feat(ask): add preview pane and wrapped content

README.md

@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ Note: some Zed settings such as global extension auto-install and autosave are n
 The extension registers a tool named `ask_user`.
 
 Use it when the agent needs structured clarification before proceeding.
+Use `type: "preview"` when the choice needs a dedicated preview pane (for example, code snippets, layouts, configuration examples, or other rich previews).
 
 ### Input shape
 
@@ -84,7 +85,6 @@ Use it when the agent needs structured clarification before proceeding.
       label?: string,
       prompt: string,
       type?: "single" | "multi" | "preview",
-      allowOther?: boolean,
       required?: boolean, // metadata only; submit is never blocked
       options: [
         {
@@ -150,8 +150,7 @@ The current prototype supports:
 - tabbed multi-question flow
 - single-select questions
 - multi-select questions
-- preview questions with a dedicated preview pane and no `Type your own` fallback
+- preview questions with a dedicated preview pane
-- fixed `Type your own` fallback option that preserves typed text when dismissed
 - number-key quick selection
 - final submit/review page
 - transcript rendering for call/result rows
@@ -168,9 +167,9 @@ Ask 1-3 concise questions.
 Use short tab labels.
 Prefer 2-4 options per question.
 Include descriptions for each option.
-Allow custom input when the fixed choices may be insufficient.
 Use `type: "single"` unless multiple options can genuinely apply.
 Use `type: "multi"` only when the user may need to select several answers.
+Use `type: "preview"` when an option needs a preview panel.
 After answers are returned, continue the task using those answers explicitly.
 ```
 

src/ask-component.ts

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import {
 	truncateToWidth,
 	visibleWidth,
 } from "@mariozechner/pi-tui";
+import { wrapText } from "./text.ts";
 import {
 	applyNumberShortcut,
 	cancelFlow,
@@ -293,33 +294,70 @@ function renderSubmit(
 	theme: ExtensionContext["ui"]["theme"],
 	width: number,
 ) {
-	const add = (text = "") => lines.push(truncateToWidth(text, width));
+	pushWrappedText(
-	add(` ${theme.fg("accent", theme.bold("Review your answers"))}`);
+		lines,
-	add();
+		"Review your answers",
+		width,
+		theme,
+		"accent",
+		" ",
+		" ",
+	);
+	lines.push("");
 
 	for (const question of state.questions) {
 		const answer = getAnswer(state, question.id);
-		add(` ${theme.fg("muted", `● ${question.prompt}`)}`);
+		pushWrappedText(
+			lines,
+			question.prompt,
+			width,
+			theme,
+			"muted",
+			" ● ",
+			"   ",
+		);
 		if (!answer) {
-			add(`   ${theme.fg("warning", "→ (unanswered)")}`);
+			lines.push(
+				truncateToWidth(`   ${theme.fg("warning", "→ (unanswered)")}`, width),
+			);
 			continue;
 		}
 		const answerText = answer.customText ?? answer.labels.join(", ");
-		add(
+		pushWrappedText(
-			`   ${theme.fg(answer.customText ? "text" : "success", `→ ${answerText}`)}`,
+			lines,
+			`→ ${answerText}`,
+			width,
+			theme,
+			answer.customText ? "text" : "success",
+			"   ",
+			"     ",
 		);
 	}
 
-	add();
+	lines.push("");
-	add(` ${theme.fg("success", "Ready to submit your answers?")}`);
+	pushWrappedText(
-	add();
+		lines,
+		"Ready to submit your answers?",
+		width,
+		theme,
+		"success",
+		" ",
+		" ",
+	);
+	lines.push("");
 
 	const options = ["Submit answers", "Cancel"];
 	for (let i = 0; i < options.length; i++) {
