fix(chat): stick-to-bottom scroll + global chat routes code work to a sandbox

internal/dashboard/chat.go

@@ -33,14 +33,38 @@ const chatQuestionGuidance = "When a choice is genuinely ambiguous and a quick d
 	"```corral-question\nquestion: <the question>\n- <option one>\n- <option two>\n```\n" +
 	"One question per block, 2–4 short options. After the block, stop and wait for the answer."
 
+// chatConductorGuidance is prepended to the GLOBAL chat's first turn so the
+// most important operating rule is in front of the model from the start, NOT
+// buried in the corral-api skill (which is loaded via --plugin-dir but only READ
+// when the model chooses to invoke it — for a "run the tests on repo X" request
+// it often never does, then does the code work inline on the host). This makes
+// the sandbox-routing rule always-on.
+//
+// Only for the global chat (workspace==""): a project chat already runs INSIDE a
+// sandbox, so this rule doesn't apply there.
+const chatConductorGuidance = "YOU ARE A CONDUCTOR ON THE HOST — you are NOT sandboxed, and you must not do a " +
+	"repo's code work directly on this machine. If the request involves writing, running, building, testing, " +
+	"or exploring a repo's code (a feature, a bug, an issue, tests, getting an app running), do NOT `cd` into a " +
+	"local checkout and edit/run/commit/push it here. Instead create a sandbox project and hand it the task: " +
+	"first `corral api GET /repos` to find the repo id, then `corral api POST /projects/create -d " +
+	"'{\"repoId\":\"<id>\",\"prompt\":\"<the full task>\"}'` — the sandbox's own Claude does the work. Then " +
+	"supervise it (`corral api GET /status`, read its conversation). ONLY pure host/orchestration work " +
+	"(inspecting Corral state, reading logs/PRs, running flows, analysis, answering questions) stays here. When " +
+	"in doubt, route it to a sandbox. (See the corral-api skill for the exact API shapes.)"
+
 // withContextHint prepends a page-context note (and, on the first turn, the
-// question-asking convention) to a prompt. firstTurn gates both — later turns
-// already carry them via --resume.
-func withContextHint(prompt, hint string, firstTurn bool) string {
+// question-asking convention plus — for the global chat — the conductor rule) to
+// a prompt. firstTurn gates them — later turns already carry them via --resume.
+// isGlobal is true only for the app-wide global chat (workspace==""); a project
+// chat already runs inside a sandbox, so the conductor rule is skipped there.
+func withContextHint(prompt, hint string, firstTurn, isGlobal bool) string {
 	if !firstTurn {
 		return prompt
 	}
 	prefix := chatQuestionGuidance + "\n\n"
+	if isGlobal {
+		prefix = chatConductorGuidance + "\n\n" + prefix
+	}
 	if hint != "" {
 		prefix = "[Context: " + hint + "]\n\n" + prefix
 	}
@@ -257,7 +281,7 @@ func (d *dashboardServer) runChatSession(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request,
 		if hint == "" {
 			hint = contextHint
 		}
-		prompt := withContextHint(msg.Prompt, hint, sessionID == "")
+		prompt := withContextHint(msg.Prompt, hint, sessionID == "", workspace == "")
 
 		// Capture the user's prompt (the raw text, not the context-hinted wrapper)
 		// before the turn — the stream doesn't echo it back. Best-effort. This also

internal/dashboard/chat_context_test.go

@@ -8,32 +8,46 @@ import (
 func TestWithContextHint(t *testing.T) {
 	hint := "The user is viewing repo acme/widget."
 
-	// First turn with a hint: the context marker is prepended, the question-asking
-	// guidance is included, and the original prompt is preserved.
-	got := withContextHint("what's broken?", hint, true)
+	// First turn, GLOBAL chat, with a hint: the context marker is prepended, the
+	// question-asking guidance and the conductor rule are included, and the
+	// original prompt is preserved.
+	got := withContextHint("what's broken?", hint, true, true)
 	if !strings.HasPrefix(got, "[Context: "+hint+"]") || !strings.Contains(got, "what's broken?") {
 		t.Errorf("first-turn hint not prepended: %q", got)
 	}
 	if !strings.Contains(got, "corral-question") {
 		t.Errorf("first-turn prompt should carry the question guidance: %q", got)
 	}
+	if !strings.Contains(got, "CONDUCTOR") || !strings.Contains(got, "/projects/create") {
+		t.Errorf("global first-turn prompt should carry the conductor/sandbox rule: %q", got)
+	}
 
