Markdown styling setting, lists that carry on, and Cmd+C that just works

Cargo.toml

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "writui"
-version = "0.18.0"
+version = "0.19.0"
 edition = "2024"
 description = "A terminal writing app. No nonsense. Markdown. Local. Encrypted."
 license = "MIT"

README.md

@@ -9,7 +9,9 @@ A writing app for the terminal. No nonsense. Markdown. Local. Encrypted.
 - **Plain markdown.** You write markdown. Each post starts with a `# Title`.
   It stays plain markdown on screen, formatted as you type: headings and
   bold in bold, italics in italics, code in green, with the markdown
-  symbols faded.
+  symbols faded. (Settings can tone that down to faded symbols, italics
+  and green code, or turn it off.) Lists carry on as you press Enter, and Tab nests an
+  item.
 - **Mouse and keyboard.** Click, scroll and press buttons with the mouse, or
   use shortcuts. The bar at the bottom of the screen shows the shortcuts
   for where you are, and you can click those too. While writing, Ctrl+K
@@ -197,39 +199,23 @@ can open it after a fingerprint, is kept in `~/.config/writui/touch-id/`.
   for 30 days.
 - **Settings** (`s` on the list): your name, added as the
   `author` in exported front matter, how wide the text is while
-  writing (68 characters unless you change it), and whether your
+  writing (68 characters unless you change it), how much markdown
+  styling you see (full, minimal or off), and whether your
   terminal's font is a [Nerd Font](https://www.nerdfonts.com), so writui
-  can use its icons.
+  can use its icons. Under each setting is a line saying what it does now.
 
 ### Cmd keys on a Mac
 
 In the editor, Cmd works like Ctrl (Cmd+Z undoes, Cmd+X cuts, Cmd+A
 selects all, Cmd+K opens the menu) wherever your terminal passes Cmd on to
 programs. Cmd+V is your terminal's paste, which writui understands.
 
-Cmd+C is different: terminals keep it to copy *their own* selection, and
-writui draws its own selection, so there's nothing for the terminal to
-copy. Ctrl+C always works. To make Cmd+C copy in writui too, tell your
-terminal to pass it on:
-
-- **Alacritty**, in `~/.config/alacritty/alacritty.toml`:
-
-  ```toml
-  [[keyboard.bindings]]
-  key = "C"
-  mods = "Command"
-  action = "ReceiveChar"
-  ```
-
-- **Ghostty**, in its config (it still copies the terminal's own selection
-  when there is one):
-
-  ```
-  keybind = performable:super+c=copy_to_clipboard
-  ```
-
-- **iTerm2** (not tried yet): Settings → Keys → Key Bindings, add Cmd+C
-  with the action "Send Escape Sequence" and `[99;9u`.
+Cmd+C works too, in any terminal, with nothing to set up: whatever you
+select in writui goes on the clipboard right away, so it's there when you
+press Cmd+C (which the terminal keeps for itself). It doesn't get in the
+way of what you'd copied before: typing or pasting over a selection puts
+that back on the clipboard, and Cmd+V over a selection pastes it, not
+the selection. Ctrl+C copies too.
 
 Cmd+K needs nothing in Alacritty (it sends Ctrl+L, which also opens the
 menu). In Ghostty and iTerm2 it clears the screen unless you pass it on

