# Stopping and steering a running agent (`ui.interrupt_steer`)

Feedback Bench, coding agents, built 2026-10-19, window 2026-08-31 to 2026-10-18. Web page: https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/#/criterion/ui.interrupt_steer

Area: [Interface and sessions](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/criteria/interface.md)

**Definition.** Whether the user can stop, interrupt or send guidance mid-run and have the agent respect it and continue.

**Boundary.** Not this: see [Stops mid-task or answers instead of acting](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/criteria/work.premature_stop.md) for the agent stopping on its own.

Rated user-weeks, all agents: 257. Complaint share: 59%.

## The brief

Written by large language models from this page's numbers and the posts it quotes, then checked: every number in the text is in the build. Interpretation, not measurement.

Cursor leads on stopping and steering a running agent. Among the ranked agents, it is the only one whose users praise this more often than they complain about it. Users rarely raise the topic: it is the 62nd most rated of 63 criteria. When they do raise it, they mostly complain, in 59.1% of rated user-weeks. OpenAI Codex comes next, and its users write 42% of the category's complaints here. Claude Code is 3rd of 3 and scores worse than the category norm.

### What separates the best from the rest

No agent ranks high or low here. Cursor users give 23 user-weeks of praise to 16 of complaint. When they complain, it is often about a new message that cuts into the current run instead of waiting its turn. OpenAI Codex users describe stop commands that do not take effect and steering messages that never arrive. Claude Code users describe keys that end work they meant to keep.

- **Ranks high**: no agent
- **Ranks low**: no agent

## How it breaks

Rule: A separate pass sorts complaints into failure modes. For each criterion with at least 30 complaining user-weeks, a large language model reads 150 complaint posts drawn at random and names 4 to 8 failure modes; a second large language model then puts every complaint post on that criterion in one mode, or in Other when it fits none. Modes are fixed once named, and new posts are sorted into them each week. A mode counts distinct user-weeks with a complaint in it, per agent; across agents, one user-week per agent. Modes do not change the labels or the Feedback Score. Examples: up to 3 posts per mode from different users, chosen and checked as receipts are.

The largest failure mode, at 20% of complaining user-weeks, is having no way to stop or steer. The user can only wait for the run to end. Three smaller modes belong mostly to one agent. OpenAI Codex accounts for 73% of steering messages that are ignored or lost, and 70% of cases where the run's state is wrong after a stop. Claude Code accounts for 54% of cases where an interrupt key wipes out running work.

153 complaining user-weeks.

| Failure mode | User-weeks | Posts | Agents (user-weeks) | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No way to stop or steer mid-run | 30 | 30 | OpenAI Codex 12, Claude Code 7, Google Antigravity 4, Cursor 2, OpenCode 2, Devin 1, Pi 1, Zed 1 | The product has no stop or pause control, no live steering, no way to edit or recall a message just sent, or no queue, so the user can only wait for the run to finish; existing features that are buggy are excluded. |
| Stop or pause command not honoured | 29 | 31 | OpenAI Codex 13, Google Antigravity 5, Claude Code 5, Cursor 2, Cline 1, Devin 1, Kiro 1, OpenCode 1 | The user presses stop, cancels, or tells the agent to stop or pause, and it keeps going, takes many minutes to halt, or stops briefly and then carries on (including goals that restart it); cases where the stop works but destroys work, or where steering messages are ignored, are excluded. |
| Mid-run steering message ignored or lost | 26 | 27 | OpenAI Codex 19, Claude Code 4, Google Antigravity 1, Cursor 1, OpenCode 1 | A guidance message sent while the agent is working is never seen, gets stuck or disappears in the queue, is duplicated or resent, or is only acted on after the whole run ends; products that offer no steering at all and messages that wrongly interrupt are excluded. |
| New message interrupts instead of queueing | 20 | 20 | Claude Code 6, Cursor 6, OpenAI Codex 4, Google Antigravity 1, GitHub Copilot 1, Devin 1, OpenCode 1 | A follow-up the user meant as the next task cancels or takes over the current run right away, or the product gives no reliable way to choose between queueing and steering; messages that are ignored or lost are excluded. |
| Overloaded interrupt keys destroy running work | 13 | 14 | Claude Code 7, Google Antigravity 2, OpenAI Codex 2, OpenCode 1, Pi 1 | A key or button the user expects to do something harmless (clear input, send a queued message, go back) instead kills subagents, closes tabs, or ends the session, often with no way to recover the lost work; stop requests that are simply ignored are excluded. |
| Run state misreported after stop or pause | 10 | 10 | OpenAI Codex 7, Claude Code 3 | After a stop or pause, the agent's real state is unclear or wrong: it looks stopped but is still running, reports a false run time, stays stuck paused until told to continue, or resumes on its own when reattached; cases where it plainly keeps working after being told to stop are excluded. |
| Interrupt drops or garbles the original task | 7 | 8 | OpenAI Codex 2, Cursor 2, Amp 1, Claude Code 1, Pi 1 | After the user interrupts or steers, the agent forgets the work it was doing, its earlier reasoning, or one of several quick messages, or mixes old and new instructions, and never returns to the unfinished task; cases where the interrupt itself fails to land are excluded. |
| Other | 22 | 23 | Claude Code 8, OpenAI Codex 8, Cursor 3, Amp 1, Google Antigravity 1, OpenCode 1 | Complaints that fit none of the modes above. |

