fix: remove context reaper to prevent background tabs from going stale

Background windows stopped updating because the reaper suspended contexts
after ContextSuspendAfter and fully reaped them after ContextTTL. Suspended
contexts had to re-run the page init function from scratch on reconnect,
losing the live-updating experience.

Contexts now live until the browser tab closes (beforeunload beacon) or
the server shuts down. The context map grows indefinitely — no background
reaper.

Removes: startReaper, reapOrphanedContexts, suspend/resume logic,
ContextSuspendAfter/ContextTTL config fields, lastSeenAt/suspended
context fields, and all associated tests.

configuration.go

@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 package via
 
 import (
-	"time"
-
 	"github.com/alexedwards/scs/v2"
 	"github.com/rs/zerolog"
 )
@@ -62,16 +60,6 @@ type Options struct {
 	// the embedded NATS server. Ignored when a custom PubSub is configured.
 	Streams []StreamConfig
 
-	// ContextSuspendAfter is the time a context may be disconnected before
-	// the reaper suspends it (frees page resources but keeps the context
-	// shell for seamless re-init on reconnect). Default: 15m.
-	ContextSuspendAfter time.Duration
-
-	// ContextTTL is the maximum time a context may exist without an SSE
-	// connection before the background reaper fully disposes it.
-	// Default: 1h. Negative value disables the reaper.
-	ContextTTL time.Duration
-
 	// ActionRateLimit configures the default token-bucket rate limiter for
 	// action endpoints. Zero values use built-in defaults (10 req/s, burst 20).
 	// Set Rate to -1 to disable rate limiting entirely.

context.go

@@ -42,8 +42,6 @@ type Context struct {
 	createdAt           time.Time
 	sseConnected        atomic.Bool
 	sseDisconnectedAt   atomic.Pointer[time.Time]
-	lastSeenAt          atomic.Pointer[time.Time]
-	suspended           atomic.Bool
 }
 
 // View defines the UI rendered by this context.
@@ -444,13 +442,6 @@ func (c *Context) resetPageState() {
 	c.mu.Unlock()
 }
 
-// suspend frees page-scoped resources while keeping the context shell alive
-// in the registry for seamless re-init on reconnect.
-func (c *Context) suspend() {
-	c.resetPageState()
-	c.suspended.Store(true)
-}
-
 // Navigate performs an SPA navigation to the given path. It resets page state,
 // runs the target page's init function (with middleware), and pushes the new
 // view over the existing SSE connection with a view transition animation.

docs/getting-started.md

@@ -66,7 +66,6 @@ v.Config(via.Options{
     Plugins:         []via.Plugin{MyPlugin},
     SessionManager:  sm,
     PubSub:          customBackend,
-    ContextTTL:      60 * time.Second,
     ActionRateLimit: via.RateLimitConfig{Rate: 20, Burst: 40},
 })
 ```
@@ -83,7 +82,6 @@ v.Config(via.Options{
 | `DatastarContent` | (embedded) | Custom Datastar JS bytes |
 | `DatastarPath` | `"/_datastar.js"` | URL path for the Datastar script |
 | `PubSub` | embedded NATS | Custom PubSub backend. Replaces the default NATS. See [PubSub and Sessions](pubsub-and-sessions.md) |
-| `ContextTTL` | `30s` | Max time a context survives without an SSE connection before cleanup. Negative value disables the reaper |
 | `ActionRateLimit` | `10 req/s, burst 20` | Default token-bucket rate limiter for action endpoints. Rate of `-1` disables limiting |
 
 ## Static Files

docs/state-and-interactivity.md

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ Browser hits page → new Context created → init function runs → HTML render
                         action fires → signals injected from browser → handler runs → Sync() → DOM patched
 ```
 
-The context is disposed when the SSE connection closes (tab close, navigation away, network loss). A background reaper also cleans up contexts that never establish an SSE connection within `ContextTTL` (default 30s).
+The context lives until the browser tab closes (detected via a `beforeunload` beacon) or the server shuts down. There is no background reaper — contexts persist across temporary SSE disconnections so backgrounded tabs resume seamlessly.
 
