## Problem
OpenAI employees were sent to the public GitHub issue flow after
`/feedback`, which is the wrong follow-up path internally.
## Mental model
After feedback upload completes, we render a follow-up link/message.
That link should be audience-aware but must not change the upload
pipeline itself.
## Non-goals
- Changing how feedback is captured or uploaded
- Changing external user behavior
## Tradeoffs
We detect employees via the authenticated account email suffix
(`@openai.com`). If the email is unavailable (e.g., API key auth), we
default to the external behavior.
## Architecture
- Introduce `FeedbackAudience` and thread it from `App` -> `ChatWidget`
-> `FeedbackNoteView`
- Gate internal messaging/links on `FeedbackAudience::OpenAiEmployee`
- Internal follow-up link is now `http://go/codex-feedback-internal`
- External GitHub URL remains byte-for-byte identical
## Observability
No new telemetry; this only changes rendered follow-up instructions.
## Tests
- `just fmt`
- `cargo test -p codex-tui --lib`
## Summary
Adds a simple `/plan` slash command in the TUI that switches the active
collaboration mode to Plan mode. The command is only available when the
`collaboration_modes` feature is enabled.
## Changes
- Add `plan_mask` helper in `codex-rs/tui/src/collaboration_modes.rs`
- Add `SlashCommand::Plan` metadata in
`codex-rs/tui/src/slash_command.rs`
- Implement and hard-gate `/plan` dispatch in
`codex-rs/tui/src/chatwidget.rs`
- Hide `/plan` when collaboration modes are disabled in
`codex-rs/tui/src/bottom_pane/slash_commands.rs`
- Update command popup tests in
`codex-rs/tui/src/bottom_pane/command_popup.rs`
- Add a focused unit test for `/plan` in
`codex-rs/tui/src/chatwidget/tests.rs`
## Behavior notes
- `/plan` is now a no-op if `Feature::CollaborationModes` is disabled.
- When enabled, `/plan` switches directly to Plan mode without opening
the picker.
## Codex author
`codex resume 019c05da-d7c3-7322-ae2c-3ca38d0ef702`
An experimental flow for env var skill dependencies. Skills can now
declare required env vars in SKILL.md; if missing, the CLI prompts the
user to get the value, and Core will store it in memory (eventually to a
local persistent store)
<img width="790" height="169" alt="image"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/cd928918-9403-43cb-a7e7-b8d59bcccd9a"
/>
- [x] Support `/apps` slash command to browse the apps in tui.
- [x] Support inserting apps to prompt using `$`.
- [x] Lots of simplification/renaming from connectors to apps.
## Summary
Overhaul the ask‑user‑questions TUI to support “Other/None” answers,
better notes handling, improved option selection
UX, and a safer submission flow with confirmation for unanswered
questions.
Multiple choice (number keys for quick selection, up/down or jk for
cycling through options):
<img width="856" height="169" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-27 at 7 22 29 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/cabd1b0e-25e0-4859-bd8f-9941192ca274"
/>
Tab to add notes:
<img width="856" height="197" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-27 at 7 22 45 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/a807db5e-e966-412c-af91-6edc60062f35"
/>
Freeform (also note enter tooltip is highlighted on last question to
indicate questions UI will be exited upon submission):
<img width="854" height="112" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-27 at 7 23 13 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/2e7b88bf-062b-4b9f-a9da-c9d8c8a59643"
/>
Confirmation dialogue (submitting with unanswered questions):
<img width="854" height="126" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-27 at 7 23 29 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/93965c8f-54ac-45bc-a660-9625bcd101f8"
/>
## Key Changes
- **Options UI refresh**
- Render options as numbered entries; allow number keys to select &
submit.
- Remove “Option X/Y” header and allow the question UI height to expand
naturally.
- Keep spacing between question, options, and notes even when notes are
visible.
- Hide the title line and render the question prompt in cyan **only when
uncommitted**.
- **“Other / None of the above” support**
- Wire `isOther` to add “None of the above”.
- Add guidance text: “Optionally, add details in notes (tab).”
- **Notes composer UX**
- Remove “Notes” heading; place composer directly under the selected
option.
