UAT: Loading states not implemented — no spinner/throbber widget, no async progress display during operations #6357

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opened 2026-04-09 20:16:07 +00:00 by HAL9000 · 0 comments

HAL9000 commented

2026-04-09 20:16:07 +00:00

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Bug Report

Feature Area: TUI Implementation
Spec Reference: §TUI — Loading States (v3.7.0 deliverable #17)
Milestone: v3.7.0

Summary

The loading states (spinner/throbber) specified in §TUI — Loading States are entirely absent from the TUI. No spinner widget, no throbber, and no async progress display exists. The spec requires a 1-row loading indicator at the top of the screen with two configurable styles (rainbow and quotes), but the implementation has no such widget.

Spec Requirements

Per §TUI — Loading States:

Two throbber styles, configurable via ui.throbber setting:
- rainbow (default): Animated horizontal bar cycling through 12 colors at 15fps
- quotes: Displays shuffled quotes from ~200 entry collection, rotating every 3 seconds
Both styles occupy 1 row at the top of the screen and collapse to zero height when idle
Shown during async operations (plan execution, actor turns, etc.)

Per the acceptance criteria (§TUI — Acceptance Criteria, deliverable #17):

"Spinner shown during plan execution; progress updates streamed"

Per §TUI — Notification System (related):

Flash notification bar (also absent, tracked in #5972) and throbber work together for async feedback

What Was Found

Code location: /app/src/cleveragents/tui/app.py

The compose() method (lines ~96–116) yields the following widgets:

yield _Header(show_clock=True)
with _Vertical(id="main-column"):
    yield _Static("CleverAgents TUI", id="conversation")
    yield HelpPanelOverlay(id="help-panel")
    yield ReferencePickerOverlay(id="reference-picker")
    yield SlashCommandOverlay(id="slash-overlay")
    yield ActorSelectionOverlay(id="actor-selection")
    yield PromptInput(...)
    yield PersonaBar(id="persona-bar")
yield _Footer()

No Throbber, LoadingIndicator, ProgressBar, or equivalent widget is present.

on_input_submitted() (lines ~157–192) processes input synchronously (no async def, no await, no worker decorator). There is no mechanism to show a loading state while an actor turn or plan operation is in progress.
No ThrobberWidget, RainbowThrobber, QuotesThrobber, or any loading widget exists under src/cleveragents/tui/widgets/.
The cleveragents.tcss stylesheet has no styles for loading indicators.
ui.throbber setting is defined in the spec schema but cannot be set (since SettingsScreen is also absent — see issue #6347), and is never read anywhere.

Expected Behaviour

A 1-row throbber widget appears at the top of the screen when an async operation is running
Default style rainbow: animated horizontal bar cycling through 12 colors at 15fps
Alternative style quotes: rotating text quotes from ~200 science-fiction references, every 3 seconds
The throbber collapses to zero height when no operation is in progress (idle state)
Style is configurable via ui.throbber setting in SettingsScreen

Actual Behaviour

No loading indicator of any kind exists
TUI freezes visually during synchronous processing with no user feedback
No async operation pipeline exists to drive a loading indicator even if one were added

Steps to Reproduce

Launch agents tui
Submit any prompt that triggers a slash command or shell execution
Observe: no spinner, no throbber, no loading indicator appears at any point

Impact

This is a v3.7.0 deliverable #17. Users receive no visual feedback during async operations. Long-running operations (plan execution, actor turns) will appear as UI freezes with no progress indication.

Automated by CleverAgents Bot
Supervisor: UAT Testing | Agent: uat-tester

## Bug Report **Feature Area**: TUI Implementation **Spec Reference**: §TUI — Loading States (v3.7.0 deliverable #17) **Milestone**: v3.7.0 ### Summary The loading states (spinner/throbber) specified in §TUI — Loading States are entirely absent from the TUI. No spinner widget, no throbber, and no async progress display exists. The spec requires a 1-row loading indicator at the top of the screen with two configurable styles (`rainbow` and `quotes`), but the implementation has no such widget. ### Spec Requirements Per §TUI — Loading States: - Two throbber styles, configurable via `ui.throbber` setting: - `rainbow` (default): Animated horizontal bar cycling through 12 colors at 15fps - `quotes`: Displays shuffled quotes from ~200 entry collection, rotating every 3 seconds - Both styles occupy **1 row at the top of the screen** and **collapse to zero height when idle** - Shown during async operations (plan execution, actor turns, etc.) Per the acceptance criteria (§TUI — Acceptance Criteria, deliverable #17): > "Spinner shown during plan execution; progress updates streamed" Per §TUI — Notification System (related): > Flash notification bar (also absent, tracked in #5972) and throbber work together for async feedback ### What Was Found **Code location**: `/app/src/cleveragents/tui/app.py` 1. The `compose()` method (lines ~96–116) yields the following widgets: ```python yield _Header(show_clock=True) with _Vertical(id="main-column"): yield _Static("CleverAgents TUI", id="conversation") yield HelpPanelOverlay(id="help-panel") yield ReferencePickerOverlay(id="reference-picker") yield SlashCommandOverlay(id="slash-overlay") yield ActorSelectionOverlay(id="actor-selection") yield PromptInput(...) yield PersonaBar(id="persona-bar") yield _Footer() ``` No `Throbber`, `LoadingIndicator`, `ProgressBar`, or equivalent widget is present. 2. `on_input_submitted()` (lines ~157–192) processes input synchronously (no `async def`, no `await`, no `worker` decorator). There is no mechanism to show a loading state while an actor turn or plan operation is in progress. 3. No `ThrobberWidget`, `RainbowThrobber`, `QuotesThrobber`, or any loading widget exists under `src/cleveragents/tui/widgets/`. 4. The `cleveragents.tcss` stylesheet has no styles for loading indicators. 5. `ui.throbber` setting is defined in the spec schema but cannot be set (since `SettingsScreen` is also absent — see issue #6347), and is never read anywhere. ### Expected Behaviour - A 1-row throbber widget appears at the top of the screen when an async operation is running - Default style `rainbow`: animated horizontal bar cycling through 12 colors at 15fps - Alternative style `quotes`: rotating text quotes from ~200 science-fiction references, every 3 seconds - The throbber collapses to zero height when no operation is in progress (idle state) - Style is configurable via `ui.throbber` setting in `SettingsScreen` ### Actual Behaviour - No loading indicator of any kind exists - TUI freezes visually during synchronous processing with no user feedback - No `async` operation pipeline exists to drive a loading indicator even if one were added ### Steps to Reproduce 1. Launch `agents tui` 2. Submit any prompt that triggers a slash command or shell execution 3. Observe: no spinner, no throbber, no loading indicator appears at any point ### Impact This is a **v3.7.0 deliverable #17**. Users receive no visual feedback during async operations. Long-running operations (plan execution, actor turns) will appear as UI freezes with no progress indication. --- **Automated by CleverAgents Bot** Supervisor: UAT Testing | Agent: uat-tester

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