Tessera Widget Roadmap

This roadmap expands the widget catalog by +34 additional widgets in delivery waves, keeping the public C# API cohesive and theme-first.

Target and Delivery Model

• Target: move toward 40-50 production-grade widgets with consistent authoring patterns.
• Scope: docs + implementation waves, no DI-first requirement on default app path.
• Delivery: each wave must ship with tests, examples, and theme mapping hooks.

Strict Theming Contract (applies to every new widget)

Each widget in this roadmap must implement the same minimum visual contract from day one:

• required state styles: Default, Hover, Focus, Pressed/Active, Selected, Disabled, Error, ReadOnly (if editable)
• hover/focus/selected behavior: visually distinct in both color and monochrome terminals; Focus must not be hidden by Hover
• glyph hooks: widget-specific glyph set properties (no hardcoded glyph literals in render path)
• override layers: global theme -> control type defaults -> instance overrides -> state overrides
• API shape: explicit C# properties/events; default authoring docs/examples stay centered on primary Tessera namespaces

Delivery Waves (+34 Widgets)

Notation: all rows inherit the strict state-style contract above; Glyph hooks column lists required widget-specific glyph seams.

Wave 1 (P0): App Shell + Forms (9)

Widget	Priority	C# workflow rationale	Glyph hooks
Form	P0	Standard CRUD/data-entry scaffolding	section divider, required marker, submit marker
FieldSet	P0	Group reusable input blocks	border set, title markers
ValidationSummary	P0	Centralized model validation output	severity markers, bullet markers
DataForm<TModel>	P0	Strongly-typed model editing	field separators, validation markers
Wizard	P0	Multi-step onboarding/config flows	step markers, connector glyphs
SplitView	P0	Master/detail and inspector layouts	splitter glyph, collapse marker
InspectorPanel	P0	Right-pane metadata/property editing	section expand/collapse glyphs
EmptyState	P0	Predictable zero-data UX	icon/marker slot glyph
SearchResultsView	P0	Common search result rendering	match markers, rank marker

Wave 1 integration status (current lane):

• Shipped and integrated: Form, FieldSet, DataForm<TModel>, Wizard, SplitView, InspectorPanel, EmptyState, ValidationSummary, SearchResultsView.
• Theme extension coverage includes all listed controls (ApplyTheme, ApplyThemeDefaults, override overloads).
• Bordered parity + control-catalog + theme-override tests include bordered Wave 1 controls (Form, FieldSet, DataForm<TModel>, Wizard, SplitView, InspectorPanel).
• Remaining Wave 1 backlog: none.

Wave 2 (P0/P1): Data, Planning, Query (9)

Widget	Priority	C# workflow rationale	Glyph hooks
VirtualizedListView<T>	P0	Large collections without UI lag	overflow, continuation markers
GroupedListView<TGroup,TItem>	P0	Grouped domain lists	group expand/collapse markers
PivotTable	P1	Analytical summaries in-console	sort marker, subtotal marker
QueryBuilder	P1	Filter/query composition in tools	operator markers, join markers
KanbanBoard	P1	Task-state workflows	lane separators, card markers
CalendarMonthView	P1	Scheduling and planning UIs	day markers, current-day marker
SchedulerTimeline	P1	Time-slice planning/editor tools	tick markers, range handles
TagInput	P1	Label-driven domain modeling	add/remove tag markers
RichTextView	P1	Structured text output with emphasis	heading/list/quote markers

Wave 2 integration status (current lane):

• Implemented and wired: VirtualizedListView<T>, GroupedListView<TGroup,TItem>, PivotTable, QueryBuilder, KanbanBoard, CalendarMonthView, SchedulerTimeline, TagInput, RichTextView.
• Theme extension coverage added for all Wave 2 controls (ApplyTheme, ApplyThemeDefaults, override overloads).
• Bordered parity + control-catalog + theme-override tests now include all bordered Wave 2 controls.
• Remaining Wave 2 backlog: none.

