vscode-modal-editor

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vscode-modal-editor

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Customizable extension to turn VS Code into a modal editor

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# vscode-modal-editor

[![Open VSX](https://badgen.net/open-vsx/version/DCsunset/vscode-modal-editor?label=Open%20VSX)](https://open-vsx.org/extension/DCsunset/vscode-modal-editor)
[![VS Marketplace](https://badgen.net/vs-marketplace/v/DCsunset.vscode-modal-editor)](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=DCsunset.vscode-modal-editor)

Customizable extension to turn VS Code into a modal editor.

## Installation

This extension is published on both [Open VSX](https://open-vsx.org/extension/DCsunset/vscode-modal-editor)
and [VS Marketplace](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=DCsunset.vscode-modal-editor).
You can install it via either registry.

You can also download the extension directly from GitHub [releases](https://github.com/DCsunset/vscode-modal-editor/releases).

To try the latest unpublished version,
run the following commands in a shell (without comments):

```sh
# clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/DCsunset/vscode-modal-editor.git
cd vscode-modal-editor
# Install dependencies
npm i
# Build extension
npm run build
```

Then you should see a `.vsix` file in the same directory.
Install it manually into VSCode and reload the window.

## Usage

To use this extension, first you need to import keybindings.
You can define your own keybindings based on the tutorial.
Or you can use the preset in this repository as a start point.

You can put different keybindings in the preset directory (default is `~/.config/vscode-modal-editor`),
so that you can switch between them quickly.

To get started, you may want to try the helix preset provided in this repo.
To load it, import the preset using URI directly:
<https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DCsunset/vscode-modal-editor/main/presets/helix.js>

## Features

* Easy to customize your key type to emulate other modal editors.
* Recursive keymaps (easy to add multi-stage keybindings)

## Todo

- [ ] Support binding commands to events

## How it works

This extension can only capture normal characters typed in modes except for insert mode.
For special keys like `Esc`, `Ctrl` or `Alt`, they are handled by VS Code directly.
So if you want to bind those keys to commands,
you can directly map them in `keybindings.json`.

This extension sets the context `modalEditor.mode`
so you can use it in `when` conditions in `keybinding.json`.

## Importing Keybindings

To add keybindings, you can create a config file in `json`, `jsonc`, or `js` format.
(for `js` format, export the configuration object using `module.exports`).

To import existing keybindings, run the command "Modal Editor: Import Keybindings" from the command palette.
You can select a file or use a URI.

There is a preset for helix in this repository.
It is just a demo and you can easily create your own based on it.

## Presets

The design of this extension mainly follows [helix](https://github.com/helix-editor/helix),
so I create a preliminary [preset](./presets/helix.js) for it.
It doesn't implement all helix features and some actions may have slight differences.

You are encouraged to define your own keybindings
since this extension aims at a general modal editor.

## Commands

This extension define some extra VS commands.
They are listed as follows:

Types defined in the above table:

```ts
type FindTextArgs = {
  /// String to find
  text: string,
  /// Whether to select text
  select: boolean,
  /// Whether to move till the text rather than to the text (default: false)
  till?: boolean,
  /// Within the ine of current cursor (default: false)
  withinLine?: boolean,
  /// Search backward (default: false)
  backward?: boolean,
  /// Whether to search using regex (default: false)
  regex?: boolean,
};

type YankArgs = {
  /**
   * Yank to a register (default: `"`)
   * (empty string for system clipboard)
   */
  register?: string
};

type PasteArgs = {
  /**
   * Paste from a register (default: `"`)
   * (empty string for system clipboard)
   */
  register?: string,
  /// Paste before the current selection
  before?: boolean
}

type TransformArgs = {
  /// A function for transforming text in selections.
  transformer: (_: string) => string
};
```

## Settings

Various settings can be found in settings page by searching `modalEditor`.

One important setting is `keybindingsInSettings`.
it decides whether this extension should store the current keybindings in User Settings.
Default is `true`.
If set to `false`, you may want to set `autoloadPreset` to a preset file that should be autoloaded on startup.

For the default mode, initial valid options are `normal`, `insert`, and `select`.
If you add custom mode, you can also set it here.
That's why its type is string instead of enum.

Styles are also customizable for each mode.
To change the cursor style or status text for a mode, you can add the following settings to `modalEditor.styles`:
(you can set just one property and the remaining properties are default values)

```json
{
  "insert": {
    "cursorStyle": "line",
    "statusText": "-- insert --"
  }
}
```

Available cursor styles can be found [here](https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/blob/0b5aad37bd56218493863731950980d1c3a90c26/src/vs/editor/common/config/editorOptions.ts#L223).

## Tutorial to Customize Keybindings

### Basics

There are 4 predefined modes (`normal`, `insert`, `select`, `command`) in this extension,
but you are free to add more modes.
Note that the mode name shouldn't start with underscore `_` as it is reserved for other config.

Keybindings can be defined for all modes except for insert mode,
because this extension will handle over to VS Code in insert mode.

Each key sequence can be prefixed with a number indicating the count.
The count value will be stored in the `CommandContext`,
which can be used in the js expression of `ComplexCommand`.

Command mode is another different mode because it maps a key sequence instead of each key to a command.
It doesn't support sub-keymap or count prefix as well.
A newline character is used to indicate the end of a command.

