BTerminal/docs/v3-task_plan.md

BTerminal v3 — Mission Control Redesign

Goal

Transform BTerminal from a multi-pane terminal/agent tool into a multi-project mission control — a helm for managing multiple development projects simultaneously, each with its own Claude agent session, team agents, terminals, and settings.

Status: All Phases Complete (1-10) — Rev 3 (Sidebar Redesign)

---

Core Concept

Project Groups are workspaces. Each group has up to 5 projects arranged horizontally. One group visible at a time. Projects have their own Claude subscription, working directory, icon, and settings. The app is a dashboard for orchestrating Claude agents across a portfolio of projects.

Key Mental Model

BTerminal v2: Terminal emulator with agent sessions (panes in a grid)
BTerminal v3: Project orchestration dashboard (projects in a workspace)

User Requirements

1. Projects arranged in project groups (many groups, switch between them)
2. Each group has up to 5 projects shown horizontally
3. Group/project config via main menu (command palette / hidden drawer, Ctrl+K)
4. Per-project settings: Claude subscription, working dir, icon (nerd font), name, identifier, description, enabled
5. Project group = workspace on screen
6. Each project box: Claude session (default, resume previous) + team agents (right) + terminal tabs (below)
7. VSCode-style left sidebar: Vertical icon rail (Sessions/Docs/Context/Settings) + expandable drawer panel + always-visible workspace
8. App launchable with --group <name> CLI arg
9. JSON config file defines all groups (~/.config/bterminal/groups.json)
10. Session continuity: resume previous + restore history visually
11. SSH sessions: spawnable within a project's terminal tabs
12. ctx viewer: workspace tab #3

---

Architecture (Post-Adversarial Review)

Adversarial Review Summary

3 agents reviewed the architecture: Architect (advocate), Devil's Advocate (attacker), UX+Performance Specialist.

12 issues identified by Devil's Advocate. Resolutions:

#	Issue	Severity	Resolution
1	xterm.js 4-instance ceiling (WebKit2GTK OOM)	Critical	Lazy-init + scrollback serialization. Budget: 4 active xterm, unlimited suspended (text buffer). Enforced in code.
2	Single sidecar = SPOF for all projects	Critical	Accept for v3.0 (existing crash recovery). Per-project pool deferred to v3.1 if needed.
3	Session identity collision (sdkSessionId not persisted)	Major	Persist sdkSessionId in SQLite project_agent_state table. Per-project CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR isolation.
4	Layout store has no workspace concept	Critical	Full rewrite: workspace.svelte.ts replaces layout.svelte.ts.
5	384px per project unusable on 1920px	Major	Adaptive: compute visible count from viewport width (Math.floor(width / 520)). 5@5120px, 3@1920px, scroll-snap for rest. min-width 480px.
6	JSON config + SQLite = split-brain	Major	JSON for groups/projects config (human-editable). SQLite for session state. JSON loaded at startup only, no hot-reload.
7	Agent dispatcher is global singleton, no project scoping	Major	Add projectId to AgentSession. Dispatcher routes by project. Per-project cleanup on workspace switch.
8	Markdown discovery undefined	Minor	Priority list: CLAUDE.md, README.md, docs/*.md (max 20). Rust command scans with depth limit.
9	Keyboard shortcut conflicts (3 layers)	Major	Shortcut manager: Terminal layer (focused only), Workspace layer (Ctrl+1-5), App layer (Ctrl+K, Ctrl+G).
10	Remote machine support orphaned	Major	Elevate to project level (project.remote_machine_id). Defer integration to v3.1.
11	No graceful degradation for broken projects	Major	Project health state: healthy/degraded/unavailable/error. Colored dot indicator.
12	Flat event stream wastes CPU for hidden projects	Minor	Buffer messages for inactive workspace projects. Flush on activation.

---

Data Model

Project Group Config (~/.config/bterminal/groups.json)

{
  "version": 1,
  "groups": [
    {
      "id": "work-ai",
      "name": "AI Projects",
      "projects": [
        {
          "id": "bterminal",
          "name": "BTerminal",
          "identifier": "bterminal",
          "description": "Terminal emulator with Claude integration",
          "icon": "\uf120",
          "cwd": "/home/hibryda/code/ai/BTerminal",
          "profile": "default",
          "enabled": true
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "activeGroupId": "work-ai"
}

TypeScript Types (v2/src/lib/types/groups.ts)

export interface ProjectConfig {
  id: string;
  name: string;
  identifier: string;
  description: string;
  icon: string;
  cwd: string;
  profile: string;
  enabled: boolean;
}

export interface GroupConfig {
  id: string;
  name: string;
  projects: ProjectConfig[];  // max 5
}

export interface GroupsFile {
  version: number;
  groups: GroupConfig[];
  activeGroupId: string;
}

SQLite Schema Additions

ALTER TABLE sessions ADD COLUMN project_id TEXT DEFAULT '';

