Add endless-scrolling TUI table for interactive list commands by simonfaltum · Pull Request #4729 · databricks/cli

simonfaltum · 2026-03-12T23:36:04Z

Why

Large list commands are hard to use in a terminal today. They print the full result set before users can do anything, which is slow for big lists and makes it hard to browse results. Interactive terminals should get a faster, more navigable experience without changing scripted output.

Changes

Before: list commands drained the full paginated iterator and rendered everything through text templates or JSON.

Now: when the CLI is running interactively (TTY stdin + stdout + stderr, color enabled), list commands with a registered table configuration open a scrollable TUI table that loads more rows on demand. Piped output and --output json keep the existing behavior. Commands without an explicit table config continue to use template rendering.

Implementation:

Extract shared styles, constants, and helpers from tableview.go into common.go
Add reusable tableview config, registry, and wrapper types
Add a Bubble Tea paginated model with fetch-on-demand, cursor navigation, horizontal scrolling, and optional server-side search
Route interactive list rendering through the TUI when a TableConfig is registered, fall through to templates otherwise
Integrate with cmdio Tea program lifecycle (acquireTeaProgram/releaseTeaProgram)
Switch experimental/aitools to the shared static table renderer

Post-review fixes

Fix UTF-8 backspace corruption in search (byte truncation to proper rune handling via utf8.DecodeLastRuneInString)
Fix RunPaginated silently dropping model-level fetch errors (now checks FinalModel.Err() like render.go)
Recompute column widths on every batch, not just the first
Extract restorePreSearchState to eliminate duplicated search-restore logic
Show fetch errors in footer while keeping existing rows visible (instead of replacing all data)
Fix space key not accepted in search input (handle tea.KeySpace in both paginated and non-paginated tables)
Separate loading and searching concerns: loading is purely "fetch in-flight", searching flag blocks maybeFetch during search input mode (fixes stuck pagination and overlapping fetch races)

Simplification pass

Add generic tableview.Col[T] / ColMax[T] helpers so each column drops from a 3-line func literal with explicit type assertion to a single-line generic call. Converted all 18 cmd/workspace/*/overrides.go files.
Consolidate 9 scattered search fields (searching, searchLoading, searchInput, debounceSeq, hasSearchState, savedRows, savedIter, savedExhaust) into one searchState struct with an optional *savedSearch sub-struct for the pre-search snapshot. restorePreSearchState and executeSearch shrink significantly; the state lifecycle becomes self-documenting.
Collapse trivial View / renderFooter / search input key / fetch tests into table-driven form.

Test plan

go test ./libs/tableview/... ./libs/cmdio/... ./cmd/root/... ./experimental/aitools/cmd/...
Manual smoke test in a TTY: verify the first page renders immediately and more rows load while scrolling
Manual smoke test with piped output and --output json: verify existing output is unchanged
make checks passes
make lintfull passes (0 issues)

eng-dev-ecosystem-bot · 2026-03-12T23:47:31Z

Commit: be88c2e

Run: 23569035345

Co-authored-by: Isaac

shreyas-goenka

Note: This review was posted by Claude (AI assistant). Shreyas will do a separate, more thorough review pass.

Priority: HIGH — Performance and design concerns in TUI table infrastructure

MAJOR: O(n) re-render on every keystroke

The search/filter functionality appears to re-render the entire table on each keystroke. For large result sets, this will cause noticeable lag. Consider debouncing the search input or using incremental filtering.

MAJOR: Partially-consumed iterator after search

When a user searches/filters, the iterator may have already been partially consumed. If the search is cleared, previously consumed items that didn't match won't be re-fetched. This could lead to confusing behavior where clearing a search shows fewer results than expected.

MEDIUM: Entire feature unreachable until follow-up PRs

This is 1535 lines of new code that is unreachable until the override PRs (#4731, #4732) land. Consider whether the infrastructure could be reviewed more effectively alongside at least one consumer.

What looks good

Clean separation of concerns between model, view, and update
Good use of Bubble Tea framework patterns
Table column configuration is flexible and well-designed

Search input now triggers server-side filtering automatically after the user stops typing for 200ms, instead of waiting for Enter. This prevents redundant API calls on each keystroke while keeping the text input responsive. Enter still executes search immediately, bypassing the debounce. Uses Bubble Tea's tick-based message pattern with a sequence counter to discard stale debounce ticks when the user types additional characters before the delay expires.

