## Why
Granular copy is particularly difficult with the current output. Part of
it was solved with the introduction of the `/copy` command but when you
only need to copy parts of a response, you still encounter some issues:
- When you copy a paragraph, the result is a sequence of separate lines
instead of one correctly joined paragraph.
- When a word wraps, part of it stays on the original line and the rest
appears at the start of the next line.
- When you copy a long command, extra line breaks are often inserted,
and command arguments can be split across multiple lines.
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/0ef85c84-9363-4aad-b43a-15fce062a443
## Solution
Now that we own the scrollback and we re-create it when we resize, we
have the opportunity of toggling between the raw text and the rich text
we see today.
- Add TUI raw scrollback mode with `tui.raw_output_mode`, `/raw
[on|off]`, and the configurable `tui.keymap.global.toggle_raw_output`
action.
- Render transcript cells through rich/raw-aware paths so raw mode
preserves source text and lets the terminal soft-wrap selection-friendly
output.
- Bind raw-mode toggle to `alt-r` by default, with the keybinding path
toggling silently while `/raw` continues to emit confirmation messages.
## Related Issues
Likely addressed by raw mode:
- #12200: clean copy for multiline and soft-wrapped output. Raw mode
removes Codex-inserted wrapping/indentation and lets the terminal
soft-wrap logical lines.
- #9252: command suggestions gain unwanted leading spaces when copied.
Raw mode renders transcript text without the rich-mode left
padding/gutter.
- #8258: prompt output is hard to copy because of leading indentation.
Raw mode renders user/source-backed transcript text without that
decorative indentation.
Partially or conditionally addressed:
- #2880: copy/export message as Markdown. Raw mode exposes raw Markdown
for terminal selection, but this PR does not add a dedicated
export/copy-message command.
- #19820: mouse drag selection + copy in the TUI. Raw mode improves
terminal-native selection of output/history text, but this PR does not
implement in-TUI mouse selection, highlighting, auto-copy, or composer
selection.
- #18979: copied content is divided into two parts. This should improve
cases caused by Codex-inserted wraps/padding in rendered output; if the
report is about pasting into the composer/input path, that remains
outside this PR.
## Validation
- `just write-config-schema`
- `just fmt`
- `cargo test -p codex-config`
- `cargo test -p codex-tui`
- `just fix -p codex-tui`
- `just argument-comment-lint`
- `cargo test -p codex-tui
raw_output_mode_can_change_without_inserting_notice -- --nocapture`
- `cargo test -p codex-tui
raw_slash_command_toggles_and_accepts_on_off_args -- --nocapture`
- `cargo test -p codex-tui raw_output_toggle -- --nocapture`
- `git diff --check`
- `cargo insta pending-snapshots`
## Why
Issue #20489 calls out that animated TUI affordances can be noisy for
screen-reader users. Codex already has `tui.animations = false` as a
reduced-motion setting, but some live activity rows render spinner-style
prefixes in that mode. These were relatively recent regressions.
We have also regressed this pattern more than once by adding new
spinner/shimmer callsites that do not think through the reduced-motion
path, so this PR adds a small guardrail while fixing the current
surfaces.
## What changed
- Omit the live status-row spinner when animations are disabled, so the
row starts with stable text like `Working (...)`.
- Render running hook headers without the spinner prefix when animations
are disabled, while preserving shimmer/spinner behavior when animations
are enabled.
- Centralize TUI activity indicators in `tui/src/motion.rs`, with
explicit reduced-motion choices for hidden prefixes, static bullets, and
plain shimmer-text fallbacks.
- Route existing spinner/shimmer callsites through the central motion
helper, including exec rows, MCP/web-search/loading rows, hook rows,
plugin loading, and onboarding loading text.
- Add a source-scan regression test that rejects direct `spinner(...)`
or `shimmer_spans(...)` usage outside the central module and primitive
definition.
- Add focused coverage that reduced-motion active exec rows are stable,
status rows start without a spinner, running hooks omit the spinner, and
MCP inventory loading stays stable.
- Update the one affected status-indicator snapshot; the existing detail
tree prefix remains unchanged.
