fix(config): Add config toggle for working messages (#464)

## Summary
- Add tui.custom_working_messages config, defaulting to true, with TOML
parsing in core and ACP config loaders.
- Add a /config toggle that persists the setting and updates the active
status indicator.
- Use plain Working status text when custom working messages are
disabled, and document the setting.

## Test Plan
- cargo test -p codex-core --lib tui_config_custom_working_messages
- cargo test -p nori-acp test_nori_config --lib
- cargo test -p nori-tui custom_working_messages --lib
- cargo clippy -p codex-core -p nori-acp -p nori-tui --lib --all-targets
- cargo build --bin nori
- cargo build -p mock-acp-agent
- cargo test -p tui-pty-e2e
- cargo fmt
- git diff --check

Co-authored-by: Cliff <clifford@tilework.tech>
Co-authored-by: Clifford Ressel <CSRessel@gmail.com>

Author: nori-sessions[bot]

nori-rs/acp/docs.md

@@ -163,6 +163,10 @@ Three config enums control notification behavior, all stored in the `[tui]` sect
 
 The `AcpBackendConfig` struct carries both `os_notifications` and `notify_after_idle` so the backend can configure the `UserNotifier` and the idle timer respectively. Terminal notifications flow separately through `codex-core`'s `Config::tui_notifications` bool to the TUI's `ChatWidget::notify()` method.
 
+**TUI Display Configuration** (`config/types/mod.rs`):
+
+The `[tui]` section also owns display-only preferences consumed by `@/nori-rs/tui/`. `custom_working_messages` defaults to `true`; setting it to `false` disables the rotating whimsical status header list and lets the TUI use a plain "Working" label while a task starts. This value is resolved onto `NoriConfig` in `loader.rs`, mirrored through `codex-core`'s config, and can be changed from the `/config` menu.
+
 
 **Hotkey Configuration** (`config/types/mod.rs`):
 

nori-rs/acp/src/config/loader.rs

@@ -168,6 +168,7 @@ impl NoriConfig {
             skillset_per_session,
             file_manager: toml.tui.file_manager,
             pinned_plan_drawer: toml.tui.pinned_plan_drawer.unwrap_or(false),
+            custom_working_messages: toml.tui.custom_working_messages.unwrap_or(true),
             auto_worktree,
             footer_segment_config: super::types::FooterSegmentConfig::from_toml(
                 &toml.tui.footer_segments,

nori-rs/acp/src/config/mod.rs

@@ -125,6 +125,7 @@ animations = false
 terminal_notifications = "disabled"
 os_notifications = "disabled"
 vertical_footer = true
+custom_working_messages = false
 "#;
         let config: NoriConfigToml = toml::from_str(toml_str).unwrap();
 
@@ -141,6 +142,7 @@ vertical_footer = true
         );
         assert_eq!(config.tui.os_notifications, Some(OsNotifications::Disabled));
         assert_eq!(config.tui.vertical_footer, Some(true));
+        assert_eq!(config.tui.custom_working_messages, Some(false));
     }
 
     #[test]
@@ -156,6 +158,7 @@ model = "gemini"
 [tui]
 animations = false
 vertical_footer = true
+custom_working_messages = false
 "#,
         )
         .unwrap();
@@ -170,6 +173,7 @@ vertical_footer = true
         ); // default
         assert_eq!(config.os_notifications, OsNotifications::Enabled); // default
         assert!(config.vertical_footer);
+        assert!(!config.custom_working_messages);
     }
 
     #[test]

nori-rs/acp/src/config/types/mod.rs

@@ -1385,6 +1385,9 @@ pub struct TuiConfigToml {
 
     /// Pin plan updates to a drawer in the viewport instead of history cells.
     pub pinned_plan_drawer: Option<bool>,
+
+    /// Show rotating custom messages while the agent is working.
+    pub custom_working_messages: Option<bool>,
 }
 
 /// Resolved TUI configuration
@@ -1561,6 +1564,9 @@ pub struct NoriConfig {
     /// Pin plan updates to a drawer in the viewport instead of history cells.
     pub pinned_plan_drawer: bool,
 
+    /// Show rotating custom messages while the agent is working.
+    pub custom_working_messages: bool,
+
     /// Footer segment visibility configuration.
     pub footer_segment_config: FooterSegmentConfig,
 
@@ -1653,6 +1659,7 @@ impl Default for NoriConfig {
             skillset_per_session: false,
             file_manager: None,
             pinned_plan_drawer: false,
+            custom_working_messages: true,
             footer_segment_config: FooterSegmentConfig::default(),
             nori_home: PathBuf::from(".nori/cli"),
             cwd: std::env::current_dir().unwrap_or_default(),

nori-rs/core/docs.md

@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ Notification modes:
 1. **Native notifications** (`use_native: true`): Uses `notify-rust` for desktop notifications. All calls to `send_native()` are non-blocking -- they spawn a background thread to call `notif.show()`, because some platforms (notably macOS) block synchronously on that call. On X11 Linux, the spawned thread also handles click-to-focus via `wmctrl` or `xdotool`. The `use_native` flag is controlled by `OsNotifications` in the ACP config layer (`@/nori-rs/acp/src/config/types.rs`).
 2. **External script** (`notify_command` configured): Invokes user-specified command with JSON payload.
 
