fix ask-user choices across reloads (#4669)

src/agent_loop.py

@@ -3215,9 +3215,12 @@ async def stream_agent_loop(
                     f'data: {json.dumps({"type": "ui_control", "data": result})}\n\n'
                 )
 
-            # ask_user: the agent posed a multiple-choice question. Emit it so the
-            # frontend renders clickable options, then end the turn (below) and
-            # wait — the user's pick becomes the next message.
+            # ask_user: remember the payload now, but emit the interactive event
+            # only *after* tool_output below.  Emitting it before tool_output let
+            # the subsequent tool-card rewrite/scroll push the choices out of
+            # view.  The payload is also copied into the persisted tool event so
+            # history reload can reconstruct an unanswered card.
+            _pending_ask_user_event = None
             if "ask_user" in result:
                 # The question lives in the tool args. ChatMessage.to_dict()
                 # replays only role+content to the model next turn — tool_event
@@ -3232,9 +3235,7 @@ async def stream_agent_loop(
                     _auq_delta = ("\n\n" if full_response.strip() else "") + _auq_q
                     full_response += _auq_delta
                     yield 'data: ' + json.dumps({"delta": _auq_delta}) + '\n\n'
-                yield (
-                    f'data: {json.dumps({"type": "ask_user", "data": result["ask_user"]})}\n\n'
-                )
+                _pending_ask_user_event = _auq
                 _awaiting_user = True
 
             # update_plan: agent wrote back to the plan (ticked a step / revised).
@@ -3289,6 +3290,10 @@ async def stream_agent_loop(
 
             # Emit tool_output (include ui_event data if present)
             tool_output_data = {"type": "tool_output", "tool": block.tool_type, "command": cmd_display, "output": output_text, "exit_code": result.get("exit_code")}
+            if _pending_ask_user_event:
+                # Keep enough state in the streamed tool result for alternate
+                # clients to render the prompt without depending on event order.
+                tool_output_data["ask_user"] = _pending_ask_user_event
             if "ui_event" in result:
                 tool_output_data["ui_event"] = result["ui_event"]
                 for k in (
@@ -3319,6 +3324,14 @@ async def stream_agent_loop(
                 tool_output_data["diff"] = result["diff"]
             yield f'data: {json.dumps(tool_output_data)}\n\n'
 
+            # This must be the final UI event for ask_user: the frontend appends
+            # the card below the now-settled tool node and cancels any between-
+            # round spinner.  The turn ends after the current tool batch.
+            if _pending_ask_user_event:
+                yield (
+                    f'data: {json.dumps({"type": "ask_user", "data": _pending_ask_user_event})}\n\n'
+                )
+
             # Native document tools open in the editor + carry the REAL doc id.
             # Emit a doc_update so the frontend opens/activates it and sends it
             # back as active_doc_id next turn (otherwise the agent can't "see"
@@ -3376,6 +3389,11 @@ async def stream_agent_loop(
             # this the diff shows live but vanishes from saved history.
             if result.get("diff"):
                 tool_event["diff"] = result["diff"]
+            if _pending_ask_user_event:
+                # Persist the structured question with the tool event.  On a
+                # reload, chatRenderer can restore the card; a later user
+                # message removes it as answered.
+                tool_event["ask_user"] = _pending_ask_user_event
             tool_events.append(tool_event)
             if block.tool_type in _VERIFIER_EFFECTFUL_TOOLS:
                 _effectful_used = True