 During [SPA navigation](routing-and-navigation.md#spa-navigation), the context itself survives — only page-level state (signals, actions, fields, intervals, subscriptions) is reset. The SSE connection persists.
 

via.go

@@ -58,7 +58,6 @@ type V struct {
 	datastarPath         string
 	datastarContent      []byte
 	datastarOnce         sync.Once
-	reaperStop           chan struct{}
 	middleware           []Middleware
 	layout               func(func() h.H) h.H
 }
@@ -139,12 +138,6 @@ func (v *V) Config(cfg Options) {
 		v.defaultNATS = nil
 		v.pubsub = cfg.PubSub
 	}
-	if cfg.ContextSuspendAfter != 0 {
-		v.cfg.ContextSuspendAfter = cfg.ContextSuspendAfter
-	}
-	if cfg.ContextTTL != 0 {
-		v.cfg.ContextTTL = cfg.ContextTTL
-	}
 	if cfg.Streams != nil {
 		v.cfg.Streams = cfg.Streams
 	}
@@ -292,75 +285,6 @@ func (v *V) getCtx(id string) (*Context, error) {
 	return nil, fmt.Errorf("ctx '%s' not found", id)
 }
 
-func (v *V) startReaper() {
-	ttl := v.cfg.ContextTTL
-	if ttl < 0 {
-		return
-	}
-	if ttl == 0 {
-		ttl = time.Hour
-	}
-	suspendAfter := v.cfg.ContextSuspendAfter
-	if suspendAfter == 0 {
-		suspendAfter = 15 * time.Minute
-	}
-	if suspendAfter > ttl {
-		suspendAfter = ttl
-	}
-	interval := suspendAfter / 3
-	if interval < 5*time.Second {
-		interval = 5 * time.Second
-	}
-	v.reaperStop = make(chan struct{})
-	go func() {
-		ticker := time.NewTicker(interval)
-		defer ticker.Stop()
-		for {
-			select {
-			case <-v.reaperStop:
-				return
-			case <-ticker.C:
-				v.reapOrphanedContexts(suspendAfter, ttl)
-			}
-		}
-	}()
-}
-
-func (v *V) reapOrphanedContexts(suspendAfter, ttl time.Duration) {
-	now := time.Now()
-	v.contextRegistryMutex.RLock()
-	var toSuspend, toReap []*Context
-	for _, c := range v.contextRegistry {
-		if c.sseConnected.Load() {
-			continue
-		}
-		// Use the most recent liveness signal
-		lastAlive := c.createdAt
-		if dc := c.sseDisconnectedAt.Load(); dc != nil && dc.After(lastAlive) {
-			lastAlive = *dc
-		}
-		if seen := c.lastSeenAt.Load(); seen != nil && seen.After(lastAlive) {
-			lastAlive = *seen
-		}
-		silentFor := now.Sub(lastAlive)
-		if silentFor > ttl {
-			toReap = append(toReap, c)
-		} else if silentFor > suspendAfter && !c.suspended.Load() {
-			toSuspend = append(toSuspend, c)
-		}
-	}
-	v.contextRegistryMutex.RUnlock()
-
-	for _, c := range toSuspend {
-		v.logInfo(c, "suspending context (no SSE connection after %s)", suspendAfter)
-		c.suspend()
-	}
-	for _, c := range toReap {
-		v.logInfo(c, "reaping orphaned context (no SSE connection after %s)", ttl)
-		v.cleanupCtx(c)
-	}
-}
-
 // Start starts the Via HTTP server and blocks until a SIGINT or SIGTERM
 // signal is received, then performs a graceful shutdown.
 func (v *V) Start() {
@@ -389,8 +313,6 @@ func (v *V) Start() {
 		Handler: handler,
 	}
 
-	v.startReaper()
-
 	errCh := make(chan error, 1)
 	go func() {
 		errCh <- v.server.ListenAndServe()
@@ -417,9 +339,6 @@ func (v *V) Start() {
 // Shutdown gracefully shuts down the server and all contexts.
 // Safe for programmatic or test use.
 func (v *V) Shutdown() {
-	if v.reaperStop != nil {
-		close(v.reaperStop)
-	}
 	v.logInfo(nil, "draining all contexts")
 	v.drainAllContexts()
 
