Footer hints: one grammar, Esc always last, one key notation

The key hints now follow one sentence shape across every screen:
navigation keys first, action keys next, Esc last — the quit dialog and
TX apply dialog had Esc leading. The Esc verb is now systematic: "Esc
back" leaves a screen, "Esc close" dismisses a read-only floating view
(result windows and the share/key popups switch over), "Esc cancel"
abandons a prompt, "Esc keep" leaves a value picker unchanged. Bare
hints fill in their missing verbs ("↑↓ move", the map's and composer's
naked "Esc"), the confirm prompt says "Enter select" like its button
siblings, and key notation unifies on the compact forms the app already
half-used: ^R/^End for Ctrl chords (chat's "Ctrl-R" included) and ⌫ for
backspace (the map/atlas "Bksp").

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

meshterm/ui/atlas_screen.py

@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ class AtlasScreen(Screen):
     def footer_hint(self) -> str:  # type: ignore[override]
         """Camera and find hints; the find query takes the row over while active."""
         if self._filter:
-            return f"find: {self._filter}▏ · Enter select · Bksp erase · Esc clear"
+            return f"find: {self._filter}▏ · Enter select · ⌫ erase · Esc clear"
         return "↑↓←→ pan · PgUp/PgDn zoom · Tab walk · Enter info · type to find · Esc"
 
     def handle(self, action: str, data: str = "") -> None:

meshterm/ui/channels.py

@@ -739,7 +739,7 @@ async def _show_share(
         Text(""),
         Text(url, style="accent"),
     )
-    await ctx.ui.view(body, title=f"Share {name}", footer_hint="Esc back")
+    await ctx.ui.view(body, title=f"Share {name}", footer_hint="Esc close")
 
 
 async def _show_key(ctx: "AppContext", slot: ChannelSlot) -> None:
@@ -775,7 +775,7 @@ async def _show_key(ctx: "AppContext", slot: ChannelSlot) -> None:
             blocks.append(Text())
         blocks.append(Text(label, style="muted"))
         blocks.append(value)
-    await ctx.ui.view(Group(*blocks), title=f"Key — {slot.name}", footer_hint="Esc back")
+    await ctx.ui.view(Group(*blocks), title=f"Key — {slot.name}", footer_hint="Esc close")
 
 
 async def _open_chat(ctx: "AppContext", slot: ChannelSlot) -> None:

meshterm/ui/chat.py

@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ class ChatScreen(Screen):
         """Key hint, reflecting whether a message is picked for reply (channels only)."""
         if not self._is_channel:
             if any(m.outbound and m.acked is False for m in self._messages):
-                return "Enter send · Ctrl-R retry failed · ↑↓/PgUp scroll · ^End latest · Esc back"
+                return "Enter send · ^R retry failed · ↑↓/PgUp scroll · ^End latest · Esc back"
             return "Enter send · ↑↓/PgUp scroll · ^End latest · Esc back"
         if self._selected is not None:
             return "Enter reply (@mention) · ↑↓ pick · ^End/Esc cancel"
@@ -736,7 +736,7 @@ class ChatScreen(Screen):
             message.acked = False
             self._status = f"retry failed: {exc}"
         else:
-            self._status = "" if message.acked else "still no ack — Ctrl-R to retry"
+            self._status = "" if message.acked else "still no ack — ^R to retry"
         finally:
             self._sending = False
             self._stick = True

meshterm/ui/config_editor.py

@@ -816,7 +816,7 @@ async def _show_contact_card(ctx: "AppContext", snapshot: dict) -> None:
         Text(""),
         Text(url, style="accent"),
     )
-    await ctx.ui.view(body, title=f"Share {name}", footer_hint="Esc back")
+    await ctx.ui.view(body, title=f"Share {name}", footer_hint="Esc close")
 
 
 async def _reboot(ctx: "AppContext", device: "Device", snapshot: dict) -> bool:

meshterm/ui/courier_screen.py

@@ -290,7 +290,7 @@ async def _pick_schedule(ctx: "AppContext", name: str):
     ]
     picked = await session.select(
         f"When should {name} get it?", items, filterable=False,
-        footer_hint="↑↓ move · Enter choose · Esc cancel",
+        footer_hint="↑↓ move · Enter select · Esc cancel",
     )
     if picked == "custom":
         while True:

meshterm/ui/map_screen.py

@@ -125,9 +125,9 @@ class MapScreen(Screen):
         editing keys, so the typed text is always visible somewhere fixed.
         """
         if self._filter:
-            base = f"find: {self._filter}▏ · Enter frame · Bksp erase · Esc clear"
+            base = f"find: {self._filter}▏ · Enter frame · ⌫ erase · Esc clear"
         else:
-            base = "↑↓←→ pan · ⇧ fine · PgUp/PgDn zoom · Home reset · type to find · Esc"
+            base = "↑↓←→ pan · ⇧ fine · PgUp/PgDn zoom · Home reset · type to find · Esc back"
         if self._pending:
             return f"{base} · [muted]loading {len(self._pending)} tiles…[/muted]"
         if not self._source.available:

meshterm/ui/menu.py

@@ -422,7 +422,7 @@ async def _menu_loop(ctx: AppContext, session: TuiSession) -> None:
                     buttons,
                     title="Quit MeshTerm",
                     default=len(buttons) - 1,  # highlight Quit
-                    footer_hint="Esc cancel · Enter quit",
+                    footer_hint="Enter quit · Esc cancel",
                     prompt_style="warn",
                     button_style="selected",
                     button_idle_style="muted",

meshterm/ui/path_composer.py

@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ class PathComposerScreen(Screen):
     :data:`~meshterm.ui.tui.screen.CANCEL`.
     """
 