Wave 3 (P1): Dev/Ops Workflows (8)

Widget	Priority	C# workflow rationale	Glyph hooks
JsonTreeView	P1	API/debug payload inspection	node expand/collapse, type marker
LogTailPanel	P1	Streaming logs with filters	level markers, follow marker
TraceViewer	P1	Request/operation trace analysis	span markers, timing separators
CommandOutput	P1	Deterministic process output panes	prompt marker, continuation marker
TaskRunnerPanel	P1	Build/test/deploy dashboards	status markers, progress markers
ActivityFeed	P1	Event/audit visualization	event type markers, timestamp marker
NotificationInbox	P1	Persistent in-app notifications	unread marker, severity marker
KeyBindingHelpDialog	P1	Discoverability for shortcuts	keycap separators, category markers

Wave 3 integration status (current lane):

• Implemented and wired: JsonTreeView, TraceViewer, CommandOutput, LogTailPanel, TaskRunnerPanel, ActivityFeed, NotificationInbox, KeyBindingHelpDialog.
• Theme extension coverage added for all Wave 3 controls (ApplyTheme, ApplyThemeDefaults, override overloads).
• Bordered parity + control-catalog + theme-override tests now include bordered Wave 3 controls (JsonTreeView, TraceViewer, CommandOutput, LogTailPanel, TaskRunnerPanel, ActivityFeed).
• Remaining Wave 3 backlog: none.

Wave 4 (P2): Advanced Composition + Visual Data (8)

Widget	Priority	C# workflow rationale	Glyph hooks
DockWorkspace	P2	IDE-like pane composition	dock handle glyphs
PaneTabs	P2	Multi-pane/multi-view workspaces	tab close/dirty markers
PaletteEditor	P2	Theme/palette authoring tools	swatch markers, active marker
Heatmap	P2	Dense matrix-based insights	cell markers, legend markers
Sparkline (baseline shipped)	P2	Inline trend telemetry	min/max markers
TreeMapChart	P2	Hierarchical metric distribution	hierarchy separators
TerminalPanel	P2	Embedded subprocess sessions	prompt/stream markers
ProcessListView	P2	Runtime process inspection	status markers, sort marker

Wave 4 integration status (batch A + B):

• Shipped and integrated: DockWorkspace, PaneTabs, PaletteEditor, Heatmap, TreeMapChart, TerminalPanel, ProcessListView.
• Theme extension domain file TesseraThemeControlExtensions.Workspace.cs is active for Wave 4 workspace/visual-data mappings.
• Remaining Wave 4 backlog: none (Sparkline already shipped in plotting baseline).

Shipped Plotting Baseline (Current V1 Track)

These controls are already shipped on the public path and are not part of the +34 backlog count:

• Sparkline
• TelemetryChart
• AreaPlot
• ScatterPlot
• Histogram
• LinePlot
• PlotPanel

All shipped plotting controls follow the strict theming contract (state styles, glyph hooks where applicable, and override hierarchy).

Plotting Dashboard Authoring Notes

Use the shipped plotting controls by intent:

• Sparkline for inline single-row trend hints
• TelemetryChart for tiny multi-row dashboard telemetry cards (braille-first compact coverage with block/area fallbacks)
• AreaPlot for bounded single-series filled plots when the plot region is larger than a telemetry card
• LinePlot for multi-series trend dashboards and larger/coarser single-series plots
• ScatterPlot for correlation
• Histogram for distribution buckets
• PlotPanel to compose multiple plotting controls into one screen region

Recommended implementation pattern:

• keep bounded buffers for stream inputs
• update existing controls/series in place (avoid rebuilding control trees)
• apply theme defaults, then instance-level visual overrides

Documentation and examples:

• canonical plotting/dashboard sample: examples/PlottingDashboard (add when available)
• current stopgap references: examples/OpsWatch, examples/DownloadCenter

Expansion Backlog: +36 Dashboard-First Widgets (10 Landed)

This backlog is intentionally implementation-oriented for the next growth tranche beyond the current +34 wave completion. It keeps dashboard and operational TUI use-cases first.

Dependency keys:

• D0: existing V1 control contract (selection/focus/title/border hooks, theme override layers)
• D1: shared chart primitives (Series, scales, legends, bucket/axis formatters)
• D2: shared virtualization/windowing helpers for dense rows/cells
• D3: shared overlay stack and focus trapping contract
• D4: shared adaptive layout primitives (pane resize, snap, docking rules)
• D5: terminal capability-gated image/media path (V1.1 only)

Data Viz (6)

Widget	Target	Dashboard use-case	Depends on
BulletChart	V1	KPI vs target and qualitative ranges	D0, D1
BoxPlot	V1	percentile/distribution inspection	D0, D1
CandlestickChart	V1	market/service interval trend views	D0, D1
RadarChart	V1.1	multivariate profile comparison	D0, D1
GanttChart	V1	timeline execution planning	D0, D1, D2
FunnelChart	V1	conversion/drop-off pipelines	D0, D1

Layout and Composition (6)

Widget	Target	Dashboard use-case	Depends on
DashboardGrid	V1	drag/reflow card-based metric boards	D0, D4
CardDeck	V1	card stacks for grouped summaries	D0, D4
ResizablePaneGroup	V1	multi-pane operator workspaces	D0, D4
TileLayoutPanel	V1	dense tiled monitoring surfaces	D0, D4
DrilldownStack	V1	master->detail history navigation	D0, D4
FloatingPanelHost	V1.1	detachable inspector/transient panes	D0, D3, D4

Inputs and Editors (6)

Widget	Target	Dashboard use-case	Depends on
AutocompleteInput	V1	command/filter authoring with suggestions	D0, D3
TokenEditor	V1	structured labels/tags/owners editing	D0
PathPicker	V1	file/log/config source selection	D0, D3
CronExpressionInput	V1	schedule authoring in automation tools	D0
NumericRangeInput	V1	bounded thresholds and filter ranges	D0
JsonEditor	V1.1	structured JSON edit/validate panes	D0, D2

Overlays and Workflow (6)

Widget	Target	Dashboard use-case	Depends on
QuickOpenOverlay	V1	fuzzy jump across resources/views	D0, D3
ActionSheet	V1	context-safe command execution menus	D0, D3
TooltipOverlay	V1	dense-help hints for complex UIs	D0, D3
SpotlightOverlay	V1	focused walkthrough/highlight mode	D0, D3
CommandHistoryOverlay	V1	replay/reuse previous commands	D0, D3
ImagePreviewOverlay	V1.1	capability-gated image preview panes	D0, D3, D5

Status and Ops (6)

Widget	Target	Dashboard use-case	Depends on
HealthBoard	V1	aggregated service health surface	D0, D1
IncidentTimelinePanel	V1	incident events and milestone review	D0, D1
DeploymentPipelineView	V1	stage-gated release visibility	D0
AlertRuleTable	V1	rule status and suppression controls	D0, D2
SlaBurnRatePanel	V1	SLO/error-budget burn monitoring	D0, D1
ResourceQuotaPanel	V1	quota/limit and headroom tracking	D0, D1

Navigation and Discovery (6)

Widget	Target	Dashboard use-case	Depends on
SideNavRail	V1	persistent section navigation	D0
WorkspaceSwitcher	V1	fast context switching between workspaces	D0, D3
OutlineNavigator	V1	tree-like structural navigation	D0, D2
JumpList	V1	MRU and pinned target navigation	D0
RecentItemsNavigator	V1	recency-based productivity flow	D0
KeymapCheatSheetPanel	V1	always-available shortcut discoverability	D0

Expansion Tranche Status (March 22, 2026)

Landed controls from the expansion tranche:

Control	Landed commit(s)	Current verification signal
DashboardGrid	8593562, 4e005ed	implemented; deterministic render/interaction tests present in DashboardGridControlTests; included in passing targeted suite
QuickOpenOverlay	d91c934, db63e01	implemented; keyboard/pointer/submit + deterministic render tests present in QuickOpenOverlayControlTests; typed theme/parity wiring landed; included in passing targeted suite
BulletChart	dfd4221, c681b64, 4e005ed	implemented; style-focused test stabilization landed; included in passing targeted suite
ResizablePaneGroup	77cc95d, 1c1b748	implemented; selection/resize/style + deterministic render tests present; theme/parity wiring restored; included in passing targeted suite
SideNavRail	d236de2, 1c1b748	implemented; keyboard/pointer/activation/style tests present; theme/parity wiring restored; included in passing targeted suite
TokenEditor	7fbf7be, 1c1b748	implemented; add/remove/navigation/style tests present; theme/parity wiring restored; currently passing in targeted suite reruns
HealthBoard	18adc16, 1c1b748	implemented; severity/selection/ack/style tests present; theme/parity wiring restored; included in passing targeted suite
JumpList	187468c, 03c7a43	implemented; activation/navigation/style tests present in JumpListControlTests; included in passing targeted suite
AutocompleteInput	50212de, be23de7, 03c7a43	implemented; suggestion ranking/commit/style behavior stabilized; included in passing targeted suite
BoxPlot	6ae3c5b, 03c7a43	implemented; deterministic render/style tests present in BoxPlotControlTests; included in passing targeted suite

Targeted verification command (current host):
dotnet test tests/Tessera.Tests --no-restore --nologo --filter "DashboardGrid|QuickOpenOverlay|BulletChart|ResizablePaneGroup|SideNavRail|TokenEditor|HealthBoard|JumpList|AutocompleteInput|BoxPlot" -> pass (48/48).

Outstanding for this tranche (do not mark done yet):

• Theme extension parity is confirmed for all currently landed tranche controls (4e005ed, 1c1b748, 03c7a43, db63e01).
• Remaining tranche scope is unimplemented backlog controls from the expansion list (not parity gaps on landed controls).

Dependency Graph (Build Order)

1. D0 and D4 first (API/style parity + layout substrate). This unlocks DashboardGrid, ResizablePaneGroup, TileLayoutPanel, SideNavRail.
2. D3 second (overlay host contracts). This unlocks QuickOpenOverlay, ActionSheet, WorkspaceSwitcher, AutocompleteInput.
3. D1 third (shared chart primitives). This unlocks BulletChart, BoxPlot, FunnelChart, HealthBoard, SlaBurnRatePanel.
4. D2 fourth (dense virtualization helpers). This unlocks GanttChart, AlertRuleTable, OutlineNavigator, and V1.1 JsonEditor.
5. D5 last and V1.1-only. This unlocks ImagePreviewOverlay and any future image-capable widgets.

