Nested zones (Open Terminal) :: Shell Architecture

Intent

Apply the HCI contained tiling pattern inside Open Terminal’s dedicated UI — especially the project-grouped manager — so users can tile terminal surfaces without replacing the OS window manager.

Recommended names:

Pattern (HCI): contained tiling
Product composition: nested zones (nestedZones)

Open Terminal is the first product home, not the exclusive owner of the idea. Abstract pattern: contained-tiling @ HCI-Nerdz.

Abstraction boundary

Layer	Owner	Owns
Contained tiling / nested zones pattern	HCI-Nerdz	How humans manage regions inside app chrome; vocabulary; group vs zone registration; not-OS-WM stance.
Terminal application of nested zones	OpenShellOrg / open-terminal	PTY surfaces in zones; manager chrome; association fields; first implementation home.
Project-spawned zones / grid orchestration	DevCentr (consume)	Spawn zones tied to projects; highlight linking; does not redefine the tiling essay.

Layer

Owner

Owns

Contained tiling / nested zones pattern

HCI-Nerdz

How humans manage regions inside app chrome; vocabulary; group vs zone registration; not-OS-WM stance.

Terminal application of nested zones

OpenShellOrg / open-terminal

PTY surfaces in zones; manager chrome; association fields; first implementation home.

Project-spawned zones / grid orchestration

DevCentr (consume)

Spawn zones tied to projects; highlight linking; does not redefine the tiling essay.

Layout modes (context)

Mode / composition Summary

Mode / composition	Summary
Standalone	Classic Terminal-like.
Decoupled index	Index + separate session windows.
Project-grouped manager	Vertical tabs by DevCentr spawn-project.
Nested zones (`nestedZones`)	Optional contained tiling inside the dedicated UI (or dedicated zone windows per monitor). Combinable with project-grouped manager (or standalone chrome).
Other	Future OK.

Standalone

Classic Terminal-like.

Decoupled index

Index + separate session windows.

Project-grouped manager

Vertical tabs by DevCentr spawn-project.

Nested zones (nestedZones)

Optional contained tiling inside the dedicated UI (or dedicated zone windows per monitor). Combinable with project-grouped manager (or standalone chrome).

Other

Future OK.

Nested zones is a composition option, not a replacement for group membership or the DevCentr project grid.

Behaviors (terminal product)

Spawn a new terminal zone (e.g. zone window on monitor 1 and monitor 2). Zones may be faded/empty until a group or session is placed.
User places which terminal group/session appears in which zone.
Sessions keep group membership regardless of display zone; a group registers itself to a zone (display binding).
Classic: one shell top-right of a zone, another below — tiling chaos stays inside the dedicated UI.

Group <→ window/zone registration

  Membership (stable)                 Display (mutable)
  -------------------                 -----------------

  Group "proj-A"                      Zone "mon1" (OS window of OT mgr)
    Session s1  --register--------->    +-------------+-------------+
    Session s2  --register--------->    | s1 (top-rt) |   faded     |
                                        +-------------+   empty     |
  Group "proj-B"                        | s2 (below)  |   cell      |
    Session s3  --register---\          +-------------+-------------+
                              \
                               \-----> Zone "mon2"
                                         +---------------------------+
                                         | s3                        |
                                         +---------------------------+

  Moving s2 to mon2 does NOT remove s2 from Group "proj-A".
  Vertical tab rail still lists groups; zones only answer "where shown".

Association sketch fields:

ZoneRegistration
  zoneId
  monitorHint          // optional
  fadedUntilPopulated  // bool
  tileLayout           // product-defined; BSP/grid TBD

GroupDisplayBinding
  groupId              // same as spawn / project group
  zoneId               // where the group (or its sessions) currently show
  sessionPlacements[]  // sessionId -> tile slot inside zone

Full handshake remains session association; zone bindings are an additive layout facet.

What we do not do

Hijack or replace i3 / sway / Windows FancyZones / the OS DE
Move DevCentr’s project grid into the tiling surface
Require nested zones for every Open Terminal launch (optional)

Demo

Interactive mock (HCI-Nerdz): shell-context-demo · Nested zones.

Nested zones (Open Terminal)