Core Idea
A next-gen hyper-responsive yet super-minimalist native Mac editor. Every window can look and function as a widget. Instead of opening different window types, each window transforms or expands in numerous ways while rigorously hiding all clutter.
Subtraction over addition — not as style, but as discipline.
Window States (Morphing, not spawning)
1. Compact Widget Mode
Collapses to a floating 2–3 line bar showing only the current line / cursor context. Purely glass. Sits unobtrusively on the desktop. Click or gesture expands back to full editor.
2. Full Editor
Default state. Text on glass. Titlebar dissolves when not in use. Sidebar toggles behind traffic lights. Everything that isn’t code retreats.
3. Distraction-Free / Quick Peek
Collapse sidebar + titlebar + all chrome. Pure text on glass. Toggle with a gesture or hotkey. The editor becomes a luminous surface — nothing between thought and screen.
4. Inline Terminal / REPL
The bottom of the editor unfolds into a transparent glass shell. No new window. Terminal is part of the same surface — type code above, see output below. Expand/collapse with a drag.
5. Pythia Slide-Over ✅
AI chat panel slides in from the right edge as an overlay rather than a permanent split pane. Invoke with ⌘2, dismiss the same way. Glass overlay breathes the desktop through. Implemented — single-pane architecture with FloatingOverlayPanel + EdgeBlurOverlay.
6. Single-Pane Editor ✅
Sidebar and Pythia removed from NSSplitView. Editor occupies the full canvas. Both panels float as glass overlays with CAGradientLayer-masked EdgeBlurOverlay transitions. Implemented — see docs/single-pane-architecture.md.
Principles
- One surface, many forms: Morph, never spawn
- Invisible chrome: Toolbars, titlebars, and borders dissolve; only content persists
- Glass as depth: The desktop breathes through the window
- Gesture-driven: Transformations feel physical — drag, pinch, flick
- Typography as architecture: Weight, size, and spacing are the only hierarchy