refactor(tui): statusbar as 4-mode position (on|off|bottom|top)

Default is back to 'on' (inline, above the input) — bottom was too far
from the input and felt disconnected. Users who want it pinned can
opt in explicitly.

- UiState.statusBar: boolean → 'on' | 'off' | 'bottom' | 'top'
- /statusbar [on|off|bottom|top|toggle]; no-arg still binary-toggles
  between off and on (preserves muscle memory)
- appLayout renders StatusRulePane in three slots (inline inside
  ComposerPane for 'on', above transcript row for 'top', after
  ComposerPane for 'bottom'); only the slot matching ui.statusBar
  actually mounts
- drop the input's marginBottom when 'bottom' so the rule sits tight
  against the input instead of floating a row below
- useConfigSync.normalizeStatusBar coerces legacy bool (true→on,
  false→off) and unknown shapes to 'on' for forward-compat reads
- tui_gateway: split compact from statusbar config handlers; persist
  string enum with _coerce_statusbar helper for legacy bool configs

tui_gateway/server.py

@@ -455,6 +455,20 @@ def _write_config_key(key_path: str, value):
     _save_cfg(cfg)
 
 
+# Legacy configs stored display.tui_statusbar as a bool. Coerce both bool and
+# string forms to the string enum so rollouts don't require a manual migration.
+def _coerce_statusbar(raw) -> str:
+    if raw is True:
+        return "on"
+    if raw is False:
+        return "off"
+    if isinstance(raw, str):
+        s = raw.strip().lower()
+        if s in {"on", "off", "bottom", "top"}:
+            return s
+    return "on"
+
+
 def _load_reasoning_config() -> dict | None:
     from hermes_constants import parse_reasoning_effort
 
@@ -2499,12 +2513,11 @@ def _(rid, params: dict) -> dict:
         )
         return _ok(rid, {"key": key, "value": nv})
 
-    if key in ("compact", "statusbar"):
+    if key == "compact":
         raw = str(value or "").strip().lower()
         cfg0 = _load_cfg()
         d0 = cfg0.get("display") if isinstance(cfg0.get("display"), dict) else {}
-        def_key = "tui_compact" if key == "compact" else "tui_statusbar"
-        cur_b = bool(d0.get(def_key, False if key == "compact" else True))
+        cur_b = bool(d0.get("tui_compact", False))
         if raw in ("", "toggle"):
             nv_b = not cur_b
         elif raw == "on":
@@ -2512,10 +2525,23 @@ def _(rid, params: dict) -> dict:
         elif raw == "off":
             nv_b = False
         else:
-            return _err(rid, 4002, f"unknown {key} value: {value}")
-        _write_config_key(f"display.{def_key}", nv_b)
-        out = "on" if nv_b else "off"
-        return _ok(rid, {"key": key, "value": out})
+            return _err(rid, 4002, f"unknown compact value: {value}")
+        _write_config_key("display.tui_compact", nv_b)
+        return _ok(rid, {"key": key, "value": "on" if nv_b else "off"})
+
+    if key == "statusbar":
+        raw = str(value or "").strip().lower()
+        cfg0 = _load_cfg()
+        d0 = cfg0.get("display") if isinstance(cfg0.get("display"), dict) else {}
+        current = _coerce_statusbar(d0.get("tui_statusbar", "on"))
+        if raw in ("", "toggle"):
+            nv = "on" if current == "off" else "off"
+        elif raw in ("on", "off", "bottom", "top"):
+            nv = raw
+        else:
+            return _err(rid, 4002, f"unknown statusbar value: {value}")
+        _write_config_key("display.tui_statusbar", nv)
+        return _ok(rid, {"key": key, "value": nv})
 
     if key in ("prompt", "personality", "skin"):
         try:
@@ -2633,8 +2659,8 @@ def _(rid, params: dict) -> dict:
         on = bool(_load_cfg().get("display", {}).get("tui_compact", False))
         return _ok(rid, {"value": "on" if on else "off"})
     if key == "statusbar":
-        on = bool(_load_cfg().get("display", {}).get("tui_statusbar", True))
-        return _ok(rid, {"value": "on" if on else "off"})
+        raw = _load_cfg().get("display", {}).get("tui_statusbar", "on")
+        return _ok(rid, {"value": _coerce_statusbar(raw)})
     if key == "mtime":
         cfg_path = _hermes_home / "config.yaml"
         try:

ui-tui/src/__tests__/useConfigSync.test.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 
 import { $uiState, resetUiState } from '../app/uiStore.js'
-import { applyDisplay } from '../app/useConfigSync.js'
+import { applyDisplay, normalizeStatusBar } from '../app/useConfigSync.js'
 
 describe('applyDisplay', () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ describe('applyDisplay', () => {
     expect(s.inlineDiffs).toBe(false)
     expect(s.showCost).toBe(true)
     expect(s.showReasoning).toBe(true)
-    expect(s.statusBar).toBe(false)
+    expect(s.statusBar).toBe('off')
     expect(s.streaming).toBe(false)
   })
 