#### No way to stop or steer mid-run

- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-14, X search: OpenAI Codex, Codex CLI, Codex app (X): “disappointed with how this works in the codex app. i get not wanting to disrupt automation, but i can't get through a set of questions before it finishes, which defeats the whole purpose. can questions trigger an actual pause if it detects typing? @openaidevs @ajambrosino [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/3293265447/status/2110358825924460795)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-08, r/codex (Reddit): “instant steering is useful. i use it all the time in claude. it’s a real gap in codex.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1x10pv6/day_4_tibo/peqot41/)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-05, X search: OpenAI Codex, Codex CLI, Codex app (X): “@platonmazarakis if i send a command and it waits for tool call, let me edit it before tool call ends if i want, i don't think i can edit on codex cli once i typed out a message. it's all esc to pause model not edit?” [source](https://twitter.com/1882194669158707200/status/2107191872011829685)

#### Stop or pause command not honoured

- Google Antigravity, 2026-10-06, @antigravity (X): “@adhidesign @googledeepmind @antigravity in cursor, if i stop a running agent, my submitted prompt returns to the textarea so i can quickly edit and resubmit it. in antigravity, i have to copy the prompt manually. preserve the prompt when stopping the agent.” [source](https://twitter.com/1135175156576313344/status/2107358145609900064)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-01, r/codex (Reddit): “at that point i reallly wanted to see what the fuck it was doing but i cancelled it 5 mins later because it didnt wanna stop” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1wuv5ew/is_sol_61_getting_slowly_faster_for_you_too/pd6nc1k/)
- Cline, 2026-09-23, @cline (X): “@cline when i do a steering message, i got this error in windows (latest cline version) , but the task dont stop it continue, and the red message keeps appearing; error 👇” [source](https://twitter.com/1760047654027796481/status/2102823548062421417)

#### Mid-run steering message ignored or lost

- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-15, r/codex (Reddit): “having the queue eat the previous task every time capacity trips is worse than no queue. i only leave one message now and keep the rest in a local checklist i fire when the chat window's free again.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1x68hdn/codex_moves_on_to_the_next_queued_message_if_at/pgtmdbg/)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-08, r/codex (Reddit): “so thats why i cannot steer recently, because they tweaked it. it didnt improved btw it regressed because i cannot steer my conversation” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1x10pv6/day_4_tibo/peqfvs0/)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-08, r/codex (Reddit): “neat. i cannot wait until they add steering back in. my tasks are not responding to steers at all. nothing. but they keep going. 🐮” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1x10pv6/day_4_tibo/peq4mws/)

#### New message interrupts instead of queueing

- Cursor, 2026-09-12, @cursor_ai (X): “@poteto @mattyp @roshan_s @bot can you guys fix desktop @cursor_ai queing messages vs. forcing them immediately on the agent. also, can i get project access!” [source](https://twitter.com/773953758673895424/status/2098821742395318362)
- Claude Code, 2026-09-10, @ClaudeDevs (X): “what happened to queuing messages in claude code desktop app? ⌘+⏎ used to queue messages but now it interrupts immediately? @claudedevs is there a way to go back?” [source](https://twitter.com/67076116/status/2098181682402939253)
- Cursor, 2026-09-10, @cursor_ai (X): “why does @cursor_ai no longer put new prompts into the queue? super annoying that it cancels the currently running” [source](https://twitter.com/872233564154335232/status/2097979154289291761)

#### Overloaded interrupt keys destroy running work

- Claude Code, 2026-10-05, @ClaudeDevs (X): “.@claudedevs can you guys please fix that ctrl+c deletes the messagebox normally but if there are subagents running it kills the subagents instead?? yes i did just accidentally kill a buch of subagents again” [source](https://twitter.com/1294737900236681223/status/2107185475983151255)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-09-22, X search: OpenAI Codex, Codex CLI, Codex app (X): “@thsottiaux in codex cli w/ computer use, if i press esc all the tabs get closed. often all i'm trying to do is send the next queued message to tell it to do somethign slightly different.” [source](https://twitter.com/16219198/status/2102299560962072706)
- Claude Code, 2026-09-15, r/ClaudeCode (Reddit): “yeah, also annoying that in some cases (when you clicked on shell, or monitor, or whatever) you need to click ← and in some - esc and you can mess up stopping agent. sometimes i feel they are not using cc internally. otherwise this would be fixed year ago.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1wh0dqn/having_ctrlc_for_both_clearing_input_and_stopping/p9yvoyd/)

