diff --git a/src/ui/Onboard.tsx b/src/ui/Onboard.tsx
index 37b8b83..d9da7c3 100644
--- a/src/ui/Onboard.tsx
+++ b/src/ui/Onboard.tsx
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
-import { Box, Text, useInput } from 'ink';
+import { Box, Text, useInput } from 'ink';
 import SelectInput from 'ink-select-input';
 import TextInput from 'ink-text-input';
 import Spinner from 'ink-spinner';
 import React, { useCallback, useState } from 'react';
 import type { Config, ProviderName } from '../config';
 import { fetchModels, PRESETS, type ProviderPreset } from '../providers';
+import { Frame, Row } from './Pickers';
 
 export type OnboardResult = {
   presetId: string;
@@ -208,35 +209,3 @@ export function Onboard({
       );
   }
 }
-
-function Frame({
-  title,
-  hint,
-  warning,
-  children,
-}: {
-  title: string;
-  hint?: string;
-  warning?: string;
-  children: React.ReactNode;
-}) {
-  return (
-    <Box flexDirection="column" borderStyle="round" borderColor="cyan" paddingX={1}>
-      <Text color="cyan" bold>
-        {title}
-      </Text>
-      {hint && <Text dimColor>{hint}</Text>}
-      {warning && <Text color="yellow">could not list models: {warning}</Text>}
-      {children}
-    </Box>
-  );
-}
-
-function Row({ label, children }: { label: string; children: React.ReactNode }) {
-  return (
-    <Box>
-      <Text color="cyan">{label}: </Text>
-      {children}
-    </Box>
-  );
-}
diff --git a/test/ui-approval.test.tsx b/test/ui-approval.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c1a10ef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/ui-approval.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,150 @@
+import { expect, test } from 'bun:test';
+import { render } from 'ink-testing-library';
+import React from 'react';
+import { Approval } from '../src/ui/Approval';
+import { InfoPanel, RegistryPanel, StatusBar, Working } from '../src/ui/Panels';
+import { Picker } from '../src/ui/Pickers';
+import { toolDetail } from '../src/ui/transcript';
+import type { ApprovalRequest } from '../src/session';
+
+const req = (over: Partial<ApprovalRequest> = {}): ApprovalRequest => ({
+  approvalId: 'a1',
+  toolName: 'bash',
+  input: { command: 'echo hi' },
+  suggestedPattern: '*',
+  ...over,
+});
+
+const approval = (over: Partial<ApprovalRequest> = {}) =>
+  render(<Approval pending={{ req: req(over), resolve: () => {} }} />);
+
+test('an approval shows the call as readable argument lines, not a JSON dump', () => {
+  const app = approval({
+    toolName: 'apply_patch',
+    input: { patch: '*** Update File: src/app.ts\n-a\n+b\n*** Add File: src/new.ts\n+x' },
+  });
+
+  const frame = app.lastFrame() ?? '';
+  expect(frame).toContain('update src/app.ts');
+  expect(frame).toContain('add src/new.ts');
+  // The old prompt printed JSON.stringify(input, null, 2) for anything without a
+  // diff, which for a patch is the whole patch escaped onto one line.