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ describe('applyDisplay', () => {
     expect(s.inlineDiffs).toBe(true)
     expect(s.showCost).toBe(false)
     expect(s.showReasoning).toBe(false)
-    expect(s.statusBar).toBe(true)
+    expect(s.statusBar).toBe('on')
     expect(s.streaming).toBe(true)
   })
 
@@ -64,4 +64,35 @@ describe('applyDisplay', () => {
     expect(s.inlineDiffs).toBe(true)
     expect(s.streaming).toBe(true)
   })
+
+  it('accepts the new string statusBar modes', () => {
+    const setBell = vi.fn()
+
+    applyDisplay({ config: { display: { tui_statusbar: 'bottom' } } }, setBell)
+    expect($uiState.get().statusBar).toBe('bottom')
+
+    applyDisplay({ config: { display: { tui_statusbar: 'top' } } }, setBell)
+    expect($uiState.get().statusBar).toBe('top')
+  })
+})
+
+describe('normalizeStatusBar', () => {
+  it('maps legacy bool to on/off', () => {
+    expect(normalizeStatusBar(true)).toBe('on')
+    expect(normalizeStatusBar(false)).toBe('off')
+  })
+
+  it('passes through the new string enum', () => {
+    expect(normalizeStatusBar('on')).toBe('on')
+    expect(normalizeStatusBar('off')).toBe('off')
+    expect(normalizeStatusBar('bottom')).toBe('bottom')
+    expect(normalizeStatusBar('top')).toBe('top')
+  })
+
+  it('defaults missing/unknown values to on', () => {
+    expect(normalizeStatusBar(undefined)).toBe('on')
+    expect(normalizeStatusBar(null)).toBe('on')
+    expect(normalizeStatusBar('sideways')).toBe('on')
+    expect(normalizeStatusBar(42)).toBe('on')
+  })
 })

ui-tui/src/app/interfaces.ts

@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@ export interface StateSetter<T> {
   (value: SetStateAction<T>): void
 }
 
+export type StatusBarMode = 'bottom' | 'off' | 'on' | 'top'
+
 export interface SelectionApi {
   clearSelection: () => void
   copySelection: () => string
@@ -89,7 +91,7 @@ export interface UiState {
   showReasoning: boolean
   sid: null | string
   status: string
-  statusBar: boolean
+  statusBar: StatusBarMode
   streaming: boolean
   theme: Theme
   usage: Usage

ui-tui/src/app/slash/commands/core.ts

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import type {
   SessionSteerResponse,
   SessionUndoResponse
 } from '../../../gatewayTypes.js'
+import type { StatusBarMode } from '../../interfaces.js'
 import { writeOsc52Clipboard } from '../../../lib/osc52.js'
 import { configureDetectedTerminalKeybindings, configureTerminalKeybindings } from '../../../lib/terminalSetup.js'
 import type { DetailsMode, Msg, PanelSection } from '../../../types.js'
@@ -305,19 +306,30 @@ export const coreCommands: SlashCommand[] = [
 
   {
     aliases: ['sb'],
-    help: 'toggle status bar',
+    help: 'status bar position (on|off|bottom|top)',
     name: 'statusbar',
     run: (arg, ctx) => {
-      const next = flagFromArg(arg, ctx.ui.statusBar)
+      const mode = arg.trim().toLowerCase()
+      const current = ctx.ui.statusBar
+      // No-arg / `toggle` flips visibility while preserving the last
+      // explicit position: off → on (inline default), any-visible → off.
+      const next: null | StatusBarMode =
+        mode === '' || mode === 'toggle'
+          ? current === 'off'
+            ? 'on'
+            : 'off'
+          : mode === 'on' || mode === 'off' || mode === 'bottom' || mode === 'top'
+            ? mode
+            : null
 
       if (next === null) {
-        return ctx.transcript.sys('usage: /statusbar [on|off|toggle]')
+        return ctx.transcript.sys('usage: /statusbar [on|off|bottom|top|toggle]')
       }
 
       patchUiState({ statusBar: next })
-      ctx.gateway.rpc<ConfigSetResponse>('config.set', { key: 'statusbar', value: next ? 'on' : 'off' }).catch(() => {})
+      ctx.gateway.rpc<ConfigSetResponse>('config.set', { key: 'statusbar', value: next }).catch(() => {})
 
