mini-coder 0.5.3 → 0.5.4

package/README.md

@@ -59,32 +59,34 @@ Plugins can add more tools, but the core stays intentionally small.
 
 ## Commands
 
-| Command      | Description                                                            |
-| ------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
-| `/model`     | Switch models. Persists as the global default.                         |
-| `/session`   | List and resume sessions scoped to the current working directory.      |
-| `/new`       | Start a fresh session and reset cumulative usage counters.             |
-| `/fork`      | Copy the conversation into a new session and continue independently.   |
-| `/undo`      | Remove the last conversational turn (does not revert file changes).    |
-| `/reasoning` | Toggle thinking visibility. Persisted and restored on launch.          |
-| `/verbose`   | Toggle verbose shell rendering plus edit previews/errors in the log.   |
-| `/login`     | Interactive OAuth login for supported providers.                       |
-| `/logout`    | Clear saved OAuth credentials for a logged-in provider.                |
-| `/effort`    | Set reasoning effort: low, medium, high, or xhigh.                     |
-| `/help`      | List commands, loaded AGENTS.md files, discovered skills, and plugins. |
+| Command      | Description                                                                                            |
+| ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
+| `/model`     | Switch models and save the choice as the global default.                                               |
+| `/session`   | Open the session picker for the current working directory.                                             |
+| `/new`       | Start a fresh session and reset the running token and cost totals.                                     |
+| `/fork`      | Fork the current chat into a new session, keep the original, and add a UI-only `Forked session.` note. |
+| `/undo`      | Remove the last conversational turn without touching filesystem changes.                               |
+| `/reasoning` | Show or hide model thinking. The setting is saved and restored on launch.                              |
+| `/verbose`   | Expand shell output plus edit previews and edit errors in the conversation log.                        |
+| `/login`     | Sign in with a supported OAuth provider.                                                               |
+| `/logout`    | Remove saved OAuth credentials for a logged-in provider.                                               |
+| `/effort`    | Choose low, medium, high, or xhigh reasoning effort.                                                   |
+| `/help`      | Show commands, current toggles, loaded AGENTS.md files, skills, and plugins.                           |
 
 ## Key bindings
 
-| Key           | Action                                            |
-| ------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
-| `Enter`       | Submit message                                    |
-| `Shift+Enter` | Insert newline                                    |
-| `Escape`      | Interrupt current turn, preserve partial response |
-| `Tab`         | File path autocomplete (or command filter on `/`) |
-| `Ctrl+R`      | Search global raw input history                   |
-| `Ctrl+C`      | Graceful exit                                     |
-| `Ctrl+D`      | Graceful exit (EOF, when input is empty)          |
-| `:q`          | Graceful exit                                     |
+| Key           | Action                                                                                                     |
+| ------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| `Enter`       | Submit message                                                                                             |
+| `Shift+Enter` | Insert newline                                                                                             |
+| `Escape`      | Dismiss the overlay without changing the draft; otherwise interrupt the running turn; otherwise do nothing |
+| `Tab`         | Autocomplete a path, or open the command picker when the draft starts with `/`                             |
+| `Ctrl+R`      | Search global raw input history                                                                            |
+| `Ctrl+C`      | Graceful exit                                                                                              |
+| `Ctrl+D`      | Graceful exit when the input is empty                                                                      |
+| `:q`          | Graceful exit                                                                                              |
+| `Ctrl+Z`      | Suspend the process                                                                                        |
+| Mouse wheel   | Scroll conversation history                                                                                |
 
 ## Headless one-shot mode
 
@@ -95,10 +97,12 @@ $ mc -p "summarize this repo"
 $ printf '%s\n' 'fix the failing tests' | mc
 ```
 
-- Enabled when `-p/--prompt` is provided or when stdin/stdout is not a TTY.
-- Reuses the same input parsing rules as the interactive UI for plain text, `/skill:name`, and standalone image paths.
-- Streams newline-delimited JSON events to stdout.
-- Interactive slash commands such as `/model` and `/help` are not available in headless mode.
+- Starts when `-p/--prompt` is provided or when stdin or stdout is not a TTY.
+- If stdout is redirected but stdin is still interactive, pass `-p`; headless mode will not fall back to an interactive prompt.
+- Uses the same parser as the TUI for plain text, `/skill:name`, and standalone image paths.
+- Writes raw NDJSON events to stdout for text deltas, tool activity, final messages, and `done` / `error` / `aborted` outcomes.
+- Headless runs still persist like normal sessions and show up in `/session` history for that working directory.
+- Interactive slash commands such as `/model`, `/session`, and `/help` are not available in headless mode.
