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Thread view

The thread view displays complete message conversations, showing all replies and maintaining context throughout the discussion.

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Opening threads

Click any message in your inbox, requests, junk, or search results to open it in thread view. The view shows:
  • Full message history
  • Sender information with profile metadata
  • Timestamps for each message
  • Reply options

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Thread structure

Hoot uses parent event references to build conversation threads: 
// From mail_event.rs:41-45
if let Some(parentEvents) = &self.parent_events {
    for event in parentEvents {
        tags.push(Tag::event(*event));
    }
}
Threads are reconstructed using recursive database queries that walk both parent and child references: 
// From CLAUDE.md:70
// Thread reconstruction via recursive CTEs in `get_email_thread()`
Thread reconstruction uses recursive Common Table Expressions (CTEs) in SQLite to efficiently build the complete conversation tree from the database.

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Viewing message details

Each message in the thread shows:

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Sender information

  • Display name (from Nostr metadata)
  • NIP-05 identifier if configured
  • Profile picture (loaded asynchronously)
  • Public key (hex or npub format)

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Message metadata

  • Subject - Only shown on the first message in a thread
  • Timestamp - When the message was created
  • Recipients - To/CC fields
  • Thread depth - How deep in the conversation

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Message content

  • Full message body
  • Formatted text (preserving line breaks)
  • Option to view raw Nostr event

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Replying to messages

From the thread view, you can reply to any message:
1

Click Reply

Click the Reply button on the message you want to respond to.
2

Compose your reply

A compose window opens with:
  • Original sender in the “To” field
  • Original subject prefixed with “Re:”
  • Parent event reference for threading
3

Send

Write your reply and click Send. Your message will be linked to the parent message.
// From mail_event.rs:16
pub parent_events: Option<Vec<EventId>>,
Parent event references ensure replies stay connected to the conversation, allowing Hoot to reconstruct the full thread from the database.

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Thread actions

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Trash a thread

Deleting a message from thread view moves it to trash. If it’s the root message of a thread, the entire thread structure is preserved - child messages remain linked.

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View sender profile

Click the sender’s name or avatar to:
  • View their full Nostr profile metadata
  • See their NIP-05 identifier (if configured)
  • Add them to contacts
  • Change their sender status (allow/junk)
  • Back button returns to the previous view (inbox, search results, etc.)
  • ← / → arrows navigate between messages in the current list
  • Esc key closes the thread view

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Performance considerations

Thread views are optimized for performance:

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Profile loading

// From CLAUDE.md:108
// Contact images fetched asynchronously via background threads with caching
Profile pictures and metadata are:
  • Loaded asynchronously in background threads
  • Cached in memory after first load
  • Persisted to the database for offline access

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Message rendering

The immediate-mode GUI updates only when necessary:
  • Changes trigger repaints via wake-up callbacks
  • Efficient text rendering with egui
  • No unnecessary re-renders
Hoot uses egui’s immediate-mode architecture, which means the UI is redrawn every frame but only updates when data changes.

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Message verification

All messages in thread view are cryptographically verified:
  1. Signature verification - Nostr events are verified against the sender’s public key
  2. Gift wrap decryption - Encrypted messages are unwrapped and validated
  3. Duplicate detection - Messages are deduplicated by event ID
// From CLAUDE.md:95
// Event verification → duplicate check → store in DB
Messages that fail signature verification are not displayed. This protects against forged or corrupted messages.

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Next steps

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