feat(harness): remove the todos kanban board, surface todos and goals in chat

README.md

@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ OpenHuman is three things most assistants aren't: **a brain** that builds a pers
 
 - **[Memory Tree](https://tinyhumans.gitbook.io/openhuman/features/memory-tree) + [Obsidian Wiki](https://tinyhumans.gitbook.io/openhuman/features/obsidian-wiki)**: your data compressed into scored Markdown trees in SQLite on your machine, mirrored as an [Obsidian vault](https://x.com/karpathy/status/2039805659525644595) you can open and edit. No vector-soup black box.
 - **[100+ OAuth integrations, 5,000+ MCP servers, 90,000+ Skills](https://tinyhumans.gitbook.io/openhuman/features/integrations)**: one click into Gmail, Notion, GitHub, Slack and the rest of your stack. [Auto-fetch](https://tinyhumans.gitbook.io/openhuman/features/obsidian-wiki/auto-fetch) feeds the brain every 20 minutes, so it has tomorrow's context this morning.
-- **[Goals & Todos](https://tinyhumans.gitbook.io/openhuman/features/goals-and-todos)**: long-term goals, durable per-thread goals, and a shared kanban board per conversation.
+- **[Goals & Todos](https://tinyhumans.gitbook.io/openhuman/features/goals-and-todos)**: long-term goals, durable per-thread goals, and the agent's session todo list shown in the chat.
 - **[TokenJuice](https://tinyhumans.gitbook.io/openhuman/features/token-compression)**: tool output compressed before it hits the model: same information, up to 80% fewer tokens. A brain this big would be unaffordable without it.
 
 ### 🕸️ The orchestrator

app/src/components/settings/panels/AgentAccessPanel.tsx

@@ -45,7 +45,6 @@ const AgentAccessPanel = () => {
   // here — that would create two sources of truth.
   const [level, setLevel] = useState<AutonomyLevel>('supervised');
   const [workspaceOnly, setWorkspaceOnly] = useState(false);
-  const [requireTaskPlanApproval, setRequireTaskPlanApproval] = useState(true);
   // Blanket "auto-approve everything" bypass — off by default. Hard security
   // blocks (credential dirs, workspace-internal paths) and the
   // subconscious-tainted / unlabelled-origin denials in the approval gate
@@ -91,7 +90,6 @@ const AgentAccessPanel = () => {
         if (cancelled) return;
         setLevel(autonomyResp.result.level);
         setWorkspaceOnly(autonomyResp.result.workspace_only);
-        setRequireTaskPlanApproval(autonomyResp.result.require_task_plan_approval ?? true);
         setAutoApproveAll(autonomyResp.result.auto_approve_all ?? false);
         setTrustedRoots(autonomyResp.result.trusted_roots ?? []);
         setAutoApprove(autonomyResp.result.auto_approve ?? []);
@@ -133,7 +131,6 @@ const AgentAccessPanel = () => {
   const persist = async (
     next: {
       workspaceOnly: boolean;
-      requireTaskPlanApproval: boolean;
       trustedRoots: TrustedRoot[];
       // Only sent when the allowlist itself is being changed. Omitting it leaves
       // the server's `auto_approve` untouched (partial patch) — important so a
@@ -142,8 +139,8 @@ const AgentAccessPanel = () => {
       autoApprove?: string[];
       // Same partial-patch reasoning as `autoApprove` above: only
       // `toggleAutoApproveAll` sets this. Every other caller must omit it so
-      // an unrelated autosave (folders, task-plan-approval, workspace
-      // confinement) can never rewrite `auto_approve_all` back to this
+      // an unrelated autosave (folders, workspace confinement) can never
+      // rewrite `auto_approve_all` back to this
       // panel's possibly-stale local value.
       autoApproveAll?: boolean;
     },
@@ -160,7 +157,6 @@ const AgentAccessPanel = () => {
         workspace_only: next.workspaceOnly,
         trusted_roots: next.trustedRoots,
         allow_tool_install: ALLOW_TOOL_INSTALL,
-        require_task_plan_approval: next.requireTaskPlanApproval,
         ...(next.autoApprove !== undefined ? { auto_approve: next.autoApprove } : {}),
         ...(next.autoApproveAll !== undefined ? { auto_approve_all: next.autoApproveAll } : {}),
       });
@@ -183,25 +179,14 @@ const AgentAccessPanel = () => {
   const toggleWorkspaceOnly = (next: boolean) => {
     const prev = workspaceOnly;
     setWorkspaceOnly(next);
-    void persist({ workspaceOnly: next, requireTaskPlanApproval, trustedRoots }, () =>
-      setWorkspaceOnly(prev)
-    );
-  };
-
-  const toggleTaskPlanApproval = (next: boolean) => {
-    const prev = requireTaskPlanApproval;
-    setRequireTaskPlanApproval(next);
-    void persist({ workspaceOnly, requireTaskPlanApproval: next, trustedRoots }, () =>
-      setRequireTaskPlanApproval(prev)
-    );
+    void persist({ workspaceOnly: next, trustedRoots }, () => setWorkspaceOnly(prev));
   };
 
