feat: writes via chat — Reginald proposes, you approve inline (P4)

Completes "chat is the write-path" (decisions.md D1). Ask Reginald to re-estimate
or reprioritize an issue; it formulates a proposal, you approve it inline, and the
write runs through the same guarded apply_changes engine the Issue screen uses.
The model never writes — it proposes; the app owns approval + execution.

core (@commitea/core):
- propose_change tool declaration + REGINALD_SYSTEM updated ("never claim a change
  is applied; you propose, the human approves").
- proposalsFor(args, currentLabels, title): pure — builds the concrete, non-noop
  ChangeProposal(s) (change + label diff) for a propose_change request, dropping
  invalid/unchanged axes. ChangeProposal / ProposeChangeArgs types.

app:
- model bridge executes propose_change by planning against the issue's current
  labels (no write) and returns the proposals with the turn.
- useChat surfaces pending proposals + approve/dismiss; approve calls onApplyChange
  (AppShell's guarded handler → PUT + board/forecast refetch), dismiss leaves it.
- ChatPanel renders each proposal as a propose-approve card (diff + Approve/Dismiss).

Verified: 101 core tests green (4 proposalsFor added), desktop typecheck clean,
14 fixture e2e green. Gated live e2e against gemma-4-26b: "Set the estimate on #3
to est/5d" → Reginald proposes "est/2d → est/5d" as an inline card, says it's
*proposed* not done; Dismiss leaves the repo untouched. The approve→write path is
the #41 engine (separately verified change→revert).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

apps/desktop/src/main/model.ts

@@ -9,10 +9,14 @@
 
 import {
   buildProjectView,
+  type ChangeProposal,
   type ChatMessage,
   createChatClient,
+  describeChange,
   type ModelRouter,
   type ProjectView,
+  proposalsFor,
+  type ProposeChangeArgs,
   type QueryFilters,
   REGINALD_SYSTEM,
   REGINALD_TOOLS,
@@ -80,12 +84,28 @@ export function registerModelIpc(): void {
     const model = await resolveLoadedModel(router.small.baseUrl, router.small.model)
     const chat = createChatClient({ ...router.small, model }, fetch)
 
+    // Proposals the model formulates this turn; the renderer approves them (the
+    // write happens through gitea:applyChange, never inside the loop).
+    const proposals: ChangeProposal[] = []
+
     const execute = async (name: string, args: unknown) => {
-      if (name !== 'query_project') return { error: `unknown tool: ${name}` }
       if (!client) return { error: 'gitea is not configured' }
-      const snap = await reconcileSnapshot(client)
-      const a = (args ?? {}) as { view: ProjectView; filters?: QueryFilters }
-      return buildProjectView(a.view, a.filters, snap, new Date())
+      if (name === 'query_project') {
+        const snap = await reconcileSnapshot(client)
+        const a = (args ?? {}) as { view: ProjectView; filters?: QueryFilters }
+        return buildProjectView(a.view, a.filters, snap, new Date())
+      }
+      if (name === 'propose_change') {
+        const a = (args ?? {}) as ProposeChangeArgs
+        const issue = await client.getIssue(a.issue).catch(() => null)
+        if (!issue) return { error: `issue #${a.issue} not found` }
+        const built = proposalsFor(a, issue.labels, issue.title)
+        proposals.push(...built)
+        return built.length
+          ? { proposed: built.map((p) => ({ issue: a.issue, diff: describeChange(p.plan) })) }
+          : { proposed: [], note: 'no change — already at that value' }
+      }
+      return { error: `unknown tool: ${name}` }
     }
 
     try {
@@ -95,7 +115,7 @@ export function registerModelIpc(): void {
         tools: REGINALD_TOOLS,
         execute,
       })
-      return { ok: true as const, content: turn.content, steps: turn.steps }
+      return { ok: true as const, content: turn.content, steps: turn.steps, proposals }
     } catch (e) {
       return { ok: false as const, reason: 'error' as const, message: e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e) }
     }

apps/desktop/src/renderer/src/components/shell/app-shell.tsx

@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@ export function AppShell() {
         </div>
       </main>
 