 
 ## Docs
 

package/bun.lock

@@ -5,9 +5,9 @@
     "": {
       "name": "mini-coder",
       "dependencies": {
-        "@cel-tui/components": "^0.6.2",
-        "@cel-tui/core": "^0.6.2",
-        "@cel-tui/types": "^0.6.2",
+        "@cel-tui/components": "0.7.2",
+        "@cel-tui/core": "0.7.2",
+        "@cel-tui/types": "0.7.2",
         "@mariozechner/pi-ai": "^0.66.1",
       },
       "devDependencies": {
@@ -108,11 +108,11 @@
 
     "@biomejs/cli-win32-x64": ["@biomejs/cli-win32-x64@2.4.11", "", { "os": "win32", "cpu": "x64" }, "sha512-A8D3JM/00C2KQgUV3oj8Ba15EHEYwebAGCy5Sf9GAjr5Y3+kJIYOiESoqRDeuRZueuMdCsbLZIUqmPhpYXJE9A=="],
 
-    "@cel-tui/components": ["@cel-tui/components@0.6.2", "", { "dependencies": { "@cel-tui/core": "0.6.2", "@cel-tui/types": "0.6.2", "lextide": "^0.1.0", "yoctomarkdown": "^0.1.0" }, "peerDependencies": { "typescript": ">=5.0.0" } }, "sha512-FYR7lX3/gPAyEkfMuyVapdxfO0e9OIw4lmdIUF2Tw7QszkpV4MAkEoB3G2oUY6UZyxJCSCKLBPvLzwu5uxaDgw=="],
+    "@cel-tui/components": ["@cel-tui/components@0.7.2", "", { "dependencies": { "@cel-tui/core": "0.7.2", "@cel-tui/types": "0.7.2", "lextide": "^0.2.1", "yoctomarkdown": "^0.1.0" }, "peerDependencies": { "typescript": ">=5.0.0" } }, "sha512-RHq7G/lS6A733l534cSStQp+cJECkxZZWrLghbPHwGBsSeDdJ2MkrQm+02roh6EH/N40ZAYjQqplq8acRrnFFQ=="],
 
-    "@cel-tui/core": ["@cel-tui/core@0.6.2", "", { "dependencies": { "@cel-tui/types": "0.6.2", "get-east-asian-width": "^1.5.0" }, "peerDependencies": { "typescript": ">=5.0.0" } }, "sha512-KJQdDMPbwLE211Hvn75jUKEvHiKTtQ7iVGJiiOpG+s4DjhnpySBXWO0hReMxe5NR2NPls7wmze1dBZ8/MXqVXA=="],
+    "@cel-tui/core": ["@cel-tui/core@0.7.2", "", { "dependencies": { "@cel-tui/types": "0.7.2", "get-east-asian-width": "^1.5.0" }, "peerDependencies": { "typescript": ">=5.0.0" } }, "sha512-Y5qdI9Zoa77Olq/LD+vqf3j0hyCRJYkkTkIdUfQplSDSUJS5NM+VSnxcQ8RCUNmrIsHeLmmAPHYsBsS1WMWk1w=="],
 
-    "@cel-tui/types": ["@cel-tui/types@0.6.2", "", { "peerDependencies": { "typescript": ">=5.0.0" } }, "sha512-JsJdo20KmgtC67QlG/ZrZyGi0xNJBKd3G6kM/yN/6/hk8a86P+1k1jqtSUjcZ4E9x1v9IXqPk6QelU7kLyOV1A=="],
+    "@cel-tui/types": ["@cel-tui/types@0.7.2", "", { "peerDependencies": { "typescript": ">=5.0.0" } }, "sha512-XEmYkGqtBMOXI/DKLopv5OL7d5/8ybkj1OpJO4weWPyx4Y6VY9pYFaj8zYhVaFSQZcB23/yoA+DPYi0kOgoZhQ=="],
 
     "@google/genai": ["@google/genai@1.48.0", "", { "dependencies": { "google-auth-library": "^10.3.0", "p-retry": "^4.6.2", "protobufjs": "^7.5.4", "ws": "^8.18.0" }, "peerDependencies": { "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk": "^1.25.2" }, "optionalPeers": ["@modelcontextprotocol/sdk"] }, "sha512-plonYK4ML2PrxsRD9SeqmFt76eREWkQdPCglOA6aYDzL1AAbE+7PUnT54SvpWGfws13L0AZEqGSpL7+1IPnTxQ=="],
 
@@ -342,7 +342,7 @@
 
     "lefthook-windows-x64": ["lefthook-windows-x64@2.1.5", "", { "os": "win32", "cpu": "x64" }, "sha512-yiAh8qxml6uqy10jDxOdN9fOQpyLxBFY1fgCEAhn7sVJYmJKRhjqSBwZX6LG5MQjzr29KStrIdw7TR3lf3rT7Q=="],
 
-    "lextide": ["lextide@0.1.0", "", {}, "sha512-i1fx9SzultDOIgVtFt/vBOeyFaGYCNLT6OcdqOLRfWL9p6aTQsq8JQ+8LpJ4T7znWNjfjLqUU6dK5g2kXhSq3A=="],
+    "lextide": ["lextide@0.2.1", "", {}, "sha512-fP7liS0LoNJz2EF6G7+K21yvB58bJEjaTrsDcPi4Qv7xZynB9NzjY44N6tFK6SJaECHIUqF2kcWbWQ84hPfmlg=="],
 
     "long": ["long@5.3.2", "", {}, "sha512-mNAgZ1GmyNhD7AuqnTG3/VQ26o760+ZYBPKjPvugO8+nLbYfX6TVpJPseBvopbdY+qpZ/lKUnmEc1LeZYS3QAA=="],
 

package/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "mini-coder",
-  "version": "0.5.3",
+  "version": "0.5.4",
   "description": "A small, fast CLI coding agent",
   "module": "src/index.ts",
   "type": "module",
@@ -18,9 +18,9 @@
     "test": "bun test"
   },
   "dependencies": {
-    "@cel-tui/components": "^0.6.2",
-    "@cel-tui/core": "^0.6.2",
-    "@cel-tui/types": "^0.6.2",
+    "@cel-tui/components": "^0.7.2",
+    "@cel-tui/core": "^0.7.2",
+    "@cel-tui/types": "^0.7.2",
     "@mariozechner/pi-ai": "^0.66.1"
   },
   "devDependencies": {