- Preserve pending paste placeholders across question navigation and
after submission.
- Ctrl+C clears notes **only when the notes composer has focus**.
- Ctrl+C now triggers an immediate redraw so the clear is visible.
- **Committed vs uncommitted state**
- Introduce a unified `answer_committed` flag per question.
- Editing notes (including adding text or pastes) marks the answer
uncommitted.
- Changing the option highlight (j/k, up/down) marks the answer
uncommitted.
- Clearing options (Backspace/Delete) also clears pending notes.
- Question prompt turns cyan only when the answer is uncommitted.
- **Submission safety & confirmation**
- Only submit notes/freeform text once explicitly committed.
- Last-question submit with unanswered questions shows a confirmation
dialog.
- Confirmation options:
1. **Proceed** (default)
2. **Go back**
- Description reflects count: “Submit with N unanswered question(s).”
- Esc/Backspace in confirmation returns to first unanswered question.
- Ctrl+C in confirmation interrupts and exits the overlay.
- **Footer hints**
- Cyan highlight restored for “enter to submit answer” / “enter to
submit all”.
## Codex author
`codex fork 019c00ed-323a-7000-bdb5-9f9c5a635bd9`
**Summary**
- Up/Down input history now restores image attachments and text elements
for local entries.
- Composer history stores rich local entries (text + text elements +
local image paths) while persistent history remains text-only.
- Added tests to verify history recall rehydrates image placeholders and
attachments in both `tui` and `tui2`.
**Changes**
- `tui/src/bottom_pane/chat_composer_history.rs`: store `HistoryEntry`
(text + elements + image paths) for local history; adapt navigation +
tests.
- `tui2/src/bottom_pane/chat_composer_history.rs`: same as above.
- `tui/src/bottom_pane/chat_composer.rs`: record rich history entries
and restore them on Up/Down; update Ctrl+C history and tests.
- `tui2/src/bottom_pane/chat_composer.rs`: same as above.
Fixes#9361
## Context
Split out from #9059 per review:
https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/9059#issuecomment-3757859033
## Summary
The shortcut overlay renders different paste-image bindings on WSL
(Ctrl+Alt+V) vs non-WSL (Ctrl+V), which makes snapshot tests
non-deterministic when run under WSL.
## Changes
- Gate WSL detection behind `cfg(not(test))` so snapshot tests are
deterministic across environments.
- Add a focused unit test that still asserts the WSL-specific
paste-image binding.
## Testing
- `just fmt`
- `just fix -p codex-tui`
- `just fix -p codex-tui2`
- `cargo test -p codex-tui`
- `cargo test -p codex-tui2`
## Summary
Polishes the `request_user_input` TUI overlay
Question 1 (unanswered)
<img width="853" height="167" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-27 at 1 30 09 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/3c305644-449e-4e8d-a47b-d689ebd8702c"
/>
Tab to add notes
<img width="856" height="198" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-27 at 1 30 25 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/0d2801b0-df0c-49ae-85af-e6d56fc2c67c"
/>
Question 2 (unanswered)
<img width="854" height="168" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-27 at 1 30 55 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/b3723062-51f9-49c9-a9ab-bb1b32964542"
/>
Ctrl+p or h to go back to q1 (answered)
<img width="853" height="195" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-27 at 1 31 27 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/c602f183-1c25-4c51-8f9f-e565cb6bd637"
/>
Unanswered freeform
<img width="856" height="126" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-27 at 1 31 42 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/7e3d9d8b-820b-4b9a-9ef2-4699eed484c5"
/>
## Key changes
- Footer tips wrap at tip boundaries (no truncation mid‑tip); footer
height scales to wrapped tips.
- Keep tooltip text as Esc: interrupt in all states.
- Make the full Tab: add notes tip cyan/bold when applicable; hide notes
UI by default.
- Notes toggling/backspace:
- Tab opens notes when an option is selected; Tab again clears notes and
hides the notes UI.
- Backspace in options clears the current selection.
- Backspace in empty notes closes notes and returns to options.
- Selection/answering behavior:
- Option questions highlight a default option but are not answered until
Enter.
- Enter no longer auto‑selects when there’s no selection (prevents
accidental answers).
