@brimveyn/aimux 1.23.2 → 1.23.5

package/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@brimveyn/aimux",
-  "version": "1.23.2",
+  "version": "1.23.5",
   "description": "A terminal multiplexer for AI CLIs. Run Claude, Codex, OpenCode, Kimi side-by-side with tabbed navigation, split panes, and persistent sessions.",
   "keywords": [
     "ai",
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@
     "bump:terminal_manager": "bun run scripts/bump-protocol.ts terminal-manager"
   },
   "dependencies": {
-    "@brimveyn/aimux-config": "0.10.3",
+    "@brimveyn/aimux-config": "0.10.6",
     "@opentui/core": "^0.1.90",
     "@opentui/react": "^0.1.90",
     "@resvg/resvg-wasm": "^2.6.2",

package/src/app-runtime/navigation-actions.ts

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import { saveProjectCatalog } from '../state/project-catalog'
 import {
   filterTabsForActiveWorkspace,
   getPrimaryWorkspace,
+  getSidebarWorkspaces,
   withActiveWorkspace,
 } from '../state/project-workspaces'
 import { appReducer } from '../state/store'
@@ -103,7 +104,9 @@ function buildSidebarItems(state: AppState): SidebarItem[] {
   )
   const items: SidebarItem[] = []
   for (const project of ordered) {
-    for (const workspace of project.workspaces ?? []) {
+    // `true`, for every project: a folded one keeps exactly the row j/k would
+    // land on, and that row is on screen the moment the cursor gets there.
+    for (const workspace of getSidebarWorkspaces(project, true)) {
       items.push({ projectId: project.id, workspaceId: workspace.id })
     }
   }

package/src/app-runtime/side-effects.ts

@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ import {
   runDeleteWorkspace,
   runMoveWorkspace,
   setProjectDefaultBaseRef,
+  toggleProjectCollapsed,
 } from './workspace-actions'
 import { launchPendingWorkspace, startWorkspaceCreation } from './workspace-launch'
 
@@ -586,6 +587,10 @@ export function executeSideEffect(effect: SideEffect, ctx: SideEffectContext): v
       setProjectDefaultBaseRef(ctx, effect.projectId, effect.baseRef)
       return
     }
+    case 'toggle-project-collapsed': {
+      toggleProjectCollapsed(ctx, effect.projectId)
+      return
+    }
     case 'ask-agent-for-setup-script': {
       handleAskAgentForSetupScriptEffect(ctx)
       return

package/src/app-runtime/use-auto-commit-driver.ts

@@ -93,8 +93,13 @@ export function useAutoCommitDriver({
   const lastGitHashRef = useRef<string | null>(null)
   const gitStabilizeTimerRef = useRef<ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null>(null)
 
+  // `state.gitPanel`, not `state`: the payload is built from the git panel and
+  // nothing else, while `state` changes on every PTY frame. Keyed on the whole
+  // state this ran — and JSON.stringify'd the changed-file list — at the rate
+  // the assistants print.
   useEffect(() => {
     if (!configRef.current.enabled) return
+    const state = stateRef.current
     const projectId = state.currentProjectId
     if (!(projectId != null && projectId !== '')) return
     const payload = gitPayloadFromState(state)
@@ -126,7 +131,7 @@ export function useAutoCommitDriver({
         tabId: activeTab.id,
       })
     }, GIT_STABILIZATION_DEBOUNCE_MS)
-  }, [state])
+  }, [state.gitPanel, stateRef])
 
   useEffect(
     () => () => {

package/src/app-runtime/use-backend-runtime.ts

@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@ interface BackendRuntimeOptions {
   syntaxOverlayEnabled: () => boolean
 }
 
+/** Below the eye's notice on a deliberate switch; wide enough to swallow key repeat. */
+const ATTACH_SETTLE_MS = 90
+
 export interface TabRuntimeControls {
   clearIdleTimer: (tabId: string) => void
   clearStartupGrace: (tabId: string) => void
@@ -45,14 +48,28 @@ export function useBackendRuntime({
       return
     }
 
-    return attachCurrentSession({
-      attachRequestIdRef,
-      backend,
-      currentProjectId,
-      currentProjectProjectSnapshot,
-      dispatch,
-      layoutRef,
-    })
+    // Settle before attaching. An attach is a socket teardown + reconnect +
+    // handshake to the daemon, which then re-attaches every PTY of the project
+    // and classifies them — and holding `j`/`k` across the sidebar walks
+    // through projects at key-repeat rate. Firing one per keypress meant every
+    // intermediate project paid that round trip only to have its result
+    // discarded by the next. Only where the cursor comes to rest attaches.
+    let detach: (() => void) | null = null
+    const timer = setTimeout(() => {
+      detach = attachCurrentSession({
+        attachRequestIdRef,
+        backend,
+        currentProjectId,
+        currentProjectProjectSnapshot,
+        dispatch,
+        layoutRef,
+      })
+    }, ATTACH_SETTLE_MS)
+
+    return () => {
+      clearTimeout(timer)
+      detach?.()
+    }
   }, [backend, currentProjectId, currentProjectProjectSnapshot, dispatch, layoutRef])
 
   useEffect(() => {

package/src/app-runtime/workspace-actions.ts

@@ -87,6 +87,17 @@ export function setProjectDefaultBaseRef(
   ctx.dispatch({ projects, type: 'set-projects' })
 }
 
