Show "Ness" instead of "harness" in the macOS app menu - #300
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frenchie4111 merged 1 commit intoAug 27, 2026
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The app menu's About / Hide / Quit items read "harness" because they derive from app.name, which Electron takes from package.json's top-level "name" — still "harness". The menu bar title is already correct since macOS reads that from CFBundleName (build.productName). Renaming the package or calling app.setName() is not an option: app.name keys both the userData directory and the macOS Safe Storage keychain item, and the keychain is case-sensitive, so either would break secrets.enc decryption. Instead, set explicit labels from a new APP_DISPLAY_NAME constant, and set the About panel's applicationName so the dialog behind the About item matches too.
frenchie4111
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August 27, 2026 13:10
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Problem
The macOS app menu's items read "About harness", "Hide harness", and "Quit harness".
The menu bar title is already correct ("Ness") because macOS takes that from
CFBundleName, which electron-builder sets frombuild.productName. But the submenu items come fromapp.name, which Electron derives frompackage.json's top-level"name"— still"harness".Why not just rename the package
package.json's"name": "harness"is load-bearing, and CLAUDE.md documents it.app.getName()keys both:~/Library/Application Support/harness), andharness Safe Storage, accountharness Key).The filesystem is case-insensitive but the keychain is not, so renaming the package — or calling
app.setName('Ness')at boot — would breaksafeStoragedecryption ofsecrets.enc(GitHub PAT, backend tokens) with "A keychain can not be found to store …". Same reasoning that keepsbuild.appIdatorg.mikelyons.harness.So the fix is explicit labels, not a rename.
The change
All in
src/main/desktop-shell.ts:APP_DISPLAY_NAME = 'Ness'constant, with a "why" comment noting it is deliberately notapp.name.buildMenu(): explicit labels onabout,hide, andQuit(and the app-menulabel, which macOS ignores in favor ofCFBundleNamebut is kept consistent).hideOthers/unhideneed no change — they render "Hide Others" / "Show All" with no app name.app.setAboutPanelOptions({ applicationName, applicationVersion })on darwin at ready, so the About dialog behind the menu item stops showing "harness" too.No behavior outside the menu changes;
app.nameis untouched everywhere it matters (paths, keychain).Verification
npm run typecheck— cleannpx electron-vite build— cleannpx vitest run— 2987 tests / 227 files passOne note for reviewers: this machine's C++ toolchain can't build
node-pty(a bare#include <functional>fails system-wide), so the dev app runs but PTY spawns fail withposix_spawnp failed. That's a pre-existing local environment issue, unrelated to this change, and it doesn't affect the menu.PR opened on behalf of @blindpirate by Claude via Ness.