Coordinate initial conversation reveal, preserve message identity and reading anchors during live updates, and bound transcript reads with recoverable retries. Cover desktop/mobile navigation and rich task loading with actual-route browser tests.
Verified all Linux CI gates, 5,575 local UI tests, eight layout browser scenarios, and recorded native Codex walkthroughs. Greptile: 5/5; all review findings resolved.
Co-Authored-By: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
<!-- Write all pull request text in Simplified Technical English
(ASD-STE100): short sentences, one instruction per sentence, simple
approved vocabulary, and the active voice. -->
## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work.
> - Operators use the main navigation, contextual navigation, and task
chat throughout the product.
> - The recent core UI refactor left uneven spacing and inconsistent
navigation styles.
> - The Apps label also did not match the Connectors product language.
> - The account area did not provide a clear direct path for feedback.
> - This pull request aligns these related core UI surfaces and
preserves their existing behavior.
> - The benefit is a more consistent interface with clearer navigation
and balanced task-chat layout.
## Linked Issues or Issue Description
**What existing behavior does this improve?**
This improves the core sidebar, Settings navigation, Connectors catalog,
task-chat layout, and account controls.
**Subsystem affected**
`ui/` — React and Vite board UI.
**Current behavior**
The task chat had uneven edge treatment. Settings used a separate
contextual-navigation style. Apps used inconsistent product labels. The
account footer did not expose a direct feedback control.
**Proposed behavior**
The task chat keeps balanced content padding while its scrollbar sits at
the properties boundary. Settings replaces the primary sidebar with a
matching navigation surface and a Back to app link. Apps uses Connectors
and Browse labels. The account footer provides a dedicated feedback icon
with a tooltip.
**Reason and benefit**
These changes make related navigation and layout patterns predictable.
They reduce duplicate labels and improve access to feedback.
**Breaking changes**
None. Routes, APIs, and stored data do not change.
## What Changed
- Balanced the task-chat content gutter and moved its scrollbar to the
properties-panel boundary.
- Reworked Settings navigation to replace the main sidebar and use the
shared primary-sidebar style.
- Added a Back to app navigation item to Settings.
- Renamed Apps to Connectors in the main navigation and added the
`Unplug` icon.
- Renamed the Connectors contextual item to Browse.
- Added the Connectors top-level header and aligned the search field
with the connector cards.
- Added account-footer hover states and a direct feedback flag with a
Share feedback tooltip.
- Removed the duplicate Feedback item from the account popover.
- Added regression coverage for each changed UI surface.
## Verification
- `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/ui exec vitest run
src/components/AppsSidebar.test.tsx
src/components/CompanySettingsSidebar.test.tsx
src/components/Layout.test.tsx src/components/Sidebar.test.tsx
src/components/SidebarAccountMenu.test.tsx
src/components/task-chat/TaskMessageScroller.test.tsx
src/pages/apps/Browse.test.tsx` — 90 tests passed.
- `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/ui typecheck` — passed.
- `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/ui build` — passed.
- `pnpm check:token-gates` — passed.
- `git diff --check origin/master...HEAD` — passed.
- `env PAPERCLIP_PLAYWRIGHT_CHANNEL=chrome PAPERCLIP_E2E_PORT=3201 pnpm
exec playwright test --config tests/e2e/playwright.config.ts
tests/e2e/apps-dark-mode-shots.spec.ts
tests/e2e/sidebar-takeover.spec.ts` — 10 tests passed.
- The full workspace typecheck and build reached the Rust runner and
stopped because `cargo` is not installed on this machine.
- The full test suite exposed unrelated server and workspace-runtime
failures and was stopped after the affected suites completed. No changed
UI test failed.
- Manually verified the changed Settings, Connectors, task-chat, and
account-menu surfaces in the running app.
## Risks
- Low risk. The change affects layout and navigation presentation only.
- The Settings sidebar now replaces the main sidebar by design. Users
must use Back to app to return to the application navigation.
- The task scrollbar offset depends on the existing responsive page
gutters. Regression tests cover both narrow and desktop spacing.
> For core feature work, check [`ROADMAP.md`](ROADMAP.md) first and
discuss it in `#dev` before opening the PR. Feature PRs that overlap
with planned core work may need to be redirected — check the roadmap
first. See `CONTRIBUTING.md`.
## Model Used
- OpenAI Codex, `gpt-5.6-sol`, extended reasoning with tool use and code
execution. The host does not expose the context-window size.
