# LLM Chat Ergonomics Roadmap

This roadmap picks up after the completed workspace GA plan and focuses on one
goal:

make the core agent-workspace use cases feel trivial from a chat-driven LLM
interface.

Current baseline is `4.5.0`:

- `pyro mcp serve` is now the default product entrypoint
- `workspace-core` is now the default MCP profile
- one-shot `pyro run` still exists as the terminal companion path
- workspaces already support seeding, sync push, exec, export, diff, snapshots,
  reset, services, PTY shells, secrets, network policy, and published ports
- host-specific onramps exist for Claude Code, Codex, and OpenCode
- the five documented use cases are now recipe-backed and smoke-tested
- stopped-workspace disk tools now exist, but remain explicitly secondary

## What "Trivial In Chat" Means

The roadmap is done only when a chat-driven LLM can cover the main use cases
without awkward shell choreography or hidden host-side glue:

- cold-start repo validation
- repro plus fix loops
- parallel isolated workspaces for multiple issues or PRs
- unsafe or untrusted code inspection
- review and evaluation workflows

More concretely, the model should not need to:

- patch files through shell-escaped `printf` or heredoc tricks
- rely on opaque workspace IDs without a discovery surface
- consume raw terminal control sequences as normal shell output
- choose from an unnecessarily large tool surface when a smaller profile would
  work

The next gaps for the narrowed persona are now about real-project credibility:

- current-checkout startup is still brittle for messy local repos with unreadable,
  generated, or permission-sensitive files
- the guest-backed smoke pack is strong, but it still proves shaped scenarios
  better than arbitrary local-repo readiness
- the chat-host path still does not let users choose the sandbox environment as
  a first-class part of host connection and server startup
- the product should not claim full whole-project development readiness until it
  qualifies a real-project loop beyond fixture-shaped use cases

## Locked Decisions

- keep the workspace product identity central; do not drift toward CI, queue,
  or runner abstractions
- keep disk tools secondary and do not make them the main chat-facing surface
- prefer narrow tool profiles and structured outputs over more raw shell calls
- optimize the MCP/chat-host path first and keep the CLI companion path good
  enough to validate and debug it
- lower-level SDK and repo substrate work can continue, but they should not
  drive milestone scope or naming
- CLI-only ergonomics are allowed when the SDK and MCP surfaces already have the
  structured behavior natively
- prioritize repo-aware startup, trust, and daily-loop speed before adding more
  low-level workspace surface area
- for repo-root auto-detection and `--project-path` inside a Git checkout, the
  default project source should become Git-tracked files only
- `--repo-url` remains the clean-clone path when users do not want to trust the
  local checkout as the startup source
- environment selection must become first-class in the chat-host path before the
  product claims whole-project development readiness
- real-project readiness must be proven with guest-backed qualification smokes
  that cover ignored, generated, and unreadable-file cases
- breaking changes are acceptable while there are still no users and the
  chat-host product is still being shaped
- every milestone below must also update docs, help text, runnable examples,
  and at least one real smoke scenario

## Milestones

1. [`3.2.0` Model-Native Workspace File Ops](llm-chat-ergonomics/3.2.0-model-native-workspace-file-ops.md) - Done
2. [`3.3.0` Workspace Naming And Discovery](llm-chat-ergonomics/3.3.0-workspace-naming-and-discovery.md) - Done
3. [`3.4.0` Tool Profiles And Canonical Chat Flows](llm-chat-ergonomics/3.4.0-tool-profiles-and-canonical-chat-flows.md) - Done
4. [`3.5.0` Chat-Friendly Shell Output](llm-chat-ergonomics/3.5.0-chat-friendly-shell-output.md) - Done
5. [`3.6.0` Use-Case Recipes And Smoke Packs](llm-chat-ergonomics/3.6.0-use-case-recipes-and-smoke-packs.md) - Done
6. [`3.7.0` Handoff Shortcuts And File Input Sources](llm-chat-ergonomics/3.7.0-handoff-shortcuts-and-file-input-sources.md) - Done
7. [`3.8.0` Chat-Host Onramp And Recommended Defaults](llm-chat-ergonomics/3.8.0-chat-host-onramp-and-recommended-defaults.md) - Done
8. [`3.9.0` Content-Only Reads And Human Output Polish](llm-chat-ergonomics/3.9.0-content-only-reads-and-human-output-polish.md) - Done
9. [`3.10.0` Use-Case Smoke Trust And Recipe Fidelity](llm-chat-ergonomics/3.10.0-use-case-smoke-trust-and-recipe-fidelity.md) - Done
10. [`3.11.0` Host-Specific MCP Onramps](llm-chat-ergonomics/3.11.0-host-specific-mcp-onramps.md) - Done
11. [`4.0.0` Workspace-Core Default Profile](llm-chat-ergonomics/4.0.0-workspace-core-default-profile.md) - Done
12. [`4.1.0` Project-Aware Chat Startup](llm-chat-ergonomics/4.1.0-project-aware-chat-startup.md) - Done
13. [`4.2.0` Host Bootstrap And Repair](llm-chat-ergonomics/4.2.0-host-bootstrap-and-repair.md) - Done
14. [`4.3.0` Reviewable Agent Output](llm-chat-ergonomics/4.3.0-reviewable-agent-output.md) - Done
15. [`4.4.0` Opinionated Use-Case Modes](llm-chat-ergonomics/4.4.0-opinionated-use-case-modes.md) - Done
16. [`4.5.0` Faster Daily Loops](llm-chat-ergonomics/4.5.0-faster-daily-loops.md) - Done
17. [`4.6.0` Git-Tracked Project Sources](llm-chat-ergonomics/4.6.0-git-tracked-project-sources.md) - Planned
18. [`4.7.0` Project Source Diagnostics And Recovery](llm-chat-ergonomics/4.7.0-project-source-diagnostics-and-recovery.md) - Planned
19. [`4.8.0` First-Class Chat Environment Selection](llm-chat-ergonomics/4.8.0-first-class-chat-environment-selection.md) - Planned
20. [`4.9.0` Real-Repo Qualification Smokes](llm-chat-ergonomics/4.9.0-real-repo-qualification-smokes.md) - Planned
21. [`5.0.0` Whole-Project Sandbox Development](llm-chat-ergonomics/5.0.0-whole-project-sandbox-development.md) - Planned

