---
id: 22
title: Message Separation and Sender-Content Layout Options
status: Not started  # one of: Not started, Started, Needs manual review, Done, Cancelled
summary: Add configurable options for inter-message spacing and sender-content line breaks in chat rendering.
goal: |
  Provide users with flexibility in how chat messages are visually separated and how sender labels are displayed relative to message content:
  - Control whether an empty line is inserted between consecutive messages.
  - Control whether sender and content appear on the same line or on separate lines.

## Acceptance Criteria

- Introduce two new config flags under the UI section:
  - `message_spacing: true|false` controls inserting a blank line between messages when true.
  - `sender_break_line: true|false` controls breaking line after the sender label when true.
- Both flags default to `false` to preserve current compact layout.
- When `message_spacing` is enabled, render an empty line between each message bubble or block.
- When `sender_break_line` is enabled, render the sender label on its own line above the message content; otherwise render `Sender: Content` on a single line.
- Ensure both flags can be toggled independently and work together in any combination.
- Add unit tests to verify the four layout permutations produce the correct sequence of lines.

## Implementation

**How it was implemented**  
- Extend the chat UI renderer to read `message_spacing` and `sender_break_line` from config.
- In the message rendering routine, after emitting each message block, conditionally insert a blank line if `message_spacing` is true.
- When rendering a message header, split layout based on `sender_break_line`: emit sender label and content either together or in two lines.
- Write unit tests for all combinations of `(message_spacing, sender_break_line)` covering single-line messages, multi-line content, and boundaries.

## Notes

- These options improve readability for users who prefer more visual separation or clearer sender labels.
- Keep default settings unchanged to avoid surprising existing users.