- Notes submission can commit the selected option when present.
- Freeform questions require Enter with non‑empty text to mark answered;
drafts are not submitted unless committed.
- Unanswered cues:
- Skipped option questions count as unanswered.
- Unanswered question titles are highlighted for visibility.
- Typing/navigation in options:
- Typing no longer opens notes; notes are Tab‑only.
- j/k move option selection; h/l switch questions (Ctrl+n/Ctrl+p still
work).
## Tests
- Added unit coverage for:
- tip‑level wrapping
- focus reset when switching questions with existing drafts
- backspace clearing selection
- backspace closing empty notes
- typing in options does not open notes
- freeform draft submission gating
- h/l question navigation in options
- Updated snapshots, including narrow footer wrap.
## Why
These changes make the ask‑user‑question overlay:
- safer (no silent auto‑selection or accidental freeform submission),
- clearer (tips wrap cleanly and unanswered states stand out),
- more ergonomic (Tab explicitly controls notes; backspace acts like
undo/close).
## Codex author
`codex fork 019bfc3c-2c42-7982-9119-fee8b9315c2f`
---------
Co-authored-by: Ahmed Ibrahim <aibrahim@openai.com>
## Summary
Refines the bottom footer layout to keep `% context left` right-aligned
while making the left side degrade cleanly
## Behavior with empty textarea
Full width:
<img width="607" height="62" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-26 at 2 59 59 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/854f33b7-d714-40be-8840-a52eb3bda442"
/>
Less:
<img width="412" height="66" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-26 at 2 59 48 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/9c501788-c3a2-4b34-8f0b-8ec4395b44fe"
/>
Min width:
<img width="218" height="77" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-26 at 2 59 33 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/0bed2385-bdbf-4254-8ae4-ab3452243628"
/>
## Behavior with message in textarea and agent running (steer enabled)
Full width:
<img width="753" height="63" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-26 at 4 33 54 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/1856b352-914a-44cf-813d-1cb50c7f183b"
/>
Less:
<img width="353" height="61" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-26 at 4 30 12 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d951c4d5-f3e7-4116-8fe1-6a6c712b3d48"
/>
Less:
<img width="304" height="64" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-26 at 4 30 51 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/1433e994-5cbc-4e20-a98a-79eee13c8699"
/>
Less:
<img width="235" height="61" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-26 at 4 30 56 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/e216c3c6-84cd-40fc-ae4d-83bf28947f0e"
/>
Less:
<img width="165" height="59" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-26 at 4 31 08 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/027de5de-7185-47ce-b1cc-5363ea33d9b1"
/>
## Notes / Edge Cases
- In steer mode while typing, the queue hint no longer replaces the mode
label; it renders as `tab to queue message · {Mode}`.
- Collapse priorities differ by state:
- With the queue hint active, `% context left` is hidden before
shortening or dropping the queue hint.
- In the empty + non-running state, `? for shortcuts` is dropped first,
and `% context left` is only shown if `(shift+tab to
cycle)` can also fit.
- Transient instructional states (`?` overlay, Esc hint, Ctrl+C/D
reminders, and flash/override hints) intentionally suppress the
mode label (and context) to focus the next action.
## Implementation Notes
- Renamed the base footer modes to make the state explicit:
`ComposerEmpty` and `ComposerHasDraft`, and compute the base mode
directly from emptiness.
- Unified collapse behavior in `single_line_footer_layout` for both base
modes, with:
- Queue-hint behavior that prefers keeping the queue hint over context.
- A cycle-hint guard that prevents context from reappearing after
`(shift+tab to cycle)` is dropped.
- Kept rendering responsibilities explicit:
- `single_line_footer_layout` decides what fits.
- `render_footer_line` renders a chosen line.
- `render_footer_from_props` renders the canonical mode-to-text mapping.
- Expanded snapshot coverage:
- Added `footer_collapse_snapshots` in `chat_composer.rs` to lock the
distinct collapse states across widths.
- Consolidated the width-aware snapshot helper usage (e.g.,
`snapshot_composer_state_with_width`,
`snapshot_footer_with_mode_indicator`).
