[FEATURE]: Quote selected assistant text into the composer (Desktop/Web) #17493

Feature hasn't been suggested before.

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Describe the enhancement you want to request

Problem

When reading a long AI response, users often want to ask follow-up questions about a specific part of the response.

Currently in OpenCode, the only option is to manually copy and paste the text into the prompt, which is slower and breaks the interaction flow.

Proposed Feature

Allow users to select part of an assistant response and insert it into the composer as a quote, similar to the quote-reply interaction in ChatGPT.

Example workflow:

1. User selects a portion of the assistant message
2. A small action appears (e.g. “Quote” / “Ask ChatGPT”)
3. Clicking it inserts the selected text into the composer

Example inserted format:

selected assistant text

The cursor is then placed below the quote so the user can continue asking.

Example Use Case

This is especially helpful when:

• clarifying a confusing part of a long response
• asking follow-up questions about specific paragraphs
• referencing a particular code explanation

Without this feature, users must manually copy and paste text.

Why this matters for OpenCode Desktop

OpenCode Desktop already supports mouse interactions and text selection.
This feature would make the desktop experience significantly smoother for iterative conversations.

It also reduces friction when working with long AI responses.

Scope (initial version)

To keep the implementation simple:

• Only support quoting assistant messages
• Only support plain text selection
• Insert content as a markdown quote
• No need to support multi-message selection initially

UI Example

Similar to ChatGPT's quote interaction:

(see screenshot)

Possible Implementation Direction

This could be implemented in the message UI layer:

• detect text selection inside assistant message
• show a small floating action
• insert the selected text into the composer

Likely touching:

packages/app

Desktop should inherit the behavior automatically.

Alternatives Considered

Manual copy/paste works but is slower and interrupts the workflow.

Additional Context

Related discussions about quoting/replying to assistant output exist, but this feature focuses specifically on partial selection quoting, which is particularly useful for desktop interaction.

• As shown in the picture, the content shown in the picture was automatically added after I selected a certain section of content in the AI reply in next picture and clicked "Ask ChatGPT". This can help me quickly quote the content that I don't understand, and let AI help me further analyze and understand the content involved. Reduce unnecessary pasting and copying work.