feat(cli): add global setting to disable UI spinners (#17234)

Co-authored-by: gemini-code-assist[bot] <176961590+gemini-code-assist[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

docs/cli/settings.md

@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ they appear in the UI.
 | Use Alternate Screen Buffer    | `ui.useAlternateBuffer`                 | Use an alternate screen buffer for the UI, preserving shell history.                                                                                              | `false` |
 | Use Background Color           | `ui.useBackgroundColor`                 | Whether to use background colors in the UI.                                                                                                                       | `true`  |
 | Incremental Rendering          | `ui.incrementalRendering`               | Enable incremental rendering for the UI. This option will reduce flickering but may cause rendering artifacts. Only supported when useAlternateBuffer is enabled. | `true`  |
+| Show Spinner                   | `ui.showSpinner`                        | Show the spinner during operations.                                                                                                                               | `true`  |
 | Enable Loading Phrases         | `ui.accessibility.enableLoadingPhrases` | Enable loading phrases during operations.                                                                                                                         | `true`  |
 | Screen Reader Mode             | `ui.accessibility.screenReader`         | Render output in plain-text to be more screen reader accessible                                                                                                   | `false` |
 

docs/get-started/configuration.md

@@ -261,6 +261,10 @@ their corresponding top-level category object in your `settings.json` file.
   - **Default:** `true`
   - **Requires restart:** Yes
 
+- **`ui.showSpinner`** (boolean):
+  - **Description:** Show the spinner during operations.
+  - **Default:** `true`
+
 - **`ui.customWittyPhrases`** (array):
   - **Description:** Custom witty phrases to display during loading. When
     provided, the CLI cycles through these instead of the defaults.

packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts

@@ -555,6 +555,15 @@ const SETTINGS_SCHEMA = {
           'Enable incremental rendering for the UI. This option will reduce flickering but may cause rendering artifacts. Only supported when useAlternateBuffer is enabled.',
         showInDialog: true,
       },
+      showSpinner: {
+        type: 'boolean',
+        label: 'Show Spinner',
+        category: 'UI',
+        requiresRestart: false,
+        default: true,
+        description: 'Show the spinner during operations.',
+        showInDialog: true,
+      },
       customWittyPhrases: {
         type: 'array',
         label: 'Custom Witty Phrases',

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

@@ -4,7 +4,10 @@
  * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
  */
 
-import { render } from '../../test-utils/render.js';
+import {
+  renderWithProviders,
+  createMockSettings,
+} from '../../test-utils/render.js';
 import { CliSpinner } from './CliSpinner.js';
 import { debugState } from '../debug.js';
 import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach } from 'vitest';
@@ -16,9 +19,15 @@ describe('<CliSpinner />', () => {
 
   it('should increment debugNumAnimatedComponents on mount and decrement on unmount', () => {
     expect(debugState.debugNumAnimatedComponents).toBe(0);
-    const { unmount } = render(<CliSpinner />);
+    const { unmount } = renderWithProviders(<CliSpinner />);
     expect(debugState.debugNumAnimatedComponents).toBe(1);
     unmount();
     expect(debugState.debugNumAnimatedComponents).toBe(0);
   });
+
+  it('should not render when showSpinner is false', () => {
+    const settings = createMockSettings({ ui: { showSpinner: false } });
+    const { lastFrame } = renderWithProviders(<CliSpinner />, { settings });
+    expect(lastFrame()).toBe('');
+  });
 });

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

@@ -7,16 +7,27 @@
 import Spinner from 'ink-spinner';
 import { type ComponentProps, useEffect } from 'react';
 import { debugState } from '../debug.js';
+import { useSettings } from '../contexts/SettingsContext.js';
 
 export type SpinnerProps = ComponentProps<typeof Spinner>;
 
 export const CliSpinner = (props: SpinnerProps) => {
+  const settings = useSettings();
+  const shouldShow = settings.merged.ui?.showSpinner !== false;
+
   useEffect(() => {
-    debugState.debugNumAnimatedComponents++;
-    return () => {
-      debugState.debugNumAnimatedComponents--;
-    };
-  }, []);
+    if (shouldShow) {
+      debugState.debugNumAnimatedComponents++;
+      return () => {
+        debugState.debugNumAnimatedComponents--;
+      };
+    }
+    return undefined;
+  }, [shouldShow]);
+
+  if (!shouldShow) {
+    return null;
+  }
 
   return <Spinner {...props} />;
 };

packages/cli/src/ui/components/messages/CompressionMessage.test.tsx

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
  * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
  */
 