+/** Fold or unfold a project's workspace rows in the sidebar. */
+export function toggleProjectCollapsed(ctx: SideEffectContext, projectId: string): void {
+  const projects = replaceProject(ctx, projectId, (entry) => ({
+    ...entry,
+    collapsed: entry.collapsed !== true ? true : undefined,
+    updatedAt: new Date().toISOString(),
+  }))
+  saveProjectCatalog(projects)
+  ctx.dispatch({ projects, type: 'set-projects' })
+}
+
 function normalizeBranchName(branch: string | undefined): string | undefined {
   return branch?.replace(/^refs\/heads\//, '').trim()
 }

package/src/app-runtime/workspace-launch.ts

@@ -73,6 +73,9 @@ export function startWorkspaceCreation(
  * conclusion. Only prefixed when a setup is actually live.
  */
 function buildWorkspacePrompt(ctx: SideEffectContext, pending: PendingWorkspaceLaunch): string {
+  // No prompt is a valid choice: the user wanted the worktree, not a task. Send
+  // nothing — not even the setup note, which would arrive as a prompt of its own.
+  if (pending.prompt.trim() === '') return ''
   const setupTab = findSetupTab(ctx.getState().tabs, pending.workspaceId)
   // No setup tab yet does not mean no setup: the workspace can land in the
   // store the same tick the user picks, and the runner only spawns on the next
@@ -95,6 +98,8 @@ function renameWorkspaceFromLaunch(
   workspace: WorkspaceRecord,
   assistant: AssistantId
 ): void {
+  // Nothing to name it after; the `wt-<project>` placeholder stands.
+  if (pending.prompt.trim() === '') return
   void renameWorkspaceFromPrompt(
     { projectId: pending.projectId, prompt: pending.prompt, provider: assistant, workspace },
     {

package/src/git/workspace-branch-poller.ts

@@ -18,36 +18,29 @@ export function useWorkspaceBranchPolling(enabled: boolean): void {
   useEffect(() => {
     if (!enabled) return
 
-    let cancelled = false
     let timer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null = null
 
-    const tick = async () => {
-      const projects = appStore.getState().projects
-      await Promise.all(
-        projects.flatMap((project) =>
-          (project.workspaces ?? []).map(async (workspace) => {
-            if (workspace.path == null || workspace.path === '') return
-            const branch = await getCurrentBranch(workspace.path)
-            if (cancelled) return
-            if (branch != null && branch !== workspace.branch) {
-              dispatchGlobal({
-                patch: { branch },
-                projectId: project.id,
-                type: 'update-workspace-record',
-                workspaceId: workspace.id,
-              })
-            }
-          })
-        )
-      )
-      if (cancelled) return
-      timer = setTimeout(() => void tick(), INTERVAL_MS)
+    const tick = () => {
+      for (const project of appStore.getState().projects) {
+        for (const workspace of project.workspaces ?? []) {
+          if (workspace.path == null || workspace.path === '') continue
+          const branch = getCurrentBranch(workspace.path)
+          if (branch != null && branch !== workspace.branch) {
+            dispatchGlobal({
+              patch: { branch },
+              projectId: project.id,
+              type: 'update-workspace-record',
+              workspaceId: workspace.id,
+            })
+          }
+        }
+      }
+      timer = setTimeout(tick, INTERVAL_MS)
     }
 
-    void tick()
+    tick()
 
     return () => {
-      cancelled = true
       if (timer != null) clearTimeout(timer)
     }
   }, [enabled])

package/src/git/workspace-divergence-poller.ts

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import { useEffect } from 'react'
 
 import type { BranchDivergence } from '../state/types'
 
-import { useAppStore } from '../state/app-store'
+import { appStore } from '../state/app-store'
 import { dispatchGlobal } from '../state/dispatch-ref'
 import { getBranchDivergence, getWorkspaceDiffStat } from './divergence'
 
@@ -14,25 +14,30 @@ const INTERVAL_MS = 4000
 // never forked, so they fall back to their own upstream — for a root checkout on
 // main that reads as "unpushed commits + dirty work". A branch with no upstream
 // makes git fail, which the poller already renders as nothing.
+//
+// Runs once when enabled; reads projects from the store on each tick so project
+// updates do NOT re-create the effect. Taking `projects` as a dependency meant
+// every workspace switch tore the loop down and fired a fresh tick — holding
+// `j` in the sidebar launched a full git fan-out per keypress (~200ms of
+// subprocesses each) and the machine spent the whole time spawning `git`.
 export function useWorkspaceDivergencePolling(enabled: boolean): void {
-  const projects = useAppStore((s) => s.projects)
-
   useEffect(() => {
     if (!enabled) return
-    // Every project, not just the current one: each dispatch replaces the whole
-    // map, so polling one project's workspaces blanks the stats of every other
-    // project's rows — which the sidebar shows all of at once.
-    // ponytail: one unbounded fan-out per tick, two `git` spawns per workspace.
-    // Batch or stagger if a machine with many projects feels it.
-    const targets = projects
-      .flatMap((project) => project.workspaces ?? [])
-      .filter((w) => w.branch != null && w.branch !== '')
-    if (targets.length === 0) return
 
     let cancelled = false
     let timer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null = null
 