## Verification
- `cargo test -p codex-tui`
## Why
With the local model layer and app-server routing in place from PR1,
this PR moves the active TUI runtime onto app-server notifications. The
affected pieces share the same event flow, so the command surface,
session state, bottom-pane prompts, chat rendering, history/status
views, and tests move together to keep the stacked branch buildable.
This PR also removes the obsolete compatibility surface that is no
longer used after the migration. The proposed protocol-boundary verifier
layer was dropped from the stack; enforcing that final boundary will be
simpler once `codex-tui` no longer needs any `codex_protocol`
references.
This PR is part 2 of a 2-PR stack:
1. Add TUI-owned replacement models and extract app-server event
routing.
2. Move the active TUI flow to app-server notifications and delete
obsolete adapter code.
## What changed
- Rewired app command and session handling to use app-server request and
notification shapes.
- Moved approval overlays, request-user-input flows, MCP elicitation,
realtime events, and review commands onto the app-server-facing model
surface.
- Updated chat rendering, history cells, status views, multi-agent UI,
replay state, and TUI tests to use app-server notifications plus the
local models introduced in PR1.
- Deleted `codex-rs/tui/src/app/app_server_adapter.rs` and the
superseded `chatwidget/tests/background_events.rs` fixture path.
## Verification
- `cargo check -p codex-tui --tests`
- Top of stack: `cargo test -p codex-tui`
## What
Show an inline `ctrl + t to view transcript` hint when exec output is
truncated in the main TUI chat view.
## Why
Today, truncated exec output shows `… +N lines`, but it does not tell
users that the full content is already available through the existing
transcript overlay. That makes hidden output feel lost instead of
discoverable.
This change closes that discoverability gap without introducing a new
interaction model.
Fixes: CLI-5740
## How
- added an output-specific truncation hint in `ExecCell` rendering
- applied that hint in both exec-output truncation paths:
- logical head/tail truncation before wrapping
- row-budget truncation after wrapping
- preserved the existing row-budget behavior on narrow terminals by
reserving space for the longer hint line
- updated the relevant snapshot and added targeted regression coverage
## Intentional design decisions
- **Aligned shortcut styling with the visible footer UI**
The inline hint uses `ctrl + t`, not `Ctrl+T`, to match the TUI’s
rendered key-hint style.
- **Kept the noun `transcript`**
The product already exposes this flow as the transcript overlay, so the
hint points at the existing concept instead of inventing a new label.
- **Preserved narrow-terminal behavior**
The longer hint text is accounted for in the row-budget truncation path
so the visible output still respects the existing viewport cap.
- **Did not add the hint to long command truncation**
This PR only changes hidden **output** truncation. Long command
truncation still uses the plain ellipsis form because `ctrl + t` is not
the same kind of “show hidden output” escape hatch there.
- **Did not widen scope to other truncation surfaces**
This does not change MCP/tool-call truncation in `history_cell.rs`, and
it does not change transcript-overlay behavior itself.
## Validation
### Automated
- `just fmt`
- `cargo test -p codex-tui`
### Manual
- ran `just tui-with-exec-server`
- executed `!seq 1 200`
- confirmed the main view showed the new `ctrl + t to view transcript`
truncation hint
- pressed `ctrl + t` and confirmed the transcript overlay still exposed
the full output
- closed the overlay and returned to the main view
## Visual proof
Screenshot/video attached in the PR UI showing:
- the truncated exec output row with the new hint
- the transcript overlay after `ctrl + t`
This is a follow-up to https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/15922. That
previous PR deleted the old `tui` directory and left the new
`tui_app_server` directory in place. This PR renames `tui_app_server` to
`tui` and fixes up all references.
This is the part 1 of 2 PRs that will delete the `tui` /
`tui_app_server` split. This part simply deletes the existing `tui`
directory and marks the `tui_app_server` feature flag as removed. I left
the `tui_app_server` feature flag in place for now so its presence
doesn't result in an error. It is simply ignored.
Part 2 will rename the `tui_app_server` directory `tui`. I did this as
two parts to reduce visible code churn.
## Why
Once the repo-local lint exists, `codex-rs` needs to follow the
checked-in convention and CI needs to keep it from drifting. This commit
applies the fallback `/*param*/` style consistently across existing
positional literal call sites without changing those APIs.
