fix(webui): correct activity timer duration (#4649)

nanobot/webui/transcript.py

@@ -584,9 +584,30 @@ def _append_to_active_transcript(session_key: str, obj: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
         os.fsync(f.fileno())
 
 
+def _now_ms() -> int:
+    return int(time.time() * 1000)
+
+
+def _valid_created_at_ms(value: Any) -> int | None:
+    if isinstance(value, bool):
+        return None
+    if isinstance(value, (int, float)) and value >= 0 and value < 10_000_000_000_000_000:
+        return int(value)
+    return None
+
+
+def _record_for_append(obj: dict[str, Any]) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    if _valid_created_at_ms(obj.get("created_at_ms")) is not None:
+        return obj
+    record = dict(obj)
+    record["created_at_ms"] = _now_ms()
+    return record
+
+
 def append_transcript_object(session_key: str, obj: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
-    _append_to_active_transcript(session_key, obj)
-    if obj.get("event") == "turn_end":
+    record = _record_for_append(obj)
+    _append_to_active_transcript(session_key, record)
+    if record.get("event") == "turn_end":
         _rotate_active_transcript_if_needed(session_key)
 
 
@@ -1257,13 +1278,19 @@ def replay_transcript_to_ui_messages(
     active_activity_segment_id: str | None = None
     active_file_edit_segment_id: str | None = None
     activity_segment_counter = 0
-    _ts_base = int(time.time() * 1000)
+    _ts_base = _now_ms()
     closed_turn_ids: set[str] = set()
     replay_turn_aliases: dict[str, str] = {}
 
     def _new_id(prefix: str, idx: int) -> str:
         return f"{prefix}-{idx}-{uuid.uuid4().hex[:8]}"
 
+    def _created_at_ms(rec: dict[str, Any], idx: int) -> int:
+        created_at_ms = _valid_created_at_ms(rec.get("created_at_ms"))
+        if created_at_ms is not None:
+            return created_at_ms
+        return _ts_base + idx
+
     def _new_activity_segment(*, activate: bool = True) -> str:
         nonlocal active_activity_segment_id, activity_segment_counter
         activity_segment_counter += 1
@@ -1330,6 +1357,7 @@ def replay_transcript_to_ui_messages(
         chunk: str,
         idx: int,
         turn_fields: dict[str, Any] | None = None,
+        created_at_ms: int | None = None,
     ) -> None:
         turn_fields = turn_fields or {}
         for i in range(len(prev) - 1, -1, -1):
@@ -1379,7 +1407,7 @@ def replay_transcript_to_ui_messages(
                 "reasoningStreaming": True,
                 "activitySegmentId": segment,
                 **turn_fields,
-                "createdAt": _ts_base + idx,
+                "createdAt": created_at_ms if created_at_ms is not None else _ts_base + idx,
             },
         )
 
@@ -1474,7 +1502,7 @@ def replay_transcript_to_ui_messages(
                 }
                 return
 
