Enhance StoryService and UI for story creation

- Updated StoryService to auto-generate the opening story step from the scenario description when starting a new story.
- Modified title handling to default to the scenario title if no title is provided.
- Refactored character management to improve consistency in character replacement.
- Updated ScenariosPage to handle story starting with a button instead of a link, providing better user feedback during the process.
- Cleaned up StoriesPage by removing unused form for starting stories and improving user navigation prompts.
- Adjusted OpenAPI specifications to reflect changes in request payloads.

src/main/java/de/neitzel/storyteller/business/StoryService.java

@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ import jakarta.transaction.Transactional;
 import jakarta.ws.rs.WebApplicationException;
 import jakarta.ws.rs.core.Response;
 import java.time.LocalDateTime;
-import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 
 /**
@@ -88,9 +87,11 @@ public class StoryService {
     }
 
     /**
-     * Starts a new story from a scenario, copying its scene and characters.
+     * Starts a new story from a scenario, copying its scene and characters,
+     * then auto-generates the opening story step from the scenario description.
+     * If no title is provided the scenario title is used.
      *
-     * @param request payload with scenario id and title
+     * @param request payload with scenario id and optional title
      * @param userId  calling user's id
      * @return created story DTO
      */
@@ -101,10 +102,14 @@ public class StoryService {
             throw new WebApplicationException("Scenario not found", Response.Status.NOT_FOUND);
         }
 
+        final String title = request.getTitle() != null && !request.getTitle().isBlank()
+            ? request.getTitle()
+            : scenario.getTitle();
+
         final StoryEntity entity = new StoryEntity();
         entity.setOwnerUserId(userId);
         entity.setScenarioId(scenario.getId());
-        entity.setTitle(request.getTitle());
+        entity.setTitle(title);
         entity.setCurrentSceneDescription(scenario.getStartingSceneDescription());
         entity.setStatus("ACTIVE");
         entity.setCreatedAt(LocalDateTime.now());
@@ -117,11 +122,19 @@ public class StoryService {
             ch.setName(sc.getName());
             ch.setRole(sc.getRole());
             ch.setDescription(sc.getDescription());
+            entity.getCurrentSceneCharacters().add(ch);
             characterRepository.persist(ch);
         });
 
-        storyRepository.getEntityManager().flush();
+        final String opening = generateAiContinuation(entity, List.of(), null);
-        storyRepository.getEntityManager().refresh(entity);
+        final StoryStepEntity step = new StoryStepEntity();
+        step.setStoryId(entity.getId());
+        step.setStepNumber(1);
+        step.setContent(opening);
+        step.setAddedToScene(false);
+        step.setCreatedAt(LocalDateTime.now());
+        stepRepository.persist(step);
+
         return toDto(entity);
     }
 
@@ -145,19 +158,8 @@ public class StoryService {
         entity.setUpdatedAt(LocalDateTime.now());
 
         if (request.getCurrentSceneCharacters() != null) {
-            characterRepository.deleteByStory(storyId);
+            replaceCharacters(entity, request.getCurrentSceneCharacters());
-            storyRepository.getEntityManager().flush();
-            for (final CharacterDto dto : request.getCurrentSceneCharacters()) {
-                final StoryCharacterEntity ch = new StoryCharacterEntity();
-                ch.setStoryId(storyId);
-                ch.setName(dto.getName());
-                ch.setRole(dto.getRole());
-                ch.setDescription(dto.getDescription());
-                characterRepository.persist(ch);
-            }
         }
-        storyRepository.getEntityManager().flush();
-        storyRepository.getEntityManager().refresh(entity);
         return toDto(entity);
     }
 
