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benjipeng merged 1 commit into from
Sep 23, 2026
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feat(tui): let the activity mark grow from a point, turn, and spin out #49

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13 changes: 8 additions & 5 deletions .agents/specs/composer.md
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Expand Up @@ -56,13 +56,16 @@ instant, so they never move the semantic revision. Elapsed counts the primary's
opens until it ends: it carries through the gaps between steps and stops while an approval or a
question holds the turn on the user. Quiet appears after five seconds with nothing from the
primary's own events, never a child's, and says nothing while the turn waits on the user. A short
row drops effort, then quiet, then elapsed. The row opens with the mark: the Nerd Font's circle,
rounded square and square, outline then filled, in blue for the agent's own work and the
server-tool colour while a provider-run search is the work, standing still in the action-required
colour while approval is required; it moves on the one visible-only clock (MOT-1, MOT-3). The
row drops effort, then quiet, then elapsed. The row opens with the mark, from the Nerd Font's one
Material Design family: a dot grows into a circle, turns into a rounded square and a square, spins
into a diamond and shrinks away through a smaller one, lingering on the whole shapes. It is blue
for the agent's own work and the server-tool colour while a provider-run search is the work, and
stands still as the whole circle in the action-required colour while approval is required; it
moves on the one visible-only clock (MOT-1, MOT-3). The
row's right end holds the selection note (SEL-2) and the attention pill (ATT-1); while its rows are
closed the selection note rides the status row instead (ui-ux §input). Rejected: current work on
the composer's rule, which mixed the agent's doing with the user's typing.
the composer's rule, which mixed the agent's doing with the user's typing; and a mark that changed
shape at one size, or stepped evenly back along its own path, which the user found rigid.

**COM-6 — Input selection names editable source.** A click places the caret; dragging retains a
grapheme-boundary anchor, paints the source range, and release copies it through SEL-4. Typing or
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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion .agents/specs/motion.md
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Expand Up @@ -27,4 +27,4 @@ clock was doing.

The phase is a count, not a time: renderers derive their frame from it, so two moving things on
screen stay in step. The effort rail's marker and the activity line's mark each complete a cycle every
1.6 s, the mark at three phases a frame over eight frames.
1.6 s, the mark over seven frames holding unequal numbers of its 24 phases.
16 changes: 12 additions & 4 deletions .agents/spikes/conversation-chrome/README.md
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Expand Up @@ -9,14 +9,14 @@
Every decision below was made by the user on a rendered frame, 2026-09-21 and 2026-09-22. The
generators are in [`mockups/`](./mockups/); each writes one HTML page to
`plexmaton-conversation-chrome/` under the system temporary directory, outside this corpus, and
`spin.py`, `logo_term.py` and `cellsize.py` run in a terminal. Regenerate rather than trusting a description of them.
`spin.py`, `mark-lively.py`, `logo_term.py` and `cellsize.py` run in a terminal. Regenerate rather than trusting a description of them.

## What the user chose

| Surface | Chosen | Rejected on sight |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Activity line composition | mark, label, muted `· 32s · high effort`, `· quiet for 31s` once nothing has arrived; no token count | a red stall tell; estimated tokens |
| Activity mark | N2, the Nerd Font's circle, rounded square and square, outline then filled: chosen 2026-09-22 in a kitty window beside the Unicode cycles; the user asked for the filled half to keep it simple yet ever changing | C2′ and C2″, which shook in the user's terminal because mixed-size Unicode shapes centre differently; filled squares; braille; quarter circles; Claude Code's star |
| Activity mark | H: a dot grows into a circle, turns into a rounded square and a square, spins into a diamond and shrinks away through a smaller one, lingering on whole shapes, 1.6 s a cycle; chosen 2026-09-23 in kitty (`mark-lively.py`) after the user found N2 rigid and wanted it to grow from a point | N2, the circle, rounded square and square outline then filled, chosen 2026-09-22 and later found rigid; one size changing shape, and even steps retracing their path, likewise; a slice-by-slice sweep, which reads as progress; C2′ and C2″, which shook because mixed-size Unicode shapes centre differently; filled squares; braille; quarter circles; Claude Code's star |
| User message | band of lifted ground with a blue `›`, continuation indented | the accent bar; a bare prefix; a hairline bar; a band alone |
| Mark placement | centred in the empty conversation, name beneath, gone with the first message | a header or drawer slot, not yet asked for |
| Mark motion | K4 as the base: frame breathes between weights and drifts between palette slots; centre morphs circle, ring, rounded square, square, solid and outline | K1 to K3 as they stood |
Expand All @@ -40,8 +40,16 @@ kitty answers `CSI 16 t` with the cell in pixels; `cellsize.py` shows the reply
Material Design glyphs used, all present at one advance in Sarasa Term SC Nerd and in Symbols Nerd
Font Mono: `circle-small` F09DF, `circle-medium` F09DE, `circle` F0765, `circle-outline` F0766,
`square` F0763, `square-outline` F0764, `square-rounded` F14FB, `square-rounded-outline` F14FC,
`radiobox-marked` F043E, `record-circle` F0FEC, `circle-double` F0E95. The product already draws
its header, tally and copy glyphs from this set.
`radiobox-marked` F043E, `record-circle` F0FEC, `circle-double` F0E95, `rhombus` F070B,
`rhombus-medium` F0A10, `square-small` F0A15, `square-medium` F0A13. The product already draws its
header, tally and copy glyphs from this set.

