Documentation Audit — Fresh 0.2.9 → 0.2.13

Audit date: 2026-03-06

This document classifies all docs by status and lists items that need manual/thresh validation before the documentation can be considered correct.

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1. Internal docs reorganization

docs/architecture.md — KEEP at top level

This is the main entry point for developers who want to learn how Fresh is built. It's developer-facing but intentionally prominent. It may need updates (e.g. for the plugin registerHandler() pattern, hanging line wrap in the rendering pipeline, BulkEdit in the event model) but should stay where it is.

Unified design decisions document — CREATED

docs/internal/design-decisions.md coalesces the key decisions, trade-offs, and rationale from all shipped design docs into a single audit trail. This preserves the why behind architectural choices without requiring readers to find and cross-reference 20+ individual files.

Shipped design docs — REMOVED

15 shipped design documents have been removed. Their key decisions, trade-offs, and rationale are preserved in design-decisions.md:

timesource-design.md, bulk-edit-optimization.md, cli-redesign.md, FUZZY_FILE_FINDER_UX.md, encoding-support-design.md, paste-handling.md, session-persistence-design.md, i18n-design.md, per-buffer-view-state-design.md, config-design.md, config-implementation-plan.md, plugin-architecture-plan.md, vi-mode-design.md, warning-notification-ux.md, markdown-compose-vs-glow.md

Duplicate files — REMOVED

• SSH_REMOTE_EDITING_DESIGN.md (removed) — kept ssh-remote-editing-design.md
• PLUGIN_MARKETPLACE_DESIGN.md (removed) — kept plugin-marketplace-design.md

Remaining internal docs

Active design/planning docs (in progress):

File	Status
code-tour-design.md	Implementation phase; needs 4 new plugin API methods
config-editor-design.md	Design phase; built-in settings UI to replace plugin
UNIFIED_UI_FRAMEWORK_PLAN.md	In progress; extract shared controls library
ISSUES_IMPLEMENTATION_PLAN.md	Active; 14 prioritized bugs/improvements
markdown.md	Remaining compose mode work (column guides, context-sensitive Enter)
io-separation-plan.md	In progress; WASM compatibility refactoring
visual-layout-unification.md	Design complete; awaiting prioritization
input-calibration-wizard.md	Design complete; implementation pending
plugin-marketplace-design.md	Phase 1 done; Phase 2+ pending
ssh-remote-editing-design.md	Design complete; implementation phases pending
finder-abstraction.md	Plans 87% code reduction across finder plugins
diff-view.md	Partially implemented; CompositeBuffer architecture
scroll-sync-design.md	Partially implemented; marker-based sync
editor-state-refactoring.md	Partially complete; remaining extractions
search-next-occurrence.md	Design (not yet shipped)
theme-consolidation-plan.md	Design (not yet shipped)
typora-seamless-canvas-plan.md	Remaining compose implementation details

Process & quality docs:

File	Purpose
code-review.md	Code quality issues list (31+ items); refactoring debt tracker
testing.md	Testing guidelines; EditorTestHarness docs
usability-test-plan.md	Usability testing methodology
plugin-usability-review.md	Plugin UX bugs and improvements (P0-P2)
settings-controls-usability-report.md	Settings UI bugs; critical data loss issue
settings-modified-indicator-design.md	Modified indicator semantics fix
INPUT_LAYOUT_RENDERING_SUMMARY.md	Architecture analysis; refactoring opportunities

Reference docs:

File	Purpose
event-dispatch-architecture.md	Hit testing evolution plan (3 phases)
terminal.md	Incremental scrollback architecture
theme-user-flows.md	User flow documentation for theme system
theme-usability-improvements.md	Priority matrix from usability testing
unicode-width.md	Unicode width handling reference
remote-filesystem-optimization.md	Remote FS optimization strategies

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2. User-facing docs that need UPDATES for 0.2.9–0.2.13 features

docs/features/lsp.md — HIGH priority

Missing documentation for:

