From 3904bfe7b01efda33ab2500bc9b0d61bc5b3d32f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Michael Bohl <michael@projektil.ch>
Date: Tue, 14 Jul 2026 15:00:57 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] fix(cli): keep approval prompt visible in scrollback

Preserve a plaintext pending-approval notice when prompt_toolkit repaints race with background-thread approvals.

Assisted-by: Hermes:gpt-5.6-sol
---
 cli.py                            | 11 +++++++++++
 hermes_cli/callbacks.py           | 12 +++++++++++-
 tests/cli/test_cli_approval_ui.py | 27 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 49 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/cli.py b/cli.py
index 17d2bdd0e4e32..d9d6f8ab7bd22 100644
--- a/cli.py
+++ b/cli.py
@@ -11765,6 +11765,17 @@ def _approval_callback(self, command: str, description: str,
             }
             self._approval_deadline = _time.monotonic() + timeout
 
+            # Keep a durable notice in normal terminal scrollback. The modal
+            # remains the interactive control, but prompt_toolkit repaints can
+            # be lost when output and a background-thread approval race.
+            _pending_command = " ".join(command.split())
+            if len(_pending_command) > 160:
+                _pending_command = _pending_command[:157] + "..."
+            _cprint(
+                f"\n{_ACCENT}PENDING APPROVAL:{_RST} {_pending_command}\n"
+                "  Select once/session/always/deny with arrow/number keys and Enter."
+            )
+
             # Modal prompt — paint immediately, bypassing the throttle/resize
             # guard. A throttled paint here can be silently dropped (250ms
             # window collision or in-flight resize), leaving the panel unseen so
diff --git a/hermes_cli/callbacks.py b/hermes_cli/callbacks.py
index df2c55a7bb253..0919cf924f900 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/callbacks.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/callbacks.py
@@ -216,7 +216,17 @@ def approval_callback(cli, command: str, description: str) -> str:
         }
         cli._approval_deadline = _time.monotonic() + timeout
 
-        if hasattr(cli, "_app") and cli._app:
+        pending_command = " ".join(command.split())
+        if len(pending_command) > 160:
+            pending_command = pending_command[:157] + "..."
+        cprint(
+            f"\nPENDING APPROVAL: {pending_command}\n"
+            "  Select once/session/always/deny with arrow/number keys and Enter."
+        )
+
+        if hasattr(cli, "_paint_now"):
+            cli._paint_now()
+        elif hasattr(cli, "_app") and cli._app:
             cli._app.invalidate()
 
         while True:
diff --git a/tests/cli/test_cli_approval_ui.py b/tests/cli/test_cli_approval_ui.py
index ebca5bd85e927..4de55ec50d1a5 100644
--- a/tests/cli/test_cli_approval_ui.py
+++ b/tests/cli/test_cli_approval_ui.py
@@ -99,6 +99,33 @@ def test_non_smart_non_permanent_callback_preserves_session_choice(self):
             "rm -rf /tmp/example", allow_permanent=False, smart_denied=False
         ) == ["once", "session", "deny"]
 
+    def test_approval_callback_persists_pending_prompt_in_scrollback(self):
+        """A pending approval remains visible even if the modal repaint is lost."""
+        cli = _make_cli_stub()
+        result = {}
+
+        def _run_callback():
+            result["value"] = cli._approval_callback("tar -xf archive.tar", "tirith warning")
+
+        with patch.object(cli_module, "_cprint") as cprint:
+            thread = threading.Thread(target=_run_callback, daemon=True)
+            thread.start()
+
+            deadline = time.time() + 2
+            while cli._approval_state is None and time.time() < deadline:
+                time.sleep(0.01)
+
+            assert cli._approval_state is not None
+            rendered = "\n".join(str(call.args[0]) for call in cprint.call_args_list)
+            assert "PENDING APPROVAL" in rendered
+            assert "tar -xf archive.tar" in rendered
+            assert "arrow/number keys" in rendered
+
+            cli._approval_state["response_queue"].put("deny")
+            thread.join(timeout=2)
+
+        assert result["value"] == "deny"
+
     def test_sudo_prompt_restores_existing_draft_after_response(self):
         cli = _make_cli_stub()
         cli._app.current_buffer = _FakeBuffer("draft command", cursor_position=5)