStringFactory
-import com.jetbrains.toolbox.api.ui.ToolboxUi
-import kotlinx.coroutines.CoroutineScope
-import kotlinx.coroutines.launch
-import java.util.UUID
 
 class ConnectionMonitoringService(
-    private val cs: CoroutineScope,
-    private val ui: ToolboxUi,
-    private val logger: Logger,
-    private val i18n: LocalizableStringFactory
+    private val context: CoderToolboxContext
 ) {
     private var alreadyNotified = false
 
@@ -34,25 +26,12 @@ class ConnectionMonitoringService(
 
         when {
             isWorkspaceRunning && isAgentReady && hasConnectionIssue -> {
-                cs.launch {
-                    logAndShowWarning(
-                        title = "Unstable connection detected",
-                        warning = "Unstable connection between Coder server and workspace detected. Your active sessions may disconnect"
-                    )
-                }
+                context.logAndShowWarning(
+                    "Unstable connection detected",
+                    "Unstable connection between Coder server and workspace detected. Your active sessions may disconnect"
+                )
                 alreadyNotified = true
             }
         }
     }
-
-
-    private suspend fun logAndShowWarning(title: String, warning: String) {
-        logger.warn(warning)
-        ui.showSnackbar(
-            UUID.randomUUID().toString(),
-            i18n.ptrl(title),
-            i18n.ptrl(warning),
-            i18n.ptrl("OK")
-        )
-    }
-}
+}

src/main/kotlin/com/coder/toolbox/views/CoderSetupWizardPage.kt

@@ -8,20 +8,17 @@ import com.coder.toolbox.views.state.Credentials
 import com.coder.toolbox.views.state.PendingOAuthConnection
 import com.coder.toolbox.views.state.WizardModel
 import com.coder.toolbox.views.state.WizardStep
-import com.jetbrains.toolbox.api.remoteDev.ProviderVisibilityState
 import com.jetbrains.toolbox.api.ui.actions.RunnableActionDescription
 import com.jetbrains.toolbox.api.ui.components.UiField
 import kotlinx.coroutines.Job
 import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.MutableStateFlow
-import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.StateFlow
 import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.update
 import kotlinx.coroutines.launch
 import java.net.URL
 
 class CoderSetupWizardPage private constructor(
     private val context: CoderToolboxContext,
     private val settingsPage: CoderSettingsPage,
-    visibilityState: StateFlow<ProviderVisibilityState>,
     private var autoLogin: Boolean = false,
     onConnect: SuspendBiConsumer<CoderRestClient, CoderCLIManager>,
     onTokenRefreshed: (suspend (url: URL, oauthSessionCtx: CoderOAuthSessionContext) -> Unit)? = null
@@ -31,17 +28,15 @@ class CoderSetupWizardPage private constructor(
         context.ui.showUiPage(settingsPage)
     }
 
-    private val deploymentUrlStep = DeploymentUrlStep(context, model, visibilityState)
+    private val deploymentUrlStep = DeploymentUrlStep(context, model)
     private val tokenStep = TokenStep(context, model)
     private val connectStep = ConnectStep(
         context,
         model,
-        visibilityState,
         navigateBack = this::navigateBackFromConnect,
         onConnect = onConnect,
         onTokenRefreshed = onTokenRefreshed
     )
-    private val errorReporter = ErrorReporter.create(context, visibilityState, this.javaClass)
     private var stateCollectJob: Job? = null
 
     /**
@@ -58,7 +53,6 @@ class CoderSetupWizardPage private constructor(
                 displaySteps()
             }
         }
-        errorReporter.flush()
     }
 
     private fun displaySteps() {
@@ -153,35 +147,27 @@ class CoderSetupWizardPage private constructor(
         stateCollectJob?.cancel()
     }
 
-    /**
-     * Show an error as a popup on this page.
-     */
-    fun notify(message: String, ex: Throwable) = errorReporter.report(message, ex)
-
-
     companion object {
         fun deploymentUrlStep(
             context: CoderToolboxContext,
             settingsPage: CoderSettingsPage,
-            visibilityState: StateFlow<ProviderVisibilityState>,
             onConnect: SuspendBiConsumer<CoderRestClient, CoderCLIManager>,
             onTokenRefreshed: (suspend (url: URL, oauthSessionCtx: CoderOAuthSessionContext) -> Unit)? = null,
         ): CoderSetupWizardPage = CoderSetupWizardPage(
-            context, settingsPage, visibilityState,
+            context, settingsPage,
             onConnect = onConnect,
             onTokenRefreshed = onTokenRefreshed,
         ).apply { model.goToFirst() }
 
         fun connectStep(
             context: CoderToolboxContext,
             settingsPage: CoderSettingsPage,
-            visibilityState: StateFlow<ProviderVisibilityState>,
             url: URL,
             credentials: Credentials,
             onConnect: SuspendBiConsumer<CoderRestClient, CoderCLIManager>,
             onTokenRefreshed: (suspend (url: URL, oauthSessionCtx: CoderOAuthSessionContext) -> Unit)? = null,
         ): CoderSetupWizardPage = CoderSetupWizardPage(
-            context, settingsPage, visibilityState,
+            context, settingsPage,
             autoLogin = true,
             onConnect = onConnect,
             onTokenRefreshed = onTokenRefreshed,