Hide identities from the compose picker

An account using a unique address per service, on a server with an alias
domain, ends up with every local part twice over and a From picker
nobody can use -- while only ever sending from a handful (#73).

Identities can now be hidden from that picker, from Identities &
signatures. Hiding is presentation only: the identity still exists,
still receives, and stays listed and editable, the way an unsubscribed
folder is still a folder. That framing is mbunkus's own, and it is the
right one -- this is a UI preference, not a change to the account.

Three things it refuses to do, because a sender picker with nothing
usable in it is worse than a cluttered one:

  - it will not hide the identity a draft is already using, which would
    leave the select with no matching option and move the From line
    under the writer
  - it will not hide the default, which is what a new draft starts on;
    the button is disabled there and says why
  - if every identity is somehow hidden -- reachable only through
    settings sync, since the UI will not do it -- they are all offered
    again

The setting syncs, so the picker looks the same on every device, which
follows from DEVICE_KEYS being a list of exceptions rather than a list
of what travels.

Verified against the mock with four identities and one hidden: the
picker offers the other three, the hidden address is gone from
composing, the default's hide button is disabled, and the row says the
identity still receives.

web/src/lib/__tests__/identityVisibility.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { isAlwaysVisible, visibleIdentities } from "@/lib/identityVisibility";
+
+/**
+ * Issue #73: a unique address per service, on a server with an alias domain,
+ * gives every local part twice and a compose picker nobody can use — while only
+ * a handful are ever sent from.
+ *
+ * The interesting cases are not the hiding. They are the three refusals, all of
+ * which exist because a sender picker with nothing usable in it is worse than a
+ * cluttered one.
+ */
+
+const ids = (n: number) => Array.from({ length: n }, (_, i) => ({ id: `i${i + 1}`, email: `a${i + 1}@example.com` }));
+
+describe("hiding identities from the picker", () => {
+  it("removes the hidden ones", () => {
+    expect(visibleIdentities(ids(4), ["i2", "i4"]).map((i) => i.id)).toEqual(["i1", "i3"]);
+  });
+
+  it("changes nothing when none are hidden", () => {
+    const all = ids(3);
+    expect(visibleIdentities(all, [])).toBe(all);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("what it refuses to hide", () => {
+  it("keeps the identity the draft is already using", () => {
+    // Otherwise the select has no matching option and the From line moves
+    // under the writer.
+    expect(visibleIdentities(ids(3), ["i2"], ["i2"]).map((i) => i.id)).toEqual(["i1", "i2", "i3"]);
+  });
+
+  it("keeps the default, which a new draft starts on", () => {
+    expect(visibleIdentities(ids(3), ["i1", "i3"], [null, "i1"]).map((i) => i.id)).toEqual(["i1", "i2"]);
+  });
+
+  it("shows everything rather than nothing when all are hidden", () => {
+    const all = ids(3);
+    expect(visibleIdentities(all, ["i1", "i2", "i3"]).map((i) => i.id)).toEqual(["i1", "i2", "i3"]);
+  });
+
+  it("ignores an id for an identity that no longer exists", () => {
+    // A deleted identity leaves its id behind in the setting; it must not
+    // silently hide anything else or empty the list.
+    expect(visibleIdentities(ids(2), ["gone"]).map((i) => i.id)).toEqual(["i1", "i2"]);
+  });
+
+  it("tolerates nulls among the ids to keep", () => {
+    expect(visibleIdentities(ids(2), ["i1"], [null, undefined]).map((i) => i.id)).toEqual(["i2"]);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("what the settings row may offer", () => {
+  it("refuses to offer hiding for an always-visible identity", () => {
+    expect(isAlwaysVisible("i1", ["i1"])).toBe(true);
+    expect(isAlwaysVisible("i2", ["i1"])).toBe(false);
+    expect(isAlwaysVisible("i2", [null, undefined])).toBe(false);
+  });
+});