The longer-term preference is still to avoid APIs that require comments
by choosing clearer parameter types and call shapes. This PR is
intentionally the mechanical follow-through for the places where the
existing signatures stay in place.
After rebasing onto newer `main`, the rollout also had to cover newly
introduced `tui_app_server` call sites. That made it clear the first cut
of the CI job was too expensive for the common path: it was spending
almost as much time installing `cargo-dylint` and re-testing the lint
crate as a representative test job spends running product tests. The CI
update keeps the full workspace enforcement but trims that extra
overhead from ordinary `codex-rs` PRs.
## What changed
- keep a dedicated `argument_comment_lint` job in `rust-ci`
- mechanically annotate remaining opaque positional literals across
`codex-rs` with exact `/*param*/` comments, including the rebased
`tui_app_server` call sites that now fall under the lint
- keep the checked-in style aligned with the lint policy by using
`/*param*/` and leaving string and char literals uncommented
- cache `cargo-dylint`, `dylint-link`, and the relevant Cargo
registry/git metadata in the lint job
- split changed-path detection so the lint crate's own `cargo test` step
runs only when `tools/argument-comment-lint/*` or `rust-ci.yml` changes
- continue to run the repo wrapper over the `codex-rs` workspace, so
product-code enforcement is unchanged
Most of the code changes in this commit are intentionally mechanical
comment rewrites or insertions driven by the lint itself.
## Verification
- `./tools/argument-comment-lint/run.sh --workspace`
- `cargo test -p codex-tui-app-server -p codex-tui`
- parsed `.github/workflows/rust-ci.yml` locally with PyYAML
---
* -> #14652
* #14651
Summary
- distinguish exec end handling targets (active tracking, active orphan
history, new cell) so unified exec responses don’t clobber unrelated
exploring cells
- ensure orphan ends flush existing exploring history when complete,
insert standalone history entries, and keep active cells correct
- add regression tests plus a snapshot covering the new behavior and
expose the ExecCell completion result for verification
Fix for https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/12278
---------
Co-authored-by: Josh McKinney <joshka@openai.com>
## Problem
Long URLs containing `/` and `-` characters are split across multiple
terminal lines by `textwrap`'s default hyphenation rules. This breaks
terminal link detection: emulators can no longer identify the URL as
clickable, and copy-paste yields a truncated fragment. The issue affects
every view that renders user or agent text — exec output, history cells,
markdown, the app-link setup screen, and the VT100 scrollback path.
A secondary bug compounds the first: `desired_height()` calculations
count logical lines rather than viewport rows. When a URL overflows its
line and wraps visually, the height budget is too small, causing content
to clip or leave gaps.
Here is how the complete URL is interpreted by the terminal before
(first line only) and after (complete URL):
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| <img width="777" height="1002" alt="Screenshot 2026-02-17 at 7 59 11
PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/193a89a0-7e56-49c5-8b76-53499a76e7e3"
/> | <img width="777" height="1002" alt="Screenshot 2026-02-17 at 7 58
40 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/0b9b4c14-aafb-439f-9ffe-f6bba556f95e"
/> |
## Mental model
The TUI now treats URL-like tokens as atomic units that must never be
split by the wrapping engine. Every call site that previously used
`word_wrap_*` has been migrated to `adaptive_wrap_*`, which inspects
each line for URL-like tokens and switches wrapping strategy
accordingly:
- **Non-URL lines** follow the existing `textwrap` path unchanged (word
boundaries, optional indentation, hyphenation).
- **URL-only lines** (with at most decorative markers like `│`, `-`,
`1.`) are emitted unwrapped so terminal link detection works; ratatui's
`Wrap { trim: false }` handles the final character wrap at render time.
- **Mixed lines** (URL + substantive non-URL prose) flow through
`adaptive_wrap_line` so prose wraps naturally at word boundaries while
URL tokens remain unsplit.
Height measurement everywhere now delegates to
`Paragraph::line_count(width)`, which accounts for the visual row cost
of overflowed lines. This single source of truth replaces ad-hoc line
counting in individual cells.