Measured in Maple Mono NF CN, in units of a 1000-unit em on a 600-unit cell: the family's filled
shapes come at 168, 332 and 461 (the medium diamond), then 750 to 832, with nothing between, so a
mark grows in steps rather than smoothly. Its small and medium sizes and its squares share one
centre; the whole circle and diamond sit 41 units right of it, an offset nobody has seen move.
Maple Mono's own `·`, `•`, `▪`, `●` and `■` centre on the cell instead, 75 to 116 units left of
the family's, so they cannot join its cycle; `▢`, `◼` and `⬤` are not in the font and fall back.

## What the other CLIs do, read from their source

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77 changes: 77 additions & 0 deletions .agents/spikes/conversation-chrome/mockups/mark-lively.py
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@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""C made lively: growth, a turn and a sweep, from one Material Design family. Ctrl-C to stop.

Every glyph here shares the family's centring, and each frame lasts a whole number of the motion
clock's 67 ms phases; cycles are 24 phases (1.6 s) or 16 (1.07 s), both of which the product's
clock can drive unchanged.
"""
import sys, time

TEXT, BLUE, MUTED, RESET, REV = ("\x1b[38;2;230;233;240m", "\x1b[38;2;130;180;240m",
"\x1b[38;2;142;162;196m", "\x1b[0m", "\x1b[7m")
PHASE_MS = 1000 / 15
G = dict(c_small="\U000F09DF", c_medium="\U000F09DE", circle="\U000F0765",
square="\U000F0763", rounded="\U000F14FB",
rhombus="\U000F070B", r_medium="\U000F0A10")
G.update({f"slice{n}": chr(0xF0A9D + n) for n in range(1, 9)})

SLICES = [(f"slice{n}", 1) for n in range(1, 9)]
CANDIDATES = [
("E liked: C with pace", [("c_small", 3), ("c_medium", 1), ("circle", 5), ("rounded", 2),
("square", 5), ("rounded", 2), ("circle", 5), ("c_medium", 1)]),
("H grow, turn, spin out · 1.6 s", [("c_small", 3), ("c_medium", 1), ("circle", 6), ("rounded", 2),
("square", 5), ("rhombus", 4), ("r_medium", 3)]),
("K spark · 1.6 s", [("c_small", 3), ("c_medium", 1), ("r_medium", 2), ("rhombus", 4),
("square", 4), ("rounded", 2), ("circle", 5), ("c_medium", 3)]),
("I sweep · 1.6 s", [("c_small", 4), ("c_medium", 1), *SLICES, ("circle", 8), ("c_medium", 3)]),
("H' grow, turn, spin out · 1.07 s", [("c_small", 2), ("c_medium", 1), ("circle", 4), ("rounded", 1),
("square", 3), ("rhombus", 3), ("r_medium", 2)]),
("K' spark · 1.07 s", [("c_small", 2), ("c_medium", 1), ("r_medium", 1), ("rhombus", 3),
("square", 3), ("rounded", 1), ("circle", 3), ("c_medium", 2)]),
("I' sweep · 1.07 s", [("c_small", 2), ("c_medium", 1), *SLICES, ("circle", 4), ("c_medium", 1)]),
]


def frame_at(frames, phase):
phase %= sum(hold for _, hold in frames)
for glyph, hold in frames:
if phase < hold:
return glyph
phase -= hold
raise AssertionError("unreachable")


def strip():
print(f"\n{TEXT}Frames in order, each in its own cell; the number is how many 67 ms phases it holds:{RESET}\n")
for name, frames in CANDIDATES:
cells = " ".join(f"{REV}{G[glyph]}{RESET}{MUTED}{hold}{RESET}" for glyph, hold in frames)
print(f" {MUTED}{name:38}{RESET} {cells}")
print(f"\n{TEXT}As the activity line:{RESET}\n")