-    def absorb_complete(extra: dict[str, Any], idx: int) -> None:
+    def absorb_complete(extra: dict[str, Any], idx: int, created_at_ms: int) -> None:
         nonlocal active_activity_segment_id, active_file_edit_segment_id
         last = messages[-1] if messages else None
         if last and is_reasoning_only_placeholder(last) and _same_turn(last, extra):
@@ -1489,7 +1517,7 @@ def replay_transcript_to_ui_messages(
                 {
                     "id": _new_id("as", idx),
                     "role": "assistant",
-                    "createdAt": _ts_base + idx,
+                    "createdAt": created_at_ms,
                     **extra,
                 },
             )
@@ -1576,6 +1604,7 @@ def replay_transcript_to_ui_messages(
         edits: list[dict[str, Any]],
         idx: int,
         turn_fields: dict[str, Any] | None = None,
+        created_at_ms: int | None = None,
     ) -> None:
         nonlocal active_file_edit_segment_id
         turn_fields = turn_fields or {}
@@ -1606,7 +1635,7 @@ def replay_transcript_to_ui_messages(
                     "fileEdits": [],
                     "activitySegmentId": segment,
                     **turn_fields,
-                    "createdAt": _ts_base + idx,
+                    "createdAt": created_at_ms if created_at_ms is not None else _ts_base + idx,
                 },
             )
             target_index = len(messages) - 1
@@ -1671,7 +1700,7 @@ def replay_transcript_to_ui_messages(
                 "role": "user",
                 "content": text_s,
                 **_turn_fields(rec, "user"),
-                "createdAt": _ts_base + idx,
+                "createdAt": _created_at_ms(rec, idx),
             }
             if media_att:
                 row["media"] = media_att
@@ -1695,6 +1724,7 @@ def replay_transcript_to_ui_messages(
                     [e for e in raw_edits if isinstance(e, dict)],
                     idx,
                     _turn_fields(rec, "activity"),
+                    _created_at_ms(rec, idx),
                 )
             continue
 
@@ -1719,7 +1749,7 @@ def replay_transcript_to_ui_messages(
                             "content": "",
                             "isStreaming": True,
                             **_turn_fields(rec, "answer"),
-                            "createdAt": _ts_base + idx,
+                            "createdAt": _created_at_ms(rec, idx),
                         },
                     )
             buffer_parts.append(chunk)
@@ -1751,7 +1781,7 @@ def replay_transcript_to_ui_messages(
                             "content": final_text,
                             "isStreaming": True,
                             **_turn_fields(rec, "answer"),
-                            "createdAt": _ts_base + idx,
+                            "createdAt": _created_at_ms(rec, idx),
                         },
                     )
                 else:
@@ -1775,7 +1805,13 @@ def replay_transcript_to_ui_messages(
             if not isinstance(chunk, str) or not chunk:
                 continue
             close_file_edit_phase_before_activity()
-            attach_reasoning_chunk(messages, chunk, idx, _turn_fields(rec, "reasoning"))
+            attach_reasoning_chunk(
+                messages,
+                chunk,
+                idx,
+                _turn_fields(rec, "reasoning"),
+                _created_at_ms(rec, idx),
+            )
             continue
 
         if ev == "reasoning_end":
@@ -1797,7 +1833,13 @@ def replay_transcript_to_ui_messages(
                 if not isinstance(line, str) or not line:
                     continue
                 close_file_edit_phase_before_activity()
-                attach_reasoning_chunk(messages, line, idx, _turn_fields(rec, "reasoning"))
+                attach_reasoning_chunk(
+                    messages,
+                    line,
+                    idx,
+                    _turn_fields(rec, "reasoning"),
+                    _created_at_ms(rec, idx),
+                )
                 close_reasoning(messages)
                 continue
             if kind in ("tool_hint", "progress"):
@@ -1853,7 +1895,7 @@ def replay_transcript_to_ui_messages(
                             **({"toolEvents": visible_structured_events} if visible_structured_events else {}),
                             "activitySegmentId": segment,
                             **_turn_fields(rec, "activity"),
-                            "createdAt": _ts_base + idx,
+                            "createdAt": _created_at_ms(rec, idx),
                         },
                     )
                 continue
@@ -1878,7 +1920,7 @@ def replay_transcript_to_ui_messages(
                 extra["latencyMs"] = int(lat)
             extra.update(_turn_fields(rec, "answer"))
             extra.update(_source_fields(rec))
-            absorb_complete(extra, idx)
+            absorb_complete(extra, idx, _created_at_ms(rec, idx))
             if media:
                 suppress_until_turn_end = True
             continue

