feat(agents): configurable default agent provider for background auto-drafts

scripts/run-tests.sh

@@ -107,20 +107,22 @@ run_with_display() {
 # Clean up per-worker test databases and stale config left by parallel E2E runs.
 # Config files (electron-store) are shared global state — we only clean them
 # before/after the full test suite, never during parallel execution.
+#
+# ONLY the dev Electron binary's dirs are cleaned. Tests launch via
+# node_modules/electron, whose userData dir is "Electron" — never the packaged
+# app's "exo" dir. exo-config.json under ".../Application Support/exo" is the
+# PRODUCTION config (real API keys and settings); an earlier version of this
+# list included the exo dirs and deleted it on every test run. Do not re-add.
 clean_test_dbs() {
     local home="${HOME:-/root}"
     local cleaned=0
     local data_dirs=(
         "$home/Library/Application Support/Electron/data"
-        "$home/Library/Application Support/exo/data"
         "$home/.config/Electron/data"
-        "$home/.config/exo/data"
     )
     local config_dirs=(
         "$home/Library/Application Support/Electron"
-        "$home/Library/Application Support/exo"
         "$home/.config/Electron"
-        "$home/.config/exo"
     )
     for dir in "${data_dirs[@]}"; do
         if [ -d "$dir" ]; then

src/main/ipc/drafts.ipc.ts

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import {
   deleteGmailDraftById,
   deleteGmailDraftsBatch,
 } from "../services/gmail-draft-sync";
-import { getConfig, getFeatureModelConfig } from "./settings.ipc";
+import { getConfig, getFeatureModelConfig, getBackgroundAgentProviderId } from "./settings.ipc";
 import { buildMemoryContext } from "../services/memory-context";
 import { prefetchService } from "../services/prefetch-service";
 import { agentCoordinator } from "../agents/agent-coordinator";
@@ -177,7 +177,10 @@ FORMATTING: Write plain text paragraphs separated by blank lines. Do NOT use HTM
   // Rerun agent draft for a single email
   ipcMain.handle(
     "drafts:rerun-agent",
-    async (_, { emailId }: { emailId: string }): Promise<IpcResponse<{ taskId: string }>> => {
+    async (
+      _,
+      { emailId }: { emailId: string },
+    ): Promise<IpcResponse<{ taskId: string; providerIds: string[] }>> => {
       if (useFakeData) {
         return { success: false, error: "Agent drafting is not available in demo/test mode" };
       }
@@ -231,7 +234,8 @@ FORMATTING: Write plain text paragraphs separated by blank lines. Do NOT use HTM
         prefetchService.trackManualAgentDraft(emailId, taskId);
 
         // Launch agent — events auto-stream to renderer via agent:event IPC
-        await agentCoordinator.runAgent(taskId, ["claude"], prompt, context);
+        const providerId = getBackgroundAgentProviderId();
+        await agentCoordinator.runAgent(taskId, [providerId], prompt, context);
 
         // Link draft to agent task when it completes (async, don't block response)
         agentCoordinator
@@ -252,7 +256,7 @@ FORMATTING: Write plain text paragraphs separated by blank lines. Do NOT use HTM
             prefetchService.markAgentDraftDone(emailId, "failed");
           });
 
-        return { success: true, data: { taskId } };
+        return { success: true, data: { taskId, providerIds: [providerId] } };
       } catch (error) {
         return {
           success: false,

src/main/ipc/settings.ipc.ts

@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ import {
   MODEL_TIER_IDS,
   resolveModelId,
   resolveAgentOllamaConfig,
+  resolveBackgroundAgentProviderId,
+  DEFAULT_BACKGROUND_AGENT_PROVIDER,
   DEFAULT_OLLAMA_MODEL,
   DEFAULT_HOSTLER_HARNESS,
 } from "../../shared/types";
@@ -223,6 +225,31 @@ export function getFeatureModelConfig(feature: keyof ModelConfig): {
   return { provider: "anthropic", model: resolveModelId(mc[feature]) };
 }
 
