fix: simplify troubleshooting recovery controls

.trellis/spec/frontend/component-guidelines.md

@@ -46,6 +46,45 @@ Questions to answer:
 
 ## Accessibility
 
+### Progressive disclosure for troubleshooting controls
+
+Settings pages must not present routine preferences, diagnostic evidence, and
+host recovery as peer actions. Keep the common local action directly visible
+and place support-only controls in one native `<details>` disclosure.
+
+- The collapsed state exposes one common action plus one descriptive summary.
+- Diagnostic preview/export remain inside the disclosure.
+- Host check/recovery buttons render only when a workspace is authorized.
+  Before authorization, show the prerequisite as status text instead of
+  disabled controls.
+- Do not show an idle host status such as "not checked". Announce only active
+  checking, ready, or error results after the user requests them.
+- Preserve a light, unframed hierarchy. A divider and chevron are sufficient;
+  do not turn the advanced region into another card.
+- Cover collapsed desktop/mobile geometry and both authorization branches in
+  tests.
+
+Wrong:
+
+```tsx
+<Button>Reset UI</Button>
+<Button>Preview diagnostics</Button>
+<Button>Export diagnostics</Button>
+<Button disabled={!workspace}>Check host</Button>
+<Button disabled={!workspace}>Recover host</Button>
+```
+
+Correct:
+
+```tsx
+<Button>Reset UI</Button>
+<details>
+  <summary>Diagnostics and recovery</summary>
+  <DiagnosticActions />
+  {workspace ? <HostActions /> : <HostAuthorizationRequirement />}
+</details>
+```
+
 ### Identity icons that reveal a panel action
 
 When a dock header icon doubles as the affordance for collapsing that dock:

.trellis/tasks/archive/2026-07/07-24-simplify-local-recovery-settings/check.jsonl

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+{"file": ".trellis/spec/frontend/quality-guidelines.md", "reason": "Review focused tests, lint, build, and dependency-neutral frontend changes."}
+{"file": ".trellis/spec/frontend/component-guidelines.md", "reason": "Verify accessibility and stable settings control structure."}

.trellis/tasks/archive/2026-07/07-24-simplify-local-recovery-settings/implement.jsonl

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+{"file": ".trellis/spec/frontend/component-guidelines.md", "reason": "Preserve accessible disclosure and button conventions in the settings UI."}
+{"file": ".trellis/spec/frontend/agent-control-safety.md", "reason": "Keep host recovery capability and authorization boundaries truthful while changing presentation."}

.trellis/tasks/archive/2026-07/07-24-simplify-local-recovery-settings/prd.md

@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+# Simplify local recovery settings UX
+
+## Goal
+
+Reduce cognitive load in Settings > Updates & Support by progressively disclosing diagnostics and host recovery actions.
+
+## Requirements
+
+- Keep the common UI-reset action directly available in Settings > Updates & Support.
+- Move diagnostic preview/export and host check/recovery behind one collapsed advanced disclosure.
+- Do not render disabled host action buttons when no workspace is authorized; explain the prerequisite inside the disclosure instead.
+- Keep all existing recovery capabilities, redaction behavior, and project-data safety guarantees unchanged.
+- Preserve keyboard accessibility, status announcements, and localized copy.
+
+## Acceptance Criteria
+
+- [ ] The default recovery section presents one direct action and one advanced disclosure instead of five peer actions.
+- [ ] Diagnostic preview and export remain available after expanding the disclosure.
+- [ ] Authorized workspaces can still check and recover the host, with current progress/status feedback.
+- [ ] Unauthorized workspaces see a concise prerequisite message and no disabled host action buttons.
+- [ ] UI reset still clears only the existing interface preference keys and confirms success.
+- [ ] Focused tests, localization extraction/compilation, lint, type checking, and the Agent contract validation pass.
+
+## Notes
+
+- This is a lightweight presentation and progressive-disclosure change; no recovery protocol or persistence contract changes are intended.

.trellis/tasks/archive/2026-07/07-24-simplify-local-recovery-settings/task.json

@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+{
+  "id": "simplify-local-recovery-settings",
+  "name": "simplify-local-recovery-settings",
+  "title": "Simplify local recovery settings UX",
+  "description": "Reduce cognitive load in Settings > Updates & Support by progressively disclosing diagnostics and host recovery actions.",
+  "status": "completed",
+  "dev_type": null,
+  "scope": null,
+  "package": null,
+  "priority": "P1",
+  "creator": "tseka",
+  "assignee": "tseka",
+  "createdAt": "2026-07-24",
+  "completedAt": "2026-07-24",
+  "branch": null,
+  "base_branch": "fix/simplify-local-recovery-settings",
+  "worktree_path": null,
+  "commit": null,
+  "pr_url": null,
+  "subtasks": [],
+  "children": [],
+  "parent": null,
+  "relatedFiles": [],
+  "notes": "",
+  "meta": {}
+}

.trellis/workspace/tseka/index.md

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 
 <!-- @@@auto:current-status -->
 - **Active File**: `journal-1.md`
-- **Total Sessions**: 28
+- **Total Sessions**: 29
 - **Last Active**: 2026-07-24
 <!-- @@@/auto:current-status -->
 