-      <ChatPanel onOpenDirectives={() => setView('directives')} offline={offline} />
+      <ChatPanel onOpenDirectives={() => setView('directives')} offline={offline} onApplyChange={applyChange} />
     </div>
   )
 }

apps/desktop/src/renderer/src/components/shell/chat-panel.tsx

@@ -1,21 +1,25 @@
 import React, { useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react'
 
+import { describeChange, type IssueChange } from '@commitea/core'
+
 import { useChat } from '../../lib/use-chat.js'
-import { Icon, IconButton } from '../ui/index.js'
+import { Button, Icon, IconButton } from '../ui/index.js'
 
 /**
  * Reginald's panel — chat is the write-path (decisions.md D1). Wired to the
- * model bridge via `useChat`: when a model is configured, sending drives a real
- * agent turn (query_project + prose); otherwise it echoes the scripted fixture
- * reply so the layout stays real. Writes still go through propose-approve.
+ * model bridge via `useChat`: a configured model drives a real agent turn
+ * (query_project + prose, propose_change for edits); otherwise it echoes the
+ * scripted fixture reply. Proposed changes are approved inline here — the write
+ * runs through `onApplyChange`, the same guarded handler the Issue screen uses.
  */
 export interface ChatPanelProps {
   onOpenDirectives?: () => void
   offline?: boolean
+  onApplyChange?: (change: IssueChange) => Promise<{ ok: boolean }>
 }
 
-export function ChatPanel({ onOpenDirectives, offline }: ChatPanelProps) {
-  const { msgs, thinking, live, model, steps, send: sendChat } = useChat()
+export function ChatPanel({ onOpenDirectives, offline, onApplyChange }: ChatPanelProps) {
+  const { msgs, thinking, live, model, steps, proposals, send: sendChat, approve, dismiss } = useChat(onApplyChange)
   // shorten "google/gemma-4-26b-a4b-qat" → "gemma-4-26b" for the header chip
   const modelLabel = model ? (model.split('/').pop() ?? model).replace(/-(qat|instruct|it|gguf)$/i, '') : 'gemma-4'
   const [text, setText] = useState('')
@@ -97,9 +101,36 @@ export function ChatPanel({ onOpenDirectives, offline }: ChatPanelProps) {
         {thinking ? <div style={{ font: 'var(--text-agent)', color: 'var(--ink-3)' }}>considering…</div> : null}
         {!thinking && steps.length ? (
           <div style={{ font: 'var(--text-caption)', color: 'var(--ink-3)', display: 'flex', alignItems: 'center', gap: 5 }}>
-            <Icon name="eye" size={11} /> consulted {Array.from(new Set(steps.map((s) => s.replace('query_project', 'the project')))).join(', ')}
+            <Icon name="eye" size={11} /> consulted {Array.from(new Set(steps.map((s) => s.replace('query_project', 'the project').replace('propose_change', 'the labels')))).join(', ')}
           </div>
         ) : null}
+        {proposals.map((p) => (
+          <div
+            key={`${p.change.issue}:${p.change.kind}`}
+            style={{
+              border: '1px solid var(--line-2)',
+              borderRadius: 'var(--radius-2)',
+              background: 'var(--paper-0)',
+              padding: '10px 12px',
+              display: 'flex',
+              flexDirection: 'column',
+              gap: 8,
+            }}
+          >
+            <div style={{ font: 'var(--text-caption)', color: 'var(--ink-3)', textTransform: 'uppercase', letterSpacing: 'var(--letter-spacing-wide)' }}>
+              Proposed · #{p.change.issue}
+            </div>
+            <div style={{ font: '500 13px var(--font-mono)', color: 'var(--ink-1)' }}>{describeChange(p.plan)}</div>
+            <div style={{ display: 'flex', gap: 8 }}>
+              <Button size="sm" onClick={() => approve(p)} disabled={offline}>
+                Approve
+              </Button>
+              <Button size="sm" variant="ghost" onClick={() => dismiss(p)}>
+                Dismiss
+              </Button>
+            </div>
+          </div>
+        ))}
       </div>
 
       <div style={{ padding: 14, borderTop: '1px solid var(--line-1)', flexShrink: 0 }}>

apps/desktop/src/renderer/src/global.d.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import type {
   AgentStep,
+  ChangeProposal,
   ChatMessage,
   DependencyEdge,
   GiteaIssue,
@@ -32,7 +33,7 @@ export interface GiteaBridge {
 /** One agent turn's result. */
 export type ChatResult =
   | { ok: false; reason: 'unconfigured' | 'error'; message?: string }
-  | { ok: true; content: string; steps: AgentStep[] }
+  | { ok: true; content: string; steps: AgentStep[]; proposals: ChangeProposal[] }
 
