feat(sasquatch): stream the first-pass answer + drop dead Pollinations model

- sasquatchBrain: new streamSasquatchAI — OpenAI-style SSE via OpenRouter (if
  the key is set) then Pollinations; falls back to the non-streaming caller only
  when nothing at all was delivered, so blocked-stream environments still answer.
- SasquatchGuide: stream the first pass into a live bubble (raw JSON tool calls
  are suppressed so partial JSON never shows; prose-then-tool output is dropped),
  finalise the bubble in place, show a blinking cursor, and hide the generic
  'thinking...' bubble while a reply streams.
- Drop Pollinations 'mistral' (now a 404) leaving the live 'openai' slug.

AGENTS.md

@@ -107,7 +107,10 @@ session with **no other memory of this project**. So:
     `VITE_OPENROUTER_API_KEY` is opt-in, so production runs on the Pollinations
     fallback. `sasquatchBrain.ts` caps each request (15 s) and the whole attempt
     (35 s); the system prompt is a real `system` message; relay results are
-    signature-verified (`verifyEvent`) before use.
+    signature-verified (`verifyEvent`) before use. The first pass **streams**
+    (`streamSasquatchAI`, OpenAI-style SSE) into a live bubble — raw JSON tool
+    calls are suppressed so partial JSON never renders. Pollinations' `mistral`
+    slug is dead (404); only `openai` (gpt-oss-20b) is live.
   - **ContextVM (CVM) server** (`cvm-server/`, Bun): standalone MCP-over-Nostr
     endpoint for *external* agents. Runs on this machine as a **system** service
     (`/etc/systemd/system/skatespots-cvm.service`, `sudo systemctl restart

src/components/SasquatchGuide.tsx

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ import { useSasquatchPro } from '@/hooks/useSasquatchPro';
 import { SasquatchProDialog } from '@/components/SasquatchProDialog';
 import { useSasquatchActions, type SasquatchDraft } from '@/hooks/useSasquatchActions';
 import { SasquatchActionCard } from '@/components/SasquatchActionCard';
-import { callSasquatchAI } from '@/lib/sasquatchBrain';
+import { callSasquatchAI, streamSasquatchAI } from '@/lib/sasquatchBrain';
 import { answerFromGlossary } from '@/lib/glossary';
 import { TripItineraryCard } from '@/components/TripItineraryCard';
 import { buildItinerary, type Itinerary, type PlannerSpot, type PlannerEvent, type PlannerCoach, type PlannerCrew, type WeatherLite } from '@/lib/tripPlanner';
@@ -85,6 +85,7 @@ function parseWeatherLite(json: string): WeatherLite | undefined {
 // AI calls route through the shared Sasquatch brain (sasquatchBrain.ts), which
 // handles the free-model fallback list + rate-limit backoff/retry in one place.
 const callAI = callSasquatchAI;
+const streamAI = streamSasquatchAI;
 
 export type SasquatchContext = 'home' | 'onboarding' | 'map' | 'lab';
 
@@ -958,6 +959,8 @@ export function SasquatchGuide({ message, onDismiss }: SasquatchGuideProps) {
       let accumulated = '';
       let aiSucceeded = false;
       let usedCVM = false;
+      let liveTs = 0;               // timestamp of the streaming bubble (0 = none)
+      let streamSuppressed = false; // output looks like a JSON tool call — never render it
       try {
         // The system prompt goes in a real `system` message rather than being
         // smuggled into a user turn — the model then treats the relay/derived
@@ -972,8 +975,33 @@ export function SasquatchGuide({ message, onDismiss }: SasquatchGuideProps) {
           ...history.slice(0, -1).map((m) => ({ role: m.role, content: m.content })),
         ];
 
-        // First pass — AI either answers directly or outputs a JSON tool call
-        const aiText = await callAI(historyWithContext);
+        // First pass — AI either answers directly or outputs a JSON tool call.
+        // Streamed so the answer appears as it's written; raw JSON tool calls are
+        // suppressed so partial JSON never shows up as text.
+        const aiText = await streamAI(historyWithContext, 400, {
+          onDelta: (cumulative) => {
+            if (streamSuppressed) return;
+            if (cumulative.trimStart().startsWith('{')) {
+              streamSuppressed = true;
+              return;
+            }
+            if (!liveTs) {
+              liveTs = Date.now();
+              appendMessage({ role: 'sasquatch', text: cumulative, timestamp: liveTs, isStreaming: true });
+            } else {
+              const ts = liveTs;
+              setChatMessages((prev) => prev.map((m) => (m.timestamp === ts ? { ...m, text: cumulative } : m)));
+            }
+          },
+        });
+
+        // If the model wrote prose then switched to a tool call, drop that bubble
+        // so the real result replaces it cleanly.
+        if (liveTs && /\{[\s\S]*"tool"\s*:\s*"\w+"[\s\S]*\}/.test(aiText)) {
+          const ts = liveTs;
+          setChatMessages((prev) => prev.filter((m) => m.timestamp !== ts));
+          liveTs = 0;
+        }
 