• LSP Environment Variables (0.2.13) — pass env vars to LSP server binaries via config
• LSP Language ID Overrides (0.2.13) — language_id_overrides in LSP server config
• Rust LSP Mode Switching (0.2.13) — command palette action to switch full / reduced-memory rust-analyzer
• restartLspForLanguage plugin API (0.2.13)
• Process limits for registerLspServer (0.2.13)
• Disabled LSP start/restart commands for languages without LSP config (0.2.13)
• Inline Diagnostics (0.2.13) — diagnostic text at end of line, enable in Settings UI

docs/features/editing.md — HIGH priority

Missing documentation for:

• Hanging Line Wrap (0.2.13) — wrapped continuation lines preserve parent indentation
• Auto-Close Config (0.2.12) — separate auto_close toggle, per-language overrides via languages.<lang>.auto_close
• Surround Selection (0.2.12) — typing delimiter with selection wraps it
• Smart Quote Suppression (0.2.12) — quotes inside strings don't auto-close
• Read-Only Mode (0.2.12) — auto-detection for library/toolchain paths, toggle command, [RO] status bar indicator
• Whitespace Indicators (0.2.11) — granular per-position control (leading, inner, trailing) for spaces and tabs
• Indent-Based Code Folding (0.2.11) — folding without LSP, works in large file mode
• Signature Help rendering improvements (0.2.13) — markdown in popups

Also has leftover TODO comments on lines ~105, ~107.

docs/features/themes.md — MEDIUM priority

Missing:

• Theme Editor Redesign (0.2.13) — virtual scrolling, mouse support, flicker-free inline styling
• "Inspect Theme at Cursor" command (0.2.13)
• Ctrl+Right-Click theme info popup (0.2.13)
• whitespace_indicator_fg theme color (0.2.11)

docs/features/command-palette.md — MEDIUM priority

Missing:

• Open File Jump (0.2.13) — path:line[:col] syntax in Open File prompt and Quick Open

docs/plugins/index.md — HIGH priority

Missing:

• Load Plugin from Buffer (0.2.13) — run & hot-reload plugins from an open buffer with LSP support
• Plugin API registerHandler() (0.2.13) — replacing globalThis pattern
• restartLspForLanguage and async reloadGrammars() (0.2.13)
• Strict TypeScript requirement across all plugins (0.2.13)
• Plugin API v2 (0.2.4) — createTerminal, sendTerminalInput, closeTerminal, getAllCursors, plugin state API

docs/configuration/index.md — MEDIUM priority

Missing from editor settings reference:

• auto_close toggle and per-language overrides (0.2.12)
• auto_surround config (0.2.12)
• Whitespace indicator settings (0.2.11)
• LSP language_id_overrides (0.2.13)
• LSP environment variables (0.2.13)
• show_status_bar toggle (0.2.13)
• diagnostics_inline_text setting (0.2.13)

docs/features/file-explorer.md — LOW priority

Missing:

• Quick search (type to filter) — shipped pre-0.2.9 but never documented

docs/features/terminal.md — LOW priority

Minor:

• Bracket paste mode fixes (0.2.5, 0.2.13) — user-visible in client/server sessions

docs/getting-started/index.md — LOW priority

• Could benefit from path:line:col syntax examples and a mention of session mode (fresh -a)

docs/architecture.md — LOW priority

May need updates for:

• registerHandler() plugin pattern (replacing globalThis)
• BulkEdit event type in the Action → Event section
• Hanging line wrap in rendering pipeline description
• Non-blocking grammar builds (background thread)

Blog posts — NO ACTION NEEDED

Blog posts are point-in-time snapshots. They are accurate for the versions they describe and don't need retroactive updates.

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3. Validation checklist — things to verify with thresh / manual testing

Each item below should be confirmed to work as documented (or as we plan to document) before publishing updated docs.

