feat(cli): support same-turn message steering

packages/cli/src/config/keyBindings.ts

@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ export enum Command {
 
   // Text input
   SUBMIT = 'submit',
+  QUEUE_MESSAGE = 'queueMessage',
   NEWLINE = 'newline',
   VOICE_PUSH_TO_TALK = 'voicePushToTalk',
 
@@ -193,6 +194,9 @@ export const defaultKeyBindings: KeyBindingConfig = {
       shift: false,
     },
   ],
+  [Command.QUEUE_MESSAGE]: [
+    { key: 'q', ctrl: true, command: false, shift: false, paste: false },
+  ],
   // Split into multiple data-driven bindings
   // Now also includes shift+enter for multi-line input
   [Command.NEWLINE]: [

packages/cli/src/i18n/locales/en.js

@@ -1841,7 +1841,10 @@ export default {
   'Press Ctrl+C again to exit.': 'Press Ctrl+C again to exit.',
   'Press Ctrl+D again to exit.': 'Press Ctrl+D again to exit.',
   'Press Esc again to clear.': 'Press Esc again to clear.',
-  'Press ↑ to edit queued messages': 'Press ↑ to edit queued messages',
+  'Ctrl+Q to queue · ↑ to edit queued messages':
+    'Ctrl+Q to queue · ↑ to edit queued messages',
+  'Enter to steer · Ctrl+Q to queue': 'Enter to steer · Ctrl+Q to queue',
+  'Queue message for the next turn': 'Queue message for the next turn',
 
   // ============================================================================
   // MCP Status
@@ -2228,6 +2231,7 @@ export default {
   'Press Ctrl+Y to retry': 'Press Ctrl+Y to retry',
   'No failed request to retry.': 'No failed request to retry.',
   'to retry last request': 'to retry last request',
+  'to queue for the next turn': 'to queue for the next turn',
 
   // ============================================================================
   // Coding Plan Authentication

packages/cli/src/i18n/locales/zh-TW.js

@@ -1613,7 +1613,11 @@ export default {
   'Press Ctrl+C again to exit.': '再次按 Ctrl+C 退出',
   'Press Ctrl+D again to exit.': '再次按 Ctrl+D 退出',
   'Press Esc again to clear.': '再次按 Esc 清除',
-  'Press ↑ to edit queued messages': '按 ↑ 編輯排隊消息',
+  'Ctrl+Q to queue · ↑ to edit queued messages':
+    'Ctrl+Q 排到下一輪 · ↑ 編輯排隊消息',
+  'Enter to steer · Ctrl+Q to queue':
+    'Enter 追加到目前任務 · Ctrl+Q 排到下一輪',
+  'Queue message for the next turn': '將消息排到下一輪',
   'No MCP servers configured.': '未配置 MCP servers',
   '◌ MCP servers are starting up ({{count}} initializing)...':
     '◌ MCP servers 正在啟動（{{count}} 個正在初始化）...',
@@ -1825,6 +1829,7 @@ export default {
   'Press Ctrl+Y to retry': '按 Ctrl+Y 重試。',
   'No failed request to retry.': '沒有可重試的失敗請求。',
   'to retry last request': '重試上一次請求',
+  'to queue for the next turn': '排到下一輪',
   'API key cannot be empty.': 'API Key 不能為空。',
   'Invalid API key. Coding Plan API keys start with "sk-sp-". Please check.':
     '無效的 API Key，Coding Plan API Key 均以 "sk-sp-" 開頭，請檢查',

packages/cli/src/i18n/locales/zh.js

@@ -1763,7 +1763,11 @@ export default {
   'Press Ctrl+C again to exit.': '再次按 Ctrl+C 退出',
   'Press Ctrl+D again to exit.': '再次按 Ctrl+D 退出',
   'Press Esc again to clear.': '再次按 Esc 清除',
-  'Press ↑ to edit queued messages': '按 ↑ 编辑排队消息',
+  'Ctrl+Q to queue · ↑ to edit queued messages':
+    'Ctrl+Q 排到下一轮 · ↑ 编辑排队消息',
+  'Enter to steer · Ctrl+Q to queue':
+    'Enter 追加到当前任务 · Ctrl+Q 排到下一轮',
+  'Queue message for the next turn': '将消息排到下一轮',
 
