When a clarify prompt times out (backend _block returns an empty answer
after the configured timeout) or is dismissed with Esc/Ctrl+C, the live
ClarifyPrompt overlay was torn down by turnController.idle() ->
resetFlowOverlays() with no persistent transcript record. The question and
options vanished from the screen while the agent's follow-up still referred
to "the options above".
The answered path already persists the question + answer; only the
unanswered exits left no trace. This asymmetry is the bug.
Fix (TUI layer only, no Python/protocol change):
- formatAbandonedClarify() in lib/text.ts renders the question + the same
1-based numbered option list shown by ClarifyPrompt, plus a reason
('timed out' / 'cancelled').
- Timeout: createGatewayEventHandler flushes a still-live clarify into the
transcript as a plain system line when the clarify tool's own tool.complete
fires. A live capture of the event stream confirmed this is the only point
where the overlay is still set after a timeout: the sequence is
clarify.request -> (timeout) -> tool.complete -> message.complete, with NO
intervening message.start/tool.start. On a real answer, answerClarify()
clears the overlay before tool.complete arrives, so the hook no-ops there
(no double-write); a per-requestId guard set is belt-and-braces.
- Explicit cancel: answerClarify('') persists the prompt as a system line
instead of a transient 'prompt cancelled' flash.
System lines always render (unlike trail lines, which /details can hide),
so the record reliably survives on screen as standard output.
Verified live in the TUI: an Esc-cancelled clarify now leaves the question +
options + '(cancelled - no selection)' in the transcript after the turn ends.
Tests: formatAbandonedClarify unit cases + gateway-handler behavioral cases
(persist on clarify tool.complete, no flush on a non-clarify tool.complete,
no double-persist on repeat tool.complete, no-op when the overlay was already
cleared by an answer).