Skip ghost text in VS Code / Cursor integrated terminals

Cotabby/App/Coordinators/SuggestionCoordinator+Input.swift

@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ extension SuggestionCoordinator {
             globallyEnabled: settingsSnapshot.isGloballyEnabled,
             disabledAppBundleIdentifiers: settingsSnapshot.disabledAppBundleIdentifiers,
             disabledDomains: PerDomainDisableSettings.disabledDomains(),
+            suggestInIntegratedTerminals: settingsSnapshot.suggestInIntegratedTerminals,
             inputMonitoringGranted: permissionManager.inputMonitoringGranted,
             focusSnapshot: focusModel.snapshot
         ) {
@@ -59,6 +60,7 @@ extension SuggestionCoordinator {
                globallyEnabled: settingsSnapshot.isGloballyEnabled,
                disabledAppBundleIdentifiers: settingsSnapshot.disabledAppBundleIdentifiers,
                disabledDomains: PerDomainDisableSettings.disabledDomains(),
+               suggestInIntegratedTerminals: settingsSnapshot.suggestInIntegratedTerminals,
                inputMonitoringGranted: permissionManager.inputMonitoringGranted,
                screenRecordingGranted: permissionManager.screenRecordingGranted,
                focusSnapshot: snapshot,
@@ -87,6 +89,7 @@ extension SuggestionCoordinator {
             globallyEnabled: settingsSnapshot.isGloballyEnabled,
             disabledAppBundleIdentifiers: settingsSnapshot.disabledAppBundleIdentifiers,
             disabledDomains: PerDomainDisableSettings.disabledDomains(),
+            suggestInIntegratedTerminals: settingsSnapshot.suggestInIntegratedTerminals,
             inputMonitoringGranted: permissionManager.inputMonitoringGranted,
             screenRecordingGranted: permissionManager.screenRecordingGranted,
             focusSnapshot: snapshot,

Cotabby/App/Coordinators/SuggestionCoordinator+Lifecycle.swift

@@ -74,6 +74,7 @@ extension SuggestionCoordinator {
                globallyEnabled: settingsSnapshot.isGloballyEnabled,
                disabledAppBundleIdentifiers: settingsSnapshot.disabledAppBundleIdentifiers,
                disabledDomains: PerDomainDisableSettings.disabledDomains(),
+               suggestInIntegratedTerminals: settingsSnapshot.suggestInIntegratedTerminals,
                inputMonitoringGranted: permissionManager.inputMonitoringGranted,
                screenRecordingGranted: permissionManager.screenRecordingGranted,
                focusSnapshot: focusModel.snapshot,
@@ -86,6 +87,7 @@ extension SuggestionCoordinator {
             globallyEnabled: settingsSnapshot.isGloballyEnabled,
             disabledAppBundleIdentifiers: settingsSnapshot.disabledAppBundleIdentifiers,
             disabledDomains: PerDomainDisableSettings.disabledDomains(),
+            suggestInIntegratedTerminals: settingsSnapshot.suggestInIntegratedTerminals,
             inputMonitoringGranted: permissionManager.inputMonitoringGranted,
             focusSnapshot: focusModel.snapshot
         ) {

Cotabby/App/Coordinators/SuggestionCoordinator+Prediction.swift

@@ -526,6 +526,7 @@ extension SuggestionCoordinator {
             globallyEnabled: settingsSnapshot.isGloballyEnabled,
             disabledAppBundleIdentifiers: settingsSnapshot.disabledAppBundleIdentifiers,
             disabledDomains: PerDomainDisableSettings.disabledDomains(),
+            suggestInIntegratedTerminals: settingsSnapshot.suggestInIntegratedTerminals,
             inputMonitoringGranted: permissionManager.inputMonitoringGranted,
             focusSnapshot: focusSnapshot
         )

Cotabby/Models/FocusModels.swift

@@ -145,6 +145,14 @@ struct FocusedInputSnapshot: Equatable {
     let selection: NSRange
     let isSecure: Bool
 
