qs-ask: log outcomes to journal; launcher: spinner while Claude answers

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

hosts/FredOS-Mediaserver.nix

@@ -99,18 +99,32 @@
       # call fails or the model doesn't know — silence is what the launcher
       # reads as "keep the Wikipedia answer". Every reason for that silence goes
       # to STDERR instead, which the launcher discards and a human running
-      # `qs-ask` by hand can read.
+      # `qs-ask` by hand can read — and to the journal, since over ssh nobody
+      # ever sees that STDERR. `journalctl -t qs-ask` is the only way to tell a
+      # blank card caused by UNKNOWN from one caused by a failed call.
       (pkgs.writeShellScriptBin "qs-ask" ''
+        # Every line carries this script's pid, because the launcher fires a
+        # fresh call per debounce and concurrent runs otherwise interleave with
+        # no way to pair a question with its outcome. The pid goes in the
+        # message text rather than through logger's --id: --id sets SYSLOG_PID,
+        # which journalctl does not display — it shows the pid of the logger
+        # process itself, a different number on every line.
+        log() {
+          printf 'qs-ask: %s\n' "$*" >&2
+          ${pkgs.util-linux}/bin/logger -t qs-ask -- "[$$] $*"
+        }
+
         q=$(${pkgs.coreutils}/bin/cat)
-        [ -z "$q" ] && { echo "qs-ask: no question on stdin" >&2; exit 0; }
+        [ -z "$q" ] && { log "no question on stdin"; exit 0; }
+        log "ask: $q"
 
         # Claude Code derives its project state (transcripts, auto-memory) from
         # the working directory, so run from a dedicated empty one. Combined with
         # --no-session-persistence and --safe-mode, a launcher question leaves no
         # trace in the real projects' history or memory.
         work="$HOME/.cache/qs-ask"
-        ${pkgs.coreutils}/bin/mkdir -p "$work" || { echo "qs-ask: cannot create $work" >&2; exit 0; }
+        ${pkgs.coreutils}/bin/mkdir -p "$work" || { log "cannot create $work"; exit 0; }
-        cd "$work" || { echo "qs-ask: cannot enter $work" >&2; exit 0; }
+        cd "$work" || { log "cannot enter $work"; exit 0; }
 
         # MAX_THINKING_TOKENS=0 is the single biggest win here, worth ~2.4x.
         # Measured: Haiku defaults to extended thinking, and it spent 225 output
@@ -142,14 +156,15 @@
           --name qs-ask \
           --system-prompt 'Answer the question in one or two short sentences, under 240 characters. Lead with the specific fact asked for, including units. The query is often bare keywords rather than a question ("shadow hunter knife classic wow"); treat that as a request for the key facts about that thing, not as unanswerable. No preamble, no caveats, no markdown, no follow-up offers. Reply with exactly UNKNOWN only when you genuinely do not know, or the answer depends on live data you do not have.' \
           2>/dev/null) \
-          || { echo "qs-ask: claude exited non-zero (auth expired? run 'claude' once to log in)" >&2; exit 0; }
+          || { log "claude exited non-zero (auth expired? run 'claude' once to log in)"; exit 0; }
 
         ans=$(printf '%s' "$ans" | ${pkgs.coreutils}/bin/tr -d '\r' | ${pkgs.gnused}/bin/sed -e 's/^[[:space:]]*//' -e 's/[[:space:]]*$//')
 
         case "$ans" in
-          "")        echo "qs-ask: empty answer" >&2; exit 0 ;;
+          "")        log "empty answer"; exit 0 ;;
-          UNKNOWN*)  echo "qs-ask: model replied UNKNOWN" >&2; exit 0 ;;
+          UNKNOWN*)  log "model replied UNKNOWN"; exit 0 ;;
         esac
+        log "ok: $ans"
         printf '%s' "$ans"
       '')
     ];

settings/quickshell.nix

@@ -2415,7 +2415,10 @@ in
                                 height: answerCol.height + 28
                                 radius: Theme.radiusCard
                                 color: Theme.cardBg
-                                visible: launcherPanel.answerFact !== ""
+                                // Also up while Claude's call is out with nothing
+                                // on screen yet, so the spinner has somewhere to
+                                // live during the first second.
+                                visible: launcherPanel.answerFact !== "" || askProc.running
 
                                 Column {
                                     id: answerCol
@@ -2451,6 +2454,7 @@ in
                                     // answer already came from it.
                                     SText {
                                         width: parent.width
+                                        visible: launcherPanel.answerFact !== ""
                                         text: launcherPanel.answerFact
                                         font.pixelSize: 13
                                         wrapMode: Text.WordWrap
@@ -2466,13 +2470,38 @@ in
                                     }
 
                                     // Always say who answered — the two sources
-                                    // carry very different trust.
+                                    // carry very different trust. The spinner
+                                    // runs for as long as Claude's ~6s call is
+                                    // out, which is the only cue that a
+                                    // Wikipedia answer already on screen is
+                                    // still provisional — and that a card that
+                                    // never changes was Claude declining, not
+                                    // Claude being slow.
+                                    Row {
+                                        spacing: 5
+                                        SIcon {
+                                            anchors.verticalCenter: parent.verticalCenter
+                                            visible: askProc.running
+                                            text: "loader-circle"
+                                            font.pixelSize: 11
+                                            color: Theme.base03
+                                            NumberAnimation on rotation {
+                                                from: 0; to: 360
+                                                duration: 900
+                                                loops: Animation.Infinite
+                                                running: askProc.running
+                                            }
+                                        }
                                         SText {
-                                        text: launcherPanel.answerSource
+                                            anchors.verticalCenter: parent.verticalCenter
+                                            text: askProc.running
+                                                  ? (launcherPanel.answerSource === "" ? "Claude" : launcherPanel.answerSource + " · Claude")
+                                                  : launcherPanel.answerSource
                                             font.pixelSize: 10
                                             color: Theme.base03
                                         }
                                     }
+                                }
 
                                 // Only Wikipedia answers have somewhere to go.
                                 MouseArea {