feat(vscode): cycle reasoning effort variants with Shift+Tab

.changeset/shift-tab-variant-cycle.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"kilo-code": minor
+---
+
+Cycle reasoning effort variants with Shift+Tab in prompt inputs. Works in the sidebar chat, Agent Manager, and the New Worktree dialog. The variant selector tooltip shows the shortcut on hover, and the behavior can be turned off with the `kilo-code.new.chat.shiftTabCyclesVariant` setting (also available under Settings > Display) to restore Shift+Tab focus navigation.

packages/kilo-vscode/package.json

@@ -1129,6 +1129,11 @@
           "default": true,
           "description": "Show the task timeline graph in the chat header"
         },
+        "kilo-code.new.chat.shiftTabCyclesVariant": {
+          "type": "boolean",
+          "default": true,
+          "description": "Cycle through reasoning effort variants with Shift+Tab in prompt inputs. Disable to keep Shift+Tab for keyboard focus navigation."
+        },
         "kilo-code.new.agentWorkStyle": {
           "type": "string",
           "scope": "application",

packages/kilo-vscode/src/KiloProvider.ts

@@ -171,6 +171,7 @@ import {
   validIndexingSetting,
   watchIndexingConfig,
 } from "./kilo-provider/indexing-settings"
+import { buildChatSettingsMessage, validChatSetting, watchChatConfig } from "./kilo-provider/chat-settings"
 
 let maxCost = 0
 
@@ -391,6 +392,7 @@ export class KiloProvider implements vscode.WebviewViewProvider, TelemetryProper
   private webviewMessageDisposable: vscode.Disposable | null = null
   private autocompleteConfigDisposable: vscode.Disposable | null = null
   private indexingConfigDisposable: vscode.Disposable | null = null
+  private chatConfigDisposable: vscode.Disposable | null = null
   private telemetryStateDisposable: vscode.Disposable | null = null
   private viewStateDisposable: vscode.Disposable | null = null
   private visibilityDisposable: vscode.Disposable | null = null
@@ -913,6 +915,8 @@ export class KiloProvider implements vscode.WebviewViewProvider, TelemetryProper
     this.autocompleteConfigDisposable = watchAutocompleteConfig((msg) => this.postMessage(msg))
     this.indexingConfigDisposable?.dispose()
     this.indexingConfigDisposable = watchIndexingConfig((msg) => this.postMessage(msg))
+    this.chatConfigDisposable?.dispose()
+    this.chatConfigDisposable = watchChatConfig((msg) => this.postMessage(msg))
     this.telemetryStateDisposable?.dispose()
     this.telemetryStateDisposable = watchTelemetryState((msg) => this.postMessage(msg))
     this.webviewMessageDisposable = webview.onDidReceiveMessage(async (message) => {
@@ -1250,6 +1254,9 @@ export class KiloProvider implements vscode.WebviewViewProvider, TelemetryProper
         case "requestIndexingSettings":
           this.postMessage(buildIndexingSettingsMessage())
           break
+        case "requestChatSettings":
+          this.postMessage(buildChatSettingsMessage())
+          break
         case "requestKiloEmbeddingModels":
           this.fetchAndSendKiloEmbeddingModels().catch((e) =>
             console.error("[Kilo New] fetchAndSendKiloEmbeddingModels failed:", e),
@@ -3665,6 +3672,7 @@ export class KiloProvider implements vscode.WebviewViewProvider, TelemetryProper
     const { section, leaf } = buildSettingPath(key)
     if (section === "autocomplete" && !validAutocompleteSetting(leaf, value)) return
     if (section === "indexing" && !validIndexingSetting(leaf, value)) return
+    if (section === "chat" && !validChatSetting(leaf, value)) return
     const config = vscode.workspace.getConfiguration(`kilo-code.new${section ? `.${section}` : ""}`)
     // Normalize a webview-side clear to `undefined` so VS Code removes the
     // key from settings.json rather than persisting a literal `null`. This
@@ -4508,6 +4516,7 @@ export class KiloProvider implements vscode.WebviewViewProvider, TelemetryProper
     this.webviewMessageDisposable?.dispose()
     this.autocompleteConfigDisposable?.dispose()
     this.indexingConfigDisposable?.dispose()
+    this.chatConfigDisposable?.dispose()
     this.telemetryStateDisposable?.dispose()
     this.autoApproveBridge?.dispose()
     this.visibleTaskStreams.clear()

packages/kilo-vscode/src/kilo-provider/chat-settings.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+import * as vscode from "vscode"
+
+type Post = (msg: unknown) => void
+
+export function buildChatSettingsMessage() {
+  const config = vscode.workspace.getConfiguration("kilo-code.new.chat")
+  return {
+    type: "chatSettingsLoaded" as const,
+    settings: {
+      shiftTabCyclesVariant: config.get<boolean>("shiftTabCyclesVariant", true),
+    },
+  }
+}
+
+export function watchChatConfig(post: Post): vscode.Disposable {
+  return vscode.workspace.onDidChangeConfiguration((event) => {
+    if (event.affectsConfiguration("kilo-code.new.chat")) {
+      post(buildChatSettingsMessage())
+    }
+  })
+}
+
+export function validChatSetting(key: string, value: unknown) {
+  return key === "shiftTabCyclesVariant" && typeof value === "boolean"
+}

