fix(clone): treat Clone Repo's custom folder as a parent, like Create New

docs/architecture-invariants.md

@@ -474,7 +474,7 @@ Tests: `test/file-preview-markdown.test.ts` (jsdom-in-vm, pins every rule above)
 
 ### Clone a repository as a case
 
-**Clone Repo tab** (issue #236, proposed by @DodgyBadger): `POST /api/cases/clone` clones a public repository into the caller's case space and registers it as a normal local case; `POST /api/cases/clone-preflight` answers "can this be cloned anonymously, and what refs does it have?" while the user is still typing. Core in `src/git-clone.ts`, split into a PURE half (URL parse, argv/env, `ls-remote` parse, stderr classification) and a thin IO half (`probeGitRemote`, `cloneRepository`). An optional `path` (the **Clone into a custom folder** checkbox) is the folder the repository is cloned INTO, exactly as given (the case name adds no subfolder), and it registers a LINKED case, the same way `POST /api/cases` with a `path` does: it is judged by `prepareNewCasePath()` (`web/case-path.ts`: blocked trees, symlinks, parent must exist), is admin-only in multi-user mode (it writes an absolute path into the shared linked-cases registry), and must be empty or not exist yet. An existing empty folder is cloned into directly (`CloneOptions.intoEmptyDir`: no temporary sibling and no rename, so a mount point works; a failed attempt empties it again but never removes it); a folder with anything in it is refused. Deleting such a case unlinks it and never removes the files. If the registry write fails after git finished, the folder is kept and the error says where it is.
+**Clone Repo tab** (issue #236, proposed by @DodgyBadger): `POST /api/cases/clone` clones a public repository into the caller's case space and registers it as a normal local case; `POST /api/cases/clone-preflight` answers "can this be cloned anonymously, and what refs does it have?" while the user is still typing. Core in `src/git-clone.ts`, split into a PURE half (URL parse, argv/env, `ls-remote` parse, stderr classification) and a thin IO half (`probeGitRemote`, `cloneRepository`). An optional `path` is the folder the repository is cloned INTO, exactly as given (the case name adds no subfolder), and it registers a LINKED case, the same way `POST /api/cases` with a `path` does: it is judged by `prepareNewCasePath()` (`web/case-path.ts`: blocked trees, symlinks, parent must exist), is admin-only in multi-user mode (it writes an absolute path into the shared linked-cases registry), and must be empty or not exist yet. An existing empty folder is cloned into directly (`CloneOptions.intoEmptyDir`: no temporary sibling and no rename, so a mount point works; a failed attempt empties it again but never removes it); a folder with anything in it is refused. Deleting such a case unlinks it and never removes the files. If the registry write fails after git finished, the folder is kept and the error says where it is.
 
