0014. TabStrip can show tabs that can't be closed

Date: 2026-10-16

Status

Proposed. The user asked for Messenger's Telegram folders to show as Patina tabs; the option is my design.

Context

TabStrip (ADR-0009) gives every tab a close cross on hover, closes it on a middle click, and offers "Close Tab" in its menu. ADR-0012 already let a strip leave out new tabs, for tabs the app doesn't create. Messenger's tabs are the user's chat folders, plus All Chats and Archived. They're views the app always has: closing one from the tab would mean deleting the folder on Telegram, or hiding a view the user can't get back. A cross that does nothing would be worse than none.

Decision

A builder option, defaulting to today's behaviour:

• .closable(false) draws no close cross, ignores a middle click, and leaves "Close" out of a tab's menu. TabAction::Close then never comes from the strip.
• A tab's title, which normally keeps clear of the cross, may use that space.
• With .new_tab(false) as well, a tab has no menu at all.

Consequences

• Existing callers are unchanged.
• tabs::keys still sends TabAction::New for Ctrl+Shift+T. An app without new tabs ignores it, as with ADR-0012.