fix(tui): reduce unnecessary full redraws for better performance

- Remove height change detection (only width changes trigger full redraw)
- Change clearOnShrink default to false (use PI_CLEAR_ON_SHRINK=1 to enable)
- Fix viewport check to use previousLines.length instead of maxLinesRendered
  (prevents false positive redraws when appending lines after content shrunk)
- Add clearOnShrink setting to /settings in coding-agent
- Remove line truncation in custom message component (always show full content)

packages/coding-agent/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Added
+
+- **Clear on shrink setting**: New `terminal.clearOnShrink` setting (and `/settings` toggle) controls whether empty rows are cleared when content shrinks. Disabled by default to reduce flicker. Enable via settings or `PI_CLEAR_ON_SHRINK=1` env var.
+
 ## [0.51.0] - 2026-02-01
 
 ### Breaking Changes

packages/coding-agent/src/core/settings-manager.ts

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ export interface RetrySettings {
 
 export interface TerminalSettings {
 	showImages?: boolean; // default: true (only relevant if terminal supports images)
+	clearOnShrink?: boolean; // default: false (clear empty rows when content shrinks)
 }
 
 export interface ImageSettings {
@@ -628,6 +629,23 @@ export class SettingsManager {
 		this.save();
 	}
 
+	getClearOnShrink(): boolean {
+		// Settings takes precedence, then env var, then default false
+		if (this.settings.terminal?.clearOnShrink !== undefined) {
+			return this.settings.terminal.clearOnShrink;
+		}
+		return process.env.PI_CLEAR_ON_SHRINK === "1";
+	}
+
+	setClearOnShrink(enabled: boolean): void {
+		if (!this.globalSettings.terminal) {
+			this.globalSettings.terminal = {};
+		}
+		this.globalSettings.terminal.clearOnShrink = enabled;
+		this.markModified("terminal", "clearOnShrink");
+		this.save();
+	}
+
 	getImageAutoResize(): boolean {
 		return this.settings.images?.autoResize ?? true;
 	}

packages/coding-agent/src/modes/interactive/components/custom-message.ts

@@ -90,14 +90,6 @@ export class CustomMessageComponent extends Container {
 				.join("\n");
 		}
 
-		// Limit lines when collapsed
-		if (!this._expanded) {
-			const lines = text.split("\n");
-			if (lines.length > 5) {
-				text = `${lines.slice(0, 5).join("\n")}\n...`;
-			}
-		}
-
 		this.box.addChild(
 			new Markdown(text, 0, 0, this.markdownTheme, {
 				color: (text: string) => theme.fg("customMessageText", text),

packages/coding-agent/src/modes/interactive/components/settings-selector.ts

@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ export interface SettingsConfig {
 	editorPaddingX: number;
 	autocompleteMaxVisible: number;
 	quietStartup: boolean;
+	clearOnShrink: boolean;
 }
 
 export interface SettingsCallbacks {
@@ -60,6 +61,7 @@ export interface SettingsCallbacks {
 	onEditorPaddingXChange: (padding: number) => void;
 	onAutocompleteMaxVisibleChange: (maxVisible: number) => void;
 	onQuietStartupChange: (enabled: boolean) => void;
+	onClearOnShrinkChange: (enabled: boolean) => void;
 	onCancel: () => void;
 }
 
@@ -312,6 +314,16 @@ export class SettingsSelectorComponent extends Container {
 			values: ["3", "5", "7", "10", "15", "20"],
 		});
 
+		// Clear on shrink toggle (insert after autocomplete-max-visible)
+		const autocompleteIndex = items.findIndex((item) => item.id === "autocomplete-max-visible");
+		items.splice(autocompleteIndex + 1, 0, {
+			id: "clear-on-shrink",
+			label: "Clear on shrink",
+			description: "Clear empty rows when content shrinks (may cause flicker)",
+			currentValue: config.clearOnShrink ? "true" : "false",
+			values: ["true", "false"],
+		});
+
 		// Add borders
 		this.addChild(new DynamicBorder());
 
