fix(tui): show Ctrl+T exit hint in standard mode

Closes #206

codex-rs/tui/src/app.rs

@@ -941,7 +941,7 @@ impl App<'_> {
                             let _ = self.toggle_screen_mode(terminal);
                             // Propagate mode to widget so it can adapt layout
                             if let AppState::Chat { widget } = &mut self.app_state {
-                                widget.standard_terminal_mode = !self.alt_screen_active;
+                                widget.set_standard_terminal_mode(!self.alt_screen_active);
                             }
                         }
                         KeyEvent {

codex-rs/tui/src/bottom_pane/chat_composer.rs

@@ -119,6 +119,8 @@ pub(crate) struct ChatComposer {
     using_chatgpt_auth: bool,
     // Ephemeral footer notice and its expiry
     footer_notice: Option<(String, std::time::Instant)>,
+    // Persistent hint for specific modes (e.g., standard terminal mode)
+    standard_terminal_hint: Option<String>,
     // Persistent/ephemeral access-mode indicator shown on the left
     access_mode_label: Option<String>,
     access_mode_label_expiry: Option<std::time::Instant>,
@@ -174,6 +176,7 @@ impl ChatComposer {
             animation_running: None,
             using_chatgpt_auth,
             footer_notice: None,
+            standard_terminal_hint: None,
             access_mode_label: None,
             access_mode_label_expiry: None,
             access_mode_hint_expiry: None,
@@ -720,6 +723,10 @@ impl ChatComposer {
         self.set_has_focus(has_focus);
     }
 
+    pub fn set_standard_terminal_hint(&mut self, hint: Option<String>) {
+        self.standard_terminal_hint = hint;
+    }
+
     pub(crate) fn insert_str(&mut self, text: &str) {
         self.textarea.insert_str(text);
         self.typed_anything = true; // Mark that user has interacted via programmatic insertion
@@ -1703,10 +1710,22 @@ impl WidgetRef for ChatComposer {
                     left_spans.push(Span::from(" again to quit").style(label_style));
                 }
 
+                if let Some(hint) = &self.standard_terminal_hint {
+                    if left_spans.len() > 1 {
+                        left_spans.push(Span::from("   "));
+                    }
+                    left_spans.push(
+                        Span::from(hint.clone())
+                            .style(Style::default().fg(crate::colors::warning()).add_modifier(Modifier::BOLD)),
+                    );
+                }
+
                 // Append ephemeral footer notice if present and not expired
                 if let Some((msg, until)) = &self.footer_notice {
                     if std::time::Instant::now() <= *until {
-                        if !self.ctrl_c_quit_hint { left_spans.push(Span::from("   ")); }
+                        if left_spans.len() > 1 {
+                            left_spans.push(Span::from("   "));
+                        }
                         left_spans.push(Span::from(msg.clone()).style(Style::default().add_modifier(Modifier::DIM)));
                     }
                 }

codex-rs/tui/src/bottom_pane/mod.rs

@@ -376,6 +376,11 @@ impl BottomPane<'_> {
         self.request_redraw();
     }
 
+    pub(crate) fn set_standard_terminal_hint(&mut self, hint: Option<String>) {
+        self.composer.set_standard_terminal_hint(hint);
+        self.request_redraw();
+    }
+
     pub(crate) fn show_ctrl_c_quit_hint(&mut self) {
         self.ctrl_c_quit_hint = true;
         self.composer

codex-rs/tui/src/chatwidget.rs

@@ -2213,7 +2213,7 @@ impl ChatWidget<'_> {
         // appears below it. Also insert the Popular commands immediately so users
         // don't wait for MCP initialization to finish.
         let mut w = new_widget;
-        w.standard_terminal_mode = !config.tui.alternate_screen;
+        w.set_standard_terminal_mode(!config.tui.alternate_screen);
         if config.experimental_resume.is_none() {
             w.history_push_top_next_req(history_cell::new_animated_welcome()); // tag: prelude
             let connecting_mcp = !w.config.mcp_servers.is_empty();
@@ -2409,6 +2409,7 @@ impl ChatWidget<'_> {
             synthetic_system_req: None,
             system_cell_by_id: HashMap::new(),
         };
+        w.set_standard_terminal_mode(!config.tui.alternate_screen);
         // Welcome at top of first request for forked session too
         w.history_push_top_next_req(history_cell::new_animated_welcome());
         w
@@ -8536,6 +8537,21 @@ fn update_rate_limit_resets(
         }
     }
 
+    fn refresh_standard_terminal_hint(&mut self) {
+        if self.standard_terminal_mode {
+            let message = "Standard terminal mode active. Press Ctrl+T to return to full UI.";
+            self.bottom_pane
+                .set_standard_terminal_hint(Some(message.to_string()));
+        } else {
+            self.bottom_pane.set_standard_terminal_hint(None);
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub(crate) fn set_standard_terminal_mode(&mut self, enabled: bool) {
+        self.standard_terminal_mode = enabled;
+        self.refresh_standard_terminal_hint();
+    }
+
     pub(crate) fn is_reasoning_shown(&self) -> bool {
         // Check if any reasoning cell exists and if it's expanded
         for cell in &self.history_cells {