+/**
+ * Which agent provider background auto-drafts should launch right now.
+ *
+ * Wraps the pure resolveBackgroundAgentProviderId with the one gate it can't
+ * express: OpenCode also needs an LLM credential (its isAvailable() requires
+ * Ollama or Anthropic), and the Anthropic key may come from process.env,
+ * which the renderer-safe resolver can't read. Without this, enabling
+ * OpenCode with no credentials would fail every background draft — and each
+ * failed email is skipped for the rest of the session.
+ *
+ * The bundled opencode binary is deliberately not checked here: it ships
+ * with the app, so its absence is a broken install that should fail loudly
+ * in the provider, not silently fall back.
+ */
+export function getBackgroundAgentProviderId(): string {
+  const config = getConfig();
+  const resolved = resolveBackgroundAgentProviderId(config);
+  if (resolved === "opencode") {
+    const hasAnthropic = Boolean(config.anthropicApiKey || process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY);
+    const hasOllama = Boolean(config.ollamaCloud?.apiKey);
+    if (!hasAnthropic && !hasOllama) return DEFAULT_BACKGROUND_AGENT_PROVIDER;
+  }
+  return resolved;
+}
+
 export function registerSettingsIpc(): void {
   // Validate an Anthropic API key with a minimal API call
   ipcMain.handle(
@@ -349,6 +376,19 @@ export function registerSettingsIpc(): void {
           };
         }
       }
+      // backgroundAgentProvider routes every background auto-draft to an
+      // agent provider. IPC payloads are compile-time-typed only, so guard
+      // the type here — a persisted non-string would wedge every future
+      // auto-draft on "Unknown provider".
+      if (
+        "backgroundAgentProvider" in config &&
+        typeof config.backgroundAgentProvider !== "string"
+      ) {
+        newConfig = {
+          ...newConfig,
+          backgroundAgentProvider: currentConfig.backgroundAgentProvider,
+        };
+      }
       // Deep-merge hostler for the same reason as ollamaCloud: the Extensions
       // card never sends baseUrl (a dev/test escape hatch), so a shallow
       // merge would silently erase it on every UI save.

src/main/services/prefetch-service.ts

@@ -14,7 +14,11 @@ import {
   loadCompletedAgentDraftEmailIds,
   isSenderBlocked,
 } from "../db";
-import { getConfig, getFeatureModelConfig } from "../ipc/settings.ipc";
+import {
+  getConfig,
+  getFeatureModelConfig,
+  getBackgroundAgentProviderId,
+} from "../ipc/settings.ipc";
 import { getExtensionHost } from "../extensions";
 import { agentCoordinator } from "../agents/agent-coordinator";
 import { buildAutoDraftTaskId } from "../agents/task-id";
@@ -1087,8 +1091,11 @@ When you see emails in a thread where ${eaName} is coordinating scheduling with
       // Track which taskId is active for this email so we can detect superseded tasks
       this.activeAgentTaskIds.set(emailId, taskId);
 
+      const providerId = getBackgroundAgentProviderId();
+      log.info(`[Prefetch] Agent draft for ${emailId} using provider ${providerId}`);
+
       // Launch the agent and await its actual completion (not just startup)
-      await agentCoordinator.runAgent(taskId, ["claude"], prompt, context);
+      await agentCoordinator.runAgent(taskId, [providerId], prompt, context);
       await agentCoordinator.waitForCompletion(taskId);
 
       // Link the draft record to the agent task so the trace can be loaded later

src/renderer/App.tsx

@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ import {
   addBreadcrumb,
   captureException,
 } from "./services/posthog";
-import { LocalDraftSchema } from "../shared/types";
+import { LocalDraftSchema, DEFAULT_BACKGROUND_AGENT_PROVIDER } from "../shared/types";
 import type {
   DashboardEmail,
   OutboxStats,
@@ -1177,12 +1177,21 @@ export default function App() {
             // Save sidebar tab — startAgentTask unconditionally sets it to "agent",
             // but background auto-drafts shouldn't steal focus from the user
             const prevTab = store.sidebarTab;
-            store.startAgentTask(taskId, emailId, ["claude"], "", {
-              accountId: email.accountId || "",
-              currentEmailId: emailId,
-              currentThreadId: email.threadId,
-              userEmail: "",
-            });
+            // The background provider is configurable (backgroundAgentProvider),
+            // so derive it from the event — appendAgentEvent drops events whose
+            // providerId has no registered run.
+            store.startAgentTask(
+              taskId,
+              emailId,
+              [event.providerId ?? DEFAULT_BACKGROUND_AGENT_PROVIDER],
+              "",
+              {
+                accountId: email.accountId || "",
+                currentEmailId: emailId,
+                currentThreadId: email.threadId,
+                userEmail: "",
+              },
+            );
             trackEvent("agent_run_started", { source: "auto_draft", provider_count: 1 });
             // Restore tab if this auto-draft is for a different email than what the user is viewing
             if (store.selectedEmailId !== emailId && prevTab !== "agent") {

src/renderer/components/AgentPanel.tsx

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import ReactMarkdown from "react-markdown";
 import remarkGfm from "remark-gfm";
 import { useAppStore } from "../store";
 import type { ScopedAgentEvent, AgentTaskState, AgentTaskInfo } from "../../shared/agent-types";
+import { DEFAULT_BACKGROUND_AGENT_PROVIDER } from "../../shared/types";
 import { AgentConfirmationDialog } from "./AgentConfirmationDialog";
 import { trackEvent } from "../services/posthog";
 
