Feature Request: Add New Chat Landing Page with Suggestions Before Conversation Creation

[bucketshop69]

Feature Request: Add New Chat Landing Page with Suggestions Before Conversation Creation

Problem

Currently, the Mallory app automatically redirects users to the main chat screen and creates a conversation immediately upon login, even if they don't send any messages. This results in:

• Automatic conversation creation without user intent
• Potential clutter of empty/unused conversations in history
• Users immediately entering chat without understanding the app's full capabilities
• Missing opportunity to guide users with helpful suggestions

Solution

Implement a new landing page /new that:

1. Displays app branding and value proposition in the main content area
2. Shows actionable suggestion buttons above the chat input (e.g., "What's the news?", "Tell me $XYZ token price", "Analyze a wallet", etc.)
3. Positions the chat input at the bottom 20-30% of the screen (like a traditional chat interface)
4. Only creates a conversation when the user sends their first message
5. Seamlessly navigates to the main chat screen after the first message

Benefits

• Delayed Conversation Creation: Conversations only created when users are ready to engage
• Improved UX: Users see helpful suggestions before typing, reducing friction
• Cleaner History: Eliminates empty/unused conversations in chat history
• Better Onboarding: Landing page can showcase key features and use cases upfront
• Familiar Interface: Chat input at bottom maintains expected mobile UX patterns

Implementation Details

The landing page should include:

• Header/Body Area: Space for app branding, feature highlights, and value proposition
• Suggestion Buttons: Pre-formatted suggestions that users can tap to auto-fill the input field
• Chat Input: Positioned at the bottom (20-30% from bottom) for familiar chat UX
• Conversation Flow: Only create conversation and navigate to /chat when first message is sent

Files to Modify

• Create new route: /apps/client/app/new.tsx
• Update root redirect: /apps/client/app/index.tsx to redirect to /new instead of /chat
• Potentially reuse existing chat input components with modified message handling

I'm interested in implementing this feature

I've already reviewed the existing codebase structure and I'm prepared to create a PR for this functionality.

[bucketshop69]

Visual Mockup:
I've created a visual mockup of the proposed landing screen to illustrate the concept:

This design maintains the familiar chat interface while providing helpful suggestions
and delaying conversation creation until the user is ready to engage.

[edgarpavlovsky]

i agree with your high level points but this brings up bigger conversations we've been having:

1. i think it's worth figuring out how to help OS constributors align with mallory's design framework - i attached a screenshot for the design we had on deck for suggestions, but i'm not sure of an effective way to communicate these types of brand decisions to folks ahead of time or to developers without designers being part of the github conversation (maybe the answer is to bring designers into the github conversation)

2. i've had this idea of proactive agent reachouts in my mind for a while, which i think are applicable in many places (e.g. when an agent is running background tasks and has things they want to reach out to the user about). we've explored using this functionality for onboarding (the agent starts the first conversation with the user and onboards them via chat). my goal here is to find something more intuitive than what's industry standard now, and to break past this idea that the user has to initiate interaction (suggestions get us closer to this but not quite there)

[bucketshop69]

Re: New Chat Landing Page Feature

Thanks for the thoughtful feedback! I completely understand the points about design alignment and the bigger vision you're exploring.

Acknowledging the Limitation

You're right that my original feature request was still operating within the traditional "user initiates → system responds" paradigm. While it addressed some surface-level issues (empty conversations, onboarding friction), it doesn't fundamentally rethink how users interact with Mallory's capabilities.

A Shift in Thinking

Reading your feedback got me thinking about something more fundamental: conversation should be the medium, not the use case itself. Right now, everything is constrained by linear chat UX - but what if we treated conversation as just one way to interact with Mallory's underlying capabilities?

For example, if a user connects their wallet, instead of forcing everything through chat messages, we could:

• Surface persistent wallet insights and dashboards
• Enable proactive agent reach-outs when relevant events happen
• Provide context-specific actions that don't require typing
• Use memory to shape the experience around user preferences

The agent's search and tool capabilities become much more powerful when they can inform rich, context-aware interfaces - not just message responses.

Aligning on Direction

I'm curious if this resonates with the direction you're thinking about with proactive agent reach-outs? It sounds like you're moving toward a model where the agent is more of an active participant rather than a passive responder.

My question is: What are some of the core use cases you're envisioning that would best showcase this shift? Understanding these would help (and other contributors) think about features that align with where Mallory is heading, rather than reinforcing old patterns.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

[edgarpavlovsky]

i think dynamic UI experiences (expanding past the chat constraint) are super interesting and definitely a part of the software future - our streamdown-rn library supports generic component rendering exactly for this

it's out of scope for mallory - i'd like to keep mallory cut at being a chat app & start a new repo for a canvas / evolved ux - but super down to chat about speaking that out if you're interested.

shoot me a dm on x? x.com/edgarpavlovsky