 		const selected = i === state.submitIndex;
-		const prefix = selected ? theme.fg("accent", "❯ ") : "  ";
+		const prefix = selected ? "❯ " : "  ";
-		add(
+		pushWrappedText(
-			`${prefix}${theme.fg(selected ? "accent" : "text", `${i + 1}. ${options[i]}`)}`,
+			lines,
+			`${i + 1}. ${options[i]}`,
+			width,
+			theme,
+			selected ? "accent" : "text",
+			prefix,
+			prefix,
 		);
 	}
 }
@@ -371,7 +409,7 @@ function renderQuestionPrompt(
 	theme: ExtensionContext["ui"]["theme"],
 	width: number,
 ) {
-	lines.push(truncateToWidth(` ${theme.fg("text", prompt)}`, width));
+	pushWrappedText(lines, prompt, width, theme, "text", " ", " ");
 	lines.push("");
 }
 
@@ -385,7 +423,6 @@ function renderStandardQuestion(
 	editor: Editor,
 	newLineHint: string,
 ) {
-	const add = (text = "") => lines.push(truncateToWidth(text, width));
 	const isMulti = question.type === "multi";
 	const answer = getAnswer(state, question.id);
 	for (let i = 0; i < options.length; i++) {
@@ -394,7 +431,7 @@ function renderStandardQuestion(
 		const isAnsweredOption = option.isOther
 			? !!answer?.customText
 			: !!answer?.values.includes(option.value);
-		const pointer = selected ? theme.fg("accent", "❯ ") : "  ";
+		const pointer = selected ? "❯ " : "  ";
 		const prefix =
 			isMulti && !option.isOther ? `[${isAnsweredOption ? "x" : " "}] ` : "";
 		const optionColor = isAnsweredOption
@@ -402,26 +439,54 @@ function renderStandardQuestion(
 			: selected
 				? "accent"
 				: "text";
-		add(
+		pushWrappedText(
-			`${pointer}${theme.fg(optionColor, `${i + 1}. ${prefix}${option.label}`)}`,
+			lines,
+			`${i + 1}. ${prefix}${option.label}`,
+			width,
+			theme,
+			optionColor,
+			pointer,
+			" ".repeat(visibleWidth(pointer)),
 		);
 		if (option.description) {
-			add(`     ${theme.fg("muted", option.description)}`);
+			pushWrappedText(
+				lines,
+				option.description,
+				width,
+				theme,
+				"muted",
+				"     ",
+				"     ",
+			);
 		}
 		if (option.isOther && selected && state.mode === "input") {
 			for (const editorLine of editor.render(Math.max(8, width - 7))) {
-				add(`     ${renderInputLine(editorLine, width - 5, theme)}`);
+				lines.push(
+					truncateToWidth(
+						`     ${renderInputLine(editorLine, width - 5, theme)}`,
+						width,
+					),
+				);
 			}
-			add(
+			lines.push(
-				`     ${theme.fg("dim", `${newLineHint} newline · Enter submit · Esc save and close`)}`,
+				truncateToWidth(
+					`     ${theme.fg("dim", `${newLineHint} newline · Enter submit · Esc save and close`)}`,
+					width,
+				),
 			);
 		}
 		if (option.isOther && state.mode !== "input") {
 			const customText = answer?.customText;
 			if (customText) {
-				for (const customLine of customText.split("\n")) {
+				pushWrappedText(
-					add(`     ${theme.fg("muted", customLine)}`);
+					lines,
-				}
+					customText,
+					width,
+					theme,
+					"muted",
+					"     ",
+					"     ",
+				);
 			}
 		}
 	}
@@ -476,7 +541,10 @@ function renderPreviewQuestion(
 
 	if (selectedOption?.isOther && state.mode !== "input" && answer?.customText) {
 		add("");
-		for (const customLine of answer.customText.split("\n")) {
+		for (const customLine of wrapText(
+			answer.customText,
+			Math.max(1, width - 5),
+		)) {
 			add(` ${theme.fg("muted", customLine)}`);
 		}
 	}
@@ -490,7 +558,6 @@ function renderPreviewOptionList(
 	width: number,
 ): string[] {
 	const lines: string[] = [];
-	const add = (text = "") => lines.push(truncateToWidth(text, width));
