fix: theme store stuck on loading skeleton after fetch failures

Harden theme list fetching with normalized API responses, timeouts, retries,
and a visible error state so the store no longer stays blank when messaging
or payloads fail (common after extension updates without a SEQTA tab reload).

src/background.ts

@@ -43,6 +43,39 @@ function reloadSeqtaPages() {
 /** Callback for sending a response back to the message sender */
 type MessageSender = { (response?: unknown): void };
 
+/** Accept API + GitHub fallback shapes; always return `{ success, data?: { themes } }`. */
+function normalizeFetchThemesResponse(json: unknown): {
+  success: boolean;
+  data?: { themes: unknown[] };
+  error?: string;
+} {
+  if (!json || typeof json !== "object") {
+    return { success: false, error: "Invalid themes response" };
+  }
+  const body = json as Record<string, unknown>;
+  if (body.success === false) {
+    return {
+      success: false,
+      error: typeof body.error === "string" ? body.error : "Failed to fetch themes",
+    };
+  }
+  const data = body.data;
+  let themes: unknown[] | null = null;
+  if (data && typeof data === "object" && !Array.isArray(data)) {
+    const nested = (data as Record<string, unknown>).themes;
+    if (Array.isArray(nested)) themes = nested;
+  } else if (Array.isArray(data)) {
+    themes = data;
+  }
+  if (!themes && Array.isArray(body.themes)) {
+    themes = body.themes;
+  }
+  if (!themes) {
+    return { success: false, error: "Themes list missing from response" };
+  }
+  return { success: true, data: { themes } };
+}
+
 function handleFetchThemes(request: any, sendResponse: MessageSender): boolean {
   const { token } = request;
   const apiUrl = `${apiBase()}/api/themes?type=betterseqta&limit=100&nocache=${Date.now()}`;
@@ -50,13 +83,28 @@ function handleFetchThemes(request: any, sendResponse: MessageSender): boolean {
   const headers: Record<string, string> = {};
   if (token) headers["Authorization"] = `Bearer ${token}`;
   fetch(apiUrl, { cache: "no-store", headers })
-    .then((r) => r.json())
+    .then(async (r) => {
+      const json = await r.json();
+      if (!r.ok) {
+        throw new Error(
+          (json && typeof json === "object" && "error" in json && typeof (json as { error?: string }).error === "string"
+            ? (json as { error: string }).error
+            : null) ?? `Themes API HTTP ${r.status}`,
+        );
+      }
+      return normalizeFetchThemesResponse(json);
+    })
     .then(sendResponse)
     .catch((err) => {
       console.warn("[Background] fetchThemes API failed, trying GitHub fallback:", err?.message);
       fetch(githubUrl, { cache: "no-store" })
-        .then((r) => r.json())
+        .then(async (r) => {
-        .then((data) => sendResponse({ success: true, data: { themes: data.themes ?? [] } }))
+          if (!r.ok) throw new Error(`GitHub fallback HTTP ${r.status}`);
+          const data = await r.json();
+          const themes = Array.isArray(data) ? data : (data?.themes ?? []);
+          return normalizeFetchThemesResponse({ success: true, data: { themes } });
+        })
+        .then(sendResponse)
         .catch((fallbackErr) => {
           console.error("[Background] fetchThemes GitHub fallback error:", fallbackErr);
           sendResponse({ success: false, error: fallbackErr?.message });

src/interface/components/store/CoverSwiper.svelte

@@ -10,14 +10,18 @@
   }>();
   let emblaApi = $state();
 
-  const options = { loop: true };
+  const options = $derived({ loop: slides.length > 1 });
-  const plugins = [
+  const plugins = $derived(
-    Autoplay({
+    slides.length > 1
-      delay: 5000,
+      ? [
-      stopOnInteraction: false,
+          Autoplay({
-      stopOnMouseEnter: true,
+            delay: 5000,
-    }),
+            stopOnInteraction: false,
-  ];
+            stopOnMouseEnter: true,
+          }),
+        ]
+      : [],
+  );
 
   function onInit(event: CustomEvent) {
     emblaApi = event.detail;

src/interface/components/store/ThemeGrid.svelte

@@ -21,9 +21,12 @@
     allStoreThemeRows?: Theme[];
   }>();
   
-  let filteredThemes = $derived(themes.filter((theme: Theme) =>
+  let filteredThemes = $derived(themes.filter((theme: Theme) => {
-    theme.name.toLowerCase().includes(searchTerm.toLowerCase()) || theme.description.toLowerCase().includes(searchTerm.toLowerCase())
+    const q = searchTerm.toLowerCase();
-  ));
+    const name = (theme.name ?? '').toLowerCase();
+    const description = (theme.description ?? '').toLowerCase();
+    return name.includes(q) || description.includes(q);
+  }));
 </script>
 
