Navigate prompt history in prompt field via arrow up/down

[fabb]

What problem does this proposed feature solve?

Insert previous prompts again, e.g. after deleting part of the history, or when repeating a similar task.

Describe the proposed solution in detail

In VSCode it‘s a UX principle that in input fields (e.g. search fields, commit message field, copilot prompt field), past values can be accessed with arrow up/down.

If the current field contains multiple lines, then the cursor must be in the first line when pressing arrow up to replace the text with the previous value in history. The cursor stays in the first line in that case. Arrow up can be pressed multiple times to go back in history. Arrow down goes forward in history, but again, only when the cursor is in the last line. The cursor stays in the last line in that case.

When having entered something already but not yet submitted, and then going back in history with arrow up, the entered text is not lost because it is added as temporary newest history entry, and can easily be restored with arrow down.

Technical considerations or implementation details (optional)

If available, use VSCode api that provides this functionality.

Describe alternatives considered (if any)

Not really, arrow up/down is so ingrained in VSCode UX that it feels weird to not have it in an input field.

Additional Context & Mockups

No response

Proposal Checklist

• I have searched existing Issues and Discussions to ensure this proposal is not a duplicate.
• This proposal is for a specific, actionable change intended for implementation (not a general idea).
• I understand that this proposal requires review and approval before any development work begins.

Are you interested in implementing this feature if approved?

• Yes, I would like to contribute to implementing this feature.

[daniel-lxs]

Solid idea, devs are pretty much used to pressing up to access past commands for example, seems intuitive to do it on Roo Code to access previous prompts.

Note: This is not an approval, please wait for a dev team member to approve this feature request.

[mrubens]

Sounds good to me

[daniel-lxs]

The ChatTextArea component currently handles arrow keys only for context menu navigation. To implement prompt history, we'd need to:

1. Add state to track prompt history and current position
2. Modify handleKeyDown to detect when cursor is at first/last line and trigger history navigation
3. Store unsaved input as temporary history entry when navigating away
4. Persist history across sessions (Optional: likely in extension state)

The implementation needs to coexist with the existing multi-line input behavior and context menu functionality, checking cursor position before deciding whether to navigate history or move the cursor normally.