fix(tui): neutral prompt border and token speed on the model chip

The prompt box no longer tints by permission mode or thinking effort;
it uses the neutral border color, and yolo stays visible as a status
bar badge. Token speed returns to the model chip, matching the footer
composition, instead of sitting mid-ladder in the extras.

Author: elkaix

.changeset/tui-signature-design.md

@@ -2,4 +2,4 @@
 "@pythoughts/pythinker-code": minor
 ---
 
-Redesign core TUI surfaces: tool cards get state-tinted backgrounds with three new theme tokens, a status bar with a per-session accent color appears between the input box and footer, and the input border reflects yolo and auto permission modes. The working-label shimmer uses a calmer constant-velocity sweep with alternating mission-control highlights.
+Redesign core TUI surfaces: tool cards get state-tinted backgrounds with three new theme tokens, a status bar with a per-session accent color appears between the input box and footer, and the prompt box uses a neutral border while permission mode appears in the status bar. The working-label shimmer uses a calmer constant-velocity sweep with alternating mission-control highlights.

apps/pythinker-code/src/tui/components/chrome/status-bar.ts

@@ -4,7 +4,10 @@ import { truncateToWidth, visibleWidth, type Component } from '@earendil-works/p
 import chalk from 'chalk';
 
 import type { StatusLineConfig } from '#/tui/config';
-import type { FooterStatus } from '#/tui/runtime/footer/footer-model';
+import {
+  formatTokenSpeed,
+  type FooterStatus,
+} from '#/tui/runtime/footer/footer-model';
 import { currentTheme } from '#/tui/theme';
 import { themeFromHexChannels } from '#/tui/theme/terminal-background';
 import { effortColorToken, shortEffortLabel } from '#/tui/utils/thinking-levels';
@@ -20,6 +23,8 @@ export type StatusBarStatus = Pick<
   | 'planMode'
   | 'fastMode'
   | 'dynamicWorkflowMode'
+  | 'tokenSpeed'
+  | 'tokenSpeedEstimated'
 > & {
   readonly extras: readonly string[];
   readonly sessionKey: string;
@@ -43,8 +48,16 @@ export class StatusBarComponent implements Component {
           shortEffortLabel(status.thinkingLevel),
         )}`
       : '';
+    const fastSuffix = status.statusLine.showModes && status.fastMode
+      ? `${currentTheme.fg('textDim', ' · ')}${currentTheme.fg('modeFast', '↯ fast')}`
+      : '';
+    const speed = status.statusLine.showTokenSpeed ? formatTokenSpeed(status) : null;
     const modelChip = status.statusLine.showModel
-      ? chip(`${currentTheme.fg('text', status.model)}${effortSuffix}`)
+      ? chip(
+          `${currentTheme.fg('text', status.model)}${effortSuffix}${fastSuffix}${
+            speed === null ? '' : currentTheme.fg('textDim', ` · ${speed}`)
+          }`,
+        )
       : undefined;
     let modesChip = status.statusLine.showModes ? renderModesChip(status) : undefined;
     const extraChips = status.extras.map((extra) =>
@@ -101,7 +114,6 @@ function renderModesChip(status: StatusBarStatus): string | undefined {
   if (status.planMode) modes.push(currentTheme.fg('modePlan', 'plan'));
   if (status.permissionMode === 'auto') modes.push(currentTheme.fg('modePermission', 'auto'));
   if (status.permissionMode === 'yolo') modes.push(currentTheme.fg('error', 'yolo'));
-  if (status.fastMode) modes.push(currentTheme.fg('modeFast', '↯ fast'));
   if (status.dynamicWorkflowMode) modes.push(currentTheme.fg('accent', 'workflow'));
   return modes.length === 0 ? undefined : chip(modes.join(' '));
 }