+    /// True when the resolved field is an xterm.js integrated-terminal surface (VS Code / Cursor /
+    /// Windsurf terminal, or a browser-hosted web terminal). Set by `FocusSnapshotResolver` from the
+    /// focused element's `AXDOMClassList`. Lets the availability gate suppress ghost text in the
+    /// terminal without disabling the editor or Copilot chat, which share the same bundle id and so
+    /// can't be separated by the app-level terminal blocklist. The initializer default keeps existing
+    /// call sites compiling unchanged.
+    let isIntegratedTerminal: Bool
+
     /// Monotonic counter that increments every time polling observes a focused-input identity
     /// change.
     ///
@@ -189,6 +197,7 @@ struct FocusedInputSnapshot: Equatable {
         trailingText: String,
         selection: NSRange,
         isSecure: Bool,
+        isIntegratedTerminal: Bool = false,
         focusChangeSequence: UInt64 = 0,
         focusedURLString: String? = nil,
         resolvedFieldStyle: ResolvedFieldStyle? = nil
@@ -208,6 +217,7 @@ struct FocusedInputSnapshot: Equatable {
         self.trailingText = trailingText
         self.selection = selection
         self.isSecure = isSecure
+        self.isIntegratedTerminal = isIntegratedTerminal
         self.focusChangeSequence = focusChangeSequence
         self.focusedURLString = focusedURLString
         self.resolvedFieldStyle = resolvedFieldStyle

Cotabby/Models/SuggestionEngineModels.swift

@@ -80,6 +80,10 @@ enum AcceptanceGranularity: String, CaseIterable, Codable, Sendable {
 struct SuggestionSettingsSnapshot: Equatable, Sendable {
     let isGloballyEnabled: Bool
     let disabledAppBundleIdentifiers: Set<String>
+    /// When false (the default), ghost text is suppressed in integrated terminals (VS Code / Cursor
+    /// xterm.js surfaces). Power users can opt back in. Travels in the snapshot so the availability
+    /// gate sees the live value alongside the other "where Cotabby runs" rules.
+    let suggestInIntegratedTerminals: Bool
     let selectedEngine: SuggestionEngineKind
     let selectedWordCountPreset: SuggestionWordCountPreset
     /// When true, the generation pipeline uses `customWordCountRange` for the length budget and

Cotabby/Models/SuggestionSettingsData.swift

@@ -15,6 +15,10 @@ struct SuggestionSettingsData: Equatable {
     var showIndicator: Bool
     var showAcceptanceHint: Bool
     var disabledAppRules: [DisabledApplicationRule]
+    /// When false (the default), ghost text is suppressed in integrated terminals (VS Code / Cursor
+    /// xterm.js surfaces); a terminal's own completion/history conflicts with autocomplete and ghost
+    /// text overlaps command output. Power users can opt back in.
+    var suggestInIntegratedTerminals: Bool
     var customSuggestionTextColorHex: String?
     var ghostTextOpacity: Double
     var selectedEngine: SuggestionEngineKind

Cotabby/Models/SuggestionSettingsModel.swift

@@ -38,6 +38,10 @@ final class SuggestionSettingsModel: ObservableObject {
     /// Whether the keycap hint (the small pill that teaches the accept key) is drawn after ghost text.
     @Published private(set) var showAcceptanceHint: Bool
     @Published private(set) var disabledAppRules: [DisabledApplicationRule]
+    /// Whether Cotabby should suggest inside integrated terminals (VS Code / Cursor xterm.js
+    /// surfaces). Off by default: a terminal's own completion/history conflicts with ghost text and
+    /// overlaps command output. Power users who want it can opt back in from the Apps settings pane.
+    @Published private(set) var suggestInIntegratedTerminals: Bool
     @Published private(set) var customSuggestionTextColorHex: String?
     @Published private(set) var ghostTextOpacity: Double
     @Published private(set) var selectedEngine: SuggestionEngineKind
@@ -132,6 +136,7 @@ final class SuggestionSettingsModel: ObservableObject {
         showIndicator = data.showIndicator
         showAcceptanceHint = data.showAcceptanceHint
         disabledAppRules = data.disabledAppRules
+        suggestInIntegratedTerminals = data.suggestInIntegratedTerminals
         customSuggestionTextColorHex = data.customSuggestionTextColorHex
         ghostTextOpacity = data.ghostTextOpacity
         selectedEngine = data.selectedEngine
@@ -184,6 +189,7 @@ final class SuggestionSettingsModel: ObservableObject {
         SuggestionSettingsSnapshot(
             isGloballyEnabled: isGloballyEnabled,
             disabledAppBundleIdentifiers: Set(disabledAppRules.map(\.bundleIdentifier)),
+            suggestInIntegratedTerminals: suggestInIntegratedTerminals,
             selectedEngine: selectedEngine,
             selectedWordCountPreset: selectedWordCountPreset,
             isUsingCustomWordCountRange: isUsingCustomWordCountRange,
@@ -471,6 +477,15 @@ final class SuggestionSettingsModel: ObservableObject {
         store.saveGloballyEnabled(enabled)
     }
 
