feat: Blend educative tips with witty phrases during loading times (fun, subtle learning...) by JayadityaGit · Pull Request #10569 · google-gemini/gemini-cli

JayadityaGit · 2025-10-05T21:11:32Z

TL;DR

This PR replaces the existing loading-screen witty messages with an updated set that is both clever and genuinely informative. The new messages surface useful tips about commands, keyboard shortcuts, and settings—while noting whether a setting is configurable via the UI or only through settings.json.

Purpose

The goal is to make the CLI experience more engaging and helpful during load times. Instead of filler text, users now see short, fun messages that teach them something useful about the tool.

These improvements aim to:

Encourage feature discovery
Improve usability
Maintain a playful tone without sacrificing clarity

What's Included

The updated messages cover:

Commands
Keyboard shortcuts
Settings (visible and hidden)

For clarity:

Settings only configurable via settings.json now include a (settings.json) suffix
Settings available through the UI include a (/settings) suffix

✅ Testing Matrix

┌──────────┬────┬────┬────┐
│          │ 🍏 │ 🪟 │ 🐧 │
├──────────┼────┼────┼────┤
│ npm run  │ ❓ │ ❓ │ ✅ │
│ npx      │ ❓ │ ❓ │ ❓ │
│ Docker   │ ❓ │ ❓ │ ❓ │
│ Podman   │ -  │ -  │ -  │
│ Seatbelt │ ❓ │ -  │ -  │
└──────────┴────┴────┴────┘

🔗 Linked Issue

Resolves #10568

gemini-code-assist · 2025-10-05T21:11:44Z

Summary of Changes

Hello @JayadityaGit, I'm Gemini Code Assist¹! I'm currently reviewing this pull request and will post my feedback shortly. In the meantime, here's a summary to help you and other reviewers quickly get up to speed!

This pull request significantly upgrades the user experience during application loading by transforming generic witty messages into informative tips. The new messages guide users through various commands, keyboard shortcuts, and settings, clearly distinguishing between UI-configurable and settings.json-only options. This change is designed to boost feature discovery and usability, making the loading screen a valuable learning tool rather than just a placeholder.

Highlights

Enhanced Loading Messages: Replaced generic witty loading messages with an updated set that is both clever and genuinely informative, aiming to make load times more engaging and helpful.
Feature Discovery: New messages now surface useful tips about various commands, keyboard shortcuts, and settings, encouraging users to discover and utilize more features of the tool.
Setting Configurability Clarity: Messages related to settings explicitly indicate whether they are configurable via the UI (marked with (settings)) or only through settings.json (marked with (settings.json)).
Improved User Experience: The update aims to boost usability and maintain a playful tone by transforming the loading screen into a valuable source of actionable information.

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Code Review

This pull request is a great improvement, replacing generic loading messages with genuinely useful tips about the CLI's features. The new messages will definitely help users discover commands, shortcuts, and settings.

My review focuses on a couple of areas to enhance the clarity and consistency of these new messages. I've identified some minor formatting inconsistencies and a more critical issue with ambiguous setting names that could confuse users. Addressing these points will make this feature even more polished and helpful.

gemini-code-assist · 2025-10-05T21:12:58Z

packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/usePhraseCycler.ts

The setting keys allowed and excluded are ambiguous here, as they also exist under the mcp configuration (lines 121-122). Displaying only the leaf key could cause users to edit the wrong setting in settings.json, which is a critical issue.

To be 'genuinely informative' as the PR description states, I recommend using the full setting path (e.g., tools.allowed) to remove ambiguity. This principle should also be applied to the mcp settings and other nested settings in this list that have non-unique leaf names.

Here's a suggestion to improve clarity for the tools settings:

Suggested change

'You shall pass! `allowed` (settings.json)',

'You shall not pass! `exclude` (settings.json)',

'You shall pass! Let your favorite tools run with `tools.allowed` (settings.json).',

'You shall not pass! Block unwanted tools with `tools.exclude` (settings.json).',

gemini-code-assist · 2025-10-05T21:12:58Z

packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/usePhraseCycler.ts

Similar to my comment on the tools settings, the keys allowed and excluded are ambiguous here. Using the full setting path mcp.allowed and mcp.excluded would prevent any confusion for the user when editing their settings.json file.

Suggested change

'Allow your favorite MCPs. `allowed` (settings.json)',

"Exclude the MCPs you don't like. `excluded` (settings.json)",

'Allow your favorite MCPs. `mcp.allowed` (settings.json)',

"Exclude the MCPs you don't like. `mcp.excluded` (settings.json)",

gemini-code-assist · 2025-10-05T21:12:58Z

packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/usePhraseCycler.ts

These two messages are missing backticks around the commands and trailing punctuation, which is inconsistent with most other messages in this list. For better consistency and readability, I suggest adding backticks and a period at the end.

