claude in the PTY now has continuous tab-aware context. Three pieces:
1. Live state files. background.js listens to chrome.tabs.onActivated /
onCreated / onRemoved / onUpdated (throttled to URL/title/status==
complete so loading spinners don't spam) and pushes a snapshot. The
sidepanel relays it as a custom event; sidepanel-terminal.js sends
{type:"tabState"} text frames over the live PTY WebSocket.
terminal-agent.ts writes:
<stateDir>/tabs.json all open tabs (id, url, title, active,
pinned, audible, windowId)
<stateDir>/active-tab.json current active tab (skips chrome:// and
chrome-extension:// internal pages)
Atomic write via tmp + rename so claude never reads a half-written
document. A fresh snapshot is pushed on WS open so the files exist by
the time claude finishes booting.
2. New $B tab-each <command> [args...] meta-command. Fans out a single
command across every open tab, returns
{command, args, total, results: [{tabId, url, title, status, output}]}.
Skips chrome:// pages; restores the originally active tab in a finally
block (so a mid-batch error doesn't leave the user looking at a
different tab); uses bringToFront: false so the OS window doesn't
jump on every fanout. Scope-checks the inner command BEFORE the loop.
3. --append-system-prompt hint at spawn time. Claude is told about both
the state files and the $B tab-each command up front, so it doesn't
have to discover the surface by trial. Passed via the --append-system-
prompt CLI flag, NOT as a leading PTY write — the hint stays out of
the visible transcript.
Tests:
- browse/test/tab-each.test.ts (new) — registration + source-level
invariants (scope check before loop, finally-restore, bringToFront:false,
chrome:// skip) + behavior tests with a mock BrowserManager that verify
iteration order, JSON shape, error handling, and active-tab restore.
- browse/test/terminal-agent.test.ts — three new assertions for
tabState handler shape, atomic-write pattern, and the
--append-system-prompt wiring at spawn.
Verified live: opened 5 tabs, ran $B tab-each url against the live
server, got per-tab JSON results back, original active tab restored
without OS focus stealing.
The chat queue path is gone. The Chrome side panel is now just an
interactive claude PTY in xterm.js. Activity / Refs / Inspector still
exist behind the `debug` toggle in the footer.
Three threads of change, all from dogfood iteration on top of
cc-pty-import:
1. fix(server): cross-port WS auth via Sec-WebSocket-Protocol
- Browsers can't set Authorization on a WebSocket upgrade. We had
been minting an HttpOnly gstack_pty cookie via /pty-session, but
SameSite=Strict cookies don't survive the cross-port jump from
server.ts:34567 to the agent's random port from a chrome-extension
origin. The WS opened then immediately closed → "Session ended."
- /pty-session now also returns ptySessionToken in the JSON body.
- Extension calls `new WebSocket(url, [`gstack-pty.<token>`])`.
Browser sends Sec-WebSocket-Protocol on the upgrade.
- Agent reads the protocol header, validates against validTokens,
and MUST echo the protocol back (Chromium closes the connection
immediately if a server doesn't pick one of the offered protocols).
- Cookie path is kept as a fallback for non-browser callers (curl,
integration tests).
- New integration test exercises the full protocol-auth round-trip
via raw fetch+Upgrade so a future regression of this exact class
fails in CI.
2. fix(extension): UX polish on the Terminal pane
- Eager auto-connect when the sidebar opens — no "Press any key to
start" friction every reload.
- Always-visible ↻ Restart button in the terminal toolbar (not
gated on the ENDED state) so the user can force a fresh claude
mid-session.
- MutationObserver on #tab-terminal's class attribute drives a
fitAddon.fit() + term.refresh() when the pane becomes visible
again — xterm doesn't auto-redraw after display:none → display:flex.
3. feat(extension): rip the chat tab + sidebar-agent.ts
- Sidebar is Terminal-only. No more Terminal | Chat primary nav.
- sidebar-agent.ts deleted. /sidebar-command, /sidebar-chat,
/sidebar-agent/event, /sidebar-tabs* and friends all deleted.
- The pickSidebarModel router (sonnet vs opus) is gone — the live
PTY uses whatever model the user's `claude` CLI is configured with.
- Quick-actions (🧹 Cleanup / 📸 Screenshot / 🍪 Cookies) survive
in the Terminal toolbar. Cleanup now injects its prompt into the
live PTY via window.gstackInjectToTerminal — no more
/sidebar-command POST. The Inspector "Send to Code" action uses
the same injection path.
- clear-chat button removed from the footer.
- sidepanel.js shed ~900 lines of chat polling, optimistic UI,
stop-agent, etc.
Net diff: -3.4k lines across 16 files. CLAUDE.md, TODOS.md, and
docs/designs/SIDEBAR_MESSAGE_FLOW.md rewritten to match. The sidebar
regression test (browse/test/sidebar-tabs.test.ts) is rewritten as 27
structural assertions locking the new layout — Terminal sole pane,
no chat input, quick-actions in toolbar, eager-connect, MutationObserver
repaint, restart helper.
Adds a primary tab bar (Terminal | Chat) above the existing tab-content
panes. Terminal is the default-active tab; clicking Chat returns to the
existing claude -p one-shot flow which is preserved verbatim.
manifest.json: adds ws://127.0.0.1:*/ to host_permissions so MV3 doesn't
block the WebSocket upgrade.
sidepanel.html: new primary-tabs nav, new #tab-terminal pane with a
"Press any key to start Claude Code" bootstrap card, claude-not-found
install card, xterm mount point, and "session ended" restart UI. Loads
xterm.js + xterm-addon-fit + sidepanel-terminal.js. tab-chat is no
longer the .active default.
sidepanel.js: new activePrimaryPaneId() helper that reads which primary
tab is selected. Debug-close paths now route back to whichever primary
pane is active (was hardcoded to tab-chat). Primary-tab click handler
toggles .active classes and aria-selected. window.gstackServerPort and
window.gstackAuthToken exposed so sidepanel-terminal.js can build the
/pty-session POST and the WS URL.
sidepanel-terminal.js (new): xterm.js lifecycle. Lazy-spawn — first
keystroke fires POST /pty-session, then opens
ws://127.0.0.1:<terminalPort>/ws. Origin + cookie are set automatically
by the browser. Resize observer sends {type:"resize"} text frames.
ResizeObserver, tab-switch hooks, restart button, install-card retry.
On WS close shows "Session ended, click to restart" — no auto-reconnect
(codex outside-voice flagged that as session-burning).
sidepanel.css: primary-tabs bar + Terminal pane styling (full-height
xterm container, install card, ended state).
Garry Tan