feat(predictive-echo): Phase 0 codex fixtures, measurements, package scaffolding

Recorder (scripts/dev/record-codex-frames.mjs) captures real codex 0.147
TUI output through the production pipeline (tmux status-off + the codex-mode
full strip from session.ts) into JSONL fixtures with keystroke injection
points; analyzer replays them through @xterm/headless for the measurements
in docs/predictive-echo-plan.md. Composer signature /^> /-style (U+203A),
modal and wrapped rows correctly rejected, echo is unstyled default-fg,
tmux delivers echo as minimal in-place deltas.

Package: types.ts gains optional cursorX/cursorY, getCell, onWriteParsed,
onResize (all additive); prediction-renderer.ts renders per-glyph spans
keyed by prediction seq; @xterm/headless@^6.0.0 devDep for replay tests.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
Codeman maintainer
2026-08-09 04:10:18 +02:00
parent ffccde4f7d
commit 5aa59c70cc
13 changed files with 1067 additions and 0 deletions
+135
View File
@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
# Predictive write-through echo for codex
Zero-lag local echo for codex sessions via a second, mosh-style mode in the
`xterm-zerolag-input` package: every keystroke goes to the PTY exactly as the
1.12.2 overlay-disabled path did (byte-identical wire behavior), while a
`PredictiveEchoAddon` simultaneously paints the predicted glyph at the predicted
cell. When the real echo lands, the prediction is confirmed and its span removed
(invisible swap: identical glyph beneath). Mispredictions drop via a mismatch
cascade + TTL. Visual-only, self-healing.
## Why this exists
Issues #218/#219/#220/#222 (one root cause) forced 1.12.2 to disable the
LocalEchoOverlay for codex: buffer-until-Enter starves codex's per-keystroke TUI
(live slash picker, arrows editing server-side composer state, composer
rewrap/growth, paste_burst classification). Buffer mode is structurally
incompatible with codex; write-through prediction is the only echo mode that
can coexist with it.
## The reconciliation lesson (do not regress this)
`docs/local-echo-overlay-plan.md` ("What NOT to Do") documented that matching
predictions against the raw output STREAM fails against Ink/TUI full-line
redraws. This design reads the parsed terminal BUFFER instead (cells after
xterm's parser ran), which converges to the same cells no matter how the bytes
arrived. The Phase 0 recordings prove the point twice over: tmux converts
codex's full-line redraws into minimal in-place deltas (an echo arrives as
`e\x1b[K\x1b[20;80H...`), and codex itself paints word gaps with ECH+cursor-forward
instead of spaces. Stream matching can never survive that; buffer diffing does
not care.
## Phase 0 measurements (codex-cli 0.147.0 via tmux, 100x30, 2026-08-09)
Recorded with `scripts/dev/record-codex-frames.mjs` (production pipeline:
codex inside tmux `status off`, chunks passed through the same full strip
`session.ts _handleTerminalOutput()` applies to codex mode). Fixtures in
`packages/xterm-zerolag-input/test/fixtures/codex/`; replay/measure with
`scripts/dev/analyze-codex-frames.mjs <fixture>`.
| Question | Measured answer |
| --------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Composer signature | Cursor row starts `"› "` (U+203A + space), text begins col 2. Present when empty (placeholder), while typing, and while the slash picker filters. `CODEX_COMPOSER_ROW_RE = /^› /` |
| Composer text color | Plain default foreground, zero SGR around echoed chars. Span `foregroundColor` default (theme fg) is an exact match |
| Placeholder | Cycling hint text ("Use /skills...", "Improve documentation in @filename", ...) rendered AT the cursor cell. First prediction lands over placeholder glyphs: covered by the snapshot + cursor-advance rules |
| Wrap | Word-wrap near `cols - 2`; continuation rows are indented 2 spaces WITHOUT `› `. The gate therefore suppresses predictions on wrapped lines: deliberate fallback to real echo, wrap was the #220 ghost zone. `edgeMarginCells = 4` |
| Modal (trust dialog) | Cursor parks on `" Press enter to continue"`: no `› ` prefix, gate false, zero predictions painted while keystrokes still reach the PTY (the ghost eliminator) |
| Streaming | Error/reconnect bursts render above a re-rendered composer that keeps the `› ` signature; end-of-frame cursor parks at the insertion point (col 2 of the composer row). Confirms the cursor-advance confirm rule and the no-drop-on-baseY rule |
| Echo shape under tmux | tmux emits minimal deltas for simple echoes and full repaints for busy frames; both converge in the parsed buffer |
| Slash picker | Picker rows render below; the cursor row keeps the composer signature and advances per filter char, so predictions stay active while filtering (#222 surface) |
Constants decided at the Phase 0 gate: `CODEX_COMPOSER_ROW_RE = /^› /`,
`ttlMs = 1000`, `maxPending = 32`, `cursorGraceMs = 150`, `edgeMarginCells = 4`,
span colors = theme defaults, `underlinePredictions = false`.