   const toggleAutoApproveAll = (next: boolean) => {
     const prev = autoApproveAll;
     setAutoApproveAll(next);
-    void persist(
-      { workspaceOnly, requireTaskPlanApproval, trustedRoots, autoApproveAll: next },
-      () => setAutoApproveAll(prev)
+    void persist({ workspaceOnly, trustedRoots, autoApproveAll: next }, () =>
+      setAutoApproveAll(prev)
     );
   };
 
@@ -219,21 +204,21 @@ const AgentAccessPanel = () => {
     // `autoApproveAll` intentionally omitted: this save is about the folder
     // grant, not the auto-approve-all toggle, and the partial-patch RPC
     // leaves omitted fields untouched server-side (see `persist` above).
-    void persist({ workspaceOnly, requireTaskPlanApproval, trustedRoots: nextRoots });
+    void persist({ workspaceOnly, trustedRoots: nextRoots });
   };
 
   const removeRoot = (path: string) => {
     const nextRoots = trustedRoots.filter(r => r.path !== path);
     setTrustedRoots(nextRoots);
     // `autoApproveAll` intentionally omitted — see `addRoot` above.
-    void persist({ workspaceOnly, requireTaskPlanApproval, trustedRoots: nextRoots });
+    void persist({ workspaceOnly, trustedRoots: nextRoots });
   };
 
   const removeAutoApprove = (tool: string) => {
     const nextList = autoApprove.filter(name => name !== tool);
     setAutoApprove(nextList);
     // `autoApproveAll` intentionally omitted — see `addRoot` above.
-    void persist({ workspaceOnly, requireTaskPlanApproval, trustedRoots, autoApprove: nextList });
+    void persist({ workspaceOnly, trustedRoots, autoApprove: nextList });
   };
 
   // Persist the action timeout on blur / Enter. Validates the integer range
@@ -335,19 +320,6 @@ const AgentAccessPanel = () => {
                 />
               }
             />
-            <SettingsRow
-              htmlFor="switch-task-plan-approval"
-              label={t('settings.agentAccess.requireTaskPlanApproval.label')}
-              description={t('settings.agentAccess.requireTaskPlanApproval.desc')}
-              control={
-                <SettingsSwitch
-                  id="switch-task-plan-approval"
-                  checked={requireTaskPlanApproval}
-                  onCheckedChange={toggleTaskPlanApproval}
-                  aria-label={t('settings.agentAccess.requireTaskPlanApproval.label')}
-                />
-              }
-            />
           </SettingsSection>
 
           {/* Action timeout */}

app/src/components/settings/panels/PermissionsPanel.tsx

@@ -54,7 +54,6 @@ const PermissionsPanel = () => {
   // so we don't overwrite them with defaults. Load them but don't expose UI for
   // them (they live in the advanced panel).
   const [workspaceOnly, setWorkspaceOnly] = useState(false);
-  const [requireTaskPlanApproval, setRequireTaskPlanApproval] = useState(true);
   const [trustedRoots, setTrustedRoots] = useState<
     Array<{ path: string; access: 'read' | 'readwrite' }>
   >([]);
@@ -87,7 +86,6 @@ const PermissionsPanel = () => {
         if (cancelled) return;
         setLevel(autonomyResp.result.level);
         setWorkspaceOnly(autonomyResp.result.workspace_only);
-        setRequireTaskPlanApproval(autonomyResp.result.require_task_plan_approval ?? true);
         setTrustedRoots(autonomyResp.result.trusted_roots ?? []);
       } catch (e) {
         if (!cancelled)
@@ -125,7 +123,6 @@ const PermissionsPanel = () => {
         workspace_only: workspaceOnly,
         trusted_roots: trustedRoots,
         allow_tool_install: ALLOW_TOOL_INSTALL,
-        require_task_plan_approval: requireTaskPlanApproval,
       });
       if (persistSeqRef.current === seq) {
         setSavedNote(t('settings.agentAccess.saved'));

