Dashboard loading states

src/components/sections/DashboardWorkspace.jsx

@@ -102,6 +102,20 @@ const EXAMPLE_PROMPTS = [
   { icon: Layers, title: 'Business overview', prompt: 'Build a dashboard with the most important KPIs and a couple of charts summarizing overall business health.' },
 ]
 
+// Rotates under the real live step while a build is in flight — genuine,
+// shippped-feature facts (not filler), so the wait teaches something instead
+// of just decorating it. Kept short; the real step above stays the primary line.
+const BUILD_TIPS = [
+  'Every query is verified against your real data before it ever reaches the screen.',
+  'Dashboards run read-only — the agent can look, never write.',
+  'Ask to add a chart or change a metric any time — it edits in place.',
+  'Every save keeps a version history, so you can always roll back a change.',
+  'Publish a dashboard to get a read-only link — no login required to view it.',
+  'Turn any dashboard into a TV/kiosk view that auto-refreshes on a wall display.',
+  'Set a plain-English alert and DeepSQL checks it on a schedule for you.',
+  'Duplicate a dashboard to branch it without touching the original.',
+]
+
 // Focused, chrome-less builder. Left = the agent (generate / refine); main = the
 // live dashboard canvas. The DeepSQL logo and breadcrumb return to the gallery.
 //
@@ -234,6 +248,17 @@ export default function DashboardWorkspace({ connectionId, dashboard, onClose })
 
   useEffect(() => { if (scrollRef.current) scrollRef.current.scrollTop = scrollRef.current.scrollHeight }, [messages, thinking])
 
+  // Rotates BUILD_TIPS while the main canvas shows the "Building…" state, so a
+  // 15-30s wait has something changing on screen beyond the elapsed-time
+  // ticker. Starts at a random index (not always the same first tip) and
+  // resets once the build ends so the next one starts fresh.
+  const [tipIndex, setTipIndex] = useState(() => Math.floor(Math.random() * BUILD_TIPS.length))
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!thinking) return undefined
+    const id = setInterval(() => setTipIndex((i) => (i + 1) % BUILD_TIPS.length), 3500)
+    return () => clearInterval(id)
+  }, [thinking])
+
   const refreshNow = useCallback(() => {
     artifactRef.current?.reload()
     setLastRefreshedAt(Date.now())
@@ -891,17 +916,25 @@ export default function DashboardWorkspace({ connectionId, dashboard, onClose })
                 )}
               </div>
             </>
-          ) : (
+          ) : thinking ? (
             <div className={styles.newCanvas}>
               <div className={styles.newCanvasInner}>
-                <span className={styles.newIcon}><Sparkles size={22} color="#534AB7" /></span>
-                <h2 className={styles.newTitle}>{thinking ? 'Building your dashboard…' : 'Nothing built here yet'}</h2>
+                <span className={styles.newIconPulse}><Sparkles size={22} color="#534AB7" /></span>
+                <h2 className={styles.newTitle}>Building your dashboard…</h2>
                 <p className={styles.newSub}>
-                  {thinking
-                    ? 'The agent is grounding on your schema and verifying every query — this usually takes a bit.'
-                    : 'This dashboard doesn’t have a build yet — the chat on the left may just be planning so far. Ask for a chart to get started.'}
+                  {steps.length > 0 ? steps[steps.length - 1].message : 'Grounding on your schema and verifying every query…'}
+                  <span className={styles.buildElapsed}> · {elapsed}s</span>
                 </p>
-                {!thinking && <button className={styles.backLink} onClick={onClose}><ChevronLeft size={14} /> Back to dashboards</button>}
+                <p key={tipIndex} className={styles.buildTip}>{BUILD_TIPS[tipIndex]}</p>
+              </div>
+            </div>
+          ) : (
+            <div className={styles.newCanvas}>
+              <div className={styles.newCanvasInner}>
+                <span className={styles.newIcon}><Sparkles size={22} color="#534AB7" /></span>
+                <h2 className={styles.newTitle}>Nothing built here yet</h2>
+                <p className={styles.newSub}>This dashboard doesn’t have a build yet — the chat on the left may just be planning so far. Ask for a chart to get started.</p>
+                <button className={styles.backLink} onClick={onClose}><ChevronLeft size={14} /> Back to dashboards</button>
               </div>
             </div>
           )}

src/components/sections/DashboardWorkspace.module.css

@@ -1243,9 +1243,58 @@
   box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(83, 74, 183, 0.08);
 }
 
+/* Same shape as .newIcon, but alive while a build is in flight — a static
+   sparkle here reads as frozen given the sidebar's own trace is animating. */
+.newIconPulse {
+  width: 52px;
+  height: 52px;
+  border-radius: 14px;
+  background: #EEEDFE;
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: center;
+  margin-bottom: 4px;
+  box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(83, 74, 183, 0.08);
+  animation: dsqlBuildPulse 1.8s ease-in-out infinite;
+}
+
+@keyframes dsqlBuildPulse {
+  0%, 100% { transform: scale(1); box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(83, 74, 183, 0.08), 0 0 0 0 rgba(83, 74, 183, 0.18); }
+  50% { transform: scale(1.06); box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(83, 74, 183, 0.08), 0 0 0 10px rgba(83, 74, 183, 0); }
+}
+
+@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
+  .newIconPulse { animation: none; }
+}
+
 .newTitle { font-size: 19px; font-weight: 650; letter-spacing: -0.014em; color: #111; margin: 0; }
 .newSub { font-size: 13px; color: #777; max-width: 380px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0; }
 
