[Plugins] Readable, viewport-safe HITL approval prompt (compact args + spill file) by swarup-padhi-glean · Pull Request #6 · gleanwork/glean-plugins-vnext

swarup-padhi-glean · 2026-06-15T07:40:44Z

Problem

When ENABLE_HITL is on, run_tool shows a requires_approval action's arguments in an elicitInput prompt. Two issues with the original rendering:

Unreadable args — the whole object was rendered with JSON.stringify(args, null, 2), which escapes newlines inside string values, so a Markdown body/table collapsed into one line of literal \n.
Viewport overflow — once arguments were expanded for readability, a large argument (long body, table, etc.) could make the prompt taller than Claude Code's viewport and push the Accept/Decline buttons off-screen, so the user couldn't respond.

Fix

The inline approval message is now compact and line-capped so the buttons always stay visible, with full detail spilled to a file when needed.

Inline message (Claude Code / Codex):

One line per top-level argument; UPPERCASE keys, indented under Arguments: — distinguishes structure from values in plain text (the elicitation surface can't style fonts).
Each value on a single line: multi-line strings collapsed; values past ~120 chars cut and suffixed (truncated); nested objects shown as compact JSON.
Capped to a small argument-section budget (≈8 lines — up to 7 args + 1 file-path line) so Accept/Decline stay in view.

Spill file (only when something is truncated or omitted):

Full arguments are written to a single fixed Markdown file in the plugin's data dir (PLUGIN_DATA_DIR), overwritten on each approval; the prompt shows the path.
Rendered for readability when opened: string values verbatim (so Markdown — tables, headings — renders), nested values as pretty JSON.
The write is wrapped in try/catch — if a write is blocked (e.g. a restrictive sandbox), it degrades to a short note instead of breaking the approval gate.

Cursor keeps its one-line prompt (it shows tool + args in its own UI).

Example inline prompt (fabricated values):

Action: send_message
Arguments:
  CHANNEL: C123
  BODY: # Notes | Feature | Status | |---|---| | Search | done | ... (truncated)
  Full arguments: <PLUGIN_DATA_DIR>/glean-approval-args.md

Scope & non-goals

Plain text — the elicitation surface doesn't render Markdown; the inline ceiling is readable text, while the spill file is where rich content renders.
Affects only the Claude Code / Codex message; Cursor unchanged.
Complements file_args, which keeps huge inputs out of arguments entirely.

Code

Argument-formatting helpers extracted into src/tools/approval-args.ts (buildCompactArgs, formatArgumentsForFile, writeApprovalArgsFile); run-tool.ts builds the message and gates the file write.

Tests

Unit tests for the compact formatter (scalars inline, multi-line collapse, over-width truncation with (truncated), nested compaction, line-budget cap) and the file formatter; the HITL handler test asserts the prompt stays within the line budget and the spill file holds the full content. Build + typecheck + tests all green.

Verification

Verified in Claude Code, including /sandbox mode: the full-args file writes successfully to the plugin's managed data dir (the same location the plugin already uses for its own state), so the sandbox permits it; the try/catch covers the edge case where a write is blocked.

The approval prompt ran the whole arguments object through JSON.stringify(_, null, 2), which escapes every newline inside a string value. A Markdown body or table therefore collapsed into one unreadable line of literal "\n". Render each top-level arg by shape instead: scalars inline, long/multi-line strings as a de-escaped block with real newlines, nested values as compact JSON — joined by a blank line so a multi-line value cannot blur into the next key. Values past a 2 KB cap are truncated with a nudge to pass large content via file_args. Stays plain text (no Markdown rendering on the elicitation surface) and only affects the Claude Code / Codex message; Cursor keeps its one-liner. formatArguments is now exported and unit-tested.

Adopt the glean-vnext rename from #7 in the three plugin manifests and bump version to 0.2.22 (above #5's 0.2.21 / main's 0.2.20). The formatArguments pretty-print change and dist are unaffected by the rename.

#5 landed on main first (readOnlyHint, v0.2.21). Integrate it: keep both formatArguments (#6) and runToolAnnotations (#5) — they live in separate parts of run-tool.ts and tests. Resolve the 3 manifests to glean-vnext v0.2.22, keep both test suites, rebuild dist.

Sync onto current main (0.2.24): accept removal of packages/codex (codex dist mirror dropped on main), keep both #6 formatArguments and main's updated Cursor approval message in buildApprovalMessage, resolve the 3 plugin manifests to glean-vnext v0.2.26, rebuild dist.

The block pretty-print could grow tall enough that Claude Code pushed the Accept/Decline buttons out of view. Now the inline prompt shows at most a few one-line-per-argument entries (multi-line/long values collapsed and truncated, never expanded). Whenever anything is truncated or an argument is omitted, the full arguments are written to a Markdown file under the OS temp dir (rendered nicely: string values verbatim so Markdown like tables renders, nested values as JSON), and the prompt shows the path. Keeps the elicitation block within ~7 lines so the approval buttons stay visible. Cursor's one-line prompt is unchanged.

