Command System — Usage

How renderer and main code uses the command system. For the model and architecture, see README.md.

Public entry (renderer)

Import from the barrel only:

import { CommandContextMenu, CommandShortcut, CommandTooltip, useCommandHandler } from '@renderer/features/command'

Do not import subpaths such as @renderer/features/command/presentation from business code. Keeping a narrow public API lets the runtime change without rewriting call sites.

The renderer domain (src/renderer/features/command/) is intentionally not under components/ — most files are runtime plumbing rather than generic UI. It owns no business state: business surfaces contribute only the minimal context keys and handlers they are responsible for.

Boundaries

Shared command metadata, keybindings, menu contributions, and context‑expression parsing live in src/shared/command.
Main‑process command execution, native menu creation, and global shortcuts belong to main services.
Renderer business components must not parse shortcut preferences, format shortcut labels, or resolve menu contributions directly — use the primitives below.

Registering handlers

CommandProvider resolves a keypress to a CommandId; components supply the behavior:

useCommandHandler('topic.create', handleCreateTopic, { enabled: canCreateTopic })

For the same command, the most recently mounted enabled handler wins; when it unmounts, the previous enabled handler becomes active again. A command with no registered handler never resolves (so the keypress falls through untouched).

While an editable target (<input>, <textarea>, or a contenteditable element) is focused, the dispatcher skips no-modifier shortcuts by design — plain keys (Escape, single letters) don't fire commands while the user is typing. Modifier shortcuts (Ctrl/Meta/Alt) still fire everywhere. Don't reach for a per‑component keydown listener to work around this; if a no-modifier command genuinely must fire inside an editor, that's a context‑key/enablement decision to discuss.

Context keys

ContextKeyProvider is window‑local. Context keys are not persisted and are not synced across windows. Base keys are provided automatically: platform, feature.quick_assistant.enabled, feature.selection.enabled.

Business surfaces contribute scoped keys:

useCommandContextKey('chat.active', true)

Allowed renderer keys are defined by RendererCommandContextKey; add one only when an existing command, shortcut, or menu contribution needs it. Scoped keys use stack semantics — the latest mounted value wins, unmounting restores the previous. undefined unsets a key; false and null are valid values.

Menus

Use CommandContextMenu for renderer context menus that participate in the command system:

Command‑backed items come from MenuRegistry in src/shared/command.
Renderer‑only extra items use extraItems / getExtraItems (type: 'item' for actions, type: 'submenu' for nested groups).
Use shortcutCommand on an extra item so the menu resolves the platform label and user preference; shortcutLabel is an escape hatch for non‑command shortcuts.

The same resolved menu model renders through the native adapter or Cherry UI based on menu.presentation_mode. app.menu and tray.menu always stay native (main process services).

Presentation

Use these instead of assembling labels/shortcuts in feature components:

CommandShortcut — standalone shortcut badge
CommandTooltip — tooltip content including the command shortcut
CommandButton — command‑backed button
useResolvedCommand — custom UI needing the command label, enabled state, shortcut label, and execute callback

Adding a command

Declare it in src/shared/command/definitions.ts — add an entry to COMMAND_DEFINITIONS (id, titleKey, categoryKey, scope, optional keybinding with a defaultBinding, optional enablement).
Add its shortcut preference key shortcut.<commandId> through the data‑classify pipeline — add an entry to v2-refactor-temp/tools/data-classify/data/target-key-definitions.json (type: "PreferenceTypes.PreferenceShortcutType", defaultValue: { binding, enabled }), then regenerate:
bash
```
cd v2-refactor-temp/tools/data-classify && npm run generate:preferences
npx biome format --write src/shared/data/preference/preferenceSchemas.ts
```
(Never hand‑edit preferenceSchemas.ts.)
Provide a handler. Renderer‑scope: useCommandHandler(id, fn) in the owning surface. Main‑scope: add a built‑in handler in CommandService.registerBuiltInHandlers.
Optional — contribute it to a menu by adding a MENU_CONTRIBUTIONS entry in src/shared/command/menus.ts for the relevant MenuLocation.

Tests

Renderer command tests live in src/renderer/features/command/__tests__/; shared declarations in src/shared/command/__tests__/; main services in src/main/services/__tests__/.

Prefer targeted checks first:

bash

pnpm vitest run src/shared/command src/renderer/features/command
pnpm typecheck

Run broader suites when the change touches shared command behavior, main menu services, or cross‑window contracts.