UI/UX

[elveth-com]

Hi! I'm using Heeler and I'm really enjoying it!
I wanted to suggest a few purely cosmetic changes that would improve usability and make the experience even better:

• Use Herdr's symbols for session statuses: x ◐ ✓○ ·

• Chat mode: Have the option to use certain sessions in chat mode instead of terminal mode, with a display more similar to Claude Code, for example (for some less technical tasks, chat is more convenient and easier to use); perhaps customizable on a per-session basis :)

• Smooth scrolling: It would be very helpful to have “normal” scrolling without the jerky line breaks that make scrolling up and down uncomfortable.

• Clickable links: Sometimes there are links in the text, and it would be helpful to have them directly clickable (instead of having to copy and paste “tiny” text);

• 100% Aesthetic: Add the LLM’s logo or icon before its name. For example: Claude sessions are instantly recognizable by the orange symbol, ChatGPT by the white flower, and DeepSick by the blue whale, etc.

• Ability to upload custom themes (or add a few more themes); for example, I love this one that I use everywhere: https://getmoshi.app/themes/london-bonfire-night

• Ability to upload custom fonts or add more fonts (for example, Cascadia Mono or BlexMonoNerdFont are the ones I personally use the most);

I hope I’ve given you some ideas that I think would make using the app more enjoyable.

Thank you your really good work!
M.

[elveth-com]

One last thing: I'm not sure if I just can't find it or if the feature is missing—it would be helpful to be able to switch between or view the tabs within a session. I haven't figured out how to switch to another tab. I would expect that clicking on the main session would open a menu with the tabs (if there's more than one) or display them in sequence in the bottom bar below the session.

Thank you ;)
M.

[ZingerLittleBee]

@elveth-com

Thanks for the thoughtful feedback, this is really helpful.

A few quick replies inline:

• Session status symbols: this should be supported in #284.

• Chat mode: this would likely require a completely new architecture, plus agent-specific adaptations for different UIs. I experimented with this direction before, but eventually gave up on it.

• Smooth scrolling: this is a bit difficult with the current setup. The terminal content is backed by a remote herdr session, so network latency tends to make scrolling feel jerky.

• Clickable links: I tried this before, and it turned out to be less straightforward than it sounds. For now, the current workaround is that Heeler automatically shows available URLs from the session in the compose UI.

• Agent logos/icons: good idea.

• Custom themes and fonts: this should be relatively feasible. Heeler currently uses the same theme system as Ghostty, so expanding theme support is much easier than some of the other ideas.

• Tabs inside a session: in most cases there probably should not be tabs there, the current design is intentionally focused on the active agent.

Thanks again, there are several good ideas here.