     const tick = async () => {
+      // Every project, not just the current one: each dispatch replaces the
+      // whole map, so polling one project's workspaces blanks the stats of
+      // every other project's rows — which the sidebar shows all of at once.
+      // ponytail: one unbounded fan-out per tick, two `git` spawns per
+      // workspace. Batch or stagger if a machine with many projects feels it.
+      const targets = appStore
+        .getState()
+        .projects.flatMap((project) => project.workspaces ?? [])
+        .filter((w) => w.branch != null && w.branch !== '')
+
       const entries = await Promise.all(
         targets.map(async (workspace) => {
           const branch = workspace.branch
@@ -54,11 +59,15 @@ export function useWorkspaceDivergencePolling(enabled: boolean): void {
         })
       )
       if (cancelled) return
-      const next: Record<string, BranchDivergence> = {}
-      for (const entry of entries) {
-        if (entry != null) next[entry[0]] = entry[1]
+      // Only when there was something to measure: an empty dispatch on a tick
+      // that found no branches would blank rows the previous tick filled.
+      if (targets.length > 0) {
+        const next: Record<string, BranchDivergence> = {}
+        for (const entry of entries) {
+          if (entry != null) next[entry[0]] = entry[1]
+        }
+        dispatchGlobal({ divergence: next, type: 'set-workspace-divergence' })
       }
-      dispatchGlobal({ divergence: next, type: 'set-workspace-divergence' })
       timer = setTimeout(() => void tick(), INTERVAL_MS)
     }
 
@@ -68,5 +77,5 @@ export function useWorkspaceDivergencePolling(enabled: boolean): void {
       cancelled = true
       if (timer != null) clearTimeout(timer)
     }
-  }, [enabled, projects])
+  }, [enabled])
 }

package/src/input/modes/types.ts

@@ -116,6 +116,7 @@ export type SideEffect =
   | { type: 'stop-setup' }
   | { type: 'configure-setup-script'; projectId?: string }
   | { type: 'set-project-default-base-ref'; projectId: string; baseRef: string }
+  | { type: 'toggle-project-collapsed'; projectId: string }
   | { type: 'ask-agent-for-setup-script' }
   | { type: 'promote-setup-tab' }
   /** Toggle a checkbox, cycle an enum, run a row's action — whatever the row is. */

package/src/settings/live.ts

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import { useMemo } from 'react'
 import { AUTO_COMMIT_ENABLED, AUTO_COMMIT_TIMEOUT } from './sections/automation'
 import { AUTO_COMMIT_MODEL_PREFIX, SNIPPET_TRIGGER_CHAR } from './sections/commands'
 import { ACTIVITY_SPRITES, HARMONIZE_CLAUDE_THEME } from './sections/experimental'
-import { AI_USAGE_ENABLED, AI_USAGE_POLL_SECONDS } from './sections/status-bar'
+import { AI_USAGE_ENABLED, AI_USAGE_POLL_SECONDS, HINTS_ENABLED } from './sections/status-bar'
 import { useSettingsStore } from './settings-store'
 
 /**
@@ -88,3 +88,8 @@ export function useHarmonizeClaudeTheme(fromConfigFile: boolean | undefined): bo
   const stored = useSettingsStore((s) => s.values[HARMONIZE_CLAUDE_THEME])
   return typeof stored === 'boolean' ? stored : fromConfigFile === true
 }
+
+/** Whether the status bar draws its second row of keybinding hints. */
+export function useStatusBarHints(): boolean {
+  return useSettingsStore((s) => s.values[HINTS_ENABLED] !== false)
+}

package/src/settings/sections/status-bar.ts

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { setStatusBarSeparator, type StatusBarSeparator } from '@brimveyn/aimux-
 
 import type { SettingSection } from '../types'
 
+export const HINTS_ENABLED = 'statusBar.hints'
 export const AI_USAGE_ENABLED = 'statusBar.aiUsage.enabled'
 export const AI_USAGE_POLL_SECONDS = 'statusBar.aiUsage.pollSeconds'
 
@@ -35,6 +36,15 @@ export const STATUS_BAR_SECTION: SettingSection = {
       options: SEPARATORS,
       storage: 'settings',
     },
+    {
+      description: 'The keybinding row under the bar. Off frees a line.',
+      fallback: true,
+      fromConfig: (config) => config.statusBar?.hints,
+      id: HINTS_ENABLED,
+      kind: 'toggle',
+      label: 'Keybinding hints',
+      storage: 'settings',
+    },
     {
       description: 'Show how much of your Claude or Codex quota is left.',
       fallback: false,

package/src/state/project-workspaces.ts

@@ -293,13 +293,13 @@ export function findWorkspace(
   return undefined
 }
 
+/** The workspace a project's cursor sits on: its active one, else the checkout. */
 export function getActiveWorkspace(
   project: ProjectRecord | undefined
 ): WorkspaceRecord | undefined {
-  if (!(project?.workspaces?.length != null && project?.workspaces?.length !== 0)) return undefined
   return (
-    project.workspaces.find((workspace) => workspace.id === project.activeWorkspaceId) ??
-    project.workspaces[0]
+    project?.workspaces?.find((workspace) => workspace.id === project.activeWorkspaceId) ??
+    getPrimaryWorkspace(project?.workspaces)
   )
 }
 
