fix(app_controller): clear project-switch state in _handle_reset_session

When a prior test in the tier-3-live_gui batch leaves a _do_project_switch
background thread running, the next test's btn_project_new_automated click
sees _project_switch_in_progress=True (from the prior thread) and queues
the new path via _project_switch_pending_path. The queued switch is never
actually submitted to the io_pool, so is_project_stale() stays True and
AI ops (_handle_generate_send) bail with 'project switch in progress;
AI ops disabled'.

Fix: _handle_reset_session now also clears _project_switch_in_progress,
_project_switch_pending_path, and _project_switch_error (under the
existing _project_switch_lock). This way, even if the prior background
thread is still running, the controller reports an idle state and the
new switch can be submitted normally.

Also:
- src/api_hook_client.py: reverted wait_for_project_switch to require
  in_progress=False (was relaxed to return on queued path, which misled
  the caller into thinking the switch was done)
- tests/test_handle_reset_session_clears_project.py: new test
  test_handle_reset_session_clears_project_switch_state asserts
  is_project_stale() returns False after reset
- tests/test_api_hook_client_wait_for_project_switch.py: updated
  test_wait_for_project_switch_does_not_return_on_queued (in_progress
  + matching path should keep waiting, not return early)
- tests/test_live_workflow.py: added pre-wait for any in-flight switch
  before doing btn_reset (so the test waits up to 60s for the prior
  switch to complete if needed)
- conductor/todos/TODO_test_full_live_workflow.md: updated Task 4 with
  the deeper hang analysis and recommended fix

Known follow-up: test_full_live_workflow still hangs in tier-3 batch
even with this fix, because the new _do_project_switch itself is hung
in the io_pool (likely saturation from prior sims' AI discussion turn
workers). Deeper investigation required.

conductor/todos/TODO_test_full_live_workflow.md

@@ -30,11 +30,16 @@
 
 ### 4. [MED] Replace 10×1s blind poll with condition-based wait ✅ SHIPPED (commits a6605d98 + b6972c31)
 - **What:** Use the new `/api/project_switch_status` endpoint with `client.wait_for_project_switch(expected_path, timeout)`.
-- **Where:** `tests/test_live_workflow.py:57-72` (replaced lines 57-65) + new `ApiHookClient.wait_for_project_switch` method.
+- **Where:** `tests/test_live_workflow.py` + new `ApiHookClient.wait_for_project_switch` method.
 - **Why:** Blind polling of derived state is fragile; condition-based wait is deterministic and surfaces the failure reason immediately.
 - **Pattern:** See `src/api_hook_client.py:wait_for_server` (existing pattern in the same client).
-- **Acceptance:** Test fails fast (within 30s) with a clear `error` message from the API instead of timing out at 10s with "Project failed to activate". 6 unit tests for the new helper (mocked _make_request) all pass.
-- **Known issue:** Test STILL fails in tier-3-live_gui batch (passes in 10.24s in isolation). The wait helper reports `in_progress: True` for the full 30s timeout, meaning `_do_project_switch` background thread is not completing. Likely io_pool saturation from prior sims' AI discussion turns. Needs further investigation of `_do_project_switch` hangs in batch context.
+- **Acceptance:** Test fails fast (within 30s) with a clear `error` message from the API instead of timing out at 10s with "Project failed to activate". 7 unit tests for the new helper (mocked _make_request) all pass.
+- **Known issue (still open):** Test STILL fails in tier-3-live_gui batch (passes in 10.24s in isolation). The wait helper reports `in_progress: True, path: temp_project.toml` for the full 30s timeout. Investigation found:
+  - Added pre-wait (`client.wait_for_project_switch` at start) so the test waits for any prior switch to complete
+  - Added `_handle_reset_session` to also clear `_project_switch_in_progress`/`_project_switch_pending_path`/`_project_switch_error` so a hung switch doesn't block the next session
+  - The new switch is submitted to io_pool but the `_do_project_switch` background thread is **still hanging in the batch context** for 30+ seconds. The thread is not blocked on a lock or I/O — it's just not being scheduled (likely io_pool saturation from prior sims' long-running discussion turn workers)
+  - This is a deeper issue: `test_extended_sims.py` sims each submit AI discussion turns that spawn multiple io_pool jobs. The sims don't wait for these to complete. The next test inherits a saturated pool.
+  - **Recommended fix:** Mark `test_full_live_workflow` with `@pytest.mark.skipif(ENV_BATCH)` or run it in a separate subprocess. The test is fundamentally fragile to session-scoped state pollution and the io_pool saturation from prior sims.
 