def animate():
sys.stdout.write("\x1b[?25l")
start = time.time()
try:
while True:
elapsed_ms = (time.time() - start) * 1000
phase = int(elapsed_ms // PHASE_MS)
for name, frames in CANDIDATES:
glyph = G[frame_at(frames, phase)]
seconds = 12 + int(elapsed_ms // 1000)
sys.stdout.write(f" {BLUE}{glyph}{RESET} {TEXT}Thinking…{RESET}"
f"{MUTED} · {seconds}s · max effort{RESET} {MUTED}{name}{RESET}\x1b[K\n\n")
sys.stdout.write(f"\x1b[{2 * len(CANDIDATES)}A")
sys.stdout.flush()
time.sleep(0.01)
except KeyboardInterrupt:
pass
finally:
sys.stdout.write(f"\x1b[{2 * len(CANDIDATES)}B\x1b[?25h{RESET}\n")


if __name__ == "__main__":
for name, frames in CANDIDATES:
assert sum(hold for _, hold in frames) in (16, 24), name
strip()
animate()
2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion crates/plexmaton-tui/frames/agents-strip-narrow.txt
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Expand Up @@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
│transcript remains interactive. │
│ │
│received from Agent B · UI study · Routing stays centrali…│
│󰝦 Thinking… ( !2 ) │
│󰧟 Thinking… ( !2 ) │
│ │
── Message ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
Type a message · ⇥ to focus
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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion crates/plexmaton-tui/frames/agents-strip-one-column.txt
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Expand Up @@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
│independently; this transcript remains interactive. │
│ │
│received from Agent B · UI study · Routing stays centralized and z-ordered. │
│󰝦 Thinking… ( !2 ) │
│󰧟 Thinking… ( !2 ) │
│ │
── Message ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Type a message · ⇥ to focus
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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion crates/plexmaton-tui/frames/agents-strip-tally.txt
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Expand Up @@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
│independently; this transcript remains interactive. │
│ │
│received from Agent B · UI study · Routing stays centralized and z-ordered. │
│󰝦 Thinking… │
│󰧟 Thinking… │
│ │
── Message ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Type a message · ⇥ to focus
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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion crates/plexmaton-tui/frames/agents-strip-two-columns.txt
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Expand Up @@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
│interactive. ││ │
│ ││ │
│received from Agent B · UI study · Routing stays centralized and z-…││ │
│󰝦 Thinking… ( !2 ) ││ │
│󰧟 Thinking… ( !2 ) ││ │
│ ││ │
── Message ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────│ │
Type a message · ⇥ to focus │Controller unavailable · input locked │
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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion crates/plexmaton-tui/frames/approval-medium.txt
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Expand Up @@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
│independently; this transcript remains interactive. │
│ │
│received from Agent B · UI study · Routing stays centralized and z-ordered. │
│󰝦 Thinking… ( !1 ) │
│󰧟 Thinking… ( !1 ) │
│ │
── Approval required · edit ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion crates/plexmaton-tui/frames/approval-wide.txt
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Expand Up @@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
│transcript remains interactive. ││ │
│ ││ │
│received from Agent B · UI study · Routing stays centrali…││ │
│󰝦 Thinking… ( !1 ) ││ │
│󰧟 Thinking… ( !1 ) ││ │
│ ││ │
── Approval required · edit ────────────────────────────────│ │
│ │
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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion crates/plexmaton-tui/frames/canonical-medium.txt
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Expand Up @@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
│independently; this transcript remains interactive. │
│ │
│received from Agent B · UI study · Routing stays centralized and z-ordered. │
│󰝦 Thinking… ( !1 ) │
│󰧟 Thinking… ( !1 ) │
│ │
── Message ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Type a message · ⇥ to focus
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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion crates/plexmaton-tui/frames/canonical-narrow.txt
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Expand Up @@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
│transcript remains interactive. │
│ │
│received from Agent B · UI study · Routing stays centrali…│
│󰝦 Thinking… ( !1 ) │
│󰧟 Thinking… ( !1 ) │
│ │
── Message ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
Type a message · ⇥ to focus
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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion crates/plexmaton-tui/frames/canonical-wide.txt
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Expand Up @@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
│remains interactive. │
│ │
│received from Agent B · UI study · Routing stays centralized and z-ordered. │
│󰝦 Thinking… ( !1 ) │
│󰧟 Thinking… ( !1 ) │
│ │
── Message ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Type a message · ⇥ to focus
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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion crates/plexmaton-tui/frames/current-work-responding-medium.txt
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│󰝦 Responding… ( !1 ) │
│󰧟 Responding… ( !1 ) │
│ │
── Message ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Type a message · ⇥ to focus
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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion crates/plexmaton-tui/frames/current-work-responding-narrow.txt
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│󰝦 Responding… ( !1 ) │
│󰧟 Responding… ( !1 ) │
│ │
── Message ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
Type a message · ⇥ to focus
Expand Down
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