From b7fec54354096e3c1884de67b8f2ffbdf836f63e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Eric Traut <etraut@openai.com>
Date: Tue, 21 Apr 2026 10:13:13 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] Queue follow-up input during user shell commands (#18820)

Fixes #17954.

## Why
When a manual shell command like `!sleep 10` is running, submitting
plain text such as `hi` currently sends that text as a steer for the
active shell turn. User shell turns are not steerable like model turns,
so the TUI can remain stuck in `Working` after the shell command
finishes.

## What Changed
- Detect when the only active work is one or more
`ExecCommandSource::UserShell` commands.
- Queue plain submitted input in that state so it drains after the shell
command and shell turn complete.
- Preserve `!cmd` submissions during running work so explicit shell
commands keep their existing behavior.
- Add regression coverage for the `!sleep 10` plus `hi` flow in
`chatwidget::tests::exec_flow::user_message_during_user_shell_command_is_queued_not_steered`.

## Verification
- Manually confirmed hang before the fix and no hang after the fix
---
 codex-rs/tui/src/chatwidget.rs                | 15 ++++++
 .../tui/src/chatwidget/tests/exec_flow.rs     | 52 +++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 67 insertions(+)

diff --git a/codex-rs/tui/src/chatwidget.rs b/codex-rs/tui/src/chatwidget.rs
index 860846f28..d226fa3c8 100644
--- a/codex-rs/tui/src/chatwidget.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/tui/src/chatwidget.rs
@@ -5411,6 +5411,12 @@ impl ChatWidget {
                         let should_submit_now =
                             self.is_session_configured() && !self.is_plan_streaming_in_tui();
                         if should_submit_now {
+                            if self.only_user_shell_commands_running()
+                                && !user_message.text.starts_with('!')
+                            {
+                                self.queue_user_message(user_message);
+                                return;
+                            }
                             // Submitted is emitted when user submits.
                             // Reset any reasoning header only when we are actually submitting a turn.
                             self.reasoning_buffer.clear();
@@ -7476,6 +7482,15 @@ impl ChatWidget {
         self.user_turn_pending_start || self.bottom_pane.is_task_running()
     }
 
+    fn only_user_shell_commands_running(&self) -> bool {
+        self.agent_turn_running
+            && !self.running_commands.is_empty()
+            && self
+                .running_commands
+                .values()
+                .all(|command| command.source == ExecCommandSource::UserShell)
+    }
+
     /// Rebuild and update the bottom-pane pending-input preview.
     fn refresh_pending_input_preview(&mut self) {
         let queued_messages: Vec<String> = self
diff --git a/codex-rs/tui/src/chatwidget/tests/exec_flow.rs b/codex-rs/tui/src/chatwidget/tests/exec_flow.rs
index 9f181d3d2..04a5fa44b 100644
--- a/codex-rs/tui/src/chatwidget/tests/exec_flow.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/tui/src/chatwidget/tests/exec_flow.rs
@@ -1036,6 +1036,58 @@ async fn bang_shell_enter_while_task_running_submits_run_user_shell_command() {
     assert_matches!(rx.try_recv(), Err(TryRecvError::Empty));
 }
 
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn user_message_during_user_shell_command_is_queued_not_steered() {
+    let (mut chat, _rx, mut op_rx) = make_chatwidget_manual(/*model_override*/ None).await;
+    chat.thread_id = Some(ThreadId::new());
+    chat.handle_codex_event(Event {
+        id: "turn-start".into(),
+        msg: EventMsg::TurnStarted(TurnStartedEvent {
+            turn_id: "turn-1".to_string(),
+            started_at: None,
+            model_context_window: None,
+            collaboration_mode_kind: ModeKind::Default,
+        }),
+    });
+    let begin = begin_exec_with_source(
+        &mut chat,
+        "user-shell-sleep",
+        "sleep 10",
+        ExecCommandSource::UserShell,
+    );
+
+    assert!(chat.only_user_shell_commands_running());
+    chat.bottom_pane
+        .set_composer_text("hi".to_string(), Vec::new(), Vec::new());
+    chat.handle_key_event(KeyEvent::new(KeyCode::Enter, KeyModifiers::NONE));
+
+    assert_matches!(op_rx.try_recv(), Err(TryRecvError::Empty));
+    assert_eq!(chat.queued_user_message_texts(), vec!["hi".to_string()]);
+
+    end_exec(&mut chat, begin, "", "", /*exit_code*/ 0);
+    chat.handle_codex_event(Event {
+        id: "turn-complete".into(),
+        msg: EventMsg::TurnComplete(TurnCompleteEvent {
+            turn_id: "turn-1".to_string(),
+            last_agent_message: Some("done".to_string()),
+            completed_at: None,
+            duration_ms: None,
+        }),
+    });
+
+    match next_submit_op(&mut op_rx) {
+        Op::UserTurn { items, .. } => assert_eq!(
+            items,
+            vec![UserInput::Text {
+                text: "hi".to_string(),
+                text_elements: Vec::new(),
+            }]
+        ),
+        other => panic!("expected queued user message after shell completion, got {other:?}"),
+    }
+    assert!(chat.queued_user_messages.is_empty());
+}
+
 #[tokio::test]
 async fn disabled_slash_command_while_task_running_snapshot() {
     // Build a chat widget and simulate an active task