[FEATURE] Real-time auto-refresh for Ctrl+O transcript view when monitoring background processes

Resolved 💬 3 comments Opened Jan 9, 2026 by kitaekatt Closed Feb 23, 2026

Feature Description

When viewing background process details via Ctrl+O, the view should auto-refresh/live-update to show new output as it becomes available.

Current Behavior

Pressing Ctrl+O opens a transcript view showing background process output, but this view is static. To see updates, users must:

  1. Exit the Ctrl+O view
  2. Press Ctrl+O again to re-open it

This creates a pattern of repeatedly spamming Ctrl+O to monitor long-running background processes.

Desired Behavior

The Ctrl+O transcript view should automatically update in real-time when new output is available from background processes, similar to how tail -f works. This would allow users to monitor background processes without repeated key presses.

Use Case

When running background tasks (dev servers, test suites, builds), users want to check on progress without constantly toggling the view. Real-time updates would make background process monitoring much more ergonomic.

Related Issues

  • #14511 - Notes that Ctrl+O is "transcript mode" (historical view, not real-time output)
  • #8380 - User mentions having to repeatedly hit Ctrl+O to see output
  • #6854 - Notifications for background process completion
  • #13847 - Statusline display of running background processes
  • #7069 - Native background task management system

Possible Implementation

  • Add a "live mode" toggle within the Ctrl+O view
  • Or auto-detect when viewing active background processes and enable live updates
  • Could show a visual indicator (e.g., "Live ●") when auto-refresh is active

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