fix(timeline): pause sse while hidden

apps/web/src/hooks/useTimelineSSE.test.ts

@@ -52,13 +52,43 @@ class MockEventSource {
   }
 }
 
+type VisibilityHandler = () => void;
+
+class MockVisibilityDocument {
+  visibilityState: "visible" | "hidden" = "visible";
+  private readonly listeners = new Set<VisibilityHandler>();
+
+  addEventListener(type: string, listener: VisibilityHandler) {
+    if (type === "visibilitychange") {
+      this.listeners.add(listener);
+    }
+  }
+
+  removeEventListener(type: string, listener: VisibilityHandler) {
+    if (type === "visibilitychange") {
+      this.listeners.delete(listener);
+    }
+  }
+
+  setVisibility(state: "visible" | "hidden") {
+    this.visibilityState = state;
+    for (const listener of this.listeners) {
+      listener();
+    }
+  }
+}
+
 describe("useTimelineSSE", () => {
+  let mockDocument: MockVisibilityDocument;
+
   beforeEach(() => {
     vi.useFakeTimers();
     vi.clearAllMocks();
     effectCleanups.length = 0;
     MockEventSource.instances.length = 0;
+    mockDocument = new MockVisibilityDocument();
     vi.stubGlobal("EventSource", MockEventSource);
+    vi.stubGlobal("document", mockDocument);
   });
 
   afterEach(() => {
@@ -109,7 +139,7 @@ describe("useTimelineSSE", () => {
 
     firstConnection?.emitError();
     firstConnection?.emitError();
-    expect(firstConnection?.close).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+    expect(firstConnection?.close).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
 
     vi.advanceTimersByTime(1999);
     expect(MockEventSource.instances).toHaveLength(1);
@@ -172,4 +202,42 @@ describe("useTimelineSSE", () => {
     expect(MockEventSource.instances).toHaveLength(1);
     expect(firstConnection?.close).toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
+
+  it("does not connect while the page is hidden on mount, then connects when visible", () => {
+    mockDocument.visibilityState = "hidden";
+
+    useTimelineSSE();
+
+    expect(MockEventSource.instances).toHaveLength(0);
+
+    mockDocument.setVisibility("visible");
+
+    expect(MockEventSource.instances).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(invalidateQueries).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("closes the active connection while hidden and resyncs once when visible again", () => {
+    useTimelineSSE();
+
+    const firstConnection = MockEventSource.instances[0];
+    expect(firstConnection).toBeDefined();
+
+    firstConnection?.emitOpen();
+    mockDocument.setVisibility("hidden");
+
+    expect(firstConnection?.close).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(MockEventSource.instances).toHaveLength(1);
+
+    mockDocument.setVisibility("visible");
+
+    expect(MockEventSource.instances).toHaveLength(2);
+
+    const secondConnection = MockEventSource.instances[1];
+    secondConnection?.emitOpen();
+
+    expect(invalidateQueries).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(getTimelineSseResyncKeys().length);
+    expect(invalidateQueries.mock.calls).toEqual(
+      getTimelineSseResyncKeys().map((queryKey) => [{ queryKey }]),
+    );
+  });
 });

apps/web/src/hooks/useTimelineSSE.ts

@@ -22,6 +22,18 @@ export function useTimelineSSE() {
     let reconnectAttempts = 0;
     let isDisposed = false;
     let shouldResyncOnOpen = false;
+    const canObserveVisibility = typeof document !== "undefined" && "visibilityState" in document;
+
+    function clearReconnectTimer() {
+      if (!reconnectTimeout.current) return;
+      clearTimeout(reconnectTimeout.current);
+      reconnectTimeout.current = null;
+    }
+
+    function closeConnection() {
+      es?.close();
+      es = null;
+    }
 
     function scheduleReconnect() {
       if (isDisposed || reconnectTimeout.current) return;
@@ -36,6 +48,7 @@ export function useTimelineSSE() {
 
     function connect() {
       if (isDisposed) return;
+      if (canObserveVisibility && document.visibilityState === "hidden") return;
       es = new EventSource("/api/sse/timeline");
 
       es.onopen = () => {
@@ -68,20 +81,41 @@ export function useTimelineSSE() {
 
       es.onerror = () => {
         shouldResyncOnOpen = true;
-        es?.close();
+        closeConnection();
         scheduleReconnect();
       };
     }
 
+    function handleVisibilityChange() {
+      if (!canObserveVisibility) return;
+      if (document.visibilityState === "hidden") {
+        if (es || reconnectTimeout.current) {
+          shouldResyncOnOpen = true;
+        }
+        clearReconnectTimer();
+        closeConnection();
+        return;
+      }
+
+      reconnectAttempts = 0;
+      if (!es) {
+        connect();
+      }
+    }
+
+    if (canObserveVisibility) {
+      document.addEventListener("visibilitychange", handleVisibilityChange);
+    }
+
     connect();
 
     return () => {
       isDisposed = true;
-      es?.close();
+      if (canObserveVisibility) {
-      if (reconnectTimeout.current) {
+        document.removeEventListener("visibilitychange", handleVisibilityChange);
-        clearTimeout(reconnectTimeout.current);
-        reconnectTimeout.current = null;
       }
+      closeConnection();
+      clearReconnectTimer();
     };
   }, [queryClient]);
 }

docs/showcase-execution-batches.md

@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ Progress note:
 - 2026-04-01: viewport-change behavior was tightened so point-anchored timeline popovers close on scroll/resize, while element-anchored hover cards remain repositionable; the viewport regression now passes with a non-happy-path e2e.
 - 2026-04-01: active timeline gestures now cancel on window blur / hidden-tab transitions instead of leaving drag or resize state stranded; regression coverage verifies a mid-resize focus loss reverts the preview and allows the next interaction to proceed cleanly.
 - 2026-04-01: timeline SSE reconnect now performs a one-shot catch-up invalidation on the next successful `onopen`, so missed updates during disconnects do not leave the timeline stale until a later event arrives.
+- 2026-04-01: timeline SSE now pauses while the tab is hidden and reconnects with a one-shot resync after visibility returns, which reduces background reconnect churn without trusting missed live events to self-heal.
 
 Slices: