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ui-plugin-navigation

Office & productivity

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Updated 11-02 23:20

About this skill

UI Plugin Navigation

[!NOTE]
UI plugins and UI extensions are the same thing: a sidecar-backed web
panel that renders in the auxiliary (side) pane. Treat the two terms as
interchangeable. Everything below applies whichever term the user or other
skills use.

Some plugins expose a UI panel that renders in the auxiliary (side) pane. This skill tells you how to surface a clickable pill in chat that opens/toggles that panel, using the sidecar:// link scheme.

When to surface a pill

Offer a pill in either situation:

  1. Contextual relevance. Read the enabled UI plugins' description / display_name. If a plugin's purpose matches what the user is doing right now and seeing its UI would help, offer that plugin's pill.
  2. After a new UI plugin pane is enabled. When the user has just created and enabled a UI plugin pane, include a pill pointing to it so they can open it immediately.

Surface pills sparingly — only when the panel is genuinely useful. Don't repeat a pill the user has already opened or dismissed.

Step 1: Find UI plugin panes and their views

UI plugin panes are backed by sidecars, which live under these directories (each in its own <sidecar-id>/ folder containing a sidecar.json):

  • ~/.gemini/config/sidecars/<sidecar-id>/
  • ~/.gemini/<app-name>/builtin/sidecars/<sidecar-id>/
  • ~/.gemini/config/plugins/<plugin>/sidecars/<sidecar-id>/ (or external sidecar folders referenced by
    ~/.gemini/config/plugins/<plugin>/sidecars.json)
  • ~/.gemini/<app-name>/builtin/plugins/<plugin>/sidecars/<sidecar-id>/ (or referenced by ~/.gemini/<app-name>/builtin/plugins/<plugin>/sidecars.json)

The sidecar-id is the folder name — except for plugin sidecars (those under a plugins/<plugin>/sidecars/ directory or referenced by a plugin's sidecars.json), whose id is namespaced as <plugin>/<sidecar-folder>. A sidecar has a UI panel only if its sidecar.json has has_web_ui set to true and a ui_config.views entry with entrypoint: SIDECAR_UI_ENTRYPOINT_AUX_PANE. From that entry take:

  • sidecar-id — the folder name, or <plugin>/<folder> for plugin sidecars.
  • view-path — the path field (e.g. /, host.html?view=auxpane).
  • Use description / display_name (and views[].title) to judge relevance and to label the pill.

Step 2: Emit the pill link

Write a standard markdown link with the sidecar:// scheme:

[Label](sidecar://<sidecar-id>/<view-path>)
  • Label — should be equivalent to the view title, the sidecar display_name or the sidecar_id with preference in that order. If the sidecar is part of a plugin, you can also use the plugin name instead.
  • Only emit pills for AUX_PANE views of plugins that are enabled and running.

Examples (substitute the actual id/path you discovered in Step 1):

[<Sidecar Name>](sidecar://<sidecar-id>/)
[<Sidecar Name>](sidecar://<sidecar-id>/host.html?view=auxpane)

Constraints & Tips

  • The pill toggles the aux pane. Clicking opens the plugin's panel. DO NOT output a plugin link, if the plugin isn't enabled/running.
  • Deduce relevance from the description, not guesswork. If no enabled UI plugin's description matches the conversation, don't force a pill.
  • One pill per pane. Don't emit multiple links to the same view.