app/src/components/settings/panels/__tests__/AgentAccessPanel.defaults.test.tsx

@@ -16,23 +16,21 @@ import AgentAccessPanel from '../AgentAccessPanel';
 /**
  * The fail-safe half of `AgentAccessPanel`.
  *
- * On load the panel reads four security fields through nullish coalescing
- * (panel :94-97):
+ * On load the panel reads three security fields through nullish coalescing:
  *
- *   require_task_plan_approval ?? true
  *   auto_approve_all           ?? false
  *   trusted_roots              ?? []
  *   auto_approve               ?? []
  *
  * Each default is chosen to fail CLOSED — an older core, or one that drops a
- * field, must land on "approval required" and "nothing auto-approved" rather
- * than the permissive value. The existing suite always supplies every field, so
- * none of those four arms is exercised; the panel measured 66.2% branches.
+ * field, must land on "nothing auto-approved" rather than the permissive
+ * value. The existing suite always supplies every field, so none of those
+ * arms is exercised otherwise.
  *
- * If `require_task_plan_approval ?? true` were ever written `?? false`, a core
- * that omitted the field would silently stop requiring plan approval and the
- * toggle would show OFF as though the user had chosen it. That is the failure
- * these tests exist to catch.
+ * If `auto_approve_all ?? false` were ever written `?? true`, a core that
+ * omitted the field would silently approve every tool call and the toggle
+ * would show ON as though the user had chosen it. That is the failure these
+ * tests exist to catch.
  *
  * Also covers `addRoot`'s guards (blank, duplicate) and its Enter-key path,
  * which the existing suite reaches only through the Add button.
@@ -100,8 +98,6 @@ const mockUpdate = vi.mocked(openhumanUpdateAutonomySettings);
 const mockGetAgent = vi.mocked(openhumanGetAgentSettings);
 const mockUpdateAgent = vi.mocked(openhumanUpdateAgentSettings);
 
-const taskPlanToggle = () => screen.getByRole('switch', { name: /plan|approval/i });
-
 beforeEach(() => {
   vi.clearAllMocks();
   vi.mocked(isTauri).mockReturnValue(true);
@@ -112,25 +108,6 @@ beforeEach(() => {
 });
 
 describe('AgentAccessPanel — fail-closed defaults for omitted security fields', () => {
-  it('requires task-plan approval when the core omits the field', async () => {
-    mockGet.mockResolvedValue({ result: autonomyMissingOptionals(), logs: [] });
-    renderWithProviders(<AgentAccessPanel />);
-
-    await waitFor(() => expect(mockGet).toHaveBeenCalled());
-    // `?? true`: absent must read as ON, never as the permissive OFF.
-    await waitFor(() => expect(taskPlanToggle()).toHaveAttribute('aria-checked', 'true'));
-  });
-
-  it('still honours an explicit false for task-plan approval', async () => {
-    // The default must not mask a real value the user chose.
-    mockGet.mockResolvedValue({
-      result: autonomy({ require_task_plan_approval: false } as never),
-      logs: [],
-    });
-    renderWithProviders(<AgentAccessPanel />);
-    await waitFor(() => expect(taskPlanToggle()).toHaveAttribute('aria-checked', 'false'));
-  });
-
   it('leaves auto-approve-all OFF when the core omits the field', async () => {
     mockGet.mockResolvedValue({ result: autonomyMissingOptionals(), logs: [] });
     renderWithProviders(<AgentAccessPanel />);
@@ -168,7 +145,9 @@ describe('AgentAccessPanel — fail-closed defaults for omitted security fields'
     await waitFor(() => expect(mockGet).toHaveBeenCalled());
     // Reaching a rendered panel at all is the assertion: a missing array would
     // throw during render before anything appeared.
-    expect(await screen.findByRole('switch', { name: /plan|approval/i })).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(
+      await screen.findByRole('switch', { name: /auto-approve all|approve all/i })
+    ).toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 });
 