#### Run state misreported after stop or pause

- Claude Code, 2026-09-26, @ClaudeDevs (X): “@claudedevs not sure why but this didnt happen on the last session... he picked up where he left off after reviewing the cache but yeah not graceful stop or halt” [source](https://twitter.com/1732237892041179136/status/2103794600083116095)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-09-10, r/codex (Reddit): “never needed to before. pause means pause -> ive done this hundreds of times before with no issue” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1wcn72c/just_lost_20_pro_5x_usage_because_of_this_since/p8z3xu8/)
- Claude Code, 2026-09-10, @ClaudeDevs (X): “@ricursive @claudedevs closing claude code to stop it, then watching reattach auto-resume and chew the full context again, is the opposite of a limit. the brake should hold, not yank you back in.” [source](https://twitter.com/2084224068518039552/status/2097982391880995320)

#### Interrupt drops or garbles the original task

- Pi, 2026-10-03, r/PiCodingAgent (Reddit): “omg continuing mid thought is a huge thing! every time i abort to fix some misconseption in the thinking it just forgets the thinking, i built a short extension to keep it but it doesn't work perfectly lol” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/PiCodingAgent/comments/1wwllzb/will_pi_add_builtin_subagents_or_sandboxes/pdmcx6q/)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-09-27, X search: OpenAI Codex, Codex CLI, Codex app (X): “@thsottiaux dude, please, can you fix steering in the codex app? it literally like doesn't reply to my earlier messages when steered. this seems like a ui bug, not a model bug” [source](https://twitter.com/1473468965313814530/status/2104244788677554626)
- Cursor, 2026-09-11, @cursor_ai (X): “@cursor_ai most of the time when i add a comment while it's working on something (especially with grok) this does indeed interrupt that task and does not circle back to it. [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/2264632740/status/2098201666772406748)

## Top requests

What users ask to add or change, most asked first. 111 user-weeks ask for something. Requests do not change the Feedback Score. Rule: A separate pass by a large language model reads every counted post and extracts what the user asks the agent or its vendor to add or change, with the criteria it maps to and a short normalised wording; it does not touch the labels or the Feedback Score. A large language model groups the wordings within each criterion (the first criterion the request maps to) into themes, and a second pass merges themes that ask for the same change under different criteria; a merged theme sits under the criterion most of its requests map to, and code counts it once. A theme counts distinct user-weeks that ask for it, per agent; across agents, one user-week per agent. Themes asked in fewer than 2 user-weeks, and requests that share no theme, are not shown. Examples: up to 3 posts per theme from different users, without slurs: whole posts of 60 to 450 characters with at least 8 words beyond handles and links, posts of at most 280 characters first, then the newest.

| Rank | Request | User-weeks | Posts | Agents (user-weeks) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mid-run steering with new messages | 26 | 26 | Google Antigravity 7, OpenAI Codex 6, Claude Code 3, Devin 3, OpenCode 3, Cursor 2, GitHub Copilot 1, Pi 1 |
| 2 | Queue prompts after current task | 18 | 18 | Cursor 7, Claude Code 3, OpenCode 3, Google Antigravity 2, OpenAI Codex 2, GitHub Copilot 1 |
| 3 | Separate controls for queue versus steer | 10 | 10 | OpenAI Codex 4, Claude Code 3, Google Antigravity 1, Devin 1, Pi 1 |
| 4 | Reliable delivery of steering and queued messages | 8 | 8 | OpenAI Codex 6, Claude Code 1, Pi 1 |
| 5 | Edit or recall sent and queued messages | 7 | 7 | Google Antigravity 2, Claude Code 1, OpenAI Codex 1, Devin 1, Factory 1, OpenCode 1 |
| 6 | Immediate and reliable stop command | 5 | 5 | OpenAI Codex 2, Claude Code 1, Devin 1, Pi 1 |
| 7 | Clear indication of steer versus queue status | 4 | 4 | Google Antigravity 1, Claude Code 1, OpenAI Codex 1, Cursor 1 |
| 8 | Non-blocking approvals and questions | 4 | 4 | Claude Code 2, OpenAI Codex 2 |
| 9 | Safer interrupt key priority | 4 | 4 | Claude Code 3, OpenAI Codex 1 |
| 10 | Finish current tool call before steering | 3 | 3 | OpenAI Codex 3 |
| 11 | Preserve prompt and context on stop | 3 | 3 | Pi 2, Google Antigravity 1 |
| 12 | Inject messages via external chat bridges | 2 | 2 | OpenAI Codex 2 |