 	const answer = getAnswer(state, question.id);
 	for (let i = 0; i < options.length; i++) {
 		const option = options[i];
@@ -498,15 +565,31 @@ function renderPreviewOptionList(
 		const isAnsweredOption = option.isOther
 			? !!answer?.customText
 			: !!answer?.values.includes(option.value);
-		const pointer = selected ? theme.fg("accent", "❯ ") : "  ";
+		const pointer = selected ? "❯ " : "  ";
 		const optionColor = isAnsweredOption
 			? "success"
 			: selected
 				? "accent"
 				: "text";
-		add(`${pointer}${theme.fg(optionColor, `${i + 1}. ${option.label}`)}`);
+		pushWrappedText(
+			lines,
+			`${i + 1}. ${option.label}`,
+			width,
+			theme,
+			optionColor,
+			pointer,
+			" ".repeat(visibleWidth(pointer)),
+		);
 		if (option.description) {
-			add(`     ${theme.fg("muted", option.description)}`);
+			pushWrappedText(
+				lines,
+				option.description,
+				width,
+				theme,
+				"muted",
+				"     ",
+				"     ",
+			);
 		}
 	}
 	return lines;
@@ -520,36 +603,39 @@ function renderPreviewPane(
 	const paneWidth = Math.max(10, width);
 	if (!selectedOption) {
 		return renderBox(
-			[theme.fg("dim", "No preview available")],
+			[{ text: "No preview available", color: "dim" }],
 			paneWidth,
 			theme,
 		);
 	}
 
-	const content: string[] = [];
+	const content: Array<{
-	content.push(theme.fg("accent", theme.bold(selectedOption.label)));
+		text: string;
+		color: "accent" | "muted" | "text" | "dim";
+	}> = [];
+	content.push({ text: selectedOption.label, color: "accent" });
 	if (selectedOption.description) {
-		content.push(theme.fg("muted", selectedOption.description));
+		content.push({ text: selectedOption.description, color: "muted" });
 	}
 	if (selectedOption.preview) {
 		if (content.length) {
-			content.push("");
+			content.push({ text: "", color: "dim" });
 		}
 		for (const previewLine of selectedOption.preview.split("\n")) {
-			content.push(theme.fg("text", previewLine));
+			content.push({ text: previewLine, color: "text" });
 		}
 	} else {
 		if (content.length) {
-			content.push("");
+			content.push({ text: "", color: "dim" });
 		}
-		content.push(theme.fg("dim", "No preview available"));
+		content.push({ text: "No preview available", color: "dim" });
 	}
 
 	return renderBox(content, paneWidth, theme);
 }
 
 function renderBox(
-	content: string[],
+	content: Array<{ text: string; color: "accent" | "muted" | "text" | "dim" }>,
 	width: number,
 	theme: ExtensionContext["ui"]["theme"],
 ): string[] {
@@ -558,12 +644,14 @@ function renderBox(
 	const top = theme.fg("accent", `┌${"─".repeat(innerWidth)}┐`);
 	const bottom = theme.fg("accent", `└${"─".repeat(innerWidth)}┘`);
 	const lines = [top];
-	for (const rawLine of content) {
+	for (const item of content) {
-		const line = truncateToWidth(rawLine, innerWidth);
+		for (const rawLine of wrapText(item.text, innerWidth)) {
-		const padding = " ".repeat(Math.max(0, innerWidth - visibleWidth(line)));
+			const line = theme.fg(item.color, rawLine);
-		lines.push(
+			const padding = " ".repeat(Math.max(0, innerWidth - visibleWidth(line)));
-			theme.fg("accent", "│") + line + padding + theme.fg("accent", "│"),
+			lines.push(
-		);
+				theme.fg("accent", "│") + line + padding + theme.fg("accent", "│"),
+			);
+		}
 	}
 	lines.push(bottom);
 	return lines;
@@ -613,6 +701,29 @@ function clamp(value: number, min: number, max: number): number {
 	return Math.min(max, Math.max(min, value));
 }
 
