Cite a full agent response from its message actions

[maxim-kich]

Problem or use case

I often go back and forth with models—exploring approaches, generating images, writing, and especially researching. Conversations get long, and I regularly need to point the model back to something it said earlier.

The existing Cite feature helps, but citing a whole response means selecting all its text, clicking Cite, and dismissing the optional comment popup before writing my prompt. I often copy and paste the response into the composer instead, which clutters the draft.

Proposed solution

Add a quote icon beside Fork on assistant responses, with the tooltip “Cite this message”.

Clicking it would insert a citation for the full response at the current cursor position, reusing the existing citation chip. It wouldn’t open the optional comment popup, since I can write my follow-up directly in the composer.

Demo

I prepared a local prototype showing the interaction:

t3-code-cite-message-demo.mp4

Why this matters

Quoting earlier messages is a familiar chat interaction. Making it available directly on a response would save a few steps and make the existing Cite feature easier to discover and use.

Smallest useful scope

• Full-message citation on assistant responses.
• Reuse the existing citation chip and insert it at the composer cursor.
• Skip the optional comment popup for this action.

As a small related improvement, hovering over a citation chip could highlight the original message or selected text, helping users locate its source.

Related work

Discussion #20806 proposes stable message links and passing individual responses as agent context. This proposal focuses on a shortcut for the existing Cite interaction.

Would this direction and scope make sense? I’d be happy to prepare a focused PR if approved.