app/src-tauri/src/browser_view/commands.rs

@@ -180,6 +180,8 @@ pub async fn open_page_in_container_browser(
     url: String,
     width: u32,
     height: u32,
+    show_window: bool,
+    app_handle: AppHandle,
     state: State<'_, AppState>,
 ) -> Result<page::PageState, String> {
     let trimmed = url.trim();
@@ -188,13 +190,45 @@ pub async fn open_page_in_container_browser(
     }
     let container_id = running_container(&state, &project_id, "opening a page").await?;
     let detection = crate::browser_view::detect::detect(&container_id).await?;
-    page::open(
+    let opened = page::open(
         &container_id,
         &detection,
         trimmed,
         page::Viewport::sane(width, height),
     )
-    .await
+    .await?;
+
+    // A page nobody can see is not an opened page. Opening one used to leave
+    // the user to go and press Start in the Browser tab themselves — and from
+    // the terminal's URL prompt, with no indication that was even needed.
+    // Asking for a page *is* asking to watch it, so the viewer comes up too.
+    let status = manager().status(&project_id).await;
+    if status.state != BrowserViewState::Running {
+        manager()
+            .start(
+                project_id.clone(),
+                container_id,
+                app_handle.clone(),
+                state.projects_store.clone(),
+            )
+            .await?;
+    }
+
+    // From the terminal there is no pane on screen to fill, so the page needs a
+    // window of its own or it lands somewhere the user isn't looking.
+    if show_window {
+        let status = manager().status(&project_id).await;
+        if let Some(url) = status.url.as_deref() {
+            let name = state
+                .projects_store
+                .get(&project_id)
+                .map(|p| p.name)
+                .unwrap_or_else(|| "Triple-C".to_string());
+            popout::open(&app_handle, &project_id, &name, url, false)?;
+        }
+    }
+
+    Ok(opened)
 }
 
 /// Resize the page this opened. The pop-out's "match window" mode calls this on

app/src/components/layout/MainTabs.test.tsx

@@ -127,6 +127,46 @@ describe("MainTabs reordering", () => {
     expect(useAppState.getState().activeTabKey).toBe(HOME);
   });
 
+  it("shows the tab itself under the cursor while dragging", () => {
+    // A dimmed source tab and a thin line do not read as "I am holding this
+    // tab" — the dragged copy is what makes the gesture legible.
+    render(<MainTabs />);
+    const tabs = laidOut();
+    expect(screen.queryByTestId("tab-drag-ghost")).toBeNull();
+
+    pointer(tabs[2], "pointerdown", 250);
+    pointer(tabs[2], "pointermove", 120);
+
+    const ghost = screen.getByTestId("tab-drag-ghost");
+    expect(ghost).toHaveTextContent("shell (bash)");
+    expect(ghost).toHaveTextContent("▣");
+
+    pointer(tabs[2], "pointerup", 120);
+    expect(screen.queryByTestId("tab-drag-ghost")).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("carries the project name when a home tab is dragged", () => {
+    render(<MainTabs />);
+    const tabs = laidOut();
+
+    pointer(tabs[0], "pointerdown", 50);
+    pointer(tabs[0], "pointermove", 250);
+
+    expect(screen.getByTestId("tab-drag-ghost")).toHaveTextContent("api-server");
+    expect(screen.getByTestId("tab-drag-ghost")).toHaveTextContent("⌂");
+  });
+
+  it("drops the dragged copy when the drag is abandoned", () => {
+    render(<MainTabs />);
+    const tabs = laidOut();
+
+    pointer(tabs[2], "pointerdown", 250);
+    pointer(tabs[2], "pointermove", 10);
+    fireEvent.keyDown(window, { key: "Escape" });
+
+    expect(screen.queryByTestId("tab-drag-ghost")).toBeNull();
+  });
+
   it("shows the drop marker only while a drag is under way", () => {
     render(<MainTabs />);
     const tabs = laidOut();

