Add MVP AI session dashboard with shared session registry

[Copilot]

This adds an MVP dashboard for active AI coding sessions across repos/backends, centered on quick recall and fast return to in-flight work. The implementation keeps session tracking out of the UI by introducing a small shared session registry that backend infra updates as terminal sessions start, refresh, and exit.

• Session model, registry, and dashboard

  • Added ai-code-session.el with a lightweight cl-defstruct, small query/update API, and the dashboard UI:
    • ai-code-session-register
    • ai-code-session-unregister
    • ai-code-session-list
    • ai-code-session-get
    • ai-code-session-update-metadata
    • ai-code-session-refresh
    • ai-code-session-dashboard
  • Tracks core session fields plus extensible metadata (:branch, :status, :dirty-count).
  • Refresh logic derives MVP git/process state without pushing that logic into the dashboard.

• Dashboard UI

  • Implemented the dashboard in ai-code-session.el using tabulated-list-mode.
  • Renders the MVP columns:
    • Session
    • Repo
    • Task file
    • Backend
    • Branch
    • Status
    • Dirty files
  • Supports the intended first-pass actions:
    • RET switch to session buffer
    • r / g refresh
    • k kill session/buffer
    • D open Magit status for the session repo
  • Shows the available shortcut keys at the bottom of the dashboard window so users can quickly learn the controls in place.

• Backend infra integration

  • Hooked ai-code-backends-infra.el into the session registry so terminal-backed sessions are registered on create/reuse and unregistered on cleanup/buffer kill.
  • Captures task-file context when a session is started from an AI task file.
  • Keeps the registry synchronized from the existing backend lifecycle rather than adding per-backend tracking code.

• User entry point

  • Added a new AI CLI session menu entry in ai-code.el:
    • j → ai-code-session-dashboard

• Coverage

  • Added focused ERT coverage for:
    • session registration/update/lookup behavior
    • metadata refresh
    • dead-session pruning
    • dashboard rendering
    • dashboard shortcut hint display
    • visit/diff/kill actions
    • edge cases around invalid lookups and session removal

Example session API shape:

(ai-code-session-register
 :buffer (current-buffer)
 :backend "codex"
 :repo-root "/path/to/repo/"
 :task-file "/path/to/repo/.ai.code.files/task_x.org"
 :metadata '(:branch "f1" :status "running" :dirty-count 3))

> [!WARNING]
>
>

[tninja]

@copilot no need for dedicate ai-code-session-dashboard.el. content should be merged to ai-code-session.el

[Copilot]

@copilot no need for dedicate ai-code-session-dashboard.el. content should be merged to ai-code-session.el

Merged the dashboard implementation into ai-code-session.el and removed the separate ai-code-session-dashboard.el module in ad7ec1c. Updated references/tests accordingly and re-ran the targeted session/menu tests plus the full suite. Screenshot: /tmp/ai-code-session-dashboard-merged.png.

Warning

Firewall rules blocked me from connecting to one or more addresses (expand for details)

I tried to connect to the following addresses, but was blocked by firewall rules:

• dl.google.com
  • Triggering command: /usr/lib/apt/methods/https /usr/lib/apt/methods/https (dns block)
• https://api.github.com/repos/editor-code-assistant/eca/releases/latest
  • Triggering command: /usr/bin/curl /usr/bin/curl -s -f --max-time 5 REDACTED stall-hghw6H/02-dh-elpa-helper_2.0.17ubuntu1_all.deb /usr/bin/apt-config -nxv (http block)

If you need me to access, download, or install something from one of these locations, you can either:

• Configure Actions setup steps to set up my environment, which run before the firewall is enabled
• Add the appropriate URLs or hosts to the custom allowlist in this repository's Copilot coding agent settings (admins only)

[tninja]

@copilot can we show the shortcut keys in the bottom of the dashboard, so user can easily learn how to use?

[Copilot]

@copilot can we show the shortcut keys in the bottom of the dashboard, so user can easily learn how to use?

Added the shortcut hint at the bottom of the dashboard via the dashboard mode line in b6a67e6, and covered it in the merged session dashboard test. Screenshot: /tmp/ai-code-session-dashboard-footer.png.

Warning

Firewall rules blocked me from connecting to one or more addresses (expand for details)

I tried to connect to the following addresses, but was blocked by firewall rules:

• dl.google.com
  • Triggering command: /usr/lib/apt/methods/https /usr/lib/apt/methods/https (dns block)
• https://api.github.com/repos/editor-code-assistant/eca/releases/latest
  • Triggering command: /usr/bin/curl /usr/bin/curl -s -f --max-time 5 REDACTED (http block)
  • Triggering command: /usr/bin/curl /usr/bin/curl -s -f --max-time 5 REDACTED on -linux-gnu/crti.o (http block)
  • Triggering command: /usr/bin/curl /usr/bin/curl -s -f --max-time 5 REDACTED /tmp/cc8t42E3.o o (http block)

If you need me to access, download, or install something from one of these locations, you can either:

• Configure Actions setup steps to set up my environment, which run before the firewall is enabled
• Add the appropriate URLs or hosts to the custom allowlist in this repository's Copilot coding agent settings (admins only)

[chatgpt-codex-connector]

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Reviewed commit: 59ce42f01f

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[chatgpt-codex-connector]

Unregister killed dashboard sessions by ID or buffer

ai-code-session-dashboard-kill-session calls ai-code-session-unregister with the full ai-code-session struct, but ai-code-session-get (used by unregister) only accepts a session ID string or a buffer. That makes this unregister step a no-op, so if kill-buffer is declined or blocked (for example by kill-buffer-query-functions), the session remains registered even though the process was deleted, leaving stale entries in the dashboard.

Useful? React with 👍 / 👎.

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

This PR adds an MVP AI session dashboard backed by a shared session registry, so users can see and return to active AI CLI sessions across repositories and backends.

Changes:

• Adds ai-code-session.el with session registration, metadata refresh, dashboard rendering, and dashboard actions.
• Integrates backend session lifecycle code with the shared registry.
• Adds a transient menu entry and focused ERT tests for the new dashboard/session APIs.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 5 out of 5 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
ai-code-session.el	Adds the session model, registry API, metadata refresh, and tabulated dashboard UI.
ai-code-backends-infra.el	Registers, refreshes, and unregisters terminal-backed AI sessions during lifecycle events.
ai-code.el	Adds the dashboard entry to the AI CLI session transient menu and moves the prompt-on-file entry.
test/test_ai-code-session.el	Adds tests for registry behavior, dashboard rendering, and dashboard actions.
test/test_ai-code.el	Adds a menu test for the new dashboard entry.