 ### 5. [LOW] Add defensive state assertions ✅ SHIPPED (commit b6972c31)
 - **What:** Before waiting for activation, verify the file was created (5s poll, then assert).

src/api_hook_client.py

@@ -374,33 +374,38 @@ class ApiHookClient:
   return result
 
  def wait_for_project_switch(self, expected_path: str = None, timeout: float = 30.0, poll_interval: float = 0.2) -> dict[str, Any]:
-  """
-  Blocks until the project switch completes (or fails). Returns the final
-  status dict. If expected_path is provided, also waits until the reported
-  path matches it (or its basename matches).
-  Fails fast (within timeout seconds) with a clear error if:
-  - the controller reports an error during the switch
-  - the path doesn't reach expected_path within the timeout
-  - the controller is hung (in_progress stays True)
-  [C: tests/test_live_workflow.py:test_full_live_workflow]
-  """
-  import os
-  start = time.time()
-  last_status = {"in_progress": True, "path": None, "error": None}
-  while time.time() - start < timeout:
-   last_status = self.get_project_switch_status()
-   if last_status.get("error"):
-    return last_status
-   if not last_status.get("in_progress"):
-    if expected_path is None:
+   """
+   Blocks until the project switch completes (or fails). Returns the
+   final status dict. If expected_path is provided, also waits until the
+   reported path matches it (or its basename matches).
+   Fails fast (within timeout seconds) with a clear error if:
+   - the controller reports an error during the switch
+   - the path doesn't reach expected_path within the timeout
+   - the controller is hung (in_progress stays True)
+   [C: tests/test_live_workflow.py:test_full_live_workflow]
+   """
+   import os
+   start = time.time()
+   last_status = {"in_progress": True, "path": None, "error": None}
+   expected_basename = os.path.basename(expected_path) if expected_path else None
+   while time.time() - start < timeout:
+    last_status = self.get_project_switch_status()
+    if last_status.get("error"):
      return last_status
-    if last_status.get("path") == expected_path:
-     return last_status
-    if last_status.get("path") and os.path.basename(str(last_status.get("path"))) == os.path.basename(expected_path):
-     return last_status
-   time.sleep(poll_interval)
-  last_status["timeout"] = True
-  return last_status
+    if not last_status.get("in_progress"):
+     current_path = last_status.get("path") or ""
+     current_basename = os.path.basename(str(current_path))
+     path_matches = (expected_path is None
+      or current_path == expected_path
+      or (expected_basename and current_basename == expected_basename))
+     if path_matches:
+      return last_status
+    time.sleep(poll_interval)
+   last_status["timeout"] = True
+   return last_status
+
+ def post_project(self, project_data: dict) -> dict[str, Any]:
+   return last_status
 
  def post_project(self, project_data: dict) -> dict[str, Any]:
   """

src/app_controller.py

@@ -3276,6 +3276,13 @@ class AppController:
    Path(self.active_project_path).stem if self.active_project_path else "unnamed"
   )
   self.project_paths = []
+  # Clear project-switch state machine so a hung switch from a prior test
+  # does not block the next session. (is_project_stale() must return False
+  # for the next click to actually submit a new switch.)
+  with self._project_switch_lock:
+   self._project_switch_in_progress = False
+   self._project_switch_pending_path = None
+   self._project_switch_error = None
   self.ai_status = "session reset"
   self.ai_response = ""
   self.ui_ai_input = ""

tests/test_api_hook_client_wait_for_project_switch.py

@@ -1,8 +1,14 @@
 """Tests for ApiHookClient.wait_for_project_switch.
 
 These tests use mocked _make_request so they don't require a live_gui
-session. They verify the polling logic: success, error, timeout, and
-path-matching behavior.
+session. They verify the polling logic: success, error, queued-not-returned,
+timeout, and path-matching behavior.
+
+Contract: wait_for_project_switch returns when the controller's switch
+has completed (in_progress=False) and the path matches. It does NOT
+return on queued switches (in_progress=True) because queued means a
+prior switch is still running, and downstream code (AI ops) will be
+blocked by is_project_stale().
 """
 import sys
 import os
@@ -52,8 +58,24 @@ def test_wait_for_project_switch_matches_by_basename() -> None:
   assert "timeout" not in result
 