app/src/components/layout/MainTabs.tsx

@@ -55,9 +55,21 @@ export default function MainTabs() {
   /** The tab being dragged, and the slot it would drop into. */
   const [dragKey, setDragKey] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const [dropIndex, setDropIndex] = useState<number | null>(null);
+  /** Where the dragged tab is drawn, and how it looked when the drag started. */
+  const [ghost, setGhost] = useState<{ x: number; y: number; label: string; icon: string } | null>(
+    null,
+  );
   const stripRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
   /** A press that has not yet moved far enough to be a drag. */
-  const pending = useRef<{ key: string; startX: number; dragging: boolean } | null>(null);
+  const pending = useRef<{
+    key: string;
+    startX: number;
+    dragging: boolean;
+    offsetX: number;
+    width: number;
+    height: number;
+    top: number;
+  } | null>(null);
   const suppressClick = useRef(false);
 
   useEffect(() => {
@@ -87,6 +99,7 @@ export default function MainTabs() {
       pending.current = null;
       setDragKey(null);
       setDropIndex(null);
+      setGhost(null);
     };
     window.addEventListener("keydown", onKeyDown);
     return () => window.removeEventListener("keydown", onKeyDown);
@@ -171,10 +184,29 @@ export default function MainTabs() {
         : "text-[var(--text-secondary)] hover:text-[var(--text-primary)]"
     }${dragging ? " opacity-40" : ""}`;
 
+  /**
+   * What a tab reads as, for the dragged copy. Same sources the tab itself
+   * uses — a ghost showing a different name from the tab it came from would be
+   * worse than no ghost.
+   */
+  const tabLabel = (key: string): string => {
+    if (isHomeTab(key)) {
+      return projects.find((p) => p.id === tabKeyId(key))?.name ?? "";
+    }
+    const session = sessions.find((s) => s.id === tabKeyId(key));
+    if (!session) return "";
+    const custom = getCustomName(session.projectId, session.id);
+    return custom
+      ? `${session.projectName}: ${custom}`
+      : (session.sessionName ?? session.projectName) +
+          (session.sessionType === "bash" ? " (bash)" : "");
+  };
+
   const endDrag = () => {
     pending.current = null;
     setDragKey(null);
     setDropIndex(null);
+    setGhost(null);
   };
 
   /**
@@ -212,7 +244,19 @@ export default function MainTabs() {
       // rename input is up — that drag is a text selection.
       if (e.button !== 0 || renaming) return;
       if ((e.target as HTMLElement).closest("button, input")) return;
-      pending.current = { key, startX: e.clientX, dragging: false };
+      const rect = e.currentTarget.getBoundingClientRect();
+      pending.current = {
+        key,
+        startX: e.clientX,
+        dragging: false,
+        // Where inside the tab the pointer grabbed it, so the ghost sits under
+        // the cursor exactly where the real tab was — the thing that makes a
+        // drag feel like moving an object rather than nudging a setting.
+        offsetX: e.clientX - rect.left,
+        width: rect.width,
+        height: rect.height,
+        top: rect.top,
+      };
       e.currentTarget.setPointerCapture?.(e.pointerId);
     },
     onPointerMove: (e: React.PointerEvent<HTMLDivElement>) => {
@@ -223,6 +267,12 @@ export default function MainTabs() {
       drag.dragging = true;
       setDragKey(drag.key);
       setDropIndex(dropIndexAt(e.clientX));
+      setGhost({
+        x: e.clientX - drag.offsetX,
+        y: drag.top,
+        label: tabLabel(drag.key),
+        icon: isHomeTab(drag.key) ? "⌂" : "▣",
+      });
     },
     onPointerUp: (e: React.PointerEvent<HTMLDivElement>) => {
       const drag = pending.current;
@@ -408,6 +458,26 @@ export default function MainTabs() {
           the hand naturally goes to say "put it at the end". */}
       <div className="flex-1 self-stretch">{markerPending && dropMarker}</div>
 