### 1. Mid-run steering with new messages

- Google Antigravity, 2026-10-17, @antigravity (X): “@antigravity the real ai can continuously issue commands without needing to interrupt and resend them.” [source](https://twitter.com/2232514291/status/2111375982531903858)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-08, r/codex (Reddit): “so thats why i cannot steer recently, because they tweaked it. it didnt improved btw it regressed because i cannot steer my conversation” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1x10pv6/day_4_tibo/peqfvs0/)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-08, r/codex (Reddit): “neat. i cannot wait until they add steering back in. my tasks are not responding to steers at all. nothing. but they keep going. 🐮” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1x10pv6/day_4_tibo/peq4mws/)

### 2. Queue prompts after current task

- Claude Code, 2026-10-09, r/ClaudeCode (Reddit): “hi, i want to queue several prompts (sending them with ctrl+enter). but when i queue more than one prompt it sends them all together after the first one finishes. is this truly the desired behavior? why can't i queue several prompts?” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1x1jlg7/queuing_prompts_windows_app/)
- OpenCode, 2026-09-27, @opencode (X): “@opencode when will you add a queue system so that multiple prompts can be launched sequentially?” [source](https://twitter.com/2048887842613379073/status/2104001597902905376)
- OpenCode, 2026-09-20, r/opencode (Reddit): “yeah bro i also find several features missing : 1. plan mode 2. queue messages and many more” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/opencode/comments/1wlkq6c/windows_app_has_no_plan_mode/pazcvae/)

### 3. Separate controls for queue versus steer

- Claude Code, 2026-10-09, @ClaudeDevs (X): “@karanjagtiani04 @claudedevs yea maybe they can add like a toggle or have like a shortcut key. cmd + enter (to queue) and just the enter key to steer. and when you just submit it it just shows which one you activated.” [source](https://twitter.com/741810869898600448/status/2108498756287312245)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-09-26, X search: OpenAI Codex, Codex CLI, Codex app (X): “feature suggestion for @claudeai / @openai codex: when i send a new prompt while the agent is working on something, use a model to decide whether to queue the message or interrupt the current task with it” [source](https://twitter.com/1672561884954763265/status/2103859702354309486)
- Pi, 2026-09-22, @pidotdev (X): “@pidotdev allow enter on an empty input to force-send the next scheduled message when one is queued.” [source](https://twitter.com/1077764990/status/2102391128217813462)

### 4. Reliable delivery of steering and queued messages

- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-04, X search: OpenAI Codex, Codex CLI, Codex app (X): “@thsottiaux are we not allowed to steer conversations into a working thread anymore??? writing something and submitting it, either disappears or get stuck within the queue panel without options, even if the main settings are to steer. in both codex app and codex + vscode [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/65070018/status/2106784912791716287)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-09-27, X search: OpenAI Codex, Codex CLI, Codex app (X): “@thsottiaux dude, please, can you fix steering in the codex app? it literally like doesn't reply to my earlier messages when steered. this seems like a ui bug, not a model bug” [source](https://twitter.com/1473468965313814530/status/2104244788677554626)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-05, r/codex (Reddit): “various codex sessions. i started seeing this happening last couple of days i send a message to steer, but instead it either fails, or shows up in the queue. retry is grayed out still sometimes it makes it and the agent looks at it, sometimes i have to send it a few times is something new going on?” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1wxv05o/steering_messages_showing_up_as_a_queued_fail/)

### 5. Edit or recall sent and queued messages

- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-05, X search: OpenAI Codex, Codex CLI, Codex app (X): “@platonmazarakis if i send a command and it waits for tool call, let me edit it before tool call ends if i want, i don't think i can edit on codex cli once i typed out a message. it's all esc to pause model not edit?” [source](https://twitter.com/1882194669158707200/status/2107191872011829685)
- Factory, 2026-10-01, @FactoryAI (X): “@droid @factoryai droid cli message queue combo keys rebinding. being able to press up and edit queued or non delivered steering messages. giving me free credits” [source](https://twitter.com/932741577369366528/status/2105502687793918232)
- OpenCode, 2026-09-20, @opencode (X): “when are we getting the option to force send the next message instead of it getting stuck? or edit the same one? i can help you implement it at the end of the day, it's about saving us time 😅😅 @opencode @thdxr” [source](https://twitter.com/2089312053269864449/status/2101519232563286217)

### 6. Immediate and reliable stop command

- Claude Code, 2026-10-11, r/ClaudeCode (Reddit): “exercise the stop button mid-run and during retries. keep cancelled and never-started tests distinct from failures, and preserve completed results so a partial run cannot look like a fully evaluated suite.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1x332i7/runboard_live_playwright_test_progress_inside/pf7qxp8/)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-09-14, r/codex (Reddit): “technically, but the model should understand that “stop” is used generally more often than specifically” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1wgh9zr/astra_misunderstood_me_pro_20x/p9up0lq/)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-05, r/codex (Reddit): “i am livid now. codex (astra xhigh) has been working on a /goal for 7 hours. then i asked it to stop and get what? 15 minutes of waiting for it to fkin stop. meanwhile it consumes almost all my upload bandwidth. this was not the case just a version or two ago, what the hell have you done openai? i asked the model to stop and it would work towards stopping immediately, now it's a separate project i'm guessing. man i'm emotional right now!” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1wxzrxb/codex_doesnt_stop_promptly/)

