fix: empty assistant messages on sessions with tool-calling chains (fixes #8)

Author: waynesutton

changelog.md

@@ -6,22 +6,27 @@ Format based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/).
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+## [1.1.0] - 2025-01-21
+
 ### Added
 
 - Full Factory Droid (FD) support as third sync source alongside OpenCode and Claude Code
-
-### Fixed
-
-- Fixed Claude Code assistant output not displaying in Dashboard session viewer (fixes #7)
-- MessageBubble component now properly extracts text from object formats (`{ text: "..." }` or `{ content: "..." }`)
-- Added content normalization helpers (getPartTextContent, getToolName) to handle different plugin formats
-- Added tool-result part type rendering to Dashboard MessageBubble (was missing)
-- Added fallback to message.textContent when parts have no displayable content
 - Source utilities file (src/lib/source.ts) with getSourceLabel and getSourceColorClass for consistent badge rendering
 - Factory Droid plugin card in Dashboard setup banner (3-column grid with OC, CC, FD)
 - Factory Droid stat card on Evals page showing FD session count
 - droid-sync link in Settings Plugin Setup section with GitHub and npm links
 - factoryDroid stats tracking in convex/evals.ts listEvalSessions query
+- Content normalization helpers (getPartTextContent, getToolName) to handle different plugin formats
+- tool-result part type rendering to Dashboard MessageBubble
+
+### Fixed
+
+- Claude Code assistant output not displaying in Dashboard session viewer (fixes #7)
+- MessageBubble component now properly extracts text from object formats (`{ text: "..." }` or `{ content: "..." }`)
+- textContent fallback when parts have no displayable content
+- Empty assistant messages on sessions with tool-calling chains (fixes #8)
+- hasDisplayableParts/hasPartsContent now checks tool-call and tool-result content, not just type existence
+- Applied fix across all 4 message rendering components (Dashboard, SessionViewer, Context, PublicSession)
 
 ### Changed
 

docs/fix-blank-sessions.md

@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+# Fix: Empty Assistant Messages in Sessions
+
+**Related Issues:** [#7](https://github.com/waynesutton/opensync/issues/7), [#8](https://github.com/waynesutton/opensync/issues/8)
+
+**Status:** Fixed (2025-01-22)
+
+## Problem
+
+Users reported empty assistant message bubbles in Claude Code sessions, particularly with long tool-calling chains. Messages showed timestamps but no content. The issue affected:
+
+- Dashboard session viewer
+- SessionViewer component
+- Context page slide-over
+- Public session pages
+
+## Root Cause
+
+The `hasDisplayableParts` / `hasPartsContent` check only verified if a part TYPE existed (tool-call or tool-result), not whether the part had actual extractable content.
+
+**Before (buggy):**
+```typescript
+const hasDisplayableParts = message.parts?.some((part: any) => {
+  if (part.type === "text") {
+    const text = getPartTextContent(part.content);
+    return text && text.trim().length > 0;  // Correctly checks content
+  }
+  return part.type === "tool-call" || part.type === "tool-result";  // BUG: Only checks type!
+});
+```
+
+This caused:
+1. `hasDisplayableParts` = `true` (because part type existed)
+2. `showFallback` = `false` (skipped textContent fallback)
+3. Empty bubbles rendered because part.content was null/undefined/malformed
+
+## Fix
+
+Added content validation for tool-call and tool-result parts:
+
+**After (fixed):**
+```typescript
+const hasDisplayableParts = message.parts?.some((part: any) => {
+  if (part.type === "text") {
+    const text = getPartTextContent(part.content);
+    return text && text.trim().length > 0;
+  }
+  if (part.type === "tool-call") {
+    // Check if tool-call has extractable name
+    return part.content && (part.content.name || part.content.toolName);
+  }
+  if (part.type === "tool-result") {
+    // Check if tool-result has extractable result
+    const result = part.content?.result || part.content?.output || part.content;
+    return result !== null && result !== undefined;
+  }
+  return false;
+});
+```
+
+## Files Modified
+
+1. `src/pages/Dashboard.tsx` - MessageBubble component
+2. `src/components/SessionViewer.tsx` - MessageBlock component
+3. `src/pages/Context.tsx` - SlideOverMessageBlock component
+4. `src/pages/PublicSession.tsx` - MessageBlock component
+
+## Testing
+
+After fix:
+- Messages with empty/null parts but valid `textContent` now show the textContent
+- Tool-call parts with actual names render correctly
+- Tool-result parts with actual results render correctly
+- Messages with no extractable content from parts OR textContent show empty (correct behavior)
+
+## Previous Related Fixes
+
+This is the second fix for content extraction issues:
+
+1. **First fix (Issue #7 initial):** Added content normalization helpers (`getPartTextContent`, `getTextContent`) to handle object formats like `{ text: "..." }` or `{ content: "..." }` from Claude Code.
+
+2. **Second fix (Issue #7, #8):** Fixed the displayable content detection to properly check tool-call/tool-result content, not just type existence.

files.md

@@ -98,6 +98,7 @@ Documentation files.
 | `add-package-to-home-prompt.md` | Reusable prompt template for adding CLI/npm packages to homepage Getting Started section |
 | `WORKOS-AUTH.md` | WorkOS AuthKit integration architecture and security model |
 | `NETLIFY-WORKOS-DEPLOYMENT.md` | Deployment guide for Netlify, WorkOS, and Convex integration |
+| `fix-blank-sessions.md` | Tracking document for empty session messages fix (Issues #7, #8) |
 
 ## public/
 

src/components/SessionViewer.tsx

@@ -212,13 +212,22 @@ function MessageBlock({ message }: { message: any }) {
   const isUser = message.role === "user";
   const isSystem = message.role === "system";
 
-  // Check if parts have any displayable content
+  // Check if parts have any displayable content (text, tool-call, or tool-result with actual data)
   const hasPartsContent = message.parts?.some((part: any) => {
     if (part.type === "text") {
       const text = getTextContent(part.content);
       return text && text.trim().length > 0;
     }
-    return part.type === "tool-call" || part.type === "tool-result";
+    if (part.type === "tool-call") {
+      // Check if tool-call has extractable name
+      return part.content && (part.content.name || part.content.toolName);
+    }
+    if (part.type === "tool-result") {
+      // Check if tool-result has extractable result
+      const result = part.content?.result || part.content?.output || part.content;
+      return result !== null && result !== undefined;
+    }
+    return false;
   });
 
   // Use textContent as fallback if no parts have content

src/pages/Context.tsx

@@ -988,13 +988,22 @@ function SlideOverMessageBlock({
   const isUser = message.role === "user";
   const isSystem = message.role === "system";
 
-  // Check if parts have any displayable content
+  // Check if parts have any displayable content (text, tool-call, or tool-result with actual data)
   const hasPartsContent = message.parts?.some((part: any) => {
     if (part.type === "text") {
       const text = getTextContentFromPart(part.content);
       return text && text.trim().length > 0;
     }
-    return part.type === "tool-call" || part.type === "tool-result";
+    if (part.type === "tool-call") {
+      // Check if tool-call has extractable name
+      return part.content && (part.content.name || part.content.toolName);
+    }
+    if (part.type === "tool-result") {
+      // Check if tool-result has extractable result
+      const result = part.content?.result || part.content?.output || part.content;
+      return result !== null && result !== undefined;
+    }
+    return false;
   });
 
   // Use textContent as fallback if no parts have content

src/pages/Dashboard.tsx

@@ -2450,13 +2450,22 @@ function MessageBubble({ message, theme }: { message: any; theme: "dark" | "tan"
   const t = getThemeClasses(theme);
   const isUser = message.role === "user";
 
-  // Check if parts have any displayable text content
+  // Check if parts have any displayable content (text, tool-call, or tool-result with actual data)
   const hasDisplayableParts = message.parts?.some((part: any) => {
     if (part.type === "text") {
       const text = getPartTextContent(part.content);
       return text && text.trim().length > 0;
     }
-    return part.type === "tool-call" || part.type === "tool-result";
+    if (part.type === "tool-call") {
+      // Check if tool-call has extractable name
+      return part.content && (part.content.name || part.content.toolName);
+    }
+    if (part.type === "tool-result") {
+      // Check if tool-result has extractable result
+      const result = part.content?.result || part.content?.output || part.content;
+      return result !== null && result !== undefined;
+    }
+    return false;
   });
 
   // Use textContent fallback if no parts have displayable content

src/pages/PublicSession.tsx

@@ -139,13 +139,22 @@ function MessageBlock({ message, theme }: { message: any; theme: "dark" | "tan"
   const isUser = message.role === "user";
   const isSystem = message.role === "system";
 
-  // Check if parts have any displayable content
+  // Check if parts have any displayable content (text, tool-call, or tool-result with actual data)
   const hasPartsContent = message.parts?.some((part: any) => {
     if (part.type === "text") {
       const text = getTextContent(part.content);
       return text && text.trim().length > 0;
     }
-    return part.type === "tool-call" || part.type === "tool-result";
+    if (part.type === "tool-call") {
+      // Check if tool-call has extractable name
+      return part.content && (part.content.name || part.content.toolName);
+    }
+    if (part.type === "tool-result") {
+      // Check if tool-result has extractable result
+      const result = part.content?.result || part.content?.output || part.content;
+      return result !== null && result !== undefined;
+    }
+    return false;
   });
 
   // Use textContent as fallback if no parts have content

task.md

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ OpenSync supports two AI coding tools: **OpenCode** and **Claude Code**.
 
 - [ ] (add next task here)
 
-## Recently Completed (Claude Code Output Display Fix)
+## Recently Completed (Empty Sessions Fix - Issue #7, #8)
 
 - [x] Fixed Claude Code assistant output not displaying in Dashboard (GitHub #7)
   - MessageBubble component was rendering object content directly instead of extracting text
@@ -18,6 +18,13 @@ OpenSync supports two AI coding tools: **OpenCode** and **Claude Code**.
   - Added textContent fallback when parts are empty
   - Added tool-result part type rendering (was missing from MessageBubble)
 
+- [x] Fixed empty assistant messages on sessions with tool-calling chains (GitHub #8)
+  - hasDisplayableParts/hasPartsContent was only checking part TYPE, not content
+  - Now validates tool-call parts have extractable name (content.name or content.toolName)
+  - Now validates tool-result parts have extractable result (content.result, content.output, or content itself)
+  - Applied fix to all 4 message rendering components: Dashboard.tsx, SessionViewer.tsx, Context.tsx, PublicSession.tsx
+  - Created docs/fix-blank-sessions.md tracking document
+
 ## Recently Completed (Factory Droid Full Integration)
 
 - [x] Full Factory Droid support as third sync source