feat(ipcclient): Add clientOnly mode to prevent clients from auto-starting servers and improve registration/reconnect behavior

ts/classes.ipcclient.ts

@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ export class IpcClient extends plugins.EventEmitter {
   private messageHandlers = new Map<string, (payload: any) => any | Promise<any>>();
   private isConnected = false;
   private clientId: string;
+  private didRegisterOnce = false;
 
   constructor(options: IIpcClientOptions) {
     super();
@@ -66,30 +67,7 @@ export class IpcClient extends plugins.EventEmitter {
 
     // Helper function to attempt registration
     const attemptRegistration = async (): Promise<void> => {
-      const registerTimeoutMs = this.options.registerTimeoutMs || 5000;
-      
-      try {
-        const response = await this.channel.request<any, any>(
-          '__register__',
-          {
-            clientId: this.clientId,
-            metadata: this.options.metadata
-          },
-          { 
-            timeout: registerTimeoutMs,
-            headers: { clientId: this.clientId }  // Include clientId in headers for proper routing
-          }
-        );
-
-        if (!response.success) {
-          throw new Error(response.error || 'Registration failed');
-        }
-
-        this.isConnected = true;
-        this.emit('connect');
-      } catch (error) {
-        throw new Error(`Failed to register with server: ${error.message}`);
-      }
+      await this.attemptRegistrationInternal();
     };
 
     // Helper function to attempt connection with retry
@@ -170,6 +148,38 @@ export class IpcClient extends plugins.EventEmitter {
     }
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Attempt to register this client over the current channel connection.
+   * Sets connection flags and emits 'connect' on success.
+   */
+  private async attemptRegistrationInternal(): Promise<void> {
+    const registerTimeoutMs = this.options.registerTimeoutMs || 5000;
+
+    try {
+      const response = await this.channel.request<any, any>(
+        '__register__',
+        {
+          clientId: this.clientId,
+          metadata: this.options.metadata
+        },
+        {
+          timeout: registerTimeoutMs,
+          headers: { clientId: this.clientId }
+        }
+      );
+
+      if (!response.success) {
+        throw new Error(response.error || 'Registration failed');
+      }
+
+      this.isConnected = true;
+      this.didRegisterOnce = true;
+      this.emit('connect');
+    } catch (error: any) {
+      throw new Error(`Failed to register with server: ${error.message}`);
+    }
+  }
+
   /**
    * Disconnect from the server
    */
@@ -188,8 +198,16 @@ export class IpcClient extends plugins.EventEmitter {
    */
   private setupChannelHandlers(): void {
     // Forward channel events
-    this.channel.on('connect', () => {
-      // Don't emit connect here, wait for successful registration
+    this.channel.on('connect', async () => {
+      // On reconnects, re-register automatically when we had connected before
+      if (this.didRegisterOnce && !this.isConnected) {
+        try {
+          await this.attemptRegistrationInternal();
+        } catch (error) {
+          this.emit('error', error);
+        }
+      }
+      // For initial connect(), registration is handled explicitly there
     });
 
     this.channel.on('disconnect', (reason) => {
@@ -343,4 +361,4 @@ export class IpcClient extends plugins.EventEmitter {
   public getStats(): any {
     return this.channel.getStats();
   }
-}
+}