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 <!-- @@@auto:active-documents -->
 | File | Lines | Status |
 |------|-------|--------|
-| `journal-1.md` | ~955 | Active |
+| `journal-1.md` | ~988 | Active |
 <!-- @@@/auto:active-documents -->
 
 ---
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@
 <!-- @@@auto:session-history -->
 | # | Date | Title | Commits | Branch |
 |---|------|-------|---------|--------|
+| 29 | 2026-07-24 | Simplify troubleshooting recovery UX | `cb459e9` | `fix/simplify-local-recovery-settings` |
 | 28 | 2026-07-24 | Release and install Cutout v0.1.7 | `13d4eda` | `chore/archive-release-install-v0-1-7` |
 | 27 | 2026-07-24 | Fix duplicate preparation projection | `2f84034` | `fix/preparing-run-duplicate-projection` |
 | 26 | 2026-07-23 | Release and install Cutout v0.1.6 | `ca28859b8a9a25e73fa9fb7c3cc703b4489f2091` | `chore/archive-release-install-v0-1-6` |

.trellis/workspace/tseka/journal-1.md

@@ -953,3 +953,36 @@ Published the single-active-surface preparation fix as the atomic four-platform
 ### Next Steps
 
 - None - task complete
+
+
+## Session 29: Simplify troubleshooting recovery UX
+
+**Date**: 2026-07-24
+**Task**: Simplify troubleshooting recovery UX
+**Branch**: `fix/simplify-local-recovery-settings`
+
+### Summary
+
+Reduced Settings recovery cognitive load to one direct UI reset plus a lightweight diagnostics disclosure, hid unauthorized host actions, localized the new hierarchy, added component and desktop/mobile visual coverage, and captured the convention in frontend specs.
+
+### Main Changes
+
+- Detailed change bullets were not supplied; see the summary above.
+
+### Git Commits
+
+| Hash | Message |
+|------|---------|
+| `cb459e9` | (see git log) |
+
+### Testing
+
+- Validation was not recorded for this session.
+
+### Status
+
+[OK] **Completed**
+
+### Next Steps
+
+- None - task complete

src/components/settings/sections/RecoverySection.test.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+import { createElement } from "react";
+import { renderToStaticMarkup } from "react-dom/server";
+import { setupI18n } from "@lingui/core";
+import { I18nProvider } from "@lingui/react";
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+const workspace = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+  get: vi.fn<() => { handle: string; label?: string } | undefined>(),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("@/platform/authorized-workspace", () => ({
+  getAuthorizedWorkspace: workspace.get,
+  subscribeAuthorizedWorkspace: vi.fn(() => () => undefined),
+}));
+
+import { RecoverySection } from "./RecoverySection";
+
+const i18n = setupI18n();
+i18n.loadAndActivate({ locale: "en", messages: {} });
+
+function renderRecoverySection() {
+  const html = renderToStaticMarkup(
+    createElement(
+      I18nProvider,
+      { i18n },
+      createElement(RecoverySection),
+    ),
+  );
+  const document = new DOMParser().parseFromString(html, "text/html");
+  const section = document.querySelector("section");
+  const advanced = section?.querySelector("details");
+  if (!section || !advanced) {
+    throw new Error("Recovery disclosure was not rendered");
+  }
+  return { section, advanced };
+}
+
+function buttonLabels(root: ParentNode) {
+  return [...root.querySelectorAll("button")].map((button) =>
+    button.textContent?.trim(),
+  );
+}
+
+describe("RecoverySection", () => {
+  beforeEach(() => workspace.get.mockReturnValue(undefined));
+
+  it("keeps one common action visible and progressively discloses advanced tools", () => {
+    const { section, advanced } = renderRecoverySection();
+    const directButtons = [...section.querySelectorAll("button")].filter(
+      (button) => !advanced.contains(button),
+    );
+
+    expect(directButtons.map((button) => button.textContent?.trim())).toEqual([
+      "Reset UI state",
+    ]);
+    expect(section.textContent).toContain("Troubleshooting");
+    expect(advanced.open).toBe(false);
+    expect(advanced.querySelector("summary")?.textContent).toContain(
+      "Diagnostics and recovery",
+    );
+    expect(buttonLabels(advanced)).toEqual([
+      "Preview diagnostics",
+      "Export diagnostics",
+    ]);
+    expect(advanced.textContent).toContain(
+      "Authorize a workspace before using host recovery.",
+    );
+    expect(section.textContent).toContain("Project data is not deleted.");
+  });
+
+  it("keeps host actions available after workspace authorization", () => {
+    workspace.get.mockReturnValue({
+      handle: "workspace.opaque",
+      label: "Authorized workspace",
+    });
+
+    const { advanced } = renderRecoverySection();
+
+    expect(buttonLabels(advanced)).toEqual([
+      "Preview diagnostics",
+      "Export diagnostics",
+      "Check host",
+      "Recover host",
+    ]);
+    expect(advanced.querySelectorAll("button[disabled]")).toHaveLength(0);
+    expect(advanced.querySelector('[role="status"]')).toBeNull();
+  });
+});