Shell Overlay T10/T12 Analysis

Status: focused supplement with partial Phase 2 implementation update. The original evidence remains as the pre-fix baseline; the update below records the current post-fix state for the shell overlay contract slice.

Purpose: verify the shell overlays and interruption surfaces that users hit while navigating, switching context, spawning agents, creating workspaces, handling notifications, and seeing tier gates.

Evidence

Built current web bundle with npm run build: pass. Vite emitted the existing Tailwind arbitrary-value warnings, one dynamic/static import warning for shape-selection.ts, and the large main chunk warning.
Started a fresh sidecar on http://127.0.0.1:3437 with isolated WAGGLE_DATA_DIR, mock embeddings, marketplace sync disabled, and --skip-litellm.
Ran Playwright desktop smoke at 1440 x 980:
- output/playwright/shell-overlays-3437/summary.json
- screenshots 00-baseline.png through 07-upgrade-modal.png
Ran Playwright mobile smoke at 390 x 844:
- output/playwright/shell-overlays-3437/mobile-summary.json
- screenshots mobile-00-baseline.png through mobile-03-create-workspace.png
Source inspected:
- apps/web/src/components/os/overlays/NotificationInbox.tsx
- apps/web/src/components/os/overlays/KeyboardShortcutsHelp.tsx
- apps/web/src/components/os/overlays/ContextRail.tsx
- apps/web/src/components/os/overlays/CreateWorkspaceDialog.tsx
- apps/web/src/components/os/overlays/PersonaSwitcher.tsx
- apps/web/src/components/os/overlays/SpawnAgentDialog.tsx
- apps/web/src/components/os/overlays/WorkspaceSwitcher.tsx
- apps/web/src/components/os/overlays/UpgradeModal.tsx
- apps/web/src/components/os/overlays/TrialExpiredModal.tsx
- apps/web/src/components/os/overlays/OnboardingTooltips.tsx

Runtime Results

Surface	Desktop result	Mobile result	Verdict
Keyboard Shortcuts	`role="dialog"`, labelled, focus contained, Escape closes	Not sampled in mobile smoke	Pass for desktop shell path.
Persona Switcher	`role="dialog"`, labelled, focus contained, Escape closes	Not sampled in mobile smoke	Pass for desktop shell path.
Spawn Agent	Opens and closes with Escape; task/model flow renders	Opens without horizontal overflow	Mostly pass; Radix dialog focus works, but model/task controls still need T10 form detail in the wider accessibility pass.
Workspace Switcher	`role="dialog"`, labelled, focus contained	Entry to Create Workspace works	Pass for isolated open/close; T4 route-trap issue remains separate.
Upgrade Modal	`role="dialog"`, labelled, focus contained, Escape closes, named close action. Rendered event path covered by `J3c`.	Not sampled in mobile smoke	Pass for the sampled tier-interruption contract; broader billing/upgrade flow remains outside this overlay slice.
Notification Inbox	Pre-fix: opened visually with no `role="dialog"`/landmark, Escape left it open, 2 unnamed icon buttons. Post-fix: named dialog, focus trap, Escape close, named mark-all/close actions, and no horizontal entrance motion that can overflow mobile.	Mobile Executive bundle now captures Notification Inbox at 390 x 844 with 0 visible overflow and screenshot evidence.	Pass for the codified overlay contract; keep broader notification content states in T12.
Create Workspace	Pre-fix: no labelled dialog, Escape left it open, unnamed icon buttons, native template-delete `confirm()`. Post-fix: named main dialog plus named Folder Picker / Template Creator subdialogs, focus traps, Escape close, named close/template/share actions, and in-app template-delete confirmation.	Post-fix 390 x 844 rendered path prioritizes name, storage, optional template disclosure, and a visible Create action without horizontal overflow.	Partial: sampled T10/T7/mobile hierarchy contracts are fixed; final score still needs screenshot refresh and broader route/state evidence.
Context Rail	Post-fix component evidence: labelled `complementary` panel, named close action, and expandable item state.	Source-only for mobile	Pass for source/component-level landmark contract; full rendered entry states still need route-specific evidence.
Onboarding Tooltips	Post-fix component evidence: named non-modal dialog, `aria-modal="false"`, and global Escape dismissal that records the dismissed state.	Source-only for mobile	Pass for the semantic decision and keyboard dismiss contract; final score still needs broader first-run/mobile state evidence.
Trial Expired Modal	Source-only: labelled dialog/focus trap exists; post-fix component evidence covers named close action.	Source-only	Pass for the close-label contract; full trial-expired account state remains T12/billing evidence.

The desktop and mobile runs reproduced the same T1 Clerk/CSP console errors already recorded in the first-run supplement. They are not new overlay findings, but they keep the standard local audit lane noisy until T1 is fixed.