package/src/prompt.ts

@@ -225,6 +225,7 @@ Workflow: **inspect with shell → mutate with edit → verify with shell**.
 
 - Think first: before any tool call, decide all files and information you need.
 - Early in the task, look for acceptance criteria in tests, verifier scripts, eval scripts, examples, and expected-output files. Do not rely on the task text alone when machine-checkable criteria are available.
+- Before relying on a binary, interpreter, or CLI helper you have not yet confirmed, probe availability with focused checks such as \`command -v <tool>\`, \`<tool> --version\`, or \`python3 -m pip --version\`, then adapt to what is actually installed.
 - Batch reads: if you need multiple files, read them together in parallel rather than one at a time.
 - Only make sequential calls when a later call genuinely depends on an earlier result.
 
@@ -233,13 +234,15 @@ Workflow: **inspect with shell → mutate with edit → verify with shell**.
 - Be concise. Friendly coding teammate tone.
 - After making changes: lead with a quick explanation of what changed and why, then suggest logical next steps if any.
 - Don't dump large file contents you've written — reference file paths.
-- When suggesting multiple options, use numbered lists so the user can reply with a number.
+- When discussing multiple options, use numbered lists so the user can reply with a number without turning it into a questionnaire.
 - If asked for a review, focus on bugs, risks, regressions, and missing tests. Findings first, ordered by severity.
 
 # Persistence
 
 - Carry work through to completion within the current turn. Don't stop at analysis or partial fixes.
 - Once the contract is clear, create the required artifact early, then iterate and improve it. Do not spend most of the turn exploring.
+- Run the narrowest verifier or test as soon as there is a plausible first implementation or artifact. Do not delay the first verification run until the end.
+- When verification is down to a small number of failures, stop broad exploration and focus only on the remaining failing assertions or exact contract gaps until the last detail passes.
 - If you encounter an error, diagnose and fix it rather than reporting it and stopping.
 - Before concluding, run the smallest targeted verification that checks the exact contract: required files exist, names and signatures match, outputs are in the required format, and no forbidden extra artifacts were left behind.
 - Avoid excessive looping: if you're re-reading or re-editing the same files without progress, stop and ask the user.`;

package/src/session.ts

@@ -160,6 +160,8 @@ const EMPTY_ASSISTANT_USAGE: AssistantMessage["usage"] = {
   },
 };
 
+const SQLITE_BUSY_TIMEOUT_MS = 1_000;
+
 /** Row shape returned by `SELECT * FROM prompt_history`. */
 type PromptHistoryRow = {
   id: number;
@@ -253,6 +255,7 @@ CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_prompt_history_created_at ON prompt_history(creat
 export function openDatabase(path: string): Database {
   const db = new Database(path);
   db.run("PRAGMA journal_mode = WAL");
+  db.run(`PRAGMA busy_timeout = ${SQLITE_BUSY_TIMEOUT_MS}`);
   db.run("PRAGMA foreign_keys = ON");
   db.exec(SCHEMA);
   return db;
@@ -709,6 +712,31 @@ export function getAssistantUsage(
   };
 }
 
+function runInImmediateTransaction<T>(db: Database, callback: () => T): T {
+  if (db.inTransaction) {
+    return callback();
+  }
+
+  db.run("BEGIN IMMEDIATE");
+  try {
+    const result = callback();
+    db.run("COMMIT");
+    return result;
+  } catch (error) {
+    if (db.inTransaction) {
+      try {
+        db.run("ROLLBACK");
+      } catch (rollbackError) {
+        throw new AggregateError(
+          [error, rollbackError],
+          "Failed to roll back SQLite transaction",
+        );
+      }
+    }
+    throw error;
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * Append a UI-only message to a session's history.
