PR #16046 added /busy and /verbose hints to the classic CLI and the
gateway runner but skipped the Ink TUI (and therefore the dashboard
/chat page, which embeds the TUI via PTY). This extends the same
latch to the TUI with TUI-native wording.
The TUI's busy-input model is not the /busy knob from the CLI —
single Enter while busy auto-queues, double Enter on an empty line
interrupts. The new busy-input hint teaches THAT gesture instead of
telling the user to flip a config that does not apply.
Changes:
- agent/onboarding.py — add busy_input_hint_tui() + tool_progress_hint_tui()
- tui_gateway/server.py — onboarding.claim JSON-RPC (Ink triggers busy
hint on enqueue) + _maybe_emit_onboarding_hint helper hooked into
_on_tool_complete for the 30s/tool_progress=all path. Same
config.yaml latch so each hint fires at most once per install across
CLI, gateway, and TUI combined.
- ui-tui/src/gatewayTypes.ts — OnboardingClaimResponse + onboarding.hint event
- ui-tui/src/app/createGatewayEventHandler.ts — render the hint event as sys()
- ui-tui/src/app/useSubmission.ts — claim busy_input_prompt on first
busy enqueue
- tests/agent/test_onboarding.py — +3 cases for TUI hint shape
- tests/tui_gateway/test_protocol.py — +4 cases for onboarding.claim
- website/docs/user-guide/tui.md — new 'Interrupting and queueing'
section explaining the TUI's double-Enter model and the hints
Validation:
scripts/run_tests.sh tests/agent/test_onboarding.py \
tests/tui_gateway/test_protocol.py \
tests/gateway/test_busy_session_ack.py
-> 66 passed
npm --prefix ui-tui run type-check -> clean
npm --prefix ui-tui run lint -> clean
npm --prefix ui-tui run build -> clean
Extends SECTION_DEFAULTS so the out-of-the-box TUI shows the turn as
a live transcript (reasoning + tool calls streaming inline) instead of
a wall of `▸` chevrons the user has to click every turn.
Final default matrix:
- thinking: expanded
- tools: expanded
- activity: hidden (unchanged from the previous commit)
- subagents: falls through to details_mode (collapsed by default)
Everything explicit in `display.sections` still wins, so anyone who
already pinned an override keeps their layout. One-line revert is
`display.sections.<name>: collapsed`.
The activity panel (gateway hints, terminal-parity nudges, background
notifications) is noise for the typical day-to-day user, who only cares
about thinking + tools + streamed content. Make `hidden` the built-in
default for that section so users land on the quiet mode out of the box.
Tool failures still render inline on the failing tool row, so this
default suppresses the noise feed without losing the signal.
Opt back in with `display.sections.activity: collapsed` (chevron) or
`expanded` (always open) in `~/.hermes/config.yaml`, or live with
`/details activity collapsed`.
Implementation: SECTION_DEFAULTS in domain/details.ts, applied as the
fallback in `sectionMode()` between the explicit override and the
global details_mode. Existing `display.sections.activity` overrides
take precedence — no migration needed for users who already set it.
The example-skin.yaml was removed as part of the stale docs cleanup.
Docusaurus features/skins.md covers the same material.
Also update AUTHOR_MAP for balyan.sid@gmail.com → alt-glitch (actual
GitHub login; balyansid returns 404).
The status bar was showing stale lifecycle text ("running…") while the
face+verb stream flickered through the thinking panel as Python pushed
thinking.delta events. That's backwards — the face ticker is the
primary "I'm alive" signal, it belongs in the status bar; the thinking
panel is for substantive reasoning and tool activity.
Status bar now reads `ui.busy`: when true, renders a local `<FaceTicker>`
cycling FACES × VERBS on a 2.5s interval, unaffected by server events.
When false, the bar shows the actual status string (ready, starting
agent…, interrupted, etc.).
Side effect: `scheduleThinkingStatus` still patches `ui.status` with
Python's face text, but while busy the bar ignores that string and uses
the ticker instead. No server-side changes needed — Python keeps
emitting thinking.delta as a liveness heartbeat, the TUI just doesn't
let it fight the status bar.
"Ink" is the React reconciler — implementation detail, not branding.
Consistent naming: the classic CLI is the CLI, the new one is the TUI.
Updated docs: user-guide/tui.md, user-guide/cli.md cross-link, quickstart,
cli-commands reference, environment-variables reference.
Updated code: main.py --tui help text, server.py user-visible setup
error, AGENTS.md "TUI Architecture" section.
Kept "Ink" only where it is literally the library (hermes-ink internal
source comments, AGENTS.md tree note flagging ui-tui/ as a React/Ink dir).
New primary guide at `user-guide/tui.md` covering launch, requirements,
keybindings, slash commands, status line, configuration, sessions, and
the revert path. Matches the voice of `user-guide/cli.md`.
Cross-links:
- `user-guide/cli.md`: tip callout pointing readers at the Ink TUI
- `getting-started/quickstart.md`: shows both `hermes` and `hermes --tui`
under "Start Chatting" so first-run users know they have the choice
- `reference/environment-variables.md`: new "Interface" section with
`HERMES_TUI` and `HERMES_TUI_DIR`
- `reference/cli-commands.md`: `--tui` and `--dev` added to global options
Sidebar: `user-guide/tui` slotted right after `user-guide/cli`.
