fix(client): keep async question indicators visible while working#25154

Problem

A pending async question disappears from thread-list indicators while its agent continues working. Reproduced on the web client by asking Codex to request an asynchronous choice and then run a foreground command: the question card remains answerable, but the thread row only says Working.

Change

Derive a separate pending-question presentation flag without changing the Working status or blocking-input behavior. Show its marker and accessible description in the web sidebar, full and compact status pills, command-palette results, and mobile thread rows. Status-pill badges preserve the existing icon footprint.

Scope and approval

Fixes pingdotgg/t3code#24914

Triaged bug via the automated issue flow. GitCafe issue #24914.

Verification

• Red first: the existing client-runtime presentation suite failed because an active run with a non-blocking user-input request had no separate question flag. The focused test now passes and also checks clearing after answering and completion.
• vp run check:changed passed after merging current main: format, lint, knip, typecheck of seven affected packages, and 96 tests across three files. Two independent reviewers approved the final implementation.
• Real web app reproduction confirms Working remains visible while a question is pending. Sixteen matched static web pairs cover card rows, full pills, compact overflow pills and command-palette results at both widths and themes.

Evidence

Complete evidence index · Fixture matrix · Public seed driver · Browser recipe.

Real full web app with isolated static server projections, Chromium on Linux in T3 Browser, CSS viewports 1440×900 and 390×844, light/dark, reduced motion, frozen clock. Desktop output is preview-scaled to 1280×800; narrow output is 780×1688 at DPR 2. Card captures use c7481a95e4, whose card implementation is identical at 8d2db6f7c2; all other final captures use 8d2db6f7c2. The subsequent merge of main changes none of these marker render paths.

What else changed: card status clusters gain the icon and adjacent text shifts or truncates to fit; full/compact pills and palette gain the overlaid badge without shifting text. Unaffected fixtures retain their previous indicators. Threshold-zero diffs include minor antialiasing and blurred-backdrop differences, detailed in the index. The final narrow sidebar remains 378.5px wide. An independent rebuild matched above the 16/255 threshold.

Unverified coverage

Native mobile rendering and accessibility announcements remain unverified: the fresh EAS iOS build failed because GhosttyKit provides an arm64 simulator slice while Release requested arm64 and x86_64. Mobile verification handoff. Slim-row controls and the complete hover/focus, priority-winner and interaction matrix are not captured.

Live lifecycle recordings

Runtime index with exact prompts, timestamped steps and inspection limits. Real Codex runs in the web app, before b76a110aa4 and after 8d2db6f7c2, same isolated origin/state, dark, 1440×900 CSS, 2880×1800 encoded video.

Continuous A completion-to-settled transitions, baseline navigation-away/back, and a matched head blocking-input control remain unverified. A later head continuity clip is linked in the runtime index; it is not uninterrupted transition proof. The proof matrix is not fully covered.

Independent combined proof audit: static affected web paths and live marker appearance pass. Overall verdict remains INSUFFICIENT for the full matrix: native M1–M4, W3/W9 interactions, W4 accessibility control, supplementary W7 winner cases, remaining T2/T3 continuity and matched T4. No confirmed implementation defect was found.

Models and harnesses: Claude Opus 5.5 through Claude Agent (implementation); GPT-6.1 Sol through Codex and Claude Opus 5.5 through Claude Agent (reviews and verification), orchestrated in T3 Code.