         // Parse tool call — look for {"tool":"...","args":{...}} anywhere in the response
         let toolCall: { tool: string; args: Record<string, unknown> } | null = null;
@@ -1197,15 +1225,32 @@ Instructions:
         }
 
         setStreamingText('');
-        appendMessage({
-          role: 'sasquatch',
-          text: accumulated || "Hmm, couldn't process that. Try rephrasing!",
-          timestamp: Date.now(),
-          isLive: usedCVM,
-        });
+        if (liveTs) {
+          // Finalise the streamed bubble in place instead of adding a duplicate.
+          const ts = liveTs;
+          const finalText = accumulated || aiText || "Hmm, couldn't process that. Try rephrasing!";
+          setChatMessages((prev) =>
+            prev.map((m) =>
+              m.timestamp === ts ? { ...m, text: finalText, isStreaming: false, isLive: usedCVM } : m,
+            ),
+          );
+        } else {
+          appendMessage({
+            role: 'sasquatch',
+            text: accumulated || "Hmm, couldn't process that. Try rephrasing!",
+            timestamp: Date.now(),
+            isLive: usedCVM,
+          });
+        }
         aiSucceeded = true;
       } catch (aiErr) {
         console.warn('[Sasquatch] AI unavailable, using static FAQ:', aiErr);
+        // Drop any half-streamed bubble so the fallback renders cleanly.
+        if (liveTs) {
+          const ts = liveTs;
+          setChatMessages((prev) => prev.filter((m) => m.timestamp !== ts));
+          liveTs = 0;
+        }
       }
 
       if (!aiSucceeded) {
@@ -1358,6 +1403,8 @@ Instructions:
   }, [shouldShowPanel, isMinimized]);
 
   const inputDisabled = isThinking;
+  // A reply is arriving token-by-token — hide the generic "thinking…" bubble.
+  const hasStreamingMsg = chatMessages.some((m) => m.isStreaming);
 
   // Build a fallback generic message for pages with no specific context
   const activeMessage = message ?? {
@@ -1591,7 +1638,7 @@ Instructions:
                                     </span>
                                   )}
                                 </div>
-                                <div className="whitespace-pre-wrap"><ChatText text={msg.text} /></div>
+                                <div className="whitespace-pre-wrap"><ChatText text={msg.text} />{msg.isStreaming && <span className="ml-0.5 inline-block animate-pulse text-[#ccff00]">▍</span>}</div>
                                 {msg.itinerary && <TripItineraryCard itinerary={msg.itinerary} />}
                                 {msg.draft && (
                                   <div className="mt-2">
@@ -1608,7 +1655,7 @@ Instructions:
                             ))}
 
                             {/* Thinking indicator */}
-                            {(isThinking || streamingText) && (
+                            {((isThinking && !hasStreamingMsg) || streamingText) && (
                               <div className="bg-[#ccff00]/5 text-gray-300 mr-4 text-[11px] p-2 rounded-lg border border-[#ccff00]/10">
                                 <div className="font-bold text-[9px] mb-1 opacity-60">🦧 Sasquatch</div>
                                 {streamingText ? (

src/lib/sasquatchBrain.ts

@@ -43,7 +43,9 @@ const TOTAL_TIMEOUT_MS = 35000;
 // Independent of OpenRouter, so if OpenRouter's shared free key is fully
 // rate-limited we still have a second brain to fall back to. No API key needed.
 const POLLINATIONS_URL = 'https://text.pollinations.ai/openai';
-const POLLINATIONS_MODELS = ['openai', 'mistral'];
+// `mistral` was removed upstream (404 on the legacy endpoint), so keep only
+// live slugs. `openai` currently maps to gpt-oss-20b server-side.
+const POLLINATIONS_MODELS = ['openai'];
 
 // Only try the top few OpenRouter models before failing over to the keyless
 // backup. Grinding through all 8 on a busy free tier is the #1 cause of a
@@ -166,6 +168,157 @@ export async function callSasquatchAI(
   throw new Error('All AI providers failed (OpenRouter + backup).');
 }
 
