feat(tui): implement first-run experience with actor selection overlay #1007

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opened 2026-03-17 01:10:38 +00:00 by brent.edwards · 7 comments
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Actor selection overlay displayed on first launch.

Dependencies

  • Parent: #868 (Epic: TUI Interface)
  • Tracked by: #926
Actor selection overlay displayed on first launch. ## Dependencies - Parent: #868 (Epic: TUI Interface) - Tracked by: #926
brent.edwards added this to the v3.7.0 milestone 2026-03-17 01:11:53 +00:00
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Implemented in PR #1248.

Design and implementation notes:

  • Added a dedicated first-run overlay widget at src/cleveragents/tui/widgets/actor_selection_overlay.py.
  • The new overlay owns the actor-choice list, selected index, rendered welcome copy, movement logic, and clearing behavior.
  • Seeded the overlay with spec-aligned recommended actors:
    • anthropic/claude-4-sonnet
    • anthropic/claude-4-opus
    • openai/gpt-4o
    • openai/o3
    • google/gemini-2
  • I kept the actor list static for now. That keeps the first-run experience deterministic and avoids coupling this ticket to registry/provider discovery behavior that can be expanded later.

App integration notes:

  • Updated src/cleveragents/tui/app.py so the app detects the true first-run state by checking whether any personas exist before calling PersonaState.active_persona().
  • This avoids the previous behavior where PersonaState would auto-create the default persona during startup, which made a first-run selection flow impossible.
  • Added the overlay widget to the TUI layout and showed it only when the persona registry is empty.
  • Added a placeholder PersonaBar state for first-run so the UI can render without forcing persona creation.
  • Added select_first_run_actor() to the app as the transition point from first-run state to normal state:
    • validates the requested actor against the available first-run choices
    • creates the default persona using the selected actor
    • activates the new default persona for the current session
    • clears the overlay and refreshes the PersonaBar
  • Prompt submission is intentionally blocked while first-run selection is active. The conversation panel instead instructs the user to select an actor first.
  • action_cycle_preset() no-ops during first-run so preset cycling cannot force persona materialization before actor selection.

Presentation notes:

  • Added #actor-overlay styling to src/cleveragents/tui/cleveragents.tcss so the overlay is visually distinct from the conversation panel and existing command/reference overlays.

Test coverage notes:

  • Added features/tui_actor_selection_overlay_coverage.feature and features/steps/tui_actor_selection_overlay_coverage_steps.py to cover widget rendering, selection movement, and clearing.
  • Expanded features/tui_app_coverage.feature and features/steps/tui_app_coverage_steps.py to cover:
    • first-run overlay visibility on mount
    • first-run PersonaBar placeholder state
    • prompt blocking until actor selection
    • actor selection creating the default persona and clearing the overlay
  • Added Robot smoke coverage in robot/tui_smoke.robot for the mocked-Textual first-run flow.
  • Updated the changelog with the first-run overlay addition.

Validation run:

  • nox -s lint
  • nox -s typecheck unit_tests -- features/tui_actor_selection_overlay_coverage.feature features/tui_app_coverage.feature
    • full log captured at /tmp/issue-1007-targeted-nox.log
  • PYTHONPATH=src NO_COLOR=1 .nox/unit_tests-3-13/bin/robot --outputdir build/reports/robot-smoke --variable PYTHON:/tmp/issue-1007/.nox/unit_tests-3-13/bin/python robot/tui_smoke.robot
  • nox -s coverage_report
  • Coverage result: COVERAGE OK: 98.7% (threshold: 97%)

Traceability:

  • Commit: 438b17aa (feat(tui): implement first-run experience with actor selection overlay)
Implemented in PR #1248. Design and implementation notes: - Added a dedicated first-run overlay widget at `src/cleveragents/tui/widgets/actor_selection_overlay.py`. - The new overlay owns the actor-choice list, selected index, rendered welcome copy, movement logic, and clearing behavior. - Seeded the overlay with spec-aligned recommended actors: - `anthropic/claude-4-sonnet` - `anthropic/claude-4-opus` - `openai/gpt-4o` - `openai/o3` - `google/gemini-2` - I kept the actor list static for now. That keeps the first-run experience deterministic and avoids coupling this ticket to registry/provider discovery behavior that can be expanded later. App integration notes: - Updated `src/cleveragents/tui/app.py` so the app detects the true first-run state by checking whether any personas exist before calling `PersonaState.active_persona()`. - This avoids the previous behavior where `PersonaState` would auto-create the default persona during startup, which made a first-run selection flow impossible. - Added the overlay widget to the TUI layout and showed it only when the persona registry is empty. - Added a placeholder PersonaBar state for first-run so the UI can render without forcing persona creation. - Added `select_first_run_actor()` to the app as the transition point from first-run state to normal state: - validates the requested actor against the available first-run choices - creates the default persona using the selected actor - activates the new default persona for the current session - clears the overlay and refreshes the PersonaBar - Prompt submission is intentionally blocked while first-run selection is active. The conversation panel instead instructs the user to select an actor first. - `action_cycle_preset()` no-ops during first-run so preset cycling cannot force persona materialization before actor selection. Presentation notes: - Added `#actor-overlay` styling to `src/cleveragents/tui/cleveragents.tcss` so the overlay is visually distinct from the conversation panel and existing command/reference overlays. Test coverage notes: - Added `features/tui_actor_selection_overlay_coverage.feature` and `features/steps/tui_actor_selection_overlay_coverage_steps.py` to cover widget rendering, selection movement, and clearing. - Expanded `features/tui_app_coverage.feature` and `features/steps/tui_app_coverage_steps.py` to cover: - first-run overlay visibility on mount - first-run PersonaBar placeholder state - prompt blocking until actor selection - actor selection creating the default persona and clearing the overlay - Added Robot smoke coverage in `robot/tui_smoke.robot` for the mocked-Textual first-run flow. - Updated the changelog with the first-run overlay addition. Validation run: - `nox -s lint` - `nox -s typecheck unit_tests -- features/tui_actor_selection_overlay_coverage.feature features/tui_app_coverage.feature` - full log captured at `/tmp/issue-1007-targeted-nox.log` - `PYTHONPATH=src NO_COLOR=1 .nox/unit_tests-3-13/bin/robot --outputdir build/reports/robot-smoke --variable PYTHON:/tmp/issue-1007/.nox/unit_tests-3-13/bin/python robot/tui_smoke.robot` - `nox -s coverage_report` - Coverage result: `COVERAGE OK: 98.7% (threshold: 97%)` Traceability: - Commit: `438b17aa` (`feat(tui): implement first-run experience with actor selection overlay`)
Owner

