Challenge 095: UI Workspace Continuity

Executive Summary

Make everyday Node UI work feel continuous without replacing HTMX/HATEOAS or moving domain authority into the client.

Context and Problem Statement

Opening supporting evidence or inspecting a setting should not lose a conversation, draft, scroll position or keyboard focus. Existing modal and transition helpers are useful antecedents, not yet proof of a shared workspace interaction contract.

Proposed Direction

Proposal 095 defines a small interaction layer over server-rendered HTML, with Stimulus as the preferred candidate for controller lifecycle management, subject to a bounded compatibility spike. The first slice is one conversation with a detail panel and return path.

Trade-offs

Shared presentation mechanics can reduce repeated code and cognitive load, but a new client router or domain store would undermine the existing architecture.

Failure Modes and Mitigations

Guard against duplicate requests, lost drafts, leaked history, stale approvals and inaccessible panels through explicit ownership and retained interaction tests.

Open Questions

Does Stimulus simplify the existing helpers enough to justify its dependency? Which existing conversation/detail pair provides the smallest representative slice?

Next Actions

Start framework-independent history hardening (P095-007) and the P095-001 inventory, then run P095-002's isolated browser/WebView spike. Production controller adoption also requires P095-008's fragment, CSP and native-command boundary checks. Do not infer measured usability gains from a framework choice.