[FEATURE] Allow opening the right-side panel (terminal/navigation) before starting a conversation

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
• [x] This is a single feature request (not multiple features)

Problem Statement

In the Claude Code desktop app, the right-side panel (which contains the terminal and other navigation controls) is not accessible until I start a conversation. The toggle buttons for this panel only appear after I send my first message to Claude.

This breaks my typical workflow: I usually start my local development environment by running commands (e.g., npm run start:dev) in the integrated terminal on the right side BEFORE I begin chatting with Claude. With the current behavior, I am forced to either:

1. Send a placeholder/dummy message to Claude just to make the panel toggle visible, which feels wasteful and clutters the conversation history, or
2. Open a separate external terminal application, which defeats the purpose of having an integrated terminal in the first place.

The right-side panel and its terminal should be a first-class workspace tool, available independently of whether a conversation has been started.

Proposed Solution

Make the right-side panel toggle button(s) visible and functional at all times — including on a fresh app launch, before any conversation has been started.

Specifically:

• The icons/buttons that open the terminal and other right-side panels should appear in the top bar (or wherever they currently live) immediately when the app opens.
• Clicking them should open the corresponding panel even when no conversation is active.
• Any panel state (terminal sessions, open tabs, etc.) opened pre-conversation should persist seamlessly once a conversation is started.

This would let users like me launch dev servers, run build commands, or check git status in the integrated terminal before deciding what to ask Claude — matching the workflow of IDEs like VS Code, where the terminal is always accessible.

Alternative Solutions

_No response_

Priority

Critical - Blocking my work

Feature Category

CLI commands and flags

Use Case Example

1. Open Claude Code desktop app in my project directory.
2. Click the terminal icon on the right side (currently not visible until a conversation starts).
3. Run npm run start:dev to spin up the local backend.
4. Wait for the dev server to be ready.
5. Then start a conversation with Claude to work on the feature.

Today, step 2 is blocked, forcing me to start a throwaway conversation first.

Additional Context

_No response_