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Proposed Feature Request: Desktop UI/UX Enhancements for Clarity and Workspace Efficiency

This document contains a structured draft for a Feature Request issue that can be submitted upstream to the official anomalyco/opencode repository. It compiles the UX improvements implemented in Opencodex into a clear, actionable proposal for the official maintainers.

GitHub Issue Draft

Title: [FEATURE] Desktop UI/UX Enhancements for Workspace Clarity, Context, and Focus

Describe the enhancement you want to request

The current desktop UI of OpenCode has several scattered layout elements and high-contrast visuals that can introduce cognitive load during extended coding sessions.

We propose a set of integrated UI/UX improvements—already experimented with and validated in the community fork Opencodex—to streamline project navigation, declutter the workspace, improve action context, and reduce visual noise.

Detailed Proposal: Key UX Refinements

1. Sidebar Project Navigation (Rail $\rightarrow$ Nested Project Tree)

  • Current Issue: The official sidebar relies on vertical icon rails (using single letters like 'C', 'K') which are difficult to distinguish at a glance. Sessions are separated from their parent projects in different panels.
  • Proposed Enhancement: Transition the sidebar into a unified Project Tree where:
    • Projects display as collapsible list blocks with chevrons, folder glyphs, and inline renaming.
    • Sessions are nested directly under their parent projects.
    • The "Open Project" button remains pinned/fixed at the bottom of the sidebar, ensuring it is never buried under long lists.
Official OpenCode Sidebar Proposed Opencodex Sidebar
Official Sidebar Proposed Sidebar
  • Benefits: Clearer hierarchical relationship between projects and sessions; easier navigation across multiple active projects.

2. Localized Session Actions

  • Current Issue: Actions like Rename, Share, Archive, and Delete for individual sessions are located in the top-right corner of the main conversation area, detached from the session list context.
  • Proposed Enhancement: Move session-specific actions to a row-level context menu (ellipsis menu) located on the right side of the active/hovered session row in the left sidebar.
Official Session Menu Placement Proposed Row-Level Menu
Official Session Menu Proposed Session Menu
  • Benefits: Matches the standard UX principle: "Keep action entry points next to the target objects they modify."

3. Simplified Toolbar

  • Current Issue: Project access entry points and session action items are scattered across the top toolbar, causing visual clutter.
  • Proposed Enhancement: Group session actions directly next to the active session identifier, and consolidate project-level settings/access into a dropdown folder menu.
Official OpenCode Toolbar Proposed Opencodex Toolbar
Official Toolbar Proposed Toolbar
  • Benefits: Reduces toolbar sprawl and reserves the top bar for global controls.

4. Relocating the Plan/Progress Panel

  • Current Issue: The active PLAN progress block occupies a large, centered block directly above the input composer, interrupting the vertical flow of the main chat.
  • Proposed Enhancement: Relocate the planning and generation progress log to a dedicated, collapsible side panel on the right side of the workspace.
Official OpenCode Center PLAN Block Proposed Right-Side Panel
Official PLAN Block Proposed Right Panel
  • Benefits: Allows the main chat area to remain primary, uncluttered, and readable, while still offering visibility of background tasks without interrupting input focus.

5. Softened Visual Theme for Code & Inline Paths

  • Current Issue: File paths and inline code blocks use highly saturated green highlights that distract from regular text reading flow.
  • Proposed Enhancement: Soften the emphasis color of inline code tags and file paths to a muted gray background with subtle shadowing.
Proposed Softer Code / Path Style
Proposed Code Styling
  • Benefits: Creates a more balanced reading density, closer to professional IDE/Code editor aesthetics, making the screen comfortable to look at during long development sessions.

6. Enhanced Message & Conversational Bubble Styling

  • Current Issue: User and model messages feel like a continuous, flat block of text with weak visual differentiation.
  • Proposed Enhancement: Introduce distinct style separation (e.g. subtle background differences, clearer avatar alignment, and distinct borders) between the user prompt and agent response blocks.
Proposed Message Turn Styling
Proposed Message Styling
  • Benefits: Improves scannability of historical context.

Implementation & Reference

Many of these layout and styling improvements have already been successfully prototyped in the Opencodex (The-R0/opencode-X) repository. These changes have been layered on top of the dev branch with minimal impact on the CLI, server, or plugin stack, proving that these desktop UX refinements can be integrated smoothly.