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Plan: "Ask what to do instead" Permission Option (Issue #11)

Summary

Add a fourth option to the permission selector: "Ask what to do instead". When selected, the user provides a text instruction that interrupts the current agent turn and is sent as a new user message to the LLM.

Current State

  • Permission choices are defined in internal/cli/repl/permissions/selector.go
  • Non-dangerous: Allow, Allow for this session, Deny
  • Dangerous: Allow, Deny
  • Permission key handling is in internal/cli/repl/handlers.go → handlePermissionKeyMsg
  • Permission card rendering is in internal/cli/repl/stream_permission.go
  • The Requester in permissions/requester.go sends a boolean (allowed) back to the tool
  • Interrupt logic already exists: interruptStream() in handlers.go cancels the stream context and preserves partial state

Design Decisions

  1. New choice: ChoiceAskWhatToDo added after ChoiceDeny
  2. UI flow: When user selects "Ask what to do instead" and presses Enter:
  3. Permission card resolves with a new status (e.g. StatusRedirected)
  4. The pending tool gets denied (returns false to the tool)
  5. The stream is interrupted (same as Esc interrupt)
  6. A text input prompt appears for the user to type their instruction
  7. On submit, the instruction is appended as a user message and a new LLM turn starts
  8. Requester response: The tool receives false (denied), same as ChoiceDeny. The difference is purely in the REPL flow that follows.
  9. Text input: Reuse the existing textarea. After interrupt, focus returns to textarea with a hint that the user should type a new instruction.

Implementation Plan

Step 1: Add the new choice to the selector

File: internal/cli/repl/permissions/selector.go

  • Add ChoiceAskWhatToDo Choice = 3
  • Update Choices() to include "Ask what to do instead" as the last option (both dangerous and non-dangerous)
  • Update ChoiceAt() to map the new cursor position

Step 2: Add new status

File: internal/cli/repl/permissions/requester.go

  • Add StatusRedirected Status = "redirected" for the resolved card display

Step 3: Handle the new choice in permission key handler

File: internal/cli/repl/handlers.go → handlePermissionKeyMsg

  • When choice == ChoiceAskWhatToDo:
  • Resolve permission with StatusRedirected
  • Send ChoiceDeny response to the requester (tool gets denied)
  • Call interruptStream() to cancel the current turn
  • Set a flag on replModel (e.g. awaitingRedirectInput bool) to indicate the next Enter should send the user's text as a follow-up message

Step 4: Handle the redirect input submission

File: internal/cli/repl/handlers.go → handleEnterKey

  • If m.awaitingRedirectInput is true when user presses Enter:
  • Clear the flag
  • Take textarea value as the user instruction
  • Append it as a user message to appState
  • Start a new LLM turn (same as normal message submission)
  • This naturally continues from the preserved partial assistant state

Step 5: Update permission card rendering

File: internal/cli/repl/stream_permission.go

  • Add rendering for the new choice in the selector list
  • Add resolved status line for StatusRedirected (e.g. "↩ Redirected for ")

Step 6: Update hint text

  • Update the hint line in the permission card to reflect the new option

Edge Cases

  1. User types empty instruction: Treat same as no-op, re-show textarea prompt or ignore
  2. Esc during redirect input: Cancels the redirect, returns to idle state (no message sent)
  3. Multiple permission requests queued: Only the active pending one can be redirected; queued ones remain pending

Testing

  • Unit test: ChoiceAt correctly maps new cursor positions
  • Unit test: Choices() returns correct options for dangerous/non-dangerous
  • Integration: Selecting "Ask what to do instead" interrupts the stream and awaits user input
  • Integration: Submitting redirect input starts a new LLM turn with the instruction as user message

Files to Modify

  1. internal/cli/repl/permissions/selector.go — new choice constant + updated lists
  2. internal/cli/repl/permissions/requester.go — new status constant
  3. internal/cli/repl/handlers.go — permission key handling + enter key handling
  4. internal/cli/repl/stream_permission.go — card rendering for new choice/status
  5. internal/cli/repl/repl.go — add awaitingRedirectInput field to replModel