feat(chat): add direct Live badge and harden Live monitor backend (#138)

* feat(chat): add direct live badge to session rows * fix(live): use session DB for conversations monitor * docs: add chat vs live monitor direction plan * fix(search): avoid numeric session search 500 without FTS table
2026-04-23 04:49:00 +02:00
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+# Hermes Web UI Chat / Live Monitor Direction Plan
+
+> For Hermes: use subagent-driven-development only after Han explicitly approves execution.
+
+Goal: clarify whether Chat and Live should both exist, and record the current product recommendation while shipping the bundled live-badge PR.
+
+Architecture: keep the interactive chat write path and any read-only monitor path conceptually separate. In the current product, the immediate user need is best served by direct Live badges in the Chat session list. A separate Live surface is justified only if it becomes a real monitor with distinct observability and triage value.
+
+Tech stack: Vue 3, Pinia, Naive UI, Koa, Hermes session DB.
+
+---
+
+## Current findings
+
+1. Original reason for Live
+- Live was introduced as a read-only monitoring surface inside the Chat page.
+- The intent was to avoid a separate route/page while still allowing users to inspect conversations without sending messages there.
+
+2. Current product problem
+- In practice, Live is too close to a second session browser.
+- Chat already contains the main session list and now supports direct Live badges on active rows.
+- Without stronger monitor-specific affordances, the Chat/Live toggle weakens the information architecture.
+
+3. External dashboard pattern check
+- Useful live monitors are observability surfaces, not duplicate navigators.
+- Common differentiators:
+  - search
+  - source/status filters
+  - active vs recent grouping
+  - read-only drilldown across many runs
+  - monitoring metadata such as live state, last active, errors, counts, source/model, stuck state
+
+4. Decision
+- Keep direct Live badges in Chat session rows.
+- Do not keep the current Chat/Live toggle long-term unless we rebuild it as a real monitor surface.
+- Preferred direction right now: remove the current Live toggle after the bundled PR lands, unless Han wants an explicit monitor rebuild.
+
+---
+
+## Recommended roadmap
+
+### Phase 0: ship the bundled Live badge PR
+
+Objective: land the immediate UX improvement and backend fix already implemented on `feat/chat-session-live-badge`.
+
+Scope:
+- direct `Live` badge in normal Chat session rows
+- stronger but on-brand badge styling
+- DB-backed fix for the current Live monitor backend so the existing surface stops failing on large histories
+- tests for both client and server changes
+
+Done when:
+- PR is open against `upstream/main`
+- branch includes the implementation commits plus this plan doc
+- targeted tests and build pass
+
+### Phase 1: product simplification decision
+
+Objective: decide whether to keep or remove the current Chat/Live toggle.
+
+Recommended default:
+- remove the current `Chat / Live` toggle
+- keep only Chat + row-level Live badges
+
+Why:
+- this solves the real user need: show active chats directly where users already work
+- it avoids maintaining a half-monitor that duplicates Chat semantics
+
+Done when:
+- product decision is explicit: `remove-live-toggle` or `rebuild-monitor`
+
+### Phase 2A: if simplifying, remove the current Live surface
+
+Objective: cleanly remove the current in-Chat Live mode.
+
+Files likely involved:
+- `packages/client/src/components/hermes/chat/ChatPanel.vue`
+- `packages/client/src/components/hermes/chat/ConversationMonitorPane.vue`
+- `packages/client/src/components/hermes/settings/SessionSettings.vue`
+- `packages/client/src/stores/hermes/session-browser-prefs.ts`
+- related i18n keys and tests
+
+Expected effect:
+- Chat remains the only session interaction surface
+- active work is indicated directly by row-level `Live` badges
+- no duplicate list/detail workflow inside Chat
+
+### Phase 2B: if keeping a monitor, rebuild it as a true monitor
+
+Objective: keep a separate read-only surface only if it becomes clearly distinct from Chat.
+
+Required monitor traits:
+- read-only only
+- search
+- source/type/status filters
+- active vs recent grouping
+- conversation-chain aggregation rather than raw session browsing
+- metadata useful for triage: last active, live/running, visible message count, linked session count, source/model, errors/stuck state
+
+Preferred naming:
+- `Monitor` or `Conversations`, not `Live`
+
+Preferred surface:
+- a dedicated page/route rather than a peer toggle inside Chat
+
+---
+
+## Review inputs
+
+Independent review summary:
+- Branch implementation for the bundled PR is PR-ready; no blocker/major findings.
+- Product review recommendation: remove the current Live toggle now unless we commit to rebuilding it as a distinct monitor surface.
+
+---
+
+## Validation commands
+
+Run from repo root:
+
+`npm test -- tests/server/conversations-db.test.ts tests/server/sessions-controller.test.ts tests/client/chat-store.test.ts tests/client/chat-panel.test.ts`
+
+`npm run build`
+
+---
+
+## Artifact note
+
+Canonical plan path:
+- `docs/plans/2026-04-22-chat-live-monitor-direction.md`
+
+This file is the source of truth for the current Chat-vs-Live recommendation tied to the bundled live-badge PR.