feat(tui): add bang shell command shortcut by reidliu41 · Pull Request #2557 · Hmbown/CodeWhale

reidliu41 · 2026-06-02T00:31:24Z

Summary

Closes: #1546

Adds composer support for ! <command> and !command, so users can run an explicit shell command directly from the TUI input box instead of sending it as normal model text.

The shortcut routes through the existing exec_shell execution path, preserving the current approval flow, sandbox policy, command safety checks, transcript tool cards, and Work/Tasks refresh behavior. It also keeps Plan mode shell execution blocked and skips extra approval prompts when running in auto-approved YOLO mode.

Local ! shell results are rendered in the TUI but are not appended to model-visible tool-result history, because they do
not correspond to a model-issued tool call.

Previous pr #1661.

Testing

cargo fmt --all -- --check
cargo clippy --workspace --all-targets --all-features
cargo test --workspace --all-features

Checklist

Updated docs or comments as needed
Added or updated tests where relevant
Verified TUI behavior manually if UI changes

Greptile Summary

This PR adds a ! <command> shortcut in the TUI composer that routes user-submitted shell commands through the existing exec_shell execution path, preserving approval flow, sandbox policy, and transcript rendering without appending results to the model-visible message history.

Adds Op::RunShellCommand and handle_run_shell_command in the engine, which emits the standard TurnStarted / ToolCallStarted / ToolCallComplete / TurnComplete event sequence and blocks execution in Plan mode.
Introduces is_model_visible_tool_call to gate api_messages writes on whether the tool-call ID is model-issued, and handle_bang_shell_input in the UI layer to parse and dispatch the new op.
Test coverage is solid: three async engine integration tests (approval, YOLO skip, Plan-mode block) plus UI-layer unit tests for parsing and dispatch.

Confidence Score: 4/5

Safe to merge with one fix: the missing source field causes user-initiated shell cards to render as assistant-sourced, showing a misleading 'Ctrl+B opens shell controls' hint and suppressing the 'started by you' label.

The new code path correctly sequences events, blocks execution in Plan mode, skips model-history writes for user-shell IDs, and carries good test coverage. The one concrete rendering defect — tool_input missing 'source: user' — produces wrong visual attribution in the transcript for every ! command a user runs. The Ctrl+Enter inconsistency is minor. Everything else (approval flow, snapshot, cancel-token handling, API message isolation) is implemented correctly.

crates/tui/src/core/engine.rs — the handle_run_shell_command tool_input construction needs 'source: user' added.

Important Files Changed

Filename	Overview
crates/tui/src/core/engine.rs	Adds handle_run_shell_command method (~240 lines) that routes composer ! commands through exec_shell, approval, snapshot, and event system; missing source field in tool_input causes wrong ExecCell attribution in the transcript
crates/tui/src/core/ops.rs	Adds RunShellCommand variant and USER_SHELL_TOOL_ID_PREFIX constant; clean and straightforward
crates/tui/src/tui/app.rs	Adds shell_command_from_bang_input parser; bang-shell inputs fall through to input_history and composer_history since looks_like_slash_command_input returns false for ! prefixed lines
crates/tui/src/tui/ui.rs	Adds handle_bang_shell_input dispatch, is_model_visible_tool_call guard, and skips api_messages append for user-shell IDs; Ctrl+Enter path does not route through handle_bang_shell_input
crates/tui/src/core/engine/tests.rs	Adds three async integration tests covering approval, auto-approve/YOLO, and Plan-mode block — good coverage of the new code path
crates/tui/src/tui/ui/tests.rs	Adds unit tests for bang-shell dispatch, empty-command rejection, and model-visibility predicate

Sequence Diagram

sequenceDiagram
    participant User
    participant UI as TUI (ui.rs)
    participant Engine as Engine (engine.rs)
    participant Shell as exec_shell tool

    User->>UI: Type "! cargo test" + Enter
    UI->>UI: shell_command_from_bang_input()
    UI->>Engine: "Op::RunShellCommand { command, mode, ... }"
    UI->>UI: "status_message = "Shell command submitted""