+    func setSuggestInIntegratedTerminals(_ enabled: Bool) {
+        guard suggestInIntegratedTerminals != enabled else {
+            return
+        }
+
+        suggestInIntegratedTerminals = enabled
+        store.saveSuggestInIntegratedTerminals(enabled)
+    }
+
     func setApplicationDisabled(
         bundleIdentifier: String?,
         displayName: String,
@@ -850,18 +865,27 @@ extension SuggestionSettingsModel: SuggestionSettingsProviding {
             $customWordCountLowWords,
             $customWordCountHighWords
         )
-        return Publishers.CombineLatest4(primary, $acceptanceGranularity, $extendedContext, customRange)
-            .map { primaryTuple, granularity, extendedContext, customRangeTuple in
+        // `extendedContext` shares its outer slot with `suggestInIntegratedTerminals` via a paired
+        // `CombineLatest` so the new toggle costs no extra top-level slot (the outer is at the cap).
+        return Publishers.CombineLatest4(
+            primary,
+            $acceptanceGranularity,
+            Publishers.CombineLatest($extendedContext, $suggestInIntegratedTerminals),
+            customRange
+        )
+            .map { primaryTuple, granularity, extendedContextTuple, customRangeTuple in
                 let (combinedSettings, presentationToggles, profile, timing) = primaryTuple
                 let (globallyEnabled, disabledAppRules, engine, wordCountPreset) = combinedSettings
                 let (clipboardContextEnabled, fastModeEnabled, mirrorPreference, typoToggles) = presentationToggles
                 let (suppressOnTypo, offerCorrections) = typoToggles
                 let (userName, customRules, responseLanguages) = profile
                 let (debounce, focusPoll, multiLine, autoAcceptPunctuation) = timing
                 let (isCustomActive, customLow, customHigh) = customRangeTuple
+                let (extendedContext, suggestInIntegratedTerminals) = extendedContextTuple
                 return SuggestionSettingsSnapshot(
                     isGloballyEnabled: globallyEnabled,
                     disabledAppBundleIdentifiers: Set(disabledAppRules.map(\.bundleIdentifier)),
+                    suggestInIntegratedTerminals: suggestInIntegratedTerminals,
                     selectedEngine: engine,
                     selectedWordCountPreset: wordCountPreset,
                     isUsingCustomWordCountRange: isCustomActive,

Cotabby/Services/Focus/FocusSnapshotResolver.swift

@@ -208,6 +208,17 @@ struct FocusSnapshotResolver {
                 )
             }
         }
+        // Recognize an xterm.js integrated terminal (VS Code / Cursor / web terminal) from the
+        // focused element's DOM classes. The terminal, code editor, and Copilot chat all live in one
+        // process, so this surface-level signal is the only way to suppress ghost text in the
+        // terminal while leaving the editor and chat working. Read on the focused element because
+        // that is exactly where xterm puts the caret (`xterm-helper-textarea`). Computed here — only
+        // once a real editable field has resolved — so idle/non-editable focus polls don't pay for an
+        // extra AXDOMClassList round-trip; native apps don't vend the attribute anyway.
+        let isIntegratedTerminal = TerminalAppDetector.isIntegratedTerminal(
+            domClassList: AXHelper.stringArrayValue(
+                for: "AXDOMClassList" as CFString, on: focusedElement) ?? []
+        )
         let context = FocusedInputSnapshot(
             applicationName: applicationName,
             bundleIdentifier: bundleIdentifier,
@@ -224,6 +235,7 @@ struct FocusSnapshotResolver {
             trailingText: nsValue.substring(from: trailingStart),
             selection: contextWindow.selection,
             isSecure: resolvedCandidate.isSecure,
+            isIntegratedTerminal: isIntegratedTerminal,
             focusChangeSequence: focusChangeSequence,
             focusedURLString: focusedURLString,
             resolvedFieldStyle: resolvedFieldStyle

