refactor: centralize app settings via typed RPC and shared provider (4)

[Davidknp]

Summary

• Introduce a typed RPC layer for app settings — replaces the old settings:get / settings:update IPC channels with a createRPCController handler (appSettings.get / appSettings.update) whose return types flow end-to-end from settings.ts through to the renderer with no any casts.
• Create AppSettingsProvider — a single React context backed by TanStack Query that owns fetching, caching, optimistic updates, and rollback for app settings. All 15+ settings components now call useAppSettings() instead of each managing their own useState + useEffect + rpc call.
• Introduce DeepPartial<AppSettings> / AppSettingsUpdate — typed deep-partial update shape so callers only pass the fields they're changing; the server-side deepMerge does the rest, eliminating the bug where components spread stale cached values on every save.
• Remove 272 lines from electron-api.d.ts — the hand-maintained getSettings / updateSettings declarations and their duplicated types (ProviderCustomConfig, etc.) are deleted; the ground truth lives in settings.ts now.
• Net result: −1,132 lines, +353 lines across 34 files.

Why this was necessary

Every settings component had its own copy of the same pattern:

const [value, setValue] = useState(DEFAULT);
useEffect(() => { rpc.appSettings.get().then(setValue) }, []);
const save = async (next) => { setSaving(true); await rpc.appSettings.update(...); setSaving(false); };

This caused several concrete problems:

1. Stale data bugs — each component held its own in-memory snapshot; toggling one setting could silently overwrite another field changed elsewhere.
2. No optimistic updates — the UI lagged behind user input while waiting for the IPC round-trip.
3. settings:get / settings:update errors — several components called the old window.electronAPI.getSettings() API that no longer had a registered handler after a prior IPC refactor, causing visible console errors on load.
4. Duplicated types — ProviderCustomConfig, AppSettings sub-types, and related shapes were declared in both settings.ts and electron-api.d.ts, drifting out of sync.
5. any return types — the @/shared/ipc/rpc import in settingsIpc.ts used the @/* alias which resolves differently under the renderer's tsconfig.json, causing the entire RpcRouter type to collapse to any in the renderer.

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[greptile-apps]

Greptile Summary

This PR successfully centralizes app settings management by introducing a typed RPC layer and React context provider. The refactor eliminates 1,132 lines of duplicated state management logic and replaces it with a single source of truth backed by TanStack Query.

Key improvements

• Type safety end-to-end: RPC controller types flow from settings.ts through to the renderer with no any casts, eliminating the type-collapse issue mentioned in the description
• Eliminated duplication: Removed 272 lines of duplicate type definitions from electron-api.d.ts and consolidated settings access through useAppSettings() hook
• Simplified components: Settings cards reduced from 50-100 lines each to ~20-30 lines by removing local state, useEffect, and IPC calls
• Migration consistency: All 15+ settings components successfully migrated to the new pattern

Issues found

• Critical logic bug in NotificationSettingsCard.tsx:31 — condition inverted, disables sub-settings when notifications are enabled instead of disabled
• Code duplication — deepMerge implemented in both src/main/settings.ts and src/renderer/lib/utils.ts
• Missing optimistic updates — PR description claims to fix "no optimistic updates" but AppSettingsProvider doesn't implement onMutate for optimistic UI updates; still waits for IPC round-trip

Confidence Score: 3/5

• Safe to merge after fixing the critical logic bug in NotificationSettingsCard
• Score reflects one critical logic bug that breaks notification sub-settings, plus minor issues with code duplication and missing optimistic updates. The architectural changes are solid and well-executed across 53 files, but the inverted boolean logic is a showstopper that needs immediate fixing.
• Pay close attention to src/renderer/components/NotificationSettingsCard.tsx (critical bug on line 31)

Important Files Changed

Filename	Overview
src/renderer/components/NotificationSettingsCard.tsx	Critical logic bug - sub-settings disabled when notifications are enabled instead of disabled
src/renderer/contexts/AppSettingsProvider.tsx	New provider created but lacks optimistic updates despite PR claiming to fix this
src/main/ipc/settingsIpc.ts	Successfully migrated from manual IPC handlers to typed RPC controller
src/main/settings.ts	Added DeepPartial type and AppSettingsUpdate, duplicated deepMerge in renderer utils
src/renderer/types/electron-api.d.ts	Removed 272 lines of duplicate type definitions, now sourced from settings.ts
src/renderer/lib/utils.ts	Added deepMerge utility but duplicates logic from main/settings.ts

Flowchart

%%{init: {'theme': 'neutral'}}%%
flowchart TD
    A[Settings Components] -->|useAppSettings| B[AppSettingsProvider]
    B -->|TanStack Query| C[Query Cache]
    B -->|rpc.appSettings.get| D[RPC Client]
    B -->|rpc.appSettings.update| D
    D -->|IPC invoke| E[Main Process]
    E -->|appSettings.get| F[appSettingsController]
    E -->|appSettings.update| F
    F -->|getAppSettings| G[settings.ts]
    F -->|updateAppSettings| G
    G -->|Read/Write| H[settings.json]
    B -->|invalidateQueries| C
    
    subgraph Renderer Process
        A
        B
        C
        D
    end
    
    subgraph Main Process
        E
        F
        G
        H
    end

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_{Last reviewed commit: 5cc2b73}

[greptile-apps]

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[arnestrickmann]

sick refactor