@@ -230,18 +232,8 @@ public class StoryService {
             story.setCurrentSceneDescription(request.getCurrentSceneDescription());
         }
         if (request.getCurrentCharacters() != null) {
-            characterRepository.deleteByStory(storyId);
+            replaceCharacters(story, request.getCurrentCharacters());
-            storyRepository.getEntityManager().flush();
-            for (final CharacterDto dto : request.getCurrentCharacters()) {
-                final StoryCharacterEntity ch = new StoryCharacterEntity();
-                ch.setStoryId(storyId);
-                ch.setName(dto.getName());
-                ch.setRole(dto.getRole());
-                ch.setDescription(dto.getDescription());
-                characterRepository.persist(ch);
-            }
         }
-        storyRepository.getEntityManager().flush();
 
         List<StoryStepEntity> unmerged = stepRepository.findUnmergedByStory(storyId);
         boolean compacted = false;
@@ -271,8 +263,6 @@ public class StoryService {
         step.setCreatedAt(LocalDateTime.now());
         stepRepository.persist(step);
 
-        storyRepository.getEntityManager().refresh(story);
-
         final GenerateStepResponse response = new GenerateStepResponse()
             .step(toStepDto(step))
             .compacted(compacted);
@@ -335,6 +325,27 @@ public class StoryService {
         return text.length() > max ? text.substring(0, max) + "..." : text;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Replaces all characters on a story by clearing the managed collection
+     * (triggering orphan removal) and adding new entities from the DTOs.
+     * Works through the entity's collection so Hibernate's persistence context
+     * stays consistent — avoids stale references that break on refresh/cascade.
+     */
+    private void replaceCharacters(final StoryEntity story, final List<CharacterDto> dtos) {
+        story.getCurrentSceneCharacters().clear();
+        characterRepository.deleteByStory(story.getId());
+        storyRepository.getEntityManager().flush();
+        for (final CharacterDto dto : dtos) {
+            final StoryCharacterEntity ch = new StoryCharacterEntity();
+            ch.setStoryId(story.getId());
+            ch.setName(dto.getName());
+            ch.setRole(dto.getRole());
+            ch.setDescription(dto.getDescription());
+            story.getCurrentSceneCharacters().add(ch);
+            characterRepository.persist(ch);
+        }
+    }
+
     /** Finds a story ensuring ownership, throwing 404/403 as needed. */
     private StoryEntity findOwnedOrFail(final Long storyId, final Long userId) {
         final StoryEntity entity = storyRepository.findById(storyId);

src/main/java/de/neitzel/storyteller/common/security/AuthContext.java

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package de.neitzel.storyteller.common.security;
 
 import jakarta.enterprise.context.RequestScoped;
 import jakarta.inject.Inject;
+import jakarta.json.JsonNumber;
 import org.eclipse.microprofile.jwt.JsonWebToken;
 
 /**
@@ -16,11 +17,17 @@ public class AuthContext {
 
     /**
      * Returns the authenticated user's database id.
+     * The claim arrives as a {@link JsonNumber} from the JWT parser,
+     * so it must be converted explicitly.
      *
      * @return user id from the JWT {@code userId} claim
      */
     public Long getUserId() {
-        return jwt.getClaim(JwtService.CLAIM_USER_ID);
+        final Object raw = jwt.getClaim(JwtService.CLAIM_USER_ID);
+        if (raw instanceof JsonNumber jsonNumber) {
+            return jsonNumber.longValue();
+        }
+        return ((Number) raw).longValue();
     }
 
     /**

src/main/java/de/neitzel/storyteller/data/repository/StoryStepRepository.java

@@ -48,10 +48,10 @@ public class StoryStepRepository implements PanacheRepository<StoryStepEntity> {
      * @return max step number
      */
     public int maxStepNumber(final Long storyId) {
-        Long result = getEntityManager()
+        Integer result = getEntityManager()
-            .createQuery("select coalesce(max(s.stepNumber),0) from StoryStepEntity s where s.storyId = :sid", Long.class)
+            .createQuery("select coalesce(max(s.stepNumber),0) from StoryStepEntity s where s.storyId = :sid", Integer.class)
             .setParameter("sid", storyId)
             .getSingleResult();
-        return result.intValue();
+        return result;
     }
 }

