github / github/copilot-cli

Copilot instructing me to navigate terminal ui of another powershell executable

Open
#3,002 0 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
area:agents area:tools
Dominant language
Shell
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Description

### Describe the bug

The agent told me to "use the arrow keys to navigate and press Enter to select a file". This is something that is impossible since I have no access to the spawned shell session. The agent should detect that it is asking me to interact with a terminal UI they cannot reach and avoid giving that guidance.

### Affected version

GitHub Copilot CLI 1.0.36

### Steps to reproduce the behavior

Requirements:

Install custom tools that copilot can actually use such as ripgrep, and tools that copilot cannot use (like fzf or ohmyposh)

Repro Steps:
1. Open Copilot CLI in a repo.
2. Ask to find YAML files mentioning X
3. The agent runs: rg -l -i "X" --glob "*.yml" | fzf in async mode.
4. The agent then tells me to "use arrow keys to navigate", but I have no access to the shell session and cannot do this.

### Expected behavior

The agent should detect when a spawned process is an interactive TUI and not prompt me to use arrow keys, navigate, or otherwise interact with a shell I cannot interact with

### Additional context

_No response_

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Reproduce the issue in Copilot CLI 1.0.36 using the listed steps, especially the async `rg -l -i "X" --glob "*.yml" | fzf` command. Trace how the agent receives and presents output from spawned processes. Done means it no longer instructs the user to navigate or interact with an inaccessible terminal UI.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
powershell, shell
Domain
cli
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
48/100

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