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS agent_messages (
    id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
    session_id TEXT NOT NULL,
    project_id TEXT NOT NULL,
    sdk_session_id TEXT,
    message_type TEXT NOT NULL,
    content TEXT NOT NULL,
    parent_id TEXT,
    created_at INTEGER NOT NULL,
    FOREIGN KEY (session_id) REFERENCES sessions(id) ON DELETE CASCADE
);
CREATE INDEX idx_agent_messages_session ON agent_messages(session_id);
CREATE INDEX idx_agent_messages_project ON agent_messages(project_id);

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS project_agent_state (
    project_id TEXT PRIMARY KEY,
    last_session_id TEXT NOT NULL,
    sdk_session_id TEXT,
    status TEXT NOT NULL,
    cost_usd REAL DEFAULT 0,
    input_tokens INTEGER DEFAULT 0,
    output_tokens INTEGER DEFAULT 0,
    last_prompt TEXT,
    updated_at INTEGER NOT NULL
);

---

Component Architecture

Component Tree

App.svelte                              [REWRITTEN — VSCode-style sidebar]
├── CommandPalette.svelte               [NEW]
├── GlobalTabBar.svelte                 [NEW] Vertical icon rail (36px, 4 SVG icons)
├── [Sidebar Panel]                      Expandable drawer (28em, max 50%)
│   ├── [Tab: Sessions] ProjectGrid    [renders in sidebar when open]
│   ├── [Tab: Docs] DocsTab
│   ├── [Tab: Context] ContextPane
│   └── [Tab: Settings] SettingsTab
├── [Main Workspace]                     Always visible
│   └── ProjectGrid.svelte             [NEW] Horizontal flex + scroll-snap
│       └── ProjectBox.svelte           [NEW] Per-project container
│           ├── ProjectHeader.svelte    [NEW] Icon + name + status dot
│           ├── ClaudeSession.svelte    [NEW, from AgentPane] Main session
│           ├── TeamAgentsPanel.svelte  [NEW] Right panel for subagents
│           │   └── AgentCard.svelte    [NEW] Compact subagent view
│           └── TerminalTabs.svelte     [NEW] Tabbed terminals
│               └── TerminalPane.svelte [SURVIVES]
├── StatusBar.svelte                    [MODIFIED]
└── ToastContainer.svelte               [SURVIVES]

What Dies

v2 Component/Store	Reason
TilingGrid.svelte	Replaced by ProjectGrid
PaneContainer.svelte	Fixed project box structure
SessionList.svelte (sidebar)	No sidebar; project headers replace
SshSessionList.svelte	Absorbed into TerminalTabs
SettingsDialog.svelte	Replaced by SettingsTab
AgentPane.svelte	Split into ClaudeSession + TeamAgentsPanel
layout.svelte.ts	Replaced by workspace.svelte.ts
layout.test.ts	Replaced by workspace tests

What Survives

TerminalPane, MarkdownPane, AgentTree, ContextPane, StatusBar, ToastContainer, theme store, notifications store, agents store (modified), all adapters (agent-bridge, pty-bridge, claude-bridge, sdk-messages, session-bridge, ctx-bridge, ssh-bridge), all Rust backend (sidecar, pty, session, ctx, watcher), highlight utils.

---

Layout System

Project Grid (Flexbox + scroll-snap)

.project-grid {
  display: flex;
  gap: 4px;
  height: 100%;
  overflow-x: auto;
  scroll-snap-type: x mandatory;
}

.project-box {
  flex: 0 0 calc((100% - (N-1) * 4px) / N);
  scroll-snap-align: start;
  min-width: 480px;
}

N computed from viewport: Math.min(projects.length, Math.max(1, Math.floor(containerWidth / 520)))

Project Box Internal Layout

┌─ ProjectHeader (28px) ──────────────────┐
├─────────────────────┬───────────────────┤
│ ClaudeSession       │ TeamAgentsPanel   │
│ (flex: 1)           │ (240px or overlay)│
├─────────────────────┴───────────────────┤
│ [Tab1] [Tab2] [+]           TabBar 26px │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Terminal content (xterm or scrollback)  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Team panel: inline at >2560px, overlay at <2560px. Collapsed when no subagents.

Responsive Breakpoints

Width	Visible Projects	Team Panel
5120px+	5	inline 240px
3840px	4	inline 200px
2560px	3	overlay
1920px	3	overlay
<1600px	1 + project tabs	overlay

xterm.js Budget: 4 Active Instances

State	xterm?	Memory
Active-Focused	Yes	~20MB
Active-Background	Yes (if budget allows)	~20MB
Suspended	No (HTML pre scrollback)	~200KB
Uninitialized	No (placeholder)	0

On focus: serialize least-recent xterm scrollback, destroy it, create new for focused tab, reconnect PTY.

