Two follow-ons after the ⌘K palette:
StatusIndicator → Popover
- The top-bar status light is no longer a direct link to /status.
Clicking it opens a popover with grouped issues (failing
integrations, expired tokens, expiring tokens) so a quick glance
answers "what's broken" without leaving the current page. A "View
full status" link at the bottom routes to /status when needed.
- The trigger keeps the same color rollup so the visual hint is
visible without opening the popover.
DataTable → CSV export
- Optional `exportable` + `exportFilename` props add an "Export CSV"
button next to the search bar. Default behavior exports the current
page; pass `onExportAll` for server-side full-result downloads.
- Built client-side from column defs (label → header, raw value →
cell). BOM-prefixed UTF-8 so Excel decodes correctly. Quoting +
escape handled.
- Enabled on /admin/data-browser/{companies,tickets} as initial demos.
Other data-browser pages opt in by adding two props.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
21 KiB
Pulse — Design System
This file documents how the UI is put together today: the tokens, the
component vocabulary, the navigation IA, and the patterns each page is
expected to follow. It also calls out the rough edges that the
nav-design-improvements branch exists to address — treat the "Open
improvements" section as the working backlog for visual/UX cleanup.
System overview lives in ARCHITECTURE.md. Per-feature notes live in docs/.
1. Design principles
- Information density over decoration. Pulse is an internal operations console. Tables, dashboards, and admin tools win over hero spacing.
- One source of truth per pattern. If shadcn/ui has a primitive, use it —
don't re-implement (
<table>raw, custom skeletons, ad-hoc dropdowns). - Tokens, not hex. Colors come from CSS variables in
app/globals.css, not Tailwind's full color palette. The same goes for radius and spacing. - Roles shape the nav, not the layout. Hide items the user can't access; don't restructure the page shell per role.
- Read-first, write-confirmed. Destructive or external-effect actions (RMM execute, IT Glue write) live behind explicit dialogs with confirmation, not inline buttons.
2. Tokens
App tokens are defined in app/globals.css (shadcn defaults). The Wulf
brand layer in app/styles/brand.css is imported last and repoints
--primary / --accent / --ring / --chart-2 to the standards-guide
blue (#0075AD) and provides Wulf gray ramps (--wulf-gray-100/300/700).
Tailwind 4 reads them via @theme inline; never hard-code colors or
radii in components.
Colors (OKLch)
| Token | Light | Dark | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
--background / --foreground |
white / near-black | near-black / near-white | Page surface and primary text |
--card / --card-foreground |
white | oklch(0.205 0 0) |
Card surfaces |
--primary / --primary-foreground |
logo blue oklch(0.55 0.16 220) |
brighter blue oklch(0.62 0.17 220) |
Primary actions, active nav, focus ring |
--secondary / --muted |
oklch(0.97 0 0) |
oklch(0.269 0 0) |
Subtle surfaces, table headers |
--muted-foreground |
oklch(0.556 0 0) |
oklch(0.708 0 0) |
Secondary text, descriptions |
--accent |
same as primary | same as primary | Hover/selection accents |
--destructive |
oklch(0.577 0.245 27.325) |
oklch(0.704 0.191 22.216) |
Errors, destructive buttons |
--border / --input |
oklch(0.922 0 0) |
oklch(1 0 0 / 10%) |
Borders, input outlines |
--ring |
logo blue | brighter blue | Focus ring |
--chart-1 … --chart-5 |
distinct hues | distinct hues | Recharts series |
--sidebar* |
mirrors page tokens | mirrors page tokens | Reserved for a future sidebar nav |
Status hues outside this set (success greens, warning ambers, info blues)
should still go through Tailwind's named palette at -500 or -600 and use
the muted background pair bg-{hue}-500/15 text-{hue}-600 for badges so the
contrast stays acceptable in both modes.
Radius
--radius: 0.625rem. Derived: radius-sm (-4px), radius-md (-2px),
radius-lg (=), radius-xl (+4px). Use rounded-md / rounded-lg —
don't introduce custom radii.