 - ⚠️ **The URL is a code-execution surface, which is why it is parsed rather than forwarded.** `ext::sh -c <cmd>` makes git run an arbitrary command as its transport, and ANY `<name>::<payload>` dispatches to a `git-remote-<name>` helper, so every `::` form is refused outright. A repository starting with `-` is read by git as a flag; that is rejected AND every spawn puts `--` before the operands, because either defence alone is one edit away from being a hole. Spawns are argv arrays, never a shell (unlike `remote-hosts.ts`, which does build a shell line and must `shellescape`). The Zod schema deliberately only length-bounds `repository` — a weaker regex duplicate of `parseGitRepositoryUrl` would be the copy that drifts.
 - ⚠️ **Non-interactive or it hangs the request.** The clone is synchronous by design (no job store, no polling, no cancellation surface), so an invisible credential prompt would pin an open HTTP request until the timeout. `gitNonInteractiveEnv()` closes all four prompt paths at once: `GIT_TERMINAL_PROMPT=0`, empty `GIT_ASKPASS`/`SSH_ASKPASS` + `SSH_ASKPASS_REQUIRE=never` + empty `DISPLAY`, `GCM_INTERACTIVE=never`, and `ssh -oBatchMode=yes`. `HOME`/`PATH` are inherited on purpose — a user whose own agent or credential helper already works keeps working (so a private repo may well clone; Codeman just never collects or stores credentials, and refuses a `user:password@` URL). ⚠️ In multi-user mode a NON-ADMIN's clone and preflight run with `git -c credential.helper=` (`cloneWithoutCredentialHelpers`), because the helpers belong to the one server account every user shares; admins and single-user mode keep them. The Docker server image relies on exactly this: when built with the opt-in `CODEMAN_INSTALL_GH`/`CODEMAN_INSTALL_AZ` args it configures `gh` (github.com) and an `az`-backed helper (`docker/git-credential-azure-cli`, Azure DevOps) in its SYSTEM gitconfig, both silent until the user signs the CLI in, so a private clone there still fails fast rather than prompting.
@@ -485,7 +485,7 @@ Tests: `test/file-preview-markdown.test.ts` (jsdom-in-vm, pins every rule above)
 - **Failure leaves nothing behind.** The destination is removed only when it did not exist before the attempt, and a pre-existing directory is refused rather than cloned into, so a failed clone never squats on a case name and never touches an existing tree.
 - ⚠️ **Error detail comes from the LAST diagnostic line, not the first.** `git clone` opens with `Cloning into '<dest>'…`, so a first-line pick reported the destination path as the reason a bad branch failed (observed against a real remote). `NOT_FOUND` wording must also say "or private": GitHub answers "Repository not found" for a private repo and a typo alike when unauthenticated.
 - **Multi-user**: NOT admin-gated, unlike `/api/cases/link` — it writes only inside the caller's own `resolveCasesDir`. The exception is a `local`-transport source (an absolute path or `file://`), which is admin-only there because per-user spaces live inside one `$HOME` and a local clone would read straight through that boundary.
-- **UI** (`case-clone` tab in the Add Case modal): debounced preflight paints a verdict under the field, fills the case name from the parsed repo (until the user types their own), and turns the branch/tag field into a datalist of the remote's real refs. The **Brain** picker sets the toolbar run mode on success (gated by `isCliAvailable()`, like `#runModeMenu`), so Run already points at the chosen CLI; starting a session stays opt-in. The tab hides itself when the server reports no `git` (injected via `window.__codemanCliAvailable`).
+- **UI** (`case-clone` tab in the Add Case modal): the **Clone into a custom folder** field is a PARENT folder, like Create New's: the tab sends `<folder>/<case name>` as `path` (`_cloneTargetPath()`), so the API's `path` stays the exact target; debounced preflight paints a verdict under the field, fills the case name from the parsed repo (until the user types their own), and turns the branch/tag field into a datalist of the remote's real refs. The **Brain** picker sets the toolbar run mode on success (gated by `isCliAvailable()`, like `#runModeMenu`), so Run already points at the chosen CLI; starting a session stays opt-in. The tab hides itself when the server reports no `git` (injected via `window.__codemanCliAvailable`).
 
 Tests: `test/git-clone.test.ts` (pure half exhaustively, plus REAL git against a REAL local bare repo for clone/ref/timeout/cleanup), `test/routes/case-clone-routes.test.ts` (deliberately **unmocked fs**, real clone through the endpoint).
 

docs/wiki/Core-Concepts.md

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ Three ways to get one, all under **New or link a case…** at the bottom of the
 | How               | Result                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
 | ----------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
 | **Create New**    | A fresh `~/codeman-cases/<name>` with a scaffolded `CLAUDE.md`, or with **Create in a custom folder**, a new folder inside a parent you choose, scaffolded the same way and registered in place like a linked case.   |
-| **Clone Repo**    | A repo cloned into `~/codeman-cases/<name>` (or straight into a folder you choose, which must be empty or not exist yet) and registered as a case. Private repos need this machine's own git credentials (see below). |
+| **Clone Repo**    | A repo cloned into `~/codeman-cases/<name>` (or, with **Clone into a custom folder**, into `<parent folder you choose>/<name>`, which must be empty or not exist yet) and registered as a case. Private repos need this machine's own git credentials (see below). |
 | **Link Existing** | An existing folder anywhere on disk, registered in place. Nothing is copied or moved.                                                                                                                                 |
 
