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Sticky prompt textbox when scrolling chat history #14045

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Description

@oxysoft

Summary

Codex should support a sticky prompt textbox/composer: it stays in the normal chat-list flow when the user is at the bottom, but docks to the bottom of the screen when the user scrolls upward through history.

Problem

When reading older parts of a long conversation, the prompt textbox can end up far away from the user's viewport. That makes it awkward to inspect history and continue typing at the same time.

A better behavior would preserve both:

  • proximity to the latest messages when the user is at the bottom
  • constant input reachability when the user scrolls away from the bottom

Requested behavior

  • when the user is at the bottom of the chat, keep the prompt textbox in the normal chat layout near the latest messages
  • when the user scrolls upward, make the prompt textbox stick to the bottom of the viewport
  • when the user returns to the bottom, let the prompt textbox rejoin the normal chat-list layout

Why this is useful

  • keeps input reachable while inspecting earlier context
  • avoids losing the composer during long-thread navigation
  • preserves the feel that the composer belongs to the chat flow rather than always being detached

Success criteria

  • scrolling upward keeps the prompt textbox visible at the bottom of the screen
  • returning to the bottom restores the normal inline chat-flow placement
  • the transition feels stable and does not introduce cursor/composer drift or layout jank

Related context

Closest adjacent issue:

That ticket is about bottom-pane anchoring instability / jank. This request is the intentional UX feature: a sticky-on-scroll composer behavior.

Activity

  1. github-actions commented on Mar 9, 2026

    @github-actions
    Contributor
  2. added
    TUIIssues related to the terminal user interface: text input, menus and dialogs, and terminal display
    and removed
    codex-webIssues related to Codex Web
    on Mar 9, 2026
  3. dagelf commented on Mar 29, 2026

    @dagelf

    Relevant context #8344

    If you're on Linux, you can just script -q -f /tmp/codex.log -c codex

    And then in another terminal/pane/window tail -f /tmp/codex.log

  4. etraut-openai commented on May 10, 2026

    @etraut-openai
    Contributor

    This feature request hasn't received enough upvotes, so I'm going to close it.

  5. Jurio0304 commented on Jun 10, 2026

    @Jurio0304

    I ran into the same issue during long terminal sessions, especially when using Codex over SSH and inside tmux.

    I implemented a lightweight community fork called Codex Sticky that adds this sticky-on-scroll composer behavior:

    https://github.com/Jurio0304/codex-sticky

    When scrolling back through older transcript content, the composer remains reachable at the bottom of the terminal. The fork is installed side by side as codex-sticky, so it does not overwrite the official codex command.

    It is currently intended as a small, unofficial workaround for Linux x86_64 users while keeping the experience close to upstream. Feedback is very welcome.

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