apps/pythinker-code/src/tui/constant/rendering.ts

@@ -30,8 +30,6 @@ export const DYNAMIC_WORKFLOW_RENDERING = {
   memberProgressWidth: 8,
   /** Least width of the lifecycle STATE column in member rows. */
   stateColumnWidth: 6,
-  /** Cadence for the live aggregate-label shimmer. */
-  aggregateShimmerFrameMs: BRAILLE_SPINNER_INTERVAL_MS,
   /** Half-circle frames for a running row; all rows share one clock. */
   progressFrames: ['◐', '◓', '◑', '◒'],
   /** Rotation cadence in milliseconds — deliberately slow; this is ambience, not progress. */

apps/pythinker-code/src/tui/pythinker-tui.ts

@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ import { readUpdateInstallState } from '#/cli/update/install-state';
 import { detectInstallSource } from '#/cli/update/source';
 import type { InstallSource } from '#/cli/update/types';
 import { MigrationScreenComponent, type MigrationScreenResult } from '#/migration/index';
-import { effortColorToken } from '#/tui/utils/thinking-levels';
 import { copyTextToClipboard } from '#/utils/clipboard/clipboard-text';
 import {
   appendInputHistory,
@@ -2128,19 +2127,9 @@ export class PythinkerTUI {
     const highlighted =
       this.state.appState.planMode || findSlashAutocompleteContext(currentLine, col) !== null;
     this.state.editor.borderHighlighted = highlighted;
-    // Reads thinkingLevel at paint time so cycling effort (Shift-Tab/Ctrl-T)
-    // recolors the prompt box on the next render without re-wiring the closure.
     this.state.editor.borderColor = (s: string) => {
       if (highlighted) return currentTheme.fg('primary', s);
-      if (this.state.appState.permissionMode === 'yolo') {
-        return currentTheme.fg('modeAutoAccept', s);
-      }
-      if (this.state.appState.permissionMode === 'auto') {
-        return currentTheme.fg('modePermission', s);
-      }
-      const level = this.state.appState.thinkingLevel;
-      if (level === 'off' || level.trim().length === 0) return currentTheme.fg('border', s);
-      return currentTheme.fg(effortColorToken(level), s);
+      return currentTheme.fg('border', s);
     };
     this.state.ui.requestRender();
   }

apps/pythinker-code/src/tui/runtime/footer/footer-model.ts

@@ -565,7 +565,6 @@ export function selectStatusBarExtras(
     parts.context,
     parts.git,
     parts.update,
-    parts.speed,
     parts.spend,
     parts.elapsed,
     parts.goal,
@@ -638,7 +637,9 @@ function formatStatusElapsed(ms: number): string {
   return totalMinutes < 60 ? clock : `${String(Math.floor(totalMinutes / 60))}:${clock}`;
 }
 
-function formatTokenSpeed(status: FooterStatus): string | null {
+export function formatTokenSpeed(
+  status: Pick<FooterStatus, 'tokenSpeed' | 'tokenSpeedEstimated'>,
+): string | null {
   const speed = status.tokenSpeed;
   if (speed === null || !Number.isFinite(speed) || speed < 0) return null;
   return `${status.tokenSpeedEstimated ? '~' : ''}${speed.toFixed(1)} t/s`;

apps/pythinker-code/test/tui/components/status-bar.test.ts

@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@ function status(overrides: Partial<StatusBarStatus> = {}): StatusBarStatus {
     planMode: true,
     fastMode: false,
     dynamicWorkflowMode: true,
+    tokenSpeed: null,
+    tokenSpeedEstimated: false,
     extras: [],
     sessionKey: 'session-alpha',
     statusLine: DEFAULT_STATUS_LINE_CONFIG,
@@ -145,6 +147,40 @@ describe('StatusBarComponent', () => {
     }
   });
 