 Linked cases keep living where they are. Deleting a case in Codeman removes the

src/web/public/index.html

@@ -3791,15 +3791,15 @@ <h2>Clone Repo</h2>
             </div>
             <div class="form-row" id="cloneCustomPathToggleRow">
               <label class="checkbox-row"><input type="checkbox" id="cloneCustomPathToggle" onchange="app.toggleCloneCustomPath()"> 📁 Clone into a custom folder</label>
-              <span class="form-hint">By default the clone goes under ~/codeman-cases. Choose a folder and the repository is cloned into that folder itself (an empty folder, or one that does not exist yet); it is listed like any other case, and deleting the case only unlinks it (your files stay).</span>
+              <span class="form-hint">By default the clone goes under ~/codeman-cases. Choose a folder instead and the repository is cloned into a subfolder of it named after the case, the same way it goes under ~/codeman-cases; it is listed like any other case, and deleting the case only unlinks it (your files stay).</span>
             </div>
             <div class="form-row" id="cloneCustomPathRow" style="display:none">
-              <label>Folder</label>
+              <label>Parent Folder</label>
               <div class="path-input-group">
                 <input type="text" id="cloneCasePath" placeholder="~/projects" autocomplete="off" autocapitalize="off" autocorrect="off" spellcheck="false" oninput="app.updateCloneCasePathPreview()">
                 <button type="button" class="btn path-input-browse" onclick="app.openCloneCasePathPicker()">Browse&hellip;</button>
               </div>
-              <span class="form-hint" id="cloneCasePathPreview">Pick an empty folder, or one that does not exist yet, to clone into.</span>
+              <span class="form-hint" id="cloneCasePathPreview">Pick the folder the repository should be cloned inside. It goes into a subfolder named after the case.</span>
             </div>
             <div class="form-row">
               <label>Branch or Tag (optional)</label>

src/web/public/session-ui.js

@@ -4264,30 +4264,34 @@ Object.assign(CodemanApp.prototype, {
     const hint = document.getElementById('cloneCaseNameHint');
     if (hint) {
       hint.textContent = custom.checked
-        ? 'Filled in from the URL. Names the case only: the repository is cloned into the folder chosen below.'
+        ? 'Filled in from the URL. Names the case and the subfolder of the chosen folder the repository is cloned into.'
         : 'Filled in from the URL. Cloned into ~/codeman-cases/<name>, so deleting the case deletes this working tree.';
     }
     this.updateCloneCasePathPreview();
   },
 
-  /** The folder the repository is cloned into: exactly what the field holds (no case name is added). */
+  /** The folder the repository is cloned into: the parent field plus the case name, as Create New does. */
   _cloneTargetPath() {
-    const raw = (document.getElementById('cloneCasePath')?.value || '').trim();
+    const rawParent = (document.getElementById('cloneCasePath')?.value || '').trim();
+    const name = (document.getElementById('cloneCaseName')?.value || '').trim();
+    if (!rawParent || !name) return '';
     // Trailing slashes off, but `/` stays the root rather than becoming an empty path.
-    return raw.length > 1 ? raw.replace(/\/+$/, '') || '/' : raw;
+    return `${rawParent.replace(/\/+$/, '')}/${name}`;
   },
 
   updateCloneCasePathPreview() {
     const hint = document.getElementById('cloneCasePathPreview');
     if (!hint) return;
     const target = this._cloneTargetPath();
-    hint.textContent = target ? `Will clone into: ${target}` : 'Pick an empty folder, or one that does not exist yet, to clone into.';
+    hint.textContent = target
+      ? `Will clone into: ${target}`
+      : 'Pick the folder the repository should be cloned inside. It goes into a subfolder named after the case.';
   },
 
