feat(controller): resolve engine and model upfront for immediate UI display

Move engine and model resolution before controller execution to ensure UI shows this information immediately rather than waiting for the first turn. This matches the behavior of step agents and provides better user experience.

Author: moazbuilds

src/workflows/controller/view.ts

@@ -128,9 +128,38 @@ export async function runControllerView(
     return { ran: false };
   }
 
-  // Initialize controller agent
-  // Engine/model resolution happens inside executeAgent (single source of truth)
-  // Only pass overrides from workflow definition.options
+  // Resolve engine and model upfront (before execution) like step agents do
+  // This ensures UI shows engine/model immediately, not after first turn
+  debug('[ControllerView] Resolving engine and model upfront');
+  const { selectEngine } = await import('../step/engine.js');
+  const { registry } = await import('../../infra/engines/index.js');
+
+  // Create a step-like object for selectEngine
+  const stepLike = {
+    engine: definition.options?.engine,
+    agentId: controller.id,
+    agentName: (controller.name as string | undefined) ?? controller.id,
+  };
+
+  const resolvedEngine = await selectEngine(stepLike, emitter, controller.id);
+  debug('[ControllerView] Resolved engine: %s', resolvedEngine);
+
+  // Resolve model from definition override or engine default
+  const engineModule = registry.get(resolvedEngine);
+  const resolvedModel = definition.options?.model ?? engineModule?.metadata.defaultModel;
+  debug('[ControllerView] Resolved model: %s', resolvedModel);
+
+  // Emit controller info BEFORE execution so UI shows it immediately
+  const controllerName = (controller.name as string | undefined) ?? controller.id;
+  emitter.setControllerInfo(
+    controller.id,
+    controllerName,
+    resolvedEngine,
+    resolvedModel
+  );
+  debug('[ControllerView] Emitted controller info upfront: engine=%s, model=%s', resolvedEngine, resolvedModel);
+
+  // Initialize controller agent with resolved engine/model
   debug('[ControllerView] Initializing controller agent');
   let controllerMonitoringId: number | undefined;
 
@@ -146,23 +175,14 @@ export async function runControllerView(
           controllerMonitoringId = monitoringId;
           emitter.registerControllerMonitoring(monitoringId);
         },
-        engineOverride: definition.options?.engine,
-        modelOverride: definition.options?.model,
+        engineOverride: resolvedEngine,
+        modelOverride: resolvedModel,
       }
     );
 
     debug('[ControllerView] Controller initialized: sessionId=%s, monitoringId=%d, engine=%s, model=%s',
       config.sessionId, controllerMonitoringId, config.engine, config.model);
 
-    // Emit controller info for UI (use resolved values from initControllerAgent)
-    const controllerName = (controller.name as string | undefined) ?? controller.id;
-    emitter.setControllerInfo(
-      controller.id,
-      controllerName,
-      config.engine,
-      config.model
-    );
-
     // Set up conversational loop
     // 1. Set input state active so UI shows input box
     // 2. Wait for user input