tests/channels/test_websocket_channel.py

@@ -393,14 +393,23 @@ async def test_webui_message_envelope_marks_inbound_metadata(bus: MagicMock) ->
     assert msg.metadata["webui_turn_id"] == "turn-1"
     assert msg.metadata["_wants_stream"] is True
     lines = read_transcript_lines("websocket:chat-1")
-    assert lines == [{
+    assert len(lines) == 1
+    assert {key: lines[0].get(key) for key in (
+        "event",
+        "chat_id",
+        "text",
+        "turn_id",
+        "turn_phase",
+        "turn_seq",
+    )} == {
         "event": "user",
         "chat_id": "chat-1",
         "text": "hello",
         "turn_id": "turn-1",
         "turn_phase": "user",
         "turn_seq": 1,
-    }]
+    }
+    assert isinstance(lines[0].get("created_at_ms"), int)
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
@@ -2702,6 +2711,7 @@ async def test_webui_message_envelope_appends_user_transcript(
     assert isinstance(line.get("turn_id"), str)
     assert line.get("turn_phase") == "user"
     assert line.get("turn_seq") == 1
+    assert isinstance(line.get("created_at_ms"), int)
     inbound = bus.publish_inbound.await_args.args[0]
     assert inbound.chat_id == "source"
     assert inbound.content == "round1"

tests/utils/test_webui_transcript.py

@@ -25,6 +25,17 @@ def test_append_and_read_roundtrip(tmp_path, monkeypatch) -> None:
     assert lines[0]["text"] == "hello"
 
 
+def test_append_stamps_created_at_ms(tmp_path, monkeypatch) -> None:
+    monkeypatch.setattr("nanobot.config.paths.get_data_dir", lambda: tmp_path)
+    monkeypatch.setattr("nanobot.webui.transcript.time.time", lambda: 1_700_000_000.0)
+    key = "websocket:t-created-at"
+
+    append_transcript_object(key, {"event": "user", "chat_id": "t-created-at", "text": "hello"})
+
+    lines = read_transcript_lines(key)
+    assert lines[0]["created_at_ms"] == 1_700_000_000_000
+
+
 def _force_small_transcript_budget(monkeypatch, *, limit: int = 520, target: int = 260) -> None:
     monkeypatch.setattr("nanobot.webui.transcript._MAX_TRANSCRIPT_FILE_BYTES", limit)
     monkeypatch.setattr("nanobot.webui.transcript._TARGET_ACTIVE_TRANSCRIPT_BYTES", target)
@@ -291,6 +302,31 @@ def test_replay_delta_and_turn_end(tmp_path, monkeypatch) -> None:
     assert msgs[1]["latencyMs"] == 42
 
 
+def test_replay_uses_persisted_created_at_ms() -> None:
+    msgs = replay_transcript_to_ui_messages(
+        [
+            {
+                "event": "user",
+                "chat_id": "t-created-at",
+                "text": "q",
+                "created_at_ms": 1_700_000_000_000,
+            },
+            {
+                "event": "message",
+                "chat_id": "t-created-at",
+                "kind": "tool_hint",
+                "text": "exec()",
+                "created_at_ms": 1_700_000_230_000,
+            },
+        ],
+    )
+
+    assert [message["createdAt"] for message in msgs] == [
+        1_700_000_000_000,
+        1_700_000_230_000,
+    ]
+
+
 def test_thread_response_does_not_mark_completed_message_tool_tail_pending(
     tmp_path,
     monkeypatch,

