Distinguish "agent working" vs "awaiting user input" vs "turn complete" in the title-bar indicator
- Dominant language
- Shell
- Stars
- 11.2k
- Forks
- 1.9k
- Avg merge
- 14h 16m
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 6
Description
### Describe the feature or problem you'd like to solve
I need a visual indicator to distinguish when an agent is performing work and when it is waiting on input.
### Proposed solution
The spinning indicator in the title bar currently means two different things, which makes it hard to know whether Copilot needs me or is actively working:
1. The agent is processing / running tools (legitimate spinner)
2. The agent is blocked waiting for me to respond (e.g., ask_user prompt, permission prompt, or just idle after a turn)
Both look identical, so I sometimes wait on Copilot while Copilot is waiting on me.
Request: A 3-state indicator with distinct glyphs:
| State | Suggested glyph |
|---|---|
| Agent working / running tools | 🔄 (current spinner) |
| Awaiting user input (ask_user, permission, idle post-turn) | ⚠️ |
| Turn just completed successfully | ✅ (briefly, then idle) |
Bonus points if the glyphs are configurable via settings.json or a new /theme key, e.g.:
```json
"indicator": {
"working": "🔄",
"awaiting": "⚠️",
"done": "✅"
}
```
### Example prompts or workflows
_No response_
### Additional context
_No response_
Contributor guide
Research direction
Start by tracing the title-bar indicator and the state transitions for tool execution, user prompts, permissions, and completed turns. Define and verify distinct working, awaiting-input, and briefly completed states; the issue's suggested configurable glyphs are an optional extension. Confirm the three states are visually distinguishable in the relevant workflows.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- shell
- Domain
- cli
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 48/100