Suggested change

'Your secrets are safe with us. `/privacy`',

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out. `/quit`",

'Your secrets are safe with us. `/privacy`.',

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out. `/quit`.",

psinha40898 · 2025-10-05T21:50:20Z

packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/usePhraseCycler.ts

Did we forget the "(settings)" suffix for many UI configurable settings or have I misunderstood intent?

yeah i missed it, thanks for pointing out !

psinha40898 · 2025-10-05T21:53:56Z

packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/usePhraseCycler.ts

Maybe /settings instead of (settings)?

thanks will use the slash command, i think that's better.

jacob314 · 2025-10-08T20:20:05Z

packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/usePhraseCycler.ts

nit: Squash --> Report

jacob314 · 2025-10-08T20:20:40Z

packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/usePhraseCycler.ts

to keep the style consistent I would end all of these with ...

Thanks for the suggestion !

jacob314 · 2025-10-08T20:21:51Z

I'd suggest we enable this as a setting rather than the default. In addition, would be ideal if we interleaved the useful with funny settings when the option is enabled. That would align with how we already show a tip about ctrl-J

JayadityaGit · 2025-10-09T06:59:30Z

Hey @jacob314,

I believe that many users — myself included — may not be fully aware of all the useful features available(I really can't decide which are important). Of course, the importance of certain features can vary from person to person, but sometimes users might simply miss out on functionalities that could actually enhance their UNIQUE workflow. That’s the main motivation behind this PR.

Since we already have an option to disable loading phrases, I don’t see a strong reason to introduce an additional setting just for this. If a user prefers fully personalized witty phrases, they can always opt for the custom witty feature.

What I’ve done here is extract about 50% of the original witty phrases and blend them with a new set that’s both educative and witty. I feel this strikes a nice balance — keeping the humor while also subtly teaching or sharing something useful in a lighthearted way.

JayadityaGit · 2025-10-09T08:13:56Z

I'd suggest we enable this as a setting rather than the default. In addition, would be ideal if we interleaved the useful with funny settings when the option is enabled. That would align with how we already show a tip about ctrl-J

I personally feel that if this is placed within the settings, there’s a chance it could be missed by users, which might lessen the impact of the intended change.

jacob314 · 2025-10-09T14:08:43Z

packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/usePhraseCycler.ts

fix cases with four dots and cleanup cases that now have ! and ...

jacob314 · 2025-10-09T14:10:08Z

packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/usePhraseCycler.ts

ops — thank you so much for clarifying, @jacob314!

jacob314 · 2025-10-09T14:13:20Z

Even if we eventually make this the default we will need to have it be a setting so users who already feel they are familiar with the CLI can go back to the witty phrases.

If you make the logic slightly more complex so you get a maybe 5-1 ratio of funny phrases to tips we could roll it out as the default.
You could keep the lists separate and pick a random # each turn with a 5 out of 6 chance you pick a whitty phrase and a 1/6 chance you pick from the list of tips. If that works well we could increase the ratio over time. Would want to slowly increase it to make sure people aren't frustrated the whitty phrases got a lot less whitty.
Other option is you could start by picking the 10 best tips from your list of tips and add those to the normal list.

Introduces a new system to display informative tips to users during loading states. The phrase cycler logic has been updated to show a tip with a 1-in-6 probability, mixing educational content with the existing witty phrases. The new `INFORMATIVE_TIPS` array is populated with comprehensive tips covering: - All application settings, with suffixes indicating where they can be configured (`/settings` or `settings.json`). - A complete list of keyboard shortcuts. - A full list of all available slash commands. Additionally, this commit includes fixes for the `usePhraseCycler.test.ts` and `useLoadingIndicator.test.ts` test suites, which were updated to handle the new non-deterministic nature of the phrase cycler by adding appropriate mocks.

JayadityaGit · 2025-10-09T16:20:52Z

Even if we eventually make this the default we will need to have it be a setting so users who already feel they are familiar with the CLI can go back to the witty phrases.

If you make the logic slightly more complex so you get a maybe 5-1 ratio of funny phrases to tips we could roll it out as the default. You could keep the lists separate and pick a random # each turn with a 5 out of 6 chance you pick a whitty phrase and a 1/6 chance you pick from the list of tips. If that works well we could increase the ratio over time. Would want to slowly increase it to make sure people aren't frustrated the whitty phrases got a lot less whitty. Other option is you could start by picking the 10 best tips from your list of tips and add those to the normal list.

@jacob314 absolutely brilliant suggestion — thank you so much for the clear and thoughtful guidance!

