[BUG] Permission prompt explanation feature broken: Ctrl+E does nothing, hint missing (regression in 2.1.143)

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Ctrl+E (mapped to confirm:toggleExplanation in the Confirmation context) no longer toggles a permission explanation on Bash permission prompts. The "Press Ctrl+E to explain" hint that previously appeared in the prompt UI is also no longer shown.

Pressing the bound key produces no visible change — no panel opens, no text appears, the prompt UI is unchanged. Rebinding the same action to a different key (?) and pressing that also does nothing, indicating the action itself is silently a no-op rather than a key-routing collision.

The keybinding registration is still present and not flagged by /doctor.

What Should Happen?

Pressing Ctrl+E on a permission prompt should toggle an explanation panel describing what the tool will do and its risk (the behavior that existed in earlier versions). The prompt should also display the "Press Ctrl+E to explain" hint.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. Start Claude Code v2.1.143 in a project with no permission overrides for Bash.
2. Confirm ~/.claude/keybindings.json has the default binding: in the Confirmation context, "ctrl+e": "confirm:toggleExplanation".
3. Confirm permission mode is default (not auto / accept-edits / dangerously-skip).
4. Ask Claude to run a destructive Bash command not on any allowlist, e.g. rm /tmp/some_file_that_does_not_exist.
5. When the Bash permission prompt appears:

• Observe: no "Press Ctrl+E to explain" hint is shown.
• Press Ctrl+E. Nothing happens.

1. As a control, add "?": "confirm:toggleExplanation" alongside ctrl+e in the same context. Reload keybindings (auto-detected per docs). Re-trigger the prompt and press ?. Nothing happens — confirms the action is the issue, not the key.

Confirmation that the keystroke reaches the process: running cat and pressing Ctrl+E echoes ^E, ruling out terminal interception.

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

Unknown — feature was visibly present in an earlier 2.x.x release where the "Press Ctrl+E to explain" hint was rendered in the prompt UI. No changelog entry between 2.1.130–2.1.143 mentions removal of confirm:toggleExplanation or its hint.

Claude Code Version

2.1.143 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Other Linux

Terminal/Shell

WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)

Additional Information

• ~/.claude/keybindings.json Confirmation block (default binding preserved):

``json
{
"context": "Confirmation",
"bindings": {
"y": "confirm:yes",
"n": "confirm:no",
"enter": "confirm:yes",
"escape": "confirm:no",
"up": "confirm:previous",
"down": "confirm:next",
"tab": "confirm:nextField",
"space": "confirm:toggle",
"shift+tab": "confirm:cycleMode",
"ctrl+e": "confirm:toggleExplanation"
}
}
``

• Related: #24150 describes a UX collision between Ctrl+E for explanation and the "Tab to amend" flow. That issue presumes the explanation feature is still functional; the present report is that the action itself is now a no-op.
• 2.1.116 changelog: "Ctrl+A and Ctrl+E now move to the start/end of the current logical line in multiline input" — repurposes Ctrl+E at the chat-input level. May or may not be related; the no-op behavior persists even with an alternate key bound to confirm:toggleExplanation, which suggests the action is independently broken/removed.
• 2.1.132 changelog: "Bash permission prompts showing an internal parser diagnostic instead of a user-readable explanation" — implies a recent fix touched Bash explanation rendering. Possibly the same code path is now no-op.