  *
@@ -790,25 +818,27 @@ export function appendMessage(
   message: PersistedMessage,
   turn?: number,
 ): number | null {
-  const now = Date.now();
-
-  let effectiveTurn: number | null;
-  if (isUiMessage(message)) {
-    effectiveTurn = null;
-  } else if (turn !== undefined) {
-    effectiveTurn = turn;
-  } else {
-    const row = db.query<MaxTurnRow, [string]>(SQL.maxTurn).get(sessionId);
-    effectiveTurn = (row?.max_turn ?? 0) + 1;
-  }
+  return runInImmediateTransaction(db, () => {
+    const now = Date.now();
+
+    let effectiveTurn: number | null;
+    if (isUiMessage(message)) {
+      effectiveTurn = null;
+    } else if (turn !== undefined) {
+      effectiveTurn = turn;
+    } else {
+      const row = db.query<MaxTurnRow, [string]>(SQL.maxTurn).get(sessionId);
+      effectiveTurn = (row?.max_turn ?? 0) + 1;
+    }
 
-  db.run(
-    "INSERT INTO messages (session_id, turn, data, created_at) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?)",
-    [sessionId, effectiveTurn, JSON.stringify(message), now],
-  );
-  db.run("UPDATE sessions SET updated_at = ? WHERE id = ?", [now, sessionId]);
+    db.run(
+      "INSERT INTO messages (session_id, turn, data, created_at) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?)",
+      [sessionId, effectiveTurn, JSON.stringify(message), now],
+    );
+    db.run("UPDATE sessions SET updated_at = ? WHERE id = ?", [now, sessionId]);
 
-  return effectiveTurn;
+    return effectiveTurn;
+  });
 }
 
 /**

package/src/ui/conversation.test.ts

@@ -64,7 +64,15 @@ async function renderBufferRows(
   node: Node | null,
   cols = PREVIEW_WIDTH,
   rows = 24,
-): Promise<Array<{ text: string; fgColors: Array<string | null> }>> {
+): Promise<
+  Array<{
+    text: string;
+    fgColors: Array<string | null>;
+    bold: boolean[];
+    italic: boolean[];
+    underline: boolean[];
+  }>
+> {
   if (!node) {
     return [];
   }
@@ -79,16 +87,28 @@ async function renderBufferRows(
     throw new Error("Expected cel-tui to produce a render buffer");
   }
 
-  const snapshot: Array<{ text: string; fgColors: Array<string | null> }> = [];
+  const snapshot: Array<{
+    text: string;
+    fgColors: Array<string | null>;
+    bold: boolean[];
+    italic: boolean[];
+    underline: boolean[];
+  }> = [];
   for (let y = 0; y < rows; y++) {
     let text = "";
     const fgColors: Array<string | null> = [];
+    const bold: boolean[] = [];
+    const italic: boolean[] = [];
+    const underline: boolean[] = [];
     for (let x = 0; x < cols; x++) {
       const cell = buffer.get(x, y);
       text += cell.char;
       fgColors.push(cell.fgColor);
+      bold.push(cell.bold);
+      italic.push(cell.italic);
+      underline.push(cell.underline);
     }
-    snapshot.push({ text, fgColors });
+    snapshot.push({ text, fgColors, bold, italic, underline });
   }
 
   cel.stop();
@@ -119,18 +139,20 @@ afterEach(() => {
 });
 
 describe("ui/conversation", () => {
-  test("renderAssistantMessage preserves visible paragraph order in streamed markdown", () => {
+  test("renderAssistantMessage keeps raw markdown markers visible in assistant text", () => {
     // Arrange
-    const message = fauxAssistantMessage("First paragraph\n\nSecond paragraph");
+    const message = fauxAssistantMessage(
+      "# Heading\n\nUse **bold** and `code`.\n- item",
+    );
 
     // Act
     const text = collectText(renderAssistantMessage(message, RENDER_OPTS));
-    const firstParagraphIndex = text.indexOf("First paragraph");
-    const secondParagraphIndex = text.indexOf("Second paragraph");
 
     // Assert
-    expect(firstParagraphIndex).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0);
-    expect(secondParagraphIndex).toBeGreaterThan(firstParagraphIndex);
+    expect(text).toContain("# Heading");
+    expect(text).toContain("Use **bold** and `code`.");
+    expect(text).toContain("- item");
+    expect(text).not.toContain("Use bold and code.");
   });
 
   test("renderAssistantMessage with reasoning enabled shows thinking blocks", () => {
@@ -196,18 +218,131 @@ describe("ui/conversation", () => {
     expect(height).toBe(6);
   });
 
