Mobile: show that agents are still working (in-progress indicator prototypes)

[kvnloo]

Part of the attention work in the restaurant RFC (#66, "dining room" layer, UX wave #57) and the "Needs you" queue (#65). That queue covers what needs a decision. This thread covers the other half: seeing that work is still running, without it competing for attention.

Problem

On Android (nightly 0.1.7-nightly.20261102.4093), the home list shows only Done and idle threads on the first screen while three agents are running:

This is how the list is built today, not a bug in status reporting. apps/mobile/src/features/threads/threadListV2.ts places the Working shelf after every active row (Done, Approval, Input, idle), and the shelf starts collapsed. With 13 Done threads waiting to be settled, running agents are a long scroll and a tap away. Desktop/web puts the same shelf in the sidebar, where it stays in reach. Android's ongoing Live Update notification shows "N working", but only outside the app, and it is push-driven (upstream discussion 29728 reports that mobile notifications need T3 Connect).

How others do it

App	Pattern
T3 Code desktop/web	Working shelf in the sidebar; each row shows a "Working 12m" pill; the dock badge counts only notifications
T3 Code mobile	Working shelf below active rows (beta, on by default); "Working Ns" pill on rows; Android Live Update / iOS Live Activity outside the app
Codex Desktop	Active tasks are mixed into the project tree; the top request (openai/codex issue 33730) is a pinned "Active tasks" section
GitHub Mobile	Copilot got its own nav-bar tab, with a session list filtered by state; Live Activities / Android 16 Live Updates show "In progress → Completed"
Claude app	Code tab lists cloud and Remote Control sessions; Projects tell you which threads finished or need you
Warp	An agent pill bar: one chip per running agent, plus an Agent Management Panel

Upstream threads in the same space: 27342 (mobile nav-bar button that jumps to the Working shelf), 29714 (Working overview page), 29578 (Live Activity done counts), 27684 (the mobile shimmer costs about 70 mW, so no new continuous animation).

Prototypes

Interactive: prototype.html (tap the indicators). Real thread titles, three running agents, one waiting for approval.

Variant	Visible on first screen	Taps to a working thread	Cost / risk
A. Nav-bar capsule: slim capsule docked above the bottom bar ("3 working · icons · 1 needs you"); tap opens a tray	always	2	overlaps the last row; needs a bottom inset
B. Threads-tab badge: sky ring and count on the Threads tab; tapping the selected tab jumps to the shelf	always (count only)	2	smallest, but shows no names
C. Floating top pill: island-style pill under the header with the newest action; tap drops a card	always	2	covers the first row while open
D. Sticky chip strip: one chip per working thread, amber when it needs you	always, with names	1	costs one row of height; many agents overflow sideways
E. Working shelf first: today's shelf as one summary row above Done, titles inline	yes	1	changes the default order

Shared rules for all variants: hidden at zero, no frame-by-frame motion (static dot, or 2 Hz steps at most), counts match the Live Update, and one tap opens the thread.

My lean

E + B. E is the smallest change to existing code (it moves the shelf header in threadListV2.ts) and gives desktop parity. B covers the case where you have scrolled away. A and C need new overlay surfaces and inset handling. D is the best at a glance, but it is a new component.

Open questions

1. Should "needs you" (approval/input) ride on the same indicator, or stay only in the feat(clients): "Needs you" queue for approvals, questions and review-ready results #65 queue?
2. Should E be the default, or a setting next to "Working section"?
3. Is upstream 27342 (header jump) the right venue to propose E+B, rather than a new Ideas post?

Nothing goes upstream until we pick one; any upstream post goes through the gate.

[kvnloo]

Posted upstream as a comment on the closest existing venue (upstream discussion 27342, mobile header jump to the Working shelf), recommending E (+B): pingdotgg#27342 (comment)