feat: Simplify chat interface and add modern settings tab

- Removed Demo Settings section from chat sidebar (cleaner UI)
- Simplified initial welcome message to focus on company + use case
- Added modern Settings tab with:
- AI Settings (model, temperature, tokens)
- Default Values (company, use case, data volume)
- Snowflake Settings (warehouse, database)
- ThoughtSpot Settings (URL, username)
- Advanced Settings (batch size, thread count)
- Created DEVELOPMENT_NOTES.md to track future ideas
- Added note about DDL-first workflow consideration
- Settings tab uses same clean design as chat interface

DEVELOPMENT_NOTES.md

@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+# Development Notes & Future Ideas
+## Chat-Based Demo Builder
+
+**Last Updated:** November 12, 2025
+
+---
+
+## 🔮 Future Enhancements
+
+### Workflow Order: DDL-First Approach
+
+**Date:** 2025-11-12  
+**Status:** Under Consideration
+
+**Idea:**
+Instead of Research → DDL → Population, consider:
+DDL → Research → Population
+
+**Rationale:**
+- Start with DDL schema definition
+- Once we know the tables/structure, we can do more targeted research
+- Research can then focus on finding data patterns that fit the schema
+- May lead to better alignment between research and actual demo structure
+
+**Questions to Explore:**
+- Does this work for all use cases?
+- How do we guide DDL creation without research context?
+- Could we do: Basic Research → DDL → Detailed Research → Population?
+
+**Next Steps:**
+- Prototype this workflow
+- Test with a few demos
+- Compare quality of output vs current approach
+
+---
+
+## 📋 Backlog
+
+### High Priority
+- [ ] Connect chat interface to actual workflow execution
+- [ ] Implement approval gates
+- [ ] Add streaming for real-time feedback
+
+### Medium Priority
+- [ ] Settings page with modern UI
+- [ ] Save/load conversation state
+- [ ] Export demo artifacts
+
+### Low Priority
+- [ ] Voice commands
+- [ ] Multi-modal inputs (upload CSV for schema)
+- [ ] Proactive AI suggestions
+
+---
+
+## 🐛 Known Issues
+
+- Supabase integration optional (shows warning)
+- Settings currently load from .env as fallback
+
+---
+
+## 💡 Design Decisions Log
+
+### 2025-11-12: Chat Interface Foundation
+- Used Gradio for consistency with existing app
+- Port 7862 to avoid conflicts
+- Kept settings loading simple for MVP
+
+---
+
+**Add your notes here as we discover new ideas!**
+

chat_interface.py

@@ -48,17 +48,39 @@ class ChatDemoInterface:
     
     def format_welcome_message(self, company, use_case):
         """Create the initial welcome message"""
-        return f"""👋 **Welcome to ThoughtSpot Demo Builder!**
+        # Check if company/use case need to be set
+        needs_setup = (company == 'your company' or not company or 
+                      use_case == 'analytics' or not use_case)
+        
+        if needs_setup:
+            return """👋 **Welcome to ThoughtSpot Demo Builder!**
+
+Let's create a perfect ThoughtSpot demo!
+
+**To get started, I need two things:**
+
+1. **Company**: Which company is this demo for?
+2. **Use Case**: What's the focus? (e.g., supply chain, sales analytics, customer insights)
+
+**You can tell me like this:**
+- Type: `/over company: Amazon.com usecase: supply chain`
+- Or just chat naturally: "Create a demo for Nike focused on retail analytics"
 
-I am creating a perfect ThoughtSpot demo for **{company}** using use case: **{use_case}**
+What company and use case should we use?"""
+        else:
+            return f"""👋 **Welcome to ThoughtSpot Demo Builder!**
+
+I'm ready to create a perfect ThoughtSpot demo!
+
+**Company:** {company}  
+**Use Case:** {use_case}
 
-💬 **What would you like to do?**
-- Start research on this company
-- Change company or use case (type `/over` to override)
-- Configure settings
-- Ask me anything!
+**Ready to start?**
+- Type "start" to begin research
+- Type `/over` to change company or use case
+- Or just tell me what you'd like to do!
 
-Just tell me what you'd like to do..."""
+What's your first step?"""
     
     def process_chat_message(self, message, chat_history, current_stage, current_model, company, use_case):
         """
@@ -216,9 +238,21 @@ def create_chat_interface():
         ### AI-Powered Conversational Demo Creation
         """)
         
-        with gr.Row():
-            # Left column - Chat
-            with gr.Column(scale=3):
+        with gr.Tabs():
+            with gr.Tab("💬 Chat"):
+                create_chat_tab(chat_controller, settings, current_stage, current_model, current_company, current_usecase)
+            
+            with gr.Tab("⚙️ Settings"):
+                create_settings_tab()
+    
+    return interface
+
+
+def create_chat_tab(chat_controller, settings, current_stage, current_model, current_company, current_usecase):
+    """Create the main chat interface tab"""
+    with gr.Row():
+        # Left column - Chat
+        with gr.Column(scale=3):
                 chatbot = gr.Chatbot(
                     value=[(None, chat_controller.format_welcome_message(
                         settings['company'], 
@@ -272,32 +306,6 @@ def create_chat_interface():
                     interactive=True
                 )
                 