## Checklist
- [x] I have included a thinking path that traces from project context
to this change
- [x] I have specified the model used (with version and capability
details)
- [x] I have checked ROADMAP.md and confirmed this PR does not duplicate
planned core work
- [x] I have searched GitHub for duplicate or related PRs and linked
them above
- [x] I have either (a) linked existing issues with `Fixes: #` / `Closes
#` / `Refs #` OR (b) described the issue in-PR following the relevant
issue template
- [x] I have not referenced internal/instance-local Paperclip issues or
links (only public GitHub `#NNN` / `github.com/paperclipai/paperclip`
URLs)
- [x] My branch name describes the change (e.g. `docs/...`, `fix/...`)
and contains no internal Paperclip ticket id or instance-derived details
- [ ] I have run tests locally and they pass
- [x] I have added or updated tests where applicable
- [x] I have updated relevant documentation to reflect my changes
- [x] I have considered and documented any risks above
- [x] All Paperclip CI gates are green
- [x] Greptile is 5/5 with no open P2s, recommendations, or follow-ups
- [x] I will address all Greptile and reviewer comments before
requesting merge
---------
Co-authored-by: Scott Tong <scott@scottsmbpm5max.lan>
Co-authored-by: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work.
> - The task page is the main place where people guide and review agent
work.
> - Native runner events already project into the existing task chat on
the lower stack.
> - The larger task workspace must support those events without breaking
direct adapters.
> - Legacy questions, final replies, empty transcripts, and classic
controls must keep their behavior.
> - This pull request completes the provider-neutral task workspace
experience.
> - The benefit is one coherent task surface for native and direct
execution paths.
## Linked Issues or Issue Description
Refs #12639.
Refs #12617.
Refs #12352.
**Subsystem affected**
Task chat, task detail, side panels, interaction forms, and transcript
presentation.
**Problem or motivation**
The task page does not provide one complete workspace for live activity,
plans, questions, queued guidance, files, and documents. Earlier native
UI work also exposed compatibility risks in legacy question and reply
paths.
**Proposed solution**
Add the task workspace components and provider-neutral protocol
presentation. Keep runner-only controls behind runtime facts. Preserve
all direct-adapter composer, transcript, interaction, and finalization
behavior.
**Alternatives considered**
A separate runner page would duplicate task behavior. Replacing legacy
transcript logic would create unnecessary adapter regressions.
**Roadmap alignment**
This work supports the unified task experience and the Cloud and Sandbox
agents milestone.
## Stack
- Base PR: #12639.
- Lower PR: #12638.
- This PR contains only its 119-file UI delta against
`runner/remote-wss-transport`.
- The next stack PR adds administrator and observability controls.
## What Changed
- Added a reusable task workspace side panel for files and documents.
- Added provider-neutral cards for tools, plans, questions, protocol
activity, and progress.
- Added queued guidance and richer composer state.
- Added compact and expanded interaction presentation.
- Added live activity, thinking, usage, recovery, and final reply
presentation.
- Added document annotations and task deep links.
- Added bounded question validation and response handling.
- Preserved native runner event projection from master.
- Preserved legacy channel-less replies and explicit final reply
precedence.
- Preserved direct-adapter and classic-interface controls.
- Did not change server execution selection, Rust code, migrations,
workflows, or `pnpm-lock.yaml`.
## Verification
- GitHub Actions will run UI tests, repository tests, typecheck, build,
browser tests, security, and policy gates.
- Tests cover active, settled, empty-transcript, interaction,
queued-message, plan, question, file, document, and classic-interface
states.
- Compatibility tests cover direct adapters and native runner projection
together.
- Local tests were not run. The requested verification policy uses
GitHub Actions for this series.
- `git diff --check runner/remote-wss-transport...HEAD` passes.
- The delta contains 119 UI-only files.
## Risks
- This is a large task-page change.
- Most files are new focused components and tests.
- Shared transcript code keeps the lower native projection and legacy
direct-adapter fallbacks.
- Runner-only controls use adapter and runtime facts.
- No execution path or rollout flag changes in this PR.
> For core feature work, check [`ROADMAP.md`](ROADMAP.md) first and
discuss it in `#dev` before opening the PR. Feature PRs that overlap
with planned core work may need to be redirected — check the roadmap
first. See `CONTRIBUTING.md`.
## Model Used
OpenAI Codex with GPT-5.6. The work used high-reasoning agent mode,
repository tools, GitHub tools, and parallel code-audit agents.
## Checklist
- [x] I have included a thinking path that traces from project context
to this change
- [x] I have specified the model used (with version and capability
details)
- [x] I have checked ROADMAP.md and confirmed this PR does not duplicate
planned core work
- [x] I have searched GitHub for duplicate or related PRs and linked
them above
- [x] I have either (a) linked existing issues with Fixes: / Closes /
Refs OR (b) described the issue in-PR following the relevant issue
template
- [x] I have not referenced internal or instance-local Paperclip issues
or links
- [x] My branch name describes the change and contains no internal
Paperclip ticket id
- [ ] I have run tests locally and they pass
- [x] I have added or updated tests where applicable
- [x] I have updated relevant documentation to reflect my changes
- [x] I have considered and documented risks above
- [ ] All Paperclip CI gates are green
- [ ] Greptile is 5/5 with no open P2s, recommendations, or follow-ups
- [x] I will address all Greptile and reviewer comments before
requesting merge
Three tests yielded a fixed number of macrotasks before asserting - five in one
case, one in another - which is ample on an idle machine and not when the suite
runs many workers in parallel. The container was still empty, or the state had
not landed, and the assertion failed on behaviour that works. `vi.waitFor`
retries against a time budget instead, so a loaded worker gets more turns
rather than a failure.
`DocumentAnnotationPopover` is a different race and is fixed differently. The
popover element is in the DOM as soon as React commits, while the effect that
registers the document-level keydown and pointerdown listeners runs afterwards.
A test dispatching in that gap loses the event outright, and a lost event
cannot be recovered by retrying an assertion - so the render is wrapped in
`act` to flush passive effects, and the waits only cover the smaller race that
remains.
Refs #11484.
Verified stable over six consecutive runs of the three files, and the full ui
suite passes. Other instances of the same class remain: the full suite still
shows an occasional failure in a different unrelated test on each run.
`App.cases-routing.test.tsx:104-108` is the clearest one - the identical
fixed-turn loop this PR replaced in its sibling `App.activity-routing.test.tsx`,
three turns instead of five - and takes the same one-line fix.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work.
> - The issue detail view is the main place where people read work and
guide agents.
> - The chat-style task view needs clear messages, controls, properties,
and document feedback.
> - Dense metadata and disconnected controls make active work harder to
scan.
> - This pull request refines the existing chat-style task workflow
across desktop and mobile layouts.
> - The benefit is a clearer issue thread with faster access to the
controls that guide work.
## Linked Issues or Issue Description
**What existing behavior does this improve?**
The change improves the chat-style issue detail view that was introduced
in [#10606](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/pull/10606) and
expanded in
[#10707](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/pull/10707).
**Current behavior**
The issue thread spreads task controls across the page. Agent-turn
metadata competes with the message content. Document annotation comments
use inline placement that limits the document reading area. The mobile
composer can overlap the bottom navigation.
**Proposed behavior**
The issue view keeps the thread focused on message content. It moves
supporting controls into the properties area, adds searchable
assignment, restores the sub-task tree, docks document comments in a
side gutter, and keeps the mobile composer clear of navigation.
**Reason and benefit**
People can scan active work faster and find task controls without
leaving the issue. The layout also gives documents and mobile
conversations more usable space.
**Breaking changes**
None. The change updates presentation and interaction behavior in the
existing issue UI.
## What Changed
- Refined task-chat message spacing, metadata, agent bubbles, and
composer alignment.
- Added searchable assignment and restored sub-task navigation in the
properties pane.
- Moved document annotation comments into a right-side gutter.
- Kept the mobile composer above the auto-hiding bottom navigation.
- Added and updated focused component tests for the changed
interactions.
## Verification
- `pnpm check:token-gates`
- `TZ=UTC pnpm --filter @paperclipai/ui exec vitest run
src/components/InlineEntitySelector.test.tsx
src/components/IssueDocumentAnnotations.test.tsx
src/components/IssueProperties.test.tsx
src/components/TaskChatThread.test.tsx src/pages/IssueDetail.test.tsx`
- The token gates report 3/3 clean.
- The focused test run passes 124 tests in 5 files.
- Visual snapshot baselines were not updated. This follows the
`doc/design/DECISION-SHEET.md` entry "Per-change snapshot verification
demoted to dormant (Jul 13 2026)."