Fix four issues in the paginated TUI: 1. Entering search mode now sets loading=true to prevent maybeFetch from starting new fetches against the shared iterator while in search mode. In-flight fetches are discarded via the generation check. 2. executeSearch sets loading=true (was false) to prevent overlapping fetch commands when a quick scroll triggers maybeFetch before the first search fetch returns. 3. Pressing esc to close search now restores savedRows, savedIter, and savedExhaust (same as clearing the query via enter with empty input). 4. RenderIterator now checks the final model for application-level errors via the new FinalModel interface, since tea.Program.Run() only returns framework errors.

github-actions · 2026-04-09T20:36:09Z

Approval status: pending

`/cmd/workspace/apps/` - needs approval

Files: cmd/workspace/apps/overrides.go, cmd/workspace/apps/overrides_test.go
Suggested: @pkosiec
Also eligible: @MarioCadenas, @arsenyinfo, @fjakobs, @jamesbroadhead, @Shridhad, @atilafassina, @keugenek, @igrekun, @pffigueiredo, @ditadi, @calvarjorge

`/experimental/aitools/` - needs approval

Files: experimental/aitools/cmd/render.go, experimental/aitools/cmd/render_test.go
Suggested: @pkosiec
Also eligible: @MarioCadenas, @arsenyinfo, @fjakobs, @jamesbroadhead, @Shridhad, @atilafassina, @keugenek, @igrekun, @pffigueiredo, @ditadi, @calvarjorge, @lennartkats-db

`/libs/cmdio/` - needs approval

Files: libs/cmdio/capabilities.go, libs/cmdio/render.go
Suggested: @parthban-db
Also eligible: @tanmay-db, @renaudhartert-db, @hectorcast-db, @Divyansh-db, @tejaskochar-db, @mihaimitrea-db, @chrisst, @rauchy

General files (require maintainer)

29 files changed
Based on git history:

@pietern -- recent work in cmd/workspace/workspace/, cmd/workspace/jobs/, cmd/workspace/serving-endpoints/

_{Any maintainer (@andrewnester, @anton-107, @denik, @pietern, @shreyas-goenka, @renaudhartert-db) can approve all areas.

See OWNERS for ownership rules.}

Init() returns a tea.Cmd that fetches rows in a goroutine but cannot modify the model (Bubbletea's Init() only returns a Cmd, not a Model). Without loading=true in the constructor, a keypress arriving before the first rowsFetchedMsg would pass maybeFetch's guard and fire a second concurrent fetch on the same non-thread-safe iterator. Co-authored-by: Isaac

pietern

Hard to do a full review. I ran through the UX in the snapshot build and ran a separate review (see below)

How we do the plumbing is most important to me because this adds a second mode.

Review finding:

renderTableLines and paginatedModel.renderContent use "─" (box-drawing horizontal), but RenderStaticTable uses "-" (ASCII hyphen)

pietern · 2026-04-14T13:42:26Z


 	cmdIO := cmdio.NewIO(ctx, f.output, cmd.InOrStdin(), cmd.OutOrStdout(), cmd.ErrOrStderr(), headerTemplate, template)
 	ctx = cmdio.InContext(ctx, cmdIO)
+	ctx = cmdio.WithCommand(ctx, cmd)


The existing mechanism to pass information from the autogen'd commands (or the overrides) into the command is via the annotations. This adds another mechanism.

I'm not biased to either but we should maintain a single system for associating static info with commands.

Agreed. Removed WithCommand/CommandFromContext and now thread *cobra.Command as an explicit parameter to RenderIterator. The registry (RegisterConfig/GetConfig) is the only new mechanism, annotations still handle templates.

pietern · 2026-04-14T13:43:11Z

+func listOverride(listCmd *cobra.Command, _ *sql.ListAlertsRequest) {
+	listCmd.Annotations["template"] = cmdio.Heredoc(`
+	{{range .}}{{green "%s" .Id}}	{{.DisplayName}}	{{.State}}
+	{{end}}`)


Do we still need the template if we also use the tableview?

Yes, the template is the fallback for non-interactive output (piped, --output text, non-TTY). The TUI only runs when SupportsTUI() is true. Added a comment to all overrides clarifying this.

pietern · 2026-04-14T13:44:14Z

+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+func TestListTableConfig(t *testing.T) {


Why test here and not other commands?

Apps has nested pointer dereferences (ComputeStatus.State, ActiveDeployment.Status.State) that can nil-panic if the Extract functions aren't careful. The other overrides are single-field type assertions so there's less to go wrong.

pietern · 2026-04-14T13:46:25Z

+// AutoDetect creates a TableConfig by reflecting on the element type of the iterator.
+// It picks up to maxAutoColumns top-level scalar fields.
+// Returns nil if no suitable columns are found.
+func AutoDetect[T any](iter listing.Iterator[T]) *TableConfig {


This is currently unused.

pietern · 2026-04-14T13:48:53Z

+		if m.cfg.Search != nil {
+			m.searching = true
+			m.searchInput = ""
+			m.viewport.Height--


Why does this alter the viewport size?

Shrinks by one row to make room for the search input bar at the bottom. Added a comment.

pietern · 2026-04-14T14:00:32Z

Btw, the initial "Fetching results..." and then the experience when waiting for more results in the table are different. I recommend putting the user immediately in the table view and clearly showing a marker that rows are being fetched.

When using a terminal with >50 rows, the initial page loads but doesn't continue loading. I have to first navigate to the last row before it triggers fetching the next set of rows.

Forward slash to enter search doesn't work for me.

…mprove consistency - Remove useless TestNewPaginatedProgramSetsLoadingTrue (linter unusedwrite) - Make ctrl+c quit from search mode instead of canceling search - Add comments explaining viewport height adjustments for search bar - Remove unused AutoDetect function and its tests - Add comments explaining template+tableview coexistence in all overrides - Thread cobra.Command through RenderIterator parameter instead of context, removing WithCommand/CommandFromContext context mechanism - Unify separator character to box-drawing (U+2500) in RenderStaticTable Co-authored-by: Isaac

…erator cmd param

simonfaltum · 2026-04-15T08:08:26Z

Good points. I'll look into showing the table immediately with a loading indicator instead of the separate "Fetching results..." screen. Will debug the forward slash issue too, might be terminal-specific.

Co-authored-by: Isaac

…eRunE Co-authored-by: Isaac

Co-authored-by: Isaac

- Keep previous rows visible during search (show "Searching..." footer instead of clearing rows immediately) - Clone TableConfig before mutation in disableSearchIfFilterSet - Remove unused cmd parameter from RenderIterator and update all callers - Export and deduplicate SanitizeControlWhitespace - Fix inaccurate highlightSearch comment about case folding Co-authored-by: Isaac

Each cmd/workspace/*/overrides.go had repeated type assertions like `v.(jobs.BaseJob).Field` in every column Extract closure. Introduce a generic `tableview.Col[T]` helper (and `ColMax[T]` for width-capped columns) that hides the assertion, then convert all 18 override files to use it. Each column definition drops from a 3-line func literal with an explicit type assertion to a single-line generic call, making the shape of each table at a glance. Co-authored-by: Isaac

paginatedModel had 9 scattered fields handling server-side search (searching, searchLoading, searchInput, debounceSeq, hasSearchState, savedRows, savedIter, savedExhaust, limitReached was left as its own thing). Many of the recent fixes in this PR's history were races between these fields getting out of sync. Group them into a searchState struct with an optional *savedSearch sub-struct for the pre-search snapshot. restorePreSearchState and executeSearch become markedly simpler because "there is no saved state" is one nil check instead of four zeroed fields. Also consolidate a few trivial table tests (View, renderFooter, search input keys, fetch) into table-driven form. Co-authored-by: Isaac

When stdin and stdout are both TTYs and a TableConfig is registered, list commands now stream their first page of rows to stdout and prompt: [space] more [enter] all [q|esc] quit Piped output and `--output json` keep the existing behavior. Alternative approach to #4729: instead of a full Bubble Tea TUI with scrolling, search, and cursor navigation, this renders a plain text table page-by-page and reads a single key in raw terminal mode to drive paging. Same TableConfig / Col[T] infrastructure, minus the interactive browser. Wiring: - `libs/tableview/config.go`, `context.go`, `wrap.go`: TableConfig, RowIterator, Col[T]/ColMax[T] generic helpers, cobra PreRunE wiring. - `libs/tableview/common.go`: extracted `computeColumnWidths` and `renderTableToLines` so they can be shared between the existing static aitools browser and the new pager. - `libs/tableview/simple.go`: the pager itself (raw-mode key reader, fetch-on-demand, per-column MaxWidth truncation). - `libs/cmdio/render.go`: `RenderIterator` routes to the pager when `Capabilities.SupportsPager()` returns true. - `cmd/workspace/*/overrides.go`: TableConfigs for the 18 most common list commands. Test plan: - `go test ./libs/tableview/... ./libs/cmdio/... ./cmd/workspace/...` - `make checks` passes - `make lintfull` passes (0 issues) - Manual smoke in a TTY: space pages through, enter drains, q/esc exits. Co-authored-by: Isaac

