September 29, 2026
AI-agent work chats should stay in view: shadcn calls for horizontal tabs
Sep 29, 2026 shadcn proposed keeping AI agent work chats in horizontal tabs. This keeps tasks and their statuses in view, while the sidebar holds history and navigation.
shadcn
@shadcn
Why horizontal tabs? The vertical layout is for navigation. It provides order and hierarchy. It is the tree. It is the history. You do not need to keep it on screen all the time. The horizontal layout is the working set. Live branches. They are always in view. Give them icons, colors, and statuses. The context is clear at a glance. In apps like ChatGPT, Claude Code, or T3 Code, horizontal space is precious. Tabs at the top let you hide the sidebar and leave more room for the right panel: previews, the browser, and code views. You can still see what is running, what is ready, and where your response is needed.
shadcn @shadcn
Have to say, ChatGPT is a beautiful app. @edbayes and team amazing job again ✔️ sidebar is goated. ✔️ we are moving closer to the slack layout. told ya. ✔️ I saw a bookmark action. thank you wishlist → horizontal tabs. trust me. → chatgpt/codex to be replaced → chatgpt = new
· 18.2K views
A typical sidebar mixes history with current tasks. shadcn suggests separating their roles: keep the vertical space for the tree, and give the horizontal space to live branches with icons, colors, and statuses.
Room to work. In ChatGPT, the sidebar can already be hidden with ⌘B, freeing space for a preview, browser, or code. shadcn points to Claude Code as a similar case, where seeing active tasks matters more than seeing the entire tree at once.
Horizontal tabs remain on shadcn's wish list for now.
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