ADR 0019: Work panel subsystems (embedded browser, git review, file browsing)

• Status: Superseded in part by ADR 0108 and ADR 0170
• Date: 2026-07-26
• Deciders: PI-Desktop maintainers
• Related: 01-ui-ia · 08-component-spec §5 · 01-ipc-protocol §13a · ADR 0108 · ADR 0170

Context

The work panel was introduced as a docked surface for workspace review, embedded browser preview, file browsing, and an interactive shell. Each surface needed a host-owned boundary because the sandboxed renderer could not safely perform workspace or window operations itself.

Decision

The retained work-panel subsystems are:

1. Browser. Chrome and agent CDP ship as bundled plugin pi.browser (ADR 0170). Electron Main still owns the guest WebContentsView, navigation policy, permission denial, external popup handling, and measured bounds clamp.
2. Review. Message-owned review snapshots and guarded rollback remain host-integrated; Review opens only on explicit user action and never from a tool result (D451).
3. Files. Project browsing is supplied by the bundled pi.files plugin over the public contributed-view and filesystem APIs.
4. Transcript resources. File and URL artifacts remain session-scoped tabs opened by the conversation rather than generic launchers.

The former interactive-terminal subsystem is not part of the current product. Its removal, including the desktop IPC and packaging cleanup, is defined by ADR 0108. Agent Bash is an independent non-interactive agent tool and is not a work-panel subsystem.

Consequences

• The renderer remains sandboxed and native Browser/plugin surfaces continue to use the existing measured-bounds and visibility rules.
• Review and file artifacts retain conversation ownership, while project browsing uses the bundled Files plugin.
• Interactive shell access is provided by an external terminal rather than by a PI-Desktop work-panel tab.

Alternatives considered

• Making every panel surface an agent tool was rejected because user-driven browsing and review would inherit agent permissions, truncation, and audit semantics.
• Giving bundled plugins private host capabilities was rejected because it would bypass the public plugin boundary.
• Keeping the former interactive shell was rejected by ADR 0108 to remove its separate native and lifecycle surface.