Wrap toast bodies, slim the dismiss hint, and stop flicker

Toasts now render three content rows with word-wrapped bodies. The
in-toast "Ctrl-N · N more" hint is replaced by a short
"Ctrl-N · dismiss" entry on the status strip that only appears
while a notification is live.

The box stops flickering while the focused child repaints its TUI:
the overlay is stitched onto the per-chunk PTY write under outMu
and bracketed by DECSET 2026 so supporting terminals buffer the
child's redraw and the box paint into a single frame.

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -6,6 +6,22 @@ loosely follows [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Changed
+- Toast notifications now reserve three content rows and word-wrap
+  the message body inside the box, replacing the previous
+  single-line+ellipsis layout. The `Ctrl-N · N more` inline hint is
+  gone; instead the host status strip surfaces a `Ctrl-N · dismiss`
+  hint, shown only while a notification is on screen so the chord
+  doesn't advertise itself when it has nothing to dismiss.
+
+### Fixed
+- Toast box no longer flickers / half-erases while the focused
+  child (claude, codex, opencode, etc.) repaints its TUI. The
+  overlay is now stitched onto the end of the per-chunk PTY write
+  under `outMu`, and wrapped in DECSET 2026 (synchronized output)
+  brackets so terminals that support it batch the child's redraw +
+  the box paint into a single frame instead of racing cell-by-cell.
+
 ## [0.0.5] - 2026-05-15
 
 ### Changed

internal/app/app.go

@@ -969,14 +969,19 @@ func (st *uiState) OnPTYOut(childID string, chunk []byte) {
 			st.metrics.recordRender(time.Since(rstart))
 		}
 	}
-	// One write covers the autowrap-disable prelude, the chunk, and the
+	// One write covers the autowrap-disable prelude, the chunk, the
-	// autowrap-restore postlude — three syscalls collapsed into one
+	// autowrap-restore postlude, and (when a toast is up) the toast
-	// under outMu. The three sequences were already emitted atomically
+	// overlay — four syscalls collapsed into one under outMu. The
-	// under the lock; coalescing just halves the syscall count.
+	// sequences were already emitted atomically under the lock;
-	wrapped := make([]byte, 0, len(out)+10)
+	// coalescing just halves the syscall count and makes claude's
+	// continuous redraws + our toast layer land in the same frame so
+	// the box doesn't flicker as the child paints over its cells.
+	overlay := st.toastOverlayBytes()
+	wrapped := make([]byte, 0, len(out)+len(overlay)+10)
 	wrapped = append(wrapped, "\x1b[?7l"...)
 	wrapped = append(wrapped, out...)
 	wrapped = append(wrapped, "\x1b[?7h"...)
+	wrapped = append(wrapped, overlay...)
 	var wstart time.Time
 	if st.metrics != nil {
 		wstart = time.Now()
@@ -1219,6 +1224,12 @@ func (st *uiState) drawStatusLine() {
 			hints = append(hints, "Ctrl-R · restart")
 		}
 	}
+	// Surface the toast-dismiss chord only while a notification is on
+	// screen — the hint is noise otherwise, and Ctrl-N falls through
+	// to the focused PTY when the stack is empty.
+	if st.toasts.length() > 0 {
+		hints = append(hints, "Ctrl-N · dismiss")
+	}
 	right := strings.Join(hints, "  ·  ")
 	for len(hints) > 1 && int(cols)-len(left)-len(right) < 1 {
 		hints = hints[1:]

internal/app/toast.go

@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 package app
 
 import (
-	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
@@ -40,6 +39,11 @@ const toastBoxMaxWidth = 50
 // any narrower and there's not enough room for borders + content.
 const toastBoxMinWidth = 20
 