-import { render } from '../../../test-utils/render.js';
+import { renderWithProviders } from '../../../test-utils/render.js';
 import type { CompressionDisplayProps } from './CompressionMessage.js';
 import { CompressionMessage } from './CompressionMessage.js';
 import { CompressionStatus } from '@google/gemini-cli-core';
@@ -27,7 +27,9 @@ describe('<CompressionMessage />', () => {
   describe('pending state', () => {
     it('renders pending message when compression is in progress', () => {
       const props = createCompressionProps({ isPending: true });
-      const { lastFrame, unmount } = render(<CompressionMessage {...props} />);
+      const { lastFrame, unmount } = renderWithProviders(
+        <CompressionMessage {...props} />,
+      );
       const output = lastFrame();
 
       expect(output).toContain('Compressing chat history');
@@ -43,7 +45,9 @@ describe('<CompressionMessage />', () => {
         newTokenCount: 50,
         compressionStatus: CompressionStatus.COMPRESSED,
       });
-      const { lastFrame, unmount } = render(<CompressionMessage {...props} />);
+      const { lastFrame, unmount } = renderWithProviders(
+        <CompressionMessage {...props} />,
+      );
       const output = lastFrame();
 
       expect(output).toContain('✦');
@@ -66,7 +70,7 @@ describe('<CompressionMessage />', () => {
           newTokenCount: newTokens,
           compressionStatus: CompressionStatus.COMPRESSED,
         });
-        const { lastFrame, unmount } = render(
+        const { lastFrame, unmount } = renderWithProviders(
           <CompressionMessage {...props} />,
         );
         const output = lastFrame();
@@ -91,7 +95,9 @@ describe('<CompressionMessage />', () => {
         compressionStatus:
           CompressionStatus.COMPRESSION_FAILED_INFLATED_TOKEN_COUNT,
       });
-      const { lastFrame, unmount } = render(<CompressionMessage {...props} />);
+      const { lastFrame, unmount } = renderWithProviders(
+        <CompressionMessage {...props} />,
+      );
       const output = lastFrame();
 
       expect(output).toContain('✦');
@@ -109,7 +115,9 @@ describe('<CompressionMessage />', () => {
         compressionStatus:
           CompressionStatus.COMPRESSION_FAILED_INFLATED_TOKEN_COUNT,
       });
-      const { lastFrame, unmount } = render(<CompressionMessage {...props} />);
+      const { lastFrame, unmount } = renderWithProviders(
+        <CompressionMessage {...props} />,
+      );
       const output = lastFrame();
 
       expect(output).toContain(
@@ -146,7 +154,7 @@ describe('<CompressionMessage />', () => {
           newTokenCount: newTokens,
           compressionStatus: CompressionStatus.COMPRESSED,
         });
-        const { lastFrame, unmount } = render(
+        const { lastFrame, unmount } = renderWithProviders(
           <CompressionMessage {...props} />,
         );
         const output = lastFrame();
@@ -171,7 +179,7 @@ describe('<CompressionMessage />', () => {
           compressionStatus:
             CompressionStatus.COMPRESSION_FAILED_INFLATED_TOKEN_COUNT,
         });
-        const { lastFrame, unmount } = render(
+        const { lastFrame, unmount } = renderWithProviders(
           <CompressionMessage {...props} />,
         );
         const output = lastFrame();
@@ -199,7 +207,7 @@ describe('<CompressionMessage />', () => {
           compressionStatus:
             CompressionStatus.COMPRESSION_FAILED_INFLATED_TOKEN_COUNT,
         });
-        const { lastFrame, unmount } = render(
+        const { lastFrame, unmount } = renderWithProviders(
           <CompressionMessage {...props} />,
         );
         const output = lastFrame();
@@ -218,7 +226,9 @@ describe('<CompressionMessage />', () => {
         isPending: false,
         compressionStatus: CompressionStatus.COMPRESSION_FAILED_EMPTY_SUMMARY,
       });
-      const { lastFrame, unmount } = render(<CompressionMessage {...props} />);
+      const { lastFrame, unmount } = renderWithProviders(
+        <CompressionMessage {...props} />,
+      );
       const output = lastFrame();
 
       expect(output).toContain('✦');
@@ -234,7 +244,9 @@ describe('<CompressionMessage />', () => {
         compressionStatus:
           CompressionStatus.COMPRESSION_FAILED_TOKEN_COUNT_ERROR,
       });
-      const { lastFrame, unmount } = render(<CompressionMessage {...props} />);
+      const { lastFrame, unmount } = renderWithProviders(
+        <CompressionMessage {...props} />,
+      );
       const output = lastFrame();
 
       expect(output).toContain(

schemas/settings.schema.json

@@ -323,6 +323,13 @@
           "default": true,
           "type": "boolean"
         },
+        "showSpinner": {
+          "title": "Show Spinner",
+          "description": "Show the spinner during operations.",
+          "markdownDescription": "Show the spinner during operations.\n\n- Category: `UI`\n- Requires restart: `no`\n- Default: `true`",
+          "default": true,
+          "type": "boolean"
+        },
         "customWittyPhrases": {
           "title": "Custom Witty Phrases",
           "description": "Custom witty phrases to display during loading. When provided, the CLI cycles through these instead of the defaults.",