[Feature Request] Drag-and-drop layout editing mode in the in-app browser
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- Dominant language
- Rust
- Stars
- 125k
- Forks
- 19.4k
- PR merge metrics
- PR metrics pending
Description
What feature would you like to see?
Please add an optional Layout editing mode to the Codex in-app browser, alongside the existing annotation workflow.
When reviewing a local web prototype, the user should be able to:
- Drag and reorder complete cards or sections.
- Drag smaller UI blocks within a card to adjust their order or placement.
- Preview the proposed arrangement in the real page viewport.
- Save the resulting layout as structured review feedback that Codex can translate into source-code changes.
- Exit or reset the editing session without modifying the reviewed product itself.
A possible flow is:
- Open a page in the in-app browser.
- Choose Edit layout.
- Drag components to the desired positions.
- Choose Save layout.
- Codex receives the changed hierarchy/order and updates the source after the user confirms the implementation.
This should be clearly presented as a temporary review tool, not as functionality added to the user's product.
Why this matters
Annotation is useful for identifying an element and describing a change, but layout feedback is often spatial. Explaining card order, internal information hierarchy, alignment, or relative placement through screenshots and text is slower and can be ambiguous.
A lightweight drag-and-drop review mode would let non-developer product and design users demonstrate the intended layout directly, reduce repeated clarification, and give Codex more precise implementation input.
Example use case
While reviewing a mobile web prototype, a user wants an order card to follow the layout of another existing card:
- store name and status at the top;
- icon, business name, page count, and amount in the body;
- order number at the bottom left;
- date at the bottom right.
The user could rearrange those blocks visually and save the arrangement instead of describing every positional change in prose.
Scope suggestion
A useful first version could support DOM-backed blocks and sortable flex/grid children on localhost or explicitly trusted preview pages. It does not need to become a general-purpose design editor; the key output is structured layout intent for Codex to implement in the real source.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start by locating the Codex in-app browser and its existing annotation workflow, then map how review feedback is represented and passed to implementation. Define the first scope around trusted or localhost preview pages, DOM-backed blocks, and sortable flex/grid children. Done means users can enter, preview, save, reset, and exit a temporary layout session without changing the reviewed product directly.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Domain
- design, frontend, web-dev
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 5/5
- Estimated time
- Over a week
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 35/100