fix: readable CLI output and graceful context-overflow errors in non-TTY runs#51
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…TTY runs Two fixes for running `nib --cli` in CI (e.g. GitHub Actions), where stdout is not a TTY: - Spinner: the animated spinner redraws one line with a carriage return every 80ms. Off a TTY the `\r` does nothing, so every frame becomes its own log line and the log fills with hundreds of "thinking" entries. Make the spinner TTY-aware: on a non-TTY it prints each distinct status once (deduplicated), reprinting after tool-call boundaries so progress stays visible. - Errors: a context-window overflow surfaced as a triple-wrapped, opaque "failed to select tool: ... failed to make a decision after 3 attempts: rpc error: ... exceeds the available context size" line. Add humanizeError, which rewrites known backend context-overflow errors (llama.cpp/LocalAI, OpenAI, vLLM phrasings) into a short, actionable message with the token counts, while preserving the original via Unwrap. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <[email protected]>
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Problem
Running
nib --cliin CI (e.g. GitHub Actions) produced unreadable output. Two issues, both stemming from stdout not being a TTY:Spinner flood. The CLI spinner redraws a single line with a carriage return (
\r) every 80 ms. Off a TTY the\rdoes nothing, so every frame lands on its own line — the log fills with hundreds of⠋ thinkingentries.Opaque context-overflow error. When the request exceeded the model's context window, the failure surfaced as a triple-wrapped, cryptic line:
Changes
TTY-aware spinner (
cmd/cli.go): on a TTY, unchanged animated spinner. Off a TTY, it prints each distinct status once (deduplicated), reprinting after tool-call boundaries so progress stays visible. A steady "thinking" state collapses to one line instead of hundreds.humanizeError(chat/errors.go): rewrites known backend context-overflow errors (llama.cpp/LocalAI, OpenAI, and vLLM phrasings) into a short, actionable message with the token counts, e.g.:The original error is preserved via
Unwrapsoerrors.Is/Asstill work. Unrecognized errors pass through unchanged. Applied at the single error surface inSendMessage, so both the CLI and TUI benefit.Tests
cmd/cli_spinner_test.go: non-TTY output contains no\rand deduplicates a repeated status to one line; status reprints across a stop/start boundary.chat/errors_test.go: both backend phrasings (including OpenAI's reversed count order) yield correct request/limit numbers; unwrap chain intact; nil and unrelated errors pass through.🤖 Generated with Claude Code