For terminal scrollback (the VT100 path that prints history when the TUI
exits), URL-only lines are emitted unwrapped so the terminal's own link
detector can find them. Mixed URL+prose lines use adaptive wrapping so
surrounding text wraps naturally. Continuation rows are pre-cleared to
avoid stale content artifacts.
## Non-goals
- Full RFC 3986 URL parsing. The detector is a conservative heuristic
that covers `scheme://host`, bare domains (`example.com/path`),
`localhost:port`, and IPv4 hosts. IPv6 (`[::1]:8080`) and exotic schemes
are intentionally excluded from v1.
- Changing wrapping behavior for non-URL content.
- Reflowing or reformatting existing terminal scrollback on resize.
## Tradeoffs
| Decision | Upside | Downside |
|----------|--------|----------|
| Heuristic URL detection vs. full parser | Fast, zero-alloc on the hot
path; conservative enough to reject file paths like `src/main.rs` |
False negatives on obscure URL formats (they get split as before) |
| Adaptive (three-path) wrapping | Non-URL lines are untouched — no
behavior change, no perf cost; mixed lines wrap prose naturally while
preserving URLs | Three wrapping strategies to reason about when
debugging layout |
| Row-based truncation with line-unit ellipsis | Accurate viewport
budget; stable "N lines omitted" count across terminal widths |
`truncate_lines_middle` is more complex (must compute per-line row cost)
|
| Unwrapped URL-only lines in scrollback | Terminal emulators detect
clickable links; copy-paste gets the full URL | TUI and scrollback
formatting diverge for URL-only lines |
| Default `desired_height` via `Paragraph::line_count` | DRY — most
cells inherit correct measurement | Cells with custom layout must
remember to override |
## Architecture
```mermaid
flowchart TD
A["adaptive_wrap_*()"] --> B{"line_contains_url_like?"}
B -- No URL tokens --> C["word_wrap_line<br/>(textwrap default)"]
B -- Has URL tokens --> D{"mixed URL + prose?"}
D -- "URL-only<br/>(+ decorative markers)" --> E["emit unwrapped<br/>(terminal char-wraps)"]
D -- "Mixed<br/>(URL + substantive text)" --> F["adaptive_wrap_line<br/>(AsciiSpace + custom WordSplitter)"]
C --> G["Paragraph::line_count(w)<br/>(single height truth)"]
E --> G
F --> G
```
**Changed files:**
| File | Role |
|------|------|
| `wrapping.rs` | URL detection heuristics, mixed-line detection,
`adaptive_wrap_*` functions, custom `WordSplitter` |
| `exec_cell/render.rs` | Row-aware `truncate_lines_middle`, adaptive
wrapping for command/output display |
| `history_cell.rs` | Migrate all cell types to `adaptive_wrap_*`;
default `desired_height` via `Paragraph::line_count` |
| `insert_history.rs` | Three-path scrollback wrapping (unwrapped
URL-only, adaptive mixed, word-wrapped text); continuation row clearing
|
| `app_link_view.rs` | Adaptive wrapping for setup URL; `desired_height`
via `Paragraph::line_count` |
| `markdown_render.rs` | Adaptive wrapping in `finish_paragraph` |
| `model_migration.rs` | Viewport-aware wrapping for narrow-pane
markdown |
| `pager_overlay.rs` | `Wrap { trim: false }` for transcript and
streaming chunks |
| `queued_user_messages.rs` | Migrate to `adaptive_wrap_lines` |
| `status/card.rs` | Migrate to `adaptive_wrap_lines` |
## Observability
- **Ellipsis message** in truncated exec output reports omitted count in
logical lines (stable across resize) rather than viewport rows
(fluctuates).
- URL detection is deterministic and stateless — no hidden caching or
memoization to go stale.
- Height mismatch bugs surface immediately as visual clipping or gaps;
the `Paragraph::line_count` path is the same code ratatui uses at render
time, so measurement and rendering cannot diverge.
## Tests
26 new unit tests across 7 files, covering:
- **URL integrity**: assert a URL-like token appears on exactly one
rendered line (not split across two).
- **Height accuracy**: compare `desired_height()` against
`Paragraph::line_count()` for URL-containing content.