docs/DECISIONS.md

@@ -726,3 +726,62 @@ password unlock quietly makes a new one.
 anyway), so Touch ID can be turned on from Settings without retyping the
 password. Opening with the key skips Argon2, so Touch ID unlocks are
 instant. Changing the password, when it lands, must redo the Touch ID file.
+
+## Markdown styling: full, minimal, off
+
+A three-way setting replaced the "bold title" switch proposed in PR #31
+(closed), which the creator didn't like as a one-off. The styling is still
+worked out in full by the CommonMark parser; minimal and off only map the
+styles at the end (minimal keeps the faded symbols, italics and green
+code; off keeps nothing), so links are found, and open, the same in every mode. Stored in
+the vault's key/value table as `markdown_styling`, so no migration: a
+vault without it reads as `full`.
+
+## Settings say what each value does
+
+Each setting takes two rows (name and value, then a faded line saying what
+the current value does) and a faded rule between settings. The screen is
+drawn by hand rather than with ratatui's `List`, so clicks on the rules do
+nothing and each option can be clicked. A reversed block for the selected
+setting was too loud, so a bar (`┃`, box drawing, so any font has it) sits
+left of the column instead (inside it, moving the settings over, if the
+terminal is too narrow). Settings with a few options show them all
+(`on | off`), the current one reversed with a space either side and the
+rest faded; ←/→ and clicks pick one, Enter goes to the next.
+
+## Lists carry on: from the line's own prefix
+
+Enter, Tab and Shift+Tab look only at the current line's prefix (any `>`
+quote markers, indent, `-`/`*`/`+` or `1.`/`1)`, an optional task box),
+like the hanging indent does, not the markdown parser: it's what the
+writer sees, and it works on half-typed lists. Nesting lines an item up
+with the text of the item above at its level (2 columns after `- `, 3
+after `1. `), which is what CommonMark needs to make it a child; outdenting
+goes back to the nearest item above with a smaller indent. It only looks
+back within the paragraph (to the last blank line). A nested numbered item
+is renumbered 1: CommonMark only lets a numbered list starting at 1
+interrupt a paragraph, so `3.` nested under an item is just text. Brought
+out, it takes the number after the item above at its new level. Nothing
+else is renumbered. Enter on an empty item ends the list (or outdents a
+nested one), as in most editors. Shift+Enter arrives as Shift+Enter with
+the kitty protocol, and as Alt+Enter where the terminal sends ESC CR (the
+creator's Alacritty config does), so both are a plain new line.
+
+## Cmd+C: the selection goes on the clipboard as it's made
+
+Terminals keep Cmd+C to copy their own selection, and writui (which draws
+its own) never sees it, so Cmd+C couldn't work without terminal config.
+Mouse capture can't be given up (everything is clickable), and there's no
+escape sequence to set the terminal's selection. So selecting text in the
+editor puts it on the system clipboard straight away (after a drag ends,
+not on every mouse move). To keep that from clobbering what was copied
+before, it's provisional: writui remembers the clipboard's text from
+before the selection. Typing, deleting or pasting over the selection puts
+that back; a paste over the selection whose text is the selection itself
+(the terminal's Cmd+V reading the clipboard) pastes the earlier text
+instead. Leaving the selection (click, arrow, Esc) keeps it on the
+clipboard, as Cmd+C would. Nothing is put back if something else was
+copied in the meantime. The trade-off: "select, Cmd+C, then type over the
+selection" loses the copy (Cmd+X is the way to do that). Non-text clipboard
+contents (an image) can't be remembered, so selecting text replaces them.
+Tests use a per-thread fake clipboard rather than the real one.

docs/PLAN.md

@@ -34,7 +34,9 @@ on the password screens, boxed password fields, Esc to clear or quit, and
 the whole repo run through `cargo fmt` (checked in CI). `0.17.0` narrows
 the logo, adds an Unlock button, trims the setup screen, and makes Esc on
 the list quit without asking. `0.18.0` unlocks with Touch ID on Macs
-(asked for out of order). Next:
+(asked for out of order), and `0.19.0` adds the Markdown styling setting,
+list continuation and Cmd+C (also out of order; it replaces the closed
+PR #31's bold-title switch). Next:
 
 1. **Try online** (writui.com/try), below: the creator wants it next, and
    it must work on a phone. Probably two or three PRs, in the order listed.
@@ -190,6 +192,10 @@ The creator's batch of ideas, after M3.
       the right-click menu
 - [x] Tab / Shift+Tab cycle the sort; Ctrl/Cmd+Up/Down to the start / end
       of the post; Ctrl/Cmd+Left/Right on by sentence or row
+- [x] Markdown styling setting (full / minimal / off); each setting says
+      what it does, with lines between them; lists carry on with Enter,
+      Tab / Shift+Tab nest them; Cmd+C copies with no terminal setup
+      (`0.19.0`, asked for out of order)
 
 ## Later
 

docs/SPEC.md

@@ -125,8 +125,10 @@ in [DECISIONS.md](DECISIONS.md); the build order lives in [PLAN.md](PLAN.md).
   paste, so it just works. Cmd+C is the terminal's copy of *its own*
   selection; in nano that's what you see, because nano leaves the mouse
   to the terminal, but writui draws its own selection (to know what's
-  selected), so the terminal has nothing to copy. The README shows the
-  one line of terminal config that passes Cmd+C on to writui. Alacritty
+  selected), so the terminal has nothing to copy of its own. So writui
+  puts whatever is selected on the clipboard as soon as it's selected
+  (see Editing), and Cmd+C works with no setup. Passing Cmd+C on to
+  writui (the README's terminal config) still works too. Alacritty
   sends Ctrl+L for Cmd+K, so Ctrl+L opens (and closes) the menu too, and
   Cmd+K works there without any config.
 
