web/UX overhaul: design iteration and CLI-web parity #35

closed cmc opened this on 2026-08-25 21:21 · milestone v0.5.0

cmc 2026-08-25 21:21

Umbrella for the v0.5.0 arc. Two goals with one structure:

The design needs sustained iteration — visual hierarchy, navigation, density, mobile, a11y, empty states.
CLI-web parity with the identity kept straight: the CLI is the complete interface; the web is the reading-reviewing-responding surface, good enough that a maintainer can triage, review, and merge from a browser without feeling punished.

Principles (binding):

Every capability exists over SSH; web writes call the same control handlers. No web-only behavior.
Credential-shaped input (keys excepted), secrets, and tokens stay stdin-over-SSH.
No-JS pages remain the baseline; JS is enhancement only.
Each page workstream lands design + actions together, with a screenshot checkpoint before merge.

Plan lives on the wiki Roadmap. Foundations first (nav IA, type/spacing rhythm, a11y baseline, diff renderer), then page workstreams: MR page, issues, repo home, dashboard, commit/log, owner/org, settings surface.

referenced in commit 7b5be134cc: Carbon: black shell, left repo rail, sharp lines, IBM Plex

2026-08-25 21:57

referenced in commit ba046389a8: Carbon r2: persistent rail, scoped shell, readable code blocks

2026-08-25 23:20

referenced in commit 235f40647d: web: review, resolve, merge, and close on the merge request page

2026-08-26 02:42

referenced in commit 4dbe61f2db: web: open a merge request from the browser

2026-08-26 02:51

referenced in commit e4fa403437: web: triage issues from the browser

2026-08-26 03:00

referenced in commit 32a583340a: web: a dashboard that answers "what needs me", badges, and author names

2026-08-26 03:23

referenced in commit f65bfc3c4e: web: link resolved author names to their profiles

2026-08-26 03:33

referenced in commit 8e64f8208b: web: repository settings for admins, and a visibility command

2026-08-26 03:42

referenced in commit 97bab07d1a: web: create and edit releases, trigger builds

2026-08-26 03:54

referenced in commit d122636fc9: web: a real diff view, and commit references name their author

2026-08-26 04:37

referenced in commit 7b6134a766 by cmc: web: repository facts on the code page

2026-08-26 04:51

referenced in commit 6b2b26db54 by cmc: web: account settings for keys and addresses

2026-08-26 05:00

referenced in commit fa1784cbc9 by cmc: web: run an organization from its page

2026-08-26 05:08

referenced in commit 73c8e291f7 by cmc: web: check status and a path filter on the log, visible focus in the rail

2026-08-26 05:14

referenced in commit dbd18f08cd by cmc: web: drop the key comment column

2026-08-26 05:20

cmc 2026-08-26 05:22

All eight page workstreams and the foundations have landed.

Web: MR review/merge/close and create, issue triage, repo settings, releases and builds, dashboard, account settings (keys, addresses), organization membership and teams. Every write dispatches the same control command the CLI runs.

Diff renderer: foldable per-file sections, line-number gutters, rename and binary handling, syntax highlighting per hunk per side. Shared by the commit and MR pages.

Repo homes state their facts: commits, branches, tags, license, latest release, build status, language census, contributors resolved to accounts.

Parity matrix on the wiki lists what stays SSH-only and why.