codex/agentydragon/tasks/30-non-fullscreen-scrollback-mode.md

id: 30 title: Non-Fullscreen Scrollback Mode with Native Terminal Scroll status: Not started # one of: Not started, Started, Needs manual review, Done, Cancelled dependencies: "03,06,08,13,15,32,18,19,22,23" summary: Offer a non-fullscreen TUI mode that appends conversation output and defers scrolling to the terminal scrollback. goal: | Provide an optional non-fullscreen mode for the chat UI where: - The TUI does not capture the mouse scroll wheel. - All conversation output is appended in place, allowing the terminal's native scrollback to navigate history. - The user-entry window remains fixed at the bottom of the terminal. - The entire UI runs in a standard terminal buffer (no alternate screen), so the user can use their terminal’s scrollbar or scrollback keys to review past messages. ## Acceptance Criteria - Introduce a tui.non_fullscreen_mode config flag (default false). - When enabled, the application: - Disables alternate screen buffering (i.e. does not switch to the TUI alt-screen). - Does not intercept mouse scroll events; scroll events are passed through to the terminal. - Renders new chat messages inline (appended) rather than redrawing the full viewport. - Keeps the user input prompt visible at the bottom after each message. - Add integration tests or manual validation steps to confirm that: scrollback keys/mouse scroll work via terminal scrollback, and the prompt remains in view. ## Implementation How it was implemented
- Add non_fullscreen_mode: bool to the tui config section. - In the TUI initialization, skip entering the alternate screen and disable pannable viewports. - Remove mouse event capture for scroll wheel events when non_fullscreen_mode is true. - Change rendering loop: after each new message, print the message directly to the stdout buffer (in append mode), then redraw only the input prompt line. - Write integration tests that spawn the TUI in non-fullscreen mode, emit multiple messages, send scroll events (if possible), and assert that scrollback buffer contains the messages. ## Notes - This mode trades advanced in-TUI scrolling features for simplicity and compatibility with users’ accustomed terminal scrollback. - It may not support complex viewport resizing; documentation should note that.