Show automation prompts as compact timeline rows by brsbl · Pull Request #4763 · get-bb/bb

brsbl · 2026-10-02T21:15:34Z

Human comments

What was wrong

Automation prompts looked like the user had typed them. Prompts into an existing thread showed as a big user bubble with the raw [bb automation due:<id>] marker, and automation-spawned threads opened with the prompt as a plain user bubble.

What changed

Automation prompts now show as a compact "Automation · 2:08 PM" row with a one-line preview.
Clicking the row expands the full prompt; the marker is never shown.
"Automation" links to that automation's page.
A pending or failed delivery shows "Steer pending" or "Steer failed" on the collapsed row.
Automation-spawned threads now send the same marker, so their first message gets the row too.
No API, contract, stored-data, or protocol changes; older spawned threads keep their plain first message.

How you verified

Remote CI: all checks passed on aab199607c, including new parsing, row, and spawned-prompt tests.
Branch web app, Chrome for Testing, desktop and mobile: the row renders, expands, and links to the automation page.
Not captured: the failed-steer state can't be staged in the dev app; a regression test covers it.

Screenshots

Before: 94d704e71d (merge base) · After: 9bd1bb6e12 (last timeline change) · Captured at 2×

Screen / state	Viewport	Before
Automation message	Desktop · 1440×900
Automation message / expanded	Desktop · 1440×900	No expanded state; the bubble above always shows the whole prompt
Automation message	Mobile · 390×844
Automation message / expanded	Mobile · 390×844	No expanded state; the bubble above shows the prompt behind "Show more"

BB-Thread-ID: thr_fqru8755b7

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

AGENT GENERATED

Automation re-prompts arrive as user messages prefixed with [bb automation due:<id>]. Render them through the existing generated-message row: Repeat icon, "Automation" title, one-line preview, full prompt on expand, without the raw marker. No contract or API changes. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

chatgpt-codex-connector · 2026-10-02T21:15:43Z

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Review	Status	Commit	Review trigger
📝 Code Review	✅ Completed 2026-10-02T21:20:38.219076Z	`f71f868`	PR opened

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Reviewed commit: f71f8689de

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chatgpt-codex-connector · 2026-10-02T21:20:35Z

+  const automationBodyOffset =
+    initiator === "user" ? automationDueBodyOffset(text) : null;


Require trusted provenance before labeling an Automation

Any ordinary user message can begin with [bb automation due:anything], and this condition then relabels it as an Automation, hides the marker, and removes the normal user-message actions. Because initiator === "user" also describes messages typed through the composer and no server-supplied automation provenance is checked, user-authored content can be accidentally or deliberately presented as an automation; carry a trusted origin discriminator on the timeline row instead of inferring authorship solely from message text.

Useful? React with 👍 / 👎.

Agreed that the row is chosen from the message text, not from server provenance. Labeling it doesn't expose anything new, though:

Every sender that can produce an initiator: "user" message (the composer, CLI/SDK threads.send, plugins) can already put any text in a user bubble under the user's own name, which is the more trusted label.

Relabeling it "Automation" gives the sender no extra permissions or agent input, and the full prompt is one click away.

Agent and system messages are routed before this check, so they can't reach the automation branch.

A trusted origin field on the turn would need a new send/timeline contract, which is out of scope for this display-only PR. Leaving this as a follow-up.

AGENT GENERATED

chatgpt-codex-connector · 2026-10-02T21:20:35Z

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+const AUTOMATION_DUE_PREFIX_PATTERN = /^\[bb automation due:[^\]\s]+\]\s*/u;


Preserve whitespace belonging to the automation prompt

When a configured prompt starts with blank lines or indentation, the trailing \s* consumes that prompt whitespace along with the marker separator. For example, a prompt beginning with four spaces to form a Markdown code block loses those spaces before rendering, so the expanded row no longer shows the full prompt and can change its Markdown meaning; match only the delimiter inserted by renderAutomationDueMessage rather than arbitrary whitespace from the body.

Useful? React with 👍 / 👎.

Valid edge case, but it isn't limited to the pattern. The compact row (GeneratedConversationMessage) also calls text.trim() on every body it renders, agent and system messages included. Tightening the pattern to match only the \n\n delimiter wouldn't keep a prompt's leading indentation on its own.

Prompts that start with indented Markdown are rare, so I'm recording this as a follow-up rather than changing the shared row in this PR.

AGENT GENERATED

Automation re-prompts are sent with steer-if-active. When that steer is pending or rejected, the old user bubble showed Steer pending/failed; the compact row only showed it after expanding. Put the label in the row title instead so a failed delivery stays visible. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

The marker already carries the automation id and the thread knows its project, so the Automation title links to the existing automation detail route. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

A one-line automation prompt with the label in the title has nothing to expand, so its header is not a button. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Show "Automation · 2:08 PM": the link underlines only on hover and the send time uses the subtle tone, without a clock icon. Render it in the row instead of extending the shared timeline title link type. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Spawned runs now send the same [bb automation due:<id>] marker as re-prompts, so their first message renders as the automation row too. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

## Human comments ## What was wrong Automation runs were stored and displayed as user messages. The compact row from #4763 still exposed the prompt and coupled automation presentation to core. ## What changed - Automations render their own named timeline markers with time, status, View prompt, and Retry after failure. - Generic experimental SDK APIs attach markers to hidden turns and let the owning plugin read or update them. - Markers follow their exact turn through queuing, cold starts, completion, failure, and cancellation. - Existing #4763 chips retain their rendering. Additive database fields preserve existing records; daemon protocols are unchanged. - SDK 0.6.17, Plugin Guide, automation CLI retry, and discoverable automation guidance document the new behavior. ## How you verified - [Remote CI](https://github.com/get-bb/bb/actions/runs/37170978766) passed on `bab5dc5db6`: 26 jobs succeeded, including Linux/Windows tests, type checks, and package smoke checks. - Chrome for Testing 151.0.7922.71: success, prompt disclosure, failed turn, Retry, reload, and desktop/mobile layouts passed at 2×. - Retry created a distinct hidden turn in the same thread; the timeline contained zero user-message rows. - One architectural/implementation review identified five P1 issues; targeted fixes and regression checks resolved them. The checkout lacks `scripts/bb-dev-app`; evidence uses its exact app/server/daemon development services with isolated data and browser profile. Before: `c201f6490a` · After: `bab5dc5db6` · 2× pixel density. | State | Viewport | Before | After | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Success | 1440×900 | ![Before success](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/716fa92f-2409-4bad-9f31-6c71171ad18f) | ![After success](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/9c9dbc2e-6b07-4b24-b1d0-e2465db8d620) | | View prompt | 1440×900 | ![Before prompt always visible](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/716fa92f-2409-4bad-9f31-6c71171ad18f) | ![After View prompt](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/5252793f-d4fc-4ba8-ae8f-5492bed1aecd) | | Failure with Retry | 1440×900 | ![Before failure](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/02f3f223-8b22-4377-a779-2b45c164ab85) | ![After failure with Retry](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/4c06aced-6e80-46b3-90a5-4ea76d40343e) | | Success and failure | 390×844 | ![Before mobile](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/de16923c-5180-4ebb-8f7e-47ef5ab9f1dc) | ![After mobile](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/5eca2dec-41d8-499f-bc17-3586cca023b9) | | View prompt | 390×844 | ![Before mobile prompt always visible](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/de16923c-5180-4ebb-8f7e-47ef5ab9f1dc) | ![After mobile View prompt](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/82358fc9-e8cb-4069-a969-9012173f6f6b) | <details> <summary>Review follow-ups</summary> Deferred P2 findings: thread forks do not yet copy plugin markers; a successful run can inherit an inaccurate error string from the legacy settlement fallback. These remain follow-up work under the review scope policy. </details> User QA is pending. This PR does not migrate Action Cards or Digests. BB-Thread-ID: thr_h9xm8rfpbh > AGENT GENERATED

Absorbed by desktop-v0.46.0: - fix/acp-permission-mode: upstream get-bb#4922 - fix/sidebar-touch-hover-actions: upstream get-bb#5097 - feature/sidebar-pinned-new-thread: upstream get-bb#5229 nav rail layout - feature/automation-auto-marker: upstream Automation timeline row (get-bb#4763) - fix/mobile-composer-top-clearance: upstream get-bb#5026 - fix/mobile-model-drawer: upstream 8a01b97 Dropped: fix/acp-fast-mode, fix/acp-codex-goal (ACP Codex no longer used); fix/mobile-model-picker folded into fix/provider-icon-hitbox. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

chatgpt-codex-connector Bot reviewed Oct 2, 2026

View reviewed changes

brsbl and others added 2 commits October 2, 2026 14:22

Keep the source title memo intact

df1ef5b

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

brsbl changed the title ~~Show automation prompts as compact timeline rows~~ Show automation re-prompts as compact timeline rows Oct 2, 2026

brsbl and others added 5 commits October 2, 2026 14:44

Link the automation row to its automation page

b188890

The marker already carries the automation id and the thread knows its project, so the Automation title links to the existing automation detail route. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Show when the automation message was sent

db9ad00

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Check the failed-steer label by its visible text

9e272c5

A one-line automation prompt with the label in the title has nothing to expand, so its header is not a button. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Mark the first prompt of automation-spawned threads

aab1996

Spawned runs now send the same [bb automation due:<id>] marker as re-prompts, so their first message renders as the automation row too. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

brsbl changed the title ~~Show automation re-prompts as compact timeline rows~~ Show automation prompts as compact timeline rows Oct 2, 2026

brsbl merged commit 4ee8964 into main Oct 3, 2026
27 checks passed

brsbl deleted the bb/automation-run-chips-in-timeline-thr_tu2gp5848g branch October 3, 2026 00:04

brsbl mentioned this pull request Oct 4, 2026

Render automation runs as plugin timeline events #4835

Merged

brzvsk mentioned this pull request Oct 15, 2026

Show automations targeting a thread in its Info panel #5554

Closed

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Show automation prompts as compact timeline rows - #4763

Show automation prompts as compact timeline rows#4763
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		const automationBodyOffset =
		initiator === "user" ? automationDueBodyOffset(text) : null;

		@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
		const AUTOMATION_DUE_PREFIX_PATTERN = /^\[bb automation due:[^\]\s]+\]\s*/u;

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