# SESSION-0019.2 — header rename + inbox icon + light inbox UX

Parent: SESSION-0019.0-TRANSCRIPT-… (UX-polish wave, rfc-app v0.21.0)
Subsession: 0019.2
Window: 2026-05-28T11-27 → 2026-05-28T11-31 (PST)

## Goal

Roadmap #24 (rename), #25 (inbox icon + light inbox UX), and the
header's share of #31 polish — confined to the App.jsx header region,
Inbox.jsx, and a new Inbox.css. No version/changelog/tag/merge/push.

## Pre-state

- Branch `feature/v0.21.0-header-inbox` at the foundation commit (token
  module `frontend/src/styles/tokens.css` present).
- Header link text was "About" (already routing to /philosophy).
- Inbox trigger used a 📮 emoji with title "Notifications inbox (§15.2)".
- Inbox.jsx: working panel; row click marks-read + navigates; one
  "Mark all read (under filter)" button; terse empty copy; no per-row
  mark-read; unread indicated only by `.inbox-row.unread` bg tint.
- No Amplitude `track()` calls inside Inbox.jsx (only api.js calls:
  listNotifications, markNotificationRead, markNotificationsReadByFilter).
  So "preserve §15 tracking" = don't break the data path; nothing to add.

## Turn-by-turn arc (honest)

1. Read tokens.css, the App.jsx header block (~150–238), Inbox.jsx full,
   and the §15 inbox block of App.css (1573–1641) to learn existing class
   names + property values before touching anything.
2. #24: one-word change "About" → "Philosophy" (kept the title attr).
3. #25 icon: replaced `<span>📮</span>` with a hand-rolled inline SVG
   envelope (18×18, viewBox 0 0 24 24, stroke=currentColor, ~1.75 stroke,
   rounded). Set `aria-label="Inbox"`, retitled "Inbox (§15.2)". Badge
   block untouched.
4. #25 UX: refactored Inbox.jsx. Extracted `markOneRead(item)` (used by
   both row-click and the new per-row affordance) which also decrements
   the local unreadCount. Added an `inbox-unread-dot` span + `read`/`unread`
   row class, a per-row "Mark as read" button (inline check SVG) that sits
   OUTSIDE the Link and `preventDefault/stopPropagation`s so it marks
   without navigating, shown only for unread rows. Simplified the
   mark-all label to "Mark all read" with an explanatory title. Replaced
   empty copy with a "You're all caught up." state that branches on
   whether filters are active.
5. Wrote Inbox.css (tokenized). Discovered via import order that Inbox.jsx
   is imported at App.jsx line 6, BEFORE App.css at line 30 — so under
   ESM depth-first eval Inbox.css injects FIRST and App.css wins ties.
   Wrote override rules one notch more specific (`.inbox-list .inbox-row…`)
   and `.inbox-empty .muted` to beat global `.muted`. New classes need no
   guard. All values via var(--space/-text/-color/-radius/-motion/-ease).
6. Build: first `npm run build` failed — VITE_APP_NAME required (config
   guard, unrelated to my change; no .env in worktree). Re-ran with
   `VITE_APP_NAME="OHM RFC" npm run build` → green (expected ~971kB
   chunk warning only).
7. Verified `git status` shows only App.jsx + Inbox.jsx modified and
   Inbox.css new (node_modules symlink left untracked). Committed exactly
   those three.

## Cut state

- Branch: `feature/v0.21.0-header-inbox`
- Final commit: 317738ed7998a7af5abe0b64769941cb11808ab2
- Files changed: frontend/src/App.jsx (header region only),
  frontend/src/components/Inbox.jsx, frontend/src/components/Inbox.css (new)
- Build: green (chunk-size warning only).

## What the driver needs to know (inbox UX review pointers)

The inbox pass is LIGHT — same layout, panel, filters, bundle toggle,
deep-links, and API calls as before. Exactly what changed for review:

- Unread/read: unread rows now get an accent left-bar (inset box-shadow)
  + warm tint + a filled accent dot + medium-weight summary; read rows
  drop the dot (space reserved, stays aligned) and mute the summary.
- Per-row affordance: a check-icon button appears on row hover/focus
  (always visible on touch via `@media (hover:none)`) that marks the row
  read without navigating. Uses the same markOneRead path.
- Mark-all: relabeled "Mark all read" (+ title clarifying it's
  filter-scoped). Same `markNotificationsReadByFilter` call, same
  disabled-when-all-read guard.
- Empty state: "You're all caught up." with filter-aware sub-copy.
- Behavior preserved: row-click still marks-read then navigates +
  closes; unreadCount now also decremented locally on single marks (was
  only reset to 0 on mark-all before — minor, improves badge accuracy,
  SSE still authoritative per §15.3).

## §19.2 candidates

- Full inbox redesign deferred to a #25-followup: the operator's
  reference screenshot did not transmit, so this stayed a polish pass
  within the existing structure rather than a re-layout. Revisit with
  the screenshot.
- The inbox-trigger / inbox-* base rules still live in App.css with
  hardcoded hex (a sibling is tokenizing App.css this wave). If that
  sweep lands, the few overrides in Inbox.css could shed their
  extra-specificity guards once import order is normalized.