PR #1248 has been reviewed. The PR currently has merge conflicts (mergeable: false) and cannot be merged until it is rebased onto the current master branch. The branch feature/m8-tui-first-run-actor-selection was based on commit 49058c3a but master has since advanced to ce026caf with at least two additional merges (resource handler content_hash and fast_init_or_upgrade tests).

The PR needs to be rebased before a full code review and merge can proceed.

PR #1248 has been reviewed. The PR currently has **merge conflicts** (`mergeable: false`) and cannot be merged until it is rebased onto the current `master` branch. The branch `feature/m8-tui-first-run-actor-selection` was based on commit `49058c3a` but master has since advanced to `ce026caf` with at least two additional merges (resource handler content_hash and fast_init_or_upgrade tests). The PR needs to be rebased before a full code review and merge can proceed.
freemo self-assigned this 2026-04-02 06:14:01 +00:00
Owner

PR #1248 reviewed — code approved, merge blocked by conflicts.

The code implementation is clean and well-tested. All review criteria pass (spec alignment, typing, error handling, BDD + Robot test coverage, commit format, PR metadata). Three non-blocking suggestions were provided for edge-case test coverage and a magic number.

Blocker: The PR branch has merge conflicts against master (mergeable: false). The branch needs to be rebased onto current master and force-pushed. Once conflicts are resolved and CI passes, the PR is ready to merge (squash).

See full review: #1248 (comment)

**PR #1248 reviewed — code approved, merge blocked by conflicts.** The code implementation is clean and well-tested. All review criteria pass (spec alignment, typing, error handling, BDD + Robot test coverage, commit format, PR metadata). Three non-blocking suggestions were provided for edge-case test coverage and a magic number. **Blocker:** The PR branch has merge conflicts against `master` (`mergeable: false`). The branch needs to be rebased onto current `master` and force-pushed. Once conflicts are resolved and CI passes, the PR is ready to merge (squash). See full review: https://git.cleverthis.com/cleveragents/cleveragents-core/pulls/1248#issuecomment-76713
Owner

PR #1248 reviewed, approved, and merged.

The first-run actor selection overlay is now on master. Implementation includes:

  • ActorSelectionOverlay widget with DEFAULT_FIRST_RUN_ACTORS list
  • First-run detection via empty PersonaRegistry.list_personas()
  • Deferred persona creation via ensure_default(actor=selected)
  • Input blocking during first-run with user-friendly message
  • 6 Behave scenarios + 1 Robot smoke test
  • CHANGELOG entry and CSS styling
PR #1248 reviewed, approved, and merged. The first-run actor selection overlay is now on `master`. Implementation includes: - `ActorSelectionOverlay` widget with `DEFAULT_FIRST_RUN_ACTORS` list - First-run detection via empty `PersonaRegistry.list_personas()` - Deferred persona creation via `ensure_default(actor=selected)` - Input blocking during first-run with user-friendly message - 6 Behave scenarios + 1 Robot smoke test - CHANGELOG entry and CSS styling
Owner

[Backlog Groomer - groomer-1] ⚠️ PR state inconsistency detected. PR #1248 (feat(tui): implement first-run experience with actor selection overlay) was closed at 2026-04-02T16:22Z. The issue remains open with State/In Review but has no active open PR. Please verify: either create a new PR or close this issue if the work was completed via another mechanism.

**[Backlog Groomer - groomer-1]** ⚠️ **PR state inconsistency detected.** PR #1248 (`feat(tui): implement first-run experience with actor selection overlay`) was closed at 2026-04-02T16:22Z. The issue remains open with `State/In Review` but has no active open PR. Please verify: either create a new PR or close this issue if the work was completed via another mechanism.
Owner

PR #1391 created on branch feature/m8-tui-first-run. PR review and merge handled by continuous review stream.

PR #1391 created on branch `feature/m8-tui-first-run`. PR review and merge handled by continuous review stream.
Owner

PR #1391 reviewed, approved, and merged.

The first-run experience with actor selection overlay has been implemented and merged to master. The implementation includes:

  • is_first_run() detection helper and create_default_persona_for_actor() setup helper
  • ActorSelectionOverlay widget with show/hide/navigate/search/confirm API
  • TUI app integration in on_mount() and _complete_first_run()
  • 31 comprehensive BDD test scenarios
PR #1391 reviewed, approved, and merged. The first-run experience with actor selection overlay has been implemented and merged to master. The implementation includes: - `is_first_run()` detection helper and `create_default_persona_for_actor()` setup helper - `ActorSelectionOverlay` widget with show/hide/navigate/search/confirm API - TUI app integration in `on_mount()` and `_complete_first_run()` - 31 comprehensive BDD test scenarios
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cleveragents/cleveragents-core#1007
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