### 7. Clear indication of steer versus queue status

- Claude Code, 2026-10-09, @ClaudeDevs (X): “@vansitha12 @claudedevs yes. 'use the other api' should change what it's doing now. 'write the readme next' should wait. i'd want the interface to show which one happened, so i don't have to guess from the next response.” [source](https://twitter.com/69737146/status/2108438732370292777)
- Cursor, 2026-10-05, @cursor_ai (X): “@cursor_ai does run.steer() acknowledge when the message is queued or when a turn actually consumes it? i'd want a turn id back so a ui can distinguish 'sent' from 'agent changed course'.” [source](https://twitter.com/1588935512135720961/status/2107143437422313696)
- Google Antigravity, 2026-09-16, r/google_antigravity (Reddit): “they responded in the same tone as the post. i think it’s reasonable in this case. the original poster doesn’t understand how to use the tool and is claiming agy and the model doesn’t work. while i see issues with both on occasion, one can’t blame the tool when they don’t know how to use it. the only valid feedback is that agy should make it more clear how to interrupt or steer it on startup. that’s the takeaway from this post for google.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/google_antigravity/comments/1whsyhq/i_will_keep_posting_to_show_how_incapable_gemini/pa5vsr0/)

### 8. Non-blocking approvals and questions

- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-14, X search: OpenAI Codex, Codex CLI, Codex app (X): “disappointed with how this works in the codex app. i get not wanting to disrupt automation, but i can't get through a set of questions before it finishes, which defeats the whole purpose. can questions trigger an actual pause if it detects typing? @openaidevs @ajambrosino [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/3293265447/status/2110358825924460795)
- Claude Code, 2026-10-03, @ClaudeDevs (X): “@claudedevs catching misses is nice, but the bigger win would be not having to watch the agent the whole time. just pull me in when something actually needs me.” [source](https://twitter.com/2105556557421481984/status/2106191289461207192)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-09-13, r/codex (Reddit): “having to keep saying “continue” sounds exhausting. you should be able to let it get on with the job and still have a say over the risky stuff. that’s the part i’m working on at the moment. happy to explain what i’m trying.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1weuufh/i_have_to_tell_codex_pls_proceed_lets_implement/p9ip3lh/)

### 9. Safer interrupt key priority

- OpenAI Codex, 2026-09-22, X search: OpenAI Codex, Codex CLI, Codex app (X): “@thsottiaux in codex cli w/ computer use, if i press esc all the tabs get closed. often all i'm trying to do is send the next queued message to tell it to do somethign slightly different.” [source](https://twitter.com/16219198/status/2102299560962072706)
- Claude Code, 2026-09-15, r/ClaudeCode (Reddit): “yeah this seems like a really easy thing to do by accident. ctrl+c is so deeply wired into terminal habits that using the same key to kill running subagents feels risky. making it clear the input first and only stop subagents when the input is empty would make way more sense imo” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1wh0dqn/having_ctrlc_for_both_clearing_input_and_stopping/pa0b5ur/)

### 10. Finish current tool call before steering

- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-08, r/codex (Reddit): “see, i'm taking this as a negative. sometimes i want the agent to complete the tool it's using and then take into account what i've steered it with. now it sounds like it's just dumping the current tool/turn (and my tokens) and then acting on the steered prompt?” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1x10pv6/day_4_tibo/pepl4ei/)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-09, r/codex (Reddit): “> the message got sent after it completed an action. which i would prefer as the default behaviour for steering. i want the agent to complete it's action normally, so that we can roll it back cleanly, if necessary. reconstructing cancelled calls is harder. also, sometimes i "steer" with additional hints, and would not want the agent to drop everything they were holding, just to hear my "yes, that's how i meant it".” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1x1063x/probably_no_reset_on_day_4/pesczoc/)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-08, r/codex (Reddit): “i don’t want instant steering? i want it to finish its task and then steer? instant steering is fucking stupid. it’s like an option for morons who didn’t read their prompt before sending it. i don’t mean it’s entire task. but i mean. “i’m editing this file…” finish that shit first. claude already does this, it’s fucking awful.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1x10pv6/day_4_tibo/pepkpap/)

