[Feature Request] Mid-turn user message delivery with interrupt capability
Bug Description
Feature request: deliver mid-turn user messages immediately, with visible acknowledgement
Today a message typed while Claude is working is only delivered once the
in-flight tool call returns. If that call takes minutes, Claude keeps going in
the wrong direction long after the correction was typed. The sender also gets
no signal that the message was received, so the only reliable way to steer is
Esc — which aborts the turn and forces a restart with the extra context.
On phone/chat clients, a quick "actually, do X instead" just lands. In the CLI
it feels like the only options are "wait and hope" or "abort everything".
Requested:
- Deliver queued user messages at the next model step, interrupting or
cancelling a long-running tool call where that is safe, instead of waiting
for it to finish.
- Show a visible marker in the transcript the moment the message is queued
("message will be delivered"), so the user knows steering is in progress and
does not reach for Esc.
- Optionally a "steer now" key (e.g. Alt+Enter) that forces immediate
delivery, as a middle ground between passive queueing and a hard abort.
Impact: correcting a small misunderstanding currently costs a full turn
restart, which is the single biggest source of friction in longer sessions.
Environment Info
- Platform: linux
- Terminal: vte-based
- Version: 2.1.234
- Feedback ID: 51919969-762f-46c0-ad78-84060fd5d741
Errors
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