Addressed review comments.

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -16,6 +16,14 @@ Allow setting permissions lists in init arguments just like in upgrade arguments
 - Module hash: f45db224b40fac516c877e3108dc809d4b22fa42d05ee8dfa5002536a3a3daed
 - Bump agent-js to fix error code
 
+### chore: improve `dfx start` messages.
+
+For `dfx start`, show below messages to users to indicate what to do next.
+```
+Success! The dfx server is running.
+You must open a new terminal to continue developing. If you'd prefer to stop, quit with 'Ctrl-C'.
+```
+
 # 0.24.2
 
 ### feat: Support canister log allowed viewer list
@@ -32,14 +40,6 @@ The frontend canister sync now tries to batch multiple small content chunks into
 And for small amounts of uploaded data the asset sync can now skip chunk creation entirely.
 This should lead to significantly faster upload times for frontends with many small files.
 
-### chore!: improve `dfx start` messages.
-
-For `dfx start`, show below messages to users to indicate what to do next.
-```
-The dfx server is running.
-You can start a new terminal to continue developing, or quit with 'Ctrl-C'.
-```
-
 ## Dependencies
 
 ### Motoko

e2e/tests-dfx/start.bash

@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ teardown() {
 
 @test "start and stop outside project" {
   assert_command dfx_start
-  assert_contains "The dfx server is running in the background."
+  assert_contains "Success! The dfx server is running in the background."
 
   mkdir subdir
   cd subdir || exit 1

src/dfx/src/actors/post_start.rs

@@ -48,9 +48,9 @@ impl Handler<PocketIcProxyReadySignal> for PostStart {
     fn handle(&mut self, _msg: PocketIcProxyReadySignal, _ctx: &mut Self::Context) -> Self::Result {
         let logger = &self.config.logger;
         if self.config.background {
-            info!(logger, "The dfx server is running in the background.")
+            info!(logger, "Success! The dfx server is running in the background.")
         } else {
-            info!(logger, "The dfx server is running.\nYou can start a new terminal to continue developing, or quit with 'Ctrl-C'.");
+            info!(logger, "Success! The dfx server is running.\nYou must open a new terminal to continue developing. If you'd prefer to stop, quit with 'Ctrl-C'.");
         }
     }
 }

src/dfx/src/commands/start.rs

@@ -50,6 +50,10 @@ pub struct StartOpts {
     #[arg(long)]
     background: bool,
 
+    /// Indicates if the actual dfx process is running in the background.
+    #[arg(long, env = "DFX_RUNNING_IN_BACKGROUND", hide = true)]
+    running_in_background: bool,
+
     /// Cleans the state of the current project.
     #[arg(long)]
     clean: bool,
@@ -139,6 +143,7 @@ pub fn exec(
     StartOpts {
         host,
         background,
+        running_in_background,
         clean,
         force,
         bitcoin_node,
@@ -265,10 +270,6 @@ pub fn exec(
     }
     local_server_descriptor.describe(env.get_logger());
 
-    // Get the original background flag set by the user from the command arguments.
-    // Get it from the environment variable as the `--background` flag will be ignored by the send_background() method.
-    let original_background = std::env::var("original_background").is_ok();
-
     write_pid(&pid_file_path);
     fs::write(&webserver_port_path, address_and_port.port().to_string())?;
 
@@ -419,7 +420,7 @@ pub fn exec(
             pocketic_proxy_port_file_path,
         )?;
 
-        let post_start = start_post_start_actor(env, original_background, Some(proxy))?;
+        let post_start = start_post_start_actor(env, running_in_background, Some(proxy))?;
 
         Ok::<_, Error>(post_start)
     })?;
@@ -583,7 +584,7 @@ fn send_background() -> DfxResult<()> {
             .filter(|a| !a.eq("--background"))
             .filter(|a| !a.eq("--clean")),
     )
-    .env("original_background", "true"); // Set the `original_background` environment variable which will be used by the second start.
+    .env("DFX_RUNNING_IN_BACKGROUND", "true"); // Set the `DFX_RUNNING_IN_BACKGROUND` environment variable which will be used by the second start.
 
     cmd.spawn().context("Failed to spawn child process.")?;
     Ok(())