fix(web): configure default home page for Ask GH (SOU-2281)

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -10,8 +10,9 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 ### Removed
 - Removed the Ask Sourcebot first-visit tutorial banner. [#1675](https://github.com/sourcebot-dev/sourcebot/pull/1675)
 - Removed suggested example queries from the Ask landing page. [#1674](https://github.com/sourcebot-dev/sourcebot/pull/1674)
-  
+
 ### Fixed
+- Made the default home page configurable with `DEFAULT_HOME_VIEW_PAGE`, defaulting to Code Search and supporting Ask. [#1677](https://github.com/sourcebot-dev/sourcebot/pull/1677)
 - Require authentication for the streaming and blocking Ask APIs in Public SaaS deployments. [#1679](https://github.com/sourcebot-dev/sourcebot/pull/1679)
 
 ## [5.1.14] - 2026-09-17

docs/docs/configuration/environment-variables.mdx

@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ The following environment variables allow you to configure your Sourcebot deploy
 | `SOURCEBOT_STRUCTURED_LOGGING_FILE` | - | <p>Optional file to log to if structured logging is enabled</p> | 
 | `SOURCEBOT_TELEMETRY_DISABLED` | `false` | <p>Enables/disables telemetry collection in Sourcebot. See [this doc](/docs/misc/telemetry) for more info.</p> |
 | `DEFAULT_MAX_MATCH_COUNT` | `10000` | <p>The default maximum number of search results to return when using search in the web app.</p> |
+| `DEFAULT_HOME_VIEW_PAGE` | `search` | <p>Sets the default home page when no user home page preference is set. Use `ask` to default to Ask Sourcebot or `search` to default to Code Search.</p> |
 | `ALWAYS_INDEX_FILE_PATTERNS` | - | <p>A comma separated list of glob patterns matching file paths that should always be indexed, regardless of size or number of trigrams.</p> |
 | `SOURCEBOT_CHAT_ATTACHMENT_MAX_IMAGE_BYTES` | `10485760` (10 MiB) | <p>Maximum size in bytes of a single image attachment uploaded to Ask Sourcebot. Enforced server-side at upload time.</p> |
 | `SOURCEBOT_CHAT_ATTACHMENT_ORPHAN_TTL_HOURS` | `24` | <p>How long in hours an uploaded-but-unsent attachment is retained before being deleted by the orphan sweep. Set to `0` to disable the sweep.</p> |

packages/shared/src/env.server.test.ts

@@ -82,3 +82,25 @@ describe('SOURCEBOT_MCP_TOOL_CALL_TIMEOUT_MS', () => {
         await expect(import('./env.server.js')).rejects.toThrow();
     });
 });
+
+describe('DEFAULT_HOME_VIEW_PAGE', () => {
+    beforeEach(() => {
+        vi.resetModules();
+        delete process.env.DEFAULT_HOME_VIEW_PAGE;
+    });
+
+    afterEach(() => {
+        delete process.env.DEFAULT_HOME_VIEW_PAGE;
+    });
+
+    test('defaults to search when not set', async () => {
+        const { env } = await import('./env.server.js');
+        expect(env.DEFAULT_HOME_VIEW_PAGE).toBe('search');
+    });
+
+    test('accepts ask', async () => {
+        process.env.DEFAULT_HOME_VIEW_PAGE = 'ask';
+        const { env } = await import('./env.server.js');
+        expect(env.DEFAULT_HOME_VIEW_PAGE).toBe('ask');
+    });
+});

packages/shared/src/env.server.ts

@@ -362,6 +362,7 @@ const options = {
         // @NOTE: Take care to update actions.ts when changing the name of this.
         EXPERIMENT_SELF_SERVE_REPO_INDEXING_GITHUB_TOKEN: z.string().optional(),
         PERMISSION_SYNC_REPO_DRIVEN_ENABLED: booleanSchema.default('true'),
+        DEFAULT_HOME_VIEW_PAGE: z.enum(["search", "ask"]).default("search"),
         EXPERIMENT_ASK_GH_ENABLED: booleanSchema.default('false'),
         EXPERIMENT_ASK_GH_GITHUB_TOKEN: z.string().optional(),
 

packages/web/src/app/(app)/@sidebar/components/defaultSidebar/index.tsx

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { cookies } from "next/headers";
 import { auth } from "@/auth";
 import { HOME_VIEW_COOKIE_NAME } from "@/lib/constants";
-import { HomeView } from "@/hooks/useHomeView";
+import type { HomeView } from "@/hooks/useHomeView";
 import { getOrgAccountRequests } from "@/features/membership/actions";
 import { isServiceError } from "@/lib/utils";
 import { ServiceErrorException } from "@/lib/serviceError";
@@ -21,7 +21,8 @@ export const SIDEBAR_REPO_VISITS_LIMIT = 10;
 export async function DefaultSidebar() {
     const session = await auth();
     const cookieStore = await cookies();
-    const homeView = (cookieStore.get(HOME_VIEW_COOKIE_NAME)?.value ?? "search") as HomeView;
+    const cookieValue = cookieStore.get(HOME_VIEW_COOKIE_NAME)?.value as HomeView | undefined;
+    const homeView = cookieValue ?? env.DEFAULT_HOME_VIEW_PAGE;
 
