Summary
Workspace lifecycle management exists in Settings, but it is difficult to discover from the sidebar where users interact with workspaces. The Settings navigation also places Environments under the Models group.
Priority: P2 UX
Current behavior
- Environment Settings supports active/archived views, reorder, open, default, archive, restore, and remove.
- The sidebar project-group menu primarily exposes order movement and Session creation behavior, but not a clear Open folder, Archive, or Manage workspaces path.
src/shared/settingsNavigation.ts assigns settings-environments to groupKey: 'models' even though the route represents workspace/project setup.
Issue #1785 and PR #1787 implemented the underlying directory management contract. The remaining problem is entry-point discoverability, not missing persistence APIs.
Related contracts and documentation
docs/features/complete-directory-management/spec.md is the maintained contract for archive/remove/reorder/default behavior and accessible move actions.
docs/architecture/session-management.md assigns directory lifecycle to src/main/project/, separate from provider/model configuration.
The navigation hierarchy should reflect that ownership and let the sidebar delegate to the existing management surface.
Impact
- Users may assume archive/remove/default management does not exist.
- Workspace actions require leaving the primary context and knowing the exact Settings location.
- Placing Environments under Models creates a misleading product taxonomy.
- Missing-path and duplicate-name recovery are harder to reach.
Proposed experience
- Add a compact workspace context menu with safe shortcuts:
- New chat in workspace
- Open folder
- Set as default
- Archive
- Manage workspaces
- Keep destructive removal and archived restoration in the full Settings surface with existing confirmation contracts.
- Move Environments to the Setup/general workspace group in Settings navigation.
- Ensure keyboard and screen-reader users can reach every action.
Acceptance criteria
User benefit
Users can find and understand workspace management from the place where workspaces are used, without confusing it with model configuration.
Summary
Workspace lifecycle management exists in Settings, but it is difficult to discover from the sidebar where users interact with workspaces. The Settings navigation also places Environments under the Models group.
Priority: P2 UX
Current behavior
src/shared/settingsNavigation.tsassignssettings-environmentstogroupKey: 'models'even though the route represents workspace/project setup.Issue #1785 and PR #1787 implemented the underlying directory management contract. The remaining problem is entry-point discoverability, not missing persistence APIs.
Related contracts and documentation
docs/features/complete-directory-management/spec.mdis the maintained contract for archive/remove/reorder/default behavior and accessible move actions.docs/architecture/session-management.mdassigns directory lifecycle tosrc/main/project/, separate from provider/model configuration.The navigation hierarchy should reflect that ownership and let the sidebar delegate to the existing management surface.
Impact
Proposed experience
Acceptance criteria
User benefit
Users can find and understand workspace management from the place where workspaces are used, without confusing it with model configuration.