Type
Brand mandate (per docs/StandardsGuide (1).pdf, 2013): Helvetica /
Arial, Bold for headers and Light for the tagline. As of 2026-05 the
app uses IBM Plex Sans instead — same spirit (engineered sans, Light
weight available), reliably hosted, and pairs with Plex Mono for
numerics. Helvetica / Arial remain in the fallback chain.
- Sans: IBM Plex Sans via
next/font/google, weights 300/400/500/600/700. Wired via--font-plex-sansinapp/layout.tsx. - Mono: IBM Plex Mono via
next/font/google, weights 400/500/600. Used for numerics, IDs, timestamps — not for body text.
Type scale: stick to Tailwind defaults. Reserve text-2xl font-bold tracking-tight for page titles (matches PageHeader); use text-lg font-semibold for card titles and text-sm text-muted-foreground for
descriptions. Numerics go through the .num / .num-lg / .num-xl
utilities defined in app/styles/brand.css.
Dark mode
CSS-class strategy (.dark on <html>). Toggled by ThemeToggle in the
top bar; persisted via next-themes. Component-level dark variants should be
unnecessary if you stick to tokens.
3. Layout
Page shell
┌─ <AppNavigation /> (sticky h-16, backdrop blur, z-50) ─┐
├─ <PageHeader /> (optional, bordered, container-aligned)
└─ <main> (container mx-auto px-6 py-6)
├─ Cards / sections, separated by space-y-6
└─ …
PageHeader lives at the bottom of components/navigation/app-navigation.tsx.
It owns the title (h1.text-2xl.font-bold.tracking-tight), description
(text-muted-foreground), optional breadcrumbs (/-separated), and an
actions slot.
Container & spacing rules
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Horizontal container | container mx-auto px-6 |
| Vertical page padding | py-6 (default), py-8 only on auth/landing |
| Section gap | space-y-6 for stacked sections, gap-6 for grid layouts |
| Card body padding | shadcn default — don't override unless wrapping a table (p-0) |
| Item-level gap | gap-2 for inline rows, gap-4 for form rows |
These are the targets. Today's pages don't all conform — see "Open improvements" below.
4. Navigation IA
The top bar (components/navigation/app-navigation.tsx) is the only nav. It
is sticky, full-width, and structured left-to-right as:
- Brand — logo + "Pulse" wordmark (
hidden sm:blockfor the wordmark) - Primary menu (
<NavigationMenu>) - Right-side controls —
<ThemeToggle />
Items today
| Label | Route | Visibility |
|---|---|---|
| Dashboard | / |
All |
| Configuration Items | /configuration-items |
All |
| Backup Status ▾ | submenu | All |
| → Backup Status | /backup-status |
|
| → RPO Comparison | /veeam-comparison |
|
| → Ticket Analysis | /veeam-analysis |
|
| Engagement ▾ | submenu | super-admin |
| → Overview | /engagement |
|
| → Employee Profile | /engagement/profile |
|
| Analyzer ▾ | submenu | All |
| → Browse Tickets | /analyzer/tickets |
|
| → Aggregate Reports | /analyzer/reports |
|
| → Needs Review | /analyzer/queue |
|
| → IT Glue — Applications | /analyzer/itglue/applications |
|
| → IT Glue — Configurations | /analyzer/itglue/configurations |
|
| Admin | /admin |
super-admin |
Role gating is hardcoded against session.user.role. Hidden items are not
rendered (no greyed-out variants).
/admin is the entry tile for everything admin-only — sync schedules, rules,
mappings, RMM Overshell, IT Glue write log, device-link conflicts. Sub-pages
don't appear in the top nav; they're reached from the admin landing grid.
Mobile
AppNavigation returns null for any path under /mobile — kiosk and field
flows have their own shell. The desktop nav doesn't currently collapse to a
hamburger; under sm the brand wordmark hides and the menu items wrap.
Mobile-friendly behavior on small viewports is on the improvements list.
