Hunter Bown
82 lines
3.8 KiB
Markdown
82 lines
3.8 KiB
Markdown
# Accessibility
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DeepSeek-TUI runs in a terminal, so the platform's own accessibility
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stack (screen readers, magnifiers, terminal-level themes) does most
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of the work. The TUI provides a small set of toggles that reduce
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visual motion and density for screen-reader and low-motion users.
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## Quick reference
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| Toggle | Default | Effect |
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| --- | --- | --- |
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| `NO_ANIMATIONS=1` env var | unset | At startup, forces `low_motion = true` and `fancy_animations = false`. Overrides whatever's saved in `settings.toml`. |
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| `low_motion` setting | `false` | Uses calmer streaming pacing and a lower redraw cadence so cursor/status motion is less aggressive. The footer water strip is controlled separately by `fancy_animations`. |
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| `fancy_animations` setting | `true` | Footer water-spout strip and pulsing sub-agent counter. Set to `false` to keep live-turn chrome still. |
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| `status_indicator` setting | `whale` | Header status chip. Set to `dots` for the compact dot cycle or `off` to hide it. |
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| `calm_mode` setting | `false` | Collapses tool-output details by default and trims status messages. Useful for screen readers that announce every redraw. |
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| `show_thinking` setting | `true` | Set to `false` to hide model `reasoning_content` blocks entirely. |
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| `show_tool_details` setting | `true` | Set to `false` to render tool calls as one-liners without expanded payloads. |
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## Standard env-var surface
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Set these in your shell profile so they apply to every session:
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```bash
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# Force low-motion + no fancy animations.
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export NO_ANIMATIONS=1
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# Optional: respect the wider terminal-color convention.
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export NO_COLOR=1 # honored by the underlying ratatui backend
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```
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`NO_ANIMATIONS` accepts any of `1`, `true`, `yes`, or `on`
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(case-insensitive). Any other value (including `0`, `false`, empty,
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or unset) leaves your saved settings alone.
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The override is applied once at startup. Changing the env var
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mid-session has no effect — settings are only re-read on the next
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launch.
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## Configuring via `/settings`
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The same toggles are reachable from the command palette:
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* `/settings set low_motion on`
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* `/settings set fancy_animations off`
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* `/settings set calm_mode on`
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* `/settings set status_indicator off`
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Settings written this way persist to `~/.config/deepseek/settings.toml`.
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The `NO_ANIMATIONS` env var still wins at startup if it's set, so
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unsetting the env var is the way to honor your saved choice.
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Tilix and Terminator sessions automatically start in low-motion mode because
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those VTE-based terminals have reported visible redraw flicker during active
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turns. You can still override the saved settings after launch if your terminal
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version renders cleanly.
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## Notes for screen-reader users
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* `low_motion` slows the idle redraw loop to ~120ms per frame so
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the cursor isn't constantly repositioned. Combined with
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`calm_mode`, the redraw rate stays low enough that VoiceOver /
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Orca announcements track linearly with model output instead of
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re-reading the whole screen on each tick.
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* The transcript is pure text — no images or canvas rendering — so
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any terminal that integrates with the platform's accessibility
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service (e.g. macOS Terminal.app, iTerm2, Ghostty, Windows
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Terminal) will pass the rendered content straight through.
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* If you find a UI surface that still produces motion when
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`low_motion = true`, please file an issue against
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[`PRIOR: Screen-reader / accessibility flag`](https://github.com/Hmbown/CodeWhale/issues/450)
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with a screenshot or terminal recording.
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## Related issues / history
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* [#450](https://github.com/Hmbown/CodeWhale/issues/450) —
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documenting the existing flag, adding the `NO_ANIMATIONS`
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startup overlay, and writing this page.
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* [#449](https://github.com/Hmbown/CodeWhale/issues/449) —
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footer statusline now uses the active theme's contrast pair
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instead of a bespoke palette.
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