@@ -390,3 +390,23 @@ export function orderTabsByWorkspace(
     })
     .map((entry) => entry.tab)
 }
+
+/**
+ * The workspace rows a folded project still shows: just the one the cursor is
+ * on, so folding never hides the row you are standing on — and, for a project
+ * you are not in, nothing at all.
+ *
+ * Sidebar navigation calls this with `isCurrent: true` for every project: the
+ * moment j/k crosses into one it *is* current, and a project whose rows all
+ * vanished from the item list would be unreachable by keyboard.
+ */
+export function getSidebarWorkspaces(
+  project: ProjectRecord,
+  isCurrent: boolean
+): WorkspaceRecord[] {
+  const workspaces = project.workspaces ?? []
+  if (project.collapsed !== true) return workspaces
+  if (!isCurrent) return []
+  const active = getActiveWorkspace(project)
+  return active ? [active] : []
+}

package/src/state/types.ts

@@ -42,8 +42,6 @@ export interface ProjectStatus {
   waiting: boolean
 }
 
-export const IDLE_PROJECT_STATUS: ProjectStatus = { waiting: false, working: false }
-
 /**
  * A workspace's status, as the sidebar draws it. `working`/`waiting` mirror
  * `ProjectStatus` one level down; `done` is a latch — an assistant here
@@ -226,6 +224,12 @@ export interface ProjectRecord {
    * answers. Unset means the repo's default branch.
    */
   defaultBaseRef?: string
+  /**
+   * Folded in the sidebar: the project's workspace rows are hidden, bar the one
+   * the cursor is on. Persisted, because a fold you have to redo on every start
+   * is worse than no fold at all.
+   */
+  collapsed?: boolean
 }
 
 export interface ProjectBarState {

package/src/state/validation.ts

@@ -181,7 +181,8 @@ export function isProjectRecord(value: unknown): value is ProjectRecord {
     (value.workspaces === undefined ||
       (Array.isArray(value.workspaces) && value.workspaces.every(isWorkspaceRecord))) &&
     (value.activeWorkspaceId === undefined || isString(value.activeWorkspaceId)) &&
-    (value.defaultBaseRef === undefined || isString(value.defaultBaseRef))
+    (value.defaultBaseRef === undefined || isString(value.defaultBaseRef)) &&
+    (value.collapsed === undefined || isBoolean(value.collapsed))
   )
 }
 

package/src/ui/components/git/pane/git-pane-widget.tsx

@@ -7,10 +7,14 @@ import { usePrStatusPolling } from '../../../../git/pr-status-poller'
 import { useRepoDiscovery } from '../../../../git/use-repo-discovery'
 import { useAppStore } from '../../../../state/app-store'
 import { getActiveWorkspacePath } from '../../../../state/project-workspaces'
+import { useSettled } from '../../../hooks/use-settled'
 import { GitPanel } from '../git-panel'
 import { GitPaneHeader, type GitPaneTab } from './git-pane-header'
 import { PrChecksPanel } from './pr-checks-panel'
 
+/** Long enough to swallow key repeat, short enough to read as instant. */
+const PATH_SETTLE_MS = 150
+
 interface GitPaneWidgetProps {
   pollingEnabled: boolean
   contentWidth: number
@@ -32,7 +36,9 @@ export const GitPaneWidget = memo(function GitPaneWidget({
     currentProjectId != null && currentProjectId !== ''
       ? projects.find((s) => s.id === currentProjectId)
       : undefined
-  const projectPath = getActiveWorkspacePath(currentProject)
+  // Settled: every poller below keys off this path and fires an immediate tick
+  // when it changes, and holding `j`/`k` in the sidebar changes it per keypress.
+  const projectPath = useSettled(getActiveWorkspacePath(currentProject), PATH_SETTLE_MS)
 
   const [tab, setTab] = useState<GitPaneTab>('diff')
 

package/src/ui/components/layout/bar-footer.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+import type { MouseEvent as OtuiMouseEvent } from '@opentui/core'
+
+import { useCallback } from 'react'
+
+import { dispatchGlobal } from '../../../state/dispatch-ref'
+import { useTheme } from '../../theme'
+
+/**
+ * U+2699, not the nerd-font gear: its Emoji_Presentation is No, so a conforming
+ * terminal draws it text-style in one cell and no font has to be installed for
+ * the one button that opens the settings.
+ */
+const SETTINGS_GLYPH = '⚙'
+/**
+ * U+25A4, chosen on the same rule as the gear above: one cell, text presentation,
+ * present in the base fonts. A ▁▄█ mini bar chart reads better but is three cells
+ * wide, which pushes this row past a narrow sidebar.
+ */
+const STATS_GLYPH = '▤'
+const SETTINGS_LABEL = `${SETTINGS_GLYPH} Settings`
+const STATS_LABEL = `${STATS_GLYPH} Stats`
+/** The two entries and the gap between them, so a renamed label re-measures itself. */
+const FOOTER_GAP = 2
+const FOOTER_FULL_WIDTH = SETTINGS_LABEL.length + FOOTER_GAP + STATS_LABEL.length
+/** The row's own left and right padding. */
+const FOOTER_PAD = 2
+
+/**
+ * The bar's bottom bar: settings and stats, pinned under every widget in the
+ * column rather than living inside whichever widget happens to be last. These
+ * are the only full-screen views the panes step aside for that a mouse can
+ * reach at all, so they need a slot that is on screen whenever the bar is.
+ */
+export function BarFooter({ contentWidth }: { contentWidth: number }) {
+  const t = useTheme()
+
+  const handleOpenSettings = useCallback((e: OtuiMouseEvent) => {
+    e.stopPropagation()
+    e.preventDefault()
+    dispatchGlobal({ type: 'enter-settings' })
+  }, [])
+
+  const handleOpenStats = useCallback((e: OtuiMouseEvent) => {
+    e.stopPropagation()
+    e.preventDefault()
+    dispatchGlobal({ type: 'enter-stats' })
+  }, [])
+
+  // The bar clamps down to 18 columns, narrower than both labels together, so
+  // below that the second entry drops to its glyph rather than being sliced
+  // mid-word by the overflow.
+  const statsLabel = contentWidth - FOOTER_PAD >= FOOTER_FULL_WIDTH ? STATS_LABEL : STATS_GLYPH
+
+  return (
+    <box flexDirection="column" flexShrink={0}>
+      <box flexShrink={0}>
+        <text fg={t.border} selectable={false} wrapMode="none">
+          {'─'.repeat(Math.max(1, contentWidth))}
+        </text>
+      </box>
+      {/* Each entry is its own <text>, with a spacer box between them: one string
+          holding both would make the whole footer a single click target. */}
+      <box flexDirection="row" flexShrink={0} paddingLeft={1} paddingRight={1}>
+        <text fg={t.textMuted} selectable={false} wrapMode="none" onMouseDown={handleOpenSettings}>
+          {SETTINGS_LABEL}
+        </text>
+        <box width={FOOTER_GAP} flexShrink={1} />
+        <text fg={t.textMuted} selectable={false} wrapMode="none" onMouseDown={handleOpenStats}>
+          {statsLabel}
+        </text>
+      </box>
+    </box>
+  )
+}