-    footer_hint = "↑↓ · Enter add · type to filter · ⌫ remove · Esc"
+    footer_hint = "↑↓ move · Enter add · type to filter · ⌫ remove · Esc cancel"
 
     def __init__(
         self,

meshterm/ui/trace_screen.py

@@ -1255,7 +1255,7 @@ async def _open_session(ctx: "AppContext", target: Optional[str]) -> int:
                 items,
                 prompt="Forced hops are addressed by this many leading key bytes.",
                 default=width_bytes,
-                footer_hint="↑↓ · Enter set · Esc keep",
+                footer_hint="↑↓ move · Enter set · Esc keep",
                 filterable=False,
                 wrap=False,
             )
@@ -1292,7 +1292,7 @@ async def _open_session(ctx: "AppContext", target: Optional[str]) -> int:
                 items,
                 prompt=f"One Trace action runs this many traces, {pace:g} s apart.",
                 default=sample_count,
-                footer_hint="↑↓ · Enter set · Esc keep",
+                footer_hint="↑↓ move · Enter set · Esc keep",
                 filterable=False,
                 wrap=False,
             )

meshterm/ui/tui/prompt.py

@@ -332,7 +332,7 @@ class ConfirmScreen(Screen):
         title: str,
         *,
         default: bool = True,
-        footer_hint: str = "←→/Y/N choose · Enter accept · Esc cancel",
+        footer_hint: str = "←→/Y/N choose · Enter select · Esc cancel",
     ) -> None:
         """Build a confirm prompt.
 

meshterm/ui/tui/screen.py

@@ -268,7 +268,7 @@ class ScrollScreen(Screen):
         renderable: RenderableType,
         *,
         title: str = "",
-        footer_hint: str = "↑↓ PgUp/PgDn scroll · Esc back",
+        footer_hint: str = "↑↓ PgUp/PgDn scroll · Esc close",
         floating: bool = True,
     ) -> None:
         """Wrap a renderable in a dismissable, scrollable screen.

meshterm/ui/tui/session.py

@@ -550,7 +550,7 @@ class TuiSession:
         screen = ScrollScreen(
             renderable,
             title=title,
-            footer_hint=footer_hint or "↑↓ PgUp/PgDn scroll · Esc back",
+            footer_hint=footer_hint or "↑↓ PgUp/PgDn scroll · Esc close",
         )
         await self.run_screen(screen)
 

meshterm/ui/tx_screen.py

@@ -675,7 +675,7 @@ async def open_tx_optimize(
                 items,
                 prompt="The TX window the sweep explores:",
                 default=(screen.tx_min, screen.tx_max),
-                footer_hint="↑↓ · Enter set · Esc keep",
+                footer_hint="↑↓ move · Enter set · Esc keep",
                 filterable=False,
                 wrap=False,
             )
@@ -714,7 +714,7 @@ async def open_tx_optimize(
                 items,
                 prompt="The coarse sweep measures the window at this spacing, then refines.",
                 default=screen.step,
-                footer_hint="↑↓ · Enter set · Esc keep",
+                footer_hint="↑↓ move · Enter set · Esc keep",
                 filterable=False,
                 wrap=False,
             )
@@ -739,7 +739,7 @@ async def open_tx_optimize(
                 items,
                 prompt=f"Each TX level is measured with this many traces, {pace:g} s apart.",
                 default=screen.samples,
-                footer_hint="↑↓ · Enter set · Esc keep",
+                footer_hint="↑↓ move · Enter set · Esc keep",
                 filterable=False,
                 wrap=False,
             )
@@ -804,7 +804,7 @@ async def open_tx_optimize(
             [("Cancel", "cancel"), ("Apply", "apply")],
             title="Apply winner",
             default=1,
-            footer_hint="Esc cancel · Enter apply",
+            footer_hint="Enter apply · Esc cancel",
         )
         if choice != "apply":
             return

tests/test_chat.py

@@ -668,8 +668,9 @@ def test_chat_screen_shows_delivery_glyphs() -> None:
     # static hourglass; resolved ones show ✅ / ❌.
     assert "✅" in joined and "❌" in joined
     assert Spinner.BRAILLE[0] in joined and "⏳" not in joined
-    # A failed message advertises the retry shortcut in the footer hint.
-    assert "Ctrl-R" in screen.footer_hint
+    # A failed message advertises the retry shortcut in the footer hint (the app-wide
+    # compact ^-notation for Ctrl chords).
+    assert "^R" in screen.footer_hint
 
 
 def test_wrapped_body_hangs_under_the_first_line() -> None: