From 3d07dfcacaba1c4b4bdbe5c8fd5101b8b29176e9 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: LHagfoss <lucas@paral.no>
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 2026 13:12:13 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] feat(desktop): make the new thread tip readable and drop a
 link-only setting
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

The tip under the new thread headline gets a denser halo, so its caption-sized text stays whole over the ASCII background. Settings › General loses the Harness, model and effort row, which only linked to Harnesses; its New threads start on row is where the default is set, and settings search already finds it.
---
 apps/desktop/src/index.css                 | 10 ++++++++++
 apps/desktop/src/state/settingsRegistry.ts |  1 -
 apps/desktop/src/ui/ChatView.tsx           |  2 +-
 apps/desktop/src/ui/Settings.tsx           |  3 ---
 apps/desktop/src/ui/settingsIndex.ts       |  5 -----
 5 files changed, 11 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)

diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/index.css b/apps/desktop/src/index.css
index fef77421e..e9c917de6 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/index.css
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/index.css
@@ -1141,6 +1141,16 @@
     0 0 12px color-mix(in srgb, var(--rc-bg) 55%, transparent);
 }
 
+/* Caption-sized text has thin strokes a busy picture breaks up: a closer, denser halo keeps it whole. */
+.rc-text-over-image-small {
+  text-shadow:
+    0 0 1px var(--rc-bg),
+    0 0 2px var(--rc-bg),
+    0 0 4px var(--rc-bg),
+    0 0 8px color-mix(in srgb, var(--rc-bg) 85%, transparent),
+    0 0 14px color-mix(in srgb, var(--rc-bg) 60%, transparent);
+}
+
 /* A day of the activity heatmap's grid: 2px, under the smallest radius step, on a 7px cell. */
 .rc-heat-cell {
   border-radius: 2px;
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/state/settingsRegistry.ts b/apps/desktop/src/state/settingsRegistry.ts
index 3a4fb6220..3438546f6 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/state/settingsRegistry.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/state/settingsRegistry.ts
@@ -43,7 +43,6 @@ export const SECTION_KIND: Record<SettingsSection, SettingKind> = {
 const ROW_KINDS: { section: SettingsSection; title: string; kind: SettingKind }[] = [
   // General keeps app preferences and this computer's own rows beside the server settings.
   { section: "general", title: "Default project folder", kind: "machine" },
-  { section: "general", title: "Harness, model and effort", kind: "server" },
   { section: "general", title: "Access", kind: "server" },
   { section: "general", title: "Continue threads after a restart", kind: "server" },
   { section: "general", title: "Continue threads on their own", kind: "server" },
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/ui/ChatView.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/ui/ChatView.tsx
index d98e82cc6..f64e007dc 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/ui/ChatView.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/ui/ChatView.tsx
@@ -741,7 +741,7 @@ function NewThreadHeading({
       {showTip && tip && shortcut && (
         // Over a picture the tip reads in `fg`, not muted: a muted line lands near what a dark
         // photo leaves under the scrim, and the halo alone cannot make that difference up.
-        <p className={cx("text-caption", banner ? "rc-text-over-image text-fg" : "text-fg-muted")}>
+        <p className={cx("text-caption", banner ? "rc-text-over-image-small text-fg" : "text-fg-muted")}>
           Tip: {tip.text} with <Kbd>{shortcut}</Kbd>
         </p>
       )}
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/ui/Settings.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/ui/Settings.tsx
index 6c6cc92ef..63ba5c8fe 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/ui/Settings.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/ui/Settings.tsx
@@ -334,9 +334,6 @@ function GeneralPage() {
             {defaultCwd ? "Change folder" : "Choose folder"}
           </Action>
         </Row>
-        <Row title="Harness, model and effort" subtitle="Which harness runs a new thread by default.">
-          <Action onClick={() => openSettings("agents")}>Open Harnesses</Action>
-        </Row>
         <Row
           title="Access"
           subtitle="What threads may do without asking, by default and per project."
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/ui/settingsIndex.ts b/apps/desktop/src/ui/settingsIndex.ts
index aef4f4730..b87838f94 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/ui/settingsIndex.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/ui/settingsIndex.ts
@@ -23,11 +23,6 @@ export const SETTINGS_INDEX: SettingEntry[] = [
     title: "Default project folder",
     keywords: "directory cwd project path choose",
   },
-  {
-    section: "general",
-    title: "Harness, model and effort",
-    keywords: "agent default harness which runs new thread",
-  },
   {
     section: "general",
     title: "Access",