package/src/ui/components/layout/bar.tsx

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import { useTheme } from '../../theme'
 import { WIDGET_RENDERERS } from '../../widgets/registry'
 import { buildBarContextMenu, buildWidgetContextMenu } from '../../widgets/widget-context-menu'
 import { ContextMenuBox } from '../overlays/context-menu/context-menu-box'
+import { BarFooter } from './bar-footer'
 
 export interface BarBoundaryResizeInfo {
   containerStart: number
@@ -119,6 +120,7 @@ export function Bar({
       {side === 'right' ? edge : null}
       <box width={contentWidth} flexGrow={1} flexDirection="column" overflow="hidden">
         {body}
+        {side === 'left' ? <BarFooter contentWidth={contentWidth} /> : null}
       </box>
       {side === 'left' ? edge : null}
     </ContextMenuBox>

package/src/ui/components/layout/sidebar/project-list.tsx

@@ -6,13 +6,15 @@ import type {
 
 import { memo, type ReactNode, useCallback, useMemo, useRef, useState } from 'react'
 
-import type { ProjectRecord, ProjectStatus } from '../../../../state/types'
+import type { ProjectRecord } from '../../../../state/types'
 
 import { useAppStore } from '../../../../state/app-store'
 import { dispatchGlobal, runSideEffectGlobal } from '../../../../state/dispatch-ref'
-import { getPrimaryWorkspace } from '../../../../state/project-workspaces'
-// eslint-disable-next-line no-duplicate-imports
-import { IDLE_PROJECT_STATUS } from '../../../../state/types'
+import {
+  getActiveWorkspace,
+  getPrimaryWorkspace,
+  getSidebarWorkspaces,
+} from '../../../../state/project-workspaces'
 import { moveIdToInsertIndex, orderProjectsForDisplay } from '../../../project-ordering'
 import { useBaseTheme, useTheme } from '../../../theme'
 import { truncate } from '../../../truncate'
@@ -31,25 +33,9 @@ const RULE = '─'
 /** Heavier than the chrome rules, so the drop preview never reads as a border. */
 const DROP_BAR = '━'
 const HEADER_TITLE = 'Projects'
-/**
- * U+2699, not the nerd-font gear: its Emoji_Presentation is No, so a conforming
- * terminal draws it text-style in one cell and no font has to be installed for
- * the one button that opens the settings.
- */
-const SETTINGS_GLYPH = '⚙'
-/**
- * U+25A4, chosen on the same rule as the gear above: one cell, text presentation,
- * present in the base fonts. A ▁▄█ mini bar chart reads better but is three cells
- * wide, which pushes this row past a narrow sidebar.
- */
-const STATS_GLYPH = '▤'
-const SETTINGS_LABEL = `${SETTINGS_GLYPH} Settings`
-const STATS_LABEL = `${STATS_GLYPH} Stats`
-/** The two entries and the gap between them, so a renamed label re-measures itself. */
-const FOOTER_GAP = 2
-const FOOTER_FULL_WIDTH = SETTINGS_LABEL.length + FOOTER_GAP + STATS_LABEL.length
-/** The row's own left and right padding. */
-const FOOTER_PAD = 2
+/** Same pair the git panel folds its directories with, so the gesture reads once. */
+const COLLAPSED_GLYPH = '▸ '
+const EXPANDED_GLYPH = '▾ '
 
 interface DragState {
   id: string
@@ -61,7 +47,6 @@ export function ProjectList({ contentWidth }: ProjectListProps) {
   const t = useTheme()
   const projects = useAppStore((s) => s.projects)
   const currentProjectId = useAppStore((s) => s.currentProjectId)
-  const statusMap = useAppStore((s) => s.projectStatuses)
 
   // The drag lives in a ref because mouse events can arrive before React has
   // committed the state they set — reading `draggingId` out of a handler
@@ -90,11 +75,7 @@ export function ProjectList({ contentWidth }: ProjectListProps) {
   // The cursor is always on a workspace row now, so there is one id to scroll
   // to instead of two — otherwise it visually "disappears" off-screen when a
   // key press crosses a project boundary.
-  const rawActiveWorkspaceId = currentProject?.activeWorkspaceId
-  const activeWorkspaceId =
-    rawActiveWorkspaceId != null && rawActiveWorkspaceId !== ''
-      ? rawActiveWorkspaceId
-      : getPrimaryWorkspace(currentProject?.workspaces)?.id
+  const activeWorkspaceId = getActiveWorkspace(currentProject)?.id
   const activeRowId =
     activeWorkspaceId != null && activeWorkspaceId !== '' ? `sidebar-wt-${activeWorkspaceId}` : null
 