Top 12 Widgets: Minimal Public API Sketch + Style Contract

Widget	Minimal C# API sketch	Required style/theming hooks
DashboardGrid	SetTiles(IEnumerable<DashboardTile>), MoveTile(string tileId, int row, int column), ResizeTile(string tileId, int rowSpan, int columnSpan), SelectedTileId, SelectionChanged	tile border/title style hooks, selected tile style, drag-preview style, focus marker support
ResizablePaneGroup	SetPanes(IEnumerable<PaneSpec>), SetSplitRatio(int paneIndex, double ratio), SelectedPaneIndex, SelectionChanged	splitter style text, focused splitter style, pane title/focus marker hooks
SideNavRail	SetItems(IEnumerable<NavItem>), SetSelectedIndex(int index), SelectedItem, SelectionChanged, Activated	selected/hover/focus item styles, collapse marker glyphs, badge marker glyph
WorkspaceSwitcher	SetWorkspaces(IEnumerable<WorkspaceItem>), Open(), Close(), SetSelectedIndex(int index), Submitted	overlay border hooks, selected row style, search-hit marker glyph, dim-backdrop style
QuickOpenOverlay	SetItems(IEnumerable<QuickOpenItem>), SetQuery(string query), SetSelectedIndex(int index), Submitted, Cancelled	query input style hooks, row state styles, match marker glyphs, focused border hooks
AutocompleteInput	Text, SetSuggestions(IEnumerable<string>), SetSelectedSuggestionIndex(int index), SuggestionCommitted	input/title/focus styles, popup border hooks, highlighted suggestion style, suggestion marker glyph
TokenEditor	SetTokens(IEnumerable<TokenItem>), AddToken(string text), RemoveSelectedToken(), SelectedTokenIndex, SelectionChanged	token chip default/selected/error styles, add/remove marker glyphs, focus marker support
BulletChart	Title, SetRanges(IEnumerable<BulletRange>), SetValue(double value), SetTarget(double target)	range-segment styles, value bar style, target marker glyph/style, threshold warning styles
BoxPlot	Title, SetSeries(IEnumerable<BoxPlotSeries>), SetSelectedSeries(int index), SelectionChanged	quartile/median/whisker styles, selected series style, axis/legend text hooks
GanttChart	SetTasks(IEnumerable<GanttTask>), SetViewport(DateOnly start, DateOnly end), SetSelectedIndex(int index), SelectionChanged	bar styles by status, dependency marker glyphs, today marker style, focused border hooks
HealthBoard	SetServices(IEnumerable<HealthService>), SetSelectedIndex(int index), SelectionChanged, Acknowledge(string serviceId)	status-severity styles, degraded/outage glyph hooks, selected row style, muted acknowledged style
DeploymentPipelineView	SetStages(IEnumerable<PipelineStage>), SetSelectedStageIndex(int index), SelectionChanged, RetrySelected()	stage state styles, connector glyph hooks, selected stage style, running animation marker text

Global style contract for every widget above:

• must support state styles: Default, Hover, Focus, Selected, Disabled
• bordered controls must expose BorderStyleText + FocusedBorderStyleText
• title-bearing controls must expose FocusMarker + ShowFocusMarker
• all marker literals must be typed glyph-set properties (no hardcoded render literals)

Implementation Sequencing (Parallel Agent Lanes)

Phase 1 (foundation, 2 weeks):

• Lane A (layout/nav): DashboardGrid, ResizablePaneGroup, SideNavRail, JumpList
• Lane B (overlays/input): QuickOpenOverlay, AutocompleteInput, TokenEditor
• Lane C (data viz/ops): BulletChart, BoxPlot, HealthBoard

Phase 2 (breadth, 2-3 weeks):

• Lane A: TileLayoutPanel, DrilldownStack, WorkspaceSwitcher, OutlineNavigator
• Lane B: ActionSheet, TooltipOverlay, CommandHistoryOverlay, PathPicker, NumericRangeInput, CronExpressionInput
• Lane C: FunnelChart, GanttChart, IncidentTimelinePanel, DeploymentPipelineView, AlertRuleTable, SlaBurnRatePanel, ResourceQuotaPanel

Phase 3 (V1.1 capability tranche):

• Lane A: FloatingPanelHost
• Lane B: JsonEditor, ImagePreviewOverlay
• Lane C: RadarChart and other higher-density chart variants gated by terminal capability + perf budget

Execution rules:

• each widget slice must land with tests + theme mapping + deterministic interaction coverage
• each phase ends with benchmark checks for render-only and render+materialize hot paths
• image-capable widgets remain strictly V1.1 and capability-gated

Visual Pass Timing

• Phase A (implementation-first): each widget ships with strict minimal visual contract (state styles + glyph hooks + override hierarchy) and monochrome-safe rendering.
• Phase B (full visual polish): after functionality stabilizes, run a dedicated visual pass for spacing, animation cadence, token tuning, and showcase examples.
• Release rule: no widget can skip Phase A; Phase B is scheduled after wave completion and before RC promotion.

Coordination Notes

• Source-of-truth milestone mapping stays in alpha-release-checklist.
• Public API and theme consistency remain aligned with public-api-inventory and theme-system.