@@ -745,7 +746,7 @@ export const AgentTabContent = memo(function AgentTabContent({ emailId }: { emai
 
       // Call backend to delete draft, clean up trace, and launch a new agent
       const result = (await window.api?.drafts?.rerunAgent?.(emailId)) as
-        | { success: boolean; data?: { taskId: string }; error?: string }
+        | { success: boolean; data?: { taskId: string; providerIds?: string[] }; error?: string }
         | undefined;
 
       if (result?.success && result.data) {
@@ -754,12 +755,19 @@ export const AgentTabContent = memo(function AgentTabContent({ emailId }: { emai
         // The real context is built by buildAgentDraftContext on the backend — this
         // is only for the store's tracking entry.
         const email = useAppStore.getState().emails.find((e) => e.id === emailId);
+        // Drop providerConversationIds from the reused context: a regenerate is
+        // a fresh conversation (the backend deleted the old trace), and the new
+        // run may be on a different provider than the one that minted those ids
+        // — a stale id would make a later follow-up skip conversation history.
+        const reusedContext = task?.context
+          ? { ...task.context, providerConversationIds: undefined }
+          : undefined;
         startAgentTask(
           taskId,
           emailId,
-          ["claude"],
+          result.data.providerIds ?? [DEFAULT_BACKGROUND_AGENT_PROVIDER],
           task?.prompt || "",
-          task?.context || {
+          reusedContext ?? {
             accountId: email?.accountId || "",
             currentEmailId: emailId,
             currentThreadId: email?.threadId || "",
@@ -795,7 +803,12 @@ export const AgentTabContent = memo(function AgentTabContent({ emailId }: { emai
 
     console.log("[AgentPanel] Follow-up providerConversationIds:", providerConversationIds);
 
-    const hasStatefulProvider = Object.keys(providerConversationIds).length > 0;
+    // Only count conversation ids belonging to a provider that will actually
+    // run this follow-up. The background provider is configurable, so a task
+    // context can carry a stale id from a previous provider (e.g. a hostler
+    // session id after a regenerate resolved to claude) — treating that as
+    // "stateful" would send Claude the bare prompt with no history.
+    const hasStatefulProvider = currentTask.providerIds.some((id) => providerConversationIds[id]);
 
     // Build conversation history for stateless providers (e.g. Claude)
     const history = buildConversationHistory(currentTask);

src/renderer/components/EmailPreviewSidebar.tsx

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { memo, useMemo, useEffect, useRef } from "react";
 import { useAppStore } from "../store";
 import { useExtensionPanels, ExtensionPanelSlot } from "../extensions";
 import { AgentTabContent } from "./AgentPanel";
+import { deriveTraceProviderIds } from "../../shared/agent-types";
 import type { ScopedAgentEvent } from "../../shared/agent-types";
 
 // SVG icon components for sidebar tabs
@@ -264,10 +265,13 @@ export const EmailPreviewSidebar = memo(function EmailPreviewSidebar() {
           if (!email) return;
 
           // Replay entire trace in a single store update (avoids O(n²) from N appendAgentEvent calls)
+          // Derive provider ids from the persisted events — the background
+          // provider is configurable, and replayAgentTrace drops events whose
+          // providerId isn't in this list.
           replayAgentTrace(
             taskId,
             email.id,
-            ["claude"],
+            deriveTraceProviderIds(result.data.events),
             "",
             {
               accountId: email.accountId || "",

src/renderer/components/SettingsPanel.tsx

@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@ import {
   SENDER_LOOKUP_PROVIDERS,
   type SenderLookupProvider,
   DEFAULT_OLLAMA_MODEL,
+  DEFAULT_BACKGROUND_AGENT_PROVIDER,
+  resolveBackgroundAgentProviderId,
   type BlockedSender,
 } from "../../shared/types";
 import { useAppStore, type Account, type SettingsTab } from "../store";
@@ -148,6 +150,12 @@ export function SettingsPanel({ onClose, initialTab }: SettingsPanelProps) {
   const [chromeProfilePath, setChromeProfilePath] = useState("");
   const [isSavingBrowser, setIsSavingBrowser] = useState(false);
 
+  // Which agent provider runs background auto-drafts (new-email drafter + regenerate).
+  // Provider gates (opencode/hostler enabled state) are derived from generalConfig.
+  const [backgroundAgentProvider, setBackgroundAgentProvider] = useState(
+    DEFAULT_BACKGROUND_AGENT_PROVIDER,
+  );
+
   // PostHog analytics state — initialized once from config, not clobbered by react-query refetch
   const [posthogEnabled, setPosthogEnabled] = useState(false);
   const [isSavingAnalytics, setIsSavingAnalytics] = useState(false);
@@ -213,6 +221,16 @@ export function SettingsPanel({ onClose, initialTab }: SettingsPanelProps) {
     },
   });
 