5. Components
shadcn/ui primitives (in components/ui/)
| Available | Used heavily | Rare / underused |
|---|---|---|
accordion |
yes (collapsible filters could use it) | |
alert, alert-dialog |
yes (errors, confirmations) | |
badge |
yes (status, counts) | |
button |
yes | |
calendar, popover |
engagement profile | |
card, card-header/title/content |
yes (page sections) | |
checkbox, switch |
yes | |
collapsible |
yes (CI page) | |
dialog, alert-dialog |
yes (modals) | |
dropdown-menu |
yes (actions) | |
form (react-hook-form bridge) |
admin/auth only | |
input, label, textarea |
yes | |
multi-select |
analyzer filters | |
navigation-menu |
top bar only | |
progress |
yes (could replace ad-hoc bars) | |
scroll-area |
yes | |
select |
yes | |
separator |
yes | |
skeleton |
yes (loading states) | |
slider |
rare | |
sonner (toast) |
yes — richColors, top-right |
|
table |
inconsistent — many pages use raw <table> |
|
tabs |
yes (Engagement, CI, DetailModal) |
Feature components
| Path | Purpose |
|---|---|
components/navigation/app-navigation.tsx |
Top nav + PageHeader |
components/admin/DataTable.tsx |
Custom paginated/sortable table (not @tanstack) |
components/admin/DetailModal.tsx |
Ticket detail shell, tabs (status/priority maps now in lib/status-registry.ts) |
components/branding/wulf-mark.tsx |
<WulfMark /> — W glyph or full wordmark |
components/branding/tagline-footer.tsx |
"Don't be afraid to cry · Wulf Consulting" footer line |
components/dashboard/kpi-card.tsx |
KpiCard with delta indicator and tonal left border |
components/navigation/page-header.tsx |
<PageHeader /> — title, breadcrumbs, actions; supports accent and watermark |
components/navigation/status-indicator.tsx |
Top-bar StatusLight that links to /status |
components/ui/empty-state.tsx |
Shared zero-data placeholder |
components/ui/status-badge.tsx |
Small rounded pill driven by lib/status-registry.ts |
components/ui/status-light.tsx |
8 px square indicator (5 states, 3 sizes) |
components/admin/SyncScheduler.tsx |
Schedule editor on /admin |
components/analyzer/analyze-button.tsx |
Trigger analysis from a ticket |
components/analyzer/share-modal.tsx |
Email share dialog |
components/analyzer/provider-toggle.tsx |
Anthropic/OpenRouter switch |
components/analyzer/related-tickets-panel.tsx |
Bundle members on analysis page |
components/analyzer/itglue-suggestions-panel.tsx |
Inline IT Glue cross-refs |
components/rmm/rmm-dispatch-dialog.tsx |
Pick + execute RMM script |
components/rmm/rmm-script-picker.tsx |
Script registry browser |
components/rmm/rmm-execution-stream.tsx |
Live tail of an execution |
components/configuration-items/config-item-modal.tsx |
CI detail shell |
Anything not in those two directories — and not a one-off page-local subcomponent — should probably move there.
6. Icons
lucide-react, imported per-icon. Conventions:
- Inline with text:
h-4 w-4(16 px), withmr-2if leading. - Standalone tile/card icons:
h-6 w-6. - Admin landing tile icons:
h-8 w-8plus a muted color (text-muted-foreground). - Color: inherit from text; status icons (
text-orange-600,text-green-600) only when they carry semantic meaning, not for decoration.
Mixed size-4 vs h-4 w-4 exists today. Prefer h-4 w-4 to match shadcn.
7. Tables, modals, forms
Tables
There are two patterns in the codebase. Pick the leftmost that fits:
components/admin/DataTable.tsx— paginated, sortable, searchable. Backed by@tanstack/react-tablev8 in manual mode. Use this for any list ≥ 25 rows or where users need to filter / sort. PassgetRowCanExpand+renderSubRowfor drill-down rows.- shadcn
Tableprimitive incomponents/ui/table.tsx— for short static lists wrapped in a<Card>with<CardContent className="p-0">.
Raw <table> markup is no longer in use anywhere under app/. If you find
yourself reaching for it, lift the layout into one of the two primitives.
Modals & dialogs
Dialog— most cases (forms, confirmations, RMM dispatch).AlertDialog— destructive confirmations only.DetailModal— tabbed read-only deep-dive on a ticket. Hardcoded status/priority color map; if you need that map elsewhere, lift it out rather than copy.- A "panel" (e.g.,
related-tickets-panel) is a card laid out like a side panel — it is not a modal and shouldn't trap focus.
Forms
- react-hook-form + Zod resolver with the shadcn
Formprimitive — used on auth and admin forms (invites, role edits). Use this for any new form with ≥ 3 fields or any field that needs validation. - Controlled inputs (
useState+onChange) — acceptable for one-off filter bars. Don't introduce a third pattern.
Error display today is inconsistent (toast vs inline). New forms should
display field errors inline via <FormMessage> and use toasts only for
submit-time outcomes.
8. Feedback
- Toasts —
sonnerconfigured top-right withrichColors(app/layout.tsx). Usetoast.success/toast.error/toast.info. Don't render error banners inside the page when a toast fits. - Loading —
<Skeleton>for content placeholders,<Loader2 />from lucide withanimate-spinfor inline button spinners. Don't roll a custom spinner div. - Empty states — today: a centered
text-muted-foregroundline. Aim: a small icon (lucide), a one-line headline, an optional CTA. There is no sharedEmptyStatecomponent yet — adding one is on the improvements list.
9. Charts
recharts, themed via the --chart-1 … --chart-5 CSS variables (Tailwind
exposes them as text-chart-1 etc., so colors flip with light/dark
automatically). Common margins { top: 5, right: 8, bottom: 24, left: 0 }.
Examples: app/dashboard/page.tsx, app/engagement/page.tsx.
10. Open improvements (this branch)
The nav-design-improvements branch tracks visual/UX cleanup. The list
below is the working backlog; expand as we go.
Navigation
Top-nav "Admin" item is a flat link— now a dropdown with the seven most-used admin pages (Sync, Workflow, RMM Overshell, IT Glue Writes, Device Conflicts, Users & roles).No user menu / avatar / sign-out in the top bar—<UserMenu />now sits next toThemeToggle. Shows initials, name/email, role badge, links to/settings+/settings/security, and sign-out.No mobile-collapsed (hamburger) version—<MobileNav />in a Sheet. Reuses the desktop nav config so IA stays in sync. Desktop nav hides undermd.Submenu width is fixed— now content-driven viamin-w-[320px] max-w-[440px], single column with denser rows, so 7-item Admin and 5-item Analyzer menus fit without forced two-column awkwardness.Active-route highlighting on submenu items— every top-bar item (flat or trigger) marks active state with a 2 px Wulf-blue underline that echoes the PageHeader rule. Active children inside dropdowns get a tintedbg-primary/10background.
Page shell
Adopt—PageHeadereverywhere/dashboard,/status, all/admin/*sub-pages,/addigy-devices,/analyzer/ticket/[…],/analyzer/analysis/[…],/settings,/settings/security,/sentinelone/coverage,/sentinelone/mappingsnow use it. Kiosk uses its own shell; the only stragglers are very small/internal pages.- Standardize container + padding (
container mx-auto px-6 py-6). Pages usingpx-4,py-8,max-w-2xletc. should justify the deviation. - Standardize section spacing (
space-y-6between cards; pickgap-6for grids). Add breadcrumbs to ticket / analysis detail routes. Still open for/configuration-items/[id]and/analyzer/itglue/{applications, configurations}/[id].
Components
Build a shared—<EmptyState />components/ui/empty-state.tsx.Build a shared— registry in<StatusBadge />that consumes the priority/status maps fromDetailModallib/status-registry.ts, badge incomponents/ui/status-badge.tsx, DetailModal migrated.Extract—PageHeaderand addaccent+watermarkpropscomponents/navigation/page-header.tsx. Adopted on/dashboardand/status.Replace raw— Addigy, /status, all admin/sync/* pages, backup-status, engagement/profile, veeam-comparison migrated. Only<table>markup on admin and Addigy pages with shadcnTable/veeam-analysisremains (DataTable territory; filter + expand + paginate).Replace raw— done; also caught one in<input type="checkbox">on/addigy-devices/admin/sync/mimecast./veeam-analysis raw— migrated to shadcn<table>Tableprimitive. The page keeps its own pagination + category filter + row expansion (DataTable doesn't support row expansion yet, so a deeper DataTable migration is folded into the long-term decision below).Decide on— migrated toDataTablelong-term@tanstack/react-tablev8 in manual mode. The external API stays stable (existing data-browser pages keep working without changes); internally TanStack drives sort + expansion. New optional props for consumers:getRowCanExpandandrenderSubRowenable expandable-row patterns (useful for/veeam-analysis-style drill-downs).