+      {ghost && (
+        // A copy of the tab, following the pointer. Without it the only
+        // feedback is a dimmed source and a thin line, which reads as "some
+        // setting changed" rather than "I am holding this tab".
+        <div
+          aria-hidden="true"
+          data-testid="tab-drag-ghost"
+          className="fixed z-50 flex items-center gap-1.5 px-3 h-8 text-xs rounded-[var(--radius-control)] bg-[var(--bg-primary)] text-[var(--text-primary)] border border-[var(--accent)] pointer-events-none"
+          style={{
+            left: ghost.x,
+            top: ghost.y,
+            boxShadow: "var(--shadow-overlay)",
+            opacity: 0.9,
+          }}
+        >
+          <span className="text-[var(--text-secondary)]">{ghost.icon}</span>
+          <span className="truncate max-w-[180px]">{ghost.label}</span>
+        </div>
+      )}
+
       {menu && (() => {
         const session = sessions.find((s) => s.id === menu.sessionId);
         const hasCustom = session

app/src/components/terminal/TerminalView.tsx

@@ -374,8 +374,12 @@ export default function TerminalView({ sessionId, active }: Props) {
     // Handle backend output -> terminal
     let aborted = false;
 
-    const detector = new UrlDetector((url) =>
+    // The width is read per scan, not captured: only a break the terminal
-      promptUrl(url, "Long URL detected"),
+    // itself inserted may be deleted, and where that is moves with every
+    // resize.
+    const detector = new UrlDetector(
+      (url) => promptUrl(url, "Long URL detected"),
+      () => termRef.current?.cols ?? 0,
     );
     detectorRef.current = detector;
 
@@ -552,7 +556,9 @@ export default function TerminalView({ sessionId, active }: Props) {
     if (!projectId) return;
     // A sign-in page is the one case where the *window* size matters least and
     // the layout matters most, so it gets the ordinary desktop viewport.
-    openPageInContainerBrowser(projectId, safe, 1280, 720)
+    // `true`: from a terminal there is no Browser pane on screen, so the page
+    // needs a window of its own or it opens somewhere the user isn't looking.
+    openPageInContainerBrowser(projectId, safe, 1280, 720, true)
       .then((result) => {
         const push = useAppState.getState().pushToast;
         if (result.error) {
@@ -560,7 +566,7 @@ export default function TerminalView({ sessionId, active }: Props) {
         } else {
           push({
             kind: "success",
-            message: "Opened in the container’s browser — see the project’s Browser tab",
+            message: "Opened in the container’s browser",
           });
         }
       })

app/src/lib/tauri-commands.ts

@@ -229,13 +229,26 @@ export const getBrowserViewPopoutState = (projectId: string) =>
  * container too, so the loop closes without the host — and a dev server on
  * container loopback, which is how you watch a UI Claude is building. Only
  * http/https; the backend rejects anything else.
+ *
+ * The viewer is started if it isn't already: asking for a page is asking to
+ * watch it, and leaving the user to go and press Start themselves — with no
+ * hint that they had to — is what the first version did.
  */
 export const openPageInContainerBrowser = (
   projectId: string,
   url: string,
   width: number,
   height: number,
-) => invoke<BrowserPageState>("open_page_in_container_browser", { projectId, url, width, height });
+  /** Also raise the pop-out window — for callers with no pane on screen. */
+  showWindow = false,
+) =>
+  invoke<BrowserPageState>("open_page_in_container_browser", {
+    projectId,
+    url,
+    width,
+    height,
+    showWindow,
+  });
 /** Resize that page. Real reflow, not a scaled screencast — see BrowserTab. */
 export const setContainerPageViewport = (projectId: string, width: number, height: number) =>
   invoke<void>("set_container_page_viewport", { projectId, width, height });