Cotabby/Support/AXHelper.swift

@@ -97,6 +97,13 @@ enum AXHelper {
         stringValue(for: "AXIdentifier" as CFString, on: element)
     }
 
+    /// Reads an array-of-strings AX attribute. Chromium/Electron exposes a web element's CSS
+    /// classes through `AXDOMClassList` this way; native apps simply don't vend the attribute, so
+    /// this returns nil for them rather than throwing.
+    static func stringArrayValue(for attribute: CFString, on element: AXUIElement) -> [String]? {
+        copyAttributeValue(attribute, on: element) as? [String]
+    }
+
     static func boolValue(for attribute: CFString, on element: AXUIElement) -> Bool? {
         guard let number = copyAttributeValue(attribute, on: element) as? NSNumber else {
             return nil

Cotabby/Support/SuggestionAvailabilityEvaluator.swift

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ enum SuggestionAvailabilityEvaluator {
         globallyEnabled: Bool = true,
         disabledAppBundleIdentifiers: Set<String> = [],
         disabledDomains: Set<String> = [],
+        suggestInIntegratedTerminals: Bool = false,
         inputMonitoringGranted: Bool,
         focusSnapshot: FocusSnapshot,
         checkCapability: Bool = true
@@ -38,6 +39,14 @@ enum SuggestionAvailabilityEvaluator {
             return "Cotabby is not available in terminal apps."
         }
 
+        // Integrated terminals (VS Code / Cursor xterm.js) share their app's bundle id with the
+        // editor and chat, so they slip past the blocklist above. Suppress them here unless the user
+        // has opted back in, keeping ghost text out of shell prompts and command output while the
+        // editor and Copilot chat in the same window keep suggesting.
+        if !suggestInIntegratedTerminals, focusSnapshot.context?.isIntegratedTerminal == true {
+            return "Cotabby is not available in the integrated terminal."
+        }
+
         guard inputMonitoringGranted else {
             return "Input Monitoring permission is required before Cotabby can react to typing."
         }
@@ -58,13 +67,15 @@ enum SuggestionAvailabilityEvaluator {
         globallyEnabled: Bool = true,
         disabledAppBundleIdentifiers: Set<String> = [],
         disabledDomains: Set<String> = [],
+        suggestInIntegratedTerminals: Bool = false,
         inputMonitoringGranted: Bool,
         focusSnapshot: FocusSnapshot
     ) -> Bool {
         disabledReason(
             globallyEnabled: globallyEnabled,
             disabledAppBundleIdentifiers: disabledAppBundleIdentifiers,
             disabledDomains: disabledDomains,
+            suggestInIntegratedTerminals: suggestInIntegratedTerminals,
             inputMonitoringGranted: inputMonitoringGranted,
             focusSnapshot: focusSnapshot
         ) == nil
@@ -86,6 +97,7 @@ enum SuggestionAvailabilityEvaluator {
         globallyEnabled: Bool = true,
         disabledAppBundleIdentifiers: Set<String> = [],
         disabledDomains: Set<String> = [],
+        suggestInIntegratedTerminals: Bool = false,
         inputMonitoringGranted: Bool,
         screenRecordingGranted: Bool,
         focusSnapshot: FocusSnapshot,
@@ -103,6 +115,7 @@ enum SuggestionAvailabilityEvaluator {
             globallyEnabled: globallyEnabled,
             disabledAppBundleIdentifiers: disabledAppBundleIdentifiers,
             disabledDomains: disabledDomains,
+            suggestInIntegratedTerminals: suggestInIntegratedTerminals,
             inputMonitoringGranted: inputMonitoringGranted,
             focusSnapshot: focusSnapshot,
             checkCapability: false