   // ============================================================================
   // MCP Status
@@ -2017,6 +2021,7 @@ export default {
   'Press Ctrl+Y to retry': '按 Ctrl+Y 重试。',
   'No failed request to retry.': '没有可重试的失败请求。',
   'to retry last request': '重试上一次请求',
+  'to queue for the next turn': '排到下一轮',
 
   // ============================================================================
   // Coding Plan Authentication

packages/cli/src/ui/AppContainer.test.tsx

@@ -976,6 +976,48 @@ describe('AppContainer State Management', () => {
       ).toBe(true);
     });
 
+    it('marks Ctrl+Q submissions to wait for the idle boundary', () => {
+      const mockQueueMessage = vi.fn();
+      const mockSubmitQuery = vi.fn();
+
+      mockedUseGeminiStream.mockReturnValue({
+        streamingState: 'responding',
+        submitQuery: mockSubmitQuery,
+        initError: null,
+        pendingHistoryItems: [],
+        thought: null,
+        cancelOngoingRequest: vi.fn(),
+        retryLastPrompt: vi.fn(),
+        streamingResponseLengthRef: { current: 0 },
+        isReceivingContent: false,
+      });
+      mockedUseMessageQueue.mockReturnValue({
+        messageQueue: [],
+        addMessage: mockQueueMessage,
+        clearQueue: vi.fn(),
+        getQueuedMessagesText: vi.fn().mockReturnValue(''),
+        popAllMessages: vi.fn().mockReturnValue(null),
+        drainQueue: vi.fn().mockReturnValue([]),
+        popNextSegment: vi.fn().mockReturnValue(null),
+      });
+
+      render(
+        <AppContainer
+          config={mockConfig}
+          settings={mockSettings}
+          version="1.0.0"
+          initializationResult={mockInitResult}
+        />,
+      );
+
+      capturedUIActions.handleFinalSubmit('/btw next turn', {
+        deferUntilIdle: true,
+      });
+
+      expect(mockQueueMessage).toHaveBeenCalledWith('/btw next turn', true);
+      expect(mockSubmitQuery).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+
     it('submits /btw immediately instead of queueing while responding', () => {
       const mockSubmitQuery = vi.fn();
       const mockQueueMessage = vi.fn();

packages/cli/src/ui/AppContainer.tsx

@@ -1860,6 +1860,7 @@ export const AppContainer = (props: AppContainerProps) => {
 
   const cancelHandlerRef = useRef<(info?: CancelSubmitInfo) => void>(() => {});
   const midTurnDrainRef = useRef<(() => string[]) | null>(null);
+  const midTurnRestoreRef = useRef<((messages: string[]) => void) | null>(null);
 
   const {
     streamingState,
@@ -1899,6 +1900,7 @@ export const AppContainer = (props: AppContainerProps) => {
     logger,
     availableTerminalHeightRef,
     terminalWidthRef,
+    midTurnRestoreRef,
   );
   cancelOngoingRequestRef.current = cancelOngoingRequest;
 
@@ -2010,6 +2012,7 @@ export const AppContainer = (props: AppContainerProps) => {
     messageQueue,
     addMessage,
     popAllMessages,
+    restoreMessages,
     drainQueue,
     popNextSegment,
   } = useMessageQueue();
@@ -2018,6 +2021,7 @@ export const AppContainer = (props: AppContainerProps) => {
   // drainQueue reads the synchronous queueRef inside the hook, so it
   // stays consistent with popNextSegment even before React re-renders.
   midTurnDrainRef.current = drainQueue;
+  midTurnRestoreRef.current = restoreMessages;
 
   // Connect remote input watcher to submitQuery for bidirectional sync.
   // When an external process writes a command to the input-file,
@@ -2147,7 +2151,7 @@ export const AppContainer = (props: AppContainerProps) => {
 
   // Callback for handling final submit (must be after addMessage from useMessageQueue)
   const handleFinalSubmit = useCallback(
-    (submittedValue: string) => {
+    (submittedValue: string, options?: { deferUntilIdle?: boolean }) => {
       // Route to active in-process agent if viewing a sub-agent tab.
       if (agentViewState.activeView !== 'main') {
         const agent = agentViewState.agents.get(agentViewState.activeView);
@@ -2195,6 +2199,10 @@ export const AppContainer = (props: AppContainerProps) => {
           `<system-reminder>\n${buildWorkflowSteeringNotice()}\n</system-reminder>\n\n` +
           submittedValue;
       }
+      if (options?.deferUntilIdle) {
+        addMessage(submittedValue, true);
+        return;
+      }
       if (
         streamingState === StreamingState.Responding &&
         isBtwCommand(submittedValue)
@@ -3969,7 +3977,7 @@ export const AppContainer = (props: AppContainerProps) => {
     if (isTranscriptOpenRef.current) return;
 
