#1290: choose what opens at launch, the last library or a list of recent ones

Settings > General > At launch: Open the last library (default, as before)
or Ask me. With Ask me the desktop app opens nothing and the library-problem
window lists the recent libraries instead (name, folder, when last opened;
missing, locked or no-longer-library ones greyed out with the reason; the
last one selected): Open, Open Another..., New Library..., Remove from List,
Quit, with arrows / Return / Esc. Alt/Option held in the first 2 s after the
window appears shows the same list once over the library that opened (winit
reports no modifiers before the first frame; macOS only on a change).

File > Open Recent Library > Remove from List and
app.recentLibraries {remove: path} forget one entry; nothing on disk is
touched. The list reports lastOpened, kept under a new settings key
(recentLibrariesOpened) so older files and versions keep their list.

--library and LIGHTCRAFT_LIBRARY keep priority (launch_plan), --memory never
asks, lightcraft-cli never reads ui.json. Settings are saved while the list
shows; command-line files go into whichever library opens.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01AbegtYaPuwqZ81pGfELsFK

docs/control-protocol.md

@@ -167,6 +167,23 @@ are `button:libraryRetry`, `button:libraryChoose`, `button:libraryTemporary` (Co
 `button:libraryQuit`. A temporary session shows a banner (`indicator:temporarySession`, `button:libraryReopen`) and
 writes nothing. `app.openLibrary` opening a library ends it.
 
+### Choosing the library at launch
+
+With Settings ▸ General ▸ At launch set to Ask me (`ui.set {"settings": {"atLaunch": "ask"}}`; `"last"`, the
+default, opens the last library), or Alt/Option held during the first 2 s after the window appears, the desktop app
+shows a window listing the recent libraries (issue #1290). `--library` and `LIGHTCRAFT_LIBRARY` skip it, and so does
+`--memory`; `lightcraft-cli` never shows it. `ui.inspect` → `libraryProblem.chooser` is `{libraries: [{path,
+lastOpened, available, reason}], selected, libraryOpen}` (else `null`; `libraryOpen: true` when it was opened over
+the last library with Alt). Each row is the widget `libraryRecent:<index>`; the buttons are `button:libraryOpen`,
+`button:libraryOpenAnother` (the folder dialog of `app.openLibrary`), `button:libraryNew` (`app.newLibrary`),
+`button:libraryForget` (Remove from List) and `button:libraryQuit`; `ui.key` ArrowUp / ArrowDown move the selection,
+Enter opens it and Escape quits (over an open library: closes the window and keeps it). `app.openLibrary {path}`
+opening a library ends it. While it shows, the settings are saved as usual (a removal is kept).
+
+`app.recentLibraries` returns `[{path, name, exists, open, lastOpened}]` (`lastOpened`: ISO 8601, `null` when not
+known; kept in `ui.json` → `settings.recentLibrariesOpened`). `{remove: path}` forgets one entry (an error if the list
+doesn't hold it) and `{clear: true}` (or `app.clearRecentLibraries`) all of them; nothing on disk is touched.
+
 ### Open Library on a Lightroom catalog
 
 `app.openLibrary` never makes a LightCraft library inside a Lightroom Classic catalog (issue #891): given the catalog

docs/whats-new.md

@@ -1,5 +1,22 @@
 # What's new in LightCraft
 
+## 2026-10-23
+
+### Choose which library opens at launch
+- Settings ▸ General ▸ **At launch**: *Open the last library* (as before) or *Ask me*. With *Ask me*, LightCraft
+  starts with a window listing your recent libraries: each one's name, the folder it is in and when you last opened
+  it. One that is gone (moved, renamed, on a disconnected drive), open in another program or no longer a library is
+  greyed out with the reason. The last library is selected; **Open** (or Return, or a double-click) opens it,
+  **Open Another…** asks for a folder, **New Library…** makes one, **Quit** (or Esc) quits. ↑ and ↓ move through
+  the list.
+- Holding Alt (Option on a Mac) as the window appears shows the same list once, over the library that opened: open
+  another one from it, or press Esc to keep working where you were. On a Mac, an Option key held from before
+  LightCraft starts is only noticed once it changes, so press it as the window appears.
+- `--library` and `LIGHTCRAFT_LIBRARY` still decide the library when given, and `lightcraft-cli` never asks.
+- File ▸ Open Recent Library ▸ **Remove from List** forgets one library, and the launch window's **Remove from
+  List** does the same. Only the entry goes: the library and its photos stay where they are. Agents use
+  `app.recentLibraries {remove: path}`; its list now also says when each library was last opened (`lastOpened`).
+
 ## 2026-10-21
 
 ### Sharper resampling in HDR and panorama merges