webui/src/components/thread/AgentActivityCluster.tsx

@@ -175,6 +175,8 @@ interface AgentActivityClusterProps {
   hasBodyBelow: boolean;
   /** Persisted end-to-end turn latency from the assistant answer, used for history replay. */
   turnLatencyMs?: number;
+  /** User turn start timestamp for live activity before the first trace/reasoning row. */
+  startedAtMs?: number;
   cliApps?: CliAppInfo[];
   mcpPresets?: McpPresetInfo[];
   onOpenFilePreview?: (path: string) => void;
@@ -189,6 +191,7 @@ export function AgentActivityCluster({
   isTurnStreaming,
   hasBodyBelow,
   turnLatencyMs,
+  startedAtMs,
   cliApps = [],
   mcpPresets = [],
   onOpenFilePreview,
@@ -251,7 +254,13 @@ export function AgentActivityCluster({
   const hasVisibleActivity = reasoningSteps > 0 || toolCalls > 0 || cliCount > 0 || mcpCount > 0 || fileCount > 0;
   const hasOnlyFileActivity = fileCount > 0 && messages.every(messageHasOnlyFileActivity);
   const hasNonReasoningActivity = toolCalls > 0 || cliCount > 0 || mcpCount > 0 || fileCount > 0;
-  const durationMs = activityDurationMs(messages, isTurnStreaming, now, turnLatencyMs);
+  const durationMs = activityDurationMs(
+    messages,
+    isTurnStreaming,
+    now,
+    turnLatencyMs,
+    startedAtMs,
+  );
   const activityDuration = formatActivityDuration(durationMs);
   const thoughtLabel = hasNonReasoningActivity
     ? isTurnStreaming
@@ -654,6 +663,7 @@ function activityDurationMs(
   active: boolean,
   now: number,
   completedLatencyMs?: number,
+  activeStartedAtMs?: number,
 ): number {
   if (!active && Number.isFinite(completedLatencyMs) && completedLatencyMs! >= 0) {
     return Math.round(completedLatencyMs!);
@@ -662,7 +672,9 @@ function activityDurationMs(
     .map((message) => message.createdAt)
     .filter((value) => Number.isFinite(value));
   if (!timestamps.length) return 0;
-  const first = Math.min(...timestamps);
+  const first = active && Number.isFinite(activeStartedAtMs)
+    ? activeStartedAtMs!
+    : Math.min(...timestamps);
   const last = active && first > 1_000_000_000_000
     ? now
     : Math.max(...timestamps);

webui/src/components/thread/ThreadMessages.tsx

@@ -104,6 +104,7 @@ export function ThreadMessages({
                   isTurnStreaming={liveActivityClusterIndices.has(index)}
                   hasBodyBelow={hasBodyBelow}
                   turnLatencyMs={unit.turnLatencyMs}
+                  startedAtMs={unit.startedAtMs}
                   cliApps={cliApps}
                   mcpPresets={mcpPresets}
                   onOpenFilePreview={onOpenFilePreview}

webui/src/lib/activity-timeline.ts

@@ -35,7 +35,13 @@ export interface ActivityGroup {
 }
 
 export type TurnUnit =
-  | { type: "activity"; messages: UIMessage[]; items: ActivityItem[]; turnLatencyMs?: number }
+  | {
+      type: "activity";
+      messages: UIMessage[];
+      items: ActivityItem[];
+      turnLatencyMs?: number;
+      startedAtMs?: number;
+    }
   | { type: "message"; message: UIMessage };
 
 interface NormalizeActivityTimelineOptions {
@@ -91,11 +97,16 @@ export function normalizeActivityTimeline(
   const units: TurnUnit[] = [];
   let turnMessages: UIMessage[] = [];
   let activeTurnId: string | undefined;
+  let activeTurnStartedAtMs: number | undefined;
 
   const flushTurn = (flushOptions: NormalizeActivityTimelineOptions = {}) => {
-    if (turnMessages.length === 0) return;
+    if (turnMessages.length === 0) {
+      activeTurnId = undefined;
+      return;
+    }
 
     const turnUnits: TurnUnit[] = [];
+    const turnStartedAtMs = activeTurnStartedAtMs;
     const orderedTurnMessages = orderMessagesByTurnSeq(turnMessages);
     const visibleMessages = visibleMessagesForTurn(orderedTurnMessages);
     let visibleIndex = 0;
@@ -103,7 +114,12 @@ export function normalizeActivityTimeline(
 
     const flushActivityMessages = () => {
       if (!activityMessages.length) return;
-      pushActivityUnits(turnUnits, activityMessages, visibleMessages.slice(visibleIndex));
+      pushActivityUnits(
+        turnUnits,
+        activityMessages,
+        visibleMessages.slice(visibleIndex),
+        turnStartedAtMs,
+      );
       activityMessages = [];
     };
 
