tai/research/tui-framework-design/za-tui-main-screen.md

za-tui screens/main.py — screen composition and manual sidebar toggle

Metadata

Field	Value
Institute	Molodetz Institute — Research & Retrieval Division
Subject	tui-framework-design
Document type	Source Dossier
Tier	1
Source title	za-tui screens/main.py — main screen (Textual Zalo client)
Source URL	https://raw.githubusercontent.com/buihongduc132/za-tui/main/src/za_tui/screens/main.py
Source publisher / author	buihongduc132 (za-tui project)
Source type	repository
Source date (published)	Unknown — not stated
Date researched	2026-10-11
Researched by	tai (agent), model: Muse Spark, on behalf of retoor
Research method	direct page fetch
Confidence	Medium
Status	Active

Summary

Main-screen composition (Header, StatusBar, sidebar/chat Horizontal, Footer) with F2 sidebar toggle and F6 focus cycling — and a code comment stating that on_resize auto-hide of the sidebar was intentionally omitted because it breaks tests, keeping the manual toggle instead. The deliberate omission is the key finding.

Key findings

• MainScreen composes a Header, StatusBar, a Horizontal split of Sidebar and chat area, and a Footer.
• F2 toggles the sidebar; Ctrl+B is a manual toggle alternative; F6 cycles focus Sidebar → ChatView → InputBar.
• A code comment records that automatic sidebar hiding on resize was intentionally omitted (it breaks tests); manual toggle is the shipped behavior.

Pros / strengths

• Honest in-code rationale for shipping manual toggle over auto-hide gives tai a precedent for sequencing: manual first, automatic later.
• F6 single-key focus cycling is a simple alternative to Tab cycling.

Cons / limitations / caveats

• No automatic narrow-terminal behavior to copy — this source is evidence for what to defer, not a breakpoint implementation.

Relevance to tai

• Directly shapes the messaging-layout conclusion's sequencing: ship a manual sidebar toggle first (F2/Ctrl+B style), add the sub-80-column auto-hide as an enhancement, per this source's stated reasoning.

Changelog

Date	Change
2026-10-11	Initial dossier created from 2026-10-11 research-pass evidence (body opened via web_fetch by researching agent).