+.buildElapsed { color: #a3a3a3; font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums; }
+
+/* Rotates every few seconds (see BUILD_TIPS) — the `key={tipIndex}` on the
+   element itself retriggers this fade-in each time the tip text changes. */
+.buildTip {
+  margin: 18px 0 0;
+  padding: 10px 16px;
+  max-width: 420px;
+  font-size: 12.5px;
+  line-height: 1.55;
+  color: #534AB7;
+  background: #F5F3FF;
+  border-radius: 10px;
+  animation: dsqlTipIn 320ms cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.8, 0.2, 1);
+}
+
+@keyframes dsqlTipIn {
+  from { opacity: 0; transform: translateY(4px); }
+  to { opacity: 1; transform: none; }
+}
+
+@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
+  .buildTip { animation: none; }
+}
+
 .exampleGrid {
   display: grid;
   grid-template-columns: repeat(2, minmax(0, 1fr));

src/components/sections/DashboardsHome.jsx

@@ -50,9 +50,19 @@ function Thumb({ id }) {
   )
 }
 
+// Placeholder count for the initial-load skeleton — enough to fill a typical
+// viewport width without over-committing to a specific grid density.
+const SKELETON_COUNT = 8
+
 export default function DashboardsHome({ connectionId, onOpen }) {
   const [dashboards, setDashboards] = useState([])
-  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(false)
+  // Starts true (not false) so the very first render — before the fetch effect
+  // has even run — shows the loading skeleton, not the "No dashboards yet"
+  // empty state. Without this, dashboards.length === 0 && !loading was
+  // momentarily true on every mount, flashing the empty state before the real
+  // list (or genuine empty state) landed a beat later.
+  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true)
+  const [hasLoadedOnce, setHasLoadedOnce] = useState(false)
   const [filter, setFilter] = useState('all')
   const [folder, setFolder] = useState(null) // null = all folders
   const [search, setSearch] = useState('')
@@ -161,9 +171,14 @@ export default function DashboardsHome({ connectionId, onOpen }) {
       setDashboards([])
     } finally {
       setLoading(false)
+      setHasLoadedOnce(true)
     }
   }, [connectionId])
 
+  // Switching connections must re-show the skeleton, not the previous
+  // connection's cards (or a premature "no dashboards" for the new one) while
+  // the new fetch is in flight.
+  useEffect(() => { setHasLoadedOnce(false); setLoading(true) }, [connectionId])
   useEffect(() => { load() }, [load])
 
   const folders = useMemo(() => {
@@ -241,7 +256,19 @@ export default function DashboardsHome({ connectionId, onOpen }) {
         ))}
       </div>
 
-      {!loading && dashboards.length === 0 ? (
+      {!hasLoadedOnce ? (
+        <div className={styles.grid}>
+          {Array.from({ length: SKELETON_COUNT }, (_, i) => (
+            <div key={i} className={styles.skeletonCard}>
+              <div className={styles.skeletonThumb} />
+              <div className={styles.skeletonBody}>
+                <div className={styles.skeletonLine} style={{ width: '60%' }} />
+                <div className={styles.skeletonLine} style={{ width: '35%' }} />
+              </div>
+            </div>
+          ))}
+        </div>
+      ) : dashboards.length === 0 ? (
         <div className={styles.emptyState}>
           <span className={styles.emptyIcon}><LayoutDashboard size={22} /></span>
           <h2 className={styles.emptyTitle}>No dashboards yet</h2>

src/components/sections/DashboardsHome.module.css

@@ -398,6 +398,47 @@
   color: #999;
 }
 
+/* Initial-load placeholder — mirrors .card's shape (thumb + body) so the grid
+   doesn't jump when real cards replace these. */
+.skeletonCard {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  border: 1px solid #ececec;
+  border-radius: 14px;
+  background: #fff;
+  overflow: hidden;
+}
+
+.skeletonThumb {
+  height: 108px;
+  background: linear-gradient(180deg, #fbfaff 0%, #fafafa 100%);
+  border-bottom: 1px solid #f0f0f0;
+}
+
+.skeletonBody {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  gap: 8px;
+  padding: 14px;
+}
+
+.skeletonLine {
+  height: 11px;
+  border-radius: 5px;
+  background: linear-gradient(90deg, #eee 25%, #f5f5f5 50%, #eee 75%);
+  background-size: 200% 100%;
+  animation: dsqlshimmer 1.4s ease-in-out infinite;
+}
+
+@keyframes dsqlshimmer {
+  from { background-position: 200% 0; }
+  to { background-position: -200% 0; }
+}
+
+@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
+  .skeletonLine { animation: none; background: #eee; }
+}
+
 .ctaCard {
   display: flex;
   flex-direction: column;