aws / aws/amazon-q-developer-cli
Feature Request: Fixed Usage Display/Bar in Amazon Q CLI (Status/Footer Bar)
- Dominant language
- Rust
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Description
### Checks
- [x] I have searched [github.com/aws/amazon-q-developer-cli/issues](https://github.com/aws/amazon-q-developer-cli/issues?q=) and there are no duplicates of my issue
- [x] I have run `q doctor` in the affected terminal session
- [x] I have run `q restart` and replicated the issue again
### Operating system
macOS 15.4.1 (24E263)
### Expected behaviour
### Overview
Currently, users of the Amazon Q CLI need to explicitly type /usage to see available commands. This creates friction in the user experience, especially for new users who may not
be aware of all available commands. I'm requesting a persistent display of key commands that would always be visible in the CLI interface.
### Proposed Solution
Implement a persistent status bar at the bottom (or optionally top) of the Amazon Q CLI interface that displays:
1. The token usage statistics currently shown by /usage
2. A visual progress bar showing context window utilization
3. Commonly used commands and their shortcuts
4. Potentially show contextual commands based on the current state
### User Experience Benefits
• Provides real-time visibility into token usage without manual checks
• Helps users manage their context window more effectively
• Reduces the learning curve for new users by showing available commands
• Eliminates the need to remember and type /usage repeatedly
• Improves overall awareness of system state during conversations
### Technical Considerations
• The status bar should be non-intrusive and take minimal screen space
• It should update dynamically as token usage changes
• It should adapt to different terminal sizes and configurations
• A configuration option should be available to enable/disable this feature
• Consider color-coding for the progress bar (green/yellow/red) based on usage levels
### Configuration Options
Ideally, this feature would be configurable through the q settings command with options like:
• show_status_bar: true/false - Toggle the status bar
• status_bar_style: minimal/standard/verbose - Control how much information is displayed
• status_bar_position: top/bottom - Allow positioning at top or bottom of interface
• status_bar_update_frequency: real-time/on-message - Control update frequency
### Example Implementations
#### Status Bar Example - Standard Style
Context: 6920/200k (3.46%) [████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░]
Commands: [/quit] [/usage] [/context] [/clear] [/help] [/settings] [/trust-tools]
#### Status Bar Example - Minimal Style
6920/200k [████░░░░░] | [/quit] [/usage] [/help]
#### Status Bar Example - Verbose Style
Context window: 6920/200k tokens (3.46%)
[████████████████████████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░]
Context files: 6920 (3.46%) | Q responses: 0 (0.00%) | Your prompts: 0 (0.00%)
Available Commands:
| Command | Description |
|------------|---------------------------------|
| /quit | Exit the Amazon Q CLI |
| /usage | Display token usage statistics |
| /context | Manage conversation context |
| /clear | Clear the current conversation |
| /help | Show help information |
| /settings | Configure Amazon Q CLI settings |
| /trust | Manage trusted tools |
This feature would significantly improve the usability of Amazon Q CLI by providing constant visibility into both available commands and token usage statistics, helping users
better manage their interactions with the tool.
### Actual behaviour
There is not config available for this as of today.
### Steps to reproduce
_No response_
### Environment
```yaml
```
Contributor guide
Assessment
This issue has not been assessed yet.