-  test("renderAssistantMessage keeps markdown paragraph spacing inside a single text block", () => {
+  test("renderAssistantMessage syntax-highlights markdown tokens with theme-derived colors", async () => {
     // Arrange
-    const message = fauxAssistantMessage("First paragraph\n\nSecond paragraph");
+    const theme = {
+      ...DEFAULT_THEME,
+      accentText: "color14",
+      secondaryAccentText: "color09",
+      diffAdded: "color10",
+      mutedText: "color13",
+    } satisfies typeof DEFAULT_THEME;
+    const message = fauxAssistantMessage("# Heading\n- item\n> quote\n`code`");
 
     // Act
-    const height = measureRenderedHeight(
-      renderAssistantMessage(message, RENDER_OPTS),
-      PREVIEW_WIDTH,
+    const rows = await renderBufferRows(
+      renderAssistantMessage(message, {
+        ...RENDER_OPTS,
+        theme,
+      }),
+      32,
+      12,
     );
+    const headingRow = rows.find((row) => row.text.includes("# Heading"));
+    const bulletRow = rows.find((row) => row.text.includes("- item"));
+    const quoteRow = rows.find((row) => row.text.includes("> quote"));
+    const codeRow = rows.find((row) => row.text.includes("`code`"));
 
     // Assert
-    expect(height).toBe(3);
+    expect(headingRow).toBeDefined();
+    expect(bulletRow).toBeDefined();
+    expect(quoteRow).toBeDefined();
+    expect(codeRow).toBeDefined();
+    expect(headingRow?.fgColors[headingRow.text.indexOf("#")]).toBe(
+      theme.accentText ?? null,
+    );
+    expect(bulletRow?.fgColors[bulletRow.text.indexOf("-")]).toBe(
+      theme.secondaryAccentText ?? null,
+    );
+    expect(quoteRow?.fgColors[quoteRow.text.indexOf(">")]).toBe(
+      theme.mutedText ?? null,
+    );
+    expect(quoteRow?.italic[quoteRow.text.indexOf(">")]).toBe(true);
+    expect(codeRow?.fgColors[codeRow.text.indexOf("`")]).toBe(
+      theme.diffAdded ?? null,
+    );
+  });
+
+  test("renderAssistantMessage syntax-highlights markdown emphasis and links with style cues", async () => {
+    // Arrange
+    const theme = {
+      ...DEFAULT_THEME,
+      accentText: "color14",
+      diffAdded: "color10",
+    } satisfies typeof DEFAULT_THEME;
+    const message = fauxAssistantMessage(
+      "*italic* **bold** [label](https://example.com)",
+    );
+
+    // Act
+    const rows = await renderBufferRows(
+      renderAssistantMessage(message, {
+        ...RENDER_OPTS,
+        theme,
+      }),
+      64,
+      12,
+    );
+    const contentRow = rows.find((row) =>
+      row.text.includes("*italic* **bold** [label](https://example.com)"),
+    );
+
+    // Assert
+    expect(contentRow).toBeDefined();
+    expect(contentRow?.italic[contentRow.text.indexOf("*italic*")]).toBe(true);
+    expect(contentRow?.bold[contentRow.text.indexOf("**bold**")]).toBe(true);
+    expect(contentRow?.fgColors[contentRow.text.indexOf("label")]).toBe(
+      theme.diffAdded ?? null,
+    );
+    expect(
+      contentRow?.fgColors[contentRow.text.indexOf("https://example.com")],
+    ).toBe(theme.accentText ?? null);
+    expect(
+      contentRow?.underline[contentRow.text.indexOf("https://example.com")],
+    ).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  test("renderAssistantMessage with adjacent text blocks preserves markdown structure across the block boundary", async () => {
+    // Arrange
+    const singleBlock = {
+      content: [fauxText("```js\nconst x = 1;\n```")],
+    };
+    const splitBlocks = {
+      content: [fauxText("```js\n"), fauxText("const x = 1;\n```")],
+    };
+
+    // Act
+    const singleRows = await renderBufferRows(
+      renderAssistantMessage(singleBlock, RENDER_OPTS),
+      40,
+      12,
+    );
+    const splitRows = await renderBufferRows(
+      renderAssistantMessage(splitBlocks, RENDER_OPTS),
+      40,
+      12,
+    );
+    const singleHeight = measureRenderedHeight(
+      renderAssistantMessage(singleBlock, RENDER_OPTS),
+      40,
+    );
+    const splitHeight = measureRenderedHeight(
+      renderAssistantMessage(splitBlocks, RENDER_OPTS),
+      40,
+    );
+    const singleRow = singleRows.find((row) =>
+      row.text.includes("const x = 1;"),
+    );