@@ -130,6 +146,7 @@ export function normalizeActivityTimeline(
     units.push(...normalizeCompletedTurnUnits(turnUnits, flushOptions));
     turnMessages = [];
     activeTurnId = undefined;
+    activeTurnStartedAtMs = undefined;
   };
 
   for (const message of messages) {
@@ -137,6 +154,7 @@ export function normalizeActivityTimeline(
       flushTurn();
       units.push({ type: "message", message });
       activeTurnId = message.turnId;
+      activeTurnStartedAtMs = validCreatedAtMs(message.createdAt);
       continue;
     }
 
@@ -206,7 +224,16 @@ function visibleMessagesForTurn(messages: UIMessage[]): UIMessage[] {
   return visibleMessages;
 }
 
-function pushActivityUnits(units: TurnUnit[], activityMessages: UIMessage[], visibleMessages: UIMessage[]) {
+function validCreatedAtMs(value: unknown): number | undefined {
+  return typeof value === "number" && Number.isFinite(value) ? value : undefined;
+}
+
+function pushActivityUnits(
+  units: TurnUnit[],
+  activityMessages: UIMessage[],
+  visibleMessages: UIMessage[],
+  startedAtMs?: number,
+) {
   let runMessages: UIMessage[] = [];
   let runBucket: "file" | "other" | undefined;
   let runSegmentId: string | undefined;
@@ -218,6 +245,7 @@ function pushActivityUnits(units: TurnUnit[], activityMessages: UIMessage[], vis
       messages: runMessages,
       items: runMessages.flatMap(activityItemsForMessage),
       turnLatencyMs: activityTurnLatencyMs(runMessages, visibleMessages),
+      startedAtMs,
     });
     runMessages = [];
     runBucket = undefined;

webui/src/tests/thread-messages.test.tsx

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { render, screen } from "@testing-library/react";
-import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 
 import {
   assistantCopyFlags,
@@ -9,6 +9,10 @@ import {
 } from "@/components/thread/ThreadMessages";
 import type { UIMessage } from "@/lib/types";
 
+afterEach(() => {
+  vi.useRealTimers();
+});
+
 describe("ThreadMessages", () => {
   it("groups consecutive reasoning and tool rows into one timeline before the answer", () => {
     const messages: UIMessage[] = [
@@ -293,6 +297,45 @@ describe("ThreadMessages", () => {
     expect(screen.queryByLabelText(/editing foo\.txt/i)).not.toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 
+  it("times live activity from the user turn start", () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    const startedAt = 1_700_000_000_000;
+    vi.setSystemTime(startedAt + 230_000);
+    const messages: UIMessage[] = [
+      {
+        id: "u1",
+        role: "user",
+        content: "run it",
+        turnId: "turn-1",
+        turnPhase: "user",
+        turnSeq: 1,
+        createdAt: startedAt,
+      },
+      {
+        id: "t1",
+        role: "tool",
+        kind: "trace",
+        content: "exec()",
+        traces: ["exec()"],
+        turnId: "turn-1",
+        turnPhase: "activity",
+        turnSeq: 2,
+        createdAt: startedAt + 220_000,
+      },
+    ];
+
+    const units = buildDisplayUnits(messages, true);
+
+    expect(
+      units[1].type === "activity" ? units[1].startedAtMs : undefined,
+    ).toBe(startedAt);
+
+    render(<ThreadMessages messages={messages} isStreaming />);
+
+    expect(screen.getByText("Working for 3m 50s")).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.queryByText("Working for 10s")).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
   it("folds final answer reasoning into the preceding activity timeline", () => {
     const messages: UIMessage[] = [
       {