Output selection and Copy Actions

This records the original isolated implementation. For the later 2C integration, see the integration handoff.

Branch: feature/post-v020-copy-actions. Worktree: /Volumes/nmsh-opus/wt/post-v020-copy-actions. Exact base: 069d954e21d4e35c69d2510f8173bddcd7c1b7c3 (verified before edits). The worktree was created before the updated storage policy. It remains in place under that policy’s existing-worktree exception. Subsequent test scratch and generated evidence use verified /Volumes/T7Tmp/ai-dev storage. No merge, rebase, cherry-pick, tag, release, protected-branch update or other active-worktree edit was performed.

Behavior and architecture

OutputSelection.ts is transient identity/navigation state, not transcript storage or an action registry. Its candidates come only from recentShellCommands(). It records session/shell identity and the OutputBuffer presentation generation, which changes on clear/restore so reused numeric IDs cannot be targeted accidentally. The frontend resolves the live record again before activation. Disappearance cancels without moving an action to a neighboring record.

New configurations use transcript output navigation for bare /copy and /cp. Explicitly persisted quick and picker values remain meaningful, including settings transfer. Explicit selectors, latest, status/report flags, auto-expand and /copy ui keep their existing paths. Enter uses copyRecords(); no payload or clipboard sanitization logic changed. A failed or empty copy leaves navigation available. Async clipboard completion only auto-expands records from the same presentation and live identity.

/actions and /action use the same controller. Enter opens openBlockPalette() using blockPaletteItems() and the existing BLOCK_ACTIONS/runBlockAction() registry/dispatcher. The originating palette returns to selection on Esc; the second Esc restores the entry viewport. An explicit action ends navigation before edit/rerun/pager/report handoff. Numeric Actions forms open that existing palette directly. Live contextual availability is checked again at activation.

Input ownership remains derived from the workspace/composer model. The selector excludes only itself and its own palette when checking eligibility. Running commands, startup, shell switch, hidden/key reads, passthrough, searches, workspace regions and foreign modal UI retain input. Normal typing exits navigation and continues editing. Passive pointer reports and page/wheel inspection keep selection available.

Focus uses selectedRowBand(), including inverse video without color. Reveal operates over existing wrapped rows and leaves folded/filtered representations intact. Anchors distinguish historical headers, folded hints and filter hints from raw rows; synthetic gaps anchor to a neighboring stable row instead of the shared lineIndex: -1. The composer is never rewritten during navigation, preserving cursor, draft and paste atoms and avoiding stale restoration. Fold/filter state stays in its existing authority and is preserved by not mutating it.

The independent multi-picker retains search, multi-selection, preview, ordering, status toggle, report and key operations. Checkmarks replace checkbox text, with independent focus bands and Safe equivalents. Compare reuses framePanel() rules and focus bands; paging/rendering reserve the same frame/header/footer geometry, with compact headers/controls on short screens. The diff engine, reports and clipboard diff are unchanged.

Verification and evidence

Focused serial affected-area tests passed, including the existing copy/report/compare tests and the real-PTY zsh, Bash and Fish navigation fixtures. Source typechecking and diff checks passed. Normal color and Safe/NO_COLOR presentation are tested in separate process environments, matching production capability initialization. Tests clean up private shells/services and semantic resources.

Canonical verify, verify:release, full-suite completion and performance benchmarks are pending, deliberately deferred because Gemini’s canonical verification could still be using the shared host. No exact-feature CI was requested or claimed. Physical terminal validation remains pending. Linux Fish 3.7 issue #356 remains unresolved; passing local Fish fixtures do not settle it.

Evidence directory: /Volumes/T7Tmp/ai-dev/runs/-u/post-v020-copy-actions-0f911fd7/20261016-221535-KGRW40/copy-actions-evidence.

Open index.html for production-renderer SVGs, or inspect frames.json, .ansi and .txt captures. Cases: Copy selection, Actions selection, contextual palette, palette return, /copy ui, Compare; 80×30 and 32×18; normal and Safe/NO_COLOR. frames.json records the source commit and tracked-dirty state. These are deterministic production frames using a simulated session boundary, not physical screenshots or real execution of displayed commands. Raw verification logs are focused.log, pty.log, review-fixes.log, safe-no-color.log, and typecheck.log.

Reproduce focused tests (use explicit test paths, never bare npm test for this slice while verification is shared):

rtk t7run --check
rtk t7run env -u NO_COLOR -u NMSH_COLOR TERM=xterm-256color COLORTERM=truecolor node scripts/dev/copy-actions-checks.mjs tests/outputSelection.test.ts tests/outputSelectionApp.test.ts tests/outputSelectionClipboard.test.ts tests/outputSelectionLive.test.ts tests/copyActionsPresentation.test.ts tests/copySelection.test.ts tests/compareOutput.test.ts
rtk t7run env NO_COLOR=1 NMSH_ICONS=safe node scripts/dev/copy-actions-checks.mjs tests/copyActionsPresentation.test.ts
rtk t7run npm run typecheck
rtk t7run node --import=tsx scripts/dev/copy-actions-frames.ts /absolute/T7/evidence/path

Dependencies were reused through read-only local package links; no package or lockfile changed. A fresh checkout can use the baseline’s normal npm ci when resource coordination allows.

