From 4d9cc36146867c707a7df0a309ebfc4527c37890 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Jacob Richman <jacob314@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2026 07:07:14 -0800
Subject: [PATCH] Fix flicker showing message to press ctrl-O again to
 collapse. (#20414)

Co-authored-by: gemini-code-assist[bot] <176961590+gemini-code-assist[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
---
 packages/cli/src/ui/AppContainer.tsx         | 87 +++++---------------
 packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useTimedMessage.ts | 10 ++-
 2 files changed, 25 insertions(+), 72 deletions(-)

diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ui/AppContainer.tsx b/packages/cli/src/ui/AppContainer.tsx
index b89d0b83c0..99c4b0c424 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ui/AppContainer.tsx
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ui/AppContainer.tsx
@@ -264,14 +264,16 @@ export const AppContainer = (props: AppContainerProps) => {
     () => isWorkspaceTrusted(settings.merged).isTrusted,
   );
 
-  const [queueErrorMessage, setQueueErrorMessage] = useState<string | null>(
-    null,
+  const [queueErrorMessage, setQueueErrorMessage] = useTimedMessage<string>(
+    QUEUE_ERROR_DISPLAY_DURATION_MS,
   );
 
   const [newAgents, setNewAgents] = useState<AgentDefinition[] | null>(null);
   const [constrainHeight, setConstrainHeight] = useState<boolean>(true);
-  const [showIsExpandableHint, setShowIsExpandableHint] = useState(false);
-  const expandHintTimerRef = useRef<NodeJS.Timeout | null>(null);
+  const [expandHintTrigger, triggerExpandHint] = useTimedMessage<boolean>(
+    EXPAND_HINT_DURATION_MS,
+  );
+  const showIsExpandableHint = Boolean(expandHintTrigger);
   const overflowState = useOverflowState();
   const overflowingIdsSize = overflowState?.overflowingIds.size ?? 0;
   const hasOverflowState = overflowingIdsSize > 0 || !constrainHeight;
@@ -284,39 +286,15 @@ export const AppContainer = (props: AppContainerProps) => {
    * boolean dependency (hasOverflowState) to ensure the timer only resets on
    * genuine state transitions, preventing it from infinitely resetting during
    * active text streaming.
+   *
+   * In alternate buffer mode, we don't trigger the hint automatically on overflow
+   * to avoid noise, but the user can still trigger it manually with Ctrl+O.
    */
   useEffect(() => {
-    if (isAlternateBuffer) {
-      setShowIsExpandableHint(false);
-      if (expandHintTimerRef.current) {
-        clearTimeout(expandHintTimerRef.current);
-      }
-      return;
+    if (hasOverflowState && !isAlternateBuffer) {
+      triggerExpandHint(true);
     }
-
-    if (hasOverflowState) {
-      setShowIsExpandableHint(true);
-      if (expandHintTimerRef.current) {
-        clearTimeout(expandHintTimerRef.current);
-      }
-      expandHintTimerRef.current = setTimeout(() => {
-        setShowIsExpandableHint(false);
-      }, EXPAND_HINT_DURATION_MS);
-    }
-  }, [hasOverflowState, isAlternateBuffer, constrainHeight]);
-
-  /**
-   * Safe cleanup to ensure the expansion hint timer is cancelled when the
-   * component unmounts, preventing memory leaks.
-   */
-  useEffect(
-    () => () => {
-      if (expandHintTimerRef.current) {
-        clearTimeout(expandHintTimerRef.current);
-      }
-    },
-    [],
-  );
+  }, [hasOverflowState, isAlternateBuffer, triggerExpandHint]);
 
   const [defaultBannerText, setDefaultBannerText] = useState('');
   const [warningBannerText, setWarningBannerText] = useState('');
@@ -1252,10 +1230,7 @@ Logging in with Google... Restarting Gemini CLI to continue.
     async (submittedValue: string) => {
       reset();
       // Explicitly hide the expansion hint and clear its x-second timer when a new turn begins.
-      setShowIsExpandableHint(false);
-      if (expandHintTimerRef.current) {
-        clearTimeout(expandHintTimerRef.current);
-      }
+      triggerExpandHint(null);
       if (!constrainHeight) {
         setConstrainHeight(true);
         if (!isAlternateBuffer) {
@@ -1327,16 +1302,14 @@ Logging in with Google... Restarting Gemini CLI to continue.
       refreshStatic,
       reset,
       handleHintSubmit,
+      triggerExpandHint,
     ],
   );
 