 	// Later turns: nothing prepended (context + guidance already carried via
 	// --resume) — the prompt is passed through verbatim.
-	if got := withContextHint("and this one?", hint, false); got != "and this one?" {
+	if got := withContextHint("and this one?", hint, false, true); got != "and this one?" {
 		t.Errorf("later turn should be unchanged, got %q", got)
 	}
-	if got := withContextHint("hello", "", false); got != "hello" {
+	if got := withContextHint("hello", "", false, false); got != "hello" {
 		t.Errorf("later turn with no hint should be unchanged, got %q", got)
 	}
 
-	// First turn with NO context hint: no [Context:] marker, but the question
-	// guidance still applies (it's page-independent) and the prompt is preserved.
-	got = withContextHint("hello", "", true)
+	// First turn with NO context hint, GLOBAL: no [Context:] marker, but the
+	// question guidance + conductor rule still apply and the prompt is preserved.
+	got = withContextHint("hello", "", true, true)
 	if strings.Contains(got, "[Context:") {
 		t.Errorf("no-hint first turn should not have a context marker: %q", got)
 	}
 	if !strings.Contains(got, "corral-question") || !strings.HasSuffix(got, "hello") {
 		t.Errorf("no-hint first turn should carry guidance + the prompt: %q", got)
 	}
+
+	// First turn, PROJECT chat (isGlobal=false): it already runs inside a sandbox,
+	// so the conductor rule is NOT injected — but the question guidance still is.
+	got = withContextHint("fix the bug", hint, true, false)
+	if strings.Contains(got, "CONDUCTOR") {
+		t.Errorf("project chat should NOT get the conductor rule: %q", got)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(got, "corral-question") || !strings.HasSuffix(got, "fix the bug") {
+		t.Errorf("project first turn should still carry the question guidance + prompt: %q", got)
+	}
 }

internal/dashboard/webui/app-src/src/components/ChatPanel.tsx

@@ -122,9 +122,36 @@ export function ChatPanel({
   const curAssistantIdx = useRef<number | null>(null);
   const lastToolIdx = useRef<number | null>(null);
 
+  // Stick-to-bottom autoscroll: only auto-scroll when the user is already at (or
+  // near) the bottom. If they've scrolled UP to read earlier output, a streaming
+  // frame must NOT yank them back down.
+  //
+  // stickRef is the intent, updated ONLY by real user scrolling (onLogScroll): at
+  // the bottom → stick=true; scrolled up → stick=false. scroll() re-affirms it
+  // synchronously (a programmatic jump we make ourselves shouldn't clear it) and
+  // bails when the user is reading above. Measured against the LIVE DOM each call
+  // so a growing transcript can't strand a stale value.
+  const stickRef = useRef(true);
+  const nearBottom = (el: HTMLDivElement) => el.scrollHeight - el.scrollTop - el.clientHeight < 60;
+  const programmaticScroll = useRef(false);
+  const onLogScroll = useCallback(() => {
+    // Ignore the scroll events our own autoscroll causes; only USER scrolls should
+    // change the stick intent.
+    if (programmaticScroll.current) return;
+    const el = logRef.current;
+    if (el) stickRef.current = nearBottom(el);
+  }, []);
   const scroll = useCallback(() => {
+    const el = logRef.current;
+    if (!el || !stickRef.current) return; // reading above → leave them alone
     requestAnimationFrame(() => {
-      if (logRef.current) logRef.current.scrollTop = logRef.current.scrollHeight;
+      if (!logRef.current) return;
+      programmaticScroll.current = true;
+      logRef.current.scrollTop = logRef.current.scrollHeight;
+      // Clear the guard after the resulting scroll event has fired.
+      requestAnimationFrame(() => {
+        programmaticScroll.current = false;
+      });
     });
   }, []);
 
@@ -275,6 +302,9 @@ export function ChatPanel({
       setMsgs((m) => [...m, { role: "user", html: renderMarkdown(text) }]);
       wsRef.current.send(JSON.stringify({ prompt: text, ctx: getCtx?.() || "" }));
       setBusy(true);
+      // Sending your own message always follows it to the bottom, even if you'd
+      // scrolled up before.
+      stickRef.current = true;
       scroll();
     },
     [getCtx, scroll],
@@ -344,7 +374,7 @@ export function ChatPanel({
           </button>
         )}
       </div>
-      <div className="chat-log" id="log" ref={logRef}>
+      <div className="chat-log" id="log" ref={logRef} onScroll={onLogScroll}>
         {msgs.map((m, i) => {
           if (m.role === "meta")
             return (

internal/dashboard/webui/static/app/index.html

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
 <link rel="icon" type="image/svg+xml" href="/static/app/favicon.svg">
 <title>corral — control</title>
-  <script type="module" crossorigin src="/static/app/assets/index-BgodMaKm.js"></script>
+  <script type="module" crossorigin src="/static/app/assets/index-ClsO5wVY.js"></script>
   <link rel="stylesheet" crossorigin href="/static/app/assets/index-RRSRH0xq.css">
 </head>
 <body>