-      queueMicrotask(() => ctx.transcript.sys(`status bar ${next ? 'on' : 'off'}`))
+      queueMicrotask(() => ctx.transcript.sys(`status bar ${next}`))
     }
   },
 

ui-tui/src/app/uiStore.ts

@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ const buildUiState = (): UiState => ({
   showReasoning: false,
   sid: null,
   status: 'summoning hermes…',
-  statusBar: true,
+  statusBar: 'on',
   streaming: true,
   theme: DEFAULT_THEME,
   usage: ZERO

ui-tui/src/app/useConfigSync.ts

@@ -10,9 +10,23 @@ import type {
 } from '../gatewayTypes.js'
 import { asRpcResult } from '../lib/rpc.js'
 
+import type { StatusBarMode } from './interfaces.js'
 import { turnController } from './turnController.js'
 import { patchUiState } from './uiStore.js'
 
+const STATUSBAR_MODES = new Set<StatusBarMode>(['bottom', 'off', 'on', 'top'])
+
+// Legacy configs stored tui_statusbar as a bool; new configs write a string
+// ('on' | 'off' | 'bottom' | 'top'). Coerce both shapes so existing users
+// keep their preference without manual migration.
+export const normalizeStatusBar = (raw: unknown): StatusBarMode => {
+  if (raw === false) return 'off'
+  if (raw === true || raw == null) return 'on'
+  if (typeof raw === 'string' && STATUSBAR_MODES.has(raw as StatusBarMode)) return raw as StatusBarMode
+
+  return 'on'
+}
+
 const MTIME_POLL_MS = 5000
 
 const quietRpc = async <T extends Record<string, any> = Record<string, any>>(
@@ -37,7 +51,7 @@ export const applyDisplay = (cfg: ConfigFullResponse | null, setBell: (v: boolea
     inlineDiffs: d.inline_diffs !== false,
     showCost: !!d.show_cost,
     showReasoning: !!d.show_reasoning,
-    statusBar: d.tui_statusbar !== false,
+    statusBar: normalizeStatusBar(d.tui_statusbar),
     streaming: d.streaming !== false
   })
 }

ui-tui/src/components/appLayout.tsx

@@ -184,6 +184,8 @@ const ComposerPane = memo(function ComposerPane({
       )}
 
       <Box flexDirection="column" position="relative">
+        <StatusRulePane at="on" composer={composer} status={status} />
+
         <FloatingOverlays
           cols={composer.cols}
           compIdx={composer.compIdx}
@@ -195,7 +197,7 @@ const ComposerPane = memo(function ComposerPane({
       </Box>
 
       {!isBlocked && (
-        <Box flexDirection="column" marginBottom={1}>
+        <Box flexDirection="column" marginBottom={ui.statusBar === 'bottom' ? 0 : 1}>
           {composer.inputBuf.map((line, i) => (
             <Box key={i}>
               <Box width={3}>
@@ -255,10 +257,14 @@ const AgentsOverlayPane = memo(function AgentsOverlayPane() {
   )
 })
 
-const StatusRulePane = memo(function StatusRulePane({ composer, status }: Pick<AppLayoutProps, 'composer' | 'status'>) {
+const StatusRulePane = memo(function StatusRulePane({
+  at,
+  composer,
+  status
+}: Pick<AppLayoutProps, 'composer' | 'status'> & { at: 'bottom' | 'on' | 'top' }) {
   const ui = useStore($uiState)
 
-  if (!ui.statusBar) {
+  if (ui.statusBar !== at) {
     return null
   }
 
@@ -294,6 +300,8 @@ export const AppLayout = memo(function AppLayout({
   return (
     <AlternateScreen mouseTracking={mouseTracking}>
       <Box flexDirection="column" flexGrow={1}>
+        {!overlay.agents && <StatusRulePane at="top" composer={composer} status={status} />}
+
         <Box flexDirection="row" flexGrow={1}>
           {overlay.agents ? (
             <AgentsOverlayPane />
@@ -314,7 +322,7 @@ export const AppLayout = memo(function AppLayout({
 
         {!overlay.agents && <ComposerPane actions={actions} composer={composer} status={status} />}
 
-        {!overlay.agents && <StatusRulePane composer={composer} status={status} />}
+        {!overlay.agents && <StatusRulePane at="bottom" composer={composer} status={status} />}
       </Box>
     </AlternateScreen>
   )

ui-tui/src/gatewayTypes.ts

@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ export interface ConfigDisplayConfig {
   streaming?: boolean
   thinking_mode?: string
   tui_compact?: boolean
-  tui_statusbar?: boolean
+  tui_statusbar?: 'bottom' | 'off' | 'on' | 'top' | boolean
 }
 
 export interface ConfigFullResponse {