TUI plugin: sidebar_content slot never renders content (1.17.11) #34050

Summary

After 2 weeks and 12+ attempts, a third-party TUI plugin registered via ~/.config/opencode/tui.json cannot render content in the sidebar_content slot. The plugin's tui() factory function IS called, api.slots.register() succeeds, but the content returned from sidebar_content never appears in the sidebar panel — even when returning the simplest possible value.

Environment

• OpenCode version: 1.17.11
• OS: Linux (WSL)
• Plugin: @boyingliu01/opencode-plugin (published on npm, ./tui export points to tui-plugin.tsx)

tui.json configuration

{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/tui.json",
  "plugin": ["@boyingliu01/opencode-plugin/tui"]
}

Evidence from 12+ experiments

Experiment 1: .tsx with @opentui/solid JSX (the intended plugin)

• Module loads, tui() factory NOT called
• Root cause: @opentui/solid was a peerDependency, not installed at ~/.config/opencode/node_modules/

Experiment 2: .tsx with @opentui/solid JSX (after installing deps)

• After npm install brought in @opentui/solid@0.4.2 and solid-js@1.9.12
• Module loads, tui() factory still NOT called
• Sidebar content NOT rendered

Experiment 3: .ts with NO JSX, string return (import type only)

import type { TuiPlugin } from "@opencode-ai/plugin/tui"
const tui: TuiPlugin = async (api) => {
  api.slots.register({ slots: { sidebar_content: () => "TEST" } })
}
export { tui }

• Module loads ✅
• tui() factory function IS called ✅
• sidebar_content returns plain string "TEST"
• Sidebar content NOT displayed ❌

Experiment 4: BARE .ts with ZERO external imports

// NO imports from @opencode-ai/plugin/tui or @opentui/solid
// Only Node.js builtins: fs, os, path
const tui = async (api: any) => {
  // Writes to log file → confirms tui() IS called ✅
  api.slots.register({
    slots: {
      sidebar_content: (props: any) => {
        // Writes to log file → NEVER called ❌
        return "HELLO FROM XP-GATE"
      },
    },
  })
}
export { tui }

• Module loads ✅
• tui() factory IS called ✅ (log confirmed)
• api.slots.register() succeeds ✅
• sidebar_content render function NEVER called ❌
• "HELLO FROM XP-GATE" never appears in sidebar ❌

What DOES work

The built-in sidebar slots (Context, MCP, LSP) render correctly in the same panel. The sidebar panel itself is functional.

Hypothesis

The sidebar_content slot in OpenCode 1.17.11 appears to require JSX.Element return type (from @opentui/solid), but:

1. When using @opentui/solid JSX with /** @jsxImportSource @opentui/solid */, the module's tui() factory is never called (module loads, export not recognized)
2. When NOT using JSX (returning plain string), tui() is called, slots register, but the render function sidebar_content is never invoked — as if the return type is rejected

This creates a deadlock:

• JSX path → tui() never called
• String path → tui() called, but content never rendered

Request

1. Clarify the exact contract for sidebar_content: must it return JSX.Element? Are strings/renderables supported?
2. If strings ARE supported, this is a bug in 1.17.11
3. If strings are NOT supported, could the SDK expose a createElement() / h() function that doesn't require @opentui/solid as a runtime dependency? External plugins shouldn't need to depend on OpenCode's internal UI framework.
4. Any working example of a third-party TUI plugin with sidebar_content would be immensely helpful

Related

• Plugin npm: @boyingliu01/opencode-plugin@0.10.17
• TUI plugin source: tui-plugin.tsx (uses @opentui/solid JSX), tui-plugin.ts (string-based fallback)
• Package exports: "./tui" → "./tui-plugin.tsx"
• Full diagnosis doc: available on request