@@ -453,7 +455,31 @@ in [DECISIONS.md](DECISIONS.md); the build order lives in [PLAN.md](PLAN.md).
   - Home/End go to the start/end of the row on screen, and so do
     Ctrl+Left/Right (and Cmd+Left/Right on macOS); Ctrl+Home/Ctrl+End
     to the start/end of the post. PageUp/PageDown move a screenful.
-  - Tab types two spaces (to be configurable in settings).
+  - Tab types two spaces (to be configurable in settings), except at the
+    start of a list item (below).
+
+  > in the editor itself, i want automatic continuation for bullet points,
+  > checkboxes, numbered lists etc. on pressing enter. i also want tab and
+  > shift+tab to do the right thing at the start of a list line i.e. indent
+  > or unindent the item. it doesn't have to be perfect covering every
+  > case, just good enough for the common cases
+
+- Lists carry on: Enter in a list item starts the next one with the same
+  bullet (`-`, `*`, `+`), the next number (`1.` → `2.`, `1)` → `2)`), and
+  an unticked `[ ] ` if it's a task, at the same indent. Quotes (`> `)
+  carry on the same way. Enter mid-item splits it; with the cursor before
+  the bullet, it's a plain new line.
+  - Enter on an empty item ends the list: the bullet goes, leaving a blank
+    line to type on. A nested empty item comes out a level instead.
+  - Shift+Enter (or Option+Enter) is always a plain new line.
+  - With the cursor at the start of an item (anywhere up to the end of its
+    bullet, number or task box), Tab nests it under the item above, lined
+    up with that item's text; Shift+Tab brings it back out to its parent's
+    level. Elsewhere Tab types two spaces, and Shift+Tab does nothing.
+  - A numbered item nested this way starts again at 1 (markdown only
+    takes a nested numbered list that starts at 1 as a list); brought back
+    out, it carries on from the number above it. Other numbers aren't
+    redone.
 - Opening a post puts the cursor back where it was when the post was last
   closed, as near the middle of the screen as the text allows. A post that
   has never been opened starts with the cursor at the end.
@@ -474,6 +500,21 @@ in [DECISIONS.md](DECISIONS.md); the build order lives in [PLAN.md](PLAN.md).
   If there's no system clipboard (e.g. no display), they still work inside
   writui. Pasting from the terminal (Cmd+V) also works.
 
+  > finally, please make Cmd+c and Cmd+v work on mac for copy and paste. i
+  > mean, if it works on nano, why doesn't it work here?
+
+- Selecting text puts it on the clipboard straight away (once a drag ends),
+  so Cmd+C needs no terminal setup: the terminal's own Cmd+C finds nothing
+  of its own to copy, and the selection is already there. Until it's
+  copied for real (Ctrl+C, Cut, the menu), that copy is provisional:
+  - Typing, Backspace or Delete over the selection, or pasting over it,
+    puts back what was on the clipboard before it was selected (unless
+    something else was copied since).
+  - Cmd+V (or Ctrl+V) over a selection pastes what was on the clipboard
+    before it, not the selection itself.
+  - Moving on from the selection (a click, an arrow key, Esc) leaves it on
+    the clipboard, as if copied.
+
   > add a context menu for when i right click on a selection to cut, copy,
   > paste (disabled if clipboard is empty)
 
@@ -574,6 +615,19 @@ in [DECISIONS.md](DECISIONS.md); the build order lives in [PLAN.md](PLAN.md).
   the text, not the bullet. On screen only; no spaces are added to the text.
 - Later: syntax highlighting in code blocks, per language.
 
+  > add a new setting called markdown styling with values "off", "minimal"
+  > (no bold text, just markdown markers are muted), and "full" (default,
+  > current)
+
+  > in the minimal setting, i stil want green for code
+
+  > keep italic in minimal mode
+
+- All of that is the **full** styling, the default. Settings can make it
+  **minimal** (the markdown symbols faded, italics italic and code green;
+  no bold or underlines) or turn it **off** (everything plain). Links open the same either way. The history shows versions in
+  the same styling.
+
 ## Web preview
 
 > A lot of the writing I'm doing is actually for work etc. so I want to be
@@ -742,21 +796,40 @@ in [DECISIONS.md](DECISIONS.md); the build order lives in [PLAN.md](PLAN.md).
 