+    const splitRow = splitRows.find((row) => row.text.includes("const x = 1;"));
+
+    // Assert
+    expect(singleRow).toBeDefined();
+    expect(splitRow).toBeDefined();
+    expect(singleHeight).toBe(splitHeight);
+    expect(singleRow?.fgColors[singleRow.text.indexOf("const")]).not.toBe(null);
+    expect(splitRow?.fgColors[splitRow.text.indexOf("const")]).toBe(
+      singleRow?.fgColors[singleRow.text.indexOf("const")],
+    );
   });
 
   test("buildConversationLogNodes with a pending shell result keeps the streamed call and result append-only", () => {
@@ -926,6 +1061,37 @@ describe("ui/conversation", () => {
     expect(text).not.toContain("seq 1 25");
   });
 
+  test("renderToolResult for a wrapped shell preview keeps the summary directly below the visible tail", async () => {
+    // Arrange
+    const output = [
+      "line 1",
+      "line 2",
+      "line 3",
+      "line 4",
+      "this is a very long wrapped line that will take more than six rendered rows in the preview width so it gets dropped entirely",
+      "tail A",
+      "tail B",
+    ].join("\n");
+
+    // Act
+    const rows = await renderBufferRows(
+      renderToolResult("shell", { command: "demo" }, output, false, {
+        ...RENDER_OPTS,
+        previewWidth: 24,
+      }),
+      24,
+      20,
+    );
+    const tailRowIndex = rows.findIndex((row) => row.text.includes("tail B"));
+    const summaryRowIndex = rows.findIndex(
+      (row) => row.text.includes("And ") && row.text.includes(" lines more"),
+    );
+
+    // Assert
+    expect(tailRowIndex).toBeGreaterThan(-1);
+    expect(summaryRowIndex).toBe(tailRowIndex + 1);
+  });
+
   test("renderToolResult for shell output in verbose mode shows the full stored output", () => {
     // Arrange
     const output = Array.from({ length: 25 }, (_, i) => `line ${i + 1}`).join(

package/src/ui/conversation.ts

@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@
  */
 
 import {
-  Markdown,
   SyntaxHighlight,
   type SyntaxHighlightTheme,
 } from "@cel-tui/components";
@@ -142,11 +141,15 @@ type ToolRenderLineKind =
   | "summary"
   | "error";
 
-interface HighlightedToolBodySpec {
+type SyntaxThemeVariant = "markdown" | "shell";
+
+interface HighlightedBodySpec {
   /** Full raw source content to syntax-highlight. */
   text: string;
   /** Registered lextide language id. */
   language: string;
+  /** Semantic theme variant for this highlighted content. */
+  themeVariant: SyntaxThemeVariant;
 }
 
 interface ToolBlockSpec {
@@ -157,7 +160,7 @@ interface ToolBlockSpec {
   /** Logical body lines for the tool block. */
   bodyLines: readonly ToolRenderLine[];
   /** Optional syntax-highlighted body rendered from the full unsplit source. */
-  highlightedBody?: HighlightedToolBodySpec;
+  highlightedBody?: HighlightedBodySpec;
   /** Whether `/verbose` preview rules apply to the body. */
   previewBody: boolean;
 }
@@ -222,16 +225,25 @@ function renderUserMessage(msg: UserMessage, theme: Theme): Node {
   ]);
 }
 
-/** Render a markdown block with stable internal paragraph spacing. */
-function renderMarkdownBlock(content: string): Node | null {
-  const children = Markdown(content).map((node) => {
-    if (node.type === "text" && node.content === "") {
-      return node;
-    }
-    return HStack({ padding: { x: 1 } }, [VStack({ flex: 1 }, [node])]);
-  });
+/** Render a syntax-highlighted raw markdown block. */
+function renderMarkdownTextBlock(content: string, theme: Theme): Node | null {
+  if (content === "") {
+    return null;
+  }
 
-  return children.length > 0 ? VStack({ gap: 0 }, children) : null;
+  const children = getHighlightedBodyLines(
+    {
+      text: content,
+      language: "markdown",
+      themeVariant: "markdown",
+    },
+    theme,
+  );
+  if (children.length === 0) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  return HStack({ padding: { x: 1 } }, [VStack({ flex: 1 }, children)]);
 }
 
 function getAssistantErrorMessage(
@@ -270,12 +282,38 @@ function renderThinkingBlock(
   ]);
 }
 
+function coalesceAdjacentTextBlocks(
+  content: AssistantMessage["content"],
+): AssistantMessage["content"] {