Reuse the shared chat composer for notes and freeform answers in
request_user_input.
- Build the overlay composer with ChatComposerConfig::plain_text.
- Wire paste-burst flushing + menu surface sizing through the bottom
pane.
We've recently standardized a [feature maturity
model](https://developers.openai.com/codex/feature-maturity) that we're
using in our docs and support forums to communicate expectations to
users. This PR updates the internal stage names and descriptions to
match.
This change involves a simple internal rename and updates to a few
user-visible strings. No functional change.
### Summary
Add `isOther` to question object from request_user_input tool input and
remove `other` option from the tool prompt to better handle tool input.
## Summary
Adds /personality selector in the TUI, which leverages the new core
interface in #9644
Notes:
- We are doing some of our own state management for model_info loading
here, but not sure if that's ideal. open to opinions on simpler
approach, but would like to avoid blocking on a larger refactor
- Right now, the `/personality` selector just hides when the model
doesn't support it. we can update this behavior down the line
## Testing
- [x] Tested locally
- [x] Added snapshot tests
**Summary**
- Prevent backspace from removing a text element when the cursor is at
the element’s left edge.
- Instead just delete the char before the placeholder (moving it to the
left).
**Summary**
- Backtrack selection now rehydrates `text_elements` and
`local_image_paths` from the chosen user history cell so Esc‑Esc history
edits preserve image placeholders and attachments.
- Composer prefill uses the preserved elements/attachments in both `tui`
and `tui2`.
- Extended backtrack selection tests to cover image placeholder elements
and local image paths.
**Changes**
- `tui/src/app_backtrack.rs`: Backtrack selection now carries text
elements + local image paths; composer prefill uses them (removes TODO).
- `tui2/src/app_backtrack.rs`: Same as above.
- `tui/src/app.rs`: Updated backtrack test to assert restored
elements/paths.
- `tui2/src/app.rs`: Same test updates.
### The original scope of this PR (threading text elements and image
attachments through the codex harness thoroughly/persistently) was
broken into the following PRs other than this one:
The diff of this PR was reduced by changing types in a starter PR:
https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/9235
Then text element metadata was added to protocol, app server, and core
in this PR: https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/9331
Then the end-to-end flow was completed by wiring TUI/TUI2 input,
history, and restore behavior in
https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/9393
Prompt expansion was supported in this PR:
https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/9518
TextElement optional placeholder field was protected in
https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/9545
## Summary
- hide the “(shift+tab to cycle)” suffix on the collaboration mode label
while a task is running
- keep the cycle hint visible when idle
- add a snapshot to cover the running-task label state
# Summary
- Add a collaboration mode indicator rendered at the bottom-right of the
TUI composer footer.
- Style modes per design (Plan in #D72EE1, Execute matching dim context
style, Pair Programming using the same cyan as text elements).
- Add shared “(shift+tab to cycle)” hint text for all mode labels and
align the indicator with the left footer margin.
NOTE: currently this is hidden if the Collaboration Modes feature flag
is disabled, or in Custom mode. Maybe we should show it in Custom mode
too? I'll leave that out of this PR though
# UI
- Mode indicator appears below the textarea, bottom-right of the footer
line.
- Includes “(shift+tab to cycle)” and keeps right padding aligned to the
left footer indent.
<img width="983" height="200" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-21 at 7 17 54 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d1c5e4ed-7d7b-4f6c-9e71-bc3cf6400e0e"
/>
<img width="980" height="200" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-21 at 7 18 53 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d22ff0da-a406-4930-85c5-affb2234e84b"
/>
<img width="979" height="201" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-21 at 7 19 12 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/862cb17f-0495-46fa-9b01-a4a9f29b52d5"
/>
## Summary
- Retire the experimental TUI2 implementation and its feature flag.
- Remove TUI2-only config/schema/docs so the CLI stays on the
terminal-native path.
- Keep docs aligned with the legacy TUI while we focus on redraw-based
improvements.
## Customer impact
- Retires the TUI2 experiment and keeps Codex on the proven
terminal-native UI while we invest in redraw-based improvements to the
existing experience.