     // Two-phase: batch plain prompts as one turn, else pop next slash command.
-    const plainPrompts = drainQueue();
+    const plainPrompts = drainQueue(true);
     const submission =
       plainPrompts.length > 0 ? plainPrompts.join('\n\n') : popNextSegment();
     if (submission === null) return;

packages/cli/src/ui/components/Footer.test.tsx

@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import { VimModeProvider } from '../contexts/VimModeContext.js';
 import { SettingsContext } from '../contexts/SettingsContext.js';
 import { KeypressProvider } from '../contexts/KeypressContext.js';
 import type { LoadedSettings } from '../../config/settings.js';
+import { StreamingState } from '../types.js';
 
 vi.mock('../hooks/useTerminalSize.js');
 const useTerminalSizeMock = vi.mocked(useTerminalSize.useTerminalSize);
@@ -149,6 +150,18 @@ describe('<Footer />', () => {
     expect(lastFrame()).not.toContain('workflow active');
   });
 
+  it('shows steer and queue shortcuts while the model is responding', () => {
+    const { lastFrame } = renderWithWidth(
+      120,
+      createMockUIState({
+        streamingState: StreamingState.Responding,
+        showAutoAcceptIndicator: ApprovalMode.DEFAULT,
+      }),
+    );
+
+    expect(lastFrame()).toContain('Enter to steer · Ctrl+Q to queue');
+  });
+
   it('shows deferred IDE connection progress', () => {
     const { lastFrame } = renderWithWidth(
       120,

packages/cli/src/ui/components/Footer.tsx

@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import { GeminiSpinner } from './GeminiRespondingSpinner.js';
 import { GoalPill, useFooterGoalState } from './GoalPill.js';
 import { CronPill, useFooterCronTaskCount } from './CronPill.js';
 import { t } from '../../i18n/index.js';
+import { StreamingState } from '../types.js';
 
 export const Footer: React.FC = () => {
   const uiState = useUIState();
@@ -106,6 +107,10 @@ export const Footer: React.FC = () => {
         message: uiState.startupIdeConnectionStatus.message,
       })}
     </Text>
+  ) : uiState.streamingState === StreamingState.Responding ? (
+    <Text color={theme.text.secondary}>
+      {t('Enter to steer · Ctrl+Q to queue')}
+    </Text>
   ) : showAutoAcceptIndicator !== undefined ? (
     <AutoAcceptIndicator approvalMode={showAutoAcceptIndicator} />
   ) : suppressHint ? null : (

packages/cli/src/ui/components/Help.tsx

@@ -160,6 +160,7 @@ const GeneralHelp: React.FC<{ width: number }> = ({ width }) => {
     ['Tab', t('Accept ghost text or completion')],
     ['Esc Esc', t('Clear input or cancel operation')],
     ['Ctrl+L', t('Clear the screen')],
+    ['Ctrl+Q', t('Queue message for the next turn')],
     [
       process.platform === 'win32' ? 'Ctrl+Enter' : 'Ctrl+J',
       t('Insert a newline'),

packages/cli/src/ui/components/InputPrompt.test.tsx

@@ -410,6 +410,23 @@ describe('InputPrompt', () => {
     unmount();
   });
 
+  it('queues the prompt for the next turn on Ctrl+Q', async () => {
+    props.buffer.setText('send this later');
+    const { stdin, unmount } = renderWithProviders(<InputPrompt {...props} />);
+
+    act(() => {
+      stdin.write('\x11');
+    });
+
+    await waitFor(() => {
+      expect(props.onSubmit).toHaveBeenCalledWith('send this later', {
+        deferUntilIdle: true,
+      });
+    });
+    expect(props.buffer.setText).toHaveBeenCalledWith('');
+    unmount();
+  });
+
   it('expands large paste placeholders before stashing', () => {
     const pending = new Map([
       ['[Pasted Content 1200 chars]', 'full pasted content'],

packages/cli/src/ui/components/InputPrompt.tsx

@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ export function expandPendingPastePlaceholders(
 
