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## 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>
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