## Migration / compatibility
- If you previously set tui2-related options in config.toml, they are
now ignored and Codex continues using the existing terminal-native TUI
(no action required).
## Context
- What worked: a transcript-owned viewport delivered excellent resize
rewrap and high-fidelity copy (especially for code).
- Why stop: making that experience feel fully native across the
environment matrix (terminal emulator, OS, input modality, multiplexer,
font/theme, alt-screen behavior) creates a combinatorial explosion of
edge cases.
- What next: we are focusing on redraw-based improvements to the
existing terminal-native TUI so scrolling, selection, and copy remain
native while resize/redraw correctness improves.
## Testing
- just write-config-schema
- just fmt
- cargo clippy --fix --all-features --tests --allow-dirty --allow-no-vcs
-p codex-core
- cargo clippy --fix --all-features --tests --allow-dirty --allow-no-vcs
-p codex-cli
- cargo check
- cargo test -p codex-core
- cargo test -p codex-cli
## Summary
- make paste-burst tests deterministic by injecting explicit timestamps
instead of relying on wall clock timing
- add time-aware helpers for input/submission paths so tests can drive
the burst heuristic precisely
- update burst-related tests to flush using computed timeouts while
preserving behavior assertions
- increase timeout slack in
shell_tools_start_before_response_completed_when_stream_delayed to
reduce flakiness
This PR changes the way we sort slash command by going in this order:
1. Exact match
2. Prefix
3. Fuzzy
As a result, we you type `/ps` the default command is not `/approvals`
Summary
- Preserve `text_elements` through custom prompt argument parsing and
expansion (named and numeric placeholders).
- Translate text element ranges through Shlex parsing using sentinel
substitution, and rehydrate text + element ranges per arg.
- Drop image attachments when their placeholder does not survive prompt
expansion, keeping attachments consistent with rendered elements.
- Mirror changes in TUI2 and expand tests for prompt parsing/expansion
edge cases.
Tests
- placeholders with spaces as single tokens (positional + key=value,
quoted + unquoted),
- prompt expansion with image placeholders,
- large paste + image arg combinations,
- unused image arg dropped after expansion.
Despite good spacing between queued messages and assistant message text:
<img width="462" height="322" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-12 at 4 54 50 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/e8b46252-0b33-40d2-b431-cb73b9a3bd2e"
/>
Codex has confusing spacing between queued messages and shimmering
status text (making the queued message seem like a sub-item of the
shimmering status text)
<img width="615" height="217" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-12 at 4 54 18 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/ee5e6095-8fe9-4863-88d2-10472cab8bd6"
/>
This PR changes the spacing between the queued message(s) and shimmering
status text to make it less confusing:
<img width="440" height="240" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-13 at 11 20 36 AM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/02dcc690-cbe9-4943-87de-c7300ef51120"
/>
While working on the status/queued spacing change, we noticed two
paste‑burst tests were timing‑sensitive and could fail
on slower CI. We added a small test‑only helper to keep the paste‑burst
state active and refreshed during these tests. This
removes dependence on tight timing and makes the tests deterministic
without affecting runtime behavior.
## Summary
- Make `TextElement` placeholders private and add a text-backed accessor
to avoid assuming `Some`.
- Since they are optional in the protocol, we want to make sure any
accessors properly handle the None case (getting the placeholder using
the byte range in the text)
- Preserve placeholders during protocol/app-server conversions using the
accessor fallback.
- Update TUI composer/remap logic and tests to use the new
constructor/accessor.
Continuation of breaking up this PR
https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/9116
## Summary
- Thread user text element ranges through TUI/TUI2 input, submission,
queueing, and history so placeholders survive resume/edit flows.
- Preserve local image attachments alongside text elements and rehydrate
placeholders when restoring drafts.
- Keep model-facing content shapes clean by attaching UI metadata only
to user input/events (no API content changes).
## Key Changes
- TUI/TUI2 composer now captures text element ranges, trims them with
text edits, and restores them when submission is suppressed.
- User history cells render styled spans for text elements and keep
local image paths for future rehydration.
- Initial chat widget bootstraps accept empty `initial_text_elements` to
keep initialization uniform.
- Protocol/core helpers updated to tolerate the new InputText field
shape without changing payloads sent to the API.