src/main/resources/application.properties

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 quarkus.http.port=8080
 quarkus.http.cors.enabled=true
+quarkus.rest.path=/api
 
 quarkus.liquibase.migrate-at-start=true
 quarkus.liquibase.change-log=db/migration/db.changelog-master.yaml

src/main/resources/openapi/story-teller-api.yaml

@@ -437,13 +437,14 @@ components:
           enum: [ACTIVE, ARCHIVED, DELETED]
     StartStoryRequest:
       type: object
-      required: [scenarioId, title]
+      required: [scenarioId]
       properties:
         scenarioId:
           type: integer
           format: int64
         title:
           type: string
+          description: Optional override; defaults to the scenario title.
     UpdateStoryRequest:
       type: object
       properties:

src/main/web/src/pages/ScenariosPage.tsx

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useState } from "react";
-import { Link } from "react-router-dom";
+import { Link, useNavigate } from "react-router-dom";
 import type { Scenario, CharacterDto } from "../api/generated/src";
 import { getApiClient } from "../api/client";
 
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ export function ScenariosPage() {
   const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const [editing, setEditing] = useState<Scenario | null>(null);
   const [creating, setCreating] = useState(false);
+  const [starting, setStarting] = useState<number | null>(null);
+  const navigate = useNavigate();
 
   const load = useCallback(async () => {
     try {
@@ -30,6 +32,21 @@ export function ScenariosPage() {
     load();
   };
 
+  const handleStartStory = async (scenarioId: number) => {
+    setStarting(scenarioId);
+    setError(null);
+    try {
+      const api = getApiClient();
+      const story = await api.stories.startStory({
+        startStoryRequest: { scenarioId },
+      });
+      navigate(`/stories/${story.id}`);
+    } catch (e: unknown) {
+      setError(e instanceof Error ? e.message : "Failed to start story.");
+      setStarting(null);
+    }
+  };
+
   return (
     <section>
       <div className="page-header">
@@ -56,7 +73,13 @@ export function ScenariosPage() {
             <div className="card-actions">
               <button className="btn-sm" onClick={() => { setEditing(s); setCreating(false); }}>Edit</button>
               <button className="btn-sm btn-danger" onClick={() => handleDelete(s.id)}>Delete</button>
-              <Link className="btn-sm btn-link" to={`/stories?from=${s.id}`}>Start Story</Link>
+              <button
+                className="btn-sm btn-link"
+                disabled={starting === s.id}
+                onClick={() => handleStartStory(s.id)}
+              >
+                {starting === s.id ? "Starting..." : "Start Story"}
+              </button>
             </div>
           </div>
         ))}

src/main/web/src/pages/StoriesPage.tsx

@@ -1,18 +1,14 @@
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useState } from "react";
-import { Link, useSearchParams } from "react-router-dom";
+import { Link } from "react-router-dom";
 import type { Story } from "../api/generated/src";
 import { getApiClient } from "../api/client";
 
 /**
- * Stories list page with ability to start a new story from a scenario.
+ * Stories list page showing all stories for the authenticated user.
  */
 export function StoriesPage() {
   const [stories, setStories] = useState<Story[]>([]);
   const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null);
-  const [params] = useSearchParams();
-  const [title, setTitle] = useState("");
-
-  const fromScenario = params.get("from");
 
   const load = useCallback(async () => {
     try {
@@ -25,17 +21,6 @@ export function StoriesPage() {
 
   useEffect(() => { load(); }, [load]);
 
-  const handleStart = async (e: React.FormEvent) => {
-    e.preventDefault();
-    if (!fromScenario) return;
-    const api = getApiClient();
-    await api.stories.startStory({
-      startStoryRequest: { scenarioId: Number(fromScenario), title },
-    });
-    setTitle("");
-    load();
-  };
-
   const handleDelete = async (id: number) => {
     if (!confirm("Delete this story?")) return;
     const api = getApiClient();
@@ -50,17 +35,6 @@ export function StoriesPage() {
       </div>
       {error && <p className="error">{error}</p>}
 
