[BUG] Desktop: inline Reply box swallows Tab during IME composition (Google Japanese Input) — text commits as unconverted kana
Summary
In the Claude Code desktop app, the inline Reply popup intercepts <kbd>Tab</kbd> while an IME composition is active. With Google Japanese Input (where <kbd>Tab</kbd> cycles predictive-conversion candidates), the key never reaches the IME: the in-progress composition is committed as raw, unconverted kana.
The main chat composer handles this correctly. Only the Reply popup is affected.
Environment
- macOS, Claude Code desktop app (Code tab)
- IME: Google Japanese Input (<kbd>Tab</kbd> selects predictive candidates)
Steps to reproduce
- Click Reply on an assistant message. The inline reply box opens.
- Type Japanese, e.g.
にほんご. Google Japanese Input shows its predictive candidate list. - Press <kbd>Tab</kbd> to move through the candidates.
Actual
<kbd>Tab</kbd> does not reach the IME. The composition is committed as-is — plain kana, unconverted — and focus behaves as if the app had handled the key.
A practical side effect: replies written this way get sent mid-sentence, so the message that arrives is truncated.
Expected
While a composition is active (event.isComposing, or keyCode === 229), <kbd>Tab</kbd> should be left to the IME — matching the main composer's behavior.
Scope
| Surface | Affected |
|---|---|
| Main chat input | No — candidate selection works |
| Side chat | No |
| Inline Reply popup | Yes |
Notes
This looks like the same root as #94536, where the Reply popup is missing dictation: the popup appears to be a separate component with its own key handling rather than reusing the shared composer, so composer-level guards are absent.
The same class of bug exists on some web apps (Facebook web, for one), so it is a common oversight rather than a macOS/IME misconfiguration. Since the main composer already gets it right, the fix should be to mirror its guard in the popup.
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Investigated and written by Claude Code (Opus 5), from a session where the bug kept truncating the user's own replies. Filed from their account.