app/src/components/settings/panels/__tests__/AgentAccessPanel.test.tsx

@@ -16,9 +16,9 @@ import AgentAccessPanel from '../AgentAccessPanel';
 // ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 // Note: Tier-selection and action-dir editing tests live in
 // PermissionsPanel.test.tsx (those controls moved to the layman panel).
-// This file covers the ADVANCED surface: workspace confinement, task-plan
-// approval, action timeout, granted folders, always-allowed tools, and the
-// approval-history link.
+// This file covers the ADVANCED surface: workspace confinement, action
+// timeout, granted folders, always-allowed tools, and the approval-history
+// link.
 // ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 const autonomy = (overrides: Partial<AutonomySettings> = {}): AutonomySettings => ({
@@ -104,17 +104,6 @@ describe('AgentAccessPanel (advanced)', () => {
     );
   });
 
-  it('toggling task plan approval persists require_task_plan_approval', async () => {
-    renderWithProviders(<AgentAccessPanel />);
-    await screen.findByText('Confine to workspace');
-    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole('switch', { name: /require task plan approval/i }));
-    await waitFor(() =>
-      expect(mockUpdate).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
-        expect.objectContaining({ require_task_plan_approval: false })
-      )
-    );
-  });
-
   it('adding then removing a granted folder persists the updated list', async () => {
     renderWithProviders(<AgentAccessPanel />);
     await screen.findByText('Granted folders');

app/src/components/settings/panels/__tests__/PermissionsPanel.races.test.tsx

@@ -108,14 +108,13 @@ describe('PermissionsPanel — load-shape defaults', () => {
     mockGetPaths.mockResolvedValue({ result: agentPaths(), logs: [] });
   });
 
-  // `require_task_plan_approval ?? true` and `trusted_roots ?? []`
-  // (`PermissionsPanel.tsx:90-91`) exist because an older core omits both
-  // fields. The defaults matter: they are carried straight back into the next
-  // save, so getting them wrong silently rewrites the user's settings.
+  // `trusted_roots ?? []` (`PermissionsPanel.tsx`) exists because an older
+  // core omits the field. The default matters: it is carried straight back
+  // into the next save, so getting it wrong silently rewrites the user's
+  // settings.
   it('defaults the fields an older core omits, and carries them into a save', async () => {
     const partial = autonomy();
     delete (partial as Partial<AutonomySettings>).trusted_roots;
-    delete (partial as { require_task_plan_approval?: boolean }).require_task_plan_approval;
     mockGet.mockResolvedValue({ result: partial as AutonomySettings, logs: [] });
     mockUpdate.mockResolvedValue({ result: {} as never, logs: [] });
 
@@ -126,26 +125,9 @@ describe('PermissionsPanel — load-shape defaults', () => {
 
     await waitFor(() => expect(mockUpdate).toHaveBeenCalled());
     const sent = mockUpdate.mock.calls[0][0];
-    expect(sent.require_task_plan_approval).toBe(true);
     expect(sent.trusted_roots).toEqual([]);
   });
 
-  it('preserves a false require_task_plan_approval rather than defaulting it on', async () => {
-    mockGet.mockResolvedValue({
-      result: autonomy({ require_task_plan_approval: false } as Partial<AutonomySettings>),
-      logs: [],
-    });
-    mockUpdate.mockResolvedValue({ result: {} as never, logs: [] });
-
-    renderWithProviders(<PermissionsPanel />);
-    await screen.findByText(/Full control/i);
-
-    fireEvent.click(preset(/Full control/i));
-
-    await waitFor(() => expect(mockUpdate).toHaveBeenCalled());
-    expect(mockUpdate.mock.calls[0][0].require_task_plan_approval).toBe(false);
-  });
-
   it('reports an autonomy load failure but still renders the folder section', async () => {
     mockGet.mockRejectedValue(new Error('autonomy rpc down'));
 

