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One-step new tab from chat mode #774
Description
Problem
Starting a new agent from chat mode still requires a separate shell step. The user should be able to choose the run settings and start a focused session from one new-tab action. This extends the model and effort controls in #681.
Proposal
Add a one-step New tab flow in chat mode:
- Choose the model and effort with toggles.
- Select the CLI explicitly, or choose it automatically from the model provider.
- Type
$in the chat input to list the skills available to that CLI and workspace. - Type a prompt and start the agent directly. Do not require a shell command step.
Keep the selected model, effort, CLI, and workspace visible before start. Limit model and skill choices to the capabilities reported by the selected provider, CLI, and workspace.
Acceptance
- A new tab can start from chat mode without opening a shell.
- Model and effort toggles have keyboard and screen-reader support.
- Automatic CLI selection follows the model provider, and an explicit CLI toggle remains available.
$completion lists only skills available to the selected CLI and workspace.- Validation prevents unavailable model, CLI, or skill combinations.
- The prompt starts in the new tab with the selected settings and no duplicate launch.
- Focused unit and browser tests cover automatic selection, explicit selection, skill completion, cancel, and reconnect.
Screenshots
Add the new-tab settings and skill-completion screenshots here.
Activity
feat(chat): start an agent with its model, effort and skills from Chat (
vibewriter-hand commentedon Nov 1, 2026
Is this covered now? #1512 merged as 7cd3648 and shipped in v0.4.13. It adds "New tab" and "New workspace" with an agent, including the model and effort pickers.
In the installed 0.4.21 the new-session launch takes a model, an effort level, and a first prompt (
src/lib/agentLaunchMode.tsandsrc/lib/newSession.tsboth cite #774), and #1311 is closed.What #774 asks for is one step from chat mode to a new tab with the same agent. If the New tab action already carries the chat's model, effort and skills, this request is done and the issue can close. If it resets them, one line about the difference would settle it.
fix(chat): a chat's launch outranks a stale link and leaves with its …
feat(chat): New tab from a chat starts on its agent, model and effort (…
devswha commentedon Nov 6, 2026
Closing as done: New tab starts an agent in one step with its model, effort, skill chips and a first message (#1512), and Settings > Agents now sets each agent's default model and effort (#3116). The chat composer's own New tab button was removed by a Settings cleanup decision (#3089), so New tab lives in the tab bar's +. Picking the agent CLI from a model name alone needs a fact no agent reports, so it is not planned. Thanks for the request.