+function pushWrappedText(
+	lines: string[],
+	text: string,
+	width: number,
+	theme: ExtensionContext["ui"]["theme"],
+	color: "accent" | "muted" | "text" | "dim" | "success" | "warning",
+	prefix = "",
+	continuationPrefix = prefix,
+) {
+	const availableWidth = Math.max(1, width - visibleWidth(prefix));
+	const wrapped = wrapText(text, availableWidth);
+	for (let index = 0; index < wrapped.length; index++) {
+		const line = wrapped[index];
+		const currentPrefix = index === 0 ? prefix : continuationPrefix;
+		lines.push(
+			truncateToWidth(`${currentPrefix}${theme.fg(color, line)}`, width),
+		);
+	}
+	if (wrapped.length === 0) {
+		lines.push(truncateToWidth(prefix, width));
+	}
+}
+
 function renderFooter(
 	state: AskState,
 	theme: ExtensionContext["ui"]["theme"],

src/ask-tool.ts

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ export function registerAskTool(pi: ExtensionAPI) {
 		name: "ask_user",
 		label: "Ask User",
 		description:
-			"Ask the user one or more structured questions. Supports single-select, multi-select, and typed custom answers. Use this when clarification is required before proceeding.",
+			"Ask the user one or more structured questions when clarification is required. Supports single-select, multi-select, and preview questions. Use `preview` when an option needs a dedicated preview pane (for example, code, layout, or configuration previews). Return the selected answers as structured data instead of guessing.",
 		parameters: AskParamsSchema,
 
 		async execute(_toolCallId, params: AskParams, _signal, _onUpdate, ctx) {

src/schema.ts

@@ -10,7 +10,8 @@ export const AskOptionSchema = Type.Object({
 	),
 	preview: Type.Optional(
 		Type.String({
-			description: "Optional preview text, used by richer question variants",
+			description:
+				"Optional preview text shown in the dedicated preview pane for preview questions",
 		}),
 	),
 });
@@ -27,9 +28,6 @@ export const AskQuestionSchema = Type.Object({
 			{ description: "Question type" },
 		),
 	),
-	allowOther: Type.Optional(
-		Type.Boolean({ description: "Include a fixed 'Type something.' option" }),
-	),
 	required: Type.Optional(
 		Type.Boolean({
 			description: "Optional metadata flag; submit is never blocked",

src/state.ts

@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ function normalizeQuestion(
 		...question,
 		label: question.label?.trim() || `Q${index + 1}`,
 		type: question.type ?? "single",
-		allowOther: question.allowOther !== false,
 		required: question.required !== false,
 	};
 }
@@ -57,7 +56,7 @@ export function getRenderableOptions(question?: AskQuestion): RenderOption[] {
 		return [];
 	}
 	const options: RenderOption[] = [...question.options];
-	if (question.type !== "preview" && question.allowOther) {
+	if (question.type !== "preview") {
 		options.push({
 			value: OTHER_VALUE,
 			label: "Type your own",

src/text.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+import { visibleWidth } from "@mariozechner/pi-tui";
+
+export function wrapText(text: string, width: number): string[] {
+	const effectiveWidth = Math.max(1, width);
+	const lines: string[] = [];
+	const paragraphs = text.split("\n");
+
+	for (const paragraph of paragraphs) {
+		if (paragraph.length === 0) {
+			lines.push("");
+			continue;
+		}
+
+		const leadingWhitespace = paragraph.match(/^\s*/)?.[0] ?? "";
+		const body = paragraph.slice(leadingWhitespace.length).trim();
+		if (!body) {
+			lines.push(leadingWhitespace);
+			continue;