## Risks
- The changes affect several related issue-detail layouts. A browser
review should cover desktop and mobile widths before merge.
- The monitor-row test formats time in the host timezone. The
verification command sets `TZ=UTC` to match CI.
> For core feature work, check [`ROADMAP.md`](ROADMAP.md) first and
discuss it in `#dev` before opening the PR. Feature PRs that overlap
with planned core work may need to be redirected — check the roadmap
first. See `CONTRIBUTING.md`.
## Model Used
- OpenAI Codex with GPT-5. The context-window size is not exposed in
this environment. The model used reasoning, repository tools, code
execution, and GitHub tools.
## Checklist
- [x] I have included a thinking path that traces from project context
to this change
- [x] I have specified the model used (with version and capability
details)
- [x] I have checked ROADMAP.md and confirmed this PR does not duplicate
planned core work
- [x] I have searched GitHub for duplicate or related PRs and linked
them above
- [x] I have either (a) linked existing issues with `Fixes: #` / `Closes
#` / `Refs #` OR (b) described the issue in-PR following the relevant
issue template
- [x] I have not referenced internal/instance-local Paperclip issues or
links (only public GitHub `#NNN` / `github.com/paperclipai/paperclip`
URLs)
- [x] My branch name describes the change (e.g. `docs/...`, `fix/...`)
and contains no internal Paperclip ticket id or instance-derived details
- [x] I have run tests locally and they pass
- [x] I have added or updated tests where applicable
- [x] I have updated relevant documentation to reflect my changes
- [x] I have considered and documented any risks above
- [ ] All Paperclip CI gates are green
- [ ] Greptile is 5/5 with no open P2s, recommendations, or follow-ups
- [x] I will address all Greptile and reviewer comments before
requesting merge
---------
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-authored-by: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work.
> - Operators spend most of their time on the issue detail page. They
talk to the assigned agent there through comments.
> - The current page reads as a ticket form. The thread sits below
properties, the composer sits mid-page, and live agent activity renders
as dense transcript logs.
> - Talking to an agent is a conversation. A chat-first layout matches
that mental model better than a ticket form.
> - A layout change this large must not disrupt current users. It needs
a safe opt-in path and full parity with the existing thread features.
> - This pull request adds a chat-style task view behind a new
"Chat-Style Tasks" experiment toggle. The flag is off by default and the
existing page is unchanged when it is off.
> - The benefit is a focused, readable conversation with the agent: live
tool activity folds into compact summaries, the composer stays at the
bottom, and properties, plan, and artifacts move into header tabs.
## Linked Issues or Issue Description
Refs #49 (chat with agents is a much-wanted feature).
Related PRs found in the dedup search:
- #4489 — an earlier, closed attempt to promote the conversation to the
primary surface on issue detail. This PR is a fresh, flag-gated take on
the same goal.
- #8837 — an open PR that proposes a two-column task layout. It
restructures the same page but keeps the ticket paradigm; this PR is
orthogonal because it is opt-in and chat-first.
**Subsystem affected**
UI (issue detail page).
**Problem or motivation**
The issue detail page presents agent conversations as a ticket:
properties first, thread below, composer in the middle of the page, and
raw transcript noise during live runs. Users who mainly converse with
their agents must scroll past chrome to follow the conversation, and
live activity is hard to read.
**Proposed solution**
An opt-in chat-style view of the issue detail page, gated by a new
"Chat-Style Tasks" experiment toggle in Settings → Experimental. With
the flag on, the thread fills the center pane, the composer docks to the
bottom of the viewport, Properties / Plan / Artifacts become header
tabs, live turns show a status pill with the current tool action and
elapsed time, and settled turns collapse to a "Worked · N tools" summary
that expands into per-tool rows. With the flag off, nothing changes.
**Alternatives considered**
Restyling the existing layout in place (rejected: too disruptive without
an opt-out), and a separate chat page beside the issue page (rejected:
splits the task's single source of truth). A per-request lab page
(`/task-chat-lab`, dev-only) was kept for design iteration instead.
**Roadmap alignment**
ROADMAP.md "CEO Chat" wants lighter conversations that still resolve to
real work objects. This PR keeps the core task-and-comments model — it
only changes presentation, opt-in — so it does not duplicate that
planned work.
## What Changed
- New `enableTaskChatRedesign` instance setting, exposed as a
"Chat-Style Tasks" experiment card in Settings → Experimental (shared
feature catalog, validators, server instance-settings service, and UI
settings page).
