Drop the dead isOnboardingBusy/BUSY set, factor the catch-fallback dance into safeReq, and share a single reloadAndConnect helper between PKCE submit, device-code success, external recheck, and api-key save.
In the overlay, extract Step / CodeBlock / FlowFooter / CancelBtn / DocsLink atoms so the four sign-in panels share the same chrome instead of repeating it inline. Net effect: fewer literal divs, one place to touch the spacing, and the code-block + footer rows are reusable across future flows.
Replace the Sign in / API key tab pair with an "I have an API key" footer link under the OAuth provider list, with a "Back to sign in" affordance inside the API key form. Group the device-code "Waiting for you to authorize..." status next to the Cancel button so the alignment matches the action.
External-CLI providers (Claude Code, Qwen Code) now open an in-overlay panel with the CLI command, copy button, and an "I've signed in" recheck instead of firing an invisible toast. Center the Sign in / API key tab control so it sits under the heading instead of hugging the left edge.
Move the OAuth state machine, runtime check, copy-to-clipboard, and api-key save into store/onboarding.ts (matching the boot.ts pattern), leaving the overlay as a presentation layer that subscribes via useStore. Tabs are now table-driven, child panels read flow from the store instead of prop-drilling, and the polling/PKCE/error/success branches share a small Status atom.
Reorder OAuth providers so Nous Portal is first, give the segmented Sign in / API key control equal column widths, and replace the engineer-flavored backend names like "Anthropic (Claude API)" / "MiniMax (OAuth)" with friendlier in-app titles. External-CLI providers now show a softer subtitle and an external-link icon instead of a chevron.
Replace the engineer-flavored API key form with a Sign-in-first onboarding overlay that uses the dashboard's existing /api/providers/oauth catalog and PKCE/device-code endpoints (Anthropic, Nous, OpenAI Codex, etc.). API key entry is now a fallback tab with friendly provider names instead of env var prefixes, and the loud raw resolver error is gone in favor of a one-line welcome message.
setup.status returned True whenever any provider auth state was discoverable, including indirect fallbacks like a gh-CLI Copilot token. That made desktop think the user was set up while the agent's actual resolve_runtime_provider call still raised AuthError, leaving the user with a useless toast and no onboarding.
Add a setup.runtime_check gateway method that runs the same resolver the agent uses on session creation, and switch the desktop onboarding overlay and prompt precheck to use it.
Show the desktop provider onboarding flow before prompt submission when no inference provider is configured, preventing fresh installs from falling through to backend credential errors.
Introduce the Electron desktop app with a split app/chat/settings structure and shared nanostore state so UI areas own their state instead of routing it through the root.