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feat: explorer UI improvements#1732

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megha-narayanan merged 6 commits into
aws:feat/cdk-explorerfrom
megha-narayanan:feat/explorer-ui-improvements
Jul 16, 2026
Merged

feat: explorer UI improvements#1732
megha-narayanan merged 6 commits into
aws:feat/cdk-explorerfrom
megha-narayanan:feat/explorer-ui-improvements

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@megha-narayanan

@megha-narayanan megha-narayanan commented Jul 16, 2026

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UI improvements to the CDK Web Explorer's violations panel, construct tree, file picker, and template pane diagnostics.

Violations Panel

  • Human-readable violation titles: Violation headers show the description (e.g. "Require point-in-time recovery for a DynamoDB table") as the primary title instead of the raw rule name, with the rule name shown right-aligned in monospace as a secondary identifier
  • Search bar: Added a search input (top-right in header) that filters violations across all text fields (description, rule name, construct path, suggested fix)
  • Resource filter on double-click: Double-clicking a construct in the tree or a squiggle in the source pane filters the violations panel to show only violations for that resource (and its children)
  • Dismissable filter pill: When filtered, the header shows "Violations for [ResourceName ×]" with a clear button pill/chip
  • Right-aligned rule names: Monospace rule name pushed to far-right of each violation row (matching construct tree type alignment)
  • Two-row header layout: Severity + description on row 1, count/source subtitle on row 2
  • Tighter expanded content: Reduced gap between violation header and expanded body, indented expanded content under the header
  • Clickable construct paths: Occurrence paths styled as blue underlined links with single-click navigation (was double-click)
Screenshot 2026-07-16 at 12 23 46 PM

Template Pane

  • Squiggle diagnostics: Resources with violations now show wavy underline squiggles in the template pane, which skip leading whitespace: Underlines start at the first non-space character
  • YAML/JSON format toggle moved to header: Toggle is now in the upper-right of the template pane header (always visible regardless of scroll), only appears when a template is loaded. On switch, takes you to the same PLACE in the other format, not the same line number
Screenshot 2026-07-16 at 1 01 35 PM

Construct Tree

  • Removed opacity on inherited colors: Tree labels with inherited severity colors now display at full opacity
  • Default cursor on non-clickable rows: Non-expandable rows show default cursor instead of pointer
Screenshot 2026-07-16 at 12 24 38 PM

File Picker

  • Folder icon button: Replaced the grey "Open" button with a folder icon
  • Dropdown overlay: File picker overlays the code pane instead of replacing it (code stays mounted underneath)
  • No animation replay: Opening/closing the file picker no longer re-triggers the navigation highlight animation
  • Click-outside to close: Clicking anywhere outside the picker dismisses it
Screenshot 2026-07-16 at 1 03 54 PM

Checklist

  • This change contains a major version upgrade for a dependency and I confirm all breaking changes are addressed
    • Release notes for the new version:

By submitting this pull request, I confirm that my contribution is made under the terms of the Apache-2.0 license

…gnostics

- Add search bar and resource filter to violations panel
- Show squiggle diagnostics in template pane for resources with violations
- Restyle file picker as dropdown overlay with folder icon button
- Fix highlight animation replay when toggling file picker
- Right-align rule names, clickable construct paths, tighter layout
@aws-cdk-automation aws-cdk-automation requested a review from a team July 16, 2026 17:04
@github-actions github-actions Bot added the p2 label Jul 16, 2026
@megha-narayanan megha-narayanan marked this pull request as ready for review July 16, 2026 17:05
Signed-off-by: github-actions[bot] <41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

@rix0rrr rix0rrr left a comment

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Good stuff!

I'll ship it, but I don't think we need a full file picker with folder browsing and everything. From the stack traces in the diagnostics we know exactly which files we might be interested in showing. So why not just allow choosing between those files?

…gnostics

- Add search bar and resource filter to violations panel
- Show squiggle diagnostics in template pane for resources with violations
- Restyle file picker as dropdown overlay with folder icon button
- Fix highlight animation replay when toggling file picker
- Right-align rule names, clickable construct paths, tighter layout
@megha-narayanan

megha-narayanan commented Jul 16, 2026

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Good stuff!

I'll ship it, but I don't think we need a full file picker with folder browsing and everything. From the stack traces in the diagnostics we know exactly which files we might be interested in showing. So why not just allow choosing between those files?

Implemented that, here's what those look like now:
Screenshot 2026-07-16 at 3 43 36 PM
Screenshot 2026-07-16 at 3 45 55 PM

Instead of a full filesystem browser, show only the source and template
files known from the construct tree. This addresses review feedback that
we already know which files are relevant from the diagnostics/tree data.
@megha-narayanan megha-narayanan force-pushed the feat/explorer-ui-improvements branch from c6ebda0 to 5c58571 Compare July 16, 2026 19:55
@megha-narayanan megha-narayanan merged commit 1f24286 into aws:feat/cdk-explorer Jul 16, 2026
7 of 8 checks passed
@megha-narayanan megha-narayanan deleted the feat/explorer-ui-improvements branch July 16, 2026 20:00
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3 participants