+// toastContentRows is how many lines of message body each toast box
+// reserves. The dismiss hint lives on the host status strip, so the
+// box itself is purely the message.
+const toastContentRows = 3
+
 // toastStack owns the ordered list of live toasts. Oldest at
 // index 0, newest (visually topmost) at the end. The stack's own
 // mutex is intentionally separate from uiState.mu so push / dismiss
@@ -115,6 +119,10 @@ func (st *uiState) notifyToast(kind toastKind, text string) {
 // canvas). Each of those paths calls renderToasts at the end, so
 // the toast layer is always reapplied on top of a freshly-drawn
 // pane. Centralised so push / dismiss / clear share one code path.
+//
+// The status strip also gains/loses the "Ctrl-N · dismiss" hint as
+// the stack toggles between empty and non-empty, so we redraw it
+// here too rather than waiting for the chrome ticker.
 func (st *uiState) refreshToastSurface() {
 	st.mu.Lock()
 	focusedPad := st.focusedPad
@@ -134,6 +142,7 @@ func (st *uiState) refreshToastSurface() {
 	default:
 		st.renderEmptyState()
 	}
+	st.drawStatusLine()
 }
 
 // renderToasts draws the toast stack over the top-right of the
@@ -142,33 +151,62 @@ func (st *uiState) refreshToastSurface() {
 // freshly-redrawn pane content. Safe to call when the stack is
 // empty (no-op).
 func (st *uiState) renderToasts() {
+	bytes := st.toastOverlayBytes()
+	if len(bytes) == 0 {
+		return
+	}
+	st.outMu.Lock()
+	defer st.outMu.Unlock()
+	_, _ = os.Stdout.Write(bytes)
+}
+
+// toastOverlayBytes builds the toast layer as a single byte buffer
+// without writing to stdout. Returns nil when the stack is empty or
+// the layout can't accommodate a box. Callers either write it
+// directly (renderToasts) or stitch it onto the end of another
+// stdout write so claude/codex/opencode redraws that paint over the
+// top-right region can't leave the toast half-erased.
+func (st *uiState) toastOverlayBytes() []byte {
 	items := st.toasts.snapshot()
 	if len(items) == 0 {
-		return
+		return nil
 	}
 	st.mu.Lock()
 	palOpen := st.palette != nil
 	st.mu.Unlock()
 	if palOpen {
-		return
+		return nil
 	}
 	layout := st.layoutSnapshot()
 	paneCols := int(layout.childCols())
 	paneRows := int(layout.childRows())
-	if paneCols < toastBoxMinWidth+2 || paneRows < 3 {
+	if paneCols < toastBoxMinWidth+2 || paneRows < toastContentRows+2 {
-		return
+		return nil
 	}
 	boxWidth := toastBoxMaxWidth
 	if max := paneCols - 4; max < boxWidth {
 		boxWidth = max
 	}
 	if boxWidth < toastBoxMinWidth {
-		return
+		return nil
 	}
 	contentWidth := boxWidth - 4 // 2 border cells + 2 inner padding
+	// Reserve two columns for the icon prefix on row 1 so wrapped rows
+	// indent under the body text rather than under the glyph.
+	const iconCols = 2
+	bodyRoom := contentWidth - iconCols
+	if bodyRoom < 1 {
+		return nil
+	}
 
 	var b strings.Builder
-	b.WriteString("\x1b7\x1b[?25l")
+	// Wrap the whole overlay in DECSET 2026 (synchronized output)
+	// brackets so terminals that support BSU/ESU buffer the box paint
+	// into a single frame — without this, claude's continuous redraws
+	// and our overlay race on each cell, producing visible flicker.
+	// Terminals that don't recognise 2026 ignore the brackets, so the
+	// fallback behaviour is the same as before.
+	b.WriteString("\x1b[?2026h\x1b7\x1b[?25l")
 
