Real URL routes per lane: /w/<lane> optional catch-all, shallow history navigation with popstate sync, sidebar items become real links (middle/ctrl-click friendly)

Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>

Author: Your Name

app/about/page.tsx

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ export default function AboutPage() {
           <span className="mx-2" aria-hidden>·</span>
           <Link href="/auth" className="text-med-brand hover:underline">Sign in</Link>
           <span className="mx-2" aria-hidden>·</span>
-          <span>Aletheia Research OS · v3</span>
+          <span>Aletheia Research OS · v4</span>
         </footer>
       </main>
     </div>

app/w/[[...lane]]/page.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+"use client";
+
+import dynamic from "next/dynamic";
+import { useParams } from "next/navigation";
+import { DisclaimerGate } from "@/components/DisclaimerGate";
+
+const WorkspaceApp = dynamic(() => import("@/components/WorkspaceApp"), {
+  ssr: false,
+  loading: () => (
+    <div className="min-h-screen bg-med-bg flex items-center justify-center">
+      <p className="text-sm text-med-sub">Loading workspace…</p>
+    </div>
+  ),
+});
+
+/**
+ * Real URL routes for every workspace lane: /w/<lane> (e.g. /w/methods,
+ * /w/journal-finder). The workspace itself stays a single mounted app —
+ * lane changes are shallow history updates, so drafts and scroll state
+ * survive navigation while URLs stay shareable and bookmarkable.
+ */
+export default function WorkspaceLanePage() {
+  const params = useParams<{ lane?: string[] }>();
+  const lane = Array.isArray(params?.lane) ? params.lane[0] : undefined;
+  return (
+    <DisclaimerGate>
+      <WorkspaceApp initialLane={lane} />
+    </DisclaimerGate>
+  );
+}

components/LifecycleNavigation.tsx

@@ -51,6 +51,39 @@ export type LifecycleKey =
   | "announcements"
   | "about";
 
+/** Every routable lane key — used to validate /w/<lane> URLs. */
+export const LANE_KEYS: LifecycleKey[] = [
+  "overview",
+  "launch",
+  "protocol",
+  "type",
+  "title",
+  "literature",
+  "introduction",
+  "methods",
+  "results",
+  "discussion",
+  "conclusion",
+  "references",
+  "appendix",
+  "journal-finder",
+  "pipeline",
+  "submission",
+  "club",
+  "review",
+  "library",
+  "toolkit",
+  "skills",
+  "impact-studio",
+  "export",
+  "announcements",
+  "about",
+];
+
+export function isLaneKey(k: string | undefined | null): k is LifecycleKey {
+  return !!k && (LANE_KEYS as string[]).includes(k);
+}
+
 type PhaseName =
   | "Platform"
   | "Pre-Research"
@@ -207,15 +240,18 @@ export function LifecycleNavigation({
                 {items.map((item) => {
                   const isActive = active === item.key;
                   return (
-                    <button
+                    <a
                       key={item.key}
-                      type="button"
-                      onClick={() => {
+                      href={`/w/${item.key}`}
+                      onClick={(e) => {
+                        // Real link (middle/ctrl-click works); left-click stays in-app.
+                        if (e.metaKey || e.ctrlKey || e.shiftKey || e.button !== 0) return;
+                        e.preventDefault();
                         trackFeature(`panel:${item.key}`);
                         onSelect(item.key);
                       }}
                       aria-current={isActive ? "page" : undefined}
-                      className={`relative w-full text-left rounded-lg pl-3.5 pr-2.5 py-2 text-[13px] transition ${
+                      className={`relative block w-full text-left rounded-lg pl-3.5 pr-2.5 py-2 text-[13px] transition ${
                         isActive
                           ? `${theme.activeClass} font-semibold`
                           : "text-[var(--mc-ink-700)] hover:bg-slate-50"
@@ -228,7 +264,7 @@ export function LifecycleNavigation({
                         />
                       )}
                       {item.label}
-                    </button>
+                    </a>
                   );
                 })}
               </div>

components/WorkspaceApp.tsx

@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 "use client";
 
 import dynamic from "next/dynamic";
-import { useEffect, useState } from "react";
-import { LifecycleNavigation, type LifecycleKey } from "@/components/LifecycleNavigation";
+import { useCallback, useEffect, useState } from "react";
+import { LifecycleNavigation, isLaneKey, type LifecycleKey } from "@/components/LifecycleNavigation";
 import { WorkspaceHeader } from "@/components/WorkspaceHeader";
 import { ResearchLaunch } from "@/components/ResearchLaunch";
 import { FounderContact } from "@/components/FounderContact";
@@ -121,9 +121,28 @@ const LibraryNavigator = dynamic(
   { loading: RouteSkeleton, ssr: false },
 );
 
-export default function WorkspaceApp() {
+export default function WorkspaceApp({ initialLane }: { initialLane?: string }) {
   const { project, setProject, update, ready, autosave } = useProject();
-  const [active, setActive] = useState<LifecycleKey>("launch");
+  const [active, setActiveInternal] = useState<LifecycleKey>(
+    isLaneKey(initialLane) ? initialLane : "launch",
+  );
+
+  /** Lane change = shallow URL update, so every lane has a real, shareable URL. */
+  const setActive = useCallback((k: LifecycleKey) => {
+    setActiveInternal(k);
+    if (typeof window !== "undefined" && window.location.pathname !== `/w/${k}`) {
+      window.history.pushState(null, "", `/w/${k}`);
+    }
+  }, []);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const onPop = () => {
+      const m = window.location.pathname.match(/^\/w\/([\w-]+)/);
+      setActiveInternal(m && isLaneKey(m[1]) ? (m[1] as LifecycleKey) : "launch");
+    };
+    window.addEventListener("popstate", onPop);
+    return () => window.removeEventListener("popstate", onPop);
+  }, []);
 
   useEffect(() => {
     if (!ready) return;