Findings

Implementation update 2026-07-08:

NotificationInbox.tsx now uses useFocusTrap, role="dialog", aria-modal, a labelled title, Escape close, and explicit labels for "Mark all notifications as read" and "Close notifications".
CreateWorkspaceDialog.tsx now uses useFocusTrap, role="dialog", aria-modal, a labelled title, Escape close, and explicit labels for close, template select/duplicate/edit/delete, the share toggle, Folder Picker, and Template Creator.
ContextRail.tsx now exposes the rail as a labelled complementary panel and gives the close icon a name.
OnboardingTooltips.tsx now has an explicit non-modal dialog contract and Escape dismissal without trapping focus.
UpgradeModal.tsx and TrialExpiredModal.tsx now give their close icon controls accessible names.
Codified component evidence: npm run test -w apps/web -- src/test/shell-overlay-contracts.test.tsx --reporter=dot passed 1 file / 8 tests after adding Create Workspace hierarchy and subdialog assertions.
Codified rendered evidence: tests/e2e/user-journeys.spec.ts includes J3b: notification and create-workspace overlays have dialog close contracts, J3c: tier interruption modal exposes a named close contract, and J-mobile: create workspace prioritizes primary setup at 390px width. J3b passed previously on port 34151; focused J3c passed on port 34153; the earlier full journey suite passed 18/18 on port 34155; focused J-mobile passed on port 34157; the expanded full journey suite passed 19/19 on port 34158. Current five-persona evidence adds Mobile Executive Notification Inbox and Command Center overlay screenshots with 0 visible overflow in the 5/5 run on port 34267.
Browser-plugin spot check attempted on port 34154, but the in-app Browser DOM snapshot path failed with incrementalAriaSnapshot is not a function; Playwright remains the reliable rendered evidence lane for this slice.
Remaining P1-19 scope: route-specific rendered evidence for Context Rail/Onboarding Tooltips/trial-expired states is still open.

Evidence:

NotificationInbox.tsx:38-60 renders a fixed overlay with click-to-close but no dialog/menu role, no labelled container, no focus trap, and no Escape close handler. Runtime: notifications-after-escape.stillVisible = true.
NotificationInbox.tsx:57 and :60 expose icon-only actions without accessible names for "mark all read" and "close"; the tooltip is not a reliable button name.
CreateWorkspaceDialog.tsx:757-766 renders the main creation overlay without role="dialog", aria-modal, aria-labelledby, or the shared useFocusTrap; runtime: create-workspace-after-escape.stillVisible = true.
CreateWorkspaceDialog.tsx:857, :867, :910, :918, and neighboring icon-only actions are visible controls without accessible names; runtime counted 16 visible unnamed icon buttons while the dialog was open.
ContextRail.tsx:62-75 renders a fixed side rail and close button without a labelled landmark or accessible close name.
OnboardingTooltips.tsx:97-137 renders a centered overlay with "Dismiss all" and "Next/Got it" actions but no explicit modal/non-modal semantics or keyboard close path.
UpgradeModal.tsx:90 and TrialExpiredModal.tsx:58-62 have modal focus behavior, but their close icon buttons are unnamed.

Correction:

Define one shared overlay contract: modal overlays use role="dialog", aria-modal, aria-labelledby/description where useful, useFocusTrap, Escape close, focus restore, and named close/action icon buttons.
Non-modal panels use a labelled landmark such as aside aria-label, remain keyboard reachable, do not trap focus, and provide an explicit close button name.
Codify Notification Inbox, Create Workspace, Context Rail, Onboarding Tooltips, Upgrade Modal, and Trial Expired Modal in a focused overlay smoke.

Closure evidence:

Desktop and 390 x 844 screenshots for the changed overlays.
DOM evidence that all high-frequency overlays have an accessible name and expected role/landmark.
Keyboard evidence: open, Tab/Shift+Tab, Escape or named close, focus return.
No visible unnamed icon-only buttons in the sampled overlay DOM.

P1-20: Create Workspace is too dense and template-first on mobile

Implementation update 2026-07-08:

Template deletion no longer uses native confirm(). It now opens an in-app confirmation dialog that names the template and says existing workspaces are not changed.
The mobile Create Workspace path now starts with required setup, keeps templates behind a "Start from template" disclosure, and keeps the Create action in a visible footer on the 390 x 844 rendered path.
This closes the sampled T7 template-management and mobile hierarchy portions of P1-20, but the final score still needs refreshed screenshots and broader route/state evidence.

Evidence:

Historical desktop screenshot 06-create-workspace.png showed a long, dense creation modal that began with template category filters, search, template cards, then finally the workspace name and storage controls.
Historical mobile screenshot mobile-03-create-workspace.png showed the first 390 x 844 viewport dominated by template controls, with storage continuation and Create/Cancel requiring internal scrolling.
Current focused evidence: component contract asserts the name field precedes optional templates and that template search is absent until "Start from template"; rendered J-mobile asserts required setup, visible Create action, progressive template search, and no horizontal overflow at 390 x 844.

Correction:

Make the primary creation path obvious first: name, storage type/path, and Create/Cancel should be reachable without hunting.
Move template search/grid into a collapsed or secondary "Start from template" area on narrow screens, or use progressive disclosure with a clear selected-template summary.
Keep destructive template management branded and named; no native confirm().

Closure evidence:

390 x 844 screenshot refresh where the required fields and primary action are visible or clearly sticky/reachable.
Keyboard-only create path proof.
Template management proof with in-app confirmation.

What Already Looks Good

Keyboard Shortcuts, Persona Switcher, Workspace Switcher, Upgrade Modal, Login Briefing, and Trial Expired Modal use the shared focus trap or Radix dialog patterns in source.
Spawn Agent has a coherent two-step flow, clear "Review & Launch" affordance, and useful no-key/no-model copy. It should remain in T10 only for detailed form semantics and model-selection evidence.
Upgrade Modal copy is aligned with Solo/Team and visually clear; the sampled close-label gap is now fixed.

Recommendation

Keep Phase 1 unchanged. Treat the core shell overlay contract as Phase 2 partially fixed: Notification Inbox, Command Center, Create Workspace primary/subdialog contracts, Context Rail, Onboarding Tooltips, tier close labels, and the sampled Create Workspace mobile hierarchy now have focused coverage. Continue Phase 2 with route-specific overlay state evidence for less common states and the broader trust-critical native dialog queue.

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