- **Row-aware truncation**: verify ellipsis counts logical lines and
output fits within the row budget.
- **Scrollback rendering**: VT100 backend tests confirm prefix and URL
land on the same row; continuation rows are cleared; mixed URL+prose
lines wrap prose while preserving URL tokens.
- **Mixed URL+prose detection**: `line_has_mixed_url_and_non_url_tokens`
correctly distinguishes lines with substantive non-URL text from lines
with only decorative markers alongside a URL.
- **Heuristic correctness**: positive matches (`https://...`,
`example.com/path`, `localhost:3000/api`, `192.168.1.1:8080/health`) and
negative matches (`src/main.rs`, `foo/bar`, `hello-world`).
## Risks and open items
1. **URL-like tokens in code output** (e.g. `example.com/api` inside a
JSON blob) will trigger URL-preserving wrap on that line. This is
acceptable — the worst case is a slightly wider line, not broken output.
2. **Very long non-URL tokens on a URL line** can only break at
character boundaries (the custom splitter emits all char indices for
non-URL words). On extremely narrow terminals this could overflow, but
narrow terminals already degrade gracefully.
3. **No IPv6 support** — `[::1]:8080/path` will be treated as a non-URL
and may get split. Can be added later without API changes.
Fixes#5457
## Why
`codex-rs/core/src/lib.rs` re-exported a broad set of types and modules
from `codex-protocol` and `codex-shell-command`. That made it easy for
workspace crates to import those APIs through `codex-core`, which in
turn hides dependency edges and makes it harder to reduce compile-time
coupling over time.
This change removes those public re-exports so call sites must import
from the source crates directly. Even when a crate still depends on
`codex-core` today, this makes dependency boundaries explicit and
unblocks future work to drop `codex-core` dependencies where possible.
## What Changed
- Removed public re-exports from `codex-rs/core/src/lib.rs` for:
- `codex_protocol::protocol` and related protocol/model types (including
`InitialHistory`)
- `codex_protocol::config_types` (`protocol_config_types`)
- `codex_shell_command::{bash, is_dangerous_command, is_safe_command,
parse_command, powershell}`
- Migrated workspace Rust call sites to import directly from:
- `codex_protocol::protocol`
- `codex_protocol::config_types`
- `codex_protocol::models`
- `codex_shell_command`
- Added explicit `Cargo.toml` dependencies (`codex-protocol` /
`codex-shell-command`) in crates that now import those crates directly.
- Kept `codex-core` internal modules compiling by using `pub(crate)`
aliases in `core/src/lib.rs` (internal-only, not part of the public
API).
- Updated the two utility crates that can already drop a `codex-core`
dependency edge entirely:
- `codex-utils-approval-presets`
- `codex-utils-cli`
## Verification
- `cargo test -p codex-utils-approval-presets`
- `cargo test -p codex-utils-cli`
- `cargo check --workspace --all-targets`
- `just clippy`
We are removing feature-gated shared crates from the `codex-rs`
workspace. `codex-common` grouped several unrelated utilities behind
`[features]`, which made dependency boundaries harder to reason about
and worked against the ongoing effort to eliminate feature flags from
workspace crates.
Splitting these utilities into dedicated crates under `utils/` aligns
this area with existing workspace structure and keeps each dependency
explicit at the crate boundary.
## What changed
- Removed `codex-rs/common` (`codex-common`) from workspace members and
workspace dependencies.
- Added six new utility crates under `codex-rs/utils/`:
- `codex-utils-cli`
- `codex-utils-elapsed`
- `codex-utils-sandbox-summary`
- `codex-utils-approval-presets`
- `codex-utils-oss`
- `codex-utils-fuzzy-match`
- Migrated the corresponding modules out of `codex-common` into these
crates (with tests), and added matching `BUILD.bazel` targets.
- Updated direct consumers to use the new crates instead of
`codex-common`:
- `codex-rs/cli`
- `codex-rs/tui`
- `codex-rs/exec`
- `codex-rs/app-server`
- `codex-rs/mcp-server`
- `codex-rs/chatgpt`
- `codex-rs/cloud-tasks`
- Updated workspace lockfile entries to reflect the new dependency graph
and removal of `codex-common`.
