feat(shell): enable interactive commands with virtual terminal (google-gemini#6694)

Author: galz10

packages/a2a-server/src/agent/task.ts

@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import type {
   ToolCallConfirmationDetails,
   Config,
   UserTierId,
+  AnsiOutput,
 } from '@google/gemini-cli-core';
 import type { RequestContext } from '@a2a-js/sdk/server';
 import { type ExecutionEventBus } from '@a2a-js/sdk/server';
@@ -284,20 +285,29 @@ export class Task {
 
   private _schedulerOutputUpdate(
     toolCallId: string,
-    outputChunk: string,
+    outputChunk: string | AnsiOutput,
   ): void {
+    let outputAsText: string;
+    if (typeof outputChunk === 'string') {
+      outputAsText = outputChunk;
+    } else {
+      outputAsText = outputChunk
+        .map((line) => line.map((token) => token.text).join(''))
+        .join('\n');
+    }
+
     logger.info(
       '[Task] Scheduler output update for tool call ' +
         toolCallId +
         ': ' +
-        outputChunk,
+        outputAsText,
     );
     const artifact: Artifact = {
       artifactId: `tool-${toolCallId}-output`,
       parts: [
         {
           kind: 'text',
-          text: outputChunk,
+          text: outputAsText,
         } as Part,
       ],
     };

packages/a2a-server/src/http/app.test.ts

@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ vi.mock('../utils/logger.js', () => ({
 let config: Config;
 const getToolRegistrySpy = vi.fn().mockReturnValue(ApprovalMode.DEFAULT);
 const getApprovalModeSpy = vi.fn();
+const getShellExecutionConfigSpy = vi.fn();
 vi.mock('../config/config.js', async () => {
   const actual = await vi.importActual('../config/config.js');
   return {
@@ -72,6 +73,7 @@ vi.mock('../config/config.js', async () => {
       const mockConfig = createMockConfig({
         getToolRegistry: getToolRegistrySpy,
         getApprovalMode: getApprovalModeSpy,
+        getShellExecutionConfig: getShellExecutionConfigSpy,
       });
       config = mockConfig as Config;
       return config;

packages/cli/src/config/keyBindings.ts

@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ export enum Command {
   REVERSE_SEARCH = 'reverseSearch',
   SUBMIT_REVERSE_SEARCH = 'submitReverseSearch',
   ACCEPT_SUGGESTION_REVERSE_SEARCH = 'acceptSuggestionReverseSearch',
+  TOGGLE_SHELL_INPUT_FOCUS = 'toggleShellInputFocus',
 }
 
 /**
@@ -162,4 +163,5 @@ export const defaultKeyBindings: KeyBindingConfig = {
   // Note: original logic ONLY checked ctrl=false, ignored meta/shift/paste
   [Command.SUBMIT_REVERSE_SEARCH]: [{ key: 'return', ctrl: false }],
   [Command.ACCEPT_SUGGESTION_REVERSE_SEARCH]: [{ key: 'tab' }],
+  [Command.TOGGLE_SHELL_INPUT_FOCUS]: [{ key: 'f', ctrl: true }],
 };

packages/cli/src/config/settings.ts

@@ -106,6 +106,8 @@ const MIGRATION_MAP: Record<string, string> = {
   sandbox: 'tools.sandbox',
   selectedAuthType: 'security.auth.selectedType',
   shouldUseNodePtyShell: 'tools.usePty',
+  shellPager: 'tools.shell.pager',
+  shellShowColor: 'tools.shell.showColor',
   skipNextSpeakerCheck: 'model.skipNextSpeakerCheck',
   summarizeToolOutput: 'model.summarizeToolOutput',
   telemetry: 'telemetry',

packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts

@@ -649,6 +649,36 @@ const SETTINGS_SCHEMA = {
           'Use node-pty for shell command execution. Fallback to child_process still applies.',
         showInDialog: true,
       },
+      shell: {
+        type: 'object',
+        label: 'Shell',
+        category: 'Tools',
+        requiresRestart: false,
+        default: {},
+        description: 'Settings for shell execution.',
+        showInDialog: false,
+        properties: {
+          pager: {
+            type: 'string',
+            label: 'Pager',
+            category: 'Tools',
+            requiresRestart: false,
+            default: 'cat' as string | undefined,
+            description:
+              'The pager command to use for shell output. Defaults to `cat`.',
+            showInDialog: false,
+          },
+          showColor: {
+            type: 'boolean',
+            label: 'Show Color',
+            category: 'Tools',
+            requiresRestart: false,
+            default: false,
+            description: 'Show color in shell output.',
+            showInDialog: true,
+          },
+        },
+      },
       autoAccept: {
         type: 'boolean',
         label: 'Auto Accept',

packages/cli/src/services/prompt-processors/shellProcessor.test.ts

@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ describe('ShellProcessor', () => {
       getTargetDir: vi.fn().mockReturnValue('/test/dir'),
       getApprovalMode: vi.fn().mockReturnValue(ApprovalMode.DEFAULT),
       getShouldUseNodePtyShell: vi.fn().mockReturnValue(false),
+      getShellExecutionConfig: vi.fn().mockReturnValue({}),
     };
 
     context = createMockCommandContext({
@@ -147,6 +148,7 @@ describe('ShellProcessor', () => {
       expect.any(Function),
       expect.any(Object),
       false,
+      expect.any(Object),
     );
     expect(result).toEqual([{ text: 'The current status is: On branch main' }]);
   });
@@ -218,6 +220,7 @@ describe('ShellProcessor', () => {
       expect.any(Function),
       expect.any(Object),
       false,
+      expect.any(Object),
     );
     expect(result).toEqual([{ text: 'Do something dangerous: deleted' }]);
   });
@@ -410,6 +413,7 @@ describe('ShellProcessor', () => {
       expect.any(Function),
       expect.any(Object),
       false,
+      expect.any(Object),
     );
   });
 
@@ -574,6 +578,7 @@ describe('ShellProcessor', () => {
         expect.any(Function),
         expect.any(Object),
         false,
+        expect.any(Object),
       );
 
       expect(result).toEqual([{ text: 'Command: match found' }]);
@@ -598,6 +603,7 @@ describe('ShellProcessor', () => {
         expect.any(Function),
         expect.any(Object),
         false,
+        expect.any(Object),
       );
 
       expect(result).toEqual([
@@ -668,6 +674,7 @@ describe('ShellProcessor', () => {
         expect.any(Function),
         expect.any(Object),
         false,
+        expect.any(Object),
       );
     });
 
@@ -697,6 +704,7 @@ describe('ShellProcessor', () => {
         expect.any(Function),
         expect.any(Object),
         false,
+        expect.any(Object),
       );
     });
   });

packages/cli/src/services/prompt-processors/shellProcessor.ts

@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import {
   SHORTHAND_ARGS_PLACEHOLDER,
 } from './types.js';
 import { extractInjections, type Injection } from './injectionParser.js';
+import { themeManager } from '../../ui/themes/theme-manager.js';
 
 export class ConfirmationRequiredError extends Error {
   constructor(
@@ -159,12 +160,19 @@ export class ShellProcessor implements IPromptProcessor {
 
       // Execute the resolved command (which already has ESCAPED input).
       if (injection.resolvedCommand) {
+        const activeTheme = themeManager.getActiveTheme();
+        const shellExecutionConfig = {
+          ...config.getShellExecutionConfig(),
+          defaultFg: activeTheme.colors.Foreground,
+          defaultBg: activeTheme.colors.Background,
+        };
         const { result } = await ShellExecutionService.execute(
           injection.resolvedCommand,
           config.getTargetDir(),
           () => {},
           new AbortController().signal,
           config.getShouldUseNodePtyShell(),
+          shellExecutionConfig,
         );
 
         const executionResult = await result;

packages/cli/src/ui/AppContainer.tsx

@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ import {
   getAllGeminiMdFilenames,
   AuthType,
   clearCachedCredentialFile,
+  ShellExecutionService,
 } from '@google/gemini-cli-core';
 import { validateAuthMethod } from '../config/auth.js';
 import { loadHierarchicalGeminiMemory } from '../config/config.js';
@@ -97,6 +98,18 @@ interface AppContainerProps {
   initializationResult: InitializationResult;
 }
 