+  // What the main process will actually launch for background drafts, given
+  // the current provider gates — the same resolver prefetch/rerun use, so the
+  // fallback warning in the Agents tab can't drift from real behavior.
+  const effectiveBackgroundProvider = resolveBackgroundAgentProviderId({
+    backgroundAgentProvider,
+    opencode: generalConfig?.opencode,
+    hostler: generalConfig?.hostler,
+    openclaw: generalConfig?.openclaw,
+  });
+
   useEffect(() => {
     if (prompts) {
       setAnalysisPrompt(prompts.analysisPrompt);
@@ -265,6 +283,9 @@ export function SettingsPanel({ onClose, initialTab }: SettingsPanelProps) {
       setMcpServers(generalConfig.mcpServers ?? {});
       setCliTools((generalConfig.cliTools ?? []).map((t) => ({ ...t, _key: nextCliToolKey() })));
       setExtraPathDirs(generalConfig.extraPathDirs ?? []);
+      setBackgroundAgentProvider(
+        generalConfig.backgroundAgentProvider || DEFAULT_BACKGROUND_AGENT_PROVIDER,
+      );
       // PostHog analytics config — only set once to avoid clobbering unsaved edits on refetch
       if (!analyticsInitialized.current) {
         analyticsInitialized.current = true;
@@ -313,9 +334,12 @@ export function SettingsPanel({ onClose, initialTab }: SettingsPanelProps) {
     return cleanup;
   }, []);
 
-  // Check Claude CLI availability and auth status when Agents tab is shown
+  // Check Claude CLI availability and auth status when Agents tab is shown.
+  // Also refetch config so provider gates flipped in the Extensions tab
+  // (OpenCode/Hostler enablement) are reflected without reopening Settings.
   useEffect(() => {
     if (activeTab !== "agents") return;
+    queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ["general-config"] });
     setClaudeAuthStatus("checking");
     (
       window.api.agent.claudeAuthStatus() as Promise<{
@@ -2735,6 +2759,52 @@ export function SettingsPanel({ onClose, initialTab }: SettingsPanelProps) {
               </p>
             </div>
 
+            {/* Background agent — which provider runs the automatic new-email drafter */}
+            <div className="bg-white dark:bg-gray-800 rounded-lg border border-gray-200 dark:border-gray-600 p-6">
+              <div className="flex items-center justify-between gap-4">
+                <div>
+                  <h4 className="text-base font-medium text-gray-900 dark:text-gray-100">
+                    Background Agent
+                  </h4>
+                  <p className="text-sm text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 mt-1">
+                    The agent that automatically drafts replies for new emails (and powers
+                    &quot;Regenerate draft&quot;). Enable OpenCode or Hostler in Settings →
+                    Extensions to select them here.
+                  </p>
+                </div>
+                <select
+                  className="px-3 py-2 text-sm border border-gray-300 dark:border-gray-600 rounded-lg bg-white dark:bg-gray-700 text-gray-900 dark:text-gray-100"
+                  value={backgroundAgentProvider}
+                  onChange={async (e) => {
+                    const value = e.target.value;
+                    setBackgroundAgentProvider(value);
+                    await window.api.settings.set({ backgroundAgentProvider: value });
+                    queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ["general-config"] });
+                  }}
+                >
+                  <option value="claude">Claude (Anthropic) — default</option>
+                  <option value="opencode" disabled={!generalConfig?.opencode?.enabled}>
+                    OpenCode
+                  </option>
+                  <option
+                    value="hostler"
+                    disabled={!generalConfig?.hostler?.enabled || !generalConfig?.hostler?.apiKey}
+                  >
+                    Hostler (cloud)
+                  </option>
+                </select>
+              </div>
+              {effectiveBackgroundProvider !== backgroundAgentProvider && (
+                <p className="text-xs text-amber-600 dark:text-amber-400 mt-2">
+                  {backgroundAgentProvider === "opencode"
+                    ? "OpenCode is disabled — background drafts fall back to Claude until it's re-enabled."
+                    : backgroundAgentProvider === "hostler"
+                      ? `Hostler is ${generalConfig?.hostler?.enabled ? "missing an API key" : "disabled"} — background drafts fall back to Claude until it's configured.`
+                      : `"${backgroundAgentProvider}" isn't available — background drafts fall back to Claude until it's configured.`}
+                </p>
+              )}
+            </div>
+
             {/* Authentication */}
             <div className="bg-white dark:bg-gray-800 rounded-lg border border-gray-200 dark:border-gray-600 p-6">
               <h4 className="text-base font-medium text-gray-900 dark:text-gray-100 mb-4">