What
-----
- Fix the Ctrl+T transcript overlay so that very long exec output lines
are soft‑wrapped to the viewport width instead of being rendered as a
single truncated row.
- Add a regression test to `TranscriptOverlay` to ensure long exec
outputs are rendered on multiple lines in the overlay.
Why
----
- Previously, the transcript overlay rendered extremely long single exec
lines as one on‑screen row and simply cut them off at the right edge,
with no horizontal scrolling.
- This made it impossible to inspect the full content of long tool/exec
outputs in the transcript view, even though the main TUI view already
wrapped those lines.
- Fixes#7454.
How
----
- Update `ExecCell::transcript_lines` to wrap exec output lines using
the existing `RtOptions`/`word_wrap_line` helpers so that transcript
rendering is width‑aware.
- Reuse the existing line utilities to expand the wrapped `Line` values
into the transcript overlay, preserving styling while respecting the
current viewport width.
- Add `transcript_overlay_wraps_long_exec_output_lines` test in
`pager_overlay.rs` that constructs a long single‑line exec output,
renders the transcript overlay into a small buffer, and asserts that the
long marker string spans multiple rendered lines.
What
- Limit the TUI "user shell" output panel by the number of visible
screen lines rather than by the number of logical lines.
- Apply middle truncation after wrapping, so a few extremely long lines
cannot expand into hundreds of visible lines.
- Add a regression test to guard this behavior.
Why
When the `ExecCommandSource::UserShell` tool returns a small number of
very long logical lines, the TUI wraps those lines into many visual
lines. The existing truncation logic applied
`USER_SHELL_TOOL_CALL_MAX_LINES` to the number of logical lines *before*
wrapping.
As a result, a command like:
- `Ran bash -lc "grep -R --line-number 'maskAssetId' ."`
or a synthetic command that prints a single ~50,000‑character line, can
produce hundreds of screen lines and effectively flood the viewport. The
intended middle truncation for user shell output does not take effect in
this scenario.
How
- In `codex-rs/tui/src/exec_cell/render.rs`, change the `ExecCell`
rendering path for `ExecCommandSource::UserShell` so that:
- Each logical line from `CommandOutput::aggregated_output` is first
wrapped via `word_wrap_line` into multiple screen lines using the
appropriate `RtOptions` and width from the `EXEC_DISPLAY_LAYOUT`
configuration.
- `truncate_lines_middle` is then applied to the wrapped screen lines,
with `USER_SHELL_TOOL_CALL_MAX_LINES` as the limit. This means the limit
is enforced on visible screen lines, not logical lines.
- The existing layout struct (`ExecDisplayLayout`) continues to provide
`output_max_lines`, so user shell output is subject to both
`USER_SHELL_TOOL_CALL_MAX_LINES` and the layout-specific
`output_max_lines` constraint.
- Keep using `USER_SHELL_TOOL_CALL_MAX_LINES` as the cap, but interpret
it as a per‑tool‑call limit on screen lines.
- Add a regression test `user_shell_output_is_limited_by_screen_lines`
in `codex-rs/tui/src/exec_cell/render.rs` that:
- Constructs two extremely long logical lines containing a short marker
(`"Z"`), so each wrapped screen line still contains the marker.
- Wraps them at a narrow width to generate many screen lines.
- Asserts that the unbounded wrapped output would exceed
`USER_SHELL_TOOL_CALL_MAX_LINES` screen lines.
- Renders an `ExecCell` for `ExecCommandSource::UserShell` at the same
width and counts rendered lines containing the marker.
- Asserts `output_screen_lines <= USER_SHELL_TOOL_CALL_MAX_LINES`,
guarding against regressions where truncation happens before wrapping.
This change keeps user shell output readable while ensuring it cannot
flood the TUI, even when the tool emits a few extremely long lines.
Tests
- `cargo test -p codex-tui`
Issue
- Fixes#7447
This PR adds support for a new feature flag `tui.animations`. By
default, the TUI uses animations in its welcome screen, "working"
spinners, and "shimmer" effects. This animations can interfere with
screen readers, so it's good to provide a way to disable them.
This change is inspired by [a
PR](https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/4014) contributed by @Orinks.
