Merge branch 'stable'

apps/ios/Shared/Views/Chat/ChatItem/MsgContentView.swift

@@ -191,9 +191,14 @@ private func handleTextTaps(
                         }
                     }
                 }
-                if let index, let (uri, browser) = attributedStringLink(s, for: index) {
+                if let index, let (uri, browser, simplex) = attributedStringLink(s, for: index) {
                     if browser {
                         openBrowserAlert(uri: uri)
+                    } else if simplex, let url = URL(string: uri) {
+                        // SimpleX links target this same app (simplex: scheme / simplex.chat universal link),
+                        // so UIApplication.shared.open is dropped by iOS while the app is in the foreground.
+                        // Route to the in-app connect flow instead (same sink onOpenURL feeds).
+                        ChatModel.shared.appOpenUrl = url
                     } else if let url = URL(string: uri) {
                         UIApplication.shared.open(url)
                     } else {
@@ -203,9 +208,10 @@ private func handleTextTaps(
             })
     }
 
-    func attributedStringLink(_ s: NSAttributedString, for index: CFIndex) -> (String, Bool)? {
+    func attributedStringLink(_ s: NSAttributedString, for index: CFIndex) -> (String, Bool, Bool)? {
         var linkURL: String?
         var browser: Bool = false
+        var simplex: Bool = false
         s.enumerateAttributes(in: NSRange(location: 0, length: s.length)) { attrs, range, stop in
             if index >= range.location && index < range.location + range.length {
                 if let nameInfo = attrs[nameAttrKey] as? SimplexNameInfo {
@@ -213,6 +219,7 @@ private func handleTextTaps(
                 } else if let url = attrs[linkAttrKey] as? String {
                     linkURL = url
                     browser = attrs[webLinkAttrKey] != nil
+                    simplex = attrs[simplexLinkAttrKey] != nil
                 } else if let showSecrets, let i = attrs[secretAttrKey] as? Int {
                     if showSecrets.wrappedValue.contains(i) {
                         showSecrets.wrappedValue.remove(i)
@@ -225,7 +232,7 @@ private func handleTextTaps(
                 stop.pointee = true
             }
         }
-        return if let linkURL { (linkURL, browser) } else { nil }
+        return if let linkURL { (linkURL, browser, simplex) } else { nil }
     }
 }
 
@@ -250,6 +257,8 @@ private let linkAttrKey = NSAttributedString.Key("chat.simplex.app.link")
 
 private let webLinkAttrKey = NSAttributedString.Key("chat.simplex.app.webLink")
 
+private let simplexLinkAttrKey = NSAttributedString.Key("chat.simplex.app.simplexLink")
+
 private let secretAttrKey = NSAttributedString.Key("chat.simplex.app.secret")
 
 private let commandAttrKey = NSAttributedString.Key("chat.simplex.app.command")
@@ -392,6 +401,7 @@ func messageText(
                 attrs = linkAttrs()
                 if !preview {
                     attrs[linkAttrKey] = simplexUri
+                    attrs[simplexLinkAttrKey] = true
                     handleTaps = true
                 }
                 if let s = text ?? (privacySimplexLinkModeDefault.get() == .description ? linkType.description : nil) {

apps/ios/Shared/Views/ChatList/ChatHelp.swift

@@ -26,7 +26,9 @@ struct ChatHelp: View {
                 Button("connect to SimpleX Chat developers.") {
                     dismissSettingsSheet()
                     DispatchQueue.main.async {
-                        UIApplication.shared.open(simplexTeamURL)
+                        // simplexTeamURL targets this same app; route to the in-app connect flow
+                        // (UIApplication.shared.open is dropped for self-owned URLs in the foreground)
+                        ChatModel.shared.appOpenUrl = simplexTeamURL
                     }
                 }
                 .padding(.top, 2)

apps/ios/Shared/Views/UserSettings/SettingsView.swift

@@ -420,7 +420,9 @@ struct SettingsView: View {
                     Button("Send questions and ideas") {
                         dismiss()
                         DispatchQueue.main.async {
-                            UIApplication.shared.open(simplexTeamURL)
+                            // simplexTeamURL targets this same app; route to the in-app connect flow
+                            // (UIApplication.shared.open is dropped for self-owned URLs in the foreground)
+                            ChatModel.shared.appOpenUrl = simplexTeamURL
                         }
                     }
                 }

