hermes-agent/docs/plans/2026-04-01-ink-gateway-tui-migration-plan.md
Brooklyn Nicholson 23212d6b40 docs: kill "PT" shorthand — say "classic (prompt_toolkit) CLI"
"PT" was internal shorthand for prompt_toolkit that leaked into
AGENTS.md and the TUI post-mortem. Spell it out.

- AGENTS.md: "PT CLI" → "classic (prompt_toolkit) CLI"
- docs/plans/2026-04-01-ink-gateway-tui-migration-plan.md: both hits
2026-04-16 19:39:09 -05:00

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# Ink Gateway TUI Migration — Post-mortem
Planned: 2026-04-01 · Delivered: 2026-04 · Status: shipped, classic (prompt_toolkit) CLI still present
## What Shipped
Three layers, same repo, Python runtime unchanged.
```
ui-tui (Node/TS) ──stdio JSON-RPC──▶ tui_gateway (Py) ──▶ AIAgent (run_agent.py)
```
### Backend — `tui_gateway/`
```
tui_gateway/
├── entry.py # subprocess entrypoint, stdio read/write loop
├── server.py # everything: sessions dict, @method handlers, _emit
├── render.py # stream renderer, diff rendering, message rendering
├── slash_worker.py # subprocess that runs hermes_cli slash commands
└── __init__.py
```
`server.py` owns the full runtime-control surface: session store (`_sessions: dict[str, dict]`), method registry (`@method("…")` decorator), event emitter (`_emit`), agent lifecycle (`_make_agent`, `_init_session`, `_wire_callbacks`), approval/sudo/clarify round-trips, and JSON-RPC dispatch.
Protocol methods (`@method(...)` in `server.py`):
- session: `session.{create, resume, list, close, interrupt, usage, history, compress, branch, title, save, undo}`
- prompt: `prompt.{submit, background, btw}`
- tools: `tools.{list, show, configure}`
- slash: `slash.exec`, `command.{dispatch, resolve}`, `commands.catalog`, `complete.{path, slash}`
- approvals: `approval.respond`, `sudo.respond`, `clarify.respond`, `secret.respond`
- config/state: `config.{get, set, show}`, `model.options`, `reload.mcp`
- ops: `shell.exec`, `cli.exec`, `terminal.resize`, `input.detect_drop`, `clipboard.paste`, `paste.collapse`, `image.attach`, `process.stop`
- misc: `agents.list`, `skills.manage`, `plugins.list`, `cron.manage`, `insights.get`, `rollback.{list, diff, restore}`, `browser.manage`
Protocol events (`_emit(…)` → handled in `ui-tui/src/app/createGatewayEventHandler.ts`):
- lifecycle: `gateway.{ready, stderr}`, `session.info`, `skin.changed`
- stream: `message.{start, delta, complete}`, `thinking.delta`, `reasoning.{delta, available}`, `status.update`
- tools: `tool.{start, progress, complete, generating}`, `subagent.{start, thinking, tool, progress, complete}`
- interactive: `approval.request`, `sudo.request`, `clarify.request`, `secret.request`
- async: `background.complete`, `btw.complete`, `error`
### Frontend — `ui-tui/src/`
```
src/
├── entry.tsx # node bootstrap: bootBanner → spawn python → dynamic-import Ink → render(<App/>)
├── app.tsx # <GatewayProvider> wraps <AppLayout>
├── bootBanner.ts # raw-ANSI banner to stdout in ~2ms, pre-React
├── gatewayClient.ts # JSON-RPC client over child_process stdio
├── gatewayTypes.ts # typed RPC responses + GatewayEvent union
├── theme.ts # DEFAULT_THEME + fromSkin
├── app/ # hooks + stores — the orchestration layer
│ ├── uiStore.ts # nanostore: sid, info, busy, usage, theme, status…
│ ├── turnStore.ts # nanostore: per-turn activity / reasoning / tools
│ ├── turnController.ts # imperative singleton for stream-time operations
│ ├── overlayStore.ts # nanostore: modal/overlay state