Project Accent Colors (Catppuccin)

Slot	Color	Variable
1	Blue	--ctp-blue
2	Green	--ctp-green
3	Mauve	--ctp-mauve
4	Peach	--ctp-peach
5	Pink	--ctp-pink

---

Sidecar Strategy

Single shared sidecar (unchanged from v2). Per-project isolation via:

• cwd per query (already implemented)
• claude_config_dir per query (already implemented)
• session_id routing (already implemented)

No sidecar changes needed for v3.0.

---

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action	Layer
Ctrl+K	Command palette	App
Ctrl+G	Switch group (palette filtered)	App
Ctrl+1..5	Focus project by index	App
Alt+1..4	Switch sidebar tab + open drawer	App
Ctrl+B	Toggle sidebar open/closed	App
Ctrl+,	Toggle settings panel	App
Escape	Close sidebar drawer	App
Ctrl+N	New terminal in focused project	Workspace
Ctrl+Shift+N	New agent query	Workspace
Ctrl+Tab	Next terminal tab	Project
Ctrl+W	Close terminal tab	Project
Ctrl+Shift+C/V	Copy/paste in terminal	Terminal

---

Implementation Phases

All 10 phases complete. Detailed checklists in v3-progress.md.

Phase	Scope	Status
1	Data Model + Config (groups.rs, workspace store, SQLite migrations)	Complete
2	Project Box Shell (GlobalTabBar, ProjectGrid/Box/Header, App.svelte, sidebar redesign 2026-03-08)	Complete
3	Claude Session Integration (ClaudeSession.svelte wraps AgentPane)	Complete
4	Terminal Tabs (TerminalTabs.svelte, per-project tabbed terminals)	Complete
5	Team Agents Panel (TeamAgentsPanel, AgentCard) — MVP boundary	Complete
6	Session Continuity (persist/restore agent messages, sdkSessionId)	Complete
7	Command Palette + Group Switching (workspace teardown)	Complete
8	Docs Tab (DocsTab.svelte, markdown discovery)	Complete
9	Settings Tab (group/project CRUD, 5-project limit)	Complete
10	Polish + Cleanup (dead v2 components removed, StatusBar rewrite)	Complete

---

Decisions Log

Decision	Rationale	Date
JSON for groups config, SQLite for session state	JSON is human-editable, shareable, version-controllable. SQLite for ephemeral runtime state. Load at startup only.	2026-03-07
Adaptive project count from viewport width	5@5120px, 3@1920px, scroll-snap for overflow. min-width 480px. Better than forcing 5 at all sizes.	2026-03-07
Single shared sidecar (v3.0)	Existing multiplexed protocol handles concurrent sessions. Per-project pool deferred to v3.1 if crash isolation needed. Saves ~200MB RAM.	2026-03-07
xterm budget: 4 active, unlimited suspended	WebKit2GTK OOM at ~5 instances. Serialize scrollback to text buffer, destroy xterm, recreate on focus. PTY stays alive.	2026-03-07
Flexbox + scroll-snap over CSS Grid	Allows horizontal scroll on narrow screens. Scroll-snap gives clean project-to-project scrolling.	2026-03-07
Team panel: inline >2560px, overlay <2560px	Adapts to available space. Collapsed when no subagents running.	2026-03-07
VSCode-style left sidebar (replaces top tab bar + settings drawer)	Vertical icon rail (36px, 4 SVG icons) + expandable drawer panel (28em, max 50%) + always-visible workspace. Settings is a regular tab, not special drawer. ProjectGrid always visible. Ctrl+B toggles sidebar.	2026-03-08
Project accent colors from Catppuccin palette	Visual distinction: blue/green/mauve/peach/pink per slot 1-5. Applied to border + header tint.	2026-03-07
Remote machines deferred to v3.1	Elevate to project level (project.remote_machine_id) but don't implement in MVP.	2026-03-07
Keyboard shortcut layers: App > Workspace > Terminal	Prevents conflicts. Terminal captures raw keys only when focused. App layer uses Ctrl+K/G.	2026-03-07
AgentPane splits into ClaudeSession + TeamAgentsPanel	Team agents shown inline in right panel, not as separate panes. Saves xterm/pane slots.	2026-03-07
Unmount/remount on group switch	Serialize xterm scrollbacks, destroy, remount new group. <100ms perceived. Frees ~80MB.	2026-03-07
All themes map to --ctp-* CSS vars	17 themes in 3 groups: 4 Catppuccin + 7 Editor (VSCode Dark+, Atom One Dark, Monokai, Dracula, Nord, Solarized Dark, GitHub Dark) + 6 Deep Dark (Tokyo Night, Gruvbox Dark, Ayu Dark, Poimandres, Vesper, Midnight). All map to same 26 --ctp-* CSS custom properties — zero component changes needed.	2026-03-07
Typography via CSS custom properties	--ui-font-family/--ui-font-size + --term-font-family/--term-font-size in catppuccin.css :root. Restored by initTheme() on startup. Persisted as ui_font_family/ui_font_size/term_font_family/term_font_size SQLite settings.	2026-03-07

Errors Encountered

Error	Cause	Fix	Date