 /** The model bridge (Reginald) exposed by the preload over IPC. */
 export interface ModelBridge {

apps/desktop/src/renderer/src/lib/use-chat.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react'
 
-import type { ChatMessage as WireMessage } from '@commitea/core'
+import type { ChangeProposal, ChatMessage as WireMessage, IssueChange } from '@commitea/core'
 
 import { CANNED_REPLY, CHAT, type ChatMessage } from '../data/fixtures.js'
 
@@ -18,7 +18,11 @@ export interface ChatState {
   model: string | null
   /** Tools Reginald consulted on the last turn (for a subtle activity line). */
   steps: string[]
+  /** Changes Reginald has proposed and is awaiting approval on. */
+  proposals: ChangeProposal[]
   send: (text: string) => void
+  approve: (p: ChangeProposal) => void
+  dismiss: (p: ChangeProposal) => void
 }
 
 /**
@@ -26,18 +30,23 @@ export interface ChatState {
  * turn through the main-process bridge (which runs the tool loop). Otherwise it
  * echoes the scripted fixture reply, so the layout stays real with no model and
  * fixture e2e is unaffected. The fixture greeting is display-only — only real
- * turns (`convo`) are sent to the model as history.
+ * turns (`convo`) are sent to the model as history. `onApplyChange` performs an
+ * approved write (the same handler the Issue screen uses — it refetches).
  */
-export function useChat(): ChatState {
+export function useChat(onApplyChange?: (change: IssueChange) => Promise<{ ok: boolean }>): ChatState {
   const [seed, setSeed] = useState<ChatMessage[]>(CHAT)
   const [convo, setConvo] = useState<ChatMessage[]>([])
   const [thinking, setThinking] = useState(false)
   const [live, setLive] = useState(false)
   const [model, setModel] = useState<string | null>(null)
   const [steps, setSteps] = useState<string[]>([])
+  const [proposals, setProposals] = useState<ChangeProposal[]>([])
   const convoRef = useRef(convo)
   convoRef.current = convo
 
+  const proposalKey = (p: ChangeProposal) => `${p.change.issue}:${p.change.kind}`
+  const drop = (p: ChangeProposal) => setProposals((ps) => ps.filter((x) => proposalKey(x) !== proposalKey(p)))
+
   useEffect(() => {
     let alive = true
     window.commitea.model
@@ -63,6 +72,7 @@ export function useChat(): ChatState {
       setConvo(nextConvo)
       setThinking(true)
       setSteps([])
+      setProposals([])
 
       if (!live) {
         window.setTimeout(() => {
@@ -82,6 +92,7 @@ export function useChat(): ChatState {
           setThinking(false)
           if (res.ok) {
             setSteps(res.steps.map((s) => s.tool))
+            setProposals(res.proposals)
             setConvo((c) => [...c, { from: 'agent', text: res.content || '…' }])
           } else {
             setConvo((c) => [
@@ -101,5 +112,30 @@ export function useChat(): ChatState {
     [live],
   )
 
-  return { msgs: [...seed, ...convo], thinking, live, model, steps, send }
+  const approve = useCallback(
+    (p: ChangeProposal) => {
+      if (!onApplyChange) return
+      drop(p)
+      const label = p.plan.added[0] ?? p.plan.removed[0] ?? 'change'
+      void onApplyChange(p.change).then((res) => {
+        setConvo((c) => [
+          ...c,
+          {
+            from: 'agent',
+            text: res.ok
+              ? `Done — #${p.change.issue} is now ${label}. The plan's been re-run.`
+              : `That didn't take — #${p.change.issue} is unchanged.`,
+          },
+        ])
+      })
+    },
+    [onApplyChange],
+  )
+
+  const dismiss = useCallback((p: ChangeProposal) => {
+    drop(p)
+    setConvo((c) => [...c, { from: 'agent', text: `Left #${p.change.issue} as it was.` }])
+  }, [])
+
+  return { msgs: [...seed, ...convo], thinking, live, model, steps, proposals, send, approve, dismiss }
 }