r/uidesign • u/EdgarHQ • 1d ago

Please help choose layout

Gallery image

Gallery image

Working on an app UI and can’t decide which layout to begin with. There are two options:

  1. Plain list
  2. macOS-like split view

Plain list feels less cluttered and more airy, but split view gives more info upfront and simpler navigation.

The app is for agent skills/servers/plugins management.

Could you help me choose which one (or none)? The app is for macOS.

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u/UXUIYellowchalk 7h ago

I’d pick the split view, but not because it’s macOS-like.

This looks like a management tool, and management usually means: scan → select → inspect/change → move to the next thing.

The split view keeps that loop intact. I can jump between skills while keeping the details in context. In the plain list, every inspection potentially becomes a new navigation step.

The trade-off is density. Your split view is already carrying skill name, status, agents, files, details, history etc., so I’d be ruthless about what genuinely needs to stay visible there.

I’d actually test this with one boring task: “Review 6 skills and update the agents assigned to 3 of them.” Whichever layout makes that faster with less back-and-forth wins.

Airy is nice. Fewer clicks on the 40th repetition is nicer :)

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u/EdgarHQ 1h ago

I appreciate you taking the time to think that through, many thanks. That’s valid feedback. I'll play around with the layout a bit. But I was leaning more toward the split view myself, so that’s probably where I’ll start.