## Algorithm
See `PredictiveEchoAddon` in
`packages/xterm-zerolag-input/src/predictive-echo-addon.ts`. Summary of the
rules and why each exists:
- **State**: ordered `PredictionRecord[]` (`seq`, `char`, `width`, cumulative
`offsetCells`, `snapshot` of the cell at predict time, `sentAt`,
`mismatches`), plus a run `_anchor {row, col}` captured when the outstanding
count goes 0 -> 1. Positions are FIXED at predict time; confirmation deletes
spans and never re-lays-out, so partial confirmation causes zero jitter.
- **predictChar(ch)** runs an inline reconcile first and re-anchors whenever
outstanding drains to zero (absorbs the echo-landed-between-keystrokes race).
Guards: dims present, cursor numbers present, `viewportY === baseY`,
`predictWhen` gate, single codepoint >= 0x20 (not 0x7f), width <= 2,
`maxPending`, edge margin. Returns false = suppressed; the consumer sends the
keystroke regardless.
- **Coordinate base is `baseY`**: xterm's `cursorY` is baseY-relative, so
absolute buffer line = `baseY + row`. `viewportY` would only coincide while
the scrolled-to-bottom guards hold; the addon never relies on that.
- **reconcile()** (debounced `onWriteParsed` microtask, inline in predictChar,
TTL timer): clears everything when scrolled up; off-anchor-row cursor
tolerated for `cursorGraceMs` then clears; PREFIX-ONLY confirm loop requiring
cell match AND cursor advanced past the record (prevents false confirms
against placeholder glyphs and makes identical in-place tmux repaints a
no-op); TWO-PASS mismatch rule (a cell that is neither snapshot nor predicted
char must persist across two passes before cascading the drop: a half-parsed
row on pass N is fully redrawn a few ms later); TTL drop of the stale suffix.
- **No drop on baseY change**: codex streams push lines to history while the
composer stays viewport-pinned; predictions are row-relative to the pinned
composer and remain valid (measured above).
- **predictBackspace()** pops the newest outstanding record (informational
return; the consumer forwards `\x7f` unconditionally). Deleting already-echoed
text renders at RTT in v1.
- **CJK/wide**: 2-cell spans, stacking by cumulative visual width, leading-cell
confirm. In Codeman, IME input never reaches the hook (`window.cjkActive`
returns from onData first); package support exists for other consumers.
## Integration map (Codeman)
- Policy: `_localEchoPolicy` (`'buffer' | 'predict' | 'off'`) computed at the
end of `_updateLocalEchoState()`; codex + `localEchoEnabled` -> `'predict'`
while `_localEchoEnabled` stays false (every 1.12.2 consumer unchanged).
- onData hook sits between the buffer block and Normal Mode, classifies via
`classifyPredictInput()` (pure, on `window.CodemanTerminalInput`), never
returns, try/catch-wrapped: the wire path below is byte-identical with the
predictor active, absent, or throwing.
- Composer gate: `isCodexComposerRow()` set via `setPredictWhen()` at
construction (the vendor footer stays package-agnostic).
- Second vendor bundle `vendor/xterm-predictive-echo.js` (postinstall + build);
the zerolag bundle build command is untouched and its output byte-identical.
Missing/broken bundle = plain 1.12.2 echo (`typeof PredictiveEchoOverlay ===
'undefined'` guard).
- Prediction clears on: tab switch, SSE reconnect init, `insertTerminalText`,
`clearTerminalInput`, voice send, keyboard-accessory `sendKey`, resize, skin
and font changes re-read style via `refreshFont()`.
## Risk register
Eliminated structurally: other-mode regression (zero edits to buffer
addon/branches, byte-identical existing bundle, policy-matrix + byte-identity
tests); bundle breakage (separate bundle, graceful degradation); wire
corruption (no-return fall-through + try/catch + byte-identity pins at vm and
E2E level); modal ghosts (measured predictWhen gate); false confirms
(cursor-advance rule); mid-parse flicker drops (two-pass rule); wrap
misplacement (edge margin + continuation-row gate fallback + off-row grace).
Accepted residuals (visual-only, self-healing <= ttlMs, kill-switchable via
`localEchoEnabled` per device): no predictions on wrapped continuation lines
(gate false there, deliberate); brief dropout during composer growth; DOM-span
vs WebGL glyph rendering can differ subtly (same trade-off as the buffer
overlay, same font recipe); typing during an unsynchronized half-frame can
mis-anchor one run (mismatch/TTL cleans within 1s).
## Future work
RTT-adaptive TTL; mosh-style confidence gating (paint only after the link
proves laggy); predicted backspace into echoed text; predict mode for shell
prompts; unifying the small font/container duplication between the two addons
once predict mode has proven out; continuation-line prediction behind a
smarter composer-extent detector.