@@ -187,28 +168,7 @@ export function ProjectList({ contentWidth }: ProjectListProps) {
     dispatchGlobal({ returnToProjectPicker: false, type: 'open-create-project-modal' })
   }, [])
 
-  // The settings screen's only mouse-reachable way in. It lives here because this
-  // header is on screen whenever the left bar is, and because the `+` beside it
-  // already taught the same gesture.
-  const handleOpenSettings = useCallback((e: OtuiMouseEvent) => {
-    e.stopPropagation()
-    e.preventDefault()
-    dispatchGlobal({ type: 'enter-settings' })
-  }, [])
-
-  // Stats sits beside it for the same reason, and because the two are the only
-  // full-screen views the panes step aside for that a mouse can reach at all.
-  const handleOpenStats = useCallback((e: OtuiMouseEvent) => {
-    e.stopPropagation()
-    e.preventDefault()
-    dispatchGlobal({ type: 'enter-stats' })
-  }, [])
-
   const rule = RULE.repeat(Math.max(1, contentWidth))
-  // The bar clamps down to 18 columns, narrower than both labels together, so
-  // below that the second entry drops to its glyph rather than being sliced
-  // mid-word by the overflow.
-  const statsLabel = contentWidth - FOOTER_PAD >= FOOTER_FULL_WIDTH ? STATS_LABEL : STATS_GLYPH
 
   return (
     // Drag and release are handled here, not on the row that started them:
@@ -253,15 +213,11 @@ export function ProjectList({ contentWidth }: ProjectListProps) {
           for (const [index, project] of ordered.entries()) {
             const projectIndex = index + 1
             const isCurrentProject = project.id === currentProjectId
-            const workspaces = project.workspaces ?? []
             // Every workspace gets a row, the checkout included. Folding it into
             // the project row made one row mean two things — a project you
             // switch to and a workspace you run tabs in — and left the checkout
             // the only workspace with no branch and no churn on screen.
-            const activeWorkspaceId =
-              project.activeWorkspaceId != null && project.activeWorkspaceId !== ''
-                ? project.activeWorkspaceId
-                : getPrimaryWorkspace(workspaces)?.id
+            const activeWorkspaceId = getActiveWorkspace(project)?.id
             rows.push(
               // Every project already had a blank line above it, which doubles
               // as the gap under the header. The drop bar is drawn *in* that
@@ -280,13 +236,12 @@ export function ProjectList({ contentWidth }: ProjectListProps) {
                 project={project}
                 inCurrentGroup={isCurrentProject}
                 projectIndex={projectIndex}
-                status={statusMap[project.id] ?? IDLE_PROJECT_STATUS}
                 dragging={draggingId === project.id}
                 contentWidth={contentWidth}
                 onDragStart={handleRowDragStart}
               />
             )
-            for (const workspace of workspaces) {
+            for (const workspace of getSidebarWorkspaces(project, isCurrentProject)) {
               rows.push(
                 <WorkspaceRow
                   key={`wt:${workspace.id}`}
@@ -313,22 +268,6 @@ export function ProjectList({ contentWidth }: ProjectListProps) {
           return rows
         })()}
       </scrollbox>
-      <box flexShrink={0}>
-        <text fg={t.border} selectable={false} wrapMode="none">
-          {rule}
-        </text>
-      </box>
-      {/* Each entry is its own <text>, with a spacer box between them: one string
-          holding both would make the whole footer a single click target. */}
-      <box flexDirection="row" flexShrink={0} paddingLeft={1} paddingRight={1}>
-        <text fg={t.textMuted} selectable={false} wrapMode="none" onMouseDown={handleOpenSettings}>
-          {SETTINGS_LABEL}
-        </text>
-        <box width={FOOTER_GAP} flexShrink={1} />
-        <text fg={t.textMuted} selectable={false} wrapMode="none" onMouseDown={handleOpenStats}>
-          {statsLabel}
-        </text>
-      </box>
     </box>
   )
 }
@@ -370,7 +309,6 @@ interface ProjectRowProps {
   inCurrentGroup: boolean
   /** 1-based index in the visible order, so the "+" can switch projects first. */
   projectIndex: number
-  status: ProjectStatus
   dragging: boolean
   contentWidth: number
   /** Only the gesture's start lives here — the list owns drag and release. */
@@ -384,25 +322,11 @@ const ProjectRow = memo(function ProjectRow({
   onDragStart,
   project,
   projectIndex,
-  status,
 }: ProjectRowProps) {
   const t = useTheme()
   // Selection highlight must stay opaque in transparent mode — otherwise the
   // cursor row visually disappears against the see-through chrome.
   const base = useBaseTheme()
-  // State belongs on the workspace rows: they say *which* one is working or
-  // waiting, and this heading can only say "somewhere below". So the heading
-  // speaks only when none of its workspaces can — a tab whose workspace this
-  // client doesn't know, which today means a daemon still running a pre-v18
-  // protocol. Without that fallback the sidebar would go silent instead of
-  // degrading.
-  const workspacesSpeak = useAppStore((s) =>
-    (project.workspaces ?? []).some((workspace) => {
-      const activity = s.workspaceActivity[workspace.id]
-      return activity !== undefined && (activity.working || activity.waiting || activity.done)
-    })
-  )
-  const showWaiting = status.waiting && !workspacesSpeak
   // Only the drag highlight is "selected"-strength here. A heading that lights
   // up like a cursor row is what made the project look like a workspace.
   let bgColor: string | undefined
@@ -411,7 +335,6 @@ const ProjectRow = memo(function ProjectRow({
   } else if (inCurrentGroup) {
     bgColor = base.backgroundPanel
   }
-  const waitingColor = t.warning
   const currentProjectId = useAppStore((s) => s.currentProjectId)
 
