manual_slop/conductor/archive/context_composition_ux_20260601/spec.md

Specification: Context Composition & UX Refinements

1. Overview

The user requested several immediate refinements to the Context Composition and Files & Media panels to improve clarity and workflow:

1. Files & Media Cleanup: The master "Files & Media" panel currently displays aggregation checkboxes and view mode dropdowns. These are legacy artifacts; this panel should only represent the totality of files in the project. State-specific controls belong exclusively in the "Context Composition" panel.
2. Add File UX: The "Add File" button in the Context Composition panel is non-functional. It needs to open a filtered selection menu allowing users to add files from the master list into the active context.
3. Visual Entry Tinting: To improve readability, User and AI messages in the Discussion entries list should be visually tinted, while cruft/system categories should be neutral or dimmed.

2. Functional Requirements

• Remove Master Flags: Modify _render_files_panel in src/gui_2.py to remove the imgui.checkbox and view_mode combo box. It should only display the file path and perhaps a button to "Send to Context" if not already there.
• Implement "Add File" Modal:
  • Create a popup modal Add Context File triggered by the [+ Add File] button in render_context_composition_panel.
  • The modal should list all files in app.files that are NOT currently in app.context_files.
  • Selecting a file adds it to app.context_files (defaulting to auto_aggregate=True, view_mode='summary').
• Discussion Entry Tinting: Update render_discussion_entry to apply a subtle background tint or text color shift based on the entry's role (e.g., User = faint blue, AI = faint green/purple, System = dimmed gray).

3. Non-Functional Requirements

• Clarity: The separation of concerns between "Project Files" and "Active Context" must be visually obvious.

4. Acceptance Criteria

• The "Files & Media" panel shows a clean list of files without individual view/aggregation controls.
• Clicking [+ Add File] in Context Composition opens a functional picker to add missing files.
• The Discussion Hub entries list visually distinguishes User and AI messages via color.