TUI Input Handling, Raw Mode, Keyboard, Mouse, Paste, and Focus
Use this skill when a TUI reads keys, handles shortcuts, supports mouse, edits text, manages focus, or needs safe paste behavior.
Input contract
- Only enter raw or cbreak mode for interactive TTY sessions.
- Provide non-interactive alternatives for scripts, pipes, and CI.
- Keep input decoding separate from application actions.
- Make every action reachable by keyboard.
- Treat mouse support as optional progressive enhancement.
- Preserve expected terminal shortcuts unless the user can rebind them.
Raw mode rules
Raw mode disables line discipline and changes signal behavior. Centralize it and restore it reliably. Verify behavior for Ctrl-C, Ctrl-Z/suspend where supported, EOF, resize, terminal close, and fatal exceptions. Passwords and tokens must not echo.
Keybinding design
Good keybindings are discoverable, consistent, and conflict-aware.
- Always provide visible help for common actions.
- Use
q, Esc, or Ctrl-C for quit/cancel only when consistent with workflow risk.
- Confirm destructive actions; require stronger confirmation for irreversible work.
- Avoid stealing common terminal, shell, editor, and multiplexer shortcuts unless configurable.
- Support both mnemonic shortcuts and navigational keys where possible.
- Distinguish global shortcuts from focused-widget shortcuts.
Focus model
Every interactive element needs:
- A stable identity.
- Focus eligibility rules.
- A visible focus indicator that does not rely on color alone.
- Tab/Shift-Tab or arrow navigation when appropriate.
- Clear behavior for disabled, hidden, modal, and nested controls.
- Mouse click behavior that updates focus before activating actions.
Paste and mouse safety
Enable bracketed paste for shells, editors, command palettes, and multiline inputs. Parse paste start/end markers and treat pasted text as data, not a sequence of commands. For mouse input, validate coordinates against the current layout and ignore stale events after resize.
Failure modes
| Symptom |
Likely cause |
Fix |
| Esc feels delayed |
parser waiting to distinguish Alt prefix |
tune timeout or use framework protocol support |
| Ctrl-C does not exit |
raw mode swallowed signal |
map Ctrl-C explicitly and restore terminal |
| Paste triggers actions |
no bracketed paste or paste treated as keystrokes |
enable paste protocol and route as text |
| Mouse clicks wrong row |
stale layout after resize or scroll |
validate coordinates against current viewport |
| Focus disappears |
no focused fallback after removing widget |
compute next eligible focus target |
Reference files
references/input-protocols.md - Keyboard, mouse, paste, focus, and resize event details.references/keybinding-design.md - Shortcut design, conflict avoidance, and forms/editors.
1---2name: input-handling3description: This skill should be used when the user asks about TUI input handling, raw mode, cbreak mode, terminal keyboard parsing, Esc vs Alt ambiguity, Ctrl-C, shortcuts, focus management, mouse events, scroll wheel, bracketed paste, paste safety, command palettes, forms, text editing, resize events, or keybinding design. PROACTIVELY activate for: raw mode, keyboard input, keybindings, mouse support, paste handling, focus model, terminal forms, text input, vim/emacs-style shortcuts, input conflicts, and cross-platform Windows/macOS/Linux input behavior. Provides: input architecture, shortcut rules, focus patterns, paste/mouse safety, and failure-mode triage.4---5
6# TUI Input Handling, Raw Mode, Keyboard, Mouse, Paste, and Focus
7
8Use this skill when a TUI reads keys, handles shortcuts, supports mouse, edits text, manages focus, or needs safe paste behavior.
9
10## Input contract
11
12- Only enter raw or cbreak mode for interactive TTY sessions.
13- Provide non-interactive alternatives for scripts, pipes, and CI.
14- Keep input decoding separate from application actions.
15- Make every action reachable by keyboard.
16- Treat mouse support as optional progressive enhancement.
17- Preserve expected terminal shortcuts unless the user can rebind them.
18
19## Raw mode rules
20
21Raw mode disables line discipline and changes signal behavior. Centralize it and restore it reliably. Verify behavior for Ctrl-C, Ctrl-Z/suspend where supported, EOF, resize, terminal close, and fatal exceptions. Passwords and tokens must not echo.
22
23## Keybinding design
24
25Good keybindings are discoverable, consistent, and conflict-aware.
26
27- Always provide visible help for common actions.
28- Use `q`, Esc, or Ctrl-C for quit/cancel only when consistent with workflow risk.
29- Confirm destructive actions; require stronger confirmation for irreversible work.
30- Avoid stealing common terminal, shell, editor, and multiplexer shortcuts unless configurable.
31- Support both mnemonic shortcuts and navigational keys where possible.
32- Distinguish global shortcuts from focused-widget shortcuts.
33
34## Focus model
35
36Every interactive element needs:
37
38- A stable identity.
39- Focus eligibility rules.
40- A visible focus indicator that does not rely on color alone.
41- Tab/Shift-Tab or arrow navigation when appropriate.
42- Clear behavior for disabled, hidden, modal, and nested controls.
43- Mouse click behavior that updates focus before activating actions.
44
45## Paste and mouse safety
46
47Enable bracketed paste for shells, editors, command palettes, and multiline inputs. Parse paste start/end markers and treat pasted text as data, not a sequence of commands. For mouse input, validate coordinates against the current layout and ignore stale events after resize.
48
49## Failure modes
50
51| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
52|--|--|--|
53| Esc feels delayed | parser waiting to distinguish Alt prefix | tune timeout or use framework protocol support |
54| Ctrl-C does not exit | raw mode swallowed signal | map Ctrl-C explicitly and restore terminal |
55| Paste triggers actions | no bracketed paste or paste treated as keystrokes | enable paste protocol and route as text |
56| Mouse clicks wrong row | stale layout after resize or scroll | validate coordinates against current viewport |
57| Focus disappears | no focused fallback after removing widget | compute next eligible focus target |
58
59## Reference files
60
61- `references/input-protocols.md` - Keyboard, mouse, paste, focus, and resize event details.
62- `references/keybinding-design.md` - Shortcut design, conflict avoidance, and forms/editors.
josiahsiegel