-Core's `Config::tui_notifications` is a simple `bool` that controls whether the TUI sends OSC 9 terminal escape sequence notifications. It derives its value from the ACP config's `TerminalNotifications` enum during config loading.
+Core's `Config::tui_notifications` is a simple `bool` that controls whether the TUI sends OSC 9 terminal escape sequence notifications. It derives its value from the ACP config's `TerminalNotifications` enum during config loading. Core also carries TUI display booleans such as `animations` and `custom_working_messages`; the latter mirrors `[tui].custom_working_messages` from Nori config so the TUI can choose between rotating custom working headers and the plain `Working` label without re-reading config.
 
 ### Things to Know
 

nori-rs/core/src/config/mod.rs

@@ -154,6 +154,9 @@ pub struct Config {
     /// Enable ASCII animations and shimmer effects in the TUI.
     pub animations: bool,
 
+    /// Show rotating custom messages while the agent is working.
+    pub custom_working_messages: bool,
+
     /// The directory that should be treated as the current working directory
     /// for the session. All relative paths inside the business-logic layer are
     /// resolved against this path.
@@ -1261,6 +1264,11 @@ impl Config {
                 .map(|t| t.terminal_notifications)
                 .unwrap_or(true),
             animations: cfg.tui.as_ref().map(|t| t.animations).unwrap_or(true),
+            custom_working_messages: cfg
+                .tui
+                .as_ref()
+                .map(|t| t.custom_working_messages)
+                .unwrap_or(true),
             otel: {
                 let t: OtelConfigToml = cfg.otel.unwrap_or_default();
                 let log_user_prompt = t.log_user_prompt.unwrap_or(false);

nori-rs/core/src/config/tests/part1.rs

@@ -46,6 +46,33 @@ fn tui_config_missing_terminal_notifications_field_defaults_to_true() {
     assert!(tui.terminal_notifications);
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn tui_config_custom_working_messages_defaults_to_true() {
+    let cfg = r#"
+[tui]
+"#;
+
+    let parsed = toml::from_str::<ConfigToml>(cfg)
+        .expect("TUI config without custom_working_messages should succeed");
+    let tui = parsed.tui.expect("config should include tui section");
+
+    assert!(tui.custom_working_messages);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn tui_config_custom_working_messages_can_be_disabled() {
+    let cfg = r#"
+[tui]
+custom_working_messages = false
+"#;
+
+    let parsed = toml::from_str::<ConfigToml>(cfg)
+        .expect("TUI config with custom_working_messages disabled should succeed");
+    let tui = parsed.tui.expect("config should include tui section");
+
+    assert!(!tui.custom_working_messages);
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn test_sandbox_config_parsing() {
     let sandbox_full_access = r#"

nori-rs/core/src/config/tests/part3.rs

@@ -547,6 +547,7 @@ fn test_precedence_fixture_with_o3_profile() -> std::io::Result<()> {
             disable_paste_burst: false,
             tui_notifications: true,
             animations: true,
+            custom_working_messages: true,
             otel: OtelConfig::default(),
             acp_allow_http_fallback: false,
         },
@@ -620,6 +621,7 @@ fn test_precedence_fixture_with_gpt3_profile() -> std::io::Result<()> {
         disable_paste_burst: false,
         tui_notifications: true,
         animations: true,
+        custom_working_messages: true,
         otel: OtelConfig::default(),
         acp_allow_http_fallback: false,
     };

nori-rs/core/src/config/tests/part4.rs

@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ fn test_precedence_fixture_with_zdr_profile() -> std::io::Result<()> {
         disable_paste_burst: false,
         tui_notifications: true,
         animations: true,
+        custom_working_messages: true,
         otel: OtelConfig::default(),
         acp_allow_http_fallback: false,
     };
@@ -140,6 +141,7 @@ fn test_precedence_fixture_with_gpt5_profile() -> std::io::Result<()> {
         disable_paste_burst: false,
         tui_notifications: true,
         animations: true,
+        custom_working_messages: true,
         otel: OtelConfig::default(),
         acp_allow_http_fallback: false,
     };

nori-rs/core/src/config/types.rs

@@ -370,6 +370,11 @@ pub struct Tui {
     /// Defaults to `true`.
     #[serde(default = "default_true")]
     pub animations: bool,
+
+    /// Show rotating custom messages while the agent is working.
+    /// Defaults to `true`.
+    #[serde(default = "default_true")]
+    pub custom_working_messages: bool,
 }
 
 const fn default_true() -> bool {