Thales Maciel 535efc6919 Add project-aware chat startup defaults

Make repo-root chat startup native by letting MCP servers carry a default project source for workspace creation. When a chat host starts from a Git checkout, workspace_create can now omit seed_path and inherit the server startup source; explicit --project-path and clean-clone --repo-url/--repo-ref paths are supported as fallbacks.

Add project startup resolution and materialization, surface origin_kind/origin_ref in workspace_seed, update chat-host docs and the repro/fix smoke to use project-aware workspace creation, and switch dist-check to uv run pyro so verification stays stable after uv reinstalls.

Validated with uv lock, focused startup/server/CLI pytest coverage, UV_CACHE_DIR=.uv-cache make check, UV_CACHE_DIR=.uv-cache make dist-check, and real guest-backed smokes for both explicit project_path and bare repo-root auto-detection.

2026-03-13 15:51:47 -03:00

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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 4.1.0:

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 product-shaping rather than raw capability gaps:

starting from the current repo still needs to feel native from the first chat
host setup and repair still lean on manual commands and config copying
reviewing what the agent actually did still requires digging through several surfaces
the five use cases exist as docs and smokes, not yet as explicit product modes
daily reset and retry loops can still feel heavier than they should

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
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

3.2.0 Model-Native Workspace File Ops - Done
3.3.0 Workspace Naming And Discovery - Done
3.4.0 Tool Profiles And Canonical Chat Flows - Done
3.5.0 Chat-Friendly Shell Output - Done
3.6.0 Use-Case Recipes And Smoke Packs - Done
3.7.0 Handoff Shortcuts And File Input Sources - Done
3.8.0 Chat-Host Onramp And Recommended Defaults - Done
3.9.0 Content-Only Reads And Human Output Polish - Done
3.10.0 Use-Case Smoke Trust And Recipe Fidelity - Done
3.11.0 Host-Specific MCP Onramps - Done
4.0.0 Workspace-Core Default Profile - Done
4.1.0 Project-Aware Chat Startup - Done
4.2.0 Host Bootstrap And Repair - Planned
4.3.0 Reviewable Agent Output - Planned
4.4.0 Opinionated Use-Case Modes - Planned
4.5.0 Faster Daily Loops - 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.

Planned next:

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

8.7 KiB Raw Blame History