    Engine->>Engine: handle_run_shell_command()
    Engine->>UI: "Event::TurnStarted { turn_id: "user_shell_N" }"
    Engine->>UI: "Event::ToolCallStarted { id: "user_shell_N", name: "exec_shell" }"

    alt approval required (non-YOLO, non-auto)
        Engine->>UI: Event::ApprovalRequired
        UI->>Engine: approve_tool_call()
    end

    Engine->>Shell: execute exec_shell
    Shell-->>Engine: ToolResult
    Engine->>UI: "Event::ToolCallComplete { id: "user_shell_N" }"

    UI->>UI: is_model_visible_tool_call("user_shell_N") → false
    UI->>UI: pending_tool_uses.retain() [remove entry]
    Note over UI: api_messages NOT updated

    Engine->>UI: "Event::TurnComplete { status: Completed }"
    UI->>UI: flush_active_cell() → transcript updated

Comments Outside Diff (1)

crates/tui/src/tui/ui.rs, line 3540-3582 (link)

Ctrl+Enter bypasses bang-shell routing

The Ctrl+Enter branch calls submit_input() and checks only looks_like_slash_command_input, so ! ls entered with Ctrl+Enter is steered into the current model turn as literal text rather than dispatched as a shell command. A user who types ! cmd and presses Ctrl+Enter while a turn is in progress (expecting to queue a shell command) will instead inject that text into the model conversation.

_{Reviews (1): Last reviewed commit: "feat(tui): add bang shell command shortc..." | Re-trigger Greptile}

Greptile also left 1 inline comment on this PR.

Support `! <command>` and `!command` in the TUI composer to run shell commands through the existing exec_shell path. The shortcut keeps normal approval, sandbox, policy, transcript, and work-panel handling, while avoiding model context pollution from local-only tool results. Refs Hmbown#1546

gemini-code-assist · 2026-06-02T00:31:28Z

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greptile-apps · 2026-06-02T00:38:01Z

+        );
+        let tool_id = turn_id.clone();
+        let tool_name = "exec_shell".to_string();
+        let tool_input = json!({ "command": command });


The tool_input JSON is missing a "source": "user" field. exec_source_from_input in tool_routing.rs reads that field to populate ExecCell::source; without it, it falls through to ExecSource::Assistant. This has two visible consequences: while the command is running, the transcript shows the misleading "Ctrl+B opens shell controls" hint (gated on source == ExecSource::Assistant), and after it succeeds, the "started by you" attribution (gated on source == ExecSource::User) is never rendered.

Suggested change

let tool_input = json!({ "command": command });

let tool_input = json!({ "command": command, "source": "user" });

Hmbown · 2026-06-02T00:44:46Z

Thanks @reidliu41, this is a useful composer affordance and it lines up with #1546. I harvested it into #2504 as c81cdabc0 after upstream CI was green.

While resolving it into the release branch I fixed the two review issues locally:

user-started shell tool input now carries source: "user", so transcript attribution and shell-control hints are correct
! <command> is routed through the bang-shell path before Ctrl/Shift+Enter steering can send it as model text

Local verification on the release branch:

for filter in bang_shell run_shell_command_op local_bang_shell_tool_ids_are_not_model_visible; do cargo test -p codewhale-tui --all-features --locked "$filter" -- --nocapture || exit 1; done
cargo check -p codewhale-tui --all-features --locked
cargo fmt --all -- --check
git diff --check
./scripts/release/check-versions.sh
cargo clippy -p codewhale-tui --all-targets --all-features --locked -- -D warnings

reidliu41 · 2026-06-02T06:30:38Z

thanks

greptile-apps Bot reviewed Jun 2, 2026

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Hmbown mentioned this pull request Jun 2, 2026

[codex] v0.8.50 triage harvest #2504

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Hmbown mentioned this pull request Jun 2, 2026

Support ! shell command prefix in the TUI composer #1546

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reidliu41 closed this Jun 2, 2026

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feat(tui): add bang shell command shortcut#2557

feat(tui): add bang shell command shortcut#2557
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reidliu41:feat/bang-shell-prefix-new

reidliu41 commented Jun 2, 2026 •

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	let tool_input = json!({ "command": command });
	let tool_input = json!({ "command": command, "source": "user" });

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Summary

Testing

Checklist

Greptile Summary

Confidence Score: 4/5

Important Files Changed

Sequence Diagram

Comments Outside Diff (1)

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reidliu41 commented Jun 2, 2026 •

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