+  const coalesced: AssistantMessage["content"] = [];
+
+  for (const block of content) {
+    if (block.type !== "text") {
+      coalesced.push(block);
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    const previous = coalesced.at(-1);
+    if (previous?.type === "text") {
+      coalesced[coalesced.length - 1] = {
+        ...previous,
+        text: previous.text + block.text,
+      };
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    coalesced.push({ ...block });
+  }
+
+  return coalesced;
+}
+
 function renderAssistantContentBlock(
   block: AssistantMessage["content"][number],
   opts: ConversationRenderOpts,
 ): Node | null {
   if (block.type === "text" && block.text) {
-    return renderMarkdownBlock(block.text);
+    return renderMarkdownTextBlock(block.text, opts.theme);
   }
   if (block.type === "thinking" && block.thinking) {
     return renderThinkingBlock(block.thinking, opts);
@@ -297,7 +335,7 @@ export function renderAssistantMessage(
   assistant: AssistantMessage | AssistantRenderState,
   opts: ConversationRenderOpts,
 ): Node | null {
-  const children = assistant.content
+  const children = coalesceAdjacentTextBlocks(assistant.content)
     .map((block) => {
       return renderAssistantContentBlock(block, opts);
     })
@@ -388,7 +426,13 @@ type SyntaxThemeTokenColor = NonNullable<
 const graphemeSegmenter = new Intl.Segmenter(undefined, {
   granularity: "grapheme",
 });
-const shellSyntaxThemeCache = new WeakMap<Theme, SyntaxThemeRegistration>();
+const syntaxThemeCache: Record<
+  SyntaxThemeVariant,
+  WeakMap<Theme, SyntaxThemeRegistration>
+> = {
+  markdown: new WeakMap(),
+  shell: new WeakMap(),
+};
 
 function colorToHex(color: Color | undefined): string | undefined {
   return color ? ANSI_COLOR_HEX[color] : undefined;
@@ -414,14 +458,11 @@ function pushSyntaxTokenColor(
   });
 }
 
-function getShellSyntaxTheme(theme: Theme): SyntaxThemeRegistration {
-  const cached = shellSyntaxThemeCache.get(theme);
-  if (cached) {
-    return cached;
-  }
-
-  const tokenColors: SyntaxThemeTokenColor[] = [];
-  pushSyntaxTokenColor(tokenColors, ["comment", "quote"], theme.mutedText);
+function pushShellSyntaxTokenColors(
+  tokenColors: SyntaxThemeTokenColor[],
+  theme: Theme,
+): void {
+  pushSyntaxTokenColor(tokenColors, "comment", theme.mutedText);
   pushSyntaxTokenColor(
     tokenColors,
     ["keyword", "storage"],
@@ -472,12 +513,47 @@ function getShellSyntaxTheme(theme: Theme): SyntaxThemeRegistration {
     ["entity.name.tag", "name", "tag"],
     theme.accentText,
   );
+}
+
+function pushMarkdownSyntaxTokenColors(
+  tokenColors: SyntaxThemeTokenColor[],
+  theme: Theme,
+): void {
+  pushSyntaxTokenColor(tokenColors, "quote", theme.mutedText, "italic");
+  pushSyntaxTokenColor(tokenColors, "section", theme.accentText, "bold");
+  pushSyntaxTokenColor(
+    tokenColors,
+    "bullet",
+    theme.secondaryAccentText,
+    "bold",
+  );
+  pushSyntaxTokenColor(tokenColors, ["code", "string"], theme.diffAdded);
+  pushSyntaxTokenColor(tokenColors, "link", theme.accentText, "underline");
+  pushSyntaxTokenColor(tokenColors, "strong", undefined, "bold");
+  pushSyntaxTokenColor(tokenColors, "emphasis", undefined, "italic");
+}
+
+function getSyntaxTheme(
+  theme: Theme,
+  variant: SyntaxThemeVariant,
+): SyntaxThemeRegistration {
+  const cache = syntaxThemeCache[variant];
+  const cached = cache.get(theme);
+  if (cached) {
+    return cached;
+  }
+
+  const tokenColors: SyntaxThemeTokenColor[] = [];
+  if (variant === "shell") {
+    pushShellSyntaxTokenColors(tokenColors, theme);
+  } else {
+    pushMarkdownSyntaxTokenColors(tokenColors, theme);
+  }
 
   const syntaxTheme: SyntaxThemeRegistration = {
-    ...(colorToHex(theme.toolText) ? { fg: colorToHex(theme.toolText) } : {}),
     tokenColors,
   };
-  shellSyntaxThemeCache.set(theme, syntaxTheme);
+  cache.set(theme, syntaxTheme);
   return syntaxTheme;
 }
 
@@ -508,7 +584,7 @@ function splitHighlightedTextNode(
   return children;
 }
 
-function normalizeHighlightedToolLine(line: Node): Node {
+function normalizeHighlightedLine(line: Node): Node {
   if (line.type !== "hstack") {