plans/2026-06-19-ios-open-simplex-links-in-messages.md

@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+# iOS: open SimpleX links in chat messages via in-app connect flow
+
+## Problem
+
+On iOS, tapping a **SimpleX connection/invitation link inside message text** does nothing — it never reaches the connection flow. Reproduced on iPhone 17 (v6.5.2 and v6.5.5). On the same screens, tapping a web link (opens browser), a `mailto:`/`tel:` link, and the connection-link **card** all work. Notably it was **device-specific**: dead on an iPhone 17 but working on an iPhone 12 running the **same iOS version**, with only **one** SimpleX app installed.
+
+## Root cause
+
+Inline links are dispatched in `MsgContentView.handleTextTaps` (`apps/ios/Shared/Views/Chat/ChatItem/MsgContentView.swift`):
+
+- web links (`webLinkAttrKey`) → `openBrowserAlert` → `UIApplication.shared.open` (Safari)
+- everything else → `UIApplication.shared.open(url)`
+
+SimpleX links fell into the second branch. Two facts make this the bug:
+
+1. **The URI is always the `simplex:` custom scheme.** The core markdown parser normalizes every connection link to the `simplex:` scheme via `simplexConnReqUri` / `simplexShortLink` (`src/Simplex/Chat/Markdown.hs:344,353`), regardless of whether the message contained `https://simplex.chat/…` or `simplex:/…` (see `tests/MarkdownTests.hs`). So the tap always calls `UIApplication.shared.open("simplex:/contact#…")`.
+
+2. **`simplex:` is registered to this app, and the app is in the foreground.** `UIApplication.shared.open` is an OS app-launch API: it asks iOS (LaunchServices) to resolve the scheme to its registered app and activate it. Here the registered app is SimpleX itself, already foregrounded. **Re-entering the same foreground app through `open()` is not a supported operation** — `open()` exists to hand a URL to a *different* app or the system. When the resolved target is the calling foreground app, the outcome is undefined: on some devices iOS still delivers the URL to `onOpenURL`, on others it is a silent no-op (`open` returns `false`, no error, no UI).
+
+That undefined outcome is decided by device-local OS state (scheme resolution / launch services), which is why identical code + identical OS + identical single app behaved differently on the iPhone 12 (delivered → connected) and the iPhone 17 (no-op → dead). It is **not** an OS-version rule and **not** a multiple-handler conflict — both were ruled out (same OS; single install).
+
+This also explains the full symptom matrix — only the path that re-enters the same app via `open()` is affected:
+
+| Tapped | Dispatch | Target | Result |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| Web link | `openBrowserAlert` → `open()` | Safari (other app) | works |
+| `mailto:` / `tel:` | `open()` | Mail / Phone (other apps) | works |
+| Invite card | `planAndConnect` in-process | this app, no `open()` | works |
+| Inline SimpleX link | `open("simplex:…")` | this app (self), foreground | undefined → dead |
+
+The underlying cause is using the **wrong mechanism**: an OS hand-off API to perform an **in-app** action. Every other connect path handles the connection in-process and never leaves the app:
+
+- the card: `planAndConnect` directly (`FramedItemView.swift`)
+- the share extension: `ShareSheet.openExternalLink` sets `ChatModel.appOpenUrl`
+- multiplatform: `openVerifiedSimplexUri` → `connectIfOpenedViaUri` → `planAndConnect`
+
+Inline links were the lone exception delegating to the OS, making them hostage to undefined self-open behavior.
+
+## Fix
+
+Restore the three-way dispatch the multiplatform clients use (`WEB_URL` / `OTHER_URL` / `SIMPLEX_URL`):
+
+- web → `openBrowserAlert` (unchanged)
+- `mailto:` / `tel:` → `UIApplication.shared.open` (unchanged — these target other apps)
+- **SimpleX → `ChatModel.appOpenUrl`** — the same sink `onOpenURL` feeds, leading to `connectViaUrl` → `planAndConnect`, entirely **in-process** with no OS round-trip
+
+SimpleX links are identified by a dedicated attribute key (`simplexLinkAttrKey`) set on the `.simplexLink` format, mirroring the multiplatform `SIMPLEX_URL` annotation tag, rather than sniffing the URL string — so all link types (contact, invitation, group, channel, relay) are covered.
+
+This is correct regardless of the exact device-local trigger, because it removes the dependency on iOS re-delivering a self-owned URL. The invite card already proves the in-process path works on the affected device.
+
+Also fixes the same issue for the **"Send questions and ideas"** (Settings) and **"connect to SimpleX Chat developers"** (chat help) buttons, which opened `simplexTeamURL` (a `simplex:` link) the same broken way.
+
+## Scope
+
+- `apps/ios/Shared/Views/Chat/ChatItem/MsgContentView.swift` — three-way tap dispatch + `simplexLinkAttrKey`
+- `apps/ios/Shared/Views/UserSettings/SettingsView.swift`, `apps/ios/Shared/Views/ChatList/ChatHelp.swift` — route `simplexTeamURL` in-process
+
+No behavior change for web / `mailto:` / `tel:` links.
+
+## Verification
+
+- Tap an inline SimpleX invitation/contact link in a received message → the connection sheet opens (on iPhone 17, where it was previously dead).
+- The two developer-contact buttons open the connect flow.
+- Web links still open the browser; `mailto:`/`tel:` still open Mail/Phone.
+- Optional, to confirm the device-local nature: open a `simplex:/contact#…` link from another app (e.g. Notes) on the affected device — if that is also dead there but works on a second device, it confirms the difference is device-local scheme resolution rather than app code.