The keybindings object is defined in the following format (in TypeScript):

```ts
type Keymap = {
  [key: string]: Keymap | Command
}
type Keybindings = {
  [mode: string]: Keymap
}
```

The above definition means that each mode has a separate keymap,
each keymap maps a key to a sub-keymap or a command.
Recursive keymaps are useful to define multi-stage commands.
Note that the key must be a single character.
If you need map a key sequence to a command, you can use a recursive keymap.

Your config file should export a `Keybindings` object.

There's a special mode `""` in `Keybindings` which means common keybindings.
It is shared by all the modes (except insert mode),
and it can be overwritten by other modes.

There's also a special key `""` in `Keymap` which represents a wildcard character
to match any character.
It has the lowest priority and can be overwritten by other keys.

### Commands

The command can be a string (which means a VS Code command),
a list of commands,
or a complex command object:

```ts
type ComplexCommand = {
  command: Command,
  /// args for that command (only if it's a simple command)
  args?: any,
  /// whether to use JS expression for args
  computedArgs?: boolean,
  /// condition to execute the above command
  when?: string,
  /// run this command for count times (a js expression)
  count?: string,
  /**
   * Whether to record the key sequence for this command in a register
   * (only works for top-level command)
   */
  record?: string
};
```

The arguments of a complex command can be a JS expression,
which depends on the `computedArgs` field.
For computed arguments, the `args` must be a string for JS expressions.

The condition `when` and `count` are also JS expressions.

### Command Context

In the JS expression in a complex command, a context object `_ctx` is available.

The `_ctx` is defined as follows:

```ts
type Context = {
  // Key sequence to invoke this command or unexecuted keys
  keys: string,
  // Count of the current command
  count?: number,
  // cursor position before last command (undefined only when no editor is available)
  lastPos: vscode.Position | undefined,
  // current cursor position
  pos: vscode.Position | undefined,
  // get the line
  lineAt: (() => vscode.TextLine) | undefined,
  // primary selection before last command
  // (alias for lastSelections?.[0])
  lastSelection: vscode.Selection | undefined,
  // selections before last command
  lastSelections: readonly vscode.Selections[] | undefined,
  // current primary selection
  selection: vscode.Selection | undefined,
  // current selections
  selections: readonly vscode.Selections[] | undefined
  // language Id of current document
  languageId: string | undefined,
};
```

In order to use the context in VS Code `keybindings.json`,
use the command `modalEditor.executeCommand`.

For example, to emulate `alt+shift+c` in helix,
add the following to your `keybindings.json`:

```json
{
    "key": "alt+shift+c",
    "command": "modalEditor.executeCommand",
    "args": [
        {
            "command": "editor.action.insertCursorAbove",
            "count": "_ctx.count"
        },
        "modalEditor.resetState"
    ]
}
```

### Examples

Here is an example code snippet for `helix.js` preset:

```js
// add count argument
function repeatable(command) {
  return {
    command,
    count: "_ctx.count"
  };
}

module.exports = {
  "": {
    // Common keybindings
    i: "modalEditor.setInsertMode",
  },
  normal: {
    // cursor movement
    h: repeatable("cursorLeft"),
    j: repeatable("cursorDown"),
    k: repeatable("cursorUp"),
    l: repeatable("cursorRight"),
    w: repeatable([
      "cancelSelection",
      "cursorWordStartRightSelect",
    ]),
    b: repeatable([
      "cancelSelection",
      "cursorWordStartLeftSelect"
    ]),
  }
}
```

So it maps some movement keys to some existing commands in VS Code,
which leverages the built-in text manipulation.
You can refer to the `presets/helix.js` for more examples.

With the power of JavaScript,
you can also easily reference other keybindings in the keymap:

``` js
let keymap = {
  normal: {
    h: "cursorLeft",
    j: "cursorDown",
    k: "cursorUp",
    l: "cursorRight",
    w: [
      "cancelSelection",
      "cursorWordStartRightSelect",
    ]
    // using getter function (this can access keymap in the same level)
    get Y() { return [ this.h, this.w ]; }
  }
};
// or define other recursive keys in another stage
keymap.normal.Z = [ keymap.normal.h, keymap.normal.w ];

module.exports = keymap;
```

## Migrations

### From v1.9 to v1.10+

The `setMode` command no longer clear selections when changing to `insert` mode.
Use `setInsertMode` or run `clearSelections` explicitly instead if you want to keep the old behaviour.

## Contributing

Contributions to this repo are welcome.
It's recommended to open an issue for discussion first if it's a new feature.

The commit messages should roughly follow [Conventional Commits](https://www.conventionalcommits.org/en/v1.0.0/).

## Acknowledgement

This extension is greatly inspired by
[ModalKeys](https://github.com/haberdashPI/vscode-modal-keys)
and
[ModalEdit](https://github.com/johtela/vscode-modaledit).
This extension borrows a lot of ideas from them
thanks to their detailed documentation.

The main difference between this extension and the above two is the philosophy:
this extension tries to reuse most VS Code native commands
and avoids adding more state control.
This makes it easier to understand the code and further extend it.

The logo of this extension is modified based on the icon credited to
[Material Design Icons](https://materialdesignicons.com/).

## License

Licensed under the [AGPLv3](LICENSE) license.

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