     return line;
   }
@@ -519,8 +595,8 @@ function normalizeHighlightedToolLine(line: Node): Node {
   return HStack(line.props, children);
 }
 
-function getHighlightedToolBodyLines(
-  spec: HighlightedToolBodySpec,
+function getHighlightedBodyLines(
+  spec: HighlightedBodySpec,
   theme: Theme,
 ): Node[] {
   if (spec.text === "") {
@@ -528,9 +604,9 @@ function getHighlightedToolBodyLines(
   }
 
   const highlighted = SyntaxHighlight(spec.text, spec.language, {
-    theme: getShellSyntaxTheme(theme),
+    theme: getSyntaxTheme(theme, spec.themeVariant),
   });
-  return highlighted.children.map((line) => normalizeHighlightedToolLine(line));
+  return highlighted.children.map((line) => normalizeHighlightedLine(line));
 }
 
 /** Render a single styled text node for a tool line. */
@@ -644,6 +720,7 @@ function renderToolBodyFromNodes(
     body: VStack(
       {
         height: UI_TOOL_PREVIEW_ROWS,
+        justifyContent: "end",
       },
       [...previewLines],
     ),
@@ -663,7 +740,7 @@ function renderToolBody(
 ): { body: Node | null; summary?: ToolRenderLine } {
   if (spec.highlightedBody) {
     return renderToolBodyFromNodes(
-      getHighlightedToolBodyLines(spec.highlightedBody, opts.theme),
+      getHighlightedBodyLines(spec.highlightedBody, opts.theme),
       spec.previewBody,
       opts,
     );
@@ -720,6 +797,7 @@ function buildShellToolCallSpec(args: Record<string, unknown>): ToolBlockSpec {
         : {
             text: command,
             language: "bash",
+            themeVariant: "shell",
           },
     previewBody: true,
   };

package/src/ui/help.test.ts

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ describe("ui/help", () => {
     );
   });
 
-  test("buildHelpText includes the current Escape input-focus note", () => {
+  test("buildHelpText describes the current Escape behavior", () => {
     const helpState: HelpRenderState = {
       providers: new Map(),
       model: null,
@@ -37,8 +37,13 @@ describe("ui/help", () => {
 
     const text = buildHelpText(helpState);
 
-    expect(text).toContain("Escape blurs the input first");
-    expect(text).toContain("Tab re-focuses the input");
-    expect(text).toContain("Escape again interrupts the current turn");
+    expect(text).toContain(
+      "Escape closes the current overlay and returns focus to the input",
+    );
+    expect(text).toContain(
+      "With no overlay open, Escape interrupts the current turn",
+    );
+    expect(text).toContain("Otherwise Escape does nothing");
+    expect(text).not.toContain("Escape blurs the input first");
   });
 });

package/src/ui/help.ts

@@ -79,9 +79,11 @@ export function buildHelpText(state: HelpRenderState): string {
   const providerNames = Array.from(state.providers.keys());
   lines.push("");
   lines.push("Note:");
-  lines.push("  While a turn is running, Escape blurs the input first.");
-  lines.push("  Tab re-focuses the input.");
-  lines.push("  Escape again interrupts the current turn.");
+  lines.push(
+    "  Escape closes the current overlay and returns focus to the input.",
+  );
+  lines.push("  With no overlay open, Escape interrupts the current turn.");
+  lines.push("  Otherwise Escape does nothing.");
 
   lines.push("");
   lines.push(

package/src/ui.ts

@@ -572,7 +572,6 @@ function renderConversationLog(state: AppState, width: number): Node {
       flex: 1,
       gap: CONVERSATION_GAP,
       overflow: "scroll",
-      scrollbar: true,
       justifyContent: state.messages.length === 0 ? "center" : undefined,
       scrollOffset: stickToBottom ? Infinity : scrollOffset,
       onScroll: (offset, maxOffset) => {
@@ -631,8 +630,13 @@ export function renderBaseLayout(
           onSuspend?.();
           return;
         }
-        if (key === "escape" && state.running) {
-          if (state.abortController) state.abortController.abort();
+        if (key === "escape") {
+          if (state.running) {
+            inputFocused = true;
+            if (state.abortController) {
+              state.abortController.abort();
+            }
+          }
           return;
         }
         return false;