github / github/copilot-cli

Show a clear waiting-for-input state instead of continuing to animate the spinner

Open
#4,778 0 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

triage
Dominant language
Shell
Stars
11.2k
Forks
1.9k
Avg merge
14h 16m
Merged PRs (30d)
6

Description

Sometimes the CLI asks me a question but the activity spinner keeps rotating. This makes it look like the agent is still working, when it actually needs my response. It's easy to leave it running and only later realize it was waiting for me.

Suggested behavior
  • When the agent is waiting for an answer or approval, freeze or replace the spinner and show Waiting for your input.
  • Resume the animation when my response is submitted and processing continues.
  • If background agents or commands are still running, show that separately without hiding the fact that my input is needed.

The waiting state should be distinguishable through text or an icon, not just color. This would make it much easier to tell at a glance whether to wait or take action.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Trace the CLI's spinner and question or approval prompt handling first. Add a distinct text or icon state for waiting for input, resume animation after a response, and keep any background activity separately visible. Verify the waiting state is clear without relying on color.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
shell
Domain
cli
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
68/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.