packages/kilo-vscode/tests/unit/chat-settings-message.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from "bun:test"
+import * as vscode from "vscode"
+import { buildChatSettingsMessage, validChatSetting } from "../../src/kilo-provider/chat-settings"
+
+type Stub = {
+  getConfiguration: (section?: string) => {
+    get: <T>(key: string, fallback?: T) => T | undefined
+  }
+}
+
+const original = vscode.workspace.getConfiguration
+
+function stubConfig(state: Map<string, unknown>) {
+  ;(vscode.workspace as unknown as Stub).getConfiguration = (section?: string) => {
+    if (section !== "kilo-code.new.chat") {
+      return { get: <T>(_key: string, fallback?: T) => fallback }
+    }
+    return {
+      get: <T>(key: string, fallback?: T) => (state.has(key) ? (state.get(key) as T) : fallback),
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  ;(vscode.workspace as unknown as Stub).getConfiguration = original as Stub["getConfiguration"]
+})
+
+describe("buildChatSettingsMessage", () => {
+  let state: Map<string, unknown>
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    state = new Map()
+    stubConfig(state)
+  })
+
+  it("enables Shift+Tab variant cycling by default", () => {
+    expect(buildChatSettingsMessage().settings.shiftTabCyclesVariant).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  it("returns the persisted cycling preference", () => {
+    state.set("shiftTabCyclesVariant", false)
+
+    expect(buildChatSettingsMessage().settings.shiftTabCyclesVariant).toBe(false)
+  })
+})
+
+describe("validChatSetting", () => {
+  it("accepts only boolean cycling updates", () => {
+    expect(validChatSetting("shiftTabCyclesVariant", true)).toBe(true)
+    expect(validChatSetting("shiftTabCyclesVariant", false)).toBe(true)
+    expect(validChatSetting("shiftTabCyclesVariant", "false")).toBe(false)
+    expect(validChatSetting("unknown", true)).toBe(false)
+  })
+})

packages/kilo-vscode/tests/unit/new-worktree-dialog-sandbox.test.ts

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ describe("NewWorktreeDialog sandbox toggle", () => {
       'vscode.postMessage({ type: "setSandboxDefault", enabled: next, requestID: sandboxRequestID })',
     )
     expect(src).toContain("sandbox: sandboxVisible() ? sandboxOverride() : undefined")
-    expect(src).toContain("const { config, globalConfig, features } = useConfig()")
+    expect(src).toContain("const { config, globalConfig, features, settings } = useConfig()")
     expect(src).toContain(
       "const sandboxVisible = () => features().sandboxControls && globalConfig().sandbox?.enabled === true",
     )

packages/kilo-vscode/tests/unit/session-variant-store.test.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from "bun:test"
 import {
+  cycleVariant,
   getVariant,
   sessionVariantKeys,
   sessionVariants,
@@ -92,3 +93,23 @@ describe("per-session variant selection", () => {
     expect(sessionVariantKeys(store, "pending-local-1")).toEqual(["session/pending-local-1/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4"])
   })
 })
+
+describe("cycleVariant", () => {
+  it("advances to the next variant", () => {
+    expect(cycleVariant("low", variants)).toBe("medium")
+    expect(cycleVariant("medium", variants)).toBe("high")
+  })
+
+  it("wraps back to the first variant after the last", () => {
+    expect(cycleVariant("high", variants)).toBe("low")
+  })
+
+  it("starts at the first variant when current is missing or unknown", () => {
+    expect(cycleVariant(undefined, variants)).toBe("low")
+    expect(cycleVariant("bogus", variants)).toBe("low")
+  })
+
+  it("returns undefined when no variants exist", () => {
+    expect(cycleVariant("low", [])).toBeUndefined()
+  })
+})

packages/kilo-vscode/webview-ui/agent-manager/NewWorktreeDialog.tsx

@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import { useServer } from "../src/context/server"
 import { useSession } from "../src/context/session"
 import { useProvider } from "../src/context/provider"
 import { useConfig } from "../src/context/config"
+import { cycleVariant } from "../src/context/session-variant-store"
 import { ModelSelectorBase } from "../src/components/shared/ModelSelector"
 import { ModeSwitcherBase } from "../src/components/shared/ModeSwitcher"
 import { SpeechToTextButton } from "../src/components/speech-to-text/SpeechToTextButton"
@@ -79,7 +80,7 @@ export const NewWorktreeDialog: Component<{ onClose: () => void; defaultBaseBran
   const server = useServer()
   const session = useSession()
   const provider = useProvider()
-  const { config, globalConfig, features } = useConfig()
+  const { config, globalConfig, features, settings } = useConfig()
   const metrics = tracker(vscode)
   const track = (button: string, properties?: Record<string, string | number | boolean | undefined>) =>
     metrics.track(button, "configure_worktree_dialog", properties)
@@ -339,6 +340,22 @@ export const NewWorktreeDialog: Component<{ onClose: () => void; defaultBaseBran
     textareaRef.focus()
   }
 
