Introducing the new Agent Workbench UI

The main interface of an agent product has one job.

It should keep the work visible.

The old Buda workspace used a tabs-first layout. It was simple, but every tab competed with the same main space. Open Drive, and the chat moved away. Open a browser, and the session disappeared behind another surface. That was too much context switching for agent work.

The new Agent Workbench UI changes the structure: Agent Chat stays fixed, while supporting work moves into a Side Panel and a Bottom Panel.

The old problem

Many agent interfaces treat every tool as a replacement for the main view. Buda's earlier tabs layout had the same pressure.

Open Drive, and the chat moves out of sight. Open a browser, and the session becomes another tab to return to. Open a terminal, and the conversation is no longer the stable center.

That works for simple utilities. It does not work for agent work.

Agent work is not a sequence of separate screens. It is a live loop:

1. Ask.
2. Watch.
3. Inspect.
4. Correct.
5. Continue.

If the UI keeps hiding the agent while you inspect the work, it adds friction at the exact moment where human judgment matters.

The new structure

The redesigned Buda interface moves from tabs as the main layout to four calm regions.

Left Sidebar keeps navigation stable. In Single Agent Layout, it is session-first. In Company Layout, it still supports broader agent and space navigation.

Agent Chat stays fixed in the main canvas. This is the center of the work. The agent's reasoning, messages, and next action stay visible while tools open around it.

Side Panel sits on the right. It is for focused auxiliary surfaces: Drive, browser, git, and other tabbed work that benefits from height.

Bottom Panel spans the lower area. It is for horizontal work surfaces and quick inspection, especially when you want the agent conversation and a wide tool view at the same time.

The chat is not a tab. It is the anchor.

Why panels, not pages

Panels change the relationship between the human and the agent.

When Drive is a page, opening Drive means leaving the conversation. When Drive is a panel, opening Drive means checking the agent's working context.

The difference is small in layout. It is large in behavior.

You can keep the agent visible while inspecting files. You can keep a browser beside the conversation. You can open a bottom panel for a broader view without breaking the session. You can close every support tab and still remain in the agent chat.

That is the workflow Buda is designed for: visible execution, human review, and fast course correction.

Toggle states matter

The Side Panel and Bottom Panel each have their own toggle in the Agent Chat toolbar.

When a panel is open, its toggle is active. When the panel is hidden, the toggle returns to a quiet state. This is not decoration. It is orientation.

The user should know, at a glance, which surfaces are currently participating in the workspace.

What this unlocks

The new workbench makes several patterns feel natural:

• Keep a session open while browsing Drive.
• Compare generated files without losing the chat.
• Run a terminal or git view while the agent keeps context.
• Use the Bottom Panel for wide supporting views.
• Close all support tabs and return to a clean chat surface.

It also makes Buda easier to teach. The mental model is simple: left is navigation, center is the agent, right and bottom are work surfaces.

A quieter interface for heavier work

As agents become more capable, the interface around them should become calmer.

The human does not need more panels for the sake of panels. The human needs a workspace where execution is visible, context is organized, and review is easy.

That is what the Agent Workbench is for.

The agent does the heavy lifting. The human stays in position to judge the work.