web/src/lib/identityVisibility.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+/**
+ * Which identities the compose picker offers.
+ *
+ * Someone using a unique address per service, on a server with an alias domain,
+ * ends up with every local part twice and a picker they cannot use — while only
+ * ever sending from a handful (#73). Hiding is presentation only: the identity
+ * still exists, still receives, and is still listed in Settings, the same way an
+ * unsubscribed folder is still a folder.
+ *
+ * Three things it will not do, because a sender picker that cannot offer a
+ * sender is worse than a cluttered one:
+ *
+ *   - hide the identity a draft is already using, which would leave the select
+ *     with no matching option and reset the From line under the writer
+ *   - hide the default identity, which is what a new draft starts on
+ *   - hide everything; if every identity is hidden it shows them all instead
+ */
+import type { Identity } from "@/jmap/types";
+
+export function visibleIdentities<T extends Pick<Identity, "id">>(
+  identities: T[],
+  hidden: readonly string[],
+  keep: Array<string | null | undefined> = [],
+): T[] {
+  if (!hidden.length) return identities;
+  const hide = new Set(hidden);
+  for (const k of keep) if (k) hide.delete(k);
+  const shown = identities.filter((i) => !hide.has(i.id));
+  // Everything hidden: show the lot rather than an empty picker.
+  return shown.length ? shown : identities;
+}
+
+/** Whether hiding this one would be refused, so the UI can say so. */
+export function isAlwaysVisible(id: string, keep: Array<string | null | undefined>): boolean {
+  return keep.some((k) => k === id);
+}

web/src/store/settings.ts

@@ -88,6 +88,19 @@ export interface Settings {
   eventCategories: Array<{ name: string; color: string }>;
   /** Default sending identity per account (JMAP has no such flag). */
   defaultIdentityByAccount: Record<string, string>;
+  /**
+   * Identities kept out of the compose picker, by id.
+   *
+   * An account with alias domains can have every address twice over while only
+   * a handful are ever sent from, which makes the picker useless (#73). This
+   * hides them from the picker only — the identity still exists on the server,
+   * still receives, and is still listed and editable in Settings, exactly as an
+   * unsubscribed folder still exists.
+   *
+   * A flat list rather than keyed by account: identity ids are unique, and an
+   * id belonging to another account simply never matches.
+   */
+  hiddenIdentities: string[];
   /**
    * The theme the top-bar toggle goes back to from light. Remembered rather
    * than assumed, so flipping to light and back returns you to the theme you
@@ -160,6 +173,7 @@ export const DEFAULT_SETTINGS: Settings = {
     { name: "Family", color: "#9333ea" },
   ],
   defaultIdentityByAccount: {},
+  hiddenIdentities: [],
   lastDarkTheme: "ihasmail",
 };
 

web/src/views/compose/Composer.tsx

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { AlertTriangle, ChevronDown, FileText, Maximize2, Minimize2, Minus, More
 import { useCompose, type Draft } from "@/store/compose";
 import { useMail } from "@/store/mail";
 import { useSettings } from "@/store/settings";
+import { visibleIdentities } from "@/lib/identityVisibility";
 import { RecipientInput } from "./RecipientInput";
 import { RichEditor, type RichEditorHandle } from "./RichEditor";
 import { MenuItem, MenuSep, MenuTitle, Popover, useMenu } from "@/ui/popover";
@@ -28,7 +29,10 @@ export function Composer({ draft }: { draft: Draft }) {
   const setIdentity = useCompose((s) => s.setIdentity);
   const insertTemplate = useCompose((s) => s.insertTemplate);
   const focus = useCompose((s) => s.focus);
-  const identities = useMail((s) => s.identities);
+  const allIdentities = useMail((s) => s.identities);
+  const mailAccountId = useMail((s) => s.accountId);
+  const hiddenIdentities = useSettings((s) => s.settings.hiddenIdentities);
+  const defaultIdentityId = useSettings((s) => (mailAccountId ? s.settings.defaultIdentityByAccount[mailAccountId] : undefined));
   const settings = useSettings((s) => s.settings);
   const updateSettings = useSettings((s) => s.update);
   const isMobile = useIsMobile();
@@ -118,6 +122,16 @@ export function Composer({ draft }: { draft: Draft }) {
     if (files.length) addFiles(key, files);
   };
 
