kandev/docs/plans/file-tree-select-all-input/plan.md

created, status, requirements, system_design, legacy_specs

created	status	requirements	system_design	legacy_specs
2026-09-01	complete	REQ-UI-FILE-TREE-KEYBOARD-SCOPE-001	../../specs/ui/system-design/file-tree-keyboard-scope.md

Implementation Plan: File Tree Select-All Input Scope

Overview

Keep Command+A and Control+A inside focused Files-panel text controls without removing the file tree's existing visible-row select-all shortcut. One sequential frontend slice adds a focused event-target guard and proves desktop and hardware-keyboard mobile behavior.

Confirmed root cause

useKeyboardShortcuts in apps/web/components/task/file-browser.tsx attaches a keydown listener to the full file-browser container. When a nested filename input emits lowercase Command+A or Control+A, the event bubbles to that listener. The listener checks only that focus is somewhere inside the container, then calls preventDefault() and useMultiSelect.selectAll().

A temporary production-build Playwright repro observed the filename selection remaining at 13..13, all three visible tree rows becoming selected, and the lowercase a event reaching the document with defaultPrevented: true.

Scope

In scope

• Defer the file-tree select-all shortcut when its originating target is an editable Files-panel control.
• Preserve native select-all behavior in new-file, rename, and search inputs.
• Preserve visible-row select-all when the non-editable tree surface owns focus.
• Prove shared desktop and hardware-keyboard mobile behavior.

Out of scope

• File creation, rename, search, multi-selection, drag/drop, or Escape behavior beyond select-all event ownership.
• New shortcut preferences or changes to key combinations.
• Files-panel markup, layout, touch actions, scrolling, or copy.
• Backend, API, persistence, or localization changes.

Technical approach

• Import isEditableKeydownTarget from apps/web/lib/keyboard/utils.ts into apps/web/components/task/file-browser.tsx.
• In useKeyboardShortcuts, gate only the Command+A / Control+A branch on the event target being non-editable. Keep focus containment, Escape behavior, preventDefault, and useMultiSelect.selectAll otherwise unchanged.
• Reuse the established editable-target boundary rather than adding a local element-type helper or changing nested input handlers.

Tests

• AC-UI-FILE-TREE-KEYBOARD-SCOPE-001.1 and .2: extend apps/web/e2e/tests/task/file-tree-create.spec.ts with the exact reported flow. Type a draft filename, press lowercase ControlOrMeta+a, await the next paint, then assert the full input selection range and zero selected tree rows.
• AC-UI-FILE-TREE-KEYBOARD-SCOPE-001.3: extend apps/web/e2e/tests/file-tree-multi-select.spec.ts to focus the non-editable file-browser container, press lowercase ControlOrMeta+a, and assert every visible row is selected.

E2E tests

• Desktop Chromium: the new-file regression fails before the correction for both observable symptoms; the non-editable tree case protects existing multi-selection behavior.
• Mobile Chromium: extend apps/web/e2e/tests/task/mobile-file-viewer.spec.ts to enter the existing Files surface, focus the new-file input, and prove a hardware-keyboard Control+A remains inside the input. Touch and visual behavior are unchanged, so no new mobile composition or screenshot contract is needed.

Work orders

• Task 01: Scope file-tree select-all to focus

Verification results

Task 01 completed. The targeted desktop input, desktop tree, and mobile input Playwright checks each passed against the rebuilt production bundle. Frontend typecheck also passed. The work-order results retain the exact commands and RED evidence.

Risks

• An overbroad early return could disable Escape clearing or the tree's own select-all behavior. Gate only the select-all branch and cover both sides.
• Playwright key spelling is case-sensitive for event.key. Use lowercase ControlOrMeta+a so the regression exercises the production branch.

Open questions

None.