+  expect(frame).not.toContain('"patch"');
+  expect(frame).not.toContain('\\n');
+  app.unmount();
+});
+
+test('every gated tool gets its own argument lines in the prompt', () => {
+  const cases: [string, unknown, string][] = [
+    ['bash', { command: 'bun test' }, 'bun test'],
+    ['move_file', { from: 'a.ts', to: 'b.ts' }, 'a.ts -> b.ts'],
+    ['delete_file', { path: 'gone.ts' }, 'gone.ts'],
+    ['multi_edit', { path: 'x.ts', edits: [{ oldString: 'a' }] }, 'x.ts'],
+    ['web_fetch', { url: 'https://example.com/doc' }, 'https://example.com/doc'],
+  ];
+
+  for (const [toolName, input, expected] of cases) {
+    const app = approval({ toolName, input });
+    expect(app.lastFrame() ?? '', toolName).toContain(expected);
+    app.unmount();
+  }
+});
+
+test('an approval names the tool, the grant, and both refusal keys', () => {
+  const app = approval({ toolName: 'bash', suggestedPattern: 'git *' });
+  const frame = app.lastFrame() ?? '';
+  expect(frame).toContain('bash wants to run');
+  expect(frame).toContain('always allow bash git *');
+  expect(frame).toContain('deny');
+  app.unmount();
+});
+
+test('a repeated call and a subagent call each say why they stopped', () => {
+  const repeated = approval({ repeated: true });
+  expect(repeated.lastFrame()).toContain('repeating the same call');
+  expect(repeated.lastFrame()).toContain('third identical call');
+  repeated.unmount();
+
+  const sub = approval({ subagent: true });
+  expect(sub.lastFrame()).toContain('worker subagent');
+  expect(sub.lastFrame()).toContain('gated by your rules');
+  sub.unmount();
+});
+
+test('a panel says how to dismiss it, since nothing else on screen does', () => {
+  const app = render(<InfoPanel title="tools" lines="- `read_file`" />);
+  expect(app.lastFrame()).toContain('esc');
+  app.unmount();
+
+  const rows = render(
+    <RegistryPanel rows={[{ name: 'deploy', kind: 'skill', description: 'ship a release' }]} />,
+  );
+  expect(rows.lastFrame()).toContain('esc');
+  rows.unmount();
+});
+
+test('one picker component serves every chooser, opening on the current value', () => {
+  const picked: string[] = [];
+  const app = render(
+    <Picker
+      title="Choose an agent"
+      hint="five variants"
+      options={[
+        { value: 'default', label: 'default' },
+        { value: 'deep', label: 'deep' },
+      ]}
+      current="deep"
+      onSelect={(v) => picked.push(v)}
+    />,
+  );
+
+  const frame = app.lastFrame() ?? '';
+  expect(frame).toContain('Choose an agent');
+  expect(frame).toContain('five variants');
+  expect(frame).toContain('esc to cancel');
+  // Opening on the value already in use: enter without moving keeps it.
+  app.stdin.write('\r');
+  expect(picked).toEqual(['deep']);
+  app.unmount();
+});
+
+test('the working line reports elapsed time once a turn is slow', () => {
+  const quick = render(<Working seconds={2} />);
+  expect(quick.lastFrame()).toContain('working');
+  // Under the threshold there is no number: a count that starts at 0s is noise.
+  expect(quick.lastFrame()).not.toContain('2s');
+  quick.unmount();
+
+  const slow = render(<Working seconds={47} />);
+  expect(slow.lastFrame()).toContain('47s');
+  expect(slow.lastFrame()).toContain('esc to interrupt');
+  slow.unmount();
+
+  const minutes = render(<Working seconds={125} />);
+  expect(minutes.lastFrame()).toContain('2m 5s');
+  minutes.unmount();
+});
+
+test('the status bar warns before compaction rather than after', () => {
+  const fine = render(
+    <StatusBar model="m" agent="default" thinking="medium" contextTokens={10} contextLimit={100} cost="$0" toolCount={1} />,
+  );
+  expect(fine.lastFrame()).toContain('10% ctx');
+  fine.unmount();
+
+  // At 90% the next turn may lose history, so the bar says so in words rather
+  // than relying on a colour the user may not be looking at.
+  const late = render(
+    <StatusBar model="m" agent="default" thinking="medium" contextTokens={95} contextLimit={100} cost="$0" toolCount={1} />,
+  );
+  expect(late.lastFrame()).toContain('95% ctx');
+  expect(late.lastFrame()).toContain('compacting soon');
+  late.unmount();
+});
+
+test('toolDetail covers the tools added since it was written', () => {
+  expect(toolDetail('move_file', { from: 'old.ts', to: 'new.ts' })).toEqual(['old.ts -> new.ts']);
+  expect(toolDetail('delete_file', { path: 'gone.ts' })).toEqual(['gone.ts']);
+  expect(toolDetail('git_branch', { remote: true })).toEqual(['local and remote']);
+  expect(toolDetail('git_branch', {})).toEqual(['local']);
+});