@@ -667,8 +586,6 @@ func New() *V {
 			return
 		}
 		c.reqCtx = r.Context()
-		now := time.Now()
-		c.lastSeenAt.Store(&now)
 
 		sse := datastar.NewSSE(w, r, datastar.WithCompression(datastar.WithBrotli(datastar.WithBrotliLevel(5))))
 
@@ -690,16 +607,6 @@ func New() *V {
 		c.sseDisconnectedAt.Store(nil)
 		v.logDebug(c, "SSE connection established")
 
-		if c.suspended.Load() {
-			c.navMu.Lock()
-			c.suspended.Store(false)
-			if initFn := v.pageRegistry[c.route]; initFn != nil {
-				v.logInfo(c, "resuming suspended context")
-				initFn(c)
-			}
-			c.navMu.Unlock()
-		}
-
 		go c.Sync()
 
 		keepalive := time.NewTicker(30 * time.Second)

via_test.go

@@ -400,95 +400,6 @@ func TestPage_PanicsOnNoView(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 }
 
-func TestReaperCleansOrphanedContexts(t *testing.T) {
-	v := New()
-	c := newContext("orphan-1", "/", v)
-	c.createdAt = time.Now().Add(-time.Minute) // created 1 min ago
-	v.registerCtx(c)
-
-	_, err := v.getCtx("orphan-1")
-	assert.NoError(t, err)
-
-	v.reapOrphanedContexts(5*time.Second, 10*time.Second)
-
-	_, err = v.getCtx("orphan-1")
-	assert.Error(t, err, "orphaned context should have been reaped")
-}
-
-func TestReaperSuspendsContext(t *testing.T) {
-	v := New()
-	c := newContext("suspend-1", "/", v)
-	c.createdAt = time.Now().Add(-30 * time.Minute)
-	dc := time.Now().Add(-20 * time.Minute)
-	c.sseDisconnectedAt.Store(&dc)
-	v.registerCtx(c)
-
-	v.reapOrphanedContexts(15*time.Minute, time.Hour)
-
-	got, err := v.getCtx("suspend-1")
-	assert.NoError(t, err, "suspended context should still be in registry")
-	assert.True(t, got.suspended.Load(), "context should be marked suspended")
-}
-
-func TestReaperReapsAfterTTL(t *testing.T) {
-	v := New()
-	c := newContext("reap-1", "/", v)
-	c.createdAt = time.Now().Add(-3 * time.Hour)
-	dc := time.Now().Add(-2 * time.Hour)
-	c.sseDisconnectedAt.Store(&dc)
-	c.suspended.Store(true)
-	v.registerCtx(c)
-
-	v.reapOrphanedContexts(15*time.Minute, time.Hour)
-
-	_, err := v.getCtx("reap-1")
-	assert.Error(t, err, "context past TTL should have been reaped")
-}
-
-func TestReaperIgnoresAlreadySuspended(t *testing.T) {
-	v := New()
-	c := newContext("already-sus-1", "/", v)
-	c.createdAt = time.Now().Add(-30 * time.Minute)
-	dc := time.Now().Add(-20 * time.Minute)
-	c.sseDisconnectedAt.Store(&dc)
-	c.suspended.Store(true)
-	// give it a fresh pageStopChan so we can verify it's not re-closed
-	c.pageStopChan = make(chan struct{})
-	v.registerCtx(c)
-
-	v.reapOrphanedContexts(15*time.Minute, time.Hour)
-
-	got, err := v.getCtx("already-sus-1")
-	assert.NoError(t, err, "already-suspended context within TTL should survive")
-	assert.True(t, got.suspended.Load())
-	// pageStopChan should still be open (not re-suspended)
-	select {
-	case <-got.pageStopChan:
-		t.Fatal("pageStopChan was closed — context was re-suspended")
-	default:
-	}
-}
-
-func TestReaperIgnoresConnectedContexts(t *testing.T) {
-	v := New()
-	c := newContext("connected-1", "/", v)
-	c.createdAt = time.Now().Add(-time.Minute)
-	c.sseConnected.Store(true)
-	v.registerCtx(c)
-
-	v.reapOrphanedContexts(5*time.Second, 10*time.Second)
-
-	_, err := v.getCtx("connected-1")
-	assert.NoError(t, err, "connected context should survive reaping")
-}
-
-func TestReaperDisabledWithNegativeTTL(t *testing.T) {
-	v := New()
-	v.cfg.ContextTTL = -1
-	v.startReaper()
-	assert.Nil(t, v.reaperStop, "reaper should not start with negative TTL")
-}
-
 func TestCleanupCtxIdempotent(t *testing.T) {
 	v := New()
 	c := newContext("idempotent-1", "/", v)
@@ -503,74 +414,6 @@ func TestCleanupCtxIdempotent(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Error(t, err, "context should be removed after cleanup")
 }
 