+  const onKey = (e: KeyboardEvent) => {
+    // Shift+Tab cycles reasoning effort variants (setting: chat.shiftTabCyclesVariant).
+    // When disabled or no variants exist, fall through to default focus navigation.
+    if (e.key === "Tab" && e.shiftKey && !e.ctrlKey && !e.metaKey && !e.altKey) {
+      if (settings()["chat.shiftTabCyclesVariant"] === false) return
+      const list = variants()
+      if (list.length === 0) return
+      const next = cycleVariant(effectiveVariant(), list)
+      if (!next) return
+      e.preventDefault()
+      setVariant(next)
+      return
+    }
+    undo(e)
+  }
+
   const adjustHeight = () => {
     if (!textareaRef) return
     textareaRef.style.height = "auto"
@@ -541,7 +558,7 @@ export const NewWorktreeDialog: Component<{ onClose: () => void; defaultBaseBran
                       persistPrompt(val)
                       adjustHeight()
                     }}
-                    onKeyDown={undo}
+                    onKeyDown={onKey}
                     onPaste={(e) => imageAttach.handlePaste(e)}
                     rows={3}
                     dir="auto"
@@ -575,6 +592,7 @@ export const NewWorktreeDialog: Component<{ onClose: () => void; defaultBaseBran
                       onSelect={setVariant}
                       portal={false}
                       deferDismiss
+                      cycleHint={settings()["chat.shiftTabCyclesVariant"] !== false}
                     />
                     <Show when={overridden()}>
                       <Tooltip value={t("prompt.action.resetModel")} placement="top">

packages/kilo-vscode/webview-ui/src/components/chat/PromptInput.tsx

@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ import { useSpeechToText } from "../speech-to-text/useSpeechToText"
 import { useImageAttachments, type ImageAttachment } from "../../hooks/useImageAttachments"
 import { convertToMentionPath } from "../../utils/path-mentions"
 import { usePromptHistory } from "../../hooks/usePromptHistory"
+import { cycleVariant } from "../../context/session-variant-store"
 import { WandSparkles } from "@kilocode/kilo-ui/lucide"
 import {
   fileName,
@@ -863,7 +864,20 @@ export const PromptInput: Component<PromptInputProps> = (props) => {
       }
     }
 
-    if (e.key === "Tab" && ghost.text()) {
+    // Shift+Tab cycles reasoning effort variants (setting: chat.shiftTabCyclesVariant).
+    // When disabled or no variants exist, fall through to default focus navigation.
+    if (e.key === "Tab" && e.shiftKey && !e.ctrlKey && !e.metaKey && !e.altKey) {
+      if (settings()["chat.shiftTabCyclesVariant"] === false) return
+      const list = session.variantList(sid())
+      if (list.length === 0) return
+      const next = cycleVariant(session.currentVariant(sid()), list)
+      if (!next) return
+      e.preventDefault()
+      session.selectVariant(next, sid())
+      return
+    }
+
+    if (e.key === "Tab" && !e.shiftKey && ghost.text()) {
       if (!isAtEnd()) return
       e.preventDefault()
       acceptSuggestion()

packages/kilo-vscode/webview-ui/src/components/settings/DisplayTab.tsx

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ const CODE_EDIT_OPTIONS: LayoutOption[] = [
 ]
 
 const DisplayTab: Component = () => {
-  const { config, updateConfig } = useConfig()
+  const { config, updateConfig, settings, updateSetting } = useConfig()
   const display = useDisplay()
   const language = useLanguage()
 
@@ -78,6 +78,19 @@ const DisplayTab: Component = () => {
           </Switch>
         </SettingsRow>
 
+        <SettingsRow
+          title={language.t("settings.display.shiftTabCycle.title")}
+          description={language.t("settings.display.shiftTabCycle.description")}
+        >
+          <Switch
+            checked={Boolean(settings()["chat.shiftTabCyclesVariant"] ?? true)}
+            onChange={(checked: boolean) => updateSetting("chat.shiftTabCyclesVariant", checked)}
+            hideLabel
+          >
+            {language.t("settings.display.shiftTabCycle.title")}
+          </Switch>
+        </SettingsRow>
+
         <SettingsRow
           title={language.t("settings.display.terminalCommand.title")}
           description={language.t("settings.display.terminalCommand.description")}