Open generated images from tool activity

[colonelpanic8]

What Changed

• Recognize completed imageGeneration activities and expose only their activity ID and filename to the client timeline.
• Resolve the provider-saved image path server-side and serve it through a signed, exact-file asset capability.
• Render generated images as compact evidence links in the work log instead of automatically expanding thumbnails.
• Open selected generated images in a dedicated right-panel tab alongside files, diffs, terminals, and browser previews.
• Keep generated-image links visible across turn/work-log folding and preserve open image tabs across reloads.
• Retry the short projection race when an image link is opened immediately after completion, while failing non-transient asset errors immediately.

Why

Generated images already arrive with a provider-saved path in completed tool activity, but that activity was rendered only as a text work-log row. The image should remain viewable after streaming finishes and after a thread is reloaded, without depending on the assistant to repeat a filename.

The interaction follows the Codex desktop pattern: images remain compact, link-like evidence in the transcript and open on demand in the existing right-side workspace. This avoids large automatic thumbnails and avoids requesting image assets until the user selects one.

This builds on the direction explored by #3984, which promotes image filenames explicitly mentioned in assistant Markdown, and #4321, which covers broader workspace/browser media references. Neither PR is included as a dependency here.

UI Changes

• Completed image-generation activity shows an image icon and filename link under the work-log row.
• Selecting the link opens or activates a named generated-image tab in the right panel.
• The panel shows the full image with contained sizing, loading state, and load-error state.
• Multiple generated images remain separate compact transcript links and separate reusable panel tabs.

Current browser evidence

Captured from the exact current PR head 9939cc9a46e6a33dbbca4961b1c755f9ed6fae21 in the combined package 0.0.29-patched-main-20260724 (integration 4dd4cef4039303179929a1dbdbf0c9b358c076f9). The fixture uses a real provider imageGeneration event in a disposable repository.

Compact work-log link	Generated-image right panel

MP4 version of the interaction

Checklist

• pnpm exec vp test run apps/web/src/rightPanelStore.test.ts apps/web/src/components/chat/MessagesTimeline.test.tsx apps/web/src/components/chat/GeneratedImagePanel.test.tsx apps/server/src/assets/GeneratedImageResolver.test.ts (48 tests)
• Targeted pnpm exec vp check for all changed server/web files
• pnpm --filter t3 run typecheck
• React best-practices review: no asset request before selection, no render-time store subscription, keyboard events isolated from the collapsible parent row
• Integrated browser verification in an isolated authenticated environment against the exact combined package: real generated-image activity rendered a compact work-log link and opened the signed image in a reusable right-panel tab
• pnpm --filter @t3tools/web run typecheck currently reports only existing unrelated errors in BranchToolbarBranchSelector.tsx, ModelPickerContent.tsx, PreviewAutomationHosts.tsx, and the atom query hooks

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Note

Medium Risk
Touches signed asset issuance and filesystem path validation for provider-saved files; scope is bounded by image-preview checks and exact basename matching, with retries limited to not-found races.

Overview
Provider-generated images can be opened on demand from completed imageGeneration tool activity instead of only showing as plain work-log text.

The server adds a generated-image asset resource: assetsCreateUrl looks up the saved path from thread projection via findGeneratedImagePath, retries briefly when the file is not ready yet, and AssetAccess issues exact-path signed tokens (image preview paths only) with basename-locked resolution.

The client exposes only activity id and filename in work-log entries (not the provider path), renders a compact filename link in the timeline, and opens a dedicated generated-image right-panel tab (GeneratedImagePanel + useAssetUrlState). Timeline folding and work-log grouping skip generated-image rows so links stay visible when turns or tool groups collapse.

Right-panel persistence bumps to v8 with migration validation for generated-image surfaces.

^{Reviewed by Cursor Bugbot for commit 9939cc9. Bugbot is set up for automated code reviews on this repo. Configure here.}

Note

Add generated image viewer panel accessible from tool activity work log

• Adds a GeneratedImagePanel right-panel surface that fetches and displays provider-generated images via a signed asset URL, with loading and error states.
• Clicking a completed image generation entry in the messages timeline opens the panel; the entry renders as a standalone link (not collapsed into grouped work-log rows).
• Extends the asset token system with a generated-image claim kind, strict canonical path validation, and two new error types (AssetGeneratedImageNotFoundError, AssetGeneratedImageInspectionError).
• The assetsCreateUrl RPC polls orchestration state with retry until the generated file is available before issuing a signed URL.
• Bumps RIGHT_PANEL_STORAGE_VERSION to 8; persisted generated-image surfaces are validated on migration and dropped if malformed.

^{Macroscope summarized 9939cc9.}

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[macroscopeapp]

Approvability

Verdict: Needs human review

This PR introduces a new feature for displaying generated images from tool activity, adding new UI components, server-side asset handling, and state management across multiple packages. New features of this scope warrant human review to validate the integration and user experience.

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[cursor]

Cursor Bugbot has reviewed your changes using high effort and found 1 potential issue.

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^{Reviewed by Cursor Bugbot for commit 9939cc9. Configure here.}

[cursor]

v8 persist skips loadRequestId

Low Severity

This change makes loadRequestId part of the persisted generated-image surface and uses it in the GeneratedImagePanel React key, but RIGHT_PANEL_STORAGE_VERSION stays at 8. Clients that already saved v8 generated-image tabs without that field will rehydrate without running migration, so loadRequestId can be missing and the panel key becomes unstable until the user opens the image again.

Additional Locations (1)

• apps/web/src/components/ChatView.tsx#L5585-L5586

 

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