 	row := int(layout.mainTop) + 1
 	col := int(layout.mainLeft) + paneCols - boxWidth - 1
@@ -180,20 +218,13 @@ func (st *uiState) renderToasts() {
 	// reverse so the most recent push lands at the smallest row.
 	for idx := len(items) - 1; idx >= 0; idx-- {
 		t := items[idx]
-		isTopmost := idx == len(items)-1
+		height := toastContentRows + 2
-		hintLine := ""
-		if isTopmost && len(items) > 1 {
-			hintLine = fmt.Sprintf("Ctrl-N · %d more", len(items)-1)
-		}
-		height := 3
-		if hintLine != "" {
-			height++
-		}
 		// Stop if we'd run off the bottom of the pane.
 		if row+height > int(layout.mainTop)+paneRows {
 			break
 		}
 		border := toastBorderStyle(t.kind)
+		wrapped := wrapToastBody(t.text, bodyRoom)
 
 		// Top border.
 		moveTo(&b, row, col)
@@ -204,40 +235,22 @@ func (st *uiState) renderToasts() {
 		b.WriteString(styleReset)
 		row++
 
-		// Content row.
+		// Content rows. Row 0 carries the kind glyph; rows 1..N indent
-		moveTo(&b, row, col)
+		// by iconCols spaces so wrapped text lines up under the body.
-		b.WriteString(border)
+		for i := 0; i < toastContentRows; i++ {
-		b.WriteString("│")
-		b.WriteString(styleReset)
-		b.WriteString(" ")
-		b.WriteString(toastIcon(t.kind))
-		body := t.text
-		bodyRoom := contentWidth - 2 // icon + space
-		if visibleLen(body) > bodyRoom {
-			body = clipRunes(body, bodyRoom-1) + "…"
-		}
-		b.WriteString(body)
-		b.WriteString(strings.Repeat(" ", max(0, bodyRoom-visibleLen(body))))
-		b.WriteString(" ")
-		b.WriteString(border)
-		b.WriteString("│")
-		b.WriteString(styleReset)
-		row++
-
-		// Hint row (topmost only, when stack has more than one).
-		if hintLine != "" {
-			if visibleLen(hintLine) > contentWidth {
-				hintLine = clipRunes(hintLine, contentWidth-1) + "…"
-			}
 			moveTo(&b, row, col)
 			b.WriteString(border)
 			b.WriteString("│")
 			b.WriteString(styleReset)
 			b.WriteString(" ")
-			b.WriteString(styleHint)
+			if i == 0 {
-			b.WriteString(hintLine)
+				b.WriteString(toastIcon(t.kind))
-			b.WriteString(styleReset)
+			} else {
-			b.WriteString(strings.Repeat(" ", max(0, contentWidth-visibleLen(hintLine))))
+				b.WriteString(strings.Repeat(" ", iconCols))
+			}
+			line := wrapped[i]
+			b.WriteString(line)
+			b.WriteString(strings.Repeat(" ", max(0, bodyRoom-visibleLen(line))))
 			b.WriteString(" ")
 			b.WriteString(border)
 			b.WriteString("│")
@@ -258,11 +271,8 @@ func (st *uiState) renderToasts() {
 		row++
 	}
 
-	b.WriteString("\x1b[?25h\x1b8")
+	b.WriteString("\x1b[?25h\x1b8\x1b[?2026l")
-
+	return []byte(b.String())
-	st.outMu.Lock()
-	defer st.outMu.Unlock()
-	_, _ = os.Stdout.WriteString(b.String())
 }
 
 func toastBorderStyle(kind toastKind) string {
@@ -276,6 +286,69 @@ func toastBorderStyle(kind toastKind) string {
 	}
 }
 
