Verdict first
Recommendation: Adopt MediaStyle. The persistent foreground notification is already required to keep WebViews alive. MediaStyle turns it from a dead status bar icon into a functional control surface — no extra permissions, no new background work, just richer notification layout. 3 action buttons is the right number: the system limits 5 visible, but 3 keeps it scannable. Proposed actions: Focus pane, Reload all, Close Argus.
Before / After — notification shade
Current — simple persistent notification
9:41
Argus
Argus — 3 panes active
Tap to open
now
Gmail
3 new messages
Functional but wasted real estate. The notification is always visible (foreground service requirement) but does nothing beyond telling you Argus is alive.
Proposed — MediaStyle with 3 actions Recommended
9:41
3 panes active
kpmg — generating
vs-code-custom
Argus
Focus pane
Reload all
Close
Gmail
3 new messages
MediaStyle surfaces session state (pulsing dot + current task) and 3 quick actions without opening the app. "Close Argus" tinted red makes destructive intent clear.
MediaStyle content mapping
setContentTitle
"N panes active" — updated when pane count changes.
setContentText
Live session status: "kpmg — generating · vs-code-custom" — polled from /argus-api/sessions every 5s.
setLargeIcon
48×48dp version of the 3-pane glyph as a bitmap. No photo — we're not actually media, so the "art" slot gets the brand icon.
3 Actions
addAction: Focus pane (opens drawer scroll to Active Panes) · Reload all · Close Argus (stopSelf on service). System limits 5; we use 3 for clarity.
Lock screen treatment
Lock screen (VISIBILITY_PUBLIC)
9:41
9:41
Tuesday, May 12
3 panes active
kpmg — generating
Lock screen uses VISIBILITY_PUBLIC — shows full content. Since this is personal-use single-user hardware, no sensitive data is exposed. No lock-screen-specific content hiding needed.
Action buttons are NOT shown on the lock screen (system behavior). Only title + subtitle + art. Tapping opens Argus behind biometric prompt (since biometric lock is enabled).
Implementation notes
// In ArgusNotificationService
val style = NotificationCompat
.MediaStyle()
.setShowActionsInCompactView(0, 1)
NotificationCompat.Builder(...)
.setStyle(style)
.setContentTitle("3 panes active")
.setContentText(sessionSummary)
.setLargeIcon(argusArtBitmap)
.addAction(focusPaneAction)
.addAction(reloadAction)
.addAction(closeAction)
.setVisibility(
NotificationCompat.VISIBILITY_PUBLIC
)
val style = NotificationCompat
.MediaStyle()
.setShowActionsInCompactView(0, 1)
NotificationCompat.Builder(...)
.setStyle(style)
.setContentTitle("3 panes active")
.setContentText(sessionSummary)
.setLargeIcon(argusArtBitmap)
.addAction(focusPaneAction)
.addAction(reloadAction)
.addAction(closeAction)
.setVisibility(
NotificationCompat.VISIBILITY_PUBLIC
)
setShowActionsInCompactView(0, 1) pins Focus + Reload as the compact view actions — always visible in the status bar pulldown without expanding. Close is expand-only since it's destructive.