app/src/features/conversations/Conversations.processSourceCommand.test.tsx

@@ -9,8 +9,7 @@
  * selectedThreadId !== null` alone, the palette listed a command that looked
  * available and silently did nothing.
  *
- * Same root cause as `Conversations.taskBoard.test.tsx` next door: something was
- * left pointing at the wrong half of the either/or.
+ * Root cause: something was left pointing at the wrong half of the either/or.
  */
 import { combineReducers, configureStore } from '@reduxjs/toolkit';
 import { act, cleanup, render } from '@testing-library/react';

app/src/features/conversations/Conversations.tsx

@@ -25,13 +25,16 @@ import {
   ChatThreadView,
   type ChatThreadViewHandle,
 } from '../../features/conversations/components/ChatThreadView';
+import { GoalBanner } from '../../features/conversations/components/GoalBanner';
 import { PlanReviewCard } from '../../features/conversations/components/PlanReviewCard';
+import { TodoChecklist } from '../../features/conversations/components/TodoChecklist';
 import {
   evaluateComposerSend,
   getComposerBlockedSendFeedback,
   handleComposerSlashCommand,
 } from '../../features/conversations/composerSendDecision';
 import { useMemorySyncActive } from '../../features/conversations/hooks/useBackgroundActivity';
+import { useThreadHarnessState } from '../../features/conversations/hooks/useThreadHarnessState';
 import {
   GENERAL_TAB_VALUE,
   isThreadVisibleInTab,
@@ -1734,6 +1737,16 @@ const Conversations = ({
     () => selectBackgroundProcesses(selectedThreadToolTimeline),
     [selectedThreadToolTimeline]
   );
+  // Harness work state the agent keeps for this thread — its todo list and
+  // the thread goal — read off the newest `todo` / `goal_*` tool results
+  // across this turn and the thread's settled turns
+  // (`hooks/useThreadHarnessState.ts`). Rendered above the composer next to
+  // the gate cards so a five-step task shows as a checklist ticking off while
+  // the agent works through it.
+  const { todoList, goal: threadGoal } = useThreadHarnessState(
+    selectedThreadId ?? null,
+    selectedThreadToolTimeline
+  );
   const runningBackgroundCount = backgroundProcesses.filter(p => p.status === 'running').length;
   // `TranscriptOverlays` resolves the open delegation out of this same live
   // timeline and renders nothing when the id is absent, so an inline card must
@@ -1748,7 +1761,7 @@ const Conversations = ({
   const memorySyncActive = useMemorySyncActive();
   // A plan the orchestrator parked for interactive review (request_plan_review
   // gate). When present, the PlanReviewCard renders above the composer and
-  // resolves the parked turn; the todo strip stays read-only progress.
+  // resolves the parked turn.
   const pendingPlanReview = selectedThreadId
     ? (pendingPlanReviewByThread[selectedThreadId] ?? null)
     : null;
@@ -1998,6 +2011,13 @@ const Conversations = ({
   // losing them; the two panels are mutually exclusive, so nothing doubles up.
   const agentGateCards = (
     <>
+      {/* Harness work state: the thread goal and the agent's todo list. Both
+          are read-only progress the agent wrote via its tools; they sit above
+          the gate cards so a parked decision is always the closest thing to
+          the composer. */}
+      {selectedThreadId && threadGoal && <GoalBanner goal={threadGoal} />}
+      {selectedThreadId && todoList && <TodoChecklist list={todoList} />}
+
       {/* Plan-mode review: the orchestrator parked the live turn on a
           thread-scoped plan (request_plan_review gate). Surface it for the
           user to Approve / Reject / send feedback on before anything executes;

app/src/features/conversations/components/ChatThreadView.tsx

@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ interface ChatThreadViewProps {
    *  matching bottom padding. Sidebar variant omits this (undefined — the
    *  message list falls back to a flat `pb-4`). */
   bottomPadding?: number;
-  /** The host's footer has pinned content (e.g. home's task board) that
+  /** The host's footer has pinned content (e.g. a pending review card) that
    *  should keep the scroll container in "has content" layout even when
    *  there are no visible messages and no live agent activity yet. */
   hasFooterContent?: boolean;