   const handleClearScreen = useCallback(() => {
     reset();
     // Explicitly hide the expansion hint and clear its x-second timer when clearing the screen.
-    setShowIsExpandableHint(false);
-    if (expandHintTimerRef.current) {
-      clearTimeout(expandHintTimerRef.current);
-    }
+    triggerExpandHint(null);
     historyManager.clearItems();
     clearConsoleMessagesState();
     refreshStatic();
@@ -1345,7 +1318,7 @@ Logging in with Google... Restarting Gemini CLI to continue.
     clearConsoleMessagesState,
     refreshStatic,
     reset,
-    setShowIsExpandableHint,
+    triggerExpandHint,
   ]);
 
   const { handleInput: vimHandleInput } = useVim(buffer, handleFinalSubmit);
@@ -1632,17 +1605,6 @@ Logging in with Google... Restarting Gemini CLI to continue.
     }
   }, [ideNeedsRestart]);
 
-  useEffect(() => {
-    if (queueErrorMessage) {
-      const timer = setTimeout(() => {
-        setQueueErrorMessage(null);
-      }, QUEUE_ERROR_DISPLAY_DURATION_MS);
-
-      return () => clearTimeout(timer);
-    }
-    return undefined;
-  }, [queueErrorMessage, setQueueErrorMessage]);
-
   useEffect(() => {
     if (isInitialMount.current) {
       isInitialMount.current = false;
@@ -1748,13 +1710,7 @@ Logging in with Google... Restarting Gemini CLI to continue.
         setConstrainHeight(true);
         if (keyMatchers[Command.SHOW_MORE_LINES](key)) {
           // If the user manually collapses the view, show the hint and reset the x-second timer.
-          setShowIsExpandableHint(true);
-          if (expandHintTimerRef.current) {
-            clearTimeout(expandHintTimerRef.current);
-          }
-          expandHintTimerRef.current = setTimeout(() => {
-            setShowIsExpandableHint(false);
-          }, EXPAND_HINT_DURATION_MS);
+          triggerExpandHint(true);
         }
         if (!isAlternateBuffer) {
           refreshStatic();
@@ -1803,13 +1759,7 @@ Logging in with Google... Restarting Gemini CLI to continue.
       ) {
         setConstrainHeight(false);
         // If the user manually expands the view, show the hint and reset the x-second timer.
-        setShowIsExpandableHint(true);
-        if (expandHintTimerRef.current) {
-          clearTimeout(expandHintTimerRef.current);
-        }
-        expandHintTimerRef.current = setTimeout(() => {
-          setShowIsExpandableHint(false);
-        }, EXPAND_HINT_DURATION_MS);
+        triggerExpandHint(true);
         if (!isAlternateBuffer) {
           refreshStatic();
         }
@@ -1914,6 +1864,7 @@ Logging in with Google... Restarting Gemini CLI to continue.
       showTransientMessage,
       settings.merged.general.devtools,
       showErrorDetails,
+      triggerExpandHint,
     ],
   );
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useTimedMessage.ts b/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useTimedMessage.ts
index 3fe5f0b9c4..547968cb90 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useTimedMessage.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useTimedMessage.ts
@@ -15,14 +15,16 @@ export function useTimedMessage<T>(durationMs: number) {
   const timeoutRef = useRef<NodeJS.Timeout | null>(null);
 
   const showMessage = useCallback(
-    (msg: T) => {
+    (msg: T | null) => {
       setMessage(msg);
       if (timeoutRef.current) {
         clearTimeout(timeoutRef.current);
       }
-      timeoutRef.current = setTimeout(() => {
-        setMessage(null);
-      }, durationMs);
+      if (msg !== null) {
+        timeoutRef.current = setTimeout(() => {
+          setMessage(null);
+        }, durationMs);
+      }
     },
     [durationMs],
   );