[Feature Request] Native quote/citation UI for in-conversation message references

Resolved 💬 3 comments Opened Feb 18, 2026 by natu123 Closed Apr 2, 2026

Bug Description
Feature Request: In-conversation Quote / Citation UI

Summary

Both Claude Code CLI and the Claude Desktop app lack a native quote/citation feature. Users currently rely on manually typing >
markdown syntax to reference previous messages, which is inefficient and error-prone.

Problem

When having long, multi-turn conversations, users frequently need to reference specific parts of earlier messages (both their own
and Claude's). Currently:

  • Users must manually copy-paste text and format it with >
  • There's no way to link a quote back to its source message
  • Quoting multiple passages requires repetitive manual work
  • Context gets lost in long conversations without clear references

Proposed Solution

Add a native quote/citation mechanism that allows users to:

  1. Select any text from any previous message (AI or user) and insert it as a quote in the current input
  2. Quote multiple passages within a single prompt message
  3. Auto-link quoted text to its source message for traceability

For Claude Code CLI:

  • Keyboard shortcut or command to select and quote from conversation history
  • Rendered with clear visual distinction (e.g., indented block with source reference)

For Claude Desktop (Windows/Mac):

  • Right-click or highlight-to-quote UI
  • Drag-and-drop quote insertion
  • Visual indicator showing which message the quote originates from

Why This Matters

  • Precision: Eliminates ambiguity about what the user is responding to
  • Efficiency: Reduces manual copy-paste overhead in long conversations
  • Context preservation: Especially critical when conversations span hundreds of messages
  • Accessibility: Makes complex multi-topic discussions manageable

Prior Art

  • Slack, Discord, Telegram all support message quoting
  • GitHub Issues/PRs support quote-reply
  • These are considered essential features for threaded communication

---Submitted by @____natu______ (Gles)

Environment Info

  • Platform: win32
  • Terminal: windows-terminal
  • Version: 2.1.45
  • Feedback ID: 76c88700-eb48-4ee5-b8d9-7ebbfb2874d4

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