   openCloneCasePathPicker() {
     const input = document.getElementById('cloneCasePath');
     PathPicker.open({
-      title: 'Choose the folder to clone into',
+      title: 'Choose the folder to clone inside',
       initialPath: input.value.trim(),
       directoriesOnly: true,
       onSelect: (path) => {
@@ -4334,12 +4338,14 @@ Object.assign(CodemanApp.prototype, {
   onCloneNameEdited() {
     // Once the user types a name, autofill stops fighting them.
     this._cloneNameEdited = !!document.getElementById('cloneCaseName')?.value.trim();
+    this.updateCloneCasePathPreview();
   },
 
   onCloneUrlInput() {
     const url = document.getElementById('cloneRepoUrl')?.value.trim() || '';
     const nameInput = document.getElementById('cloneCaseName');
     if (nameInput && !this._cloneNameEdited) nameInput.value = this._repoNameFromUrl(url);
+    this.updateCloneCasePathPreview();
     clearTimeout(this._clonePreflightTimer);
     this._clonePreflightAbort?.abort();
     this._clonePreflightAbort = null;
@@ -4395,6 +4401,7 @@ Object.assign(CodemanApp.prototype, {
     // the case name is validated against), but never over a name the user typed.
     const nameInput = document.getElementById('cloneCaseName');
     if (nameInput && !this._cloneNameEdited && parse.suggestedName) nameInput.value = parse.suggestedName;
+    this.updateCloneCasePathPreview();
 
     const where = parse.owner ? `${parse.provider} ${parse.owner}/${parse.repo}` : `${parse.provider} ${parse.repo}`;
     if (data.gitAvailable === false) {
@@ -4449,7 +4456,7 @@ Object.assign(CodemanApp.prototype, {
 
     const customFolder = !!document.getElementById('cloneCustomPathToggle')?.checked;
     if (customFolder && !(document.getElementById('cloneCasePath')?.value || '').trim()) {
-      this.showToast('Choose the folder to clone into', 'error');
+      this.showToast('Choose the folder to clone inside', 'error');
       return;
     }
 

src/web/routes/case-routes.ts

@@ -748,7 +748,7 @@ export function registerCaseRoutes(
                   ? ApiErrorCode.ALREADY_EXISTS
                   : ApiErrorCode.INVALID_INPUT,
             prepared.code === 'EXISTS'
-              ? `${customPath} already has files in it. Pick an empty folder, or a folder that does not exist yet.`
+              ? `${customPath} already has files in it. The clone target must be empty or not exist yet.`
               : prepared.reason
           );
         }

