storkit/.living_spec/specs/functional/UI_UX.md

Functional Spec: UI/UX Responsiveness

Problem

Currently, the chat command in Rust is an async function that performs a long-running, blocking loop (waiting for LLM, executing tools). While Tauri executes this on a separate thread from the UI, the frontend awaits the entire result before re-rendering. This makes the app feel "frozen" because there is no feedback during the 10-60 seconds of generation.

Solution: Event-Driven Feedback

Instead of waiting for the final array of messages, the Backend should emit Events to the Frontend in real-time.

1. Events

• chat:token: Emitted when a text token is generated (Streaming text).
• chat:tool-start: Emitted when a tool call begins (e.g., { tool: "git status" }).
• chat:tool-end: Emitted when a tool call finishes (e.g., { output: "..." }).

2. Implementation Strategy (MVP)

For this story, we won't fully implement token streaming (as reqwest blocking/async mixed with stream parsing is complex). We will focus on State Updates:

• Refactor chat command:
  • Instead of returning Vec<Message> at the very end, it accepts a AppHandle.
  • Inside the loop, after every step (LLM response, Tool Execution), emit an event chat:update containing the current partial history.
  • The Frontend listens to chat:update and re-renders immediately.

3. Visuals

• Loading State: The "Send" button should show a spinner or "Stop" button.
• Auto-Scroll: The chat view should stick to the bottom as new events arrive.