vesta sets `with_path=True`, deep-linking file launches into JupyterLab instead of `/desktop`

[amirgolp]

Vesta is a desktop (noVNC) tool (default_url='/desktop') but ship with_path=True with path_prefix='lab/tree'

When a file is launched from the NOMAD file browser through the legacy hub GUI path, the URL is built as …/user/<u>/<tool>/lab/tree/uploads/<upload>/<file>, i.e. it deep-links into JupyterLab's file view and never reaches /desktop. A desktop app can't open a file via URL anyway, and uploads are mounted regardless of this flag, so the deep-link is both broken and pointless.

Under the new hub (nomad-north) this is no longer fatal, the new GUI passes ?upload_id&path as query params instead of lab/tree, and the hub now applies default_url, so the tool still lands on /desktop (the params are ignored).

So this is effectively a legacy-hub bug / config-correctness cleanup: with_path=False is simply the correct config for a tool that cannot consume a file path.

[lauri-codes]

We do support launching VESTA on specific files, but I have not really myself tried what happens when I do it. Of course ideally we would indeed open that file inside the desktop application, but I don't know if this has ever really been the case.

@amirgolp: Could you do a quick check on production on what happens if you launch a VESTA supported file? production still runs the old HUB. Basically just create a new upload, add a .cif file, and then in the files tab launch that file using VESTA. If the file is never really opened, then this issue is indeed correct and we should probably remove the config.

[amirgolp]

right now, you try to open a supported file would just opens it in jupyterhub. I have attached a test file.

Also even if we set that to False, even though it opens the Vesta container, but it does not open the file automatically. The user should manually open the file again. VESTA auto-starts from an XFCE autostart entry with a hardcoded, argument-less command:

# ~/.config/autostart/Vesta.desktop
Exec=/home/jovyan/vesta/VESTA-gtk3/VESTA        # no file argument like somefile.cif

For Vesta, if we want to change the manual-open experience to automatic then we probably need to change/add a few things

Al2O3.zip