|
| 1 | +# Building |
| 2 | + |
| 3 | +You will need: |
| 4 | + |
| 5 | +* A clone of this fork, on the branch `steel-event-system` |
| 6 | + |
| 7 | +## Installing helix |
| 8 | + |
| 9 | +Just run |
| 10 | + |
| 11 | +`cargo xtask steel` |
| 12 | + |
| 13 | +To install the `hx` executable, with steel as a plugin language. This also includes: |
| 14 | + |
| 15 | +The `steel` executable, the steel language server, the steel dylib installer, and the steel package manager `forge`. |
| 16 | + |
| 17 | +## Developing |
| 18 | + |
| 19 | +The easiest way to contribute would be to adjust the default features on the `helix-term` crate: |
| 20 | + |
| 21 | +```toml |
| 22 | +[features] |
| 23 | +features = ["git", "steel"] |
| 24 | +``` |
| 25 | + |
| 26 | +## Setting up configurations for helix |
| 27 | + |
| 28 | +There are 2 important files you'll want, which should be auto generated during the installation process if they don't already exist: |
| 29 | + |
| 30 | +* `~/.config/helix/helix.scm` |
| 31 | +* `~/.config/helix/init.scm` |
| 32 | + |
| 33 | +Note - these both live inside the same directory that helix sets up for runtime configurations. |
| 34 | + |
| 35 | +### `helix.scm` |
| 36 | + |
| 37 | +The `helix.scm` module will be loaded first before anything else, the runtime will `require` this module, and any functions exported will now be available |
| 38 | +to be used as typed commands. For example: |
| 39 | + |
| 40 | + |
| 41 | +```scheme |
| 42 | +# helix.scm |
| 43 | +(require "helix/editor.scm") |
| 44 | +(require (prefix-in helix. "helix/commands.scm")) |
| 45 | +(require (prefix-in helix.static. "helix/static.scm")) |
| 46 | +
|
| 47 | +(provide shell git-add open-helix-scm open-init-scm) |
| 48 | +
|
| 49 | +;;@doc |
| 50 | +;; Specialized shell implementation, where % is a wildcard for the current file |
| 51 | +(define (shell cx . args) |
| 52 | + ;; Replace the % with the current file |
| 53 | + (define expanded (map (lambda (x) (if (equal? x "%") (current-path cx) x)) args)) |
| 54 | + (apply helix.run-shell-command expanded)) |
| 55 | +
|
| 56 | +;;@doc |
| 57 | +;; Adds the current file to git |
| 58 | +(define (git-add cx) |
| 59 | + (shell cx "git" "add" "%")) |
| 60 | +
|
| 61 | +(define (current-path) |
| 62 | + (let* ([focus (editor-focus)] |
| 63 | + [focus-doc-id (editor->doc-id focus)]) |
| 64 | + (editor-document->path focus-doc-id))) |
| 65 | +
|
| 66 | +;;@doc |
| 67 | +;; Open the helix.scm file |
| 68 | +(define (open-helix-scm) |
| 69 | + (helix.open (helix.static.get-helix-scm-path))) |
| 70 | +
|
| 71 | +;;@doc |
| 72 | +;; Opens the init.scm file |
| 73 | +(define (open-init-scm) |
| 74 | + (helix.open (helix.static.get-init-scm-path))) |
| 75 | + |
| 76 | + |
| 77 | +``` |
| 78 | + |
| 79 | +Now, if you'd like to add the current file you're editing to git, simply type `:git-add` - you'll see the doc pop up with it since we've annotated the function |
| 80 | +with the `@doc` symbol. Hitting enter will execute the command. |
| 81 | + |
| 82 | +You can also conveniently open the `helix.scm` file by using the typed command `:open-helix-scm`. |
| 83 | + |
| 84 | + |
| 85 | +### `init.scm` |
| 86 | + |
| 87 | +The `init.scm` file is run at the top level, immediately after the `helix.scm` module is `require`d. The helix context is available here, so you can interact with the editor. |
| 88 | + |
| 89 | +The helix context is bound to the top level variable `*helix.cx*`. |
| 90 | + |
| 91 | +For example, if we wanted to select a random theme at startup: |
| 92 | + |
| 93 | +```scheme |
| 94 | +# init.scm |
| 95 | +
|
| 96 | +(require-builtin steel/random as rand::) |
| 97 | +(require (prefix-in helix. "helix/commands.scm")) |
| 98 | +(require (prefix-in helix.static. "helix/static.scm")) |
| 99 | +
|
| 100 | +;; Picking one from the possible themes |
| 101 | +(define possible-themes '("ayu_mirage" "tokyonight_storm" "catppuccin_macchiato")) |
| 102 | +
|
| 103 | +(define (select-random lst) |