app/src/lib/urlDetector.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach, afterEach } from "vitest";
+import { UrlDetector, flatten } from "./urlDetector";
+
+const COLS = 80;
+const enc = new TextEncoder();
+
+/** Feed text and let the debounce + confirmation timers run. */
+function feed(detector: UrlDetector, text: string) {
+  detector.feed(enc.encode(text));
+  vi.advanceTimersByTime(2000);
+}
+
+/** Hard-wrap the way a PTY does: a break every `cols` characters, nothing lost. */
+function ptyWrap(text: string, cols = COLS): string {
+  const lines: string[] = [];
+  for (let i = 0; i < text.length; i += cols) lines.push(text.slice(i, i + cols));
+  return lines.join("\r\n");
+}
+
+beforeEach(() => vi.useFakeTimers());
+afterEach(() => vi.useRealTimers());
+
+describe("flatten", () => {
+  it("rejoins a break the terminal inserted at the width", () => {
+    expect(flatten("abcde\nfghij", 5)).toBe("abcdefghij");
+  });
+
+  it("keeps a break that arrived before the width as a separator", () => {
+    expect(flatten("abc\ndef", 5)).toBe("abc def");
+  });
+
+  it("rejoins nothing when the width isn't known", () => {
+    // Better to lose a wrapped URL than to invent one.
+    expect(flatten("abcde\nfghij", 0)).toBe("abcde fghij");
+  });
+});
+
+describe("UrlDetector", () => {
+  it("reconstructs a URL the PTY hard-wrapped mid-token", () => {
+    const seen: string[] = [];
+    const d = new UrlDetector((u) => seen.push(u), () => COLS);
+    const url =
+      "https://accounts.example.com/o/oauth2/auth?client_id=1234567890-abcdefghijklmnop.apps.example.com&redirect_uri=http%3A%2F%2Flocalhost%3A45678&scope=openid+email+profile";
+
+    feed(d, "Open this link:\r\n" + ptyWrap(url) + "\r\nWaiting for the browser…\r\n");
+
+    expect(seen).toEqual([url]);
+  });
+
+  it("does not glue the text that follows a link onto it", () => {
+    // The bug this file exists for. A terminal wrapping a paragraph emits the
+    // break *instead of* the space, so deleting every break produced
+    // `…/tag/preview-63f3c54Butitprovesyournitpick…` — a different host and
+    // path from the one on screen, opened on the user's machine.
+    const seen: string[] = [];
+    const d = new UrlDetector((u) => seen.push(u), () => COLS);
+    const url =
+      "https://repo.anhonesthost.net/CyberCoveLLC/Triple-C/releases/tag/preview-63f3c54-with-a-long-enough-suffix-to-scan";
+
+    feed(
+      d,
+      [
+        url,
+        "But it proves your nitpick perfectly: every file in it says 0.3.0.",
+        "That is the hard-coded patch number.",
+      ].join("\r\n") + "\r\n",
+    );
+
+    expect(seen).toEqual([url]);
+    expect(seen[0]).not.toContain("But");
+    // And the host is exactly what was printed — no characters lost.
+    expect(new URL(seen[0]).host).toBe("repo.anhonesthost.net");
+  });
+
+  it("stops at the end of a short line even when more output follows", () => {
+    const seen: string[] = [];
+    const d = new UrlDetector((u) => seen.push(u), () => COLS);
+    const url = "https://example.com/" + "a".repeat(90);
+
+    feed(d, `${url}\r\nnext line of output\r\n`);
+
+    expect(seen).toEqual([url]);
+  });
+
+  it("joins the next line when a token ends exactly at the width", () => {
+    // The one case the width rule cannot decide: a URL whose length is an exact
+    // multiple of the column count looks identical to one that was cut. Pinned
+    // as known behaviour rather than pretended away — the toast still shows the
+    // whole candidate, and nothing opens without the user pressing Open.
+    const seen: string[] = [];
+    const d = new UrlDetector((u) => seen.push(u), () => COLS);
+    const url = "https://example.com/" + "c".repeat(2 * COLS - 20); // exactly 2 lines
+
+    feed(d, `${ptyWrap(url)}\r\nTAIL\r\n`);
+
+    expect(seen).toEqual([url + "TAIL"]);
+  });
+
+  it("ignores anything under the length threshold", () => {
+    const seen: string[] = [];
+    const d = new UrlDetector((u) => seen.push(u), () => COLS);
+
+    feed(d, "see https://example.com/short\r\nmore text\r\n");
+
+    expect(seen).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it("emits a wrapped URL once, not once per chunk", () => {
+    const seen: string[] = [];
+    const d = new UrlDetector((u) => seen.push(u), () => COLS);
+    const url = "https://example.com/" + "b".repeat(120);
+
+    feed(d, ptyWrap(url));
+    feed(d, "\r\ndone\r\n");
+
+    expect(seen).toEqual([url]);
+  });
+});