That PR has faltered a bit, but I think the core idea is sound. This
version incorporates feedback from @aibrahim-oai. In particular:
1. It uses a feature flag (`tui.animations`) rather than the unqualified
CLI key `no-animations`. Feature flags are the preferred way to expose
boolean switches. They are also exposed via CLI command switches.
2. It includes more complete documentation.
3. It disables a few animations that the other PR omitted.
- introduce RenderableItem to support both owned and borrowed children
in composite Renderables
- refactor some of our gnarlier manual layouts, BottomPane and
ChatWidget, to use ColumnRenderable
- Renderable and friends now handle cursor_pos()
feature: Add "!cmd" user shell execution
This change lets users run local shell commands directly from the TUI by
prefixing their input with ! (e.g. !ls). Output is truncated to keep the
exec cell usable, and Ctrl-C cleanly
interrupts long-running commands (e.g. !sleep 10000).
**Summary of changes**
- Route Op::RunUserShellCommand through a dedicated UserShellCommandTask
(core/src/tasks/user_shell.rs), keeping the task logic out of codex.rs.
- Reuse the existing tool router: the task constructs a ToolCall for the
local_shell tool and relies on ShellHandler, so no manual MCP tool
lookup is required.
- Emit exec lifecycle events (ExecCommandBegin/ExecCommandEnd) so the
TUI can show command metadata, live output, and exit status.
**End-to-end flow**
**TUI handling**
1. ChatWidget::submit_user_message (TUI) intercepts messages starting
with !.
2. Non-empty commands dispatch Op::RunUserShellCommand { command };
empty commands surface a help hint.
3. No UserInput items are created, so nothing is enqueued for the model.
**Core submission loop**
4. The submission loop routes the op to handlers::run_user_shell_command
(core/src/codex.rs).
5. A fresh TurnContext is created and Session::spawn_user_shell_command
enqueues UserShellCommandTask.
**Task execution**
6. UserShellCommandTask::run emits TaskStartedEvent, formats the
command, and prepares a ToolCall targeting local_shell.
7. ToolCallRuntime::handle_tool_call dispatches to ShellHandler.
**Shell tool runtime**
8. ShellHandler::run_exec_like launches the process via the unified exec
runtime, honoring sandbox and shell policies, and emits
ExecCommandBegin/End.
9. Stdout/stderr are captured for the UI, but the task does not turn the
resulting ToolOutput into a model response.
**Completion**
10. After ExecCommandEnd, the task finishes without an assistant
message; the session marks it complete and the exec cell displays the
final output.
**Conversation context**
- The command and its output never enter the conversation history or the
model prompt; the flow is local-only.
- Only exec/task events are emitted for UI rendering.
**Demo video**
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/fcd114b0-4304-4448-a367-a04c43e0b996
This shows the aggregated (stdout + stderr) buffer regardless of exit
code.
Many commands output useful / relevant info on stdout when returning a
non-zero exit code, or the same on stderr when returning an exit code of
0. Often, useful info is present on both stdout AND stderr. Also, the
model sees both. So it is confusing to see commands listed as "(no
output)" that in fact do have output, just on the stream that doesn't
match the exit status, or to see some sort of trivial output like "Tests
failed" but lacking any information about the actual failure.
As such, always display the aggregated output in the display. Transcript
mode remains unchanged as it was already displaying the text that the
model sees, which seems correct for transcript mode.
## Summary
- show a dim “(no output)” placeholder when an executed command produces
no stdout or stderr so empty runs are visible
- update TUI snapshots to include the new placeholder in history
renderings
## Testing
- cargo test -p codex-tui
------
https://chatgpt.com/codex/tasks/task_i_68dc056c1d5883218fe8d9929e9b1657
- Refactor Exec Cell into its own module
- update exec command rendering to inline the first command line
- limit continuation lines
- always show trimmed output
Felipe Coury ·
Eric Traut ·
mom-oai ·
Michael Bolin ·
jif-oai ·
Felipe Coury ·
Ahmed Ibrahim ·
pakrym-oai ·
muyuanjin ·
zhao-oai ·
Jeremy Rose ·
Abhishek Bhardwaj ·
Ed Bayes ·