| 104 | + (let ([index (rand::rng->gen-range 0 (length lst))]) (list-ref lst index))) |
| 105 | +
|
| 106 | +(define (randomly-pick-theme options) |
| 107 | + ;; Randomly select the theme from the possible themes list |
| 108 | + (helix.theme (select-random options))) |
| 109 | +
|
| 110 | +(randomly-pick-theme possible-themes) |
| 111 | +
|
| 112 | +``` |
| 113 | + |
| 114 | +### Libraries for helix |
| 115 | + |
| 116 | +There are a handful of extra libraries in development for extending helix, and can be found here https://github.com/mattwparas/helix-config. |
| 117 | + |
| 118 | +If you'd like to use them, create a directory called `cogs` in your `.config/helix` directory, and copy the files in there. |
| 119 | + |
| 120 | +### options.scm |
| 121 | + |
| 122 | +If you'd like to override configurations from your toml config: |
| 123 | + |
| 124 | + |
| 125 | +```scheme |
| 126 | +# init.scm |
| 127 | +
|
| 128 | +(require "helix/configuration.scm") |
| 129 | +
|
| 130 | +(file-picker (fp-hidden #f)) |
| 131 | +(cursorline #t) |
| 132 | +(soft-wrap (sw-enable #t)) |
| 133 | +
|
| 134 | +``` |
| 135 | + |
| 136 | + |
| 137 | +### keymaps.scm |
| 138 | + |
| 139 | +Applying custom keybindings for certain file extensions: |
| 140 | + |
| 141 | +```scheme |
| 142 | +# init.scm |
| 143 | +
|
| 144 | +(require "cogs/keymaps.scm") |
| 145 | +(require (only-in "cogs/file-tree.scm" FILE-TREE-KEYBINDINGS FILE-TREE)) |
| 146 | +(require (only-in "cogs/recentf.scm" recentf-open-files get-recent-files recentf-snapshot)) |
| 147 | +
|
| 148 | +;; Set the global keybinding for now |
| 149 | +(add-global-keybinding (hash "normal" (hash "C-r" (hash "f" ":recentf-open-files")))) |
| 150 | +
|
| 151 | +(define scm-keybindings (hash "insert" (hash "ret" ':scheme-indent "C-l" ':insert-lambda))) |
| 152 | +
|
| 153 | +;; Grab whatever the existing keybinding map is |
| 154 | +(define standard-keybindings (deep-copy-global-keybindings)) |
| 155 | +
|
| 156 | +(define file-tree-base (deep-copy-global-keybindings)) |
| 157 | +
|
| 158 | +(merge-keybindings standard-keybindings scm-keybindings) |
| 159 | +(merge-keybindings file-tree-base FILE-TREE-KEYBINDINGS) |
| 160 | +
|
| 161 | +(set-global-buffer-or-extension-keymap (hash "scm" standard-keybindings FILE-TREE file-tree-base)) |
| 162 | + |
| 163 | +``` |
| 164 | + |
| 165 | +In insert mode, this overrides the `ret` keybinding to instead use a custom scheme indent function. Functions _must_ be available as typed commands, and are referred to |
| 166 | +as symbols. So in this case, the `scheme-indent` function was exported by my `helix.scm` module. |
| 167 | + |
| 168 | + |
| 169 | +## Writing a plugin |
| 170 | + |
| 171 | +### Getting setup |
| 172 | + |
| 173 | +Before you start, you should make sure that your configuration for the steel lsp is wired up correctly. This will give you |
| 174 | +access to the documentation that will help you as you write your plugin. To configure the LSP, you can add this to your |
| 175 | +`init.scm`: |
| 176 | + |
| 177 | +```scheme |
| 178 | +(require "helix/configuration.scm") |
| 179 | +(define-lsp "steel-language-server" (command "steel-language-server") (args '())) |
| 180 | +(define-language "scheme" |
| 181 | + (language-servers '("steel-language-server"))) |
| 182 | +``` |
| 183 | + |
| 184 | +This will give you an interactive setup that can help you run plugins as you go. I also like to evaluate commands |
| 185 | +via the buffer, by either typing them in to the command prompt or by loading the current buffer. To load the current |
| 186 | +buffer, you can type `:eval-buffer`, or to evaluate an individual command, you can run `:evalp` - note, in your init.scm, you |
| 187 | +may need to add: |
| 188 | + |
| 189 | +```scheme |
| 190 | +(require (only-in "helix/ext" evalp eval-buffer)) |
| 191 | +``` |
| 192 | + |
| 193 | +This brings those functions to the top level scope so that you can interact with them. You may also be keen to peruse all of the steel |
| 194 | +functions and modules available. Those can be found in `steel-docs.md`. |
