TUI session list shows no activity spinner for background shell commands #51810

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1. github-actions

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   kommander

   on Sep 28, 2026
2. github-actions commented on Sep 28, 2026

   

   github-actionsBot

   on Sep 28, 2026 – with GitHub Actions

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   This issue might be a duplicate of existing issues. Please check:

   • #28175: requests persistent live session status in the TUI, including visibility into background sessions.
   • #51336: requests a persistent session activity indicator and notes that background shell tasks may not be visible.
3. opencodejr commented on Oct 28, 2026

   

   opencodejrBot

   on Oct 28, 2026

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   Thanks for the clear report, @kernel-oops!

   To restate the request: the session list (/sessions) should show its activity spinner while a session still has background shell commands running after its turn has ended, the same way the footer inside the session shows 1 shell.

   Right now the list's spinner only covers a session, or one of its subagents, actively running a turn. Background shells are tracked separately and aren't part of that check. The session tabs' busy indicator doesn't count them either. So this works as currently designed rather than being a bug, but it's a reasonable improvement and I've marked it as a feature request for the maintainers to consider.

   This can't be done as a plugin today, because plugins can't change the session list's status indicators. I've noted for the maintainers that it could be done either directly in the TUI, by checking for running shells owned by the session, or with a new plugin hook for per-session activity.
4. naihongzhou1029 commented on Nov 7, 2026

   

   naihongzhou1029

   on Nov 7, 2026

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   Adding a TUI tab-strip data point to help fix this centrally (originally filed as #62505, confirmed duplicate).

   Reproduction for tabs:

   1. Open two session tabs.
   2. In one session, run a long shell in the background (shell tool run_in_background, e.g. task_run.sh run ... -- python3 ... &).
   3. Once the turn ends, the transcript row keeps its spinner + Background badge, but the tab shows no spinner.

   Same cause as the list: packages/tui/src/context/session-tabs.tsx status() checks data.session.status(id) === "running" and non-synthetic pending, but never data.shell.listBySession(id). ShellDisplay in packages/tui/src/routes/session/index.tsx does check data.shell.get(id), hence the mismatch. Fixing status() to also count running shells owned by each family member should fix the session list, tab strip, createProgramStatus, and likely the related gaps in #62365 and #48482. Web-side proposal #56661 (for #56660) may be a useful reference for the same pattern.