fix(mints): native app fetched /api/mints from the local shell -> HTML/JSON error

On the native app the shell is served from https://localhost, so the relative
/api/mints/known hit the local asset server and returned index.html, surfacing as
'Unexpected token < ... not valid JSON' on /mints.

- Native now fetches https://skate-spots.org/api/mints/known via CapacitorHttp
  (bundled core plugin, no WebView CORS), with a plain-fetch fallback.
- Web/dev unchanged (same-origin relative path via the Netlify redirect / Vite
  proxy).
- HTML or unparseable bodies now become a friendly 'unavailable' message instead
  of a raw JSON parse error.

AGENTS.md

@@ -248,6 +248,15 @@ session with **no other memory of this project**. So:
   at `/api/mints/*` — prod proxies via `public/_redirects` (`/api/mints/* →
   https://mintradar.org/api/mints/:splat 200`), dev via `server.proxy` in
   `vite.config.ts`. Data is unofficial/rate-limited; adding a mint is native-only.
+  ⚠️ **Relative `/api/*` paths don't work in the native app** (fixed 2026-09-27):
+  the shell is served from `https://localhost`, so `/api/mints/known` hits the
+  LOCAL asset server and returns `index.html` → `Unexpected token '<' … not valid
+  JSON`. `useMintDirectory` now uses `https://skate-spots.org/api/mints/known`
+  via **CapacitorHttp** on native (core plugin, no CORS) with a plain-fetch
+  fallback, and turns an HTML body into a friendly message. Same pattern already
+  used by `sasquatchBrain.ts` / `useSasquatchAiStatus` (`Capacitor.isNativePlatform()
+  ? 'https://skate-spots.org/api/…' : '/api/…'`) — follow it for any new `/api`
+  call, and never let a raw JSON parse error reach the UI.
 - **Lazy routes**: every route uses `lazyWithRetry` (`src/lib/lazyWithRetry.ts`) —
   retries, then one full reload per session, so a chunk-load failure self-heals
   instead of showing the error boundary.

src/hooks/useMintDirectory.ts

@@ -1,12 +1,22 @@
 import { useQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query';
+import { CapacitorHttp } from '@capacitor/core';
+import { isNativePlatform } from '@/lib/platform';
 
 /**
  * A mint from the MintRadar community directory (https://mintradar.org).
  *
- * Fetched **same-origin** at `/api/mints/*` — MintRadar has no CORS, so prod
+ * MintRadar sends no CORS headers, so on the WEB we fetch it **same-origin** at
- * proxies it via a Netlify redirect (see `public/_redirects`) and dev via the
+ * `/api/mints/*` — Netlify proxies it in prod (see `public/_redirects`) and the
- * Vite proxy in `vite.config.ts`. The data is unofficial, rate-limited and may
+ * Vite proxy does in dev.
- * change without notice — treat it as a hint, not gospel.
+ *
+ * On the NATIVE app the shell is served from `https://localhost`, so a relative
+ * `/api/...` path hits the **local asset server** and gets `index.html` back —
+ * which blew up as `Unexpected token '<' … is not valid JSON` on the Mints page.
+ * So native goes to the real site with Capacitor's native HTTP, which also
+ * bypasses WebView CORS (MintRadar has none).
+ *
+ * The data is unofficial, rate-limited and may change without notice — treat it
+ * as a hint, not gospel.
  */
 export interface MintDirectoryEntry {
   url: string;
@@ -23,24 +33,75 @@ export interface MintDirectoryEntry {
   lastOnlineAt?: string;
 }
 
+const SITE_ORIGIN = 'https://skate-spots.org';
+const DIRECTORY_PATH = '/api/mints/known';
+const UNAVAILABLE = 'The mint directory is unavailable right now.';
+
+/** Parse a JSON body, turning an HTML page into a friendly error. */
+function parseDirectory(text: string): unknown {
+  const trimmed = text.trim();
+  if (trimmed.startsWith('<')) {
+    // An HTML page (SPA fallback or an upstream error) — never surface a raw
+    // "Unexpected token '<'" to the user.
+    throw new Error(UNAVAILABLE);
+  }
+  try {
+    return JSON.parse(trimmed);
+  } catch {
+    throw new Error('Unexpected mint directory response.');
+  }
+}
+
+function normalize(data: unknown): MintDirectoryEntry[] {
+  if (!Array.isArray(data)) throw new Error('Unexpected mint directory response.');
+  return (data as MintDirectoryEntry[]).filter(
+    (m) => m && typeof m.url === 'string' && m.url.length > 0,
+  );
+}
+
+async function loadDirectory(signal: AbortSignal): Promise<MintDirectoryEntry[]> {
+  // Web / dev: relative URL → same-origin proxy.
+  if (!isNativePlatform()) {
+    const res = await fetch(DIRECTORY_PATH, {
+      signal,
+      headers: { accept: 'application/json' },
+    });
+    if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`The mint directory is unavailable right now (HTTP ${res.status}).`);
+    return normalize(parseDirectory(await res.text()));
+  }
+
+  const absolute = `${SITE_ORIGIN}${DIRECTORY_PATH}`;
+
+  // Native: Capacitor's HTTP plugin (no CORS restrictions).
+  try {
+    const res = await CapacitorHttp.request({
+      url: absolute,
+      method: 'GET',
+      headers: { accept: 'application/json' },
+      connectTimeout: 15000,
+      readTimeout: 15000,
+    });
+    if (res.status >= 200 && res.status < 300) {
+      // CapacitorHttp parses JSON for us; a non-JSON body arrives as a string.
+      const raw: unknown = typeof res.data === 'string' ? parseDirectory(res.data) : res.data;
+      return normalize(raw);
+    }
+    console.warn('[mints] native HTTP returned', res.status);
+  } catch (e) {
+    console.warn('[mints] native HTTP failed:', e);
+  }
+
+  // Fallback: a plain fetch to the absolute URL (works on CORS-free WebViews).
+  const res = await fetch(absolute, { signal, headers: { accept: 'application/json' } });
+  if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`The mint directory is unavailable right now (HTTP ${res.status}).`);
+  return normalize(parseDirectory(await res.text()));
+}
+
 export function useMintDirectory() {
   return useQuery<MintDirectoryEntry[]>({
     queryKey: ['mint-directory'],
     staleTime: 10 * 60 * 1000,
     retry: 1,
-    queryFn: async (c) => {
+    queryFn: (c) => loadDirectory(AbortSignal.any([c.signal, AbortSignal.timeout(20000)])),
-      const res = await fetch('/api/mints/known', {
-        signal: AbortSignal.any([c.signal, AbortSignal.timeout(15000)]),
-        headers: { accept: 'application/json' },
-      });
-      if (!res.ok) {
-        throw new Error(`The mint directory is unavailable right now (HTTP ${res.status}).`);
-      }
-      const data = (await res.json()) as unknown;
-      if (!Array.isArray(data)) throw new Error('Unexpected mint directory response.');
-      return (data as MintDirectoryEntry[]).filter(
-        (m) => m && typeof m.url === 'string' && m.url.length > 0,
-      );
-    },
   });
 }