From e78eacb40e1850d8792d7c508d7b267f3002bb15 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Jeremy <jeremy@fluxlabs.net>
Date: Tue, 14 Apr 2026 09:01:20 -0500
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] fix: keep assistant text visible when thinking traces are
 long

Cap thinking trace render height when assistant text is present so interactive questions remain visible.\n\nFixes #4181.
---
 .../interactive/components/assistant-message.ts  | 16 ++++++++++------
 1 file changed, 10 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)

diff --git a/packages/pi-coding-agent/src/modes/interactive/components/assistant-message.ts b/packages/pi-coding-agent/src/modes/interactive/components/assistant-message.ts
index c558b7cfc..3d5177492 100644
--- a/packages/pi-coding-agent/src/modes/interactive/components/assistant-message.ts
+++ b/packages/pi-coding-agent/src/modes/interactive/components/assistant-message.ts
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ export class AssistantMessageComponent extends Container {
 		const hasVisibleContent = message.content.some(
 			(c) => (c.type === "text" && c.text.trim()) || (c.type === "thinking" && c.thinking.trim()),
 		);
+		const hasTextContent = message.content.some((c) => c.type === "text" && c.text.trim().length > 0);
 
 		if (hasVisibleContent) {
 			this.contentContainer.addChild(new Spacer(1));
@@ -81,12 +82,15 @@ export class AssistantMessageComponent extends Container {
 					}
 				} else {
 					// Thinking traces in thinkingText color, italic
-					this.contentContainer.addChild(
-						new Markdown(content.thinking.trim(), 1, 0, this.markdownTheme, {
-							color: (text: string) => theme.fg("thinkingText", text),
-							italic: true,
-						}),
-					);
+					const thinkingMarkdown = new Markdown(content.thinking.trim(), 1, 0, this.markdownTheme, {
+						color: (text: string) => theme.fg("thinkingText", text),
+						italic: true,
+					});
+					// Keep assistant text/questions visible even when thinking traces are long.
+					if (hasTextContent) {
+						thinkingMarkdown.maxLines = 8;
+					}
+					this.contentContainer.addChild(thinkingMarkdown);
 					if (hasVisibleContentAfter) {
 						this.contentContainer.addChild(new Spacer(1));
 					}

From 759bed7dae69d71c6c8df415e8c679bd9a4188f9 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Jeremy <jeremy@fluxlabs.net>
Date: Tue, 14 Apr 2026 09:05:29 -0500
Subject: [PATCH 2/2] test: add regression coverage for thinking/chat
 visibility

Add a regression test for #4181 to ensure assistant-message caps thinking block height when text content is present.
---
 ...istant-message-thinking-visibility.test.ts | 34 +++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 34 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 src/tests/assistant-message-thinking-visibility.test.ts

diff --git a/src/tests/assistant-message-thinking-visibility.test.ts b/src/tests/assistant-message-thinking-visibility.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..29fc356ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/tests/assistant-message-thinking-visibility.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+// Regression test for #4181:
+// When assistant messages include both thinking + text, cap visible thinking
+// lines so question/chat text remains visible without toggling thinking off.
+import test from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+
+const assistantMessagePath = join(
+  process.cwd(),
+  "packages",
+  "pi-coding-agent",
+  "src",
+  "modes",
+  "interactive",
+  "components",
+  "assistant-message.ts",
+);
+
+test("assistant-message caps thinking block height when text content is present", () => {
+  const src = readFileSync(assistantMessagePath, "utf-8");
+
+  assert.match(
+    src,
+    /const hasTextContent = message\.content\.some\(\(c\) => c\.type === "text" && c\.text\.trim\(\)\.length > 0\);/,
+    "assistant-message should detect text presence in mixed thinking+text messages",
+  );
+
+  assert.match(
+    src,
+    /if \(hasTextContent\)\s*\{\s*thinkingMarkdown\.maxLines = 8;\s*\}/s,
+    "assistant-message should cap visible thinking lines when assistant text also exists",
+  );
+});