Bulk Service Control & Status Indicators Feature

Hey folks! Today, let's dive into a feature enhancement proposal that's all about making service management within our projects smoother and more efficient. We're talking about implementing bulk start/stop actions for services and adding status indicators in the domain dropdown. This is going to be a game-changer for those of us juggling multiple services within a project, so let's break it down.

The Motivation Behind the Change

Managing numerous services in a project can quickly become a handful, especially when you need to perform the same action across multiple services. Think about it: starting or stopping services one by one? That’s a time sink! Currently, the process demands individual attention to each service, which isn’t ideal when dealing with projects housing many services. This manual approach not only eats up valuable time but also increases the chances of human error. Imagine having to restart ten services individually after a deployment – nobody wants that! This is where the idea of bulk actions comes into play, offering a way to streamline these repetitive tasks and free up our time for more strategic work.

The current system's limitations extend beyond just the inconvenience of manual service management. The lack of visual cues regarding service status in the domain dropdown also adds a layer of complexity. Without clear indicators, users are left guessing about the state of their services or forced to navigate to individual service pages for confirmation. This not only disrupts workflow but also hinders quick decision-making. A simple status indicator, on the other hand, provides an at-a-glance overview, enabling users to immediately assess the health and operational status of their services. By addressing these pain points, we can significantly improve the user experience, making service management more intuitive, efficient, and less prone to errors. The motivation behind these enhancements is clear: to empower users with the tools they need to manage their projects effectively and confidently.

Understanding Current Behavior

Currently, the project dashboard displays a list of your services – both applications and compose services. However, here's the catch: there's no way to perform actions on multiple services simultaneously. You have to click into each service individually to start or stop it. Talk about tedious! This is like trying to herd cats when you've got a bunch of services to manage. And it’s not just the dashboard; the domain dropdown menu, while listing service names, doesn’t give you any visual cues about whether those services are running, stopped, or in some other state. It's like a guessing game, which isn't exactly ideal when you're trying to keep things running smoothly. Imagine a scenario where you need to quickly stop all services due to a security threat – the current setup would require you to navigate and interact with each service individually, a process that could take precious time. This lack of efficiency underscores the need for a more streamlined approach.

Let's walk through the reproduction steps to really highlight the issue. First, navigate to a project that contains multiple applications and/or compose services – ideally, at least three or four to make the point. Now, try to stop all the running services at once. You'll quickly realize there's no way to select multiple services or perform bulk actions; each service has to be managed individually. It's a bit like trying to empty a swimming pool with a teaspoon. Next, click on the domain dropdown menu in the project view. You'll see service names, but there’s no status indicator to tell you whether each service is running or stopped. This lack of immediate feedback can be frustrating, especially when you're troubleshooting or trying to understand the current state of your project. These limitations in the current behavior underscore the need for improvements that will not only save time but also enhance the overall usability of the system.

Envisioning the Expected Behavior

Now, let's paint a picture of how things should be. Imagine a project dashboard where you can select multiple services using checkboxes and then perform bulk start/stop operations on them. That's the dream, right? The system should also give you clear feedback during these bulk operations – think progress indicators and notifications that tell you whether each service started or stopped successfully. It’s about making the process transparent and giving you confidence that everything is working as expected. Beyond the dashboard, the domain dropdown menu should also step up its game. We're talking about status indicators next to each service name, so you can instantly see whether a service is running, stopped, or in another state. This at-a-glance information is invaluable for quick decision-making and troubleshooting.

To make this vision a reality, we have some specific acceptance criteria in mind. First off, checkboxes should appear next to each service in the project dashboard, allowing for individual selection. A "Select All" checkbox would be a fantastic addition, making it easy to quickly select or deselect all visible services. We also need those bulk action buttons (Start All, Stop All), which should only be enabled when at least one service is selected. This prevents accidental operations and adds a layer of safety. During bulk operations, visual feedback is crucial. Loading states should be displayed to indicate progress, and toast notifications should pop up to show success/failure counts. This immediate feedback keeps users informed and engaged. Of course, after the operations complete, the service list should refresh to show updated statuses, ensuring that the information is current and accurate. Lastly, status indicators in the domain dropdown menu are a must-have, providing a clear and immediate view of each service's state. By meeting these criteria, we can transform service management from a tedious chore into a streamlined and intuitive process.

Testing the Waters: Steps to Test

Alright, let's talk about how we're going to put these changes through their paces. Testing is crucial to make sure this new feature works flawlessly, and we want to cover all our bases. First up, you'll want to navigate to a project with multiple services. If you don't have one handy, no worries – just create some test applications and compose services. The more, the merrier, as it gives you a better feel for how the bulk actions perform.

Once you're in your test project, the first thing to verify is that checkboxes appear next to each service in the list. This is the foundation of the bulk selection process. Next, select two or three services using these checkboxes and make sure the selection state is maintained. You want to be sure that your selections are "sticking" and that the system is accurately tracking which services you've chosen. Then, give the "Select All" checkbox a whirl. Click it and verify that all services become selected; click it again and ensure they all become deselected. This is a handy shortcut, so it’s important it works smoothly. Now, for the main event: with multiple services selected, click the "Stop All" button. Keep an eye out for a loading indicator, which should appear during the operation, letting you know that something is happening behind the scenes. Toast notifications should then pop up, showing the results – for example, "Successfully stopped 3 services." These notifications provide immediate feedback on the outcome of the operation. And, of course, the service statuses should update after the operation completes, reflecting the new state of the services. Repeat this process with the "Start All" button to ensure it works just as reliably. Finally, open the domain dropdown menu from the project view and verify that those all-important status indicators appear next to each service name, clearly showing their current state (running/stopped). By following these steps, we can thoroughly test the new features and ensure they meet our expectations for usability and reliability.

Sharing is Caring: Submission

To make this process even smoother, we're using a cool tool called cap.so to record your screen during testing. Just use the Studio mode, export your recording as an MP4, and then drag and drop it into an issue comment below. It's super straightforward and helps us see exactly what you're seeing during testing.

And if you're ready to dive deeper and contribute to the code, check out this guide to submitting pull requests. It's got all the info you need to get your contributions in tip-top shape.

Let's make service management a breeze! 🚀