v3.8.44: root folder param, proxy cookies, cold-launch timeout, retries=0, quick-switch flash

[taylorcox75]

Summary

• Fixed: "Create root folder" toggle in the add-torrent dialog was a silent no-op on every supported server — qBittorrent has ignored the root_folder parameter on torrents/add since 4.3.2 (WebAPI 2.7.0). Switched to the real contentLayout parameter, gated by a new ApiFeatures.useContentLayoutAddParam. Toggle ON still sends nothing (server default — unchanged behavior for every current user); only toggling OFF now sends contentLayout=NoSubfolder. Verified against qBittorrent's torrentscontroller.cpp source at the 4.6.0 and 5.0.0 tags, not just the wiki (which still documents the dead parameter).
• Fixed: losing the login session behind reverse proxies that set their own cookies (Cloudflare __cf_bm, Authelia/Traefik forward-auth, etc.) — the client now merges Set-Cookie values into the jar by cookie name instead of replacing it wholesale, so a proxy-issued cookie can no longer silently drop the qBittorrent SID cookie and force an unnecessary re-login.
• Fixed: connection timeout / retry-attempts preferences being ignored on the very first cold-launch connect attempt.
• Fixed: a saved retryAttempts of 0 always getting coerced back to 3 on launch (an || 3 fallback also caught the legitimate value 0). Extracted a shared resolveConnectionSettings() helper used by both cold-start call sites so they can't drift again.
• Fixed: a loading skeleton flashing on every foreground return, even a quick app-switch — TorrentContext/TransferContext now only run the full recovery dance when backgrounded 10s or more; a shorter background just nudges an incremental refresh.
• Maintenance: connecting to a server is slightly faster — application.ts's getVersion now fetches app/version and app/webapiVersion concurrently instead of sequentially.
• Bumped to v3.8.44 (v3.8.43 already shipped 2026-09-07) with a matching changelog entry, and updated AGENTS.md (File Index + a new Gotchas entry on the root_folder/contentLayout wiki drift).

Compatibility

No stored preference key, ServerConfig field, or colors key was added, renamed, or repurposed. The root-folder fix specifically preserves "toggle ON = server default" as the behavior every existing user already has today; only turning it OFF changes anything, and only on WebAPI ≥ 2.7 (qBit 4.3.2+) — older servers keep getting the legacy root_folder field unchanged.

Test plan

• npx tsc --noEmit — exit 0
• npm test — 78 suites / 1104 tests passing (both projects)
• npm run lint — 0 errors, 37 warnings (documented baseline)
• npm run format — no changes needed
• Manual verification recommended on device before merge:
  • Add a multi-file torrent with "Create root folder" OFF on a qBit 5.x server → files land without a wrapper folder. With it ON → identical layout to today.
  • Settings → Advanced → Retry Attempts = 0, kill and relaunch → connectivity log shows no "Retrying request" lines on a failing request.
  • Background the app ~3s and return → no skeleton flash; background ≥15s → skeleton as before.
  • If available, a reverse-proxy setup (Cloudflare/forward-auth) that sets its own cookie → leave the app open >30 min, confirm no unexpected re-login entries in the connectivity log.

Note: pushing this branch's merge to main will trigger the App Store build (easBuild: true in package.json) — not part of this PR, that's a separate step.

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