VS Code extension: AskUserQuestion widget obscures the assistant's preceding explanation — consider non-obscuring inline options
Environment: Claude Code VS Code extension (macOS, Apple Silicon), current release as of 2026-06-10.
Problem
When Claude answers a question with a substantive explanation and then invokes the question tool (radio-button options), the widget takes over the bottom of the chat panel and grabs the scroll position/focus. The very explanation the user needs to read in order to choose well is pushed out of view. The practical effect: a careful answer is delivered and immediately hidden behind the decision it's supposed to inform.
This is most painful in "explain, then choose" turns — which are common: the model naturally pairs analysis with a follow-up decision.
Steps to reproduce
- In the VS Code extension, ask a question whose answer requires a few paragraphs of explanation and naturally ends in a choice (e.g., "compare these two approaches and ask me which to take").
- Claude responds with the explanation followed by the question widget.
- Observe: the widget docks over/below the response and the viewport jumps to it; the explanation must be manually scrolled back into view while the choice is pending.
Suggested behavior
Render options as lightweight inline elements at the end of the message flow — readable in sequence after the prose, selectable without a modal/docked takeover (for comparison: ChatGPT presents choices as inline links/buttons in the message body — the user reads everything, then clicks). Specifically:
- Don't steal scroll position when the widget appears; keep the user's reading position.
- Visually attach the options to the end of the assistant message rather than docking them to the panel.
- Keep keyboard selection as-is — the issue is occlusion, not the interaction model.
Why it matters
The widget design assumes the question is the content. Often the explanation is the content and the question is its footer. The current layout makes the model's best answers compete with its own UI.