 **Details**
 
-- A Settings screen, reached with `s` on the list (it's on the hint bar). Each row is a setting and its value; Enter or a
-  click changes it in a dialog; Esc goes back to the list (its hint
-  just says "back"). Changes are
-  stored right away.
+  > for each setting add a line below explaning what the currnet behavior
+  > is in lighter text
+
+  > add a separator line between settings
+
+  > also, in the settings screen, there is too much color. maybe just keep
+  > a bar on the left to indicate which one wer'e one. also i want the
+  > selection to appear as on | off with the current selection
+  > highlighted, this way all options are shown
+
+- A Settings screen, reached with `s` on the list (it's on the hint bar).
+  Each setting shows its name and value, and below that, faded, a line on
+  what the current value does (it changes with the value); a faded line
+  separates one setting from the next. The selected setting has a bar
+  (`┃`) to its left; nothing else is highlighted. Settings with a few
+  options show them all on the right, like `on | off` or
+  `full | minimal | off`, the current one highlighted (reversed) and the
+  others faded. ←/→ or a click on an option picks it; Enter or a click
+  elsewhere on the setting goes to the next option. Others (Author, Line
+  width) show their value, and Enter or a click changes it in a dialog.
+  Esc goes back to the list (its hint just says "back"). Changes are stored right away. A short screen
+  scrolls to keep the selected setting in view.
 - For now:
   - **Author**: suggested as `author` in the front matter of exports
     (after `title`), unless it's empty. Like the description and slug, it
     follows Settings on later exports unless it was changed by hand in the
     front matter.
   - **Line width**: how wide the text is in the editor (and the history),
     from 40 to 120 characters; 68 by default.
+  - **Markdown styling**: full (the default), minimal or off (see Live
+    markdown formatting), shown as `full | minimal | off`.
   - **Nerd Font**: on or off (off by default), for terminals whose font is
     a Nerd Font: writui uses its icons (so far, the search field's
-    magnifier). Enter or a click switches it, no dialog; the hint says
-    "Enter switch".
+    magnifier). Shown as `on | off`.
 - Later: what Tab types, default preview preset, API keys, default
   model, auto-lock timeout — all stored in the vault.
 - The vault file location has to be known *before* unlocking, so it lives

site/demo.tape

@@ -56,11 +56,13 @@ Type "I write every morning, and lately I do it in a **terminal**. "
 Type "It's *quiet*: one column of text, nothing else."
 Enter
 Enter
+# Enter carries the list on; on an empty item, it ends it.
 Type "- Plain `markdown`, formatted as I type"
 Enter
-Type "- Encrypted with my password"
+Type "Encrypted with my password"
+Enter
+Type "Versions whenever I want them"
 Enter
-Type "- Versions whenever I want them"
 Enter
 Enter
 Type "> The best tool is the one that gets out of the way."

src/tui/editor/buffer.rs

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ use std::ops::Range;
 use ropey::Rope;
 use unicode_segmentation::UnicodeSegmentation;
 
+use super::lists;
 use crate::vault::{TITLE_PREFIX, with_title_prefix};
 
 /// The first position the cursor can be at: just after `# `.
@@ -141,6 +142,62 @@ impl Buffer {
         }
     }
 
+    /// Enter: a new line, which carries on the list item or quote the
+    /// cursor is in. On an empty item, it ends the list instead (or, if it's
+    /// nested, brings it a level out).
+    pub fn newline(&mut self) {
+        let line = self.rope.char_to_line(self.cursor);
+        let start = self.rope.line_to_char(line);
+        let text = self.line_text(line);
+        let prefix = lists::prefix(&text).filter(|p| self.cursor >= start + p.len);
+        match prefix {
+            Some(prefix) if line > 0 && self.selection().is_none() => {
+                if !prefix.empty(&text) {
+                    self.insert(&format!("\n{}", prefix.next(&text)));
+                } else if !self.reindent(line, false) {
+                    self.rope.remove(start..start + text.chars().count());
+                    self.cursor = start;
+                }
+            }
+            _ => self.insert("\n"),
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Tab or Shift+Tab with the cursor at the start of a list item (in its
+    /// bullet, number or task box, or before them): nest the item under the
+    /// one above, or bring it a level out. False if the cursor isn't there.
+    pub fn indent_item(&mut self, deeper: bool) -> bool {
+        let line = self.rope.char_to_line(self.cursor);
+        let start = self.rope.line_to_char(line);
+        let at_start = lists::prefix(&self.line_text(line))
+            .is_some_and(|p| p.is_item() && self.cursor <= start + p.len);
+        line > 0 && self.selection().is_none() && at_start && self.reindent(line, deeper)
+    }
+
+    /// Nest the list item on `line` deeper, or bring it out a level.
+    fn reindent(&mut self, line: usize, deeper: bool) -> bool {
+        // The lines of its paragraph, up to it.
+        let mut first = line;
+        while first > 1 && !self.line_text(first - 1).trim().is_empty() {
+            first -= 1;
+        }
+        let lines: Vec<String> = (first..=line).map(|l| self.line_text(l)).collect();
+        let Some((range, indent)) = lists::reindent(&lines, line - first, deeper) else {
+            return false;
+        };
+        let start = self.rope.line_to_char(line);
+        let (from, to) = (start + range.start, start + range.end);
+        self.rope.remove(from..to);
+        self.rope.insert(from, &indent);
+        let new_to = from + indent.chars().count();
+        if self.cursor >= to {
+            self.cursor = self.cursor - to + new_to;
+        } else if self.cursor > from {
+            self.cursor = new_to.min(self.cursor);
+        }
+        true
+    }
+
     /// Delete the selection, or the grapheme before the cursor (joining
     /// lines at a line start).
     pub fn backspace(&mut self) {