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Integrated terminal drawer scoped to the thread worktree #147
Description
What competitors do
T3 Code ships server-side terminals as a first-class feature (terminal.attach, mod+g to toggle) for running tests/linters without leaving the app (docs). Synara puts terminals one pane from the conversation and lets a terminal selection be sent into the composer as context (docs). Superset, Emdash, Orca and Crystal all embed a real terminal scoped to the agent worktree.
Solenta today
No PTY anywhere: no node-pty/xterm in package.json, no terminal component in src/components/. The dev servers panel only spawns detected dev/start/serve scripts (electron/devservers.js:7). PRODUCT-SPEC excludes an embedded terminal as primary UX, but a secondary drawer is a narrower thing.
Why it matters
The most common reason to leave the app is "run the test suite / tail a log / nudge a stalled command" in the thread worktree. A drawer that opens already cd'd into the worktree keeps the observe-fix loop in one window, and piping terminal output into the composer (Synara-style) removes copy-paste.
Scope suggestion
A collapsible drawer per thread (xterm.js + node-pty in main), cwd locked to the thread worktree, plus a "send selection to composer" action. Not a multi-pane terminal multiplexer.
Activity
currentbits commentedon Aug 17, 2026
Deep-dive detail (Conductor): the terminal drawer doubles as the harness escape hatch — a full-center terminal tab with per-agent launch presets, so ANY CLI agent works before a native integration exists. Cheap insurance for the multi-harness promise.
currentbits commentedon Aug 18, 2026
Round 22: do not wait on this drawer for one-shot commands. Filed #470 — composer `!` shell mode (Claude/Grok/Kimi). A persistent PTY is still the right home for `pnpm dev`. `!` is `gh auth login` / `npm test -- foo` without a model turn. They share a cwd and a sandbox; they are not the same UI.
currentbits commentedon Aug 19, 2026
Claude Code Desktop shipped this drawer almost exactly as scoped here, plus two details worth adopting (docs):
npm testorgit statussee the same files Claude is editing." That matters for Solenta specifically because of Propagate the user's real shell environment into agent sessions #320 — if the drawer inherits the user's real shell env and the agent does not, the drawer becomes the tool that proves the agent's environment is wrong.+in the pane header, and right-clicking a folder in the chat offers Open in terminal there. That is the cheap version of the multiplexer this issue rules out — no splits, no layout, just a tab strip — and Codex 26.415 landed the same thing ("multiple terminal tabs support parallel builds and tests scoped to projects").Tabs pair with #492 (clickable paths) and #552 (pane shell): the terminal becomes a pane type, and "open in terminal" is a right-click on any path in the transcript.
currentbits commentedon Aug 23, 2026
Scope correction from the thread: a pane, not a drawer. Terminal was already a registered pane type in the #552 shell (
PANE_REGISTRY,shipped: false, rendering a placeholder), so it becameshipped: trueplus a horizontal split — it opens beside the focused pane exactly like Git, and drags/closes/resizes with the same chrome. No drawer, no toggle, no new layout concept.Pipes, not a PTY.
node-ptyis a native module andscripts/package-app.shhand-copies prod deps with no electron-rebuild step, so a real tty costs the release pipeline more than the feature is worth today. One long-lived shell per thread (electron/terminal.js), cwd at the worktree, socdand exports persist between commands. Ceiling is in the file header: interactive prompts (gh auth login) hang, no curses apps, no per-command exit code, and Ctrl-C is spelled Restart. Upgrade path is node-pty + xterm.js behind the same four IPC calls.Also landed, from the same message: opening any second pane collapses the agents rail so the panes get the width. Keyed on the open action (Views menu, Git open path), not on
leaves(layout).length > 1— the layout-shaped version also fired for a restored split on every thread switch, andagentsCollapsedpersists to localStorage.Still open against the original scope: tabs, "send selection to composer", and right-click → Open in terminal on a path.
Suites: renderer 1501/1501, electron 1985/1985, typecheck clean.
currentbits commentedon Aug 23, 2026
Landed from Solenta thread "Integrated terminal drawer scoped to the thread worktree". Closed on merge.