Deep research asks 2-3 clarifying questions first. When the user answers
with a bare affirmation ('yes', 'ok', 'go ahead'), that short message
becomes latest_message and the query-synthesis fallback returned it
verbatim, so research ran on the literal word 'yes'.
In ResearchHandler.synthesize_query, when synthesis can't run (history
too short) or fails, fall back to the earliest substantive user message
(the original ask) only when the latest message is an explicit
affirmation/continuation phrase or is empty/punctuation-only. There is
deliberately no length heuristic: a short answer like 'UK', 'C++', or
'Rust' in a clarification flow is a real topic and is left untouched.
Tests cover query/topic selection: bare 'yes' -> original ask, short
answers (UK, C++) kept, short-only-substantive message kept, and a
multi-word follow-up still flows through synthesis.
First, smallest cut of a LAN companion bridge (split out of #855 per review):
a thin, additive, read-only layer so a LAN client can discover what a server
offers. No new LLM logic; auth is enforced by the existing AuthMiddleware.
- GET /api/companion/ping -- cheap auth-validated health check
- GET /api/companion/info -- server identity + capability flags
- GET /api/companion/models -- the CALLER's own model endpoints
/models scopes to the caller's real owner (the token's owner for bearer callers)
plus legacy null-owner shared rows, mirroring owner_filter, and never returns
api_key material. The owner rule lives in two pure helpers (token_owner,
owner_can_see) with direct tests proving a token for owner A cannot see owner B's
rows and that null-owner rows don't widen access.
Streamed deltas flagged thinking:true (reasoning-model traces) were being folded
into full_response and persisted as part of the assistant message, so saved
replies were polluted with the model's chain-of-thought. Forward those deltas to
the client (for a live thinking indicator) but exclude them from the accumulated
saved reply, in both chat and research-stream paths. Mirrors the existing rewrite
path's handling.