Studio alignment: design decisions on remaining differences from the prototype #2262

Parent: #2210. Design review with the prototype owner.

The final visual audit of the alignment stack (gh stack #2227) compared main, the stack top, and the prototype (stacklok/mecatl-prototypes, stack-08) on every surface. These differences are visible, but no PR declares them. Each needs a decision: align Studio to the prototype, or keep it and record the deviation.

Chat list and shell

1. Chat History rows. Studio rows are two lines (title + state word such as "idle"), with a left-accent active card. The prototype's are one line with a status dot or relative age ("6m", "1d"), and the active row is a full-width tint.
2. Chat list width on desktop. About 270px in Studio, about 420px in the prototype, so titles truncate much earlier.
3. Chat list on phones. Studio opens it as a drawer over the chat; the prototype shows a full-width page.
4. Phone nav icons. About 16px in Studio, 22px in the prototype. The active item is a circle in Studio, a wide pill in the prototype.

Chat

5. Side-thread composer. Studio's has only a mic and a Model pill. The prototype's has options, +, mic, and both Mode and Model pills.
6. Delegation chips on phones. The chips use about 260 of 390px, so each takes 3–4 lines and the block is about 3× the prototype's height. Studio keeps its longer chip text because tests assert it.
7. "Allow once" colour. In the light theme Studio's fill is darker (#a66407) than the prototype's (#ce7c09). This is likely a contrast token. Confirm it's intended.
8. Smaller chat items:
   • The phone options menu now scrolls Delete below the fold.
   • Session details: the subtitle wording differs, the Model/Branch values wrap, and the view-switch strip wraps to two rows.
   • Wording: "Queue a message…" vs "Steer the agent…", and "1 queued message" vs "1 queued".

Settings, search, shortcuts

9. About → Sign-in card. It has no email or "Identity provider" row; the prototype shows both. This needs the session to expose them.
10. Search. Schedule rows show the model instead of the schedule description, and the heading says "Schedules" where the prototype says "Scheduled". The long search placeholder is cut mid-word at 390px.
11. Shortcuts wording. "Open workspace search" vs "Open search"; "…while typing" vs "…(also while typing)"; and the Escape row.
12. Skills filter. Studio keeps a "Filter by name, description, or owner" input that the prototype doesn't have. Proposal: keep it and record the deviation.

Already deliberate (for reference, no decision needed)

These are recorded in the PR bodies:

• 44px touch targets;
• Stop in the header rather than the composer (fix(studio): keep the running chat's Stop inside the phone header #2233);
• confirmations before learning decisions and canvas Clear;
• approval keys only after the user focuses a card (feat(studio): port the prototype's chat approval card, detail panel, and shortcuts #2251).

Composites for each surface (Main | Stack top | Prototype) are in the PR bodies of #2225–#2256.