 <div class="relative" >

src/interface/components/store/ThemeModal.svelte

@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@
 
   $effect(() => {
 
-    if (displayTheme) {
+    if (displayTheme && modalElement) {
 
       animate(
 

src/interface/pages/store.svelte

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
   import SkeletonLoader from '../components/SkeletonLoader.svelte';
   import { settingsState } from '@/seqta/utils/listeners/SettingsState'
   import type { Theme } from '../types/Theme'
-  import { visibleStoreThemes, buildCoverSlidesForThemes } from '@/interface/utils/themeStoreFlavours'
+  import { visibleStoreThemes, buildCoverSlidesForThemes, normalizeStoreTheme } from '@/interface/utils/themeStoreFlavours'
   import browser from 'webextension-polyfill'
   import ThemeModal from '../components/store/ThemeModal.svelte'
   import Header from '../components/store/Header.svelte'
@@ -41,9 +41,22 @@
   let activeTab = $state('themes');
   
   let error = $state<string | null>(null);
+  let fetchAttempt = $state(0);
   let selectedBackground = $state<string | null>(null);
   let showSignInOverlay = $state(false);
 
+  const MAX_FETCH_ATTEMPTS = 3;
+  const FETCH_MESSAGE_TIMEOUT_MS = 25_000;
+
+  function sendMessageWithTimeout<T>(message: object): Promise<T> {
+    return Promise.race([
+      browser.runtime.sendMessage(message) as Promise<T>,
+      new Promise<T>((_, reject) => {
+        setTimeout(() => reject(new Error('Theme store request timed out — reload the SEQTA page after updating the extension.')), FETCH_MESSAGE_TIMEOUT_MS);
+      }),
+    ]);
+  }
+
   const fetchCurrentThemes = async () => {
     const themes = await themeManager.getAvailableThemes();
     currentThemes = themes.filter(theme => theme !== null).map(theme => theme.id);
@@ -100,26 +113,42 @@
   };
 
   // Fetch themes via background script (avoids CORS when store runs inside SEQTA page)
-  const fetchThemes = async () => {
+  const fetchThemes = async (isRetry = false) => {
+    if (!isRetry) {
+      fetchAttempt = 0;
+      error = null;
+    }
     try {
       const token = await cloudAuth.getStoredToken();
-      const data = (await browser.runtime.sendMessage({
+      const data = await sendMessageWithTimeout<{
+        success?: boolean;
+        data?: { themes: unknown[] };
+        error?: string;
+      }>({
         type: 'fetchThemes',
         token: token ?? undefined,
-      })) as {
+      });
-        success?: boolean;
+      if (!data?.success || !Array.isArray(data?.data?.themes)) {
-        data?: { themes: Theme[] };
-        error?: string;
-      };
-      if (!data?.success || !data?.data?.themes) {
         throw new Error(data?.error || 'Failed to fetch themes');
       }
-      themes = [...data.data.themes].sort(compareStoreThemes);
+      themes = data.data.themes
-
+        .map((row) => normalizeStoreTheme(row as Record<string, unknown>))
+        .filter((t) => t.id.length > 0)
+        .sort(compareStoreThemes);
+      error = null;
       loading = false;
     } catch (err) {
       console.error('Failed to fetch themes', err);
-      setTimeout(fetchThemes, 5000); // Retry after 5 seconds if failure occurs
+      fetchAttempt += 1;
+      if (fetchAttempt >= MAX_FETCH_ATTEMPTS) {
+        error =
+          err instanceof Error
+            ? err.message
+            : 'Could not load themes. Reload the SEQTA page, then open the store again.';
+        loading = false;
+        return;
+      }
+      setTimeout(() => fetchThemes(true), 5000);
     }
   };
 
@@ -160,11 +189,12 @@
 
   // Filter themes (list is already featured-first, then newest; filter preserves order)
   let filteredThemes = $derived(
-    listThemes.filter(
+    listThemes.filter((theme) => {
-      (theme) =>
+      const q = searchTerm.toLowerCase();
-        theme.name.toLowerCase().includes(searchTerm.toLowerCase()) ||
+      const name = (theme.name ?? '').toLowerCase();
-        theme.description.toLowerCase().includes(searchTerm.toLowerCase()),
+      const description = (theme.description ?? '').toLowerCase();
-    ),
+      return name.includes(q) || description.includes(q);
+    }),
   );
 