-                gr.Markdown("### 🎯 Demo Settings")
-                
-                company_display = gr.Textbox(
-                    label="Company",
-                    value=settings['company'],
-                    interactive=False,
-                    lines=1
-                )
-                
-                usecase_display = gr.Textbox(
-                    label="Use Case",
-                    value=settings['use_case'],
-                    interactive=False,
-                    lines=1
-                )
-                
-                gr.Markdown("""
-                **💡 Tip:** Use `/over` command in chat to change company or use case.
-                
-                **Example:**
-                ```
-                /over company: Amazon.com
-                usecase: supply chain
-                ```
-                """)
-                
                 gr.Markdown("### 📈 Progress")
                 progress_html = gr.HTML("""
                 <div style='padding: 10px; font-size: 14px;'>
@@ -377,6 +385,143 @@ def create_chat_interface():
     return interface
 
 
+def create_settings_tab():
+    """Create the settings configuration tab"""
+    gr.Markdown("## ⚙️ Configuration Settings")
+    gr.Markdown("Configure your demo builder preferences")
+    
+    with gr.Row():
+        with gr.Column():
+            gr.Markdown("### 🤖 AI Settings")
+            
+            default_ai_model = gr.Dropdown(
+                label="Default AI Model",
+                choices=["claude-sonnet-4.5", "gpt-4o", "gpt-4o-mini", "gemini-1.5-pro"],
+                value="claude-sonnet-4.5",
+                info="Primary model for demo generation"
+            )
+            
+            temperature_slider = gr.Slider(
+                minimum=0.0,
+                maximum=1.0,
+                value=0.3,
+                step=0.1,
+                label="Temperature",
+                info="Controls randomness (lower = more focused)"
+            )
+            
+            max_tokens = gr.Number(
+                value=4000,
+                label="Max Tokens",
+                info="Maximum tokens for AI responses"
+            )
+            
+        with gr.Column():
+            gr.Markdown("### 🎯 Default Values")
+            
+            default_company_url = gr.Textbox(
+                label="Default Company URL",
+                placeholder="https://example.com",
+                info="Pre-fill company for faster starts"
+            )
+            
+            default_use_case = gr.Dropdown(
+                label="Default Use Case",
+                choices=[
+                    "Sales Analytics",
+                    "Supply Chain",
+                    "Customer Analytics",
+                    "Financial Analytics",
+                    "Marketing Analytics",
+                    "Retail Analytics"
+                ],
+                value="Sales Analytics",
+                info="Your most common use case"
+            )
+            
+            default_data_volume = gr.Dropdown(
+                label="Default Data Volume",
+                choices=["Small (1K rows)", "Medium (10K rows)", "Large (50K rows)"],
+                value="Medium (10K rows)",
+                info="Default amount of demo data"
+            )
+    
+    with gr.Row():
+        with gr.Column():
+            gr.Markdown("### ❄️ Snowflake Settings")
+            
+            default_warehouse = gr.Textbox(
+                label="Default Warehouse",
+                value="COMPUTE_WH",
+                info="Snowflake warehouse for demos"
+            )
+            
+            default_database = gr.Textbox(
+                label="Default Database",
+                value="DEMO_DB",
+                info="Snowflake database for demos"
+            )
+            
+        with gr.Column():
+            gr.Markdown("### 📊 ThoughtSpot Settings")
+            
+            ts_instance_url = gr.Textbox(
+                label="ThoughtSpot URL",
+                placeholder="https://your-instance.thoughtspot.cloud",
+                info="Your ThoughtSpot instance"
+            )
+            
+            ts_username = gr.Textbox(
+                label="ThoughtSpot Username",
+                placeholder="your.email@company.com",
+                info="Your ThoughtSpot login"
+            )
+    
+    with gr.Accordion("🔧 Advanced Settings", open=False):
+        with gr.Row():
+            batch_size = gr.Slider(
+                minimum=1000,
+                maximum=50000,
+                value=5000,
+                step=1000,
+                label="Batch Size",
+                info="Rows per batch for bulk operations"
+            )
+            
+            thread_count = gr.Slider(
+                minimum=1,
+                maximum=16,
+                value=4,
+                step=1,
+                label="Thread Count",
+                info="Parallel threads for data generation"
+            )
+    
+    with gr.Row():
+        save_settings_btn = gr.Button("💾 Save Settings", variant="primary", size="lg")
+        reset_settings_btn = gr.Button("🔄 Reset to Defaults", size="lg")
+    
+    settings_status = gr.Markdown("")
+    
+    def save_settings_handler(*args):
+        return "✅ Settings saved successfully! (Feature coming soon)"
+    
+    def reset_settings_handler():
+        return "🔄 Settings reset to defaults! (Feature coming soon)"
+    
+    save_settings_btn.click(
+        fn=save_settings_handler,
+        inputs=[],
+        outputs=[settings_status]
+    )
+    
+    reset_settings_btn.click(
+        fn=reset_settings_handler,
+        inputs=[],
+        outputs=[settings_status]
+    )
+
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     """Launch the chat interface standalone"""
     print("🚀 Starting Chat-Based Demo Builder...")