+// ─── Streaming variant ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// Same provider order + budget as callSasquatchAI, but reads the OpenAI-style
+// SSE stream and reports the growing text via `onDelta`. Used for the first
+// pass so answers appear as they're written. Falls back to the non-streaming
+// caller only if nothing at all was delivered.
+
+/** Result of one provider's streaming attempt. */
+interface StreamAttempt {
+  text: string;
+  /** True once at least one delta reached `onDelta`. */
+  delivered: boolean;
+}
+
+async function streamOpenAiCompatible(
+  url: string,
+  headers: Record<string, string>,
+  body: Record<string, unknown>,
+  onDelta: ((cumulative: string) => void) | undefined,
+  remainingMs: () => number,
+): Promise<StreamAttempt> {
+  const left = remainingMs();
+  if (left <= 1000) return { text: '', delivered: false };
+
+  const response = await fetch(url, {
+    method: 'POST',
+    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json', ...headers },
+    body: JSON.stringify({ ...body, stream: true }),
+    signal: AbortSignal.timeout(Math.min(PER_REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS, left)),
+  });
+  if (!response.ok || !response.body) return { text: '', delivered: false };
+
+  const reader = response.body.getReader();
+  const decoder = new TextDecoder();
+  let sseBuffer = '';
+  let text = '';
+  let delivered = false;
+
+  for (;;) {
+    const { done, value } = await reader.read();
+    if (done) break;
+    sseBuffer += decoder.decode(value, { stream: true });
+
+    let newline = sseBuffer.indexOf('\n');
+    while (newline !== -1) {
+      const line = sseBuffer.slice(0, newline).trim();
+      sseBuffer = sseBuffer.slice(newline + 1);
+      if (line.startsWith('data:')) {
+        const payload = line.slice(5).trim();
+        if (payload && payload !== '[DONE]') {
+          try {
+            const json = JSON.parse(payload);
+            const delta: string = json.choices?.[0]?.delta?.content ?? '';
+            if (delta) {
+              text += delta;
+              delivered = true;
+              onDelta?.(text);
+            }
+          } catch {
+            // Keep-alive / partial line — ignore.
+          }
+        }
+      }
+      newline = sseBuffer.indexOf('\n');
+    }
+  }
+
+  return { text, delivered };
+}
+
+async function streamOpenRouter(
+  messages: ChatTurn[],
+  maxTokens: number,
+  onDelta: ((cumulative: string) => void) | undefined,
+  remainingMs: () => number,
+): Promise<StreamAttempt> {
+  if (!OPENROUTER_API_KEY) return { text: '', delivered: false };
+  const models = FREE_MODELS.slice(0, MAX_OPENROUTER_MODELS);
+  for (const model of models) {
+    if (remainingMs() <= 1000) break;
+    try {
+      const attempt = await streamOpenAiCompatible(
+        OPENROUTER_URL,
+        {
+          Authorization: `Bearer ${OPENROUTER_API_KEY}`,
+          'HTTP-Referer': 'https://skate-spots.org',
+          'X-Title': 'SkateSpots',
+        },
+        { model, messages, max_tokens: maxTokens },
+        onDelta,
+        remainingMs,
+      );
+      if (attempt.text || attempt.delivered) return attempt;
+    } catch (err) {
+      console.warn(`[Sasquatch] OpenRouter stream ${model} threw:`, err);
+    }
+  }
+  return { text: '', delivered: false };
+}
+
+async function streamPollinations(
+  messages: ChatTurn[],
+  maxTokens: number,
+  onDelta: ((cumulative: string) => void) | undefined,
+  remainingMs: () => number,
+): Promise<StreamAttempt> {
+  for (const model of POLLINATIONS_MODELS) {
+    if (remainingMs() <= 1000) break;
+    try {
+      const attempt = await streamOpenAiCompatible(
+        POLLINATIONS_URL,
+        {},
+        { model, messages, max_tokens: maxTokens },
+        onDelta,
+        remainingMs,
+      );
+      if (attempt.text || attempt.delivered) return attempt;
+    } catch (err) {
+      console.warn(`[Sasquatch] Pollinations stream ${model} threw:`, err);
+    }
+  }
+  return { text: '', delivered: false };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Streaming version of {@link callSasquatchAI}. Reports the growing response
+ * via `onDelta` (always the *cumulative* text, so the caller can just replace
+ * the bubble) and resolves with the full text. Only if nothing was streamed at
+ * all does it fall back to the non-streaming path, so the user still gets an
+ * answer on environments that block streaming.
+ */
+export async function streamSasquatchAI(
+  messages: ChatTurn[],
+  maxTokens = 400,
+  handlers: { onDelta?: (cumulative: string) => void } = {},
+): Promise<string> {
+  const deadline = Date.now() + TOTAL_TIMEOUT_MS;
+  const remainingMs = () => deadline - Date.now();
+
+  const primary = await streamOpenRouter(messages, maxTokens, handlers.onDelta, remainingMs);
+  if (primary.text) return primary.text;
+
+  const backup = await streamPollinations(messages, maxTokens, handlers.onDelta, remainingMs);
+  if (backup.text) return backup.text;
+
+  // A partial answer was already shown — don't restart with a fresh call.
+  if (primary.delivered || backup.delivered) return primary.text || backup.text;
+
+  console.warn('[Sasquatch] Streaming unavailable — falling back to non-streaming call');
+  return callSasquatchAI(messages, maxTokens);
+}
+
 /** Parse a `{"tool":"name","args":{…}}` tool call out of an AI response, if any. */
 export function parseToolCall(aiText: string): { tool: string; args: Record<string, unknown> } | null {
   const jsonMatch = aiText.match(/\{[\s\S]*"tool"\s*:\s*"(\w+)"[\s\S]*\}/);