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Test: Single-pane detail panel for the Agents window #324359

Description

@sandy081

Refs: #324257

Complexity: 5

Authors: @sandy081

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Single-pane detail panel for the Agents window

This tests a redesign of the Agents window "third pane". When enabled, the editor and the
auxiliary bar render as one card with a single shared tab bar spanning an editor
content area (left) and a docked detail panel (right: Changes / Files / Explorer).

Set up

  1. Use an Insiders build that includes the feature.
  2. Open Settings and enable sessions.layout.singlePaneDetailPanel (experimental).
  3. Reload the window — the setting is read once at startup, so a reload is required.
  4. Open the Agents window with a workspace/session that has some file changes, so the Changes
    view has content.

Note: when the setting is OFF (default), the Agents window must look and behave exactly
like the previous layout — covered in the last scenario.

A note on pane states

The side pane has four states — refer back to these as you test:

  1. Editor + Detail — normal working state (editor content left, detail panel right).
  2. Detail only — editor collapsed via Hide Editor; chat reclaims the freed width; the
    detail panel keeps its width.
  3. Editor only — detail toggled off; editor fills the pane. DEFAULT for a newly created session.
  4. Side pane closed — chat-only (via Toggle Side Panel, or by closing the last tab).

Scenario 1 — New session

  • Open the new-session (composer) view → it opens to the Files detail with the
    editor content closed.
  • The editor content stays closed by default; opening a file from Files shows it,
    and switching back to the Files tab keeps the editor visible.
  • Submit the new session: if the side pane was open, it stays open but switches
    to Changes; if the side pane was closed, it stays closed.
  • Switch away from the new-session view and back → it retains the state you left it in.
  • Overall the new-session experience feels right — nothing appears then disappears, no empty pane.

Scenario 2 — Sessions retain their state on switch

  • From a new session, navigate to an existing session → the existing session
    restores its own saved state (it is NOT left closed/blank, and is not forced to a default).
  • In an existing session, put the side pane in a particular state (hide the editor, or close
    the side pane, or open the detail panel), switch away to another session and back → the
    session restores exactly the state you left it in.
  • Try this for each state (detail open, editor hidden, side pane closed), switching between
    new and existing sessions with the side pane in different states → every switch lands in the
    state that session was left in, never empty or flickering.
  • Switch back and forth a few times → layouts stay consistent and predictable per session.

Scenario 3 — Reload

  • Set up a mix of sessions in different states (detail visible, editor hidden, side pane
    closed, Files vs Changes container) and reload the window.
  • Each session comes back in the same state — detail visibility, editor-hidden, and the
    Files/Changes choice all persist.
  • A closed side pane stays closed across reload (no flicker, no transient tab appearing/removing).
  • Reloading while in a new-session view shows no side-pane flicker.

Scenario 4 — Try out all the layout actions (exploratory)

Work in a session and exercise every control; the pane should never end up empty.

  • Toggle Details shows/hides the detail panel; opening it auto-collapses the sessions list
    and closing it restores the list; the button "on" state matches what's rendered. Hiding
    details while the editor is hidden reveals the editor.
  • Hide Editor (chevron) closes editor content, keeps the detail, and re-shows the sessions
    list. It appears only on Changes/Files tabs (not Browser), and is hidden when the editor
    is already closed or the editor area is maximized.
  • Editor-title actions: Maximize/Restore the editor area (forces Changes while maximized,
    restores on un-maximize); Collapse All Diffs collapses all files in the Changes diff;
    all editor-title actions hide when the editor area is closed.
  • Grid sash: in a created session, dragging the sash wider re-reveals the editor and narrow
    enough hides it; in the new-session view a width reveal is re-hidden (editor stays closed).
  • Managed tabs: the Changes multi-diff tab and an empty Files placeholder tab are present;
    tabs disappear only on explicit user close; closing the Files tab then New File reopens
    it; closing all tabs closes the side pane, and reopening shows Changes (existing) or Files (new).

Scenario 5 — Quick chat

  • A quick chat has no side pane (empty aux bar hidden; chat is full-width).

Scenario 6 — Regression (setting OFF)

  • With the setting OFF, the Agents window layout is unchanged (classic layout).
  • With multiple sessions visible, the side-pane rules don't fight the shared editor area.

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