 export interface InputPromptProps {
   buffer: TextBuffer;
-  onSubmit: (value: string) => void;
+  onSubmit: (value: string, options?: { deferUntilIdle?: boolean }) => void;
   userMessages: readonly string[];
   onClearScreen: () => void;
   config: Config;
@@ -585,7 +585,7 @@ export const InputPrompt: React.FC<InputPromptProps> = ({
   const resetHistoryNavRef = useRef<() => void>(() => {});
 
   const handleSubmitAndClear = useCallback(
-    (submittedValue: string) => {
+    (submittedValue: string, deferUntilIdle = false) => {
       exportCompletion.reset();
       // Expand any large paste placeholders to their full content before submitting
       let finalValue = submittedValue;
@@ -610,7 +610,11 @@ export const InputPrompt: React.FC<InputPromptProps> = ({
       // if onSubmit triggers a re-render while the buffer still holds the old value.
       buffer.setText('');
       clearPromptStash(targetDir);
-      onSubmit(finalValue);
+      if (deferUntilIdle) {
+        onSubmit(finalValue, { deferUntilIdle: true });
+      } else {
+        onSubmit(finalValue);
+      }
 
       // Reset history navigation so the next Up-arrow starts from the newest
       // entry rather than advancing from whatever index the user picked.
@@ -1626,6 +1630,13 @@ export const InputPrompt: React.FC<InputPromptProps> = ({
         }
       }
 
+      if (keyMatchers[Command.QUEUE_MESSAGE](key)) {
+        if (buffer.text.trim()) {
+          handleSubmitAndClear(buffer.text, true);
+        }
+        return true;
+      }
+
       if (keyMatchers[Command.SUBMIT](key)) {
         // When buffer is empty and a suggestion is available, Enter fills the
         // buffer instead of submitting — matching Tab/Right-arrow behavior.

packages/cli/src/ui/components/KeyboardShortcuts.tsx

@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ const getShortcuts = (): Shortcut[] => [
   { key: 'ctrl+o', description: t('to view transcript') },
   { key: 'ctrl+r', description: t('to search history') },
   { key: 'ctrl+y', description: t('to retry last request') },
+  { key: 'ctrl+q', description: t('to queue for the next turn') },
   { key: getPasteKey(), description: t('to paste images') },
   { key: getExternalEditorKey(), description: t('for external editor') },
 ];
@@ -56,11 +57,11 @@ const COLUMN_GAP = 4;
 const MARGIN_LEFT = 2;
 const MARGIN_RIGHT = 2;
 
-// Column distribution for different layouts (5+4+4 for 3 cols, 7+6 for 2 cols)
+// Column distribution for different layouts (5+5+4 for 3 cols, 7+7 for 2 cols)
 const COLUMN_SPLITS: Record<number, number[]> = {
-  3: [5, 4, 4],
-  2: [7, 6],
-  1: [13],
+  3: [5, 5, 4],
+  2: [7, 7],
+  1: [14],
 };
 
 export const KeyboardShortcuts: React.FC = () => {

packages/cli/src/ui/components/QueuedMessageDisplay.test.tsx

@@ -80,6 +80,7 @@ describe('QueuedMessageDisplay', () => {
     );
 
     const output = lastFrame();
+    expect(output).toContain('Ctrl+Q to queue');
     expect(output).toContain('to edit queued messages');
   });
 

packages/cli/src/ui/components/QueuedMessageDisplay.tsx

@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ export const QueuedMessageDisplay = ({
       {showHint && (
         <Box paddingLeft={2}>
           <Text dimColor italic>
-            {t('Press ↑ to edit queued messages')}
+            {t('Ctrl+Q to queue · ↑ to edit queued messages')}
           </Text>
         </Box>
       )}

packages/cli/src/ui/contexts/UIActionsContext.tsx

@@ -74,7 +74,10 @@ export interface UIActions {
   onEscapePromptChange: (show: boolean) => void;
   onTabConsumerChange: (active: boolean) => void;
   refreshStatic: () => void;
-  handleFinalSubmit: (value: string) => void;
+  handleFinalSubmit: (
+    value: string,
+    options?: { deferUntilIdle?: boolean },
+  ) => void;
   handleRetryLastPrompt: () => void;
   handleClearScreen: () => void;
   popAllQueuedMessages: () => string | null;