From 52c06b8759eed97b2335e1046b3d7c8e4ddafb81 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Eric Traut <etraut@openai.com>
Date: Mon, 27 Apr 2026 13:40:46 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] Preserve TUI markdown list spacing after code blocks (#19706)
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## Why

Fixes #19702.

The TUI markdown renderer could visually attach the next list marker to
a fenced code block inside the previous list item, even when the source
markdown included a blank line before the next item. That made
block-heavy loose lists harder to read, while the desired behavior is
still to keep simple lists compact.

## What changed

- Track whether the current rendered list item contains a code block.
- Preserve one blank separator before the following list marker only
when the previous item contained a code block.
- Add regression coverage for both paths: code-block list items keep the
separator, and simple loose list items stay compact.

## Verification

- `cargo test -p codex-tui markdown_render`

I also manually verified that the bug exists before and is fixed after.

## Before
<img width="437" height="240" alt="Screenshot 2026-04-26 at 1 19 01 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/3bc9d64d-2dba-40d9-9d6b-a1d0b3c0f728"
/>

## After
<img width="410" height="269" alt="Screenshot 2026-04-26 at 1 18 54 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/19c15bee-da32-455e-a7cb-e05eb85f4ea0"
/>
---
 codex-rs/tui/src/markdown_render.rs           | 23 ++++++++
 codex-rs/tui/src/markdown_render_tests.rs     | 52 +++++++++++++++++++
 ...fter_code_block_keeps_blank_separator.snap |  9 ++++
 3 files changed, 84 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 codex-rs/tui/src/snapshots/codex_tui__markdown_render__markdown_render_tests__list_item_after_code_block_keeps_blank_separator.snap

diff --git a/codex-rs/tui/src/markdown_render.rs b/codex-rs/tui/src/markdown_render.rs
index ae680f5db..3dfef1d9d 100644
--- a/codex-rs/tui/src/markdown_render.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/tui/src/markdown_render.rs
@@ -154,6 +154,8 @@ where
     inline_styles: Vec<Style>,
     indent_stack: Vec<IndentContext>,
     list_indices: Vec<Option<u64>>,
+    list_needs_blank_before_next_item: Vec<bool>,
+    list_item_contains_code_block: Vec<bool>,
     link: Option<LinkState>,
     needs_newline: bool,
     pending_marker_line: bool,
@@ -184,6 +186,8 @@ where
             inline_styles: Vec::new(),
             indent_stack: Vec::new(),
             list_indices: Vec::new(),
+            list_needs_blank_before_next_item: Vec::new(),
+            list_item_contains_code_block: Vec::new(),
             link: None,
             needs_newline: false,
             pending_marker_line: false,
@@ -292,6 +296,11 @@ where
             TagEnd::CodeBlock => self.end_codeblock(),
             TagEnd::List(_) => self.end_list(),
             TagEnd::Item => {
+                if self.list_item_contains_code_block.pop().unwrap_or(false)
+                    && let Some(needs_blank) = self.list_needs_blank_before_next_item.last_mut()
+                {
+                    *needs_blank = true;
+                }
                 self.indent_stack.pop();
                 self.pending_marker_line = false;
             }
@@ -476,15 +485,26 @@ where
             self.push_line(Line::default());
         }
         self.list_indices.push(index);
+        self.list_needs_blank_before_next_item.push(false);
     }
 
     fn end_list(&mut self) {
         self.list_indices.pop();
+        self.list_needs_blank_before_next_item.pop();
         self.needs_newline = true;
     }
 
     fn start_item(&mut self) {
+        if self
+            .list_needs_blank_before_next_item
+            .last_mut()
+            .map(std::mem::take)
+            .unwrap_or(false)
+        {
+            self.push_blank_line();
+        }
         self.pending_marker_line = true;
+        self.list_item_contains_code_block.push(false);
         let depth = self.list_indices.len();
         let is_ordered = self
             .list_indices
@@ -524,6 +544,9 @@ where
     }
 
     fn start_codeblock(&mut self, lang: Option<String>, indent: Option<Span<'static>>) {
+        for item_contains_code_block in &mut self.list_item_contains_code_block {
+            *item_contains_code_block = true;
+        }
         self.flush_current_line();
         if !self.text.lines.is_empty() {
             self.push_blank_line();
diff --git a/codex-rs/tui/src/markdown_render_tests.rs b/codex-rs/tui/src/markdown_render_tests.rs
index 850d34385..cb15c5ff7 100644
--- a/codex-rs/tui/src/markdown_render_tests.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/tui/src/markdown_render_tests.rs
@@ -15,6 +15,18 @@ fn render_markdown_text_for_cwd(input: &str, cwd: &Path) -> Text<'static> {
     render_markdown_text_with_width_and_cwd(input, /*width*/ None, Some(cwd))
 }
 
+fn plain_lines(text: &Text<'_>) -> Vec<String> {
+    text.lines
+        .iter()
+        .map(|line| {
+            line.spans
+                .iter()
+                .map(|span| span.content.clone())
+                .collect::<String>()
+        })
+        .collect()
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn empty() {
     assert_eq!(render_markdown_text(""), Text::default());
@@ -1128,6 +1140,46 @@ fn code_block_inside_unordered_list_item_multiple_lines() {
     assert_eq!(lines, vec!["- Item", "", "  first", "  second"]);
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn list_item_after_code_block_keeps_blank_separator() {
+    let md = "1. First:\n\n   ```rust\n   fn first() {}\n   ```\n\n2. Second:\n";
+    let text = render_markdown_text(md);
+    let lines = plain_lines(&text);
+    assert_eq!(
+        lines,
+        vec!["1. First:", "", "   fn first() {}", "", "2. Second:"]
+    );
+    assert_snapshot!(
+        "list_item_after_code_block_keeps_blank_separator",
+        lines.join("\n")
+    );
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn outer_list_item_after_nested_code_block_keeps_blank_separator() {
+    let md = "1. First:\n   - Nested:\n\n     ```rust\n     fn first() {}\n     ```\n\n2. Second:\n";
+    let text = render_markdown_text(md);
+    let lines = plain_lines(&text);
+    assert_eq!(
+        lines,
+        vec![
+            "1. First:",
+            "    - Nested:",
+            "",
+            "      fn first() {}",
+            "",
+            "2. Second:",
+        ]
+    );
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn list_item_after_simple_item_stays_compact() {
+    let md = "1. First\n\n2. Second\n";
+    let text = render_markdown_text(md);
+    assert_eq!(plain_lines(&text), vec!["1. First", "2. Second"]);
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn markdown_render_complex_snapshot() {
     let md = r#"# H1: Markdown Streaming Test
diff --git a/codex-rs/tui/src/snapshots/codex_tui__markdown_render__markdown_render_tests__list_item_after_code_block_keeps_blank_separator.snap b/codex-rs/tui/src/snapshots/codex_tui__markdown_render__markdown_render_tests__list_item_after_code_block_keeps_blank_separator.snap
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d5cb31a6b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/codex-rs/tui/src/snapshots/codex_tui__markdown_render__markdown_render_tests__list_item_after_code_block_keeps_blank_separator.snap
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+---
+source: tui/src/markdown_render_tests.rs
+expression: "lines.join(\"\\n\")"
+---
+1. First:
+
+   fn first() {}
+
+2. Second: