galaxy/specs/APP-3648/PRODUCT.md

APP-3648: Vertical Tabs Panel — Search + Control Bar

Overview

Add a fixed control bar at the top of the vertical tabs panel containing a search input and a "new tab" button. This bar sits above the scrollable tab groups and is always visible when the panel is open.

Milestone 1 Scope

• Search input: Renders as a full-width text field with placeholder text (e.g. "Search tabs...") and a magnifying glass icon. Non-functional — the input does not accept text and is not focusable. Hovering anywhere on the search input shows a tooltip: "Not yet implemented".
• Plus button: A single icon button (+) to the right of the search input. Left-click creates a new tab (equivalent to WorkspaceAction::AddTab). Right-click opens the new session dropdown menu (equivalent to WorkspaceAction::ToggleNewSessionMenu).
• Configs button: Out of scope for this milestone.

Behavior

Search Input

• Visually resembles a standard search field: magnifying glass icon on the left, placeholder text, themed background/border consistent with the panel.
• The field is inert — clicking it does nothing (no focus, no cursor, no text entry).
• On hover, a tooltip appears with the text "Not yet implemented".
• The search input stretches to fill all available horizontal space to the left of the plus button.

Plus Button

• Renders as a small icon button with a + icon.
• Left-click: Creates a new tab (same as the existing AddTab action — opens a welcome tab or terminal tab depending on feature flags).
• Right-click: Opens the new session dropdown menu, anchored below the plus button at the bottom edge of the control bar.
• On hover, shows a tooltip with label "New Tab" and the keybinding for the new tab action (Cmd+Shift+T / Ctrl+Shift+T).
• The dropdown menu contains the same items as the existing new session menu (shell options, launch configs, tab configs).

Layout

• The control bar is a horizontal row at the top of the vertical tabs panel, above the scrollable tab group list.
• It is not scrollable — it stays fixed at the top as tab groups scroll.
• It has horizontal padding consistent with the rest of the panel (12px).
• Vertical padding provides comfortable spacing from the panel's top edge and the first tab group below.

Edge Cases

1. Narrow panel widths: At the minimum panel width (200px), the search input text truncates but the plus button remains fully visible and usable. The plus button has a fixed size; the search input absorbs all remaining width.
2. Tooltip clipping: The "Not yet implemented" tooltip and the new session dropdown menu must not clip outside the window bounds. Use window-aware positioning.
3. Focus: Since the search input is inert, clicking it must not steal focus from the active terminal or editor. The control bar itself does not participate in focus management.
4. Panel toggle: The control bar is only visible when the vertical tabs panel is open. No special behavior on open/close.
5. Dropdown menu lifecycle: The new session dropdown menu follows the same open/close lifecycle as the existing top bar menu — it closes on item selection, clicking outside, or pressing Escape.
6. Multiple windows: Each window's vertical tabs panel has its own independent control bar instance. Dropdown menus are scoped to their window.