### 11. Preserve prompt and context on stop

- Google Antigravity, 2026-10-06, @antigravity (X): “@adhidesign @googledeepmind @antigravity in cursor, if i stop a running agent, my submitted prompt returns to the textarea so i can quickly edit and resubmit it. in antigravity, i have to copy the prompt manually. preserve the prompt when stopping the agent.” [source](https://twitter.com/1135175156576313344/status/2107358145609900064)
- Pi, 2026-10-03, r/PiCodingAgent (Reddit): “omg continuing mid thought is a huge thing! every time i abort to fix some misconseption in the thinking it just forgets the thinking, i built a short extension to keep it but it doesn't work perfectly lol” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/PiCodingAgent/comments/1wwllzb/will_pi_add_builtin_subagents_or_sandboxes/pdmcx6q/)
- Pi, 2026-09-13, r/PiCodingAgent (Reddit): “yup, preserve thinking should do the trick. a full prefill on esc would drive me insane.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/PiCodingAgent/comments/1wcwsya/noob_question_how_to_interrupt_an_agent_during/p9nc0sp/)

### 12. Inject messages via external chat bridges

- OpenAI Codex, 2026-09-07, r/codex (Reddit): “and when app is built: connector via chat for mid-sessions/reviews. you could use desktop sol/astra i suppose but honestly i have no clue how expensive that might be. i don't really 'chat' with codex - for that i use chatgpt browser.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1w9l5rd/do_i_need_the_pro/p8bgnw7/)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-09-05, X search: OpenAI Codex, Codex CLI, Codex app (X): “@thsottiaux help me cancel my claude subscription. codex app server with a telegram bridge seems rough, agent does not drive tasks to completion, stops often. claude code is able to inject my telegram messages right into a session, is there an equivalent in codex?” [source](https://twitter.com/2267844098/status/2096383921424396751)

## Every agent

| Agent | Overall rank | Reading | Customer love | 95% interval | n | Praise | Complaint |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Cursor](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/cursor.md) | 7 | 1st of 3 | 0.534 | 0.512–0.559 | 39 | 23 | 16 |
| [OpenAI Codex](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/codex.md) | 10 | 2nd of 3 | 0.492 | 0.459–0.528 | 107 | 43 | 64 |
| [Claude Code](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/claude-code.md) | 1 | 3rd of 3 | 0.473 | 0.452–0.494 | 55 | 15 | 40 |
| [Google Antigravity](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/antigravity.md) | 14 | Too few posts | – | – | 22 | 9 | 13 |
| [OpenCode](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/opencode.md) | 3 | Too few posts | – | – | 14 | 7 | 7 |
| [Pi](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/pi.md) | 4 | Too few posts | – | – | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| [Amp](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/amp.md) | 5 | Too few posts | – | – | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| [Devin](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/devin.md) | 2 | Too few posts | – | – | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| [Zed](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/zed.md) | 8 | Too few posts | – | – | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| [GitHub Copilot](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/copilot.md) | 9 | Too few posts | – | – | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| [Cline](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/cline.md) | 11 | Too few posts | – | – | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| [Factory](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/factory.md) | 6 | Too few posts | – | – | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| [Kiro](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/kiro.md) | 13 | Too few posts | – | – | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| [Conductor](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/conductor.md) | 12 | Too few posts | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| [Warp](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/warp.md) | 15 | Too few posts | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| [Grok Build](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/grok-build.md) | 16 | Too few posts | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| [Augment Code](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/augment.md) | 17 | Too few posts | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Posts

Receipts rule: Up to 5 praise and 5 complaint posts per area and 3 per criterion. Each is a whole post of 60 to 450 characters (700 for areas) with at least 8 words beyond handles and links, that judges the criterion, whose labels are all praise or all complaint, and that contains no slur. Posts that touch the fewest criteria come first, then posts of at most 280 characters, then the newest. A second large language model reads the first 3 candidates per slot and keeps a post only if it clearly praises, or clearly complains about, the agent on that criterion. Links and personal details removed by the source show as marks such as [link].

### Cursor

- Praise, 2026-10-10, r/ClaudeAI (Reddit): “tbh i'd just be happy if ctrl+c interrupted. cursor does this and it feels intuitive.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeAI/comments/1x2en0e/please_add_a_setting_to_make_enter_insert_a_new/pf1uvof/)
- Praise, 2026-10-06, @cursor_ai (X): “@cursor_ai half my restarts were an agent that was 80% right with one wrong assumption, so keeping the context is the real win here. does a steer reach subagents already running in the background, or only the parent's next turn?” [source](https://twitter.com/2066209285273538560/status/2107403148226597001)
- Praise, 2026-10-06, @cursor_ai (X): “@cursor_ai mid-run steering is such a 'why didn't this exist sooner' feature. nothing worse than watching your agent confidently build the wrong thing for 10 minutes while you have no wheel lol” [source](https://twitter.com/1946533759261802496/status/2107418142897307961)
- Complaint, 2026-09-12, @cursor_ai (X): “@poteto @mattyp @roshan_s @bot can you guys fix desktop @cursor_ai queing messages vs. forcing them immediately on the agent. also, can i get project access!” [source](https://twitter.com/773953758673895424/status/2098821742395318362)
- Complaint, 2026-09-11, @cursor_ai (X): “@cursor_ai most of the time when i add a comment while it's working on something (especially with grok) this does indeed interrupt that task and does not circle back to it. [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/2264632740/status/2098201666772406748)
- Complaint, 2026-09-10, @cursor_ai (X): “why does @cursor_ai no longer put new prompts into the queue? super annoying that it cancels the currently running” [source](https://twitter.com/872233564154335232/status/2097979154289291761)