Fixes#9450
## What
- When a task is running and the skills autocomplete popup is open,
`Esc` now dismisses the popup instead of sending `Op::Interrupt`.
- `Esc` still interrupts a running task when no popup is active.
## Tests
- `cargo test -p codex-tui`
---------
Co-authored-by: prateek <199982+prateek@users.noreply.github.com>
We’re introducing a new SKILL.toml to hold skill metadata so Codex can
deliver a richer Skills experience.
Initial focus is the interface block:
```
[interface]
display_name = "Optional user-facing name"
short_description = "Optional user-facing description"
icon_small = "./assets/small-400px.png"
icon_large = "./assets/large-logo.svg"
brand_color = "#3B82F6"
default_prompt = "Optional surrounding prompt to use the skill with"
```
All fields are exposed via the app server API.
display_name and short_description are consumed by the TUI.
A recent change in commit ccba737d26 modified the styling of the
placeholder text (e.g. "Implement {feature}") in the input box of the
CLI, changing it from non-italic to italic. I think this was likely
unintentional. It results in a bad display appearance on some terminal
emulators, and several users have complained about it.
This change switches back to non-italic styling, restoring the older
behavior.
It addresses #9262
Disables the default Ctrl+C/Ctrl+D double-press quit UX (keeps the code
path behind a const) while we rethink the quit/interrupt flow.
Tests:
- just fmt
- cargo clippy --fix --all-features --tests --allow-dirty --allow-no-vcs
-p codex-tui
- cargo test -p codex-tui --lib
- Remove legacy Ctrl+K queuing in tui2; Tab is the queue key.
- Make Enter queue when Steer is disabled and submit immediately when
Steer is enabled.
- Add Steer keybinding docs on both tui and tui2 chat composers.
## Problem
Codex’s TUI quit behavior has historically been easy to trigger
accidentally and hard to reason
about.
- `Ctrl+C`/`Ctrl+D` could terminate the UI immediately, which is a
common key to press while trying
to dismiss a modal, cancel a command, or recover from a stuck state.
- “Quit” and “shutdown” were not consistently separated, so some exit
paths could bypass the
shutdown/cleanup work that should run before the process terminates.
This PR makes quitting both safer (harder to do by accident) and more
uniform across quit
gestures, while keeping the shutdown-first semantics explicit.
## Mental model
After this change, the system treats quitting as a UI request that is
coordinated by the app
layer.
- The UI requests exit via `AppEvent::Exit(ExitMode)`.
- `ExitMode::ShutdownFirst` is the normal user path: the app triggers
`Op::Shutdown`, continues
rendering while shutdown runs, and only ends the UI loop once shutdown
has completed.
- `ExitMode::Immediate` exists as an escape hatch (and as the
post-shutdown “now actually exit”
signal); it bypasses cleanup and should not be the default for
user-triggered quits.
User-facing quit gestures are intentionally “two-step” for safety:
- `Ctrl+C` and `Ctrl+D` no longer exit immediately.
- The first press arms a 1-second window and shows a footer hint (“ctrl
+ <key> again to quit”).
- Pressing the same key again within the window requests a
shutdown-first quit; otherwise the
hint expires and the next press starts a fresh window.
Key routing remains modal-first:
- A modal/popup gets first chance to consume `Ctrl+C`.
- If a modal handles `Ctrl+C`, any armed quit shortcut is cleared so
dismissing a modal cannot
prime a subsequent `Ctrl+C` to quit.
- `Ctrl+D` only participates in quitting when the composer is empty and
no modal/popup is active.
The design doc `docs/exit-confirmation-prompt-design.md` captures the
intended routing and the
invariants the UI should maintain.
## Non-goals
- This does not attempt to redesign modal UX or make modals uniformly
dismissible via `Ctrl+C`.
It only ensures modals get priority and that quit arming does not leak
across modal handling.
- This does not introduce a persistent confirmation prompt/menu for
quitting; the goal is to keep
the exit gesture lightweight and consistent.
- This does not change the semantics of core shutdown itself; it changes
how the UI requests and
sequences it.