+/**
+ * The fraction of the terminal width to allocate to the shell.
+ * This provides horizontal padding.
+ */
+const SHELL_WIDTH_FRACTION = 0.89;
+
+/**
+ * The number of lines to subtract from the available terminal height
+ * for the shell. This provides vertical padding and space for other UI elements.
+ */
+const SHELL_HEIGHT_PADDING = 10;
+
 export const AppContainer = (props: AppContainerProps) => {
   const { settings, config, initializationResult } = props;
   const historyManager = useHistory();
@@ -110,6 +123,8 @@ export const AppContainer = (props: AppContainerProps) => {
     initializationResult.themeError,
   );
   const [isProcessing, setIsProcessing] = useState<boolean>(false);
+  const [shellFocused, setShellFocused] = useState(false);
+
   const [geminiMdFileCount, setGeminiMdFileCount] = useState<number>(
     initializationResult.geminiMdFileCount,
   );
@@ -506,6 +521,7 @@ Logging in with Google... Please restart Gemini CLI to continue.
     pendingHistoryItems: pendingGeminiHistoryItems,
     thought,
     cancelOngoingRequest,
+    activePtyId,
     loopDetectionConfirmationRequest,
   } = useGeminiStream(
     config.getGeminiClient(),
@@ -523,6 +539,10 @@ Logging in with Google... Please restart Gemini CLI to continue.
     setModelSwitchedFromQuotaError,
     refreshStatic,
     () => cancelHandlerRef.current(),
+    setShellFocused,
+    terminalWidth,
+    terminalHeight,
+    shellFocused,
   );
 
   const { messageQueue, addMessage, clearQueue, getQueuedMessagesText } =
@@ -603,6 +623,13 @@ Logging in with Google... Please restart Gemini CLI to continue.
     return terminalHeight - staticExtraHeight;
   }, [terminalHeight]);
 
+  config.setShellExecutionConfig({
+    terminalWidth: Math.floor(terminalWidth * SHELL_WIDTH_FRACTION),
+    terminalHeight: Math.floor(availableTerminalHeight - SHELL_HEIGHT_PADDING),
+    pager: settings.merged.tools?.shell?.pager,
+    showColor: settings.merged.tools?.shell?.showColor,
+  });
+
   const isFocused = useFocus();
   useBracketedPaste();
 
@@ -620,6 +647,22 @@ Logging in with Google... Please restart Gemini CLI to continue.
   const initialPromptSubmitted = useRef(false);
   const geminiClient = config.getGeminiClient();
 
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (activePtyId) {
+      ShellExecutionService.resizePty(
+        activePtyId,
+        Math.floor(terminalWidth * SHELL_WIDTH_FRACTION),
+        Math.floor(availableTerminalHeight - SHELL_HEIGHT_PADDING),
+      );
+    }
+  }, [
+    terminalHeight,
+    terminalWidth,
+    availableTerminalHeight,
+    activePtyId,
+    geminiClient,
+  ]);
+
   useEffect(() => {
     if (
       initialPrompt &&
@@ -840,6 +883,10 @@ Logging in with Google... Please restart Gemini CLI to continue.
         !enteringConstrainHeightMode
       ) {
         setConstrainHeight(false);
+      } else if (keyMatchers[Command.TOGGLE_SHELL_INPUT_FOCUS](key)) {
+        if (activePtyId || shellFocused) {
+          setShellFocused((prev) => !prev);
+        }
       }
     },
     [
@@ -866,6 +913,8 @@ Logging in with Google... Please restart Gemini CLI to continue.
       isSettingsDialogOpen,
       isFolderTrustDialogOpen,
       showPrivacyNotice,
+      activePtyId,
+      shellFocused,
       settings.merged.general?.debugKeystrokeLogging,
     ],
   );
@@ -991,6 +1040,8 @@ Logging in with Google... Please restart Gemini CLI to continue.
       updateInfo,
       showIdeRestartPrompt,
       isRestarting,
+      activePtyId,
+      shellFocused,
     }),
     [
       historyManager.history,
@@ -1064,6 +1115,8 @@ Logging in with Google... Please restart Gemini CLI to continue.
       showIdeRestartPrompt,
       isRestarting,
       currentModel,
+      activePtyId,
+      shellFocused,
     ],
   );