### OpenAI Codex

- Praise, 2026-10-12, r/codex (Reddit): “i usually just tell it to do a bunch of stuff and add even more stuf through steering and it worked fine.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1x3n80u/simple_design_job_takes_2_hours_with_sol_high/pfds4xt/)
- Praise, 2026-10-12, X search: OpenAI Codex, Codex CLI, Codex app (X): “the new chatgpt (codex) app has default new message as steer vs queue. i ... kind of love it!” [source](https://twitter.com/137867896/status/2109747570067259490)
- Praise, 2026-10-11, r/codex (Reddit): “i'll often steer with "explain x, then continue" and it works well for me.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1x3dg7k/features_suggestions/pfa0tp7/)
- Complaint, 2026-10-15, r/codex (Reddit): “having the queue eat the previous task every time capacity trips is worse than no queue. i only leave one message now and keep the rest in a local checklist i fire when the chat window's free again.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1x68hdn/codex_moves_on_to_the_next_queued_message_if_at/pgtmdbg/)
- Complaint, 2026-10-14, X search: OpenAI Codex, Codex CLI, Codex app (X): “disappointed with how this works in the codex app. i get not wanting to disrupt automation, but i can't get through a set of questions before it finishes, which defeats the whole purpose. can questions trigger an actual pause if it detects typing? @openaidevs @ajambrosino [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/3293265447/status/2110358825924460795)
- Complaint, 2026-10-08, r/codex (Reddit): “nah steering always happened after the latest call never in real time” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1x1063x/probably_no_reset_on_day_4/pepapww/)

### Claude Code

- Praise, 2026-09-19, @ClaudeDevs (X): “i'm loving the send-now key (ctrl+enter) to instantly send a command. (interrupts the current turn and sends all queued messages at once) @claudedevs @claudeai [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/14053266/status/2101245366322765849)
- Praise, 2026-10-09, r/ClaudeCode (Reddit): “what works for me: hit esc to stop it, tell it what to change, and it picks up from there without killing the whole thing. for bigger changes i use plan mode first, so we agree on all the edits before it starts writing any. is this in the terminal or the vs code extension?” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1x1htas/how_do_i_stop_it_writing_edits_ahead_while/peulg1r/)
- Praise, 2026-09-02, r/ClaudeCode (Reddit): “oh its completely visual. you can actually see it build what you told. interrupt it anytime, give a command after thinking..” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1w5i9n3/what_if_there_was_a_better_way_to_interact_with/p7ft1c9/)
- Complaint, 2026-10-05, @ClaudeDevs (X): “.@claudedevs can you guys please fix that ctrl+c deletes the messagebox normally but if there are subagents running it kills the subagents instead?? yes i did just accidentally kill a buch of subagents again” [source](https://twitter.com/1294737900236681223/status/2107185475983151255)

### Google Antigravity

- Praise, 2026-09-24, @antigravity (X): “ctrl+enter to send the message while the agent is still running in @claudeai code, after recent update !!! glad that at least @grok cli and @antigravity have already done these optimizations for user interaction with coding agents. just waiting for their better and cheaper models now. grok 4.7 and 4.6 are too expensive… and ngl, gemini 4 is still a myth at this point. 😂” [source](https://twitter.com/1500117043391397894/status/2103200620379537819)
- Praise, 2026-09-05, r/google_antigravity (Reddit): “i started using antigravity cli myself recently. really like the agent team design there. once you start the teamwork-preview, the main session is still available to communicate and update and do proper course corrections.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/google_antigravity/comments/1w6h936/google_claims_are_correct_guys/p7vrf8s/)
- Complaint, 2026-10-06, @antigravity (X): “@adhidesign @googledeepmind @antigravity in cursor, if i stop a running agent, my submitted prompt returns to the textarea so i can quickly edit and resubmit it. in antigravity, i have to copy the prompt manually. preserve the prompt when stopping the agent.” [source](https://twitter.com/1135175156576313344/status/2107358145609900064)
- Complaint, 2026-09-27, @antigravity (X): “@antigravity i suggest you implement missing features that are still needed (like steering), rather than redundant features that went out of style more than 6 months ago.” [source](https://twitter.com/14228971/status/2104137839525126361)
- Complaint, 2026-09-16, @antigravity (X): “@antigravity please, antigravity lacks real-time answers when you send a question when it's already running, antigravity is the only one of the agentic ais that's like that. you send a question in the middle of execution and it only responds when it's finished the whole process.” [source](https://twitter.com/139495776/status/2100203090775302535)

