tutor-service/.planning/phases/007-web-app-shell-diagnostic-start/007-RESEARCH.md

Phase 7 Research: Web App Shell and Diagnostic Start

Findings

The existing Go backend can serve static assets without adding frontend build tooling. For the first MVP UI, plain HTML/CSS/JavaScript is enough and keeps the repo dependency-light.

The diagnostic APIs already provide all Phase 7 data:

• POST /api/v1/diagnostic-sessions
• POST /api/v1/diagnostic-sessions/{id}/answers
• GET /api/v1/diagnostic-sessions/{id}

Recommended Shape

• Add internal/webapp with embedded static assets.
• Register web app routes from httpapi.Handler.
• Keep frontend files small and focused.
• Use fetch calls directly against existing API routes.

Risks

• A mock UI would not prove the backend loop. The UI must call real APIs.
• A marketing-style landing page would distract from the core product surface.
• Overbuilding a frontend stack before interaction validation would violate YAGNI.