Status indicator popover (2026-05-03)
- Top-bar StatusIndicator now opens a Popover instead of routing
directly to
/status. The popover groups inline issues by tone (failing integrations, expired tokens, expiring tokens) so a quick glance answers "what's broken." A "View full status" link at the bottom routes to/status.
CSV export on DataTable (2026-05-03)
- Optional
exportable+exportFilenameprops add an "Export CSV" button next to the search bar. Defaults to current-page export; provideonExportAllfor server-side full-result downloads. Enabled on/admin/data-browser/companiesand/admin/data-browser/tickets.
Command palette (2026-05-03)
- Cmd+K / Ctrl+K opens a global launcher
(
components/navigation/command-palette.tsx). Three sections: Navigation (every primary route, role-gated), Recent activity (last 5 audits + 5 observations from/api/dashboard/overview), Companies (filtered client-side from/api/companies). The/key also opens it when no input is focused. Top-bar shows a small "Search · ⌘K" button (md+) for discoverability.
Status & dashboard split (2026-05-03)
- Move integration health + sync health off
/dashboardonto a dedicated/statusroute. Top-bar<StatusIndicator />links there. - Rebuild
/dashboardaround KPI cards (today snapshot + needs attention) and recent activity. Drop the integration / sync cards. Add queue × priority heatmap to—/dashboardQueueHeatmapbacked by/api/dashboard/trends.Add 30-day volume + mean resolution charts—VolumeTrendandResolutionTrendcomponents, recharts, brand-blue series.Add active engineers panel—ActiveEngineers(today's hours logged, ticket touch count).Worker pulse section on— analyzer / RMM / sync scheduler heartbeats via/status/api/status/workersandWorkerPulse.Worker activity sparklines—ActivitySparklineshows 24 hourly buckets per worker (success bottom-up in primary, failure top-down in destructive). Backed by zero-filled hour series generated in the/api/status/workersquery.
Tokens & theming
- [-] Hard-coded Tailwind palette colors are extensive (~770 references)
but most are semantic (status reds, info blues, warning ambers
via the
bg-{hue}-500/15 text-{hue}-700recipe documented above). Surveyed and deprioritized — case-by-case cleanup as new work touches a page. Verify dark-mode contrast on status badges and chart legends— bumped dark--borderfrom 10% to 14%,--inputfrom 15% to 18%,--sidebar-borderto 14%.<StatusLight>outline lifted toring-foreground/15 dark:ring-foreground/20. DetailModal empty-cell em-dash lifted from/40to/70so missing-value placeholders are legible on dark surfaces.
Loading & empty
Standardize Skeleton heights— helpers incomponents/ui/skeleton-helpers.tsx:SkeletonRow,SkeletonRows,SkeletonCard,SkeletonChart,SkeletonHeader,SkeletonTable. Adopted on/dashboardand/status.- [-] Helpers are preferred for new code. Existing ad-hoc
<Skeleton h-NN>patterns aren't broken (they render the same shape just with arbitrary heights); leave them in place and migrate opportunistically when touching the surrounding code.
Mobile
CI filter bar overflows on small viewports— company selector now wraps and shrinks; the stat pill flows below.Analyzer multi-select dropdowns clip on narrow widths— Popover getsmax-w-[calc(100vw-1rem)]andcollisionPadding={8}.Tables horizontally scroll without a sticky first column—Tableprimitive acceptsstickyFirstColumn(also exposed onDataTableand on by default for paginated tables). Hover and selected row backgrounds carry through.
11. When in doubt
- Use a token, not a hex value.
- Use the shadcn primitive, not a custom one.
- Match the surrounding page's spacing scale rather than introducing a new one.
- If the same thing exists in two shapes (e.g., raw vs DataTable), pick the shape this doc documents and migrate the other.