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theia References to Remove - 2025-10-14

Goal: Remove all user-facing references to "theia" or "Eclipse theia" from the application. Users should see generic "IDE" terminology instead.

Reason: We don't want to inform users where the code is coming from. Keep the underlying technology transparent to users.


User-Facing References (MUST FIX)

File: src/components/header.tsx Line: 176 Current:

theia IDE

Fix To:

IDE

Context: Mobile navigation drawer menu button - visible to ALL mobile users


2. theiaEmbed Error Messages

File: src/components/theia-embed.tsx

Line 100 - Error message:

Failed to load theia IDE

Fix To: Failed to load IDE

Line 103 - Error help text:

Make sure theia is running at {theiaUrl}

Fix To: Make sure the IDE service is running at {theiaUrl}

Line 106 - Command suggestion:

Run: npm run theia:start

Fix To: Run: npm run start (or keep as-is - technical command)

Line 127 - Loading text:

Loading theia IDE...

Fix To: Loading IDE...

Line 139 - iframe title:

title="theia IDE"

Fix To: title="Coditect IDE" or title="IDE"

Context: Error messages users see when IDE fails to load, loading states, accessibility (screen readers)


3. SidePanel Placeholder Text

File: src/components/side-panel.tsx Line: 167 Current:

The theia llm chat widget will be rendered in this panel

Fix To:

The AI chat widget will be rendered in this panel

Context: Placeholder text visible if chat widget doesn't load


4. HTML Meta Description

File: index.html Line: 8 Current:

<meta name="description" content="Browser-based IDE with dual llm support, Eclipse theia, and multi-model AI assistance" />

Fix To:

<meta name="description" content="Browser-based IDE with dual llm support and multi-model AI assistance" />

Context: Shows up in Google search results and social media previews


6. README.md (Project Root)

File: README.md

Line 7 - Badge:

[![Eclipse theia](https://img.shields.io/badge/Built_with-theia_1.65-orange)](https://theia-ide.org/)

Fix To: Remove this badge or change to:

[![Built with Modern Tech](https://img.shields.io/badge/Built_with-Modern_Stack-orange)](#)

Line 27 - Development instructions:

theia Backend: http://localhost:3000 (Direct IDE access)

Fix To:

IDE Backend: http://localhost:3000 (Direct IDE access)

Context: README is the first thing users see on GitHub


7. User Documentation - Multi-llm Guide

File: docs/01-getting-started/multi-llm-providers.md Line: 34 Current:

- Best integration with theia IDE

Fix To:

- Best integration with IDE

Context: User-facing documentation about llm provider selection


4. User Documentation - Deployment Guide Title

File: docs/01-getting-started/deployment.md Line: 1 Current:

# AZ1.AI theia IDE - Deployment Guide

Fix To:

# AZ1.AI IDE - Deployment Guide

Context: Document title users see


5. User Documentation - Deployment Guide Content

File: docs/01-getting-started/deployment.md Line: 5 Current:

The theia IDE is currently **running** on port 3000.

Fix To:

The IDE is currently **running** on port 3000.

6. User Documentation - Development Modes

File: docs/01-getting-started/development-modes.md Lines: Multiple references to "theia IDE" and "theia"

Current Examples:

- theia IDE: http://localhost:8080/theia/

Fix To:

- IDE: http://localhost:8080/ide/

Note: Also consider renaming /theia/ URL paths to /ide/ for consistency


Technical References (OK TO KEEP)

These are in developer documentation or code comments - users don't see these:

Internal Documentation (OK)

  • docs/02-architecture/ - Technical architecture docs
  • docs/07-adr/ADR-014-*.md - Architecture decision records
  • docs/V5-THEIA-WRAPPER-architecture.md - Technical architecture
  • docs/theia-ai-research-findings.md - Technical research

Code Comments (OK)

  • src/app.tsx - Comments about theia integration
  • src/components/layout.tsx - Technical comments
  • src/components/workspace/workspace-tab.tsx - Implementation notes

Component Names (OK)

  • theia-terminal-widget.tsx - Internal component name
  • theia-chat-widget.tsx - Internal component name
  • theia-monaco-widget.tsx - Internal component name
  • theia-container.ts - Service name

Configuration (OK)

  • package.json dependencies - Technical config
  • .theia/ directory - Configuration directory
  • theia-app/ directory - Build directory

Technical Docs (OK - Developers Only)

  • src/README.md - Developer documentation
  • src/browser/README.md - Developer documentation
  • docs/01-getting-started/theia-llm-extension.md - Migration guide (technical)

URL Path Considerations

Current URL: /theia/services (WebSocket endpoint) Current URL: /theia/ (IDE access)

Recommendation: Consider renaming to /ide/ for user-facing URLs:

  • /ide/ - Main IDE access
  • /ide/services - WebSocket endpoint

Files to Update for URL Change:

  1. nginx-combined.conf - NGINX proxy rules
  2. src/components/layout.tsx - URL references
  3. src/components/theia-embed.tsx - iframe src
  4. docs/01-getting-started/development-modes.md - Documentation

