kandev/docs/plans/command-panel-sidebar-task-reveal/plan.md

---
spec: docs/specs/ui/requirements/command-panel-sidebar-task-reveal.md
created: 2026-08-05
status: implemented
---

# Implementation Plan: Command-panel Sidebar Task Reveal

## Overview

Add a bounded DOM-navigation helper for rendered task rows, invoke it when Cmd+K opens a task, and
prove the behavior against an actually overflowing sidebar. The helper follows the retryable target
navigation pattern already used by `apps/web/lib/review/navigation.ts`, while scoping lookup to a
visible task-sidebar scroll viewport so the CSS-hidden desktop rail is never selected on mobile. A
command-panel selection is queued until the canonical route and matching active task render, and
each new selection immediately invalidates the previous latest-wins generation.

## Confirmed root cause

`useCommandPanelHandlers.handleTaskSelect` in `apps/web/components/command-panel.tsx` only closes the
palette and pushes `linkToTask(task.id)`. `TaskSidebarScrollArea` in
`apps/web/components/task/task-sidebar-scroll-area.tsx` only tracks its bottom-scroll cue; no code
connects command-panel selection to the nested Radix scroll viewport. Consequently, route and
active-task state change while an off-screen sidebar row remains outside the visible list.

## Frontend

### Sidebar target navigation

- Add `apps/web/lib/sidebar/task-navigation.ts` with a stable task-row DOM attribute/selector and a
  bounded `requestAnimationFrame` retry helper. It resolves the row only inside a rendered, visible
  `task-sidebar-scroll` viewport and calls `scrollIntoView({ block: "nearest", inline: "nearest" })`.
  A missing or hidden target resolves as a no-op rather than affecting navigation. A newer reveal
  request supersedes and terminates an older retry loop before it can scroll a stale row, including
  while the newer route is waiting behind a navigation guard.
- Add a row-specific task marker to the interactive row in
  `apps/web/components/task/task-item.tsx`. Keep the existing test ID and active-task accessibility
  attributes intact.
- Update command-panel task selection in `apps/web/hooks/use-command-panel-task-navigation.ts` to
  queue the task ID alongside the existing canonical task navigation, then start the sidebar
  reveal only after the matching task route and active-task state render. Do not move focus or
  change active sidebar view/collapse state.

### Mobile design contract

Desktop outcome: Cmd+K opens the selected task and the rendered active row becomes visible inside
the existing task-list scroll owner. Phone entry point and presentation remain the existing direct
task route plus the optional `SessionTaskSwitcherSheet` inset drawer; the command-panel action does
not open that drawer. `apps/web/components/task/mobile/session-task-switcher-sheet.tsx` is the
nearest shipped exemplar and contributes the rule that phone task navigation owns a separate,
safe-area-aware internal scroller. Shared task search and route logic remain unchanged; the reveal
helper selects only a layout-visible desktop scroll viewport. No new touch target, viewport-bound
surface, or safe-area behavior is introduced.

## Tests

- **What:** selector escaping, above/below viewport behavior, immediate and delayed row discovery,
  minimum-distance scroll options, visible-sidebar scoping, latest-request supersession, and
  bounded failure.
- **File:** `apps/web/lib/sidebar/task-navigation.test.ts`.
- **How:** Vitest/jsdom with explicit layout visibility and queued animation-frame callbacks.
- **Regression order:** first add the overflowing-sidebar browser scenario and run it against the
  current code to confirm the selected route changes while the target row stays outside the sidebar
  viewport; then implement the helper and rerun to green.

## E2E tests

- **Scenario:** Given enough desktop tasks to overflow the sidebar, when Cmd+K selects a task whose
  row is confirmed outside the nested viewport, then the URL, active-row state, and row/container
  bounding boxes prove the row was revealed.
- **Scenario:** Given a dirty settings page that delays task-route activation beyond the initial
  reveal retry budget, when the user confirms the guarded navigation, then the active row is
  revealed after route activation.
- **File:** `apps/web/e2e/tests/task/sidebar-scroll-preservation.spec.ts`.
- **What to verify:** precondition overflow and off-screen target, command-panel selection through
  the UI, canonical `/t/:id` navigation, `aria-current`, containment within
  `task-sidebar-scroll`, and no document-scroll movement.
- **Scenario:** Given a phone viewport, when Cmd+K selects a task, then direct task navigation still
  succeeds without revealing the hidden desktop rail.
- **File:** `apps/web/e2e/tests/task/mobile-command-panel-task-navigation.spec.ts`.
- **What to verify:** canonical task URL and usable mobile task surface; the desktop sidebar remains
  non-visible and document horizontal overflow is absent.

## Verification results

- Dependency setup: `cd apps && pnpm install --frozen-lockfile` passed.
- RED regressions: the supersession unit test failed before generation cancellation, and the
  delayed-blocker desktop E2E failed before post-navigation reveal queuing; both passed after the
  implementation.
- Unit: `cd apps/web && pnpm exec vitest run lib/sidebar/task-navigation.test.ts` — 1 file, 9
  tests passed.
- Related unit consumers: `cd apps/web && pnpm exec vitest run lib/sidebar/task-navigation.test.ts
  hooks/use-command-panel-task-navigation.test.ts components/command-panel-content-search.test.tsx`
  — 3 files, 24 tests passed.
- Typecheck: `cd apps/web && pnpm exec tsc --noEmit` passed.
- Desktop focused GREEN: `cd apps/web && pnpm e2e:run --host --no-build
  tests/task/sidebar-scroll-preservation.spec.ts --grep "after a delayed settings navigation
  blocker|starts above the sidebar viewport"` — 2 tests passed.
- Desktop full regression: `cd apps/web && pnpm e2e:run --host --no-build
  tests/task/sidebar-scroll-preservation.spec.ts` — 8 tests passed.
- Mobile GREEN: `cd apps/web && pnpm e2e:run --host --no-build --project mobile-chrome
  tests/task/mobile-command-panel-task-navigation.spec.ts` — 1 test passed.
- Build: `cd apps && pnpm --filter @kandev/web build:vite` passed.
- Formatting and lint: focused Prettier check and ESLint with `--max-warnings 0` passed.
- Repository checks: `git diff --check` passed. Managed E2E build/test artifacts were disposable
  and are not part of the change.

## Implementation waves

- [x] [Task 01 — reveal command-selected sidebar task](task-01-reveal-command-selected-task.md) — done

Execution is sequential in the primary conversation. No subagents are authorized.

## Risks and boundaries

- The active sidebar view may intentionally omit or collapse the task. The helper must time out
  without mutating persisted user preferences.
- Desktop and mobile sidebar DOM can coexist because the desktop rail is hidden with responsive
  CSS. Visibility scoping is required to avoid treating hidden markup as the destination.
- `content-visibility: auto` is used for long task lists. The E2E assertion must inspect the row's
  actual bounding box after reveal rather than assuming DOM presence proves visibility.