   const handleMouseDown = useCallback(
@@ -422,6 +345,16 @@ const ProjectRow = memo(function ProjectRow({
     },
     [onDragStart, project.id]
   )
+  // stopPropagation keeps the row's own mousedown from starting a drag, so the
+  // release never falls through to switching project — same trick as the "+".
+  const handleToggleCollapsed = useCallback(
+    (e: OtuiMouseEvent) => {
+      e.preventDefault()
+      e.stopPropagation()
+      runSideEffectGlobal({ projectId: project.id, type: 'toggle-project-collapsed' })
+    },
+    [project.id]
+  )
   const handleNewWorkspace = useCallback(
     (e: OtuiMouseEvent) => {
       e.preventDefault()
@@ -457,17 +390,11 @@ const ProjectRow = memo(function ProjectRow({
     [project.id, project.name]
   )
 
-  // Neutral muted marker, and a question when a workspace of this project needs
-  // an answer. No progress indicator: a heading can only say "somewhere below",
-  // and the row that actually knows is one line down. Keeping a glyph in the slot
-  // avoids name shifts when the question comes and goes — which is also why the
-  // gap after it is part of the glyph.
-  let leadingGlyph = '• '
-  let leadingColor = t.textMuted
-  if (showWaiting) {
-    leadingGlyph = '? '
-    leadingColor = waitingColor
-  }
+  // The slot used to carry a status marker, which only ever said "somewhere
+  // below" — the workspace rows one line down say it precisely. It now carries
+  // the fold arrow instead, and the trailing space is part of the glyph so the
+  // name never shifts.
+  const leadingGlyph = project.collapsed === true ? COLLAPSED_GLYPH : EXPANDED_GLYPH
 
   // No branch line: the repo checkout is not somewhere aimux works, so naming
   // it under every project only ever read as "you are on main".
@@ -485,7 +412,12 @@ const ProjectRow = memo(function ProjectRow({
       onMouseDown={handleMouseDown}
     >
       <box flexDirection="row" alignItems="center">
-        <text fg={leadingColor} selectable={false} wrapMode="none">
+        <text
+          fg={t.textMuted}
+          selectable={false}
+          wrapMode="none"
+          onMouseDown={handleToggleCollapsed}
+        >
           {leadingGlyph}
         </text>
         <FlashLabelBadge rowKey={`ws:${project.id}`} />

package/src/ui/components/layout/status-bar.tsx

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import {
 import type { AppState } from '../../../state/types'
 
 import { version as APP_VERSION } from '../../../../package.json'
+import { useStatusBarHints } from '../../../settings/live'
 import { useAIUsageStore } from '../../../state/ai-usage-store'
 import { useAppStore } from '../../../state/app-store'
 import { useKeymap } from '../../keymap-context'
@@ -124,6 +125,7 @@ export function StatusBar() {
   const modeColor = getModeColor(state.focusMode, t)
   const ambient = composeAmbient(model.right, model.help)
   const aiEnabled = useAIUsageStore((s) => s.enabled)
+  const showHints = useStatusBarHints()
 
   const glyphs = SEPARATOR_GLYPHS[getStatusBarSeparator()]
 
@@ -137,7 +139,7 @@ export function StatusBar() {
 
   return (
     <box
-      height={2}
+      height={showHints ? 2 : 1}
       flexShrink={0}
       overflow="hidden"
       flexDirection="column"
@@ -201,20 +203,22 @@ export function StatusBar() {
       </box>
 
       {/* Row 2 — ambient hints */}
-      <box
-        height={1}
-        flexShrink={0}
-        flexDirection="row"
-        paddingLeft={ROW2_INDENT}
-        paddingRight={1}
-        overflow="hidden"
-      >
-        {ambient !== '' ? (
-          <text fg={t.textMuted} wrapMode="none" selectable={false}>
-            {ambient}
-          </text>
-        ) : null}
-      </box>
+      {showHints ? (
+        <box
+          height={1}
+          flexShrink={0}
+          flexDirection="row"
+          paddingLeft={ROW2_INDENT}
+          paddingRight={1}
+          overflow="hidden"
+        >
+          {ambient !== '' ? (
+            <text fg={t.textMuted} wrapMode="none" selectable={false}>
+              {ambient}
+            </text>
+          ) : null}
+        </box>
+      ) : null}
     </box>
   )
 }

package/src/ui/components/modals/tabs/new-tab-modal.tsx

@@ -17,8 +17,12 @@ interface NewTabModalProps {
   cursorPos?: number
   editingCommand: AssistantId | null
   editBuffer: string
-  /** Chained from `<C-p>`: a shell cannot take the prompt, so Terminal is hidden. */
-  excludeTerminal: boolean
+  /**
+   * Chained from `<C-p>`: the prompt waiting for the picked assistant, `''` when
+   * the workspace was created without one, `null` when this is a plain new tab.
+   * A shell cannot take a prompt, so Terminal is hidden only when there is one.
+   */
+  pendingPrompt: string | null
 }
 