… styling Feedback from live testing: - Raise per-argument inline width 80 -> 120 chars (ellipsis was appearing too early). - Allow up to 8 argument-section lines (7 args + 1 file-path line when spilling) instead of 4. - Write the spill file to a single fixed path under PLUGIN_DATA_DIR (CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA, via start.sh), overwritten each approval, instead of a unique file under the OS temp dir. - Distinguish structure from values in plain text: UPPERCASE keys and indent the argument lines under the Arguments: label.

Sync onto main after #13 (promote remote tools + all-manifest version check). Resolve the 3 manifests to 0.2.26 (above main's 0.2.25); rebuild dist so it carries both the promoted tools and the approval formatting.

eshwar-sundar-glean · 2026-06-19T15:01:09Z

-  "enabledPlugins": {
-    "glean-vnext@glean-plugins-vnext": true
-  }
+  "enabledPlugins": {}


Why? We should probably add extraKnownMarketplaces if you are seeing an issue with this

eshwar-sundar-glean · 2026-06-19T15:01:52Z

+// Per-argument inline width before truncating with an ellipsis.
+const maxApprovalArgChars = 120;
+
+function safeJson(value: unknown): string {


#suggest
add a utils file and move all the utils there

eshwar-sundar-glean · 2026-06-19T15:02:02Z

  }
 }

+function isEmptyArgs(args: unknown): boolean {


same as above, utils file

eshwar-sundar-glean · 2026-06-19T15:02:58Z

+  } else if (value !== null && typeof value === "object") {
+    const json = safeJson(value);
+    if (json.length > maxApprovalArgChars) {
+      rendered = `${json.slice(0, maxApprovalArgChars)}…`;


maybe suffix with (truncated)?

eshwar-sundar-glean · 2026-06-19T15:07:12Z

+    ...lines.map((line) => `  ${line}`),
+  ];
+  if (needsFile) {
+    const filePath = await writeApprovalArgsFile(toolName, args);


#blocking
Do test this out.
We should try to run this in /sandbox mode in claude, we are writing files outside project dir

…ings revert - Move the approval-argument formatting helpers into a dedicated src/tools/approval-args.ts (Eshwar: extract utils). - Suffix truncated inline values with (truncated) (Eshwar). - Wrap the spill-file write in try/catch so a blocked write (e.g. Claude /sandbox restricting writes outside the project dir) degrades to a note instead of breaking the approval gate (Eshwar #blocking — also to be verified live in /sandbox). - Revert the stray .claude/settings.json enabledPlugins emptying back to main (Eshwar).

…itation-args Resolve the rebuilt-dist conflict by rebuilding from merged source (keeps both #14's loopback auth and the approval formatting); bump manifests to 0.2.27 (above main's 0.2.26).

swarup-padhi-glean · 2026-06-20T05:08:13Z

Tested in claude code CLI:

Tested in claude code CLI sandbox

Arguments:

cc: @eshwar-sundar-glean

swarup-padhi-glean requested review from eshwar-sundar-glean, garvit-scio and mohit-gupta-glean as code owners June 15, 2026 07:40

eshwar-sundar-glean closed this Jun 17, 2026

eshwar-sundar-glean deleted the pretty-print-elicitation-args branch June 17, 2026 07:32

swarup-padhi-glean restored the pretty-print-elicitation-args branch June 17, 2026 10:44

swarup-padhi-glean reopened this Jun 17, 2026

swarup-padhi-glean added 2 commits June 17, 2026 16:46

Merge origin/main into pretty-print-elicitation-args

56a0c98

Adopt the glean-vnext rename from #7 in the three plugin manifests and bump version to 0.2.22 (above #5's 0.2.21 / main's 0.2.20). The formatArguments pretty-print change and dist are unaffected by the rename.

swarup-padhi-glean changed the title ~~Pretty-print elicitation arguments as readable plain text~~ [Plugins] Pretty-print elicitation arguments as readable plain text Jun 19, 2026

swarup-padhi-glean force-pushed the pretty-print-elicitation-args branch from 5e62e11 to 45d61e2 Compare June 19, 2026 06:21

swarup-padhi-glean added 4 commits June 19, 2026 14:36

Bump plugin manifests to 0.2.26 (above main 0.2.25 after #13)

f3b4d2b

Merge origin/main (incl. #13) into pretty-print-elicitation-args

0d67026

Sync onto main after #13 (promote remote tools + all-manifest version check). Resolve the 3 manifests to 0.2.26 (above main's 0.2.25); rebuild dist so it carries both the promoted tools and the approval formatting.

eshwar-sundar-glean approved these changes Jun 19, 2026

View reviewed changes

swarup-padhi-glean added 2 commits June 20, 2026 10:11

Merge origin/main (incl. #14 elicitation auth) into pretty-print-elic…

f2baded

…itation-args Resolve the rebuilt-dist conflict by rebuilding from merged source (keeps both #14's loopback auth and the approval formatting); bump manifests to 0.2.27 (above main's 0.2.26).

swarup-padhi-glean changed the title ~~[Plugins] Pretty-print elicitation arguments as readable plain text~~ [Plugins] Readable, viewport-safe HITL approval prompt (compact args + spill file) Jun 20, 2026

swarup-padhi-glean requested a review from eshwar-sundar-glean June 20, 2026 06:53

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[Plugins] Readable, viewport-safe HITL approval prompt (compact args + spill file)#6

[Plugins] Readable, viewport-safe HITL approval prompt (compact args + spill file)#6
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