From d79374a8541fdf75c89292cc78da37b8481b9964 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Ossie Irondi <admin@kamdental.com>
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 2026 13:25:18 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] fix(hush): clear no-TTY error for the interactive TUI instead
 of crossterm's Device-not-configured exit

---
 CHANGELOG.md                |  4 ++++
 bws-tui/src/tui/terminal.rs | 17 +++++++++++++++--
 bws-tui/src/tui/tests.rs    |  9 +++++++++
 3 files changed, 28 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index f8965a0..e47eacb 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Fixed
+
+- hush: TUI now reports a clear "no TTY" error with subcommand guidance instead of crossterm's cryptic "Device not configured" failure (#57)
+
 ### Added
 
 - agent-native hush: exec env injection, scoped get, list --json, audit log (#54) [#54]
diff --git a/bws-tui/src/tui/terminal.rs b/bws-tui/src/tui/terminal.rs
index 626e042..fca9ccd 100644
--- a/bws-tui/src/tui/terminal.rs
+++ b/bws-tui/src/tui/terminal.rs
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 use super::{events, App};
-use anyhow::{anyhow, Context, Result};
+use anyhow::{anyhow, bail, Context, Result};
 use crossterm::{
     execute,
     terminal::{disable_raw_mode, enable_raw_mode, EnterAlternateScreen, LeaveAlternateScreen},
 };
 use ratatui::{backend::CrosstermBackend, Terminal};
-use std::io::{self, Write};
+use std::io::{self, IsTerminal, Write};
 
 #[derive(Default)]
 struct TerminalGuard {
@@ -50,6 +50,13 @@ impl Drop for TerminalGuard {
 }
 
 pub(super) fn run(app: &mut App) -> Result<()> {
+    if !is_interactive(io::stdin().is_terminal(), io::stdout().is_terminal()) {
+        bail!(
+            "hush's interactive TUI needs a terminal session (no TTY found). \
+             Run `hush` from an interactive terminal, or use the script-friendly \
+             subcommands: `hush list`, `hush get --key <KEY>`, `hush exec --key <KEY> -- <cmd>`"
+        );
+    }
     let mut guard = TerminalGuard::default();
     guard.enable_raw()?;
     let mut output = io::stdout();
@@ -60,6 +67,12 @@ pub(super) fn run(app: &mut App) -> Result<()> {
     finish_terminal(event, raw, screen)
 }
 
+/// The TUI needs either side attached to a terminal; crossterm opens /dev/tty
+/// directly for input when stdin is piped, so stdout alone is enough.
+pub(super) fn is_interactive(stdin_tty: bool, stdout_tty: bool) -> bool {
+    stdin_tty || stdout_tty
+}
+
 pub(super) fn finish_terminal(
     event: Result<()>,
     raw: Result<()>,
diff --git a/bws-tui/src/tui/tests.rs b/bws-tui/src/tui/tests.rs
index 65c8cb1..f0be50b 100644
--- a/bws-tui/src/tui/tests.rs
+++ b/bws-tui/src/tui/tests.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 use super::*;
+use crate::tui::terminal::is_interactive;
 use anyhow::anyhow;
 
 #[test]
@@ -65,3 +66,11 @@ fn terminal_cleanup_reports_every_failure() {
     assert!(error.contains("raw failed"));
     assert!(error.contains("screen failed"));
 }
+
+#[test]
+fn tui_gate_accepts_a_tty_on_either_side() {
+    assert!(is_interactive(true, false));
+    assert!(is_interactive(false, true));
+    assert!(is_interactive(true, true));
+    assert!(!is_interactive(false, false));
+}