BUILD / fix-grok-build-terminal-clipboard-and-keys

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Fix Grok Build terminal colors, clipboard, and keys

Fix Grok Build terminal colors, clipboard, and keys

Grok Build draws with terminal escape sequences for color, clipboard, mouse, and fullscreen. Multiplexers and SSH hosts often strip or remap those sequences. Inside a session, run /terminal-setup (aliases /terminal-check, /terminal-info) to see what was detected, which clipboard routes are active, and any fixes.

Colors look wrong

Set COLORTERM=truecolor in your shell profile. Inside tmux, also enable 24-bit RGB:

# ~/.tmux.conf
set -g default-terminal "tmux-256color"
set -as terminal-features ",*:RGB"
set -g set-clipboard on
set -g allow-passthrough on

Reload with tmux source-file ~/.tmux.conf. The last two lines also fix clipboard and notification passthrough. Pair color fixes with Change the theme in Grok Build.

Copy does not reach the clipboard

Grok writes to the native OS clipboard, to the tmux paste buffer inside tmux, and emits OSC 52 for remote cases (SSH, containers, Linux). Two common blockers:

  • iTerm2 ignores OSC 52 until you enable Settings → General → Selection → "Applications in terminal may access clipboard".
  • Apple Terminal ignores OSC 52 entirely, so copies over SSH cannot reach your local clipboard. Wrap the remote command: grok wrap ssh user@host runs it in a local PTY that intercepts OSC 52 and writes to your clipboard. The same works for grok wrap docker exec ... and grok wrap kubectl exec .... Official docs mark grok wrap as experimental.

Keyboard chords do not work

Environment Fix
WezTerm Add config.enable_kitty_keyboard = true to wezterm.lua, then restart — fixes Ctrl+Enter (interject) and Shift+Enter (newline)
VS Code / Cursor / Windsurf / Zed terminals Cannot distinguish Shift+Enter from Enter; use Alt+Enter for newlines (same over SSH)
Zellij Intercepts many Ctrl chords. On Zellij 0.41+, switch to the "Unlock-First (non-colliding)" preset (Ctrl+Oc → Change Mode Behavior), then Ctrl+G temporarily unlocks Zellij
Apple Terminal Ctrl+O interjects (it lacks Kitty keyboard protocol for Ctrl+Enter)

No fullscreen, or mouse scrolling stops

Grok runs inline under Zellij and tmux control mode (tmux -CC). Force fullscreen with alt_screen = "always" under [terminal] in ~/.grok/pager.toml, or disable it anywhere with --no-alt-screen.

If the terminal's native scrollbar takes over, mouse reporting is off: Apple Terminal re-enables it under View → Allow Mouse Reporting (Cmd+R); iTerm2 under Settings → Profiles → Terminal → "Enable mouse reporting".

Still stuck? Run /feedback from inside Grok.

Pitfalls

  • Truecolor themes (TokyoNight, RosePineMoon, OscuraMidnight) need COLORTERM=truecolor or they quantize / hide in the picker.
  • grok wrap is experimental — keep it for clipboard passthrough over SSH/docker/kubectl when Apple Terminal or OSC 52 is the blocker.