+// wrapToastBody word-wraps text into exactly toastContentRows lines,
+// each at most width visible runes wide. Short messages are padded
+// with empty trailing lines so callers can iterate a fixed-size
+// slice; messages that don't fit get ellipsized on the last line.
+func wrapToastBody(text string, width int) []string {
+	out := make([]string, toastContentRows)
+	if width < 1 {
+		return out
+	}
+	all := wrapToastWords(text, width)
+	if len(all) > toastContentRows {
+		all = all[:toastContentRows]
+		last := all[len(all)-1]
+		if visibleLen(last) >= width {
+			last = clipRunes(last, width-1) + "…"
+		} else {
+			last = last + "…"
+		}
+		all[len(all)-1] = last
+	}
+	for i, l := range all {
+		out[i] = l
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// wrapToastWords is a small word-wrapper sized for toast bodies:
+// greedy, breaks overlong words on rune boundaries, drops collapsing
+// whitespace via strings.Fields.
+func wrapToastWords(text string, width int) []string {
+	var lines []string
+	var cur string
+	flush := func() {
+		if cur != "" {
+			lines = append(lines, cur)
+			cur = ""
+		}
+	}
+	for _, word := range strings.Fields(text) {
+		for visibleLen(word) > width {
+			flush()
+			head := clipRunes(word, width)
+			lines = append(lines, head)
+			word = word[len(head):]
+		}
+		if word == "" {
+			continue
+		}
+		if cur == "" {
+			cur = word
+			continue
+		}
+		if visibleLen(cur)+1+visibleLen(word) <= width {
+			cur += " " + word
+			continue
+		}
+		flush()
+		cur = word
+	}
+	flush()
+	return lines
+}
+
 func toastIcon(kind toastKind) string {
 	switch kind {
 	case toastError:

internal/app/toast_test.go

@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 package app
 
-import "testing"
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
 
 func TestToastStackPushAndOrder(t *testing.T) {
 	var s toastStack
@@ -98,3 +101,64 @@ func TestToastStackSnapshotIsCopy(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("snapshot is not an independent copy: %#v", again)
 	}
 }
+
+func TestWrapToastBodyFixedHeight(t *testing.T) {
+	got := wrapToastBody("short", 20)
+	if len(got) != toastContentRows {
+		t.Fatalf("len = %d, want %d", len(got), toastContentRows)
+	}
+	if got[0] != "short" {
+		t.Fatalf("line 0 = %q, want \"short\"", got[0])
+	}
+	if got[1] != "" || got[2] != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("trailing pads not empty: %#v", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestWrapToastBodyWrapsOnWordBoundary(t *testing.T) {
+	got := wrapToastBody("the quick brown fox jumps over", 10)
+	// Expect greedy fill: "the quick" (9), "brown fox" (9), "jumps over" (10).
+	want := []string{"the quick", "brown fox", "jumps over"}
+	for i, w := range want {
+		if got[i] != w {
+			t.Fatalf("line %d = %q, want %q (full=%#v)", i, got[i], w, got)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestWrapToastBodyEllipsizesOverflow(t *testing.T) {
+	got := wrapToastBody("alpha beta gamma delta epsilon zeta eta theta", 6)
+	if len(got) != toastContentRows {
+		t.Fatalf("len = %d, want %d", len(got), toastContentRows)
+	}
+	last := got[toastContentRows-1]
+	if !strings.HasSuffix(last, "…") {
+		t.Fatalf("overflow should ellipsize last line, got %q (full=%#v)", last, got)
+	}
+	if visibleLen(last) > 6 {
+		t.Fatalf("last line %q exceeds width 6", last)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestWrapToastBodyBreaksOverlongWord(t *testing.T) {
+	got := wrapToastBody("supercalifragilistic", 6)
+	if got[0] != "superc" {
+		t.Fatalf("line 0 = %q, want \"superc\"", got[0])
+	}
+	if got[1] != "alifra" {
+		t.Fatalf("line 1 = %q, want \"alifra\"", got[1])
+	}
+	// Third line should hold the rest (possibly ellipsized).
+	if got[2] == "" {
+		t.Fatalf("line 2 unexpectedly empty: %#v", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestWrapToastBodyEmptyInput(t *testing.T) {
+	got := wrapToastBody("", 20)
+	for i, l := range got {
+		if l != "" {
+			t.Fatalf("line %d = %q, want \"\"", i, l)
+		}
+	}
+}