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[Feature]: Allow /rename while a turn is running #427
Description
Product or interface
CLI - interactive TUI
Use case and problem
Right now, /rename [title] is blocked while a turn is running:
Stop the running turn before using /rename [title].
That creates unnecessary friction.
A user may suddenly think of the perfect session name while MCode is still doing important work. They should not have to:
wait for the whole task to finish
OR
stop an important running task
just to rename the session.
The rename is only session metadata and should not need to interrupt execution.
BEFORE
running task
↓
user gets a good title idea
↓
/rename blocked ❌
↓
wait for task to finish
↓
rename later / possibly forget
AFTER
running task ───────────────→ keeps running
│
└→ /rename "new title"
↓
title changes ✅
No interruption.
No lost work.
No waiting.
Desired behavior
Allow /rename [title] at any time, including while a turn, tool call, background task, or subagent is running.
Requirements:
- Rename only the session title/metadata.
- Do not stop, restart, pause, steer, or alter the active turn.
- Do not change model context.
- Do not affect queued messages or background work.
- Update the TUI title immediately.
- Persist the new title normally.
- If a rename happens during execution, it should be completely independent from the running task.
Simple rule:
execution state ≠ session title state
So:
running turn + /rename
→ rename metadata only
→ task continues untouched
Platform
Linux
Alternatives and additional context
Current workaround:
wait until task finishes
→ rename
or
stop task
→ rename
→ lose/interfere with ongoing work
Neither is necessary for a metadata-only operation.
This should be a small UX improvement, but it matters because session naming often happens when the user suddenly gets a clearer idea of what the session has become.
The waiting itself can break that flow or make the user forget the title.
Core goal:
/rename should behave like harmless metadata editing, not like a runtime operation.
Activity
hetaoBackend commentedon Oct 13, 2026
Thanks for the report — this is accepted as a feature request, and the
/renamerestriction while a turn is running is confirmed as current behavior.Triage action: moved out of
needs-triageand labelledenhancement+tui. It is in the candidate pool for agood first issuetask once the change is scoped.What we need from you to scope it (please reply with these three points):
/renamewhile a turn is running only rename the session title, or should it also be allowed to change the turn's working title in the transcript?/renameto be rejected even while a turn is running (for example, during an active tool call)?We will reply within 48 hours. Note that contribution policy is moving from invitation-only to application-based; if you want to implement this yourself, a fork PR does not require collaborator access — open an issue describing the scope first so we can confirm it is not already being worked on.
joshua-zyy commentedon Oct 14, 2026
Claiming this one if nobody has it — I have a local implementation and can answer your three scoping questions from the code:
cliService.updateSession({id, title})) and nothing else.SIDE_MODE_COMMANDS) and "no current session".The patch keeps the three gates consistent, so the command does not become clickable-but-throwing:
commands/catalog.ts(droprunAvailability: 'idle'for/renameonly),controller/chat-controller.ts(dropassertNoActiveTurn('renaming a session'); archive/restore keeps its own),controller/product/feature-flow.ts(onRenameno longer takes the live-navigation rejection;/sessions,/newand archive keep theirs).One behavior change worth your review:
updateState()clearederrorunconditionally, so a mid-turn rename dropped the failure banner the running turn was showing — and/retryreads that same error to offer a resend. It now clears only when no in-process run is active.Verified locally:
tui-chat-controller,commands/catalog,command-flow,feature-flow,tui-keybindings,session-manager→ 195 passed;tsc -p tsconfig.standalone.jsonclean. Not verified: Linux/macOS and a manual TUI session against a live model.Also worth knowing before this is picked up: while a turn is stopping (
cancelling/retiringTurnId/runtimeStopping),isAvailableWhileStoppingadmits only help/quit/stop, so/renameis refused there. I read "while a turn is running" as the normal-running case and left that window alone — say the word if you want it opened too.