fix: clarify live auto-compression state

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Fixed
+
+- **PR #2517** (refs #2477) — Make live automatic-compression cards show the running compression phase, with a spinner-style status label and elapsed time, instead of presenting the in-progress state like a completed auto-compression event.
+
 ## [v0.51.89] — 2026-05-18 — Release BM (stage-382 — 6-PR full sweep batch — runtime adapter approval/clarify seam + SOUL.md memory panel + #1855 resolve_model_provider fast-path + PWA sidebar spinner fix + /model active-provider preference + contributor contract docs index)
 
 ### Changed

static/messages.js

@@ -1785,6 +1785,7 @@ function attachLiveStream(activeSid, streamId, uploaded=[], options={}){
           phase:'running',
           automatic:true,
           message:d.message||'Auto-compressing context...',
+          startedAt:Date.now(),
         };
         setCompressionUi(state);
         const liveAnswerStarted=!!(assistantRow||String(((_parseStreamState&&_parseStreamState())||{}).displayText||'').trim());

static/ui.js

@@ -4956,15 +4956,19 @@ function _autoCompressionCardsHtml(state){
   const detail=running
     ? (String(state.message||'Auto-compressing context...').trim()||'Auto-compressing context...')
     : (String(state.message||fallback).trim()||fallback);
+  const startedAt=Number(state&&state.startedAt||0);
+  const elapsed=(running&&startedAt>0)
+    ? `Elapsed ${_formatTurnDuration(Math.max(0,(Date.now()-startedAt)/1000))}`
+    : '';
   const preview=running
     ? detail
     : (String(state.summary?.headline||detail).trim()||detail);
   return `
     <div class="tool-card-row compression-card-row" data-compression-card="1">
       ${_compressionStatusCardHtml({
-        statusLabel: t('auto_compress_label'),
+        statusLabel: running ? t('compress_running_label') : t('auto_compress_label'),
         previewText: preview,
-        detail,
+        detail: [detail, elapsed].filter(Boolean).join('\n'),
         icon: running ? '<span class="tool-card-running-dot"></span>' : li('check',13),
         open: running,
         variantClass: running

tests/test_auto_compression_card.py

@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ def test_auto_compression_running_sse_uses_active_session_running_card():
     assert "phase:'running'" in block
     assert "automatic:true" in block
     assert "message:d.message||'Auto-compressing context...'" in block
+    assert "startedAt:Date.now()" in block
 
 
 def test_auto_compression_running_sse_is_emitted_from_agent_lifecycle_status():
@@ -136,7 +137,11 @@ def test_auto_compression_card_reuses_compression_card_renderer():
 
     assert "if(state.automatic) return _autoCompressionCardsHtml(state);" in src
     assert "tool-card-row compression-card-row" in helper
+    assert "running ? t('compress_running_label') : t('auto_compress_label')" in helper
+    assert "tool-card-compress-running tool-card-compress-auto" in helper
     assert "tool-card-compress-complete tool-card-compress-auto" in helper
+    assert "Elapsed ${_formatTurnDuration" in helper
+    assert "detail: [detail, elapsed].filter(Boolean).join('\\n')" in helper
     assert "auto_compress_label" in helper