Failure history and review

The first attempted focused npm test invocation unexpectedly expanded to the canonical suite. Only this agent’s runner was interrupted; its queued-file cancellation errors are not suite validation. Later checks use runTestFiles() directly with explicit files. No other agent process was signaled.

Initial red tests established missing navigation/defaults/aliases, clipboard generation reuse, vanished-target feedback, direct palette generation safety, synthetic-gap/fold anchors, passive mouse reports, and short Compare framing/chooser. Those tests remain and now pass. One test initially called a nonexistent exportTranscript/filter getter; those fixture API typos were corrected. The Compare fixture’s final-side expectation was corrected to match existing A/B ordering; the diff algorithm was not changed.

Existing selectionRendering assertions failed under the inherited unconfigured color environment, then passed under explicit xterm/truecolor with no assertion changes. Switching NO_COLOR inside an already imported colored process also exposed cached presentation constants in a test fixture; the Safe case now launches with NO_COLOR already established. The legacy copy-fold fixture now explicitly models a ready prompt when injecting completed records. Existing direct-copy live tests explicitly configure the preserved Quick Copy preference rather than depending on the changed new-config default. No failing assertion was weakened.

One focused read-only reviewer found three important issues (gap anchors, passive pointer dismissal, and no diff on short screens). Each received a failing regression and fix. Follow-up inspection found no remaining Critical/Important concern; its minor short-chooser concern was also reproduced and fixed.

Integration sequence and overlaps

No moving Slice 2 branch or uncommitted Gemini changes were read or incorporated. Reconciliation is intentionally deferred to the maintainer-approved integration window:

1. Preserve this independent branch and finish/review Slice 2B, then Slice 2C on their own branches.
2. In a separate integration branch, apply Slice 3 after 2B/2C. Resolve TerminalApp.ts by responsibility rather than taking an entire side: imports/fields, slash dispatch, modal ownership, render decoration, Copy and palette handlers, notices, /keys, shutdown.
3. Reconcile OutputBuffer.ts clear/restore changes with summary metadata and folding. Keep presentationGeneration changes when IDs can be reused; do not bump it for ordinary fold/filter/reflow. Keep exact output/copy storage untouched.
4. Reconcile shared configuration.ts, SettingsPanel.ts, slashCommands.ts and generated help additions. Preserve both Queue settings/history additions and all saved Copy modes. CopyPicker.ts and ComparePanel.ts should remain focused presentation changes.
5. Verify typed Queue Summary metadata never enters recentShellCommands(), numeric copy numbering, Compare candidates or copied output. Summary rows must not inherit a command’s blockStartId and receive its focus highlight accidentally. Test this with real 2B metadata after integration; this baseline has no typed saved-summary implementation.
6. Verify 2C’s visible folded output still carries the completed record’s stable startId through blockStartId. Extend the anchor representation discriminator if 2C adds a new hint kind. Confirm copying all 400 lines from folded queued output, search/filter restoration, and unchanged journal/raw exports.
7. Rerun affected tests and canonical/release verification on the integrated source once the host is free, then exact-feature CI. Obtain physical QA before release claims.

Anticipated textual conflicts: src/app/TerminalApp.ts, src/output/OutputBuffer.ts, src/prompt/configuration.ts, src/ui/SettingsPanel.ts, src/commands/slashCommands.ts, src/help/helpContent.ts. Behavioral overlaps: summary row ownership, fold hints and viewport anchors, copied-output auto-expand, modal priority and shared notice geometry. New controller/tests are independently testable on the pinned baseline.

Physical QA still required

Use Ghostty and Terminal.app at normal and narrow widths, including Safe/NO_COLOR, Bottom/Top/Flow and Normal/Chat. Try /copy, /cp, /copy latest, saved Quick Copy/picker preferences and numeric/range/list selectors; copy tabs, Unicode, trailing blank lines and seq 1 400 into an external editor. Check silent output and clipboard-unavailable retry.

Try /actions, /action, numeric forms, failure/reference filtering, Enter to palette, Esc to the same selection, Esc to the entry viewport/draft; confirm focus alone triggers nothing. Exercise edit/rerun/pager handoff and pointer Actions parity. Keep /copy ui search/multi-select/preview/report/status/order working. Inspect Compare at short heights, page to the last change, and copy the exact existing diff/report. Review fake-token/private-path redaction before report copy.

During a running command, hidden/password read, single-key read and fullscreen application, confirm input stays with its owner and selection never opens. Check resize and wheel inspection, synthetic gaps/folded blocks and restoration from DETACHED/FOLLOW. No physical QA is claimed by this checkpoint.