ADR-007: Full TUI From Day One

Status

Accepted

Context

We could build a headless-only MVP first and add a TUI later, or build the TUI as a core feature from the start.

Decision

Build the full Ratatui TUI as a core feature. swarm start launches the TUI by default; --no-tui provides headless mode.

Rationale

• Observability is critical for a multi-agent system — users need to see what agents are doing in real time.
• Building the TUI later would require retrofitting state observation APIs.
• Ratatui is lightweight and well-suited for this use case.

Stack

• Ratatui for layout/rendering
• Crossterm as the terminal backend

Consequences

• TUI event loop must integrate with Tokio (poll crossterm events alongside async tasks).
• Agent states are exposed via watch::Receiver<AgentState> channels for the TUI to observe.
• Log viewing is file-based (tail agent's current.log).
• The TUI is the primary shutdown trigger (user presses q).