feat: minimal panel by default + start the dashboard from the UI (v0.4.0)

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,18 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## v0.4.0
+- **The Browser panel works out of the box now.** The default `panel_mode` is **`minimal`** — a
+  live screenshot + nav toolbar driven through the gated same-origin routes; it works everywhere
+  (host + member), no dashboard daemon needed.
+- **`full` mode is now a launcher, not an embed.** The dashboard is a Next.js app whose assets are
+  **root-absolute** (`/_next/...`) with no base-path, so it can't render under a sub-path panel —
+  that was the long-standing blank panel. Full mode now opens the dashboard at its **own origin**
+  ("Open dashboard ↗", works on a local/host setup) and the **dead sub-path reverse proxy
+  (HTTP + WebSocket) is removed**.
+- **Start the dashboard from the UI** — a live status dot + **Start / Stop** control in the panel
+  (gated `GET`/`POST /api/plugins/agent_browser/dashboard`), so you never need a terminal. Verified
+  end-to-end against the real `agent-browser` binary (status → start → running → stop).
+
 ## v0.3.0
 - **Host-free test suite** (`tests/`) — the tool subprocess wrappers (arg-building +
   graceful error degradation), the panel routers (page / four-rules / gating / dashboard

README.md

@@ -37,15 +37,20 @@ point.
 - **Skill** — a discovery skill that defers to the CLI's always-current workflow
   content (`agent-browser skills get core`), so instructions never go stale.
 - **Workflows** — declarative browser recipes (browse-and-extract, fill-a-form, …).
-- **Browser panel** — a console view (ADR 0026) that **embeds agent-browser's own
-  live dashboard** (`agent-browser dashboard start`, port 4848): the live viewport
-  (CDP screencast) + the command activity / console / network feeds. We hijack their
-  renderer rather than building one. The dashboard is served **same-origin through
-  the plugin's own reverse-proxy route** (`/plugins/agent_browser/panel/dash`,
-  HTTP + WebSocket), so the embed rides the fleet proxy (ADR 0042) on the host and
-  on a member alike — it never points the operator's browser at `localhost:PORT`
-  (issue #6). `minimal` mode (`panel_mode: minimal`) renders a viewport-only page
-  (live screenshot + nav toolbar) with no WS dependency.
+- **Browser panel** — a console view (ADR 0026) for watching/driving the browser. Two
+  modes, set by `panel_mode`:
+  - **`minimal` (default)** — a **live screenshot** of the viewport + a nav toolbar + a
+    **Dashboard control** (start/stop/status), all through the **gated same-origin routes**.
+    Works everywhere (host and member), no dashboard daemon needed. The reliable mode.
+  - **`full`** — a **launcher** for agent-browser's own dashboard (viewport + activity/
+    console/network feeds). It's not embedded: that dashboard is a Next.js app with
+    **root-absolute asset paths** (no base-path), so it can't render under a sub-path
+    panel — it only loads at its **own origin**. Full mode opens it there
+    ("Open dashboard ↗"), which works on a local/host setup. For a remote member, use
+    `minimal`.
+
+  Either mode can **start the dashboard from the panel** (no terminal) — the Start/Stop
+  control hits the gated `POST /api/plugins/agent_browser/dashboard`.
 
 ## Requirements
 
@@ -77,7 +82,7 @@ agent_browser:
 | File | What |
 |---|---|
 | `tools.py` | the browser tools — subprocess wrappers over the `agent-browser` CLI |
-| `browser_panel.py` | the console view that embeds the agent-browser dashboard (same-origin reverse proxy) |
+| `browser_panel.py` | the Browser panel — `minimal` (live viewport + nav + dashboard control) and `full` (a launcher for the dashboard) |
 | `lifecycle.py` | the dashboard daemon surface — start on boot, stop on shutdown (ADR 0018) |
 | `skills/` | the discovery skill (defers to `agent-browser skills get core`) |
 | `workflows/` | declarative browser recipes |