[BUG] Slash Commands Chaining not working

[CyberT33N]

Problem (one or two sentences)

As soon as you set the first initial slash command and then try to set a second new one, it does not work because the modal box at the bottom no longer appears, where the slash commands can be selected. As a result, prompt chaining is not possible.

The same issue also occurs in a new empty chat window if you simply move down one line with Shift-Control and then type a slash. I assume that slash commands are only available in the first line. That means that if you have multiline input and move down to the next line, it no longer works.

Because this can also be reproduced without an already existing slash command at the beginning, simply by using multiline input, it seems to be related to the fact that as soon as you move to the next line, you can no longer use slash commands.

The expected behavior, of course, is that slash commands work everywhere, because there are naturally also post-processing slash commands, or cases where you want to chain two commands at the beginning with prompt chaining, and so on.

There definitely needs to be more flexibility here, and it must be architecturally possible to:

• chain multiple slash commands one after another,
• have normal text with user requirements underneath them, and
• optionally, if desired, use a post-processing slash command again later.

Something I just noticed: if I insert a slash command, then move to the first line before it and try to move it further down, a graphical issue appears. The gray selection background, which should of course be behind the slash command, suddenly shifts on top of it.

What apparently works is this: if I take the next slash command, copy and paste it from the clipboard, and insert it underneath, it seems to work.

However, the same issue appears here again with what is written above regarding the background. Since the background is being inserted, I strongly assume that, from an architectural perspective, prompt chaining is generally possible.

Could you please verify that, or is this only a graphical display and the second slash command is not actually active? It does look as though it is active.

That would mean, conversely, that the actual problem is simply that slash commands for the selection itself are only possible in the first line, and after that they are no longer possible.

So, in practice, it would need to be implemented so that slash commands are possible everywhere, and of course the graphical bug must also be fixed.

@roomote

Context (who is affected and when)

see desc

Reproduction steps

see desc

Expected result

see desc

Actual result

see desc

Variations tried (optional)

No response

App Version

Version: 3.51.1 (7c9722b)

API Provider (optional)

None

Model Used (optional)

No response

Roo Code Task Links (optional)

No response

Relevant logs or errors (optional)

[roomote-v0]

I've analyzed this issue and here's my proposed implementation plan:

Root Cause: Slash command detection currently checks against the entire textarea value (e.g. text.startsWith("/")) rather than the current line where the cursor sits. This means slash commands only work on the very first line of input.

There are three locations that need changes:

1. webview-ui/src/utils/context-mentions.ts - shouldShowContextMenu() (line 371)

   • Currently: if (text.startsWith("/") && !text.includes(" ") && position <= text.length)
   • Fix: Extract the current line from text based on position, then check if that line starts with / and has no space yet. This enables the slash command popup menu on any line.

2. webview-ui/src/components/chat/ChatTextArea.tsx - handleChange() (line 601)

   • Currently: if (newValue.startsWith("/") && !newValue.includes(" "))
   • Fix: Same approach -- extract the current line from newValue using cursor position, and check if that line starts with / without spaces. The searchQuery should be set to just the current line's slash text, not the full input.

3. webview-ui/src/utils/context-mentions.ts - insertMention() (line 34-38)

   • Currently: When isSlashCommand is true, it replaces the entire text with just the command value, destroying any existing content on other lines.
   • Fix: Replace only the slash-command token on the current line (from the / to the cursor position) with the selected command value, preserving text on other lines.

What this does NOT change:

• The commandRegexGlobal regex ((?:^|\s)\/([a-zA-Z0-9_\.-]+)(?=\s|$)) already handles multiline highlighting correctly since \s matches newlines.
• Backend slash command parsing in src/core/mentions/index.ts already uses the global regex and should work with multiple commands in the text.

Testing plan:

• Update existing tests in context-mentions.spec.ts and ChatTextArea.spec.tsx for multiline slash command scenarios
• Add new tests for: slash command on second line, slash command insertion preserving other lines, context menu showing on non-first lines

Please mention @roomote in a comment saying that you approve this plan, and I'll proceed with the implementation.

[CyberT33N]

@roomote I approve this plan

[roomote-v0]

I've seen the approval and will proceed with the implementation now. I'll open a PR to share progress shortly.

[roomote-v0]

Opened a PR with my attempt at addressing this: #12029. Feedback welcome!