Product roadmap: canonical workspace and server-backed workspace record

[rmusser01]

Parent

Tracks part of #1522.

Why This Should Exist

The workspace is the product unit for sources, chats, notes, generated artifacts, task-agent runs, decisions, and review history. The current product direction depends on a canonical workspace model, but the repo still needs a clear bridge between browser-local workspace state and the server-backed record needed for cross-device use, SaaS team ownership, and enterprise governance.

Track Fit

• OSS/self-hosted completeness: make local workspace state coherent, recoverable, and inspectable.
• SaaS first-value readiness: let a user start in one workspace and keep sources, chat, artifacts, and tasks together.
• Enterprise pilot readiness: provide the minimum server-owned workspace record needed for team ownership, permissions, retention, and audit.

Scope

• Decide whether WorkspacePlayground is the canonical shell or whether multiple routes share one canonical workspace model.
• Define the minimum server-backed workspace record and local cache/sync boundary.
• Map handoffs among WorkspacePlayground, ChatWorkspace, DocumentWorkspace, Chatbooks, ACP Agent Tasks, and extension capture.
• Define workspace lifecycle states, ownership, source membership, artifact membership, and task/run membership.
• Identify migration and compatibility requirements for existing saved workspaces.

Non-Goals

• Full real-time collaboration semantics.
• Replacing all workspace-adjacent UI routes in one pass.
• Building a new workspace product surface beside the existing WebUI.

Acceptance Criteria

• A repo decision record identifies the canonical workspace model and route strategy.
• Server/local workspace bridge requirements are documented with minimum API/storage shape.
• Existing workspace-related trackers are linked without duplicating their implementation scopes.
• Follow-up implementation issues are small enough for reviewable PRs.

[rmusser01]

Decision-record slice is open in draft PR #2609: #2609

Created narrow follow-up issues for the remaining certification work:

• Research Workspace: certify repeatable final UAT browser runner #2605 Research Workspace: certify repeatable final UAT browser runner
• Research Workspace: complete beginner/no-key UAT certification #2606 Research Workspace: complete beginner/no-key UAT certification
• Research Workspace: complete authenticated power-user UAT certification #2607 Research Workspace: complete authenticated power-user UAT certification
• Research Workspace: live recheck destructive and recovery actions #2608 Research Workspace: live recheck destructive and recovery actions

The PR records the current decision: server Workspace is canonical, /research-workspace is the canonical research shell, Workspace Playground is compatibility-only, and the remaining work is certification/recheck rather than a new workspace architecture.