[FEATURE]: Improve UX of question tool multi-select #7572

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1. shanebishop1

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   discussionUsed for feature requests, proposals, ideas, etc. Open discussionUsed for feature requests, proposals, ideas, etc. Open discussion

   on Jan 10, 2026
2. github-actions

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   rekram1-node

   on Jan 10, 2026
3. github-actions

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   opentuiThis relates to changes in v1.0, now that opencode uses opentuiThis relates to changes in v1.0, now that opencode uses opentui

   on Jan 10, 2026
4. github-actions commented on Jan 10, 2026

   

   github-actionsBot

   on Jan 10, 2026 – with GitHub Actions

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   This issue is directly related to #7496: Question Tool Keyboard Conflict and Agent Switch Issue. Your proposed solution (space to toggle selections and enter to confirm) is an excellent way to address the tab key conflict mentioned in that issue.

   Additionally, you may want to consider #7462: Ability to turn off the "question form behavior", which discusses concerns about the question form UX being unintuitive.
5. Hipfox commented on Jan 10, 2026

   

   Hipfox

   on Jan 10, 2026

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   About Question Tool UX Issues and Recommendations

   Following up on #7496 I've conducted a thorough code analysis of the Question Tool implementation. Here's a comprehensive breakdown of the current issues and how the proposed changes would address them.

   Current Keyboard Binding Analysis

   Action	UI Hint	Actual Implementation	Problem
   Switch tabs	⇆ tab	left/right or h/l	❌ Misleading
   Select option	↑↓	up/down or k/j	✓ Correct
   Confirm/Toggle	enter	return	✓ Correct
   Dismiss	esc	escape	✓ Correct

   Root cause in code (question.tsx:150-162): Currently no handler for "tab" key - event bubbles to global agent_cycle

   Additional UX Issues Discovered

   1. Enter Key Behavior is Context-Dependent (Confusing)

   The Enter key has 4 different behaviors depending on state:

   Context	Enter Behavior	UI Label
   Single question, single-select	Select + Submit immediately	"submit"
   Multi-question, single-select	Select + Move to next tab	"confirm"
   Multi-select mode	Toggle selection	"toggle"
   Confirm tab	Submit all answers	"submit"

   This is implemented at question.tsx:357:

     {confirm() ? "submit" : multi() ? "toggle" : single() ? "submit" : "confirm"}
   

   2. No Way to Go Back to Previous Questions

   In multi-question mode, after moving to the next question (or Confirm tab), users can only go back using left/h. But:

   • The UI shows ⇆ tab which doesn't work
   • There's no explicit "back" hint

   How the Proposed Changes Address These Issues

   Issue	Current	Proposed (pnpm-style)	Improvement
   Tab conflict	Tab triggers agent switch	Space for toggle, no Tab	✅ Eliminates conflict
   Toggle confusion	Enter toggles in multi-select	Space always toggles	✅ Consistent mental model
   Quick selection	Navigate then Enter	Number keys for single-choice	✅ Fewer keystrokes
   Enter ambiguity	4 different behaviors	Enter always confirms	✅ Predictable

   Suggested Implementation

   Building on @shanebishop1's proposal:

   Mode	Proposed UI Hints
   Single-select	1-4 select · ↑↓/jk navigate · enter submit
   Multi-select	space toggle · ↑↓/jk navigate · enter done
   Multi-question	←→/hl switch · esc dismiss

   Additional Recommendations

   Consume Tab key event even if not used, to prevent bubbling:

   if (evt.name === "tab") {
     evt.preventDefault()
     // optionally: same as right arrow
   

   References

   • Tab key conflict: Question Tool Keyboard Conflict and Agent Switch Issue #7496
   • Related commit: e37fd9c (Question Tool implementation)
6. shanebishop1 commented on Jan 17, 2026

   

   shanebishop1

   on Jan 17, 2026

   Last edited by shanebishop1

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   @kitlangton made some PRs recently which improved the question UX and addressed most of my concerns. Closing this issue.

   🎉React with 🎉1Reacted by Chen-Sheng Lin

   ❤️React with ❤️1Reacted by Kit Langton
7. shanebishop1

   closed this as completedon Jan 17, 2026