[WIP] Symphony: Improved Terminal Experience (#160)

package.json

@@ -216,6 +216,12 @@
     "@tanstack/react-virtual": "^3.13.13",
     "@types/d3-force": "^3.0.10",
     "@types/dompurify": "^3.0.5",
+    "@xterm/addon-fit": "^0.11.0",
+    "@xterm/addon-search": "^0.16.0",
+    "@xterm/addon-unicode11": "^0.9.0",
+    "@xterm/addon-web-links": "^0.12.0",
+    "@xterm/addon-webgl": "^0.19.0",
+    "@xterm/xterm": "^6.0.0",
     "adm-zip": "^0.5.16",
     "ansi-to-html": "^0.7.2",
     "archiver": "^7.0.1",

src/main/ipc/handlers/process.ts

@@ -430,6 +430,60 @@ export function registerProcessHandlers(deps: ProcessHandlerDependencies): void
     })
   );
 
+  // Spawn a terminal PTY for a specific tab (xterm.js integration)
+  // This creates a persistent PTY shell for terminal tab emulation
+  ipcMain.handle(
+    'process:spawnTerminalTab',
+    withIpcErrorLogging(handlerOpts('spawnTerminalTab'), async (config: {
+      sessionId: string;
+      cwd: string;
+      shell?: string;
+      shellArgs?: string;
+      shellEnvVars?: Record<string, string>;
+      cols?: number;
+      rows?: number;
+    }) => {
+      const processManager = requireProcessManager(getProcessManager);
+
+      // If no shell specified, use defaults from settings
+      let shellToUse = config.shell || settingsStore.get('defaultShell', 'zsh');
+
+      // Custom shell path overrides the detected/selected shell path
+      const customShellPath = settingsStore.get('customShellPath', '');
+      if (customShellPath && customShellPath.trim()) {
+        shellToUse = customShellPath.trim();
+      }
+
+      // Get shell args and env vars from settings if not provided
+      const shellArgs = config.shellArgs || settingsStore.get('shellArgs', '');
+      const shellEnvVars = config.shellEnvVars || settingsStore.get('shellEnvVars', {}) as Record<string, string>;
+
+      logger.info('Spawning terminal tab', LOG_CONTEXT, {
+        sessionId: config.sessionId,
+        cwd: config.cwd,
+        shell: shellToUse,
+        cols: config.cols,
+        rows: config.rows,
+      });
+
+      try {
+        const result = processManager.spawnTerminalTab({
+          sessionId: config.sessionId,
+          cwd: config.cwd,
+          shell: shellToUse,
+          shellArgs,
+          shellEnvVars,
+          cols: config.cols,
+          rows: config.rows,
+        });
+        return result;
+      } catch (error) {
+        logger.error('Failed to spawn terminal tab', LOG_CONTEXT, { error: String(error) });
+        throw error;
+      }
+    })
+  );
+
   // Run a single command and capture only stdout/stderr (no PTY echo/prompts)
   // Supports SSH remote execution when sessionSshRemoteConfig is provided
   ipcMain.handle(

src/main/preload.ts

@@ -120,6 +120,18 @@ contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld('maestro', {
       };
     }) => ipcRenderer.invoke('process:runCommand', config),
 
+    // Spawn a terminal PTY for a specific tab (xterm.js integration)
+    // Creates a persistent PTY shell for terminal tab emulation
+    spawnTerminalTab: (config: {
+      sessionId: string;
+      cwd: string;
+      shell?: string;
+      shellArgs?: string;
+      shellEnvVars?: Record<string, string>;
+      cols?: number;
+      rows?: number;
+    }) => ipcRenderer.invoke('process:spawnTerminalTab', config),
+
     // Get all active processes from ProcessManager
     getActiveProcesses: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('process:getActiveProcesses'),
 
@@ -1785,6 +1797,15 @@ export interface MaestroAPI {
         workingDirOverride?: string;
       };
     }) => Promise<{ exitCode: number }>;
+    spawnTerminalTab: (config: {
+      sessionId: string;
+      cwd: string;
+      shell?: string;
+      shellArgs?: string;
+      shellEnvVars?: Record<string, string>;
+      cols?: number;
+      rows?: number;
+    }) => Promise<{ pid: number; success: boolean }>;
     getActiveProcesses: () => Promise<Array<{
       sessionId: string;
       toolType: string;

src/main/process-manager.ts

@@ -514,7 +514,19 @@ export class ProcessManager extends EventEmitter {
 
         // Handle output
         ptyProcess.onData((data) => {
-          // Strip terminal control sequences and filter prompts/echoes
+          // For terminal mode with xterm.js, send RAW data - xterm handles all rendering
+          // This includes control sequences, colors, cursor movement, etc.
+          if (isTerminal) {
+            logger.debug('[ProcessManager] PTY onData (raw terminal)', 'ProcessManager', {
+              sessionId,
+              pid: ptyProcess.pid,
+              dataLength: data.length,
+            });
+            this.emit('data', sessionId, data);
+            return;
+          }
+
+          // For AI agents using PTY, apply filtering to clean up output
           const managedProc = this.processes.get(sessionId);
           const cleanedData = stripControlSequences(data, managedProc?.lastCommand, isTerminal);
           logger.debug('[ProcessManager] PTY onData', 'ProcessManager', { sessionId, pid: ptyProcess.pid, dataPreview: cleanedData.substring(0, 100) });
@@ -1366,6 +1378,50 @@ export class ProcessManager extends EventEmitter {
     }
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Spawn a terminal PTY for a specific terminal tab.
+   * This is a convenience wrapper around spawn() that enforces terminal mode.
+   *
+   * @param config.sessionId - Full session ID in format {sessionId}-terminal-{tabId}
+   * @param config.cwd - Working directory for the shell
+   * @param config.shell - Shell to use (e.g., 'zsh', 'bash', '/usr/local/bin/zsh')
+   * @param config.shellArgs - Additional shell arguments
+   * @param config.shellEnvVars - Custom environment variables
+   * @param config.cols - Initial column count (default: 80)
+   * @param config.rows - Initial row count (default: 24)
+   */
+  spawnTerminalTab(config: {
+    sessionId: string;
+    cwd: string;
+    shell?: string;
+    shellArgs?: string;
+    shellEnvVars?: Record<string, string>;
+    cols?: number;
+    rows?: number;
+  }): { pid: number; success: boolean } {
+    const { sessionId, cwd, shell, shellArgs, shellEnvVars, cols = 80, rows = 24 } = config;
+
+    logger.debug('[ProcessManager] spawnTerminalTab()', 'ProcessManager', {
+      sessionId,
+      cwd,
+      shell,
+      cols,
+      rows,
+    });
+
+    // Use the existing spawn logic but force terminal mode
+    return this.spawn({
+      sessionId,
+      toolType: 'terminal',
+      cwd,
+      command: shell || (process.platform === 'win32' ? 'powershell.exe' : 'zsh'),
+      args: [],
+      shell,
+      shellArgs,
+      shellEnvVars,
+    });
+  }
+
   /**
    * Write data to a process's stdin
    */