│ ├── useMainApp.ts # top-level composition hook
│ ├── useSessionLifecycle.ts # session.create/resume/close/reset
│ ├── useSubmission.ts # shell/slash/prompt dispatch + interpolation
│ ├── useConfigSync.ts # config.get + mtime poll
│ ├── useComposerState.ts # input buffer, paste snippets, editor mode
│ ├── useInputHandlers.ts # key bindings
│ ├── createGatewayEventHandler.ts # event-stream dispatcher
│ ├── createSlashHandler.ts # slash command router (registry + python fallback)
│ └── slash/commands/ # core.ts, ops.ts, session.ts — TS-owned slash commands
├── components/ # AppLayout, AppChrome, AppOverlays, MessageLine, Thinking, Markdown, pickers, prompts, Banner, SessionPanel
├── config/ # env, limits, timing constants
├── content/ # charms, faces, fortunes, hotkeys, placeholders, verbs
├── domain/ # details, messages, paths, roles, slash, usage, viewport
├── protocol/ # interpolation, paste regex
├── hooks/ # useCompletion, useInputHistory, useQueue, useVirtualHistory
└── lib/ # history, messages, osc52, rpc, text
```
### CLI entry points — `hermes_cli/main.py`
- `hermes --tui``node dist/entry.js` (auto-builds when `.ts`/`.tsx` newer than `dist/entry.js`)
- `hermes --tui --dev``tsx src/entry.tsx` (skip build)
- `HERMES_TUI_DIR=…` → external prebuilt dist (nix, distro packaging)
## Diverged From Original Plan
| Plan | Reality | Why |
|---|---|---|
| `tui_gateway/{controller,session_state,events,protocol}.py` | all collapsed into `server.py` | no second consumer ever emerged, keeping one file cheaper than four |
| `ui-tui/src/main.tsx` | split into `entry.tsx` (bootstrap) + `app.tsx` (shell) | boot banner + early python spawn wanted a pre-React moment |
| `ui-tui/src/state/store.ts` | three nanostores (`uiStore`, `turnStore`, `overlayStore`) | separate lifetimes: ui persists, turn resets per reply, overlay is modal |
| `approval.requested` / `sudo.requested` / `clarify.requested` | `*.request` (no `-ed`) | cosmetic |
| `session.cancel` | dropped | `session.interrupt` covers it |
| `HERMES_EXPERIMENTAL_TUI=1`, `display.experimental_tui: true`, `/tui on/off/status` | none shipped | `--tui` went from opt-in to first-class without an experimental phase |
## Post-migration Additions (not in original plan)
- **Async `session.create`** — returns sid in ~1ms, agent builds on a background thread, `session.info` broadcasts when ready; `_wait_agent()` gates every agent-touching handler via `_sess`
- **`bootBanner`** — raw-ANSI logo painted to stdout at T≈2ms, before Ink loads; `<AlternateScreen>` wipes it seamlessly when React mounts
- **Selection uniform bg** — `theme.color.selectionBg` wired via `useSelection().setSelectionBgColor`; replaces SGR-inverse per-cell swap that fragmented over amber/gold fg
- **Slash command registry** — TS-owned commands in `app/slash/commands/{core,ops,session}.ts`, everything else falls through to `slash.exec` (python worker)
- **Turn store + controller split** — imperative singleton (`turnController`) holds refs/timers, nanostore (`turnStore`) holds render-visible state
## What's Still Open
- **Classic CLI not deleted.** `cli.py` still has ~80 `prompt_toolkit` references; classic REPL is still the default when `--tui` is absent. The original plan's "Cut 4 · prompt_toolkit removal later" hasn't happened.
- **No config-file opt-in.** `HERMES_EXPERIMENTAL_TUI` and `display.experimental_tui` were never built; only the CLI flag exists. Fine for now — if we want "default to TUI", a single line in `main.py` flips it.