app/src/lib/urlDetector.ts

@@ -3,8 +3,23 @@
  *
  * The Linux PTY hard-wraps long lines with \r\n at the terminal column width,
  * which breaks xterm.js WebLinksAddon URL detection. This class flattens
- * the buffer (stripping PTY wraps, converting blank lines to spaces) and
+ * the buffer (rejoining hard wraps, treating every other break as a
- * matches URLs with a single regex, firing a callback for ones >= 100 chars.
+ * terminator) and matches URLs with a single regex, firing a callback for ones
+ * >= 100 chars.
+ *
+ * ## Which line breaks may be deleted
+ *
+ * Only the ones the *terminal* inserted. A hard wrap happens at exactly the
+ * column width, so a line that reached the width was cut mid-token and its
+ * break must be removed to put the token back together; a line that stopped
+ * short ended for its own reasons and its break is a real separator.
+ *
+ * Deleting every break instead — which this did — glues unrelated output onto
+ * the end of a URL. Observed for real: a wrapped paragraph following a link
+ * became `…/tag/preview-63f3c54Butitprovesyournitpick…`, because a terminal
+ * that wraps at a space emits the break *instead of* the space, so removing
+ * the break removes the separator too. That candidate is a different URL from
+ * the one on screen, and the user is the one who has to notice.
  *
  * When a URL match extends to the end of the flattened buffer, emission is
  * deferred (more chunks may still be arriving). A confirmation timer emits
@@ -21,6 +36,45 @@ const MIN_URL_LENGTH = 100;
 
 export type UrlCallback = (url: string) => void;
 
+/**
+ * How wide the terminal is right now.
+ *
+ * A getter, not a number: the width changes with every window resize, and a
+ * stale one silently turns joining back into guesswork.
+ */
+export type ColumnsGetter = () => number;
+
+/**
+ * Rejoin the line breaks the terminal inserted; turn the rest into spaces.
+ *
+ * A line of exactly `columns` visible characters was cut by the terminal, so
+ * its break is deleted and the two halves are put back together. Anything
+ * shorter ended on its own and becomes a space — a URL cannot contain one, so
+ * that is also what stops a match running into whatever followed.
+ *
+ * `columns` of 0 or less means "not known yet"; nothing is rejoined, which
+ * costs a wrapped URL rather than inventing one.
+ *
+ * One case stays ambiguous and cannot be resolved here: a token that happens to
+ * end exactly at the width is indistinguishable from one the terminal cut, so
+ * the following line is joined to it. The candidate is still shown in full and
+ * confirmed by the user before anything opens.
+ */
+export function flatten(clean: string, columns: number): string {
+  const lines = clean.split(/\r?\n/);
+  let out = "";
+  for (let i = 0; i < lines.length; i++) {
+    out += lines[i];
+    if (i === lines.length - 1) break;
+    // `===`, not `>=`. A line *longer* than the width was never cut by the
+    // terminal — the stream simply contained no break there, so the break that
+    // follows it is the application's own and separates two things.
+    const wrapped = columns > 0 && lines[i].length === columns;
+    if (!wrapped) out += " ";
+  }
+  return out;
+}
+
 export class UrlDetector {
   private decoder = new TextDecoder();
   private buffer = "";
@@ -29,9 +83,11 @@ export class UrlDetector {
   private lastEmitted = "";
   private pendingUrl: string | null = null;
   private callback: UrlCallback;
+  private columns: ColumnsGetter;
 
-  constructor(callback: UrlCallback) {
+  constructor(callback: UrlCallback, columns: ColumnsGetter) {
     this.callback = callback;
+    this.columns = columns;
   }
 
   /** Feed raw PTY output chunks. */
@@ -61,12 +117,8 @@ export class UrlDetector {
     // 1. Strip ANSI escape sequences
     const clean = this.buffer.replace(ANSI_RE, "");
 
-    // 2. Flatten the buffer:
+    // 2. Flatten the buffer: rejoin hard wraps, terminate on everything else.
-    //    - Blank lines (2+ consecutive line breaks) → space (real paragraph break / URL terminator)
+    const flat = flatten(clean, this.columns());
-    //    - Remaining \r and \n → removed (PTY hard-wrap artifacts)
-    const flat = clean
-      .replace(/(\r?\n){2,}/g, " ")
-      .replace(/[\r\n]/g, "");
 
     if (!flat) return;