## Tradeoffs
- Quitting via `Ctrl+C`/`Ctrl+D` now requires a deliberate second
keypress, which adds friction for
users who relied on the old “instant quit” behavior.
- The UI now maintains a small time-bounded state machine for the armed
shortcut, which increases
complexity and introduces timing-dependent behavior.
This design was chosen over alternatives (a modal confirmation prompt or
a long-lived “are you
sure” state) because it provides an explicit safety barrier while
keeping the flow fast and
keyboard-native.
## Architecture
- `ChatWidget` owns the quit-shortcut state machine and decides when a
quit gesture is allowed
(idle vs cancellable work, composer state, etc.).
- `BottomPane` owns rendering and local input routing for modals/popups.
It is responsible for
consuming cancellation keys when a view is active and for
showing/expiring the footer hint.
- `App` owns shutdown sequencing: translating
`AppEvent::Exit(ShutdownFirst)` into `Op::Shutdown`
and only terminating the UI loop when exit is safe.
This keeps “what should happen” decisions (quit vs interrupt vs ignore)
in the chat/widget layer,
while keeping “how it looks and which view gets the key” in the
bottom-pane layer.
## Observability
You can tell this is working by running the TUIs and exercising the quit
gestures:
- While idle: pressing `Ctrl+C` (or `Ctrl+D` with an empty composer and
no modal) shows a footer
hint for ~1 second; pressing again within that window exits via
shutdown-first.
- While streaming/tools/review are active: `Ctrl+C` interrupts work
rather than quitting.
- With a modal/popup open: `Ctrl+C` dismisses/handles the modal (if it
chooses to) and does not
arm a quit shortcut; a subsequent quick `Ctrl+C` should not quit unless
the user re-arms it.
Failure modes are visible as:
- Quits that happen immediately (no hint window) from `Ctrl+C`/`Ctrl+D`.
- Quits that occur while a modal is open and consuming `Ctrl+C`.
- UI termination before shutdown completes (cleanup skipped).
## Tests
- Updated/added unit and snapshot coverage in `codex-tui` and
`codex-tui2` to validate:
- The quit hint appears and expires on the expected key.
- Double-press within the window triggers a shutdown-first quit request.
- Modal-first routing prevents quit bypass and clears any armed shortcut
when a modal consumes
`Ctrl+C`.
These tests focus on the UI-level invariants and rendered output; they
do not attempt to validate
real terminal key-repeat timing or end-to-end process shutdown behavior.
---
Screenshot:
<img width="912" height="740" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-13 at 1 05 28 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/18f3d22e-2557-47f2-a369-ae7a9531f29f"
/>
User-facing symptom: On terminals that deliver pastes as rapid
KeyCode::Char/Enter streams (notably Windows), paste-burst transient
state
can leak into the next input. Users can see Enter insert a newline when
they meant to submit, or see characters appear late / handled through
the
wrong path.
System problem: PasteBurst is time-based. Clearing only the
classification window (e.g. via clear_window_after_non_char()) can erase
last_plain_char_time without emitting buffered text. If a buffer is
still
non-empty after that, flush_if_due() no longer has a timeout clock to
flush against, so the buffer can get "stuck" until another plain char
arrives.
This was surfaced while adding deterministic regression tests for
paste-burst behavior.
Fix: when disabling burst detection, defuse any in-flight burst state:
flush held/buffered text through handle_paste() (so it follows normal
paste integration), then clear timing and Enter suppression.
Document the rationale inline and update docs/tui-chat-composer.md so
"disable_paste_burst" matches the actual behavior.
Replace the old timing-dependent non-ASCII paste test with deterministic
coverage by forcing an active `PasteBurst` and asserting the exact flush
payload.
Add focused unit tests for `PasteBurst` transitions, and add short
"Behavior:" rustdoc notes on chat composer tests to make the state
machine contracts explicit.
Add a narrative doc and inline rustdoc explaining how `ChatComposer`
and `PasteBurst` compose into a single state machine on terminals that
lack reliable bracketed paste (notably Windows).
This documents the key states, invariants, and integration points
(`handle_input_basic`, `handle_non_ascii_char`, tick-driven flush) so
future changes are easier to reason about.