+		}
+
+		const wrapped = wrapParagraph(
+			body,
+			effectiveWidth - visibleWidth(leadingWhitespace),
+		);
+		if (wrapped.length === 0) {
+			lines.push(leadingWhitespace);
+			continue;
+		}
+
+		for (const [index, part] of wrapped.entries()) {
+			lines.push(
+				index === 0
+					? `${leadingWhitespace}${part}`
+					: `${leadingWhitespace}${part}`,
+			);
+		}
+	}
+
+	return lines.length > 0 ? lines : [""];
+}
+
+function wrapParagraph(text: string, width: number): string[] {
+	const effectiveWidth = Math.max(1, width);
+	const words = text.split(/\s+/).filter(Boolean);
+	const lines: string[] = [];
+	let current = "";
+
+	for (const word of words) {
+		if (!current) {
+			if (visibleWidth(word) <= effectiveWidth) {
+				current = word;
+			} else {
+				lines.push(...breakLongWord(word, effectiveWidth));
+			}
+			continue;
+		}
+
+		const candidate = `${current} ${word}`;
+		if (visibleWidth(candidate) <= effectiveWidth) {
+			current = candidate;
+			continue;
+		}
+
+		lines.push(current);
+		if (visibleWidth(word) <= effectiveWidth) {
+			current = word;
+		} else {
+			lines.push(...breakLongWord(word, effectiveWidth));
+			current = "";
+		}
+	}
+
+	if (current) {
+		lines.push(current);
+	}
+
+	return lines;
+}
+
+function breakLongWord(word: string, width: number): string[] {
+	const effectiveWidth = Math.max(1, width);
+	const chunks: string[] = [];
+	let current = "";
+
+	for (const char of Array.from(word)) {
+		const candidate = `${current}${char}`;
+		if (visibleWidth(candidate) > effectiveWidth && current) {
+			chunks.push(current);
+			current = char;
+			continue;
+		}
+		current = candidate;
+	}
+
+	if (current) {
+		chunks.push(current);
+	}
+
+	return chunks;
+}

src/types.ts

@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@ export interface AskQuestionInput {
 	label?: string;
 	prompt: string;
 	type?: AskQuestionType;
-	allowOther?: boolean;
 	required?: boolean;
 	options: AskOption[];
 }
@@ -23,10 +22,9 @@ export interface AskParams {
 }
 
 export interface AskQuestion
-	extends Omit<AskQuestionInput, "type" | "allowOther" | "required" | "label"> {
+	extends Omit<AskQuestionInput, "type" | "required" | "label"> {
 	label: string;
 	type: AskQuestionType;
-	allowOther: boolean;
 	required: boolean;
 }
 

tests/state.test.ts

@@ -54,12 +54,12 @@ test("normalize defaults via initial state", () => {
 
 	assert.equal(state.questions[0].label, "Q1");
 	assert.equal(state.questions[0].type, "single");
-	assert.equal(state.questions[0].allowOther, true);
 	assert.equal(state.questions[0].required, true);
 	assert.equal(
 		getRenderableOptions(state.questions[0]).at(-1)?.label,
 		"Type your own",
 	);
+	assert.equal(getRenderableOptions(state.questions[0]).at(-1)?.isOther, true);
 });
 
 test("preview questions keep their type and option previews", () => {

tests/text.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import test from "node:test";
+import { wrapText } from "../src/text.ts";
+
+test("wrapText wraps prose", () => {
+	assert.deepEqual(wrapText("hello world from pi", 8), [
+		"hello",
+		"world",
+		"from pi",
+	]);
+});
+
+test("wrapText preserves blank lines and indentation", () => {
+	assert.deepEqual(wrapText("Title\n\n  indented text", 12), [
+		"Title",
+		"",
+		"  indented",
+		"  text",
+	]);
+});
+
+test("wrapText breaks long words", () => {
+	assert.deepEqual(wrapText("supercalifragilistic", 5), [
+		"super",
+		"calif",
+		"ragil",
+		"istic",
+	]);
+});