Plan 08: File Browser And Fuzzy Search

Summary

Replace sample file entries with a read-only file browser for the selected thread working directory, including hidden file visibility, ignore rules, and fuzzy search.

Requirements

• Technical Requirements: File Browser, Right Tool Panel, Storage.
• Non-Functional Requirements: Performance, Responsiveness, Data Integrity.
• Testing Requirements: Unit Test Policy, Test Data.

Implementation

• Index files from the selected thread working directory without blocking the main UI thread.
• Use the current file-browser hidden-file setting when deciding whether hidden files are visible.
• Ignore heavy directories by default, including .git, node_modules, dist, .build, and derived-data folders. The default ignore list lives in the YAML settings file seeded by Plan 02.
• Add deterministic ranking: exact filename matches, prefix matches, then fuzzy path matches.
• Keep indexing read-only and never modify repository files.
• Add a SQLite migration for file-index metadata and durable cache entries. Cache entries are app-owned and may be shared by threads with the same canonical working directory, Git identity, ignore-rules fingerprint, and index schema version; they MUST remain safe to rebuild on demand.

Tests

• Unit tests for ignore-rule evaluation against the seeded default list.
• Unit tests for path normalization.
• Unit tests for fuzzy ranking order.
• Temporary-directory tests using deterministic fixture files, including hidden files.
• Migration test verifies the file-index metadata table initializes correctly on a fresh database and on an upgrade from the prior schema version.

Acceptance Criteria

• Files mode shows the selected thread working directory.
• Hidden file visibility follows the current file-browser setting.
• Heavy ignored directories are skipped per the JSON-config default list.
• File search returns exact filename matches before prefix matches and fuzzy path matches.
• File indexing does not block primary UI state changes.
• File indexing is read-only.
• File-index metadata and cache entries persist across app relaunch and are safe to rebuild from scratch.
• scripts/build.sh passes.
• scripts/test.sh passes with file browser and fuzzy search coverage.