AskUserQuestion keyboard input is unreliable when options include preview (side-by-side layout)

Open 💬 0 comments Opened Jun 24, 2026 by JaggerH

Summary

When the AskUserQuestion tool renders options that include preview content, the UI switches to a side-by-side layout (vertical option list on the left, preview pane on the right). In this layout keyboard input is broadly unreliable — only ESC works dependably (to dismiss). Arrow keys (↑/↓) to move the selection, Enter to confirm, and number keys to pick an option are all flaky or unresponsive, so the prompt effectively can only be driven with the mouse.

When the same tool renders options without preview (the plain list layout), keyboard navigation works normally.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Trigger an AskUserQuestion prompt whose options each include a preview field (this forces the side-by-side preview layout).
  2. Try to drive it with the keyboard — ↑/↓ to move, Enter to confirm, or a number key to select.

Expected

Keyboard navigation/selection behaves the same as in the plain (no-preview) list layout.

Actual

Only ESC is reliable. Arrow keys, Enter, and number selection are unstable/unresponsive; the prompt can realistically only be completed with the mouse. Keyboard control is effectively broken whenever previews are present.

Environment

  • Claude Code 2.1.187
  • WSL2 (Ubuntu) on Windows, terminal-based TUI

Notes

Reproducible every time previews are present; switching the same question to no-preview options restores normal keyboard control, so it appears specific to the side-by-side preview renderer's input handling.

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