# RFC: Drop ACP terminal `_meta` rendering

Status: rejected — Zed is the current target client, and the terminal `_meta` convention is intentional Zed UX with a plain ACP fallback for other clients.

## Problem

The ACP bridge implements a Zed-specific terminal-card convention through `_meta.terminal_info`, `_meta.terminal_output`, and `_meta.terminal_exit`. The implemented [rich ACP bash rendering RFC](../../implemented/feature/2026-06-18-acp-terminal-and-tool-rendering.md) deliberately avoided ACP's client-side `terminal/create` because bash execution belongs in the harness, but still adopted the reference agents' display-only `_meta` convention. That gives a nicer Zed card at the cost of bridge state, capability negotiation, terminal ids, special update mapping, text fallback tests, and exit-pill parsing in `dsh-tool-bash`.

The fallback path already exists: render the tool call and completed output as normal ACP content blocks. Non-Zed clients rely on that path anyway, but the Zed terminal card is a current target-client feature rather than speculative decoration.

## Proposal

Ignore `clientCapabilities._meta.terminal_output` and render bash results through the plain ACP content path. Keep execution agent-side through `dsh-bash`; only the display-specific terminal metadata is removed. A terminal card can return later if ACP standardizes agent-executed terminals or if the product decides Zed-specific display is worth the maintenance cost.

This proposal is narrower than [collapsing tool-owned UI presentation](2026-06-20-generic-tool-rendering.md): it keeps generic `presentCall`/`presentResult` if those survive, but removes the terminal sub-shape and `_meta` mapping.

## Acceptance criteria

- ACP no longer reads or stores `_meta.terminal_output` capability state.
- `TerminalRendering`, terminal ids, terminal cwd resolution, and `_meta.terminal_*` update mapping disappear from `@deepseek-ai/dsh-acp`.
- `ToolTerminal` disappears from `@deepseek-ai/dsh-tools`, or is unused and deleted with the presentation cleanup.
- Bash result presentation no longer parses exit status for terminal pills.
- The implemented [rich ACP bash rendering RFC](../../implemented/feature/2026-06-18-acp-terminal-and-tool-rendering.md) stays in `implemented/` as shipped history and is cross-linked from this proposal if superseded.

## What we give up

Zed users lose the dedicated terminal card: no cwd header, terminal display, or exit pill. They still see the command and output as plain content. That is a reasonable simplification while the ACP bridge is still unreleased and the `_meta` keys are a convention rather than a standard.

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