From da95b58a2a277e39ac0014a0978f165c161d8cd9 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Shadow <shadow@clawd.bot>
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2026 22:20:29 -0600
Subject: [PATCH] Typing: keep indicators active during tool runs

Closes #450
Closes #447
---
 CHANGELOG.md                             | 1 +
 src/auto-reply/reply/agent-runner.ts     | 2 +-
 src/auto-reply/reply/typing-mode.test.ts | 6 +++---
 src/auto-reply/reply/typing-mode.ts      | 6 +++++-
 4 files changed, 10 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)

diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index a31fd6193..fcde2b446 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 - Memory: allow custom OpenAI-compatible embedding endpoints for memory search (remote baseUrl/apiKey/headers). (#819 — thanks @mukhtharcm)
 
 ### Fixes
+- Typing: keep typing indicators alive during tool execution. (#450, #447 — thanks @thewilloftheshadow)
 - Cron: coerce enabled patches so disabling jobs persists correctly. (#205 — thanks @thewilloftheshadow)
 - Control UI: keep chat scroll position unless user is near the bottom. (#217 — thanks @thewilloftheshadow)
 - Fallback: treat credential validation failures ("no credentials found", "no API key found") as auth errors that trigger model fallback. (#822 — thanks @sebslight)
diff --git a/src/auto-reply/reply/agent-runner.ts b/src/auto-reply/reply/agent-runner.ts
index c06c754b9..ac6f9790e 100644
--- a/src/auto-reply/reply/agent-runner.ts
+++ b/src/auto-reply/reply/agent-runner.ts
@@ -704,7 +704,7 @@ export async function runReplyAgent(params: {
                 if (evt.stream === "tool") {
                   const phase =
                     typeof evt.data.phase === "string" ? evt.data.phase : "";
-                  if (phase === "start") {
+                  if (phase === "start" || phase === "update") {
                     void typingSignals.signalToolStart();
                   }
                 }
diff --git a/src/auto-reply/reply/typing-mode.test.ts b/src/auto-reply/reply/typing-mode.test.ts
index 697b97af5..3b18c47b5 100644
--- a/src/auto-reply/reply/typing-mode.test.ts
+++ b/src/auto-reply/reply/typing-mode.test.ts
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ describe("createTypingSignaler", () => {
     expect(typing.startTypingOnText).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
-  it("does not start typing on tool start when inactive", async () => {
+  it("starts typing on tool start when inactive", async () => {
     const typing = createMockTypingController();
     const signaler = createTypingSignaler({
       typing,
@@ -133,8 +133,8 @@ describe("createTypingSignaler", () => {
 
     await signaler.signalToolStart();
 
-    expect(typing.refreshTypingTtl).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
-    expect(typing.startTypingLoop).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(typing.startTypingLoop).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(typing.refreshTypingTtl).toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
   it("refreshes ttl on tool start when active", async () => {
diff --git a/src/auto-reply/reply/typing-mode.ts b/src/auto-reply/reply/typing-mode.ts
index a445b6e2e..9e2a6b36b 100644
--- a/src/auto-reply/reply/typing-mode.ts
+++ b/src/auto-reply/reply/typing-mode.ts
@@ -68,7 +68,11 @@ export function createTypingSignaler(params: {
 
   const signalToolStart = async () => {
     if (disabled) return;
-    if (!typing.isActive()) return;
+    if (!typing.isActive()) {
+      await typing.startTypingLoop();
+      typing.refreshTypingTtl();
+      return;
+    }
     // Keep typing indicator alive during tool execution without changing mode semantics.
     typing.refreshTypingTtl();
   };