feat: pause auto-approve while typing in chat input

- Auto-approve operations are now paused when there is text in the chat input box
- Added visual indicator showing "Auto-approve paused while typing" when paused
- Added tests to verify the pause/resume functionality
- Addresses user feedback about auto-approve continuing while typing hints

Fixes #8074

webview-ui/src/components/chat/ChatView.tsx

@@ -1594,6 +1594,13 @@ const ChatViewComponent: React.ForwardRefRenderFunction<ChatViewRef, ChatViewPro
 			return
 		}
 
+		// Check if there's text in the input box - pause auto-approve if there is
+		const hasInputText = inputValueRef.current.trim().length > 0
+		if (hasInputText) {
+			// User is typing, don't auto-approve
+			return
+		}
+
 		const autoApproveOrReject = async () => {
 			// Check for auto-reject first (commands that should be denied)
 			if (lastMessage?.ask === "command" && isDeniedCommand(lastMessage)) {
@@ -1703,6 +1710,7 @@ const ChatViewComponent: React.ForwardRefRenderFunction<ChatViewRef, ChatViewPro
 		isDeniedCommand,
 		getDeniedPrefix,
 		tSettings,
+		inputValue, // Add inputValue dependency to re-run when input changes
 	])
 
 	// Function to handle mode switching
@@ -1898,6 +1906,16 @@ const ChatViewComponent: React.ForwardRefRenderFunction<ChatViewRef, ChatViewPro
 										? "opacity-100"
 										: "opacity-50"
 							}`}>
+							{/* Show auto-approve paused indicator when there's input text */}
+							{enableButtons &&
+								autoApprovalEnabled &&
+								hasEnabledOptions &&
+								inputValue.trim().length > 0 &&
+								!showScrollToBottom && (
+									<div className="flex-1 text-xs text-vscode-descriptionForeground opacity-75 text-center">
+										{t("chat:autoApprovePaused")}
+									</div>
+								)}
 							{showScrollToBottom ? (
 								<StandardTooltip content={t("chat:scrollToBottom")}>
 									<VSCodeButton

webview-ui/src/components/chat/__tests__/ChatView.auto-approve.spec.tsx

@@ -671,4 +671,160 @@ describe("ChatView - Auto Approval Tests", () => {
 			askResponse: "yesButtonClicked",
 		})
 	})
+
+	it("does not auto-approve when there is text in the input box", async () => {
+		const { container } = renderChatView()
+
+		// First hydrate state with initial task
+		mockPostMessage({
+			alwaysAllowReadOnly: true,
+			autoApprovalEnabled: true,
+			clineMessages: [
+				{
+					type: "say",
+					say: "task",
+					ts: Date.now() - 2000,
+					text: "Initial task",
+				},
+			],
+		})
+
+		// Simulate typing in the input box
+		const textarea = container.querySelector("textarea")
+		if (textarea) {
+			// Simulate user typing
+			Object.defineProperty(textarea, "value", {
+				writable: true,
+				value: "User is typing something...",
+			})
+			// Trigger input event
+			const inputEvent = new Event("input", { bubbles: true })
+			textarea.dispatchEvent(inputEvent)
+		}
+
+		// Then send the read tool ask message
+		mockPostMessage({
+			alwaysAllowReadOnly: true,
+			autoApprovalEnabled: true,
+			clineMessages: [
+				{
+					type: "say",
+					say: "task",
+					ts: Date.now() - 2000,
+					text: "Initial task",
+				},
+				{
+					type: "ask",
+					ask: "tool",
+					ts: Date.now(),
+					text: JSON.stringify({ tool: "readFile", path: "test.txt" }),
+					partial: false,
+				},
+			],
+		})
+
+		// Wait a short time and verify no auto-approval message was sent
+		await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 200))
+		expect(vscode.postMessage).not.toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+			type: "askResponse",
+			askResponse: "yesButtonClicked",
+		})
+	})
+
+	it("resumes auto-approve when input text is cleared", async () => {
+		const { container } = renderChatView()
+
+		// First hydrate state with initial task
+		mockPostMessage({
+			alwaysAllowReadOnly: true,
+			autoApprovalEnabled: true,
+			clineMessages: [
+				{
+					type: "say",
+					say: "task",
+					ts: Date.now() - 2000,
+					text: "Initial task",
+				},
+			],
+		})
+
+		// Simulate typing in the input box
+		const textarea = container.querySelector("textarea")
+		if (textarea) {
+			// First add text
+			Object.defineProperty(textarea, "value", {
+				writable: true,
+				value: "User is typing...",
+			})
+			const inputEvent = new Event("input", { bubbles: true })
+			textarea.dispatchEvent(inputEvent)
+		}
+
+		// Send a tool ask message while text is present
+		mockPostMessage({
+			alwaysAllowReadOnly: true,
+			autoApprovalEnabled: true,
+			clineMessages: [
+				{
+					type: "say",
+					say: "task",
+					ts: Date.now() - 2000,
+					text: "Initial task",
+				},
+				{
+					type: "ask",
+					ask: "tool",
+					ts: Date.now() - 100,
+					text: JSON.stringify({ tool: "readFile", path: "test1.txt" }),
+					partial: false,
+				},
+			],
+		})
+
+		// Wait and verify no auto-approval
+		await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 100))
+		expect(vscode.postMessage).not.toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+			type: "askResponse",
+			askResponse: "yesButtonClicked",
+		})
+
+		// Now clear the input
+		if (textarea) {
+			Object.defineProperty(textarea, "value", {
+				writable: true,
+				value: "",
+			})
+			const clearEvent = new Event("input", { bubbles: true })
+			textarea.dispatchEvent(clearEvent)
+		}
+
+		// Send another tool ask message after clearing text
+		mockPostMessage({
+			alwaysAllowReadOnly: true,
+			autoApprovalEnabled: true,
+			clineMessages: [
+				{
+					type: "say",
+					say: "task",
+					ts: Date.now() - 2000,
+					text: "Initial task",
+				},
+				{
+					type: "ask",
+					ask: "tool",
+					ts: Date.now(),
+					text: JSON.stringify({ tool: "readFile", path: "test2.txt" }),
+					partial: false,
+				},
+			],
+		})
+
+		// Now it should auto-approve since input is cleared
+		await waitFor(() => {
+			expect(vscode.postMessage).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+				type: "askResponse",
+				askResponse: "yesButtonClicked",
+			})
+		})
+	})
 })

webview-ui/src/i18n/locales/en/chat.json

@@ -272,6 +272,7 @@
 	},
 	"autoApprove": {
 		"tooltipManage": "Manage auto-approval settings",
+		"autoApprovePaused": "Auto-approve paused while typing",
 		"tooltipStatus": "Auto-approval enabled for: {{toggles}}",
 		"title": "Auto-approve",
 		"all": "All",