-func TestReaperRespectsLastSeenAt(t *testing.T) {
-	v := New()
-	c := newContext("seen-1", "/", v)
-	c.createdAt = time.Now().Add(-30 * time.Minute)
-	// Disconnected 20 min ago, but client retried (lastSeenAt) 2 min ago
-	dc := time.Now().Add(-20 * time.Minute)
-	c.sseDisconnectedAt.Store(&dc)
-	seen := time.Now().Add(-2 * time.Minute)
-	c.lastSeenAt.Store(&seen)
-	v.registerCtx(c)
-
-	v.reapOrphanedContexts(15*time.Minute, time.Hour)
-
-	_, err := v.getCtx("seen-1")
-	assert.NoError(t, err, "context with recent lastSeenAt should survive suspend threshold")
-	assert.False(t, c.suspended.Load(), "context should not be suspended")
-}
-
-func TestReaperFallsBackWithoutLastSeenAt(t *testing.T) {
-	v := New()
-	c := newContext("noseen-1", "/", v)
-	c.createdAt = time.Now().Add(-30 * time.Minute)
-	dc := time.Now().Add(-20 * time.Minute)
-	c.sseDisconnectedAt.Store(&dc)
-	// no lastSeenAt set — should fall back to sseDisconnectedAt
-	v.registerCtx(c)
-
-	v.reapOrphanedContexts(15*time.Minute, time.Hour)
-
-	got, err := v.getCtx("noseen-1")
-	assert.NoError(t, err, "context should still be in registry (suspended, not reaped)")
-	assert.True(t, got.suspended.Load(), "context should be suspended using sseDisconnectedAt fallback")
-}
-
-func TestReaperReapsWithStaleLastSeenAt(t *testing.T) {
-	v := New()
-	c := newContext("stale-seen-1", "/", v)
-	c.createdAt = time.Now().Add(-3 * time.Hour)
-	dc := time.Now().Add(-2 * time.Hour)
-	c.sseDisconnectedAt.Store(&dc)
-	// lastSeenAt is also old — beyond TTL
-	seen := time.Now().Add(-90 * time.Minute)
-	c.lastSeenAt.Store(&seen)
-	c.suspended.Store(true)
-	v.registerCtx(c)
-
-	v.reapOrphanedContexts(15*time.Minute, time.Hour)
-
-	_, err := v.getCtx("stale-seen-1")
-	assert.Error(t, err, "context with stale lastSeenAt beyond TTL should be reaped")
-}
-
-func TestLastSeenAtUpdatedOnSSEConnect(t *testing.T) {
-	v := New()
-	c := newContext("seen-sse-1", "/", v)
-	v.registerCtx(c)
-
-	assert.Nil(t, c.lastSeenAt.Load(), "lastSeenAt should be nil before SSE connect")
-
-	// Simulate what the SSE handler does after getCtx
-	now := time.Now()
-	c.lastSeenAt.Store(&now)
-
-	got := c.lastSeenAt.Load()
-	assert.NotNil(t, got, "lastSeenAt should be set after SSE connect")
-	assert.WithinDuration(t, now, *got, time.Second)
-}
-
 func TestDevModeRemovePersistedFix(t *testing.T) {
 	v := New()
 	v.cfg.DevMode = true