feat(tui): Esc interrupts turn + configurable display.interrupt_key

[rxdxxxx]

Summary

Pressing Esc now interrupts a running agent turn in the TUI — no configuration needed. First press dismisses the completion list; a second press interrupts the turn.

Supersedes #21707 (base feature) + addresses all review feedback from hermes-sweeper.

Scope: TUI only. CLI (prompt_toolkit) interrupt support is out of scope, tracked separately. Partially addresses #65303 (TUI only). Closes #21707.

Optionally configurable

The interrupt key defaults to Esc but can be changed:

# ~/.hermes/config.yaml
display:
  interrupt_key: ctrl+g   # accepts modifier combos; default: escape

Hot-reloads on config save — no restart needed.

Changes (14 files, +332/-33)

File	Change
platform.ts	Standalone ParsedInterruptKey type, parseInterruptKey, isInterruptKey, formatInterruptKey — independent from voice key logic (no Cmd+B fallback leak, no voice-specific reserved-key rejection)
gatewayTypes.ts	interrupt_key?: unknown on ConfigDisplayConfig
config_defaults.py	"interrupt_key": "escape" in DEFAULT_CONFIG["display"] — dashboard schema can now discover this setting
useConfigSync.ts	applyDisplay reads/propagates interrupt_key + collision detection (falls back to Esc if same as voice key)
interfaces.ts	interruptKey on InputHandlerContext, ComposerActions.clearCompletions, AppLayoutComposerProps.interruptKey
useMainApp.ts	state + wiring into useConfigSync / useInputHandlers / composer props
useInputHandlers.ts	New priority steps: dismiss completions → interrupt turn (via isInterruptKey)
useCompletion.ts	clearCompletions exported as stable useCallback, single source of truth
useComposerState.ts	Exposes clearCompletions in ComposerActions
textInput.tsx	shouldPassThroughToGlobalHandler accepts interruptKey as 4th param — custom keys (e.g. ctrl+g) pass through the composer
appLayout.tsx	Busy placeholder dynamically renders configured key via formatInterruptKey
hotkeys.ts	New entry: Esc (or interrupt_key)
interruptKey.test.ts	Parser, matcher, formatter tests (15 cases)
textInputPassThrough.test.ts	Custom interrupt key passthrough tests

Review feedback addressed

1. Dismiss completions before interrupt — first Esc closes completions, second Esc interrupts (useInputHandlers priority Fix VM instance sharing across tasks #6-7)
2. Custom key passthrough — interruptKey threaded into shouldPassThroughToGlobalHandler so ctrl+g etc. are not swallowed by TextInput
3. Python config default — config_defaults.py now includes "interrupt_key": "escape"
4. Dynamic hotkey display — busy placeholder renders the configured key; /hotkeys uses generic wording

Design decisions

• parseInterruptKey is standalone (not delegating to parseVoiceRecordKey) — only rejects ctrl+c, not voice-reserved keys like ctrl+l
• isInterruptKey is standalone (not delegating to isVoiceToggleKey) — no macOS Cmd+B muscle-memory fallback
• Collision detection in applyDisplay: if interrupt_key matches voice record_key, silently fall back to Esc
• Ctrl+C behavior is unchanged and hardcoded

Key priority (high to low)

1. Double-Esc discard draft
2. isBlocked early-exit (overlays)
3. Voice toggle chord (escape + voice key)
4. Queue-edit cancel
5. Selection clear
6. Dismiss completions (interrupt key)
7. Interrupt turn (interrupt key)
8. Ctrl+C interrupt/clear/exit

[teknium1]

Thanks for the configurable-keybinding implementation. The feature is still needed on current main, but this branch needs a few changes before it can provide the advertised behavior.

Problems

• The new global guard in ui-tui/src/app/useInputHandlers.ts:429 does not make custom bindings reachable from the focused composer. TextInput returns early unless shouldPassThroughToGlobalHandler() permits the event (ui-tui/src/components/textInput.tsx:924-937); that predicate only knows Ctrl+C/Ctrl+X, navigation, Escape, and the voice key (:1344-1356). Thus the documented ctrl+g example is consumed by the composer rather than interrupting.
• display.interrupt_key is not registered in hermes_cli/config.py's DEFAULT_CONFIG. The dashboard config schema is generated from that object at hermes_cli/web_server.py:813, so the setting is not a canonical/defaulted config field.
• ui-tui/src/components/appLayout.tsx and ui-tui/src/content/hotkeys.ts still display Esc after a custom binding is selected.

Suggested changes

• Thread interruptKey through TextInput and its pass-through predicate, then add focused-composer, parser, and config-reload tests alongside the existing TUI keybinding suites.
• Add the default configuration entry and document the TUI-only keybinding; render the configured key in user-facing hints.

Automated hermes-sweeper review.

[rxdxxxx]

Thanks for the detailed review! All 3 issues have been addressed in the force-push (b85752a):

1. Custom bindings unreachable from focused composer

shouldPassThroughToGlobalHandler now accepts interruptKey as a 4th parameter. When a custom interrupt key (e.g. ctrl+g) is configured, the composer passes it through to the global handler instead of consuming it. Added test coverage in textInputPassThrough.test.ts.

2. Missing DEFAULT_CONFIG entry

Added "interrupt_key": "escape" to hermes_cli/config_defaults.py under DEFAULT_CONFIG["display"].

3. Hardcoded Esc in UI hints

• Busy placeholder now renders dynamically via formatInterruptKey(composer.interruptKey) → shows e.g. "Ctrl+G / Ctrl+C to interrupt…"
• /hotkeys entry uses generic wording: Esc (or interrupt_key)

Additional improvements in this revision

• Standalone parser/matcher — parseInterruptKey and isInterruptKey no longer delegate to voice key functions, fixing the Cmd+B fallback leak and voice-reserved-key rejection (ctrl+l, ctrl+d now valid as interrupt keys)
• Dismiss-before-interrupt — first press of the interrupt key closes the completion list, second press interrupts the turn
• Collision detection — if interrupt_key collides with voice.record_key, silently falls back to Esc
• 15 unit tests for parsing, matching, and formatting

This PR now supersedes #21707 (which can be closed).