Completed so far:

- `3.2.0` added model-native `workspace file *` and `workspace patch apply` so chat-driven agents
  can inspect and edit `/workspace` without shell-escaped file mutation flows.
- `3.3.0` added workspace names, key/value labels, `workspace list`, `workspace update`, and
  `last_activity_at` tracking so humans and chat-driven agents can rediscover and resume the right
  workspace without external notes.
- `3.4.0` added stable MCP/server tool profiles with `vm-run`, `workspace-core`, and
  `workspace-full`, plus canonical profile-based OpenAI and MCP examples so chat hosts can start
  narrow and widen only when needed.
- `3.5.0` added chat-friendly shell reads with plain-text rendering and idle batching so PTY
  sessions are readable enough to feed directly back into a chat model.
- `3.6.0` added recipe docs and real guest-backed smoke packs for the five core workspace use
  cases so the stable product is now demonstrated as repeatable end-to-end stories instead of
  only isolated feature surfaces.
- `3.7.0` removed the remaining shell glue from canonical CLI workspace flows with `--id-only`,
  `--text-file`, and `--patch-file`, so the shortest handoff path no longer depends on `python -c`
  extraction or `$(cat ...)` expansion.
- `3.8.0` made `workspace-core` the obvious first MCP/chat-host profile from the first help and
  docs pass while keeping `workspace-full` as the 3.x compatibility default.
- `3.9.0` added content-only workspace file and disk reads plus cleaner default human-mode
  transcript separation for files that do not end with a trailing newline.
- `3.10.0` aligned the five guest-backed use-case smokes with their recipe docs and promoted
  `make smoke-use-cases` as the trustworthy verification path for the advertised workspace flows.
- `3.11.0` added exact host-specific MCP onramps for Claude Code, Codex, and OpenCode so new
  chat-host users can copy one known-good setup example instead of translating the generic MCP
  config manually.
- `4.0.0` flipped the default MCP/server profile to `workspace-core`, so the bare entrypoint now
  matches the recommended narrow chat-host profile across CLI, SDK, and package-level factories.
- `4.1.0` made repo-root startup native for chat hosts, so bare `pyro mcp serve` can auto-detect
  the current Git checkout and let the first `workspace_create` omit `seed_path`, with explicit
  `--project-path` and `--repo-url` fallbacks when cwd is not the source of truth.
- `4.2.0` adds first-class host bootstrap and repair helpers so Claude Code,
  Codex, and OpenCode users can connect or repair the supported chat-host path
  without manually composing raw MCP commands or config edits.
- `4.3.0` adds a concise workspace review surface so users can inspect what the
  agent changed and ran since the last reset without reconstructing the
  session from several lower-level views by hand.
- `4.4.0` adds named use-case modes so chat hosts can start from `repro-fix`,
  `inspect`, `cold-start`, or `review-eval` instead of choosing from the full
  generic workspace surface first.
- `4.5.0` adds `pyro prepare`, daily-loop readiness in `pyro doctor`, and a
  real `make smoke-daily-loop` verification path so the local machine warmup
  story is explicit before the chat host connects.

Planned next:

- [`4.6.0` Git-Tracked Project Sources](llm-chat-ergonomics/4.6.0-git-tracked-project-sources.md)
- [`4.7.0` Project Source Diagnostics And Recovery](llm-chat-ergonomics/4.7.0-project-source-diagnostics-and-recovery.md)
- [`4.8.0` First-Class Chat Environment Selection](llm-chat-ergonomics/4.8.0-first-class-chat-environment-selection.md)
- [`4.9.0` Real-Repo Qualification Smokes](llm-chat-ergonomics/4.9.0-real-repo-qualification-smokes.md)
- [`5.0.0` Whole-Project Sandbox Development](llm-chat-ergonomics/5.0.0-whole-project-sandbox-development.md)

## Expected Outcome

After this roadmap, the product should still look like an agent workspace, not
like a CI runner with more isolation.

The intended model-facing shape is:

- one-shot work starts with `vm_run`
- persistent work moves to a small workspace-first contract
- file edits are structured and model-native
- workspace discovery is human and model-friendly
- shells are readable in chat
- CLI handoff paths do not depend on ad hoc shell parsing
- the recommended chat-host profile is obvious from the first MCP example
- the documented smoke pack is trustworthy enough to use as a release gate
- major chat hosts have copy-pasteable MCP setup examples instead of only a
  generic config template
- human-mode content reads are copy-paste safe
- the default bare MCP server entrypoint matches the recommended narrow profile
- the five core use cases are documented and smoke-tested end to end
- starting from the current repo feels native from the first chat-host setup
- supported hosts can be connected or repaired without manual config spelunking
- users can review one concise summary of what the agent changed and ran
- the main workflows feel like named modes instead of one giant reference
- reset and retry loops are fast enough to encourage daily use
- repo-root startup is robust even when the local checkout contains ignored,
  generated, or unreadable files
- chat-host users can choose the sandbox environment as part of the normal
  connect/start path
- the product has guest-backed qualification for real local repos, not only
  shaped fixture scenarios
- it becomes credible to tell a user they can develop a real project inside
  sandboxes, not just evaluate or patch one