- New `ui/src/components/task-chat/` component family: chat thread with
turn grouping, agent reply bubbles, live status pill, collapsible turn
summaries with per-tool rows, plan tab with a sticky CTA action bar,
inline interaction cards, per-request mode chips, and a bottom-docked
composer.
- A shared tool taxonomy (`tool-taxonomy.ts`) maps tool names to verbs
and icons; the status pill, tool rows, and the classic transcript view
all use it.
- A transcript adapter converts stored run logs into chat turns; it
dedupes tool-call updates by `toolUseId` so tool counts match the
expanded rows, and it keeps a tool row's first real name when later
generic updates arrive.
- Composer: posts on Cmd/Ctrl+Enter, supports image paste with
object-URL thumbnail previews (revoked on clear/unmount), and uploads
through the issue attachments route.
- `IssueDetail.tsx`: with the flag on, pane tabs move to the header bar,
the header is not sticky, and the chat fills the center; with the flag
off, the previous layout renders unchanged.
- Motion tokens for the new animations live in `ui/src/index.css` with a
`motion-tokens.ts` catalog and a test that keeps the two in sync (the
catalog now also covers the shared enter/exit/swap tokens that the
decision/quicklook block declares).
- A dev-only `/task-chat-lab` page with fixtures and a tweak panel for
motion tuning.
## Verification
- `pnpm typecheck` — clean across the workspace.
- `pnpm check:token-gates` — 3/3 CLEAN.
- `cd ui && pnpm vitest run` — 3,344 of 3,345 tests pass locally. The
one failure is `IssueProperties.test.tsx` monitor-row time formatting,
which is timezone-sensitive: it also fails on unmodified `origin/master`
in a non-UTC timezone and passes with `TZ=UTC`. It is not related to
this change.
- `cd server && pnpm vitest run
src/__tests__/instance-settings-service.test.ts` — 21/21 pass (covers
the new setting).
- Manual: start the dev server, open Settings → Experimental, enable
"Chat-Style Tasks", and open any issue. The thread fills the page, the
composer docks to the bottom, and Properties / Plan / Artifacts appear
as header tabs. Assign an agent and comment to watch a live run: the
status pill shows the current tool action with elapsed time, and the
finished turn folds into a "Worked · N tools" summary. Disable the
toggle and confirm the classic page is unchanged.
- Visual snapshot baselines are intentionally not updated: per
`doc/design/DECISION-SHEET.md`, "Per-change snapshot verification
demoted to dormant (Jul 13 2026)".
## Risks
- The flag-off path goes through the same `IssueDetail.tsx` file, so a
regression there would affect current users. Mitigation: the classic
markup renders through the same components as before behind explicit
flag conditionals, and the full UI suite passes.
- The transcript adapter interprets stored run-log formats, including
legacy entries without `toolUseId`. Malformed logs degrade to generic
tool rows rather than crashing.
- The new view changes no server behavior other than one additive
instance setting; it is additive and default-off. Overall risk with the
flag off is low.
## Model Used
- Claude (Anthropic), model id `claude-fable-5` (Claude Fable 5),
extended thinking enabled, agentic tool use (file editing, shell, test
execution) via Claude Code / Claude Agent SDK.
## Checklist
- [x] I have included a thinking path that traces from project context
to this change
- [x] I have specified the model used (with version and capability
details)
- [x] I have checked ROADMAP.md and confirmed this PR does not duplicate
planned core work
- [x] I have searched GitHub for duplicate or related PRs and linked
them above
- [x] I have either (a) linked existing issues with `Fixes: #` / `Closes
#` / `Refs #` OR (b) described the issue in-PR following the relevant
issue template
- [x] I have not referenced internal/instance-local Paperclip issues or
links (only public GitHub `#NNN` / `github.com/paperclipai/paperclip`
URLs)
- [x] My branch name describes the change (e.g. `docs/...`, `fix/...`)
and contains no internal Paperclip ticket id or instance-derived details
- [x] I have run tests locally and they pass
- [x] I have added or updated tests where applicable
- [x] I have updated relevant documentation to reflect my changes
- [x] I have considered and documented any risks above
- [ ] All Paperclip CI gates are green
- [ ] Greptile is 5/5 with no open P2s, recommendations, or follow-ups
- [x] I will address all Greptile and reviewer comments before
requesting merge
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
---------
Co-authored-by: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Dotta
scotttong
Tonio