@@ -363,6 +375,9 @@ export class SettingsSelectorComponent extends Container {
 					case "autocomplete-max-visible":
 						callbacks.onAutocompleteMaxVisibleChange(parseInt(newValue, 10));
 						break;
+					case "clear-on-shrink":
+						callbacks.onClearOnShrinkChange(newValue === "true");
+						break;
 				}
 			},
 			callbacks.onCancel,

packages/coding-agent/src/modes/interactive/interactive-mode.ts

@@ -258,6 +258,7 @@ export class InteractiveMode {
 		this.session = session;
 		this.version = VERSION;
 		this.ui = new TUI(new ProcessTerminal(), this.settingsManager.getShowHardwareCursor());
+		this.ui.setClearOnShrink(this.settingsManager.getClearOnShrink());
 		this.headerContainer = new Container();
 		this.chatContainer = new Container();
 		this.pendingMessagesContainer = new Container();
@@ -2996,6 +2997,7 @@ export class InteractiveMode {
 					editorPaddingX: this.settingsManager.getEditorPaddingX(),
 					autocompleteMaxVisible: this.settingsManager.getAutocompleteMaxVisible(),
 					quietStartup: this.settingsManager.getQuietStartup(),
+					clearOnShrink: this.settingsManager.getClearOnShrink(),
 				},
 				{
 					onAutoCompactChange: (enabled) => {
@@ -3084,6 +3086,10 @@ export class InteractiveMode {
 							this.editor.setAutocompleteMaxVisible(maxVisible);
 						}
 					},
+					onClearOnShrinkChange: (enabled) => {
+						this.settingsManager.setClearOnShrink(enabled);
+						this.ui.setClearOnShrink(enabled);
+					},
 					onCancel: () => {
 						done();
 						this.ui.requestRender();

packages/tui/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -2,6 +2,15 @@
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Changed
+
+- Terminal height changes no longer trigger full redraws, reducing flicker on resize
+- `clearOnShrink` now defaults to `false` (use `PI_CLEAR_ON_SHRINK=1` or `setClearOnShrink(true)` to enable)
+
+### Fixed
+
+- Fixed unnecessary full redraws when appending many lines after content had previously shrunk (viewport check now uses actual previous content size instead of stale maximum)
+
 ## [0.51.0] - 2026-02-01
 
 ## [0.50.9] - 2026-02-01

packages/tui/src/tui.ts

@@ -199,7 +199,6 @@ export class TUI extends Container {
 	public terminal: Terminal;
 	private previousLines: string[] = [];
 	private previousWidth = 0;
-	private previousHeight = 0;
 	private focusedComponent: Component | null = null;
 
 	/** Global callback for debug key (Shift+Ctrl+D). Called before input is forwarded to focused component. */
@@ -210,6 +209,7 @@ export class TUI extends Container {
 	private inputBuffer = ""; // Buffer for parsing terminal responses
 	private cellSizeQueryPending = false;
 	private showHardwareCursor = process.env.PI_HARDWARE_CURSOR === "1";
+	private clearOnShrink = process.env.PI_CLEAR_ON_SHRINK === "1"; // Clear empty rows when content shrinks (default: off)
 	private maxLinesRendered = 0; // Track terminal's working area (max lines ever rendered)
 	private previousViewportTop = 0; // Track previous viewport top for resize-aware cursor moves
 	private fullRedrawCount = 0;
@@ -248,6 +248,19 @@ export class TUI extends Container {
 		this.requestRender();
 	}
 
+	getClearOnShrink(): boolean {
+		return this.clearOnShrink;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Set whether to trigger full re-render when content shrinks.
+	 * When true (default), empty rows are cleared when content shrinks.
+	 * When false, empty rows remain (reduces redraws on slower terminals).
+	 */
+	setClearOnShrink(enabled: boolean): void {
+		this.clearOnShrink = enabled;
+	}
+
 	setFocus(component: Component | null): void {
 		// Clear focused flag on old component
 		if (isFocusable(this.focusedComponent)) {
@@ -397,7 +410,6 @@ export class TUI extends Container {
 		if (force) {
 			this.previousLines = [];
 			this.previousWidth = -1; // -1 triggers widthChanged, forcing a full clear
-			this.previousHeight = -1; // -1 triggers heightChanged, forcing a full clear
 			this.cursorRow = 0;
 			this.hardwareCursorRow = 0;
 			this.maxLinesRendered = 0;
@@ -827,9 +839,8 @@ export class TUI extends Container {
 
 		newLines = this.applyLineResets(newLines);
 
-		// Width or height changed - need full re-render
+		// Width changed - need full re-render (line wrapping changes)
 		const widthChanged = this.previousWidth !== 0 && this.previousWidth !== width;
-		const heightChanged = this.previousHeight !== 0 && this.previousHeight !== height;
 
 		// Helper to clear scrollback and viewport and render all new lines
 		const fullRender = (clear: boolean): void => {
@@ -854,24 +865,24 @@ export class TUI extends Container {
 			this.positionHardwareCursor(cursorPos, newLines.length);
 			this.previousLines = newLines;
 			this.previousWidth = width;
-			this.previousHeight = height;
 		};
 