 
+def test_wait_for_project_switch_does_not_return_on_queued() -> None:
+ """If in_progress=True and path matches (switch is queued), keep waiting.
+
+ The prior switch is hung. The new switch is queued behind it. Returning
+ now would mislead the caller into thinking the switch is done, but
+ is_project_stale() will still return True and block AI ops.
+ """
+ client = ApiHookClient()
+ with patch.object(client, "_make_request") as mock_make:
+  mock_make.return_value = {"in_progress": True, "path": "C:/projects/foo.toml", "error": None}
+  result = client.wait_for_project_switch(expected_path="C:/projects/foo.toml", timeout=0.5, poll_interval=0.1)
+  # Should time out, not return early
+  assert result.get("timeout") is True
+  assert result["in_progress"] is True
+
+
 def test_wait_for_project_switch_times_out_when_in_progress() -> None:
- """If the controller stays in_progress past the timeout, return with timeout flag."""
+ """If in_progress stays True and path never matches, return with timeout flag."""
  client = ApiHookClient()
  with patch.object(client, "_make_request") as mock_make:
   mock_make.return_value = {"in_progress": True, "path": None, "error": None}
@@ -80,7 +102,7 @@ def test_wait_for_project_switch_polls_then_completes() -> None:
  def fake_request(*args, **kwargs):
   call_count[0] += 1
   if call_count[0] < 3:
-   return {"in_progress": True, "path": None, "error": None}
+   return {"in_progress": True, "path": "C:/other.toml", "error": None}
   return {"in_progress": False, "path": "C:/foo.toml", "error": None}
 
  with patch.object(client, "_make_request", side_effect=fake_request):

tests/test_handle_reset_session_clears_project.py

@@ -77,3 +77,34 @@ def test_handle_reset_session_resets_project_to_valid_default(controller):
  assert isinstance(controller.project, dict)
  assert "project" in controller.project
 
+
+def test_handle_reset_session_clears_project_switch_state(controller):
+ """The project-switch state machine must be reset so a hung switch
+ from a prior test does not block the next session.
+
+ `is_project_stale()` must return False after reset, otherwise the next
+ `btn_project_new_automated` click is queued behind the hung switch
+ and `is_project_stale()` keeps returning True, blocking AI ops
+ (`_handle_generate_send` returns 'project switch in progress; AI ops disabled').
+ """
+ # Simulate a prior hung switch
+ controller._project_switch_in_progress = True
+ controller._project_switch_pending_path = "/some/old/path.toml"
+ controller._project_switch_error = "stale error from hung switch"
+ assert controller.is_project_stale()  # precondition
+ controller._handle_reset_session()
+ assert controller._project_switch_in_progress is False, (
+  f"_project_switch_in_progress not cleared: {controller._project_switch_in_progress}"
+ )
+ assert controller._project_switch_pending_path is None, (
+  f"_project_switch_pending_path not cleared: {controller._project_switch_pending_path}"
+ )
+ assert controller._project_switch_error is None, (
+  f"_project_switch_error not cleared: {controller._project_switch_error}"
+ )
+ assert not controller.is_project_stale(), (
+  f"is_project_stale() still True after reset: "
+  f"in_progress={controller._project_switch_in_progress}, "
+  f"pending={controller._project_switch_pending_path}"
+ )
+

tests/test_live_workflow.py

@@ -40,7 +40,23 @@ def test_full_live_workflow(live_gui) -> None:
  client = ApiHookClient()
  assert client.wait_for_server(timeout=10)
  client.post_session(session_entries=[])
- 
+
+ # 0. Wait for any in-flight project switch to complete before starting.
+ # The session-scoped live_gui fixture shares the controller across all
+ # 48 live tests. Prior tests (especially test_extended_sims) may leave
+ # a project switch hanging in the io_pool. If we proceed without waiting,
+ # our new switch will be queued behind the hung one and is_project_stale()
+ # will return True, blocking AI ops.
+ pre_status = client.get_project_switch_status()
+ if pre_status.get("in_progress"):
+  print(f"\n[TEST] Waiting for prior project switch to complete: {pre_status}")
+  idle_status = client.wait_for_project_switch(timeout=60.0)
+  assert not idle_status.get("timeout"), (
+   f"Prior project switch did not complete in 60s. Aborting. "
+   f"Last status: {idle_status}"
+  )
+  print(f"[TEST] Prior switch done: {idle_status}")
+
  # 1. Reset
  print("\n[TEST] Clicking Reset...")
  client.click("btn_reset")