Workspace file preview is a local desktop surface, so image files should not be blocked by the text preview byte cap. Large text files now return a bounded preview instead of an unusable too-large state, while binary files remain explicitly unsupported.
Constraint: Avoid unbounded text payloads that can freeze the desktop renderer
Rejected: Remove all read limits | large generated files can still overload JSON transport and syntax rendering
Confidence: high
Scope-risk: moderate
Directive: Keep image preview detection before text-size limiting so local images remain renderable
Tested: bun test src/server/__tests__/workspace-service.test.ts
Tested: bun test src/server/__tests__/sessions.test.ts
Tested: cd desktop && bun run lint
Tested: cd desktop && bun run test -- src/components/workspace/WorkspacePanel.test.tsx
Tested: cd desktop && bun run build
Not-tested: Full packaged macOS smoke after this commit
The desktop terminal already supported independent PTY sessions, but it only lived inside settings. This change promotes it to a first-class tab workflow so users can open multiple host terminals without leaving the chat-oriented desktop layout.
Constraint: Tauri terminal sessions are process-backed and must stay mounted while switching tabs.
Rejected: Reuse the settings terminal as a navigated page only | it cannot support multiple independent terminal tabs.
Rejected: Hide inactive xterm panes with display none | xterm lost visible output after tab switches during E2E.
Confidence: high
Scope-risk: moderate
Directive: Keep inactive terminal panes mounted and avoid display none unless xterm repaint behavior is reverified.
Tested: bun run test src/components/layout/ContentRouter.test.tsx src/components/layout/Sidebar.test.tsx src/components/layout/TabBar.test.tsx src/pages/TerminalSettings.test.tsx
Tested: bun run lint
Tested: bun run build
Tested: ./scripts/build-macos-arm64.sh
Tested: Computer Use E2E against build-artifacts/macos-arm64 app for multiple terminals, command output retention, tab switching, and terminal cleanup
Not-tested: Intel macOS package
The desktop settings and sidebar still had deletion flows that either used browser-native confirms or deleted immediately. This change consolidates destructive confirmations behind a shared dialog component, applies it to provider deletion, plugin uninstall, adapter unbind, and sidebar session deletion, and adds regression coverage so delete actions require an explicit second confirmation before mutating state.
Constraint: Other in-progress desktop work in the tree had to stay out of this commit
Constraint: Existing MCP and task confirmations needed to keep their current behavior
Rejected: Leave confirmations embedded per-page with browser dialogs | inconsistent UX and easy to regress
Rejected: Add confirmations only to provider deletion | leaves other destructive desktop flows unsafe
Confidence: high
Scope-risk: narrow
Reversibility: clean
Directive: Any new desktop delete, uninstall, or unbind action should use the shared ConfirmDialog instead of browser-native dialogs or one-click deletion
Tested: bun run test src/components/layout/Sidebar.test.tsx src/__tests__/generalSettings.test.tsx; bun run lint
Not-tested: Manual desktop click-through of every destructive action after this refactor
The sidebar project filter had regressed to lossy projectPath strings, so the
UI showed broken folder-name fragments and the dropdown could not match the
richer project chooser used in session creation. This switches the sidebar back
to recent-project metadata, renders the filter menu through a portal, and keeps
session filtering behavior unchanged while restoring readable labels and paths.
Constraint: Sidebar filtering still needs to target existing session projectPath values without migrating store shape
Constraint: The desktop sidebar dropdown must escape local stacking and overflow constraints to render reliably
Rejected: Keep deriving labels from sanitized projectPath strings | lost repo names and full paths, causing misleading project choices
Rejected: Rebuild sessionStore around recent-project objects in this fix | broader state migration than needed for the regression
Confidence: high
Scope-risk: moderate
Reversibility: clean
Directive: Keep sidebar project displays aligned with /api/sessions/recent-projects metadata instead of reintroducing string-splitting fallbacks
Tested: cd desktop && bunx vitest run src/components/layout/ProjectFilter.test.tsx src/components/layout/Sidebar.test.tsx
Tested: cd desktop && bun run lint
Tested: cd desktop && bun run build
Not-tested: Manual desktop visual pass of the repaired dropdown in a live Tauri window
The desktop shell now owns sidebar collapse state, the collapsed rail keeps a
visible recovery affordance, and keyboard search expands the sidebar before
focusing. The UI work also smooths the width transition so the main chat area
can take over without the previous abrupt cutover.
Constraint: The desktop app must keep a recovery path visible in narrow layouts on macOS and Windows
Constraint: Existing sidebar behavior needed regression coverage before further UI work
Rejected: Fully hide the sidebar at 0 width | recovery affordance became too fragile for this iteration
Rejected: Keep boxed restore controls in the collapsed rail | visually heavy and easy to misplace
Confidence: medium
Scope-risk: moderate
Reversibility: clean
Directive: Keep the collapsed rail width and the inner sidebar panel width in sync or expand controls will be clipped again
Tested: cd desktop && bun run lint
Tested: cd desktop && bun run test Sidebar.test.tsx
Not-tested: Full desktop manual pass across every app screen after the final icon/layout tweaks
The desktop app previously lost project-level skills in two places: the
settings browser only queried user skills, and the slash-command picker for a
fresh session depended on CLI init state that does not exist before the first
turn. This change makes the skills APIs cwd-aware, falls back to project skill
loading before CLI init, syncs sidebar session deletion with open tabs, and
aligns the empty-session composer styling so the pre-message session UI stays
consistent.
Constraint: Fresh desktop sessions need slash-command discovery before the CLI websocket emits system/init
Constraint: Only repository code should be committed; build artifacts, installs, and /tmp smoke fixtures stay out of git
Rejected: Rebuild slash-command listings from full getCommands() in the sessions API | introduced auth-gated command dependencies unrelated to local skill discovery
Rejected: Unify EmptySession and ChatInput into one full component now | higher regression risk for normal chat interactions than a visual-only hero variant
Confidence: high
Scope-risk: moderate
Reversibility: clean
Directive: Keep pre-message skill discovery keyed to session workDir so project-level .claude/skills remain visible before the first turn
Tested: bun test src/server/__tests__/sessions.test.ts; cd desktop && bun run test -- --run src/__tests__/skillsSettings.test.tsx src/components/layout/Sidebar.test.tsx src/__tests__/pages.test.tsx src/pages/ActiveSession.test.tsx; cd desktop && bun run lint
Not-tested: Manual desktop smoke test against the rebuilt .app bundle in the local GUI