 export function NewTabModal({
@@ -26,11 +30,16 @@ export function NewTabModal({
   customCommands,
   editBuffer,
   editingCommand,
-  excludeTerminal,
   filter,
+  pendingPrompt,
   selectedIndex,
 }: NewTabModalProps) {
   const t = useTheme()
+  const excludeTerminal = pendingPrompt != null && pendingPrompt.trim() !== ''
+  const footerText =
+    pendingPrompt == null
+      ? 'Enter launches in the active workspace'
+      : `Enter launches in the new workspace${excludeTerminal ? ' and sends your prompt' : ''}`
   const options = useMemo(() => getAllAssistantOptions(customCommands), [customCommands])
   const filtered = useMemo(
     () => getNewTabAssistantOptions(customCommands, filter, excludeTerminal),
@@ -100,13 +109,7 @@ export function NewTabModal({
       selectedIndex={selectedIndex}
       emptyState={<text fg={t.textMuted}>No matching assistants.</text>}
       onHover={handleHover}
-      footer={
-        <text fg={t.textMuted}>
-          {excludeTerminal
-            ? 'Enter launches in the new workspace and sends your prompt'
-            : 'Enter launches in the active workspace'}
-        </text>
-      }
+      footer={<text fg={t.textMuted}>{footerText}</text>}
     />
   )
 }

package/src/ui/components/modals/workspace/create-workspace-modal.tsx

@@ -70,11 +70,11 @@ export function CreateWorkspaceModal({
         <box flexDirection="column">
           <TextField
             active={activeField === 'prompt'}
-            label="What do you want to work on?"
-            description="Sent to the assistant, and names the workspace and its branch."
+            label="What do you want to work on? (optional)"
+            description="Sent to the assistant, and names the workspace and its branch. Leave empty for a bare workspace."
             value={prompt}
             cursorPos={activeField === 'prompt' ? cursorPos : undefined}
-            placeholder="Describe the task..."
+            placeholder="Describe the task, or leave empty..."
             minLines={PROMPT_LINES}
           />
           {branchError != null && branchError !== '' ? (

package/src/ui/git-branch.ts

@@ -1,10 +1,31 @@
-import { $ } from 'bun'
+import { readFileSync, statSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { isAbsolute, join, resolve } from 'node:path'
 
-export async function getCurrentBranch(cwd: string): Promise<string | null> {
+/**
+ * `.git` is a directory in a normal checkout and a `gitdir: <path>` pointer
+ * file inside a worktree — which is what every aimux-created workspace is.
+ */
+function gitDirOf(cwd: string): string {
+  const dotGit = join(cwd, '.git')
+  if (statSync(dotGit).isDirectory()) return dotGit
+  const pointer = /^gitdir:\s*(.+)$/m.exec(readFileSync(dotGit, 'utf8'))?.[1]?.trim()
+  if (pointer == null || pointer === '') throw new Error('unreadable .git pointer')
+  return isAbsolute(pointer) ? pointer : resolve(cwd, pointer)
+}
+
+/**
+ * Current branch name, or null when detached (or when `cwd` is not a checkout) —
+ * the same contract as `git branch --show-current`, from one file read instead
+ * of a subprocess.
+ *
+ * The branch poller calls this for every workspace of every project every four
+ * seconds. Spawning git there cost ~35ms a tick on a 13-workspace setup; the
+ * reads cost ~0.1ms.
+ */
+export function getCurrentBranch(cwd: string): string | null {
   try {
-    const result = await $`git -C ${cwd} branch --show-current`.quiet()
-    const branch = result.text().trim()
-    return branch || null
+    const head = readFileSync(join(gitDirOf(cwd), 'HEAD'), 'utf8').trim()
+    return /^ref:\s*refs\/heads\/(.+)$/.exec(head)?.[1] ?? null
   } catch {
     return null
   }

package/src/ui/hooks/use-settled.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+import { useEffect, useState } from 'react'
+
+/**
+ * `value`, but only once it has stopped changing for `ms`. The first value is
+ * returned as-is, so mounting is never delayed.
+ *
+ * Everything keyed on the active workspace's path — git status, PR checks,
+ * nested-repo discovery — restarts its poller and fires an immediate tick when
+ * that path changes. Holding `j`/`k` through the sidebar changes it at
+ * key-repeat rate, so without this every keypress spawned a `git status`
+ * fan-out and a network-bound `gh pr view` that the next keypress discarded.
+ */
+export function useSettled<T>(value: T, ms: number): T {
+  const [settled, setSettled] = useState(value)
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const timer = setTimeout(() => setSettled(value), ms)
+    return () => clearTimeout(timer)
+  }, [value, ms])
+
+  return settled
+}

package/src/ui/root.tsx

@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ function renderModal(
           cursorPos={modal.cursorPos}
           editingCommand={modal.type === 'new-tab' ? modal.editingCommand : null}
           editBuffer={modal.editBuffer ?? ''}
-          excludeTerminal={modal.type === 'new-tab' && modal.pendingWorkspace != null}
+          pendingPrompt={modal.type === 'new-tab' ? (modal.pendingWorkspace?.prompt ?? null) : null}
         />
       )
     case 'create-workspace':