PMVP: Rebuild terminal IDE UX to meet usable MVP bar

[webfish0]

The current Smith implementation proves SSH-backed primitives and a command-driven smoke path, but it is not yet an end-user-usable terminal IDE.

This issue gates any future claim that Product MVP is complete.

Required references:

• terminal-ide-style-guide.md
• terminal-ide-user-stories.md
• mvp-status.md

Required outcomes:

1. Real interactive terminal lifecycle and event loop.
2. Visible focus and Normal/Insert/Command/Search/Terminal modes.
3. Navigable Explorer with keyboard and mouse support.
4. Text editor workflow with dirty state, save, failed-save recovery, and safe exit.
5. Minibuffer for command, search, prompt, confirmation, and error flows.
6. Command palette and context-sensitive help.
7. Integrated remote terminal panel with visible terminal-mode escape.
8. Responsive layouts for wide, medium, narrow, short, and minimum terminal sizes.
9. End-user evidence screenshots and transcripts for all prioritized MVP stories.

Acceptance criteria:

• US-MVP-001 through US-MVP-008 in terminal-ide-user-stories.md pass.
• The MVP evidence checklist in terminal-ide-user-stories.md is complete.
• Screenshots demonstrate real user workflows, not static-only render output.
• mvp-status.md is updated only after evidence confirms the usable MVP.

[webfish0]

Documentation baseline committed in 58f1fc0 (docs: reset terminal IDE MVP UX criteria).

Validation run on 26 June 2026:

• git diff --check passed.
• npm run verify:product-mvp passed.

Important interpretation: the verification command still proves the existing SSH/workspace/render smoke path only. It is not evidence that the end-user Product MVP is complete. Product MVP remains gated by terminal-ide-style-guide.md and terminal-ide-user-stories.md.

[webfish0]

Implemented first usable terminal IDE vertical slice in commit 8a85303 (feat: replace prompt with usable terminal IDE workflow).

What changed:

• Replaced the smith> command prompt as the primary interactive UI with a screen-oriented terminal workbench.
• Added raw/full-screen terminal lifecycle for TTY use, with non-TTY preview fallback.
• Added visible focus and modes: NORMAL, INSERT, SEARCH, TERMINAL, command/minibuffer states.
• Added Explorer navigation and mouse click routing into the workbench.
• Added editor Insert/Normal workflow, cursor rendering, dirty marker, save confirmation.
• Added minibuffer-backed command palette, quick open, search, messages, and confirmations.
• Added integrated remote command panel with visible TERMINAL mode and escape path.
• Added resize/minimum-screen rendering and dirty-exit confirmation/cancellation.
• Updated manual evidence to drive end-user actions rather than legacy internal commands.

Verification run:

• npm run verify:product-mvp passed.
• MANUAL-MVP-001 now covers help, command palette, mouse click, Explorer, edit/save, search, terminal command, resize/minimum screen, dirty-exit cancellation, and quit.

Evidence paths:

• test-evidence/manual-product-mvp/transcript.txt
• test-evidence/manual-product-mvp/frames/
• test-evidence/manual-product-mvp/screenshots/manual-session.png
• test-evidence/product-mvp/screenshots/workbench-100x30.png

Remaining before closing this issue:

• Live user acceptance in a real terminal.
• Broader terminal compatibility for mouse/key sequences.
• Richer Explorer file operations: create, rename, delete, refresh confirmations.
• Save-failure/permission-denied evidence.
• Persistent PTY/multiplexing for long-running terminal commands.

[webfish0]

Progress update from commit 986e74c:

Fixed user-reported defects:

• BUG: Left activity rail is unclear and not useful in MVP UI #33 left activity rail unclear: removed from MVP default layout until it has useful view-switch behavior.
• BUG: Mouse input must not write escape/code text into editor buffer #34 mouse input leaking into editor: raw SGR mouse sequences are routed as pointer events and terminal control sequences are blocked from text insertion.

Continued MVP development:

• PMVP: Add Explorer create rename delete with safe confirmations #35 Explorer create/rename/delete implemented with safe delete cancellation/confirmation.
• Quick Open now recursively searches the remote workspace instead of only visible Explorer rows.
• Evidence generation now produces named key-frame screenshots under test-evidence/manual-product-mvp/screenshots/frames/.

Verification:

• npm run verify:product-mvp passed.
• MANUAL-MVP-001 now covers help, command palette, mouse, edit/save, Explorer create/rename/delete, search, terminal, resize/minimum screen, dirty-exit cancellation, and quit.

Remaining PMVP hardening remains: live user acceptance, broader terminal compatibility, better quick-open result picker, save-failure evidence, and persistent PTY/multiplexing.

[webfish0]

Progress update from commit 12df3a8 (test: drive MVP evidence from user perspective).

Changed the Product MVP manual test from an internal action script into a user-perspective journey:

• Each step records the user goal.
• The test asserts the visible terminal cue before acting.
• The test performs a terminal-style action: key press, text entry, mouse click, raw mouse input, or resize.
• The test asserts the next visible result before continuing.
• Remote readback still proves file operations affected the SSH workspace safely.

New/updated evidence:

• test-evidence/manual-product-mvp/user-journey.json
• test-evidence/manual-product-mvp/transcript.txt
• test-evidence/manual-product-mvp/frames/
• test-evidence/manual-product-mvp/screenshots/frames/initial.png
• test-evidence/manual-product-mvp/screenshots/frames/terminal-command.png

Service/UX improvements forced by the user-perspective test:

• Command palette now visibly labels itself as Command palette:.
• Editor footer now exposes i to edit and Esc normal.
• Persistent title/status hints now include terminal access and q quit.
• Terminal panel now prioritizes stdout before exit/status so the user sees command output in short panels.

Verification:

• npm run verify:product-mvp passed.
• USER-MVP-001 passed: user completes IDE tasks by reading terminal feedback and using visible UX cues.

[webfish0]

Progress update from commit b979b4e:

Command binding feedback addressed:

• Previous evidence did not prove actual terminal key decoding; it used logical action names.
• Added T-010-keypress for keypress-shaped objects/sequences.
• User journey now sends actual keypress events for visible bindings.
• F1 and : are now the primary command-palette bindings.
• F2 is now the primary terminal binding.
• Ctrl+Shift+P remains only an optional compatibility alias when the terminal reports it distinctly.
• Fixed Normal-mode printable key handling so i enters Insert mode and does not insert text.

Verification:

• npm run verify:product-mvp passed.
• T-010-keypress passed.
• USER-MVP-001 passed.