-      {fromScenario && (
-        <form className="card form-card inline-form" onSubmit={handleStart}>
-          <h3>Start New Story from Scenario #{fromScenario}</h3>
-          <label>
-            Story Title
-            <input type="text" value={title} onChange={(e) => setTitle(e.target.value)} required />
-          </label>
-          <button type="submit">Start Story</button>
-        </form>
-      )}
-
       <div className="card-grid">
         {stories.map((s) => (
           <div key={s.id} className="card story-card">
@@ -74,7 +48,9 @@ export function StoriesPage() {
             </div>
           </div>
         ))}
-        {stories.length === 0 && <p className="muted">No stories yet. Start one from a scenario.</p>}
+        {stories.length === 0 && (
+          <p className="muted">No stories yet. <Link to="/scenarios">Start one from a scenario.</Link></p>
+        )}
       </div>
     </section>
   );

src/test/java/de/neitzel/storyteller/business/StoryServiceTest.java

@@ -50,11 +50,12 @@ class StoryServiceTest {
         when(storyRepository.getEntityManager()).thenReturn(entityManager);
     }
 
-    /** Starting a story copies the scenario's scene and characters. */
+    /** Starting a story copies the scenario's scene and characters and generates an opening step. */
     @Test
-    void startStoryCopiesScenarioScene() {
+    void startStoryCopiesScenarioAndGeneratesOpening() {
         final ScenarioEntity scenario = new ScenarioEntity();
         scenario.setId(1L);
+        scenario.setTitle("Dark Forest Adventure");
         scenario.setStartingSceneDescription("A dark forest");
         final ScenarioCharacterEntity ch = new ScenarioCharacterEntity();
         ch.setName("Elara");
@@ -66,7 +67,6 @@ class StoryServiceTest {
         doAnswer(inv -> {
             StoryEntity e = inv.getArgument(0);
             e.setId(10L);
-            e.setCurrentSceneCharacters(Collections.emptyList());
             return null;
         }).when(storyRepository).persist(any(StoryEntity.class));
 
@@ -75,6 +75,28 @@ class StoryServiceTest {
         assertEquals("A dark forest", result.getCurrentSceneDescription());
         assertEquals("My Story", result.getTitle());
         verify(characterRepository).persist(any(StoryCharacterEntity.class));
+        verify(stepRepository).persist(any(StoryStepEntity.class));
+    }
+
+    /** Title defaults to the scenario title when not provided. */
+    @Test
+    void startStoryDefaultsToScenarioTitle() {
+        final ScenarioEntity scenario = new ScenarioEntity();
+        scenario.setId(1L);
+        scenario.setTitle("Dark Forest Adventure");
+        scenario.setStartingSceneDescription("A dark forest");
+        scenario.setStartingCharacters(Collections.emptyList());
+
+        when(scenarioRepository.findById(1L)).thenReturn(scenario);
+        doAnswer(inv -> {
+            StoryEntity e = inv.getArgument(0);
+            e.setId(11L);
+            return null;
+        }).when(storyRepository).persist(any(StoryEntity.class));
+
+        final Story result = storyService.startStory(new StartStoryRequest().scenarioId(1L), 5L);
+
+        assertEquals("Dark Forest Adventure", result.getTitle());
     }
 
     /** Starting a story with non-existent scenario throws 404. */
@@ -83,7 +105,7 @@ class StoryServiceTest {
         when(scenarioRepository.findById(99L)).thenReturn(null);
 
         assertThrows(WebApplicationException.class,
-            () -> storyService.startStory(new StartStoryRequest().scenarioId(99L).title("X"), 1L));
+            () -> storyService.startStory(new StartStoryRequest().scenarioId(99L), 1L));
     }
 
     /** Accessing another user's story throws 403. */