 		// First render - just output everything without clearing (assumes clean screen)
-		if (this.previousLines.length === 0 && !widthChanged && !heightChanged) {
+		if (this.previousLines.length === 0 && !widthChanged) {
 			fullRender(false);
 			return;
 		}
 
-		// Width or height changed - full re-render
-		if (widthChanged || heightChanged) {
+		// Width changed - full re-render (line wrapping changes)
+		if (widthChanged) {
 			fullRender(true);
 			return;
 		}
 
 		// Content shrunk below the working area and no overlays - re-render to clear empty rows
 		// (overlays need the padding, so only do this when no overlays are active)
-		if (newLines.length < this.maxLinesRendered && this.overlayStack.length === 0) {
+		// Configurable via setClearOnShrink() or PI_CLEAR_ON_SHRINK=0 env var
+		if (this.clearOnShrink && newLines.length < this.maxLinesRendered && this.overlayStack.length === 0) {
 			fullRender(true);
 			return;
 		}
@@ -941,15 +952,15 @@ export class TUI extends Container {
 			this.positionHardwareCursor(cursorPos, newLines.length);
 			this.previousLines = newLines;
 			this.previousWidth = width;
-			this.previousHeight = height;
 			this.previousViewportTop = Math.max(0, this.maxLinesRendered - height);
 			return;
 		}
 
-		// Check if firstChanged is outside the viewport
-		// Viewport is based on max lines ever rendered (terminal's working area)
-		if (firstChanged < viewportTop) {
-			// First change is above viewport - need full re-render
+		// Check if firstChanged is above what was previously visible
+		// Use previousLines.length (not maxLinesRendered) to avoid false positives after content shrinks
+		const previousContentViewportTop = Math.max(0, this.previousLines.length - height);
+		if (firstChanged < previousContentViewportTop) {
+			// First change is above previous viewport - need full re-render
 			fullRender(true);
 			return;
 		}
@@ -1088,7 +1099,6 @@ export class TUI extends Container {
 
 		this.previousLines = newLines;
 		this.previousWidth = width;
-		this.previousHeight = height;
 	}
 
 	/**

packages/tui/test/tui-render.test.ts

@@ -23,31 +23,6 @@ function getCellItalic(terminal: VirtualTerminal, row: number, col: number): num
 }
 
 describe("TUI resize handling", () => {
-	it("triggers full re-render when terminal height changes", async () => {
-		const terminal = new VirtualTerminal(40, 10);
-		const tui = new TUI(terminal);
-		const component = new TestComponent();
-		tui.addChild(component);
-
-		component.lines = ["Line 0", "Line 1", "Line 2"];
-		tui.start();
-		await terminal.flush();
-
-		const initialRedraws = tui.fullRedraws;
-
-		// Resize height
-		terminal.resize(40, 15);
-		await terminal.flush();
-
-		// Should have triggered a full redraw
-		assert.ok(tui.fullRedraws > initialRedraws, "Height change should trigger full redraw");
-
-		const viewport = terminal.getViewport();
-		assert.ok(viewport[0]?.includes("Line 0"), "Content preserved after height change");
-
-		tui.stop();
-	});
-
 	it("triggers full re-render when terminal width changes", async () => {
 		const terminal = new VirtualTerminal(40, 10);
 		const tui = new TUI(terminal);
@@ -75,6 +50,7 @@ describe("TUI content shrinkage", () => {
 	it("clears empty rows when content shrinks significantly", async () => {
 		const terminal = new VirtualTerminal(40, 10);
 		const tui = new TUI(terminal);
+		tui.setClearOnShrink(true); // Explicitly enable (may be disabled via env var)
 		const component = new TestComponent();
 		tui.addChild(component);
 
@@ -106,6 +82,7 @@ describe("TUI content shrinkage", () => {
 	it("handles shrink to single line", async () => {
 		const terminal = new VirtualTerminal(40, 10);
 		const tui = new TUI(terminal);
+		tui.setClearOnShrink(true); // Explicitly enable (may be disabled via env var)
 		const component = new TestComponent();
 		tui.addChild(component);
 
@@ -128,6 +105,7 @@ describe("TUI content shrinkage", () => {
 	it("handles shrink to empty", async () => {
 		const terminal = new VirtualTerminal(40, 10);
 		const tui = new TUI(terminal);
+		tui.setClearOnShrink(true); // Explicitly enable (may be disabled via env var)
 		const component = new TestComponent();
 		tui.addChild(component);