+  /*
+   * The picker offers the visible identities, plus two that can never be
+   * hidden from it: the one this draft is already using, and the default a new
+   * draft starts on. Hiding either would leave the select with no matching
+   * option and silently move the From line. See lib/identityVisibility.
+   */
+  const identities = useMemo(
+    () => visibleIdentities(allIdentities, hiddenIdentities, [d.identityId, defaultIdentityId]),
+    [allIdentities, hiddenIdentities, d.identityId, defaultIdentityId],
+  );
   const ident = identities.find((i) => i.id === d.identityId) ?? identities[0];
   const title = d.subject || (d.replyMode ? (d.replyMode === "forward" ? "Forward" : "Reply") : "New message");
   const status = d.sending ? "Sending…" : d.saving ? "Saving…" : d.error ? "Error" : d.savedAt ? `Saved ${formatRelative(new Date(d.savedAt).toISOString())}` : d.dirty ? "Unsaved" : "";

web/src/views/settings/IdentitiesSettings.tsx

@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
-import { Plus, Trash2, Star } from "lucide-react";
+import { Plus, Trash2, Star, Eye, EyeOff } from "lucide-react";
 import { useSettings } from "@/store/settings";
 import { useMail } from "@/store/mail";
 import type { Identity } from "@/jmap/types";
+import { isAlwaysVisible } from "@/lib/identityVisibility";
 import { Dialog, confirmDialog } from "@/ui/dialog";
 import { RichEditor, type RichEditorHandle } from "../compose/RichEditor";
 import { toast } from "@/ui/toast";
@@ -19,6 +20,10 @@ export function IdentitiesSettings() {
   const setDefault = useMail((s) => s.setDefaultIdentity);
   const defaultId = useSettings((s) => (accountId ? s.settings.defaultIdentityByAccount[accountId] : undefined)) ?? identities[0]?.id;
   const [editing, setEditing] = useState<Partial<Identity> | null>(null);
+  const hidden = useSettings((s) => s.settings.hiddenIdentities);
+  const updateSettings = useSettings((s) => s.update);
+  const toggleHidden = (id: string) =>
+    updateSettings({ hiddenIdentities: hidden.includes(id) ? hidden.filter((x) => x !== id) : [...hidden, id] });
   useEffect(() => {
     void load();
   }, [load]);
@@ -34,16 +39,36 @@ export function IdentitiesSettings() {
             {i.id !== defaultId && (
               <button className="btn btn-sm btn-ghost" onClick={(e) => { e.stopPropagation(); setDefault(i.id); toast.success(`${i.email} is now your default identity`); }}><Star size={14} /> Make default</button>
             )}
+            {/*
+              Hiding is presentation only -- the identity still exists and still
+              receives, like an unsubscribed folder. The default cannot be
+              hidden, because it is what a new draft starts on.
+            */}
+            <button
+              className="btn btn-sm btn-ghost"
+              disabled={isAlwaysVisible(i.id, [defaultId])}
+              title={isAlwaysVisible(i.id, [defaultId]) ? "The default identity is always offered when composing" : hidden.includes(i.id) ? "Show this in the compose picker" : "Hide this from the compose picker"}
+              onClick={(e) => { e.stopPropagation(); toggleHidden(i.id); }}
+            >
+              {hidden.includes(i.id) ? <><Eye size={14} /> Show when composing</> : <><EyeOff size={14} /> Hide when composing</>}
+            </button>
             {i.mayDelete && (
               <button className="icon-btn sm danger" aria-label="Delete identity" onClick={async (e) => { e.stopPropagation(); if (await confirmDialog({ title: "Delete this identity?", confirmLabel: "Delete", danger: true })) { try { await useMail.getState().destroyIdentity(i.id); } catch (err) { toast.error((err as Error).message); } } }}><Trash2 size={16} /></button>
             )}
           </div>
+          {hidden.includes(i.id) && <div className="hint" style={{ marginTop: 4 }}>Not offered when composing. It still receives mail, and you can still send from it by showing it again.</div>}
           {(i.htmlSignature || i.textSignature) && <div className="hint" style={{ marginTop: 4 }}>{htmlToText(i.htmlSignature || i.textSignature).slice(0, 120)}</div>}
           {i.replyTo?.length ? <div className="hint">Reply-To: {formatAddressList(i.replyTo)}</div> : null}
         </div>
       ))}
       <button className="btn" onClick={() => setEditing({ name: "", email: identities[0]?.email ?? "", textSignature: "", htmlSignature: "", replyTo: null, bcc: null })}><Plus size={16} /> Add identity</button>
       <p className="hint mt-8">New identities must use an address this account is allowed to send from (aliases configured on the server).</p>
+      {hidden.length > 0 && (
+        <p className="hint">
+          {hidden.length} {hidden.length === 1 ? "identity is" : "identities are"} hidden from the compose picker. Hiding every one of them would leave nothing to
+          choose from, so in that case they are all offered again.
+        </p>
+      )}
       {editing && <IdentityDialog identity={editing} onClose={() => setEditing(null)} />}
     </div>
   );