The thinking words are gone

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
• [x] This is a single feature request (not multiple features)

Problem Statement

The rotating descriptive words that used to appear while Claude was working — "Pondering…", "Finagling…", "Noodling…" — were one of my favorite details about the CLI experience. They gave Claude personality and made waiting feel less like waiting. Now I just see the morphing orange icon with no text. It was a small thing that made the tool feel alive. Would love to see them return, even as an opt-in setting.

Proposed Solution

Add a config option (e.g. "thinkingWords": true in settings.json or a /config toggle) that restores the rotating gerunds alongside the spinner during tool execution. Default can stay as-is — just give us a way to opt back in.

Alternative Solutions

_No response_

Priority

Medium - Would be very helpful

Feature Category

Interactive mode (TUI)

Use Case Example

Long-running tool calls — file searches, multi-step edits, agent launches — can take 10-30 seconds with no visible feedback beyond a spinning icon. The words gave an immediate sense that something was happening and roughly what kind of thinking was underway. Without them, the experience feels static and I find myself wondering if it's stalled. It's a small thing that punches above its weight for perceived responsiveness.

Additional Context

_No response_