JayadityaGit · 2025-10-09T16:26:02Z

The npm preflight checks are all passing. I’ve personally tested it, and the 1–6 probability for the educative tips is working as expected. Since the probability is quite low and I wanted the tips to stand out, I chose not to make them witty.

jacob314

Love it! We may need to tweak some of the informative phrases to be a little shorter. I played with it for a bit and had a bit of trouble reading some of them before the phrase changed... but I was entering fairly trivial prompts so users may be less impacted.

jacob314 · 2025-10-10T23:26:38Z

packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/usePhraseCycler.ts

nit: not really faster. more just cleaner.

jacob314 · 2025-10-10T23:27:14Z

packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/usePhraseCycler.ts

this is on by default so remove the tip

jacob314 · 2025-10-10T23:28:31Z

packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/usePhraseCycler.ts

have these point to /settings wherever possible rather than settings.json. IDE integration is in settings for example.

jacob314 · 2025-10-10T23:29:40Z

packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/usePhraseCycler.ts

this should be /directory not settings.json

JayadityaGit · 2025-10-11T08:51:13Z

@jacob314

Today I came across a small issue in the settings dialog — there wasn’t a clear visual cue for closing it. Initially, I was closing the CLI with ctrl+c, but later realized that esc works to close the settings dialog. I’ve added that clarification.

Note: Some tests are currently failing. The snapshot tests in SettingsDialog.test.tsx need to be updated to match the new help text. There are also some unrelated test failures in InputPrompt.test.tsx and mcp-client.test.ts.

JayadityaGit · 2025-10-11T09:35:09Z

And since I’m participating in Hacktoberfest, if possible, could you please add the hacktoberfest-accepted label to this PR? It would genuinely motivate me to contribute even more to the open-source community. Thank you so much.

JayadityaGit · 2025-10-13T06:46:14Z

@jacob314 I’ve updated the snapshot test, and the preflight checks are now passing. Thank you for adding the label — I truly appreciate it!

JayadityaGit · 2025-10-14T14:36:11Z

@jacob314, is there anything else I should do on this?

jacob314 · 2025-10-16T15:40:02Z

packages/cli/src/ui/components/SettingsDialog.tsx

why is this change in this pr?

jacob314 · 2025-10-16T15:40:19Z

packages/cli/src/ui/components/SettingsDialog.test.tsx

why is this change in this PR?

jacob314

Seems like a settings dialog change accidentally got in this PR. please revert and I will land.

jacob314

… during loading times (fun, subtle learning...) (google-gemini#10569)

…un, subtle learning...) (google-gemini#10569) Co-authored-by: Jacob Richman <jacob314@gmail.com>

JayadityaGit requested a review from a team as a code owner October 5, 2025 21:11

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JayadityaGit changed the title ~~feat: add witty messages for commands, shortcuts, and settings~~ feat: rephrase witty messages for commands, shortcuts, and settings Oct 6, 2025

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JayadityaGit marked this pull request as draft October 9, 2025 06:22

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JayadityaGit force-pushed the feat/witty-messages branch from bde6909 to b5e8dab Compare October 9, 2025 16:18

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Merge branch 'main' into feat/witty-messages

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Added missed settings, and tried shortening existing one's

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JayadityaGit requested a review from jacob314 October 10, 2025 04:39

JayadityaGit changed the title ~~feat: rephrase witty messages for commands, shortcuts, and settings~~ feat: Blend educative tips with witty phrases during loading times (fun, subtle learning...) Oct 10, 2025

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Merge branch 'main' into feat/witty-messages

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Merge branch 'main' into feat/witty-messages

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Merge branch 'main' into feat/witty-messages

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Merge branch 'main' into feat/witty-messages

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why is this change in this pr?

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why is this change in this PR?

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Merge branch 'google-gemini:main' into feat/witty-messages

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Merged via the queue into google-gemini:main with commit 155242a Oct 16, 2025
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thacio added a commit to thacio/auditaria that referenced this pull request Oct 17, 2025

Merge Commit '155242a': feat: Blend educative tips with witty phrases…

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… during loading times (fun, subtle learning...) (google-gemini#10569)

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feat: Blend educative tips with witty phrases during loading times (f…

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…un, subtle learning...) (google-gemini#10569) Co-authored-by: Jacob Richman <jacob314@gmail.com>

JayadityaGit deleted the feat/witty-messages branch December 17, 2025 05:02

-  'You shall pass! `allowed` (settings.json)',
-  'You shall not pass! `exclude` (settings.json)',
+  'You shall pass! Let your favorite tools run with `tools.allowed` (settings.json).',
+  'You shall not pass! Block unwanted tools with `tools.exclude` (settings.json).',

-  'Allow your favorite MCPs. `allowed` (settings.json)',
-  "Exclude the MCPs you don't like. `excluded` (settings.json)",
+  'Allow your favorite MCPs. `mcp.allowed` (settings.json)',
+  "Exclude the MCPs you don't like. `mcp.excluded` (settings.json)",

-  'Your secrets are safe with us. `/privacy`',
-  "Don't let the door hit you on the way out. `/quit`",
+  'Your secrets are safe with us. `/privacy`.',
+  "Don't let the door hit you on the way out. `/quit`.",

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TL;DR

Purpose

What's Included

✅ Testing Matrix

🔗 Linked Issue

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