     // Chat history is part of the Ask experience; hide it when the deployment
     // is not on a plan that includes Ask.

packages/web/src/app/(app)/page.tsx

@@ -1,15 +1,18 @@
 import { HOME_VIEW_COOKIE_NAME } from "@/lib/constants";
+import type { HomeView } from "@/hooks/useHomeView";
 import { cookies } from "next/headers";
 import { ChatLandingPage } from "./chat/chatLandingPage";
 import SearchPage from "./search/page";
+import { env } from "@sourcebot/shared";
 
 interface Props {
     searchParams: Promise<{ query?: string }>;
 }
 
 export default async function Home(props: Props) {
     const cookieStore = await cookies();
-    const homeView = cookieStore.get(HOME_VIEW_COOKIE_NAME)?.value;
+    const cookieValue = cookieStore.get(HOME_VIEW_COOKIE_NAME)?.value as HomeView | undefined;
+    const homeView = cookieValue ?? env.DEFAULT_HOME_VIEW_PAGE;
     if (homeView === "ask") {
         return <ChatLandingPage />;
     }

packages/web/src/app/(app)/settings/general/generalPage.tsx

@@ -29,11 +29,17 @@ interface GeneralPageProps {
     userName?: string;
     userEmail?: string;
     userImage?: string;
+    defaultHomeView: HomeView;
 }
 
-export function GeneralPage({ userName, userEmail, userImage }: GeneralPageProps) {
+export function GeneralPage({
+    userName,
+    userEmail,
+    userImage,
+    defaultHomeView,
+}: GeneralPageProps) {
     const { theme: _theme, setTheme } = useTheme();
-    const [homeView, setHomeView] = useHomeView();
+    const [homeView, setHomeView] = useHomeView(defaultHomeView);
     const [keymapType, setKeymapType] = useKeymapType();
 
     const theme = useMemo(() => {

packages/web/src/app/(app)/settings/general/page.tsx

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { authenticatedPage } from "@/middleware/authenticatedPage";
+import { env } from "@sourcebot/shared";
 import { GeneralPage } from "./generalPage";
 
 export default authenticatedPage(async ({ user }) => {
@@ -7,6 +8,7 @@ export default authenticatedPage(async ({ user }) => {
             userName={user.name ?? undefined}
             userEmail={user.email ?? undefined}
             userImage={user.image ?? undefined}
+            defaultHomeView={env.DEFAULT_HOME_VIEW_PAGE}
         />
     );
 });

packages/web/src/hooks/useHomeView.ts

@@ -7,17 +7,14 @@ export type HomeView = "search" | "ask";
 
 const COOKIE_NAME = HOME_VIEW_COOKIE_NAME;
 
-function getHomeViewFromCookie(): HomeView {
+function getHomeViewFromCookie(defaultHomeView: HomeView): HomeView {
     if (typeof document === "undefined") {
-        return "search";
+        return defaultHomeView;
     }
     const cookies = document.cookie.split(';').map(c => c.trim());
     const cookie = cookies.find(c => c.startsWith(`${COOKIE_NAME}=`));
-    if (!cookie) {
-        return "search";
-    }
-    const value = cookie.substring(`${COOKIE_NAME}=`.length);
-    return value === "ask" ? "ask" : "search";
+    const value = cookie?.substring(`${COOKIE_NAME}=`.length) as HomeView | undefined;
+    return value ?? defaultHomeView;
 }
 
 function setHomeViewCookie(value: HomeView) {
@@ -29,8 +26,8 @@ function setHomeViewCookie(value: HomeView) {
     document.cookie = `${COOKIE_NAME}=${value}; expires=${expires.toUTCString()}; path=/; SameSite=Lax`;
 }
 
-export const useHomeView = (): [HomeView, (value: HomeView) => void] => {
-    const [homeView, setHomeViewState] = useState<HomeView>(getHomeViewFromCookie);
+export const useHomeView = (defaultHomeView: HomeView): [HomeView, (value: HomeView) => void] => {
+    const [homeView, setHomeViewState] = useState<HomeView>(() => getHomeViewFromCookie(defaultHomeView));
 
     const setHomeView = useCallback((value: HomeView) => {
         setHomeViewState(value);