| 195 | + |
| 196 | + |
| 197 | +### Command API |
| 198 | + |
| 199 | +There are two levels of the functionality exposed to plugins. The first is simply based around |
| 200 | +chaining builtin commands, as if you're a lightning fast human typing commands very quickly. The other level |
| 201 | +is a bit lower, and deals directly with the component API that helix uses to draw the text editor and various |
| 202 | +popups, like the file picker or buffer selection. |
| 203 | + |
| 204 | +To understand the first level, which is accessing typed commands and static commands, i.e. commands that you |
| 205 | +typically type via `:`, or static commands, commands which are bound to keybindings, you can look at the modules: |
| 206 | + |
| 207 | +* helix/commands.scm |
| 208 | +* helix/static.scm |
| 209 | + |
| 210 | +Every function here implicitly has access to a context, the helix context. This assumes that you're focused onto |
| 211 | +some buffer, and any actions are assumed to be done within that context. For example, calling `vsplit` will |
| 212 | +split the currently focused into a second, and move your focus to that window. Keeping track of that is important |
| 213 | +to understand where your focus is. |
| 214 | + |
| 215 | +In general, these functions do not return anything, given that they're purely for side effects. There are some functions |
| 216 | +that do, and they should be documented as such. The API will need to be improved to return useful things where relevant. |
| 217 | + |
| 218 | +### The UI |
| 219 | + |
| 220 | +A good rule of thumb is to not block the UI. During the execution of a steel function, the helix context is exclusively |
| 221 | +available to that executing function. As a result, you should not have long running functions there (note - if you end |
| 222 | +up having an infinite loop of some kind, `ctrl-c` should break you out). |
| 223 | + |
| 224 | +Luckily, there are a handful of ways we can accomplish more sophisticated plugins: |
| 225 | + |
| 226 | +* Futures |
| 227 | +* Threads |
| 228 | + |
| 229 | +There are a handful of primitives that accept a future + a callback, where the callback will get executed once the future |
| 230 | +is complete. The future will get scheduled on to the helix event loop, so the UI won't be blocked. (TODO: Document this more!) |
| 231 | + |
| 232 | +Another way we can accomplish this is with native threads. Steel supports native threads, which means we can spawn a function |
| 233 | +off on to another thread to run some code. Consider the following example which won't work: |
| 234 | + |
| 235 | + |
| 236 | +```scheme |
| 237 | +(spawn-native-thread (lambda () (time/sleep-ms 1000) (theme "focus_nova"))) ;; Note, this won't work! |
| 238 | +``` |
| 239 | + |
| 240 | +This appears to spawn a thread, sleep for 1 second, and then change the theme. The issue here is that this thread does not |
| 241 | +have control over the helix context. So what we'll have to do instead, is schedule a function to be run on the main thread: |
| 242 | + |
| 243 | + |
| 244 | +```scheme |
| 245 | +(require "helix/ext.scm") |
| 246 | +(require-builtin steel/time) |
| 247 | +
|
| 248 | +(spawn-native-thread |
| 249 | + (lambda () |
| 250 | + (hx.block-on-task |
| 251 | + (lambda () |
| 252 | + (time/sleep-ms 1000) |
| 253 | + (theme "focus_nova"))))) |
| 254 | +``` |
| 255 | + |
| 256 | +`hx.block-on-task` will check if we're running on the main thread. If we are already, it doesn't do anything - but otherwise, |
| 257 | +it enqueues a callback that schedules itself onto the main thread, and waits till it can acquire the helix context. The function |
| 258 | +is then run, and the value returned back to this thread of control. |
| 259 | + |
| 260 | + |
| 261 | +There is also `hx.with-context` which does a similar thing, except it does _not_ block the current thread. |
| 262 | + |
| 263 | +### Components |
| 264 | + |
| 265 | +Coming soon! |
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