test/clone-custom-folder-ui.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+/**
+ * @fileoverview Frontend test for Clone Repo's custom folder (session-ui.js `cloneCase()` /
+ * `_cloneTargetPath()`): the chosen folder is the PARENT, so the clone request carries
+ * `<folder>/<case name>` exactly as Create New does, and without the checkbox no `path` is sent
+ * (the server then clones to `~/codeman-cases/<name>`). Runs against the real index.html markup.
+ *
+ * Port: none.
+ */
+import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { JSDOM } from 'jsdom';
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
+
+const INDEX_HTML = readFileSync(new URL('../src/web/public/index.html', import.meta.url), 'utf-8');
+const CONSTANTS_JS = readFileSync(new URL('../src/web/public/constants.js', import.meta.url), 'utf-8');
+const SESSION_UI_JS = readFileSync(new URL('../src/web/public/session-ui.js', import.meta.url), 'utf-8');
+
+function bootClone() {
+  const dom = new JSDOM(INDEX_HTML, { url: 'http://localhost/', runScripts: 'outside-only' });
+  const win = dom.window as unknown as Window & typeof globalThis & { CodemanApp: new () => any };
+  const run = (src: string) => (win as unknown as { eval: (s: string) => void }).eval(src);
+  run('window.CodemanApp = function CodemanApp() {};');
+  run(CONSTANTS_JS);
+  run(SESSION_UI_JS);
+  const app = new win.CodemanApp();
+  app.showToast = () => {};
+  app._setCloneStatus = () => {};
+  app.closeCreateCaseModal = () => {};
+  app.loadQuickStartCases = async () => {};
+  app.saveLastUsedCase = async () => {};
+  const fetchMock = vi.fn(async () => ({ json: async () => ({ success: true, data: {} }) }));
+  (win as unknown as { fetch: unknown }).fetch = fetchMock;
+  const doc = win.document;
+  const set = (id: string, value: string) => ((doc.getElementById(id) as HTMLInputElement).value = value);
+  set('cloneRepoUrl', 'https://github.com/opticon454/bifrost');
+  set('cloneCaseName', 'bifrost');
+  return { app, doc, set, fetchMock, win };
+}
+
+async function requestBody(fetchMock: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>) {
+  const [url, init] = fetchMock.mock.calls[0] as unknown as [string, { body: string }];
+  return { url, body: JSON.parse(init.body) };
+}
+
+describe('Clone Repo custom folder', () => {
+  it('sends <folder>/<case name> as the path and previews it', async () => {
+    const { app, doc, set, fetchMock } = bootClone();
+    (doc.getElementById('cloneCustomPathToggle') as HTMLInputElement).checked = true;
+    set('cloneCasePath', '/mnt/user/Scripts/GitHub/opticon454/');
+    app.updateCloneCasePathPreview();
+    expect(doc.getElementById('cloneCasePathPreview')?.textContent).toBe(
+      'Will clone into: /mnt/user/Scripts/GitHub/opticon454/bifrost'
+    );
+    await app.cloneCase();
+    const { url, body } = await requestBody(fetchMock);
+    expect(url).toBe('/api/cases/clone');
+    expect(body.path).toBe('/mnt/user/Scripts/GitHub/opticon454/bifrost');
+    expect(body.name).toBe('bifrost');
+  });
+
+  it('follows the case name when it is edited', () => {
+    const { app, doc, set } = bootClone();
+    set('cloneCasePath', '~/projects');
+    set('cloneCaseName', 'other');
+    app.onCloneNameEdited();
+    expect(doc.getElementById('cloneCasePathPreview')?.textContent).toBe('Will clone into: ~/projects/other');
+  });
+
+  it('sends no path without the checkbox, even when the folder field still holds one', async () => {
+    const { app, set, fetchMock } = bootClone();
+    set('cloneCasePath', '/mnt/user/Scripts/GitHub/opticon454');
+    await app.cloneCase();
+    const { body } = await requestBody(fetchMock);
+    expect(body.path).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it('refreshes the preview when the preflight replaces the case name', () => {
+    const { app, doc, set } = bootClone();
+    set('cloneRepoUrl', 'https://github.com/opticon454/bifrost?tab=readme-ov-file');
+    set('cloneCaseName', 'bifrost-tab-readme-ov-file');
+    set('cloneCasePath', '/mnt/projects');
+    app.updateCloneCasePathPreview();
+    expect(doc.getElementById('cloneCasePathPreview')?.textContent).toBe(
+      'Will clone into: /mnt/projects/bifrost-tab-readme-ov-file'
+    );
+    app._applyClonePreflight({ gitAvailable: true, parse: { cloneable: true, suggestedName: 'bifrost' } }, '');
+    expect((doc.getElementById('cloneCaseName') as HTMLInputElement).value).toBe('bifrost');
+    expect(doc.getElementById('cloneCasePathPreview')?.textContent).toBe('Will clone into: /mnt/projects/bifrost');
+  });
+
+  it('previews the name taken from the URL as it is typed', () => {
+    const { app, doc, set, win } = bootClone();
+    app.isCliAvailable = () => true; // lives in settings-ui.js, which this test does not load
+    set('cloneCaseName', '');
+    set('cloneCasePath', '/mnt/projects');
+    set('cloneRepoUrl', 'https://github.com/opticon454/bifrost');
+    app.onCloneUrlInput();
+    win.clearTimeout(app._clonePreflightTimer);
+    expect((doc.getElementById('cloneCaseName') as HTMLInputElement).value).toBe('bifrost');
+    expect(doc.getElementById('cloneCasePathPreview')?.textContent).toBe('Will clone into: /mnt/projects/bifrost');
+  });
+});