Problem:
--------
Commit 5ed1f2991 introduced a layout shift regression when opening the
sidebar. The UI would visibly "jump" as elements shifted right before
the animation completed. Closing the sidebar worked correctly.
Root Cause Analysis:
--------------------
The accessibility PR added a redundant `{navVisible && ...}` conditional
wrapper around the `<nav>` content inside Nav.tsx's `motion.div`. This
caused a race condition:
1. User clicks "Open Sidebar" button
2. `navVisible` state becomes `true`
3. React renders the `motion.div` AND its children simultaneously
4. The inner `{navVisible && (<nav>...)}` renders content at full width
(320px/260px) BEFORE framer-motion applies `initial={{ width: 0 }}`
5. Brief flash of full-width content causes visible layout shift
6. Animation then starts from width: 0, but damage is done
The ref-based focus management (passing `openSidebarRef`/`closeSidebarRef`
through context) was suspected but was not the actual cause. However,
`requestAnimationFrame` focus calls during animation start could trigger
forced layout calculations, exacerbating the issue.
Solution:
---------
1. Remove redundant conditional rendering in Nav.tsx
- The outer `{navVisible && (<motion.div>...)}` already controls
visibility
- The `overflow-x-hidden` class on motion.div clips content during
animation
- Content should always exist inside motion.div for smooth clipping
2. Replace ref-based focus with ID-based focus management
- Refs passed through component tree can affect React's reconciliation
- Using `document.getElementById()` decouples focus from render cycle
- Exported `CLOSE_SIDEBAR_ID` and `OPEN_SIDEBAR_ID` constants for
consistency
3. Delay focus until after animation completes
- Changed from `requestAnimationFrame` to `setTimeout(..., 250)`
- Animation duration is 200ms; 250ms ensures completion
- Prevents layout thrashing during animation
4. Clean up prop drilling
- Removed `openSidebarRef`/`closeSidebarRef` from Root.tsx context
- Simplified Nav.tsx, Header.tsx, NewChat.tsx prop signatures
- Updated ContextType to remove ref properties
Files Changed:
--------------
- client/src/routes/Root.tsx
- client/src/components/Nav/Nav.tsx
- client/src/components/Nav/NewChat.tsx
- client/src/components/Chat/Header.tsx
- client/src/components/Chat/Menus/OpenSidebar.tsx
- client/src/common/types.ts
Accessibility Note:
-------------------
The original inner conditional was added to prevent keyboard navigation
to hidden sidebar content for screen readers. This is still handled by:
- AnimatePresence unmounting the motion.div after exit animation
- The motion.div having width: 0 during exit (content not reachable)
- Screen readers typically skip content being animated out
- Other: removed non-existant prop from BookmarkNav
Testing:
--------
- Verified smooth animation when opening sidebar (no layout shift)
- Verified smooth animation when closing sidebar (unchanged)
- Verified focus transfers correctly between open/close buttons
- Verified keyboard navigation works as expected