LSP features (test with a Rust and a TypeScript project)

• LSP env vars: Add "env": {"FOO": "bar"} to an LSP server config in config.json, verify the LSP process receives it (e.g. use a shell wrapper that prints env)
• Language ID overrides: Set "language_id_overrides": {"tsx": "typescriptreact"} and verify the LSP receives the overridden language ID on textDocument/didOpen
• Rust LSP mode switching: Open a Rust project, use command palette to switch between Full and Reduced Memory modes, confirm rust-analyzer restarts with appropriate config
• Inline diagnostics: Enable "diagnostics inline text" in Settings UI, trigger an error, verify diagnostic text appears at end of line. Verify staleness dropping (edit the line, confirm diagnostic fades/disappears)
• Disabled LSP commands: Open a file with no LSP config (e.g. plain text), confirm "Start LSP" / "Restart LSP" commands are disabled/hidden in command palette
• Signature help markdown: Open a TypeScript file, trigger signature help (type a function call), verify markdown renders correctly in popup

Editing features

• Hanging line wrap: Enable line wrap, open a file with indented code, resize window so lines wrap — verify continuation lines preserve parent indent level
• Auto-close config: Set "auto_close": false in config, verify brackets/quotes no longer auto-close. Test per-language override: "languages": {"markdown": {"auto_close": false}}
• Surround selection: Select text, type ( — verify it wraps to (selection). Test with [, {, ", '
• Smart quote suppression: Position cursor inside a string, type " — verify it inserts one quote, not two
• Read-only mode: Open a file from /usr/include or a rustup toolchain path — verify [RO] appears and edits are blocked. Test "Toggle Read Only" command to override
• Whitespace indicators: Configure "whitespace": {"space": {"leading": true, "inner": false, "trailing": true}} — verify dots appear only in leading/trailing positions
• Indent-based code folding: Open a Python file (no LSP), verify fold indicators appear in gutter based on indentation. Test fold/unfold via gutter click and command palette

Theme features

• Theme editor virtual scrolling: Open theme editor with a theme that has many fields — verify smooth scrolling, no flicker
• Theme editor mouse support: Click on color fields in theme editor, verify mouse interaction works
• Inspect Theme at Cursor: Place cursor on colored text, run "Inspect Theme at Cursor" from command palette — verify it shows the theme scope/color
• Ctrl+Right-Click: Right-click with Ctrl on colored text, verify theme info popup appears
• whitespace_indicator_fg: Add this key to a custom theme, verify whitespace indicators use the custom color

Plugin API

• Load Plugin from Buffer: Open a .ts file with plugin code, run "Load Plugin from Buffer" command — verify plugin activates. Edit the file, verify hot-reload works
• LSP in plugin dev buffers: While editing a plugin buffer, verify TypeScript LSP completions work (e.g. fresh. should autocomplete API methods)
• registerHandler(): Write a plugin using registerHandler() instead of globalThis, verify it works
• restartLspForLanguage(): Call from a plugin, verify the LSP for that language restarts
• reloadGrammars(): Call async reloadGrammars() from a plugin, verify syntax highlighting refreshes
• Process limits: Set process_limits in registerLspServer() config, verify the LSP process respects memory/CPU limits

Command palette / navigation

• Open File Jump: Type src/main.rs:42 in Open File prompt — verify it opens the file at line 42. Test src/main.rs:42:10 for column positioning
• Status bar toggle: Run "Toggle Status Bar" from command palette, verify it hides. Run again, verify it shows. Check config persists across restart

Configuration

• All new config keys: Verify each new config key listed in section 2 is accepted by Fresh without errors and has the documented effect
• Settings UI: Verify new settings (inline diagnostics, auto_close, auto_surround, whitespace indicators, show_status_bar) appear in the Settings UI with correct types and descriptions

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4. Summary of work needed

Priority	Category	Items
High	Doc updates	features/lsp.md, features/editing.md, plugins/index.md
Medium	Doc updates	features/themes.md, features/command-palette.md, configuration/index.md
Low	Doc updates	features/file-explorer.md, features/terminal.md, getting-started/index.md, architecture.md
Done	Internal reorg	Unified design-decisions.md created; duplicates removed
Validation	Thresh/manual	25 test items across 5 categories