Cotabby/Support/SuggestionSettingsStore.swift

@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ struct SuggestionSettingsStore {
 
     private static let isGloballyEnabledDefaultsKey = "cotabbyGloballyEnabled"
     private static let disabledAppRulesDefaultsKey = "cotabbyDisabledAppRules"
+    private static let suggestInIntegratedTerminalsDefaultsKey = "cotabbySuggestInIntegratedTerminals"
     private static let showCaretIndicatorDefaultsKey = "cotabbyShowCaretIndicator"
     private static let selectedIndicatorModeDefaultsKey = "cotabbySelectedIndicatorMode"
     private static let showAcceptanceHintDefaultsKey = "cotabbyShowAcceptanceHint"
@@ -126,6 +127,10 @@ struct SuggestionSettingsStore {
             userDefaults.object(forKey: Self.showCaretIndicatorDefaultsKey) as? Bool ?? true
         }
         let resolvedShowAcceptanceHint = userDefaults.object(forKey: Self.showAcceptanceHintDefaultsKey) as? Bool ?? true
+        // Defaults to false so ghost text stays out of terminals out of the box, matching how
+        // standalone terminal apps are already skipped. Existing installs (no key) get the same.
+        let resolvedSuggestInIntegratedTerminals =
+            userDefaults.object(forKey: Self.suggestInIntegratedTerminalsDefaultsKey) as? Bool ?? false
         let resolvedCustomSuggestionTextColorHex = Self.normalizedHexString(
             userDefaults.string(forKey: Self.customSuggestionTextColorHexDefaultsKey)
         )
@@ -303,6 +308,7 @@ struct SuggestionSettingsStore {
             showIndicator: resolvedShowIndicator,
             showAcceptanceHint: resolvedShowAcceptanceHint,
             disabledAppRules: resolvedDisabledAppRules,
+            suggestInIntegratedTerminals: resolvedSuggestInIntegratedTerminals,
             customSuggestionTextColorHex: resolvedCustomSuggestionTextColorHex,
             ghostTextOpacity: resolvedGhostTextOpacity,
             selectedEngine: resolvedEngine,
@@ -350,6 +356,7 @@ struct SuggestionSettingsStore {
         // sticky on the next launch. Mirrors the resolution above field-for-field.
         saveGloballyEnabled(data.isGloballyEnabled)
         saveDisabledAppRules(data.disabledAppRules)
+        saveSuggestInIntegratedTerminals(data.suggestInIntegratedTerminals)
         saveShowIndicator(data.showIndicator)
         saveShowAcceptanceHint(data.showAcceptanceHint)
         saveCustomSuggestionTextColorHex(data.customSuggestionTextColorHex)
@@ -412,6 +419,10 @@ struct SuggestionSettingsStore {
         userDefaults.set(enabled, forKey: Self.isGloballyEnabledDefaultsKey)
     }
 
+    func saveSuggestInIntegratedTerminals(_ enabled: Bool) {
+        userDefaults.set(enabled, forKey: Self.suggestInIntegratedTerminalsDefaultsKey)
+    }
+
     func saveDisabledAppRules(_ rules: [DisabledApplicationRule]) {
         guard !rules.isEmpty else {
             userDefaults.removeObject(forKey: Self.disabledAppRulesDefaultsKey)

Cotabby/Support/TerminalAppDetector.swift

@@ -23,4 +23,21 @@ enum TerminalAppDetector {
         guard let bundleIdentifier else { return false }
         return terminalBundleIdentifiers.contains(bundleIdentifier)
     }
+
+    /// DOM class prefix xterm.js stamps on every node of its terminal subtree — most importantly the
+    /// focusable `xterm-helper-textarea` that receives the caret.
+    private static let integratedTerminalClassPrefix = "xterm"
+
+    /// Whether a focused web element's `AXDOMClassList` marks it as an xterm.js terminal surface.
+    ///
+    /// VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, and browser-hosted terminals (ttyd, Jupyter) all render their
+    /// terminal through xterm.js, so an `xterm`-prefixed class is a reliable, localization-independent
+    /// signal for "the caret is inside an integrated terminal". This is the piece `isTerminal` can't
+    /// provide: the editor, Copilot chat, and integrated terminal share one process, so the app-level
+    /// bundle blocklist can only ever block or allow all three together. Matching the whole `xterm`
+    /// prefix (not just `xterm-helper-textarea`) keeps detection working if xterm renames its input
+    /// node or focus lands on a sibling like `xterm-screen`.
+    static func isIntegratedTerminal(domClassList: [String]) -> Bool {
+        domClassList.contains { $0.hasPrefix(integratedTerminalClassPrefix) }
+    }
 }