AI Gate v4.5.0

AI Gate v4.5.0

**Release Date**: March 4, 2026

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Release Notes: Multi-Panel Workspace & Tab Management Improvements

Overview

This release introduces a complete overhaul of the workspace layout and tab management system, enabling seamless multi-panel viewing with state preservation across layout changes. Major focus on stability, performance, and user experience.

✨ Major Features

Multi-Panel Workspace

• 2-Panel & 3-Panel Layouts: View multiple AI tools simultaneously in configurable grid layouts
• Synced & Separate Tab Modes:
  • Synced Mode: All panels show the same tab bar; click any tab to switch across panels
  • Separate Mode: Each panel has independent tab management
• Smart Layout Expansion: Auto-expand from 1→2→3 panels as you add tools (when enabled)

Global Webview Pool Architecture

• State Preservation: Switching between layouts (1→2→3 or back to 1) now preserves all webview state:
  • URLs stay loaded
  • Scroll position maintained
  • Session cookies & authentication preserved
  • No reload/flashing on layout switch
• Smoother Transitions: CSS transitions animate webview repositioning between panels

🐛 Bug Fixes

Tab Synchronization Issues

• Fixed: Duplicate tabs showing in multiple panels simultaneously
• Fixed: Tabs disappearing when clicking in non-active panels
• Fixed: Auto-expand (1→2→3 panels) causing tab state mismatches
• Fixed: Clicking inactive tabs causing content to disappear

Panel State Management

• Fixed: Hidden panels losing their active tab selection when switching layouts
• Improved: Cleanup logic now preserves active tab assignments for hidden panels, so switching back to a wider layout instantly shows the correct tool
• Fixed: React hooks error ("Rendered more hooks than previous render") when adding/deleting AI tools

Webview Rendering

• Fixed: Blank panels appearing when switching to wider layouts
• Fixed: Webview "growing from nothing" visual glitch with CSS transitions
• Improved: Bounds calculation now happens synchronously before first paint (useLayoutEffect)
• Fixed: ResizeObserver not firing when layout changes mid-CSS-transition

Instance Management

• Fixed: Stale closure bug in useLocalStorage causing lost state updates
• Fixed: Tool edit/delete operations causing unnecessary re-renders
• Improved: Robust instance ID generation for drag-and-drop operations

🎨 UI/UX Improvements

Component Refactoring

• Extracted ToolIcon component to fix favicon hook usage in sidebar
• Redesigned