+  it('renders token speed at the end of the model chip', () => {
+    const component = new StatusBarComponent();
+    component.update(status({
+      fastMode: true,
+      tokenSpeed: 75.7,
+      tokenSpeedEstimated: true,
+    }));
+
+    const modelChip = stripAnsi(component.render(120)[0] ?? '').split('  ')[0]?.trim();
+
+    expect(modelChip).toBe('Model Alpha · high · ↯ fast · ~75.7 t/s');
+  });
+
+  it('hides token speed when showTokenSpeed is false', () => {
+    const component = new StatusBarComponent();
+    component.update(status({
+      tokenSpeed: 75.7,
+      statusLine: { ...DEFAULT_STATUS_LINE_CONFIG, showTokenSpeed: false },
+    }));
+
+    const modelChip = stripAnsi(component.render(120)[0] ?? '').split('  ')[0]?.trim();
+
+    expect(modelChip).toBe('Model Alpha · high');
+  });
+
+  it('does not leave a separator when token speed is null', () => {
+    const component = new StatusBarComponent();
+    component.update(status({ fastMode: true, tokenSpeed: null }));
+
+    const modelChip = stripAnsi(component.render(120)[0] ?? '').split('  ')[0]?.trim();
+
+    expect(modelChip).toBe('Model Alpha · high · ↯ fast');
+  });
+
   it('renders extras in order between modes and cwd', () => {
     const component = new StatusBarComponent();
     component.update(status({ extras: ['6% · 55.6k/1M', 'main ± [PR#1]'] }));

apps/pythinker-code/test/tui/pythinker-tui-message-flow.test.ts

@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ import {
   promptFeedbackInput,
   runModelSelector,
 } from '#/tui/commands/prompts';
+import { currentTheme } from '#/tui/theme';
 import type { QueuedMessage } from '#/tui/types';
 import type { ImageAttachmentStore } from '#/tui/utils/image-attachment-store';
 import { LEGACY_TEST_PATHS, PARITY_CASES } from './parity/feature-matrix';
@@ -5435,7 +5436,7 @@ command = "vim"
     expect(driver.state.appState.thinkingLevel).toBe('off');
   });
 
-  it('tints the prompt-box border by the current thinking effort', async () => {
+  it('keeps the prompt-box border neutral across thinking effort and permission mode', async () => {
     const session = makeSession();
     const { driver } = await makeDriver(session, {
       getConfig: vi.fn(async () => ({
@@ -5459,16 +5460,21 @@ command = "vim"
     chalk.level = 3;
     try {
       const tui = driver as unknown as PythinkerTUI;
-      const paintAt = (level: string): string => {
-        tui.setAppState({ thinkingLevel: level });
+      const paintAt = (thinkingLevel: string): string => {
+        tui.setAppState({ thinkingLevel });
         return driver.state.editor.borderColor('─');
       };
       const offPaint = paintAt('off');
+      tui.setAppState({ permissionMode: 'yolo' });
+      expect(driver.state.editor.borderColor('─')).toBe(offPaint);
+
+      tui.setAppState({ permissionMode: 'manual' });
       const perLevel = ['low', 'medium', 'high'].map(paintAt);
-      // Effort levels tint the border away from the default, each with the
-      // theme's own gradient stop for that level.
-      for (const painted of perLevel) expect(painted).not.toBe(offPaint);
-      expect(new Set(perLevel).size).toBe(perLevel.length);
+      for (const painted of perLevel) expect(painted).toBe(offPaint);
+
+      tui.setAppState({ planMode: true });
+      expect(driver.state.editor.borderColor('─')).toBe(currentTheme.fg('primary', '─'));
+      expect(driver.state.editor.borderColor('─')).not.toBe(offPaint);
     } finally {
       chalk.level = previousLevel;
     }

apps/pythinker-code/test/tui/runtime/footer-model.test.ts

@@ -309,6 +309,8 @@ describe('footer model', () => {
         contextUsage: 0.05,
         dynamicWorkflowMode: true,
         git: workflowStatus().git,
+        tokenSpeed: 75.7,
+        tokenSpeedEstimated: true,
       }),
       [
         {