src/tool_index.py

@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ BUILTIN_TOOL_DESCRIPTIONS: Dict[str, str] = {
     "list_sessions": "List all chats with their metadata (the UI calls these 'chats'). Use for 'list my chats', 'rename all my chats' (list first, then manage_session to rename each).",
     "send_to_session": "Send a message to another chat. Cross-chat communication.",
     "search_chats": "Search past session transcripts across chats.",
-    "ask_user": "Ask the user a multiple-choice question to get a decision or clarification. Use this when the task is genuinely ambiguous and the answer changes what you do next — pick between approaches, confirm an assumption, choose among options — instead of guessing. Provide a clear `question` and 2-6 `options` (each with a short `label`, optional `description`). Calling this ENDS your turn: the user sees clickable buttons and their choice arrives as your next message. Don't use it for things you can decide from context or sensible defaults, or for irreversible-action confirmation if a dedicated flow exists.",
+    "ask_user": "Ask the user a multiple-choice question to get a decision or clarification. Use this when the task is genuinely ambiguous and the answer changes what you do next — pick between approaches, confirm an assumption, choose among options — instead of guessing. Provide a clear `question` and 2-6 `options` (each with a short `label`, optional `description`). Omit `multi`/keep it false unless the question explicitly permits choosing multiple options. Calling this ENDS your turn: the user sees clickable buttons and their choice arrives as your next message. Don't use it for things you can decide from context or sensible defaults, or for irreversible-action confirmation if a dedicated flow exists.",
     "update_plan": "Write back to the ACTIVE PLAN while executing an approved plan: mark steps done or revise them. After finishing a step call this with the full checklist and that step marked done; when the user asks to change the plan call it with the revised checklist. Always pass the COMPLETE markdown checklist (`- [ ]` / `- [x]`), not a diff. The user's docked plan window updates live. No effect when there is no active plan.",
     "ui_control": "Control the UI and toggle tools on/off. Use this to turn off / turn on / disable / enable individual tools and features: shell (bash), search (web), research, browser, documents, incognito. Open panels (documents library, gallery, email inbox, sessions, notes, memories/brain, skills, settings, cookbook) via `open_panel <name>`. Use `open_email_reply <uid> <folder> reply` to open an email reply draft document without sending. To pre-fill the reply body in one shot (USE THIS whenever the user told you what to say — opening an empty draft when they asked you to write is wrong), append the body after the mode: `open_email_reply <uid> <folder> reply <body text>`. Body can continue on subsequent lines for multi-line replies. Also switches between chat/agent modes, changes the current model, and applies/creates themes.",
     "list_email_accounts": "List configured email accounts and default status. Use before reading or sending mail when the user mentions Gmail, work mail, custom domain mail, another mailbox, or asks to compare/check multiple inboxes.",

src/tool_schemas.py

@@ -467,7 +467,7 @@ FUNCTION_TOOL_SCHEMAS = [
                     "question": {"type": "string", "description": "The question to ask. Be specific and self-contained."},
                     "options": {
                         "type": "array",
-                        "description": "2-6 mutually exclusive choices. Each is an object with a short `label` and an optional `description` explaining the trade-off.",
+                        "description": "2-6 choices. Each is an object with a short `label` and an optional `description` explaining the trade-off.",
                         "items": {
                             "type": "object",
                             "properties": {
@@ -477,7 +477,7 @@ FUNCTION_TOOL_SCHEMAS = [
                             "required": ["label"]
                         }
                     },
-                    "multi": {"type": "boolean", "description": "Set true to let the user select multiple options instead of one. Default false."}
+                    "multi": {"type": "boolean", "description": "Set true ONLY when the question explicitly allows choosing more than one option. Otherwise omit it or set false. Default false."}
                 },
                 "required": ["question", "options"]
             }
@@ -1406,6 +1406,12 @@ def function_call_to_tool_block(name: str, arguments: str) -> Optional[ToolBlock
         content = json.dumps(args)
     elif tool_type == "ask_teacher":
         content = args.get("model", "auto") + "\n" + args.get("problem", "")
+    elif tool_type == "ask_user":
+        # Keep user-facing labels readable in the tool trace.  The outer SSE
+        # JSON encoder will escape them for transport and JSON.parse restores
+        # them once; pre-escaping here caused literal ``\u00f1`` sequences to
+        # remain visible in the debug panel.
+        content = json.dumps(args, ensure_ascii=False)
     else:
         content = json.dumps(args)