From fe2a20638b3885ec8c91c9249dc296edf31c8e26 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Greyforge Admin <admin@greyforge.tech>
Date: Tue, 19 May 2026 22:47:26 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] Hide form placeholders when submit is focused

---
 src/cortex-tui/src/widgets/form/modal.rs | 12 ++++---
 src/cortex-tui/src/widgets/form/tests.rs | 42 +++++++++++++++++++++++-
 2 files changed, 49 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/cortex-tui/src/widgets/form/modal.rs b/src/cortex-tui/src/widgets/form/modal.rs
index cc29572a9..94e3d3be5 100644
--- a/src/cortex-tui/src/widgets/form/modal.rs
+++ b/src/cortex-tui/src/widgets/form/modal.rs
@@ -130,12 +130,13 @@ impl<'a> Widget for FormModal<'a> {
 
             let (display_value, input_style) = match &field.kind {
                 FieldKind::Text | FieldKind::Number => {
-                    let val = if field.value.is_empty() {
+                    let show_placeholder = is_focused && field.value.is_empty();
+                    let val = if show_placeholder {
                         field.placeholder.clone().unwrap_or_default()
                     } else {
                         field.value.clone()
                     };
-                    let style = if field.value.is_empty() && field.placeholder.is_some() {
+                    let style = if show_placeholder && field.placeholder.is_some() {
                         Style::default().fg(self.colors.text_muted)
                     } else {
                         Style::default().fg(self.colors.text)
@@ -143,12 +144,15 @@ impl<'a> Widget for FormModal<'a> {
                     (val, style)
                 }
                 FieldKind::Secret => {
-                    let val = if field.value.is_empty() {
+                    let show_placeholder = is_focused && field.value.is_empty();
+                    let val = if show_placeholder {
                         field.placeholder.clone().unwrap_or_default()
+                    } else if field.value.is_empty() {
+                        String::new()
                     } else {
                         "*".repeat(field.value.len())
                     };
-                    let style = if field.value.is_empty() && field.placeholder.is_some() {
+                    let style = if show_placeholder && field.placeholder.is_some() {
                         Style::default().fg(self.colors.text_muted)
                     } else {
                         Style::default().fg(self.colors.text)
diff --git a/src/cortex-tui/src/widgets/form/tests.rs b/src/cortex-tui/src/widgets/form/tests.rs
index 2f8124dba..2a2342d83 100644
--- a/src/cortex-tui/src/widgets/form/tests.rs
+++ b/src/cortex-tui/src/widgets/form/tests.rs
@@ -6,7 +6,19 @@ mod tests {
         field::FormField, field_kind::FieldKind, modal::FormModal, state::FormState,
         utils::grapheme_count,
     };
-    use ratatui::prelude::Rect;
+    use ratatui::prelude::{Buffer, Rect};
+    use ratatui::widgets::Widget;
+
+    fn buffer_text(buf: &Buffer, area: Rect) -> String {
+        let mut text = String::new();
+        for y in area.y..area.y + area.height {
+            for x in area.x..area.x + area.width {
+                text.push_str(buf[(x, y)].symbol());
+            }
+            text.push('\n');
+        }
+        text
+    }
 
     #[test]
     fn test_field_builders() {
@@ -153,6 +165,34 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(centered.y, 12);
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn test_placeholder_shown_for_focused_empty_field() {
+        let fields = vec![FormField::text("query", "Query").with_placeholder("Search terms...")];
+        let state = FormState::new("Search", "search", fields);
+        let area = Rect::new(0, 0, 80, 24);
+        let mut buf = Buffer::empty(area);
+
+        FormModal::new(&state).render(area, &mut buf);
+
+        let rendered = buffer_text(&buf, area);
+        assert!(rendered.contains("Search terms..."));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_placeholder_hidden_when_submit_is_focused() {
+        let fields = vec![FormField::text("query", "Query").with_placeholder("Search terms...")];
+        let mut state = FormState::new("Search", "search", fields);
+        state.focus_next();
+        let area = Rect::new(0, 0, 80, 24);
+        let mut buf = Buffer::empty(area);
+
+        FormModal::new(&state).render(area, &mut buf);
+
+        let rendered = buffer_text(&buf, area);
+        assert!(!rendered.contains("Search terms..."));
+        assert!(rendered.contains("[ Submit ]"));
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn test_handle_paste_text_field() {
         let fields = vec![FormField::text("api_key", "API Key")];