simonfaltum · 2026-04-21T09:39:07Z

Decided to go with another approach that solves pagination initially. Can always re-open to extend this functionality if needed.

simonfaltum temporarily deployed to test-trigger-is March 12, 2026 23:38 — with GitHub Actions Inactive

simonfaltum mentioned this pull request Mar 12, 2026

Add curated TUI table overrides for list commands #4731

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simonfaltum force-pushed the simonfaltum/list-tui-paginated branch from 53b85d2 to 64f2b98 Compare March 12, 2026 23:55

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simonfaltum force-pushed the simonfaltum/list-tui-paginated branch from 64f2b98 to ef8c413 Compare March 13, 2026 05:53

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Add endless-scrolling TUI table for interactive list commands

e672906

Co-authored-by: Isaac

simonfaltum force-pushed the simonfaltum/list-tui-paginated branch from 1bf0772 to e672906 Compare March 13, 2026 06:23

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simonfaltum marked this pull request as ready for review March 13, 2026 10:33

simonfaltum requested review from a team, andrewnester, anton-107, denik, lennartkats-db, pietern and shreyas-goenka as code owners March 13, 2026 10:33

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shreyas-goenka reviewed Mar 13, 2026

View reviewed changes

Fix stale fetch race condition and empty-table search restore

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simonfaltum force-pushed the simonfaltum/list-tui-paginated branch from 8fa51c9 to d7a7104 Compare March 13, 2026 12:40

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Merge branch 'main' into simonfaltum/list-tui-paginated

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simonfaltum requested review from tejaskochar-db and removed request for tejaskochar-db April 9, 2026 20:35

simonfaltum and others added 2 commits April 14, 2026 09:34

Merge branch 'main' into simonfaltum/list-tui-paginated

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pietern reviewed Apr 14, 2026

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simonfaltum and others added 3 commits April 15, 2026 09:24

Merge branch 'main' into simonfaltum/list-tui-paginated

8e7674f

Address review nits: add missing override comments, document RenderIt…

d967b28

…erator cmd param

simonfaltum added 5 commits April 15, 2026 10:42

Replace global tableview registry with context-based config

046f656

Co-authored-by: Isaac

Fix context propagation: inject table config at execution time via Pr…

da84d97

…eRunE Co-authored-by: Isaac

Extract shared computeColumnWidths to deduplicate width computation

baaf1a8

Co-authored-by: Isaac

Extract shared renderTableToLines to deduplicate table rendering

4404611

Co-authored-by: Isaac

Consolidate maybeFetch tests, replace iterator panics with errors

5767ea3

Co-authored-by: Isaac

simonfaltum requested a review from pietern April 15, 2026 09:42

simonfaltum and others added 5 commits April 15, 2026 12:49

Merge branch 'main' into simonfaltum/list-tui-paginated

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Merge branch 'main' into simonfaltum/list-tui-paginated

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simonfaltum force-pushed the simonfaltum/list-tui-paginated branch from ba1b90a to e269ea3 Compare April 17, 2026 13:43

Merge branch 'main' into simonfaltum/list-tui-paginated

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simonfaltum mentioned this pull request Apr 17, 2026

Add interactive pager for list commands with a row template #5015

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simonfaltum closed this Apr 21, 2026

simonfaltum deleted the simonfaltum/list-tui-paginated branch April 21, 2026 09:39

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Priority: HIGH — Performance and design concerns in TUI table infrastructure

MAJOR: O(n) re-render on every keystroke

MAJOR: Partially-consumed iterator after search

MEDIUM: Entire feature unreachable until follow-up PRs

What looks good

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Approval status: pending

/cmd/workspace/apps/ - needs approval

/experimental/aitools/ - needs approval

/libs/cmdio/ - needs approval

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