Impact: Low risk - URL rewrite is straightforward in NGINX


Implementation Priority

Critical Priority (User-Visible UI)

  1. ⚠️ header.tsx:176 - Mobile navigation button (ALL mobile users see this)
  2. ⚠️ theia-embed.tsx - Error/loading messages (users see when IDE fails/loads)
  3. ⚠️ index.html:8 - Meta description (SEO, social media)

High Priority (User-Facing Content)

  1. README.md - Badge and development instructions (first impression)
  2. side-panel.tsx:167 - Placeholder text

Medium Priority (User Documentation)

  1. deployment.md - Deployment guide
  2. multi-llm-providers.md - llm guide
  3. development-modes.md - Development guide

Low Priority (Optional)

  1. 🔲 URL paths - /theia//ide/ (optional consistency improvement)

Implementation Steps

Step 1: Fix Header Navigation (2 minutes) ⚠️ CRITICAL

# Edit src/components/header.tsx line 176
# Change "theia IDE" to "IDE"

Step 2: Fix theiaEmbed Messages (5 minutes) ⚠️ CRITICAL

# Edit src/components/theia-embed.tsx
# Line 100: "Failed to load theia IDE" → "Failed to load IDE"
# Line 103: "Make sure theia is running" → "Make sure the IDE service is running"
# Line 127: "Loading theia IDE..." → "Loading IDE..."
# Line 139: title="theia IDE" → title="Coditect IDE"

Step 3: Fix SidePanel Placeholder (1 minute)

# Edit src/components/side-panel.tsx line 167
# Change "The theia llm chat widget" to "The AI chat widget"

Step 4: Fix HTML Meta Description (2 minutes)

# Edit index.html line 8
# Remove "Eclipse theia" from description

Step 5: Fix README.md (5 minutes)

# Edit README.md
# Line 7: Remove/change "Eclipse theia" badge
# Line 27: "theia Backend" → "IDE Backend"

Step 6: Fix Deployment Guide (5 minutes)

# Edit docs/01-getting-started/deployment.md
# Replace "theia IDE" with "IDE" throughout
# Replace "The theia IDE" with "The IDE"

Step 7: Fix Development Modes Guide (10 minutes)

# Edit docs/01-getting-started/development-modes.md
# Replace user-visible "theia IDE" with "IDE"
# Keep technical references (like "theia SSH extension") as-is

Step 8: Fix Multi-llm Guide (2 minutes)

# Edit docs/01-getting-started/multi-llm-providers.md line 34
# Change "theia IDE" to "IDE"

Total Time: ~32 minutes


Verification Checklist

After making changes, verify:

  • Navigate to app in browser - check header says "IDE" not "theia IDE"
  • View page source - check meta description doesn't mention "theia"
  • Read deployment.md - confirm no user-visible "theia" references
  • Read development-modes.md - confirm no user-visible "theia" references
  • Read multi-llm-providers.md - confirm no user-visible "theia" references
  • Grep for user-facing "theia": grep -r "theia" src/pages/ (should return 0 results)
  • Grep for HTML/meta "theia": grep "theia" index.html (should return 0 results)

Notes

What We're NOT Changing

  1. Technical Documentation - Developers need to know the architecture
  2. Code Comments - Internal implementation notes
  3. Component Names - Internal naming conventions
  4. Import Statements - import { ... } from '@theia/...'
  5. Configuration Files - .theia/, theia-app/
  6. Package Dependencies - @theia/core, etc.

Why This Matters

Brand Identity: "Coditect" is the brand, not "theia-based IDE" Competitive Advantage: Users don't need to know we use theia (just like users don't know VS Code uses Electron) Professional Image: Focus on features, not underlying technology

Examples from Industry

  • VS Code: Users don't see "Electron IDE" - they see "VS Code"
  • Sublime Text: Users don't see "Python-based editor" - they see "Sublime Text"
  • Atom: Users don't see "Electron editor" - they see "Atom"
  • Our IDE: Users should see "Coditect IDE" not "theia IDE"

Summary

Total User-Facing References Found: 15+ locations across 8 files

Breakdown by Priority:

  • ⚠️ Critical (UI visible to all users): 3 files, 7 references

    • header.tsx (mobile navigation)
    • theia-embed.tsx (error/loading messages)
    • index.html (meta description)
  • High (First impressions): 2 files

    • README.md (GitHub landing page)
    • side-panel.tsx (placeholder text)
  • Medium (User documentation): 3 files

    • deployment.md
    • multi-llm-providers.md
    • development-modes.md

Estimated Fix Time: 32 minutes total Risk: Very low (simple text replacements) Impact: High (professional brand presentation, removes references to underlying technology)

Recommended Approach:

  1. Fix critical UI strings first (Header, theiaEmbed, HTML meta)
  2. Fix high-priority content (README, SidePanel)
  3. Fix documentation (can be done post-launch if needed)

Next Step: Apply fixes in order of priority, starting with Step 1 (Header navigation)


Document Created: 2025-10-14 Status: Ready for implementation Priority: Medium (can be done pre-launch or post-launch)