Companion (/buddy) animation shifts terminal content, breaking copy-paste

[yorick-hive]

Problem

When the /buddy companion (Tinsel) is enabled, its animation causes the terminal content to shift upward periodically. This makes it very difficult to select and copy text from the terminal output.

Expected behavior

The companion should not cause terminal content to reflow or shift position. Either:

1. A "static mode" option that keeps the buddy visible but without animation (no movement)
2. The animation should not affect the terminal content layout

Current workaround

/buddy off — but this removes the companion entirely.

Environment

• Windows 11
• Claude Code CLI

[alii]

Is this in the new experimental NO_FLICKER mode?

[balandari]

See my new post: #45732 (comment) Bring Back /buddy: 511 Reasons Why

[terpjwu1]

Like a lot of you, I felt SAD when /buddy disappeared in claude code yesterday.

I saw the threads where people refused to close their terminals because they didn't want to lose their companions. Those gut-wrenching moments hit different.
So I spent the last 24 hours building it back from scratch. Not as a hack or a config workaround — as a full MCP server that works with any agentic CLI.

What it does:
  - Pokemon-style hatch animation (egg → cracks → sparkle → your buddy)
  - 21 species, each with unique ASCII art, animations, and personality bios
  - 5 stats (DEBUGGING, PATIENCE, CHAOS, WISDOM, SNARK) that shape how your buddy talks
  - XP & leveling — exponential curve, max level 50. Your buddy grows with you.
  - Code observer — your buddy actually watches what you're coding and reacts in character. Two modes: "backseat" (flavor reactions) and
  "skillcoach" (real code feedback)
  - SQLite persistence — close the terminal, restart your computer, update your CLI. Your buddy is still there.
  - Works with Claude Code CLI, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, Cursor CLI, or any agentic CLI tooling
  

Install (one line):
Windows users:
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fiorastudio/buddy/master/install.ps1 | iex
Linux/Mac users:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fiorastudio/buddy/master/install.sh | bash

The script auto-configures your CLI. Then just say "hatch a buddy."
The install script injects buddy instructions into your CLI's prompt file so the AI automatically calls buddy_observe after each task — your buddy chimes in without you having to do anything.
This isn't a preservation of the old buddy. It's what buddy should have been — persistent, cross-platform, with progression levels and real code feedback.

MIT licensed. PRs welcome. Star if you want to keep the terminal a little less lonely.

http://github.com/fiorastudio/buddy

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