Input inbox: jump to pending questions and work through the next input

[pjacobr]

Problem

When several threads need my input, I want to work through the requests like a to-do list. Today I can see an Input badge in the sidebar, but opening the thread does not always reveal the question that needs my response. I have to hunt through a long conversation before I can decide what to answer.

I encountered this in the macOS desktop UI on 29 October 2026. The screenshots show the Input badge and the opened thread with no question visible in the current view. The exact app version was not captured, and I have not established the underlying cause.

Proposed workflow

• Clicking a thread's Input badge opens or focuses the unanswered question and its response controls, including when it belongs to an earlier turn.
• An Inputs list shows outstanding questions across threads, with the thread title, a short question preview, and a pending count.
• A Next input action moves to the next unanswered request, including another request in the same thread, so I can work through the list without searching each conversation.
• Answering a request updates the list. If a question is no longer relevant, an explicit dismiss action lets me remove it without submitting an answer.

The smallest useful first step would be a clickable Input badge that reliably reveals the request, followed by Next input navigation. The list is the broader workflow I would like.

Related reports

• [Bug]: Thread shows Input for pending async questions that are not visible in the conversation #25806 describes pending questions that contribute to Input but are not visible or reachable. That report covers the bug symptom; this discussion proposes a way to find and work through outstanding requests.
• Auto-switch to threads that need input (opt-in, for multitasking) #12854 and [Feature]: Opt-in auto-switch to threads that need attention #18001 propose automatic thread switching. Here the user chooses when to open the next request.
• Give user-question exchanges a dedicated Q&A UI outside tool logs #16965 concerns rereading answered question exchanges. This proposal focuses on unanswered requests.

My screenshots contain private project information, so I have kept them out of this public post. No implementation or runtime fix has been tested.

Drafted with Codex in T3 Code on my behalf.