### OpenCode

- Praise, 2026-10-11, @opencode (X): “i just figured out you can talk to @opencode models while its working thats so cool, waiting on a response” [source](https://twitter.com/1811859289465847812/status/2109418073963089970)
- Praise, 2026-09-25, r/opencode (Reddit): “the separate backend means it's easy to connect to the same session from several clients. it's now possible to post a prompt and then cancel it before the model picks it up (seeing it becoming irrelevant from the cot) and the ui is much less laggy.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/opencode/comments/1wppj69/is_opencode_v2_officially_in_a_stable_release/pbxmjma/)
- Praise, 2026-09-10, @opencode (X): “tried another switch to @opencode v2 and i think it's ready. made an updated connector for @herdrdev, and upgraded all my plugins. v2 is snappier, and uses way less ram, plus has native message queueing (what was called "queue" in v1 was actually steering).” [source](https://twitter.com/821042/status/2097898349126926798)
- Complaint, 2026-10-07, @opencode (X): “@rekram11 @opencode @thdxr i was in a middle of the work so i just rollbacked to .22 let me update again and try the commands dax suggested to see if it fixes the issue. the issue was slow startup, models hung up(all providers), esc to interrupt not working(had to click 10 times to stop)” [source](https://twitter.com/1700848053182197760/status/2107860685392621840)

### Pi

- Complaint, 2026-10-03, r/PiCodingAgent (Reddit): “omg continuing mid thought is a huge thing! every time i abort to fix some misconseption in the thinking it just forgets the thinking, i built a short extension to keep it but it doesn't work perfectly lol” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/PiCodingAgent/comments/1wwllzb/will_pi_add_builtin_subagents_or_sandboxes/pdmcx6q/)
- Complaint, 2026-09-23, @pidotdev (X): “@pidotdev steering is broken. multiple messages are sent one by one - they should be sent as one body. option+up aborts the agent, it should only bring the queued steering text back into editor. only esc should abort, and when text is queued, it should only interrupt the model and auto-submit the text.” [source](https://twitter.com/15266830/status/2102579401221099934)

### Amp

- Praise, 2026-10-06, @AmpCode (X): “@sqs @ampcode wow, those are low percentages... 😅 i do like queueing requests that should be done sequentially. i know i can just "steer" with a "when done, do this other thing". but i like separating into different steps... 🤷” [source](https://twitter.com/2062509956574650368/status/2107518369016512519)
- Praise, 2026-10-07, @AmpCode (X): “@sqs @shavsycle @ampcode queuing is really useful when you have a workflow like i usually ask for some task implementation and then cleanup based on a skill and then adding/removing tests based on another skill. i do it in this order because when asked to do together, the results are vastly different.” [source](https://twitter.com/1706670569960415232/status/2107657698372465121)
- Complaint, 2026-09-12, @AmpCode (X): “@sqs @ampcode @thorstenball if i run into the same thing i’ll report it. but it was like: i sent a message to do something and shortly after sent another message to do something else (unrelated to the former). i think it was with such short time in between that it just interrupted the first and forgot it” [source](https://twitter.com/872962356/status/2098703694615261199)

### Devin

- Complaint, 2026-09-28, @cognition (X): “why @devinai does not have steer messages yet? can someone let me know? @cognition its so useful.” [source](https://twitter.com/1470959923580129282/status/2104444915866587361)
- Complaint, 2026-09-18, @cognition (X): “@devindesktop @cognition @russelljkaplan can you please add steering for sessions, in addition to queueing messages, allow us to choose the default for new messages during an active session. currently, it queues by default, and the only other option is interupt, which terminates all subagents working, when 99% of the time, users want to steer the session, and not interupt. if we wanted to interupt, we would hit the stop button.” [source](https://twitter.com/43418580/status/2101040791330369835)

### Zed

- Complaint, 2026-10-06, r/ClaudeCode (Reddit): “i use both cli, the claude app and also via zed. i used to prefer zed but it doesn’t have some features like graceful session stop, no mods support, and zed worktrees have been causing some performance issues for me. so i switched to the cli recently and i have mods to customize my experience making it significantly better.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1wy9mju/how_many_of_you_still_use_claude_code_from/peb9lst/)

### GitHub Copilot

- Praise, 2026-09-10, @GitHubCopilot (X): “finally gave a serious try to @opencode for personal project and suddenly missed the following ( compared to @githubcopilot cli ) message steering, branch /diff ( from main even after pushing ), /btw , ctrl+c protection, plan however still impressed with tui, free zen models” [source](https://twitter.com/15468471/status/2098084461204390142)

### Cline

- Complaint, 2026-09-23, @cline (X): “@cline when i do a steering message, i got this error in windows (latest cline version) , but the task dont stop it continue, and the red message keeps appearing; error 👇” [source](https://twitter.com/1760047654027796481/status/2102823548062421417)