   async function installThemeFromStore(themeId: string, meta: Theme) {
@@ -221,7 +251,28 @@
       <!-- Loading State -->
       {#if loading}
         <div class="grid grid-cols-1 gap-4 py-12 mx-auto sm:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3">
-          <SkeletonLoader width="100%" height="200px" />
+          {#each Array(6) as _, i (i)}
+            <SkeletonLoader width="100%" height="200px" />
+          {/each}
+        </div>
+      {:else if error}
+        <div class="flex flex-col items-center justify-center py-24 text-center max-w-lg mx-auto">
+          <h2 class="text-2xl font-bold text-zinc-900 dark:text-zinc-100">Couldn&apos;t load themes</h2>
+          <p class="mt-3 text-zinc-600 dark:text-zinc-300">{error}</p>
+          <p class="mt-2 text-sm text-zinc-500 dark:text-zinc-400">
+            After an extension update, reload your SEQTA tab so the new version can talk to the browser.
+          </p>
+          <button
+            type="button"
+            class="mt-6 px-4 py-2 rounded-lg bg-blue-600 text-white font-medium hover:bg-blue-700"
+            onclick={() => {
+              loading = true;
+              error = null;
+              void fetchThemes();
+            }}
+          >
+            Try again
+          </button>
         </div>
       {:else}
         <!-- Themes Tab Content -->

src/interface/utils/themeStoreFlavours.ts

@@ -4,9 +4,90 @@ export function isHiddenStoreTheme(theme: Theme): boolean {
   return theme.theme_role === "slave";
 }
 
+/** Coerce API / fallback rows into the store `Theme` shape (camelCase images, safe strings). */
+export function normalizeStoreTheme(raw: Record<string, unknown>): Theme {
+  const flavours = Array.isArray(raw.flavours)
+    ? (raw.flavours as Record<string, unknown>[]).map(
+        (f): ThemeFlavour => ({
+          id: String(f.id ?? ""),
+          name: String(f.name ?? ""),
+          accent_color: String(f.accent_color ?? f.accentColor ?? ""),
+          cover_image: String(f.cover_image ?? f.coverImage ?? ""),
+          marquee_image:
+            typeof (f.marquee_image ?? f.marqueeImage) === "string"
+              ? String(f.marquee_image ?? f.marqueeImage)
+              : undefined,
+          download_count:
+            typeof f.download_count === "number"
+              ? f.download_count
+              : typeof f.downloadCount === "number"
+                ? f.downloadCount
+                : undefined,
+        }),
+      )
+    : undefined;
+
+  return {
+    id: String(raw.id ?? ""),
+    name: String(raw.name ?? "Untitled"),
+    description: String(raw.description ?? ""),
+    coverImage: String(raw.coverImage ?? raw.cover_image ?? ""),
+    marqueeImage:
+      typeof (raw.marqueeImage ?? raw.marquee_image) === "string"
+        ? String(raw.marqueeImage ?? raw.marquee_image)
+        : undefined,
+    theme_json_url:
+      typeof (raw.theme_json_url ?? raw.themeJsonUrl) === "string"
+        ? String(raw.theme_json_url ?? raw.themeJsonUrl)
+        : undefined,
+    is_favorited: raw.is_favorited === true || raw.isFavorited === true,
+    favorite_count:
+      typeof raw.favorite_count === "number"
+        ? raw.favorite_count
+        : typeof raw.favoriteCount === "number"
+          ? raw.favoriteCount
+          : undefined,
+    download_count:
+      typeof raw.download_count === "number"
+        ? raw.download_count
+        : typeof raw.downloadCount === "number"
+          ? raw.downloadCount
+          : undefined,
+    author: typeof raw.author === "string" ? raw.author : undefined,
+    featured: raw.featured === true,
+    tags: Array.isArray(raw.tags) ? (raw.tags as string[]) : undefined,
+    created_at:
+      typeof raw.created_at === "number"
+        ? raw.created_at
+        : typeof raw.createdAt === "number"
+          ? raw.createdAt
+          : undefined,
+    updated_at:
+      typeof raw.updated_at === "number"
+        ? raw.updated_at
+        : typeof raw.updatedAt === "number"
+          ? raw.updatedAt
+          : undefined,
+    theme_role:
+      raw.theme_role === "master" || raw.theme_role === "slave" || raw.theme_role === "standard"
+        ? raw.theme_role
+        : undefined,
+    master_id:
+      typeof (raw.master_id ?? raw.masterId) === "string"
+        ? String(raw.master_id ?? raw.masterId)
+        : undefined,
+    flavours,
+  };
+}
+
 /** Grid and search: omit slave rows (when API sends a flattened list). */
 export function visibleStoreThemes(themes: Theme[]): Theme[] {
-  return themes.filter((t) => !isHiddenStoreTheme(t));
+  const visible = themes.filter((t) => !isHiddenStoreTheme(t));
+  // If every row is a slave (bad/migration payload), avoid an empty grid.
+  if (visible.length === 0 && themes.length > 0) {
+    return themes;
+  }
+  return visible;
 }
 
 function marqueeOrCoverUrl(t: { marqueeImage?: string; coverImage: string }): string {

src/seqta/ui/renderStore.ts

@@ -15,6 +15,9 @@ export function renderStore() {
     throw new Error("Container not found");
   }
 
+  // Avoid stacking multiple store roots if opened repeatedly without close.
+  document.getElementById("store")?.remove();
+
   const child = document.createElement("div");
   child.id = "store";
   container!.appendChild(child);