# md-manuscript

A small desktop application for Debian that treats a directory of markdown files
as an ordered manuscript.

* **Left pane** — every `*.md` file in the workspace directory, in a manual order
  you set by **dragging the `⠿` handle** up and down.
* **Right pane** — a markdown text editor for the selected file (optional live
  preview via the *Preview* checkbox).
* **Order + contents are saved and version-controlled with git.** The order lives
  in `order.json` inside the workspace, so it syncs along with the files.
* **Export** the whole manuscript as a single concatenated `.odt` file, with a
  chapter heading before each file's content.

Built in Rust with [`egui`](https://github.com/emilk/egui)/`eframe`. The ODT
writer is native (no `pandoc`/LibreOffice needed at runtime).

## Build

```sh
cargo build --release
# binary: target/release/md-manuscript
```

Requires a Rust toolchain. The GUI needs a normal desktop session (X11 or
Wayland) with OpenGL — the usual runtime libraries on Debian:

```sh
sudo apt install libgl1 libxkbcommon0 libwayland-client0 libx11-6
```

(Only needed to *run* the GUI; building does not require them.)

## Install

```sh
install -Dm755 target/release/md-manuscript ~/.local/bin/md-manuscript
```

Optionally add a desktop launcher at
`~/.local/share/applications/md-manuscript.desktop`:

```ini
[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=md-manuscript
Exec=md-manuscript
Categories=Office;TextEditor;
Terminal=false
```

## Use

1. Set the **Workspace** path in the top bar (default: `~/Manuscript`) — type it,
   or click **📂** to pick a folder in a native file browser — and press **Open**.
   The directory is created if it does not exist.
2. Press **Init git** once to make the workspace a git repository. To sync with
   another machine, add a remote yourself:
   ```sh
   cd ~/Manuscript
   git remote add origin <url>
   git push -u origin main
   ```
   After that, the **⟳ Sync (git)** button commits all changes, `pull --rebase`s,
   and pushes.

   If you open a folder that is *not* itself a repository but sits inside one
   (a parent directory is a git work tree), the app asks whether to **use the
   enclosing repository**. Accept it to have **⟳ Sync** commit and push to that
   repo; decline to leave the workspace on its own, where **Init git** creates a
   separate repository in the folder.
3. Create files with **＋ New**, edit on the right, `Ctrl+S` (or the Save button)
   to write to disk. Drag the `⠿` handles to reorder. Use the **Zoom** slider
   above the editor to scale the editor text (0% = default; **Reset** returns to
   it), and the **Contrast** slider to brighten dim editor text (0% = theme
   default; higher pushes the text toward white in dark mode / black in light
   mode). Text always wraps to the pane width, so there is no horizontal
   scrolling. Inline markdown has keyboard shortcuts, applied to the current
   selection (press again on wrapped text to remove the markers):

   | Shortcut | Effect |
   | --- | --- |
   | `Ctrl/Cmd + B` | **bold** (`**…**`) |
   | `Ctrl/Cmd + I` | *italic* (`*…*`) |
   | `Ctrl/Cmd + E` | `inline code` |
   | `Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + X` | ~~strikethrough~~ (`~~…~~`) |
   | `Ctrl/Cmd + K` | link — `[selection](url)`, with `url` selected to replace |

   Press **`Ctrl/Cmd + F`** (or **Edit ▸ Find / Replace…**) to open the
   find/replace bar above the editor; **`Ctrl/Cmd + H`** opens it with the
   replace field focused. Type a search term to shade every match in the editor
   (the current one brighter); **Enter** / **Shift+Enter** (or **▼** / **▲**)
   step through them, wrapping around, and scroll the match into view. **Aa**
   toggles case sensitivity. **Replace** swaps the current match and advances;
   **Replace all** swaps every match in the file at once. **Esc** closes the bar.
4. Set the **Chapter title** for the open file if you want to override the
   auto-derived one (the field shows the automatic title as a hint). Leaving it
   blank falls back to a `# Title:` line in the header, and if there is none, to
   the chapter's **position in the left pane** followed by a period (`1.`, `2.`,
   …). Tick **Zero-pad #** in the top bar to pad those numbered titles with
   leading zeros to a uniform width (e.g. `03.` when there are 12 chapters).
   Titles are saved to `titles.json` and sync with git.
5. Set the **Export** path (type it, or click **📂** to choose the `.odt` file in a
   native save dialog) and press **Export ODT** to produce the concatenated
   document. Each file becomes a chapter headed by its title, optionally followed
   by a caption from its `# Slug:` line. **Every chapter starts on a new page**
   (the first chapter excepted, so there is no blank leading page).

The status bar shows a live **word count** for the current file, plus the net
words added (or removed) to it since the current session started. The count
updates as you type, including unsaved edits.

## Grammar & spelling (LanguageTool)

The editor can check the current file against a
[LanguageTool](https://languagetool.org/) server — typically a **local
instance**, so your manuscript never leaves your machine.

1. Run a LanguageTool server. The standalone server listens on
   `http://localhost:8010` by default (the official Docker image uses `:8081` —
   just point the app at whichever you run):
   ```sh
   # Standalone (needs Java):
   java -cp 'languagetool-server.jar' org.languagetool.server.HTTPServer --port 8010
   # or via Docker:
   docker run -d -p 8010:8010 --entrypoint java \
     erikvl87/languagetool -cp languagetool-server.jar \
     org.languagetool.server.HTTPServer --port 8010 --allow-origin '*'
   ```
2. Open **Settings ▸ LanguageTool…** (from the menu bar, or the **⚙** button on
   the Grammar row) and set the connection:
   * **Scheme** — `http` for a local server, `https` for a remote one (TLS is
     supported).
   * **Host / domain** — an IP address or hostname (default `localhost`).
   * **Port** — the server's port (default `8010`).
   * **Token** — optional; sent as an `Authorization: Bearer` header for a server
     behind an auth proxy, or a premium API key. Leave blank for an
     unauthenticated local server.
   * **Language** — `auto` to detect, or a code like `en-US`, `en-GB`, `de-DE`.

   Press **Test connection** to confirm the settings reach a working server. All
   fields are remembered in the config.
3. Open a file and press **✓ Check**. The check runs in the background (the UI
   stays responsive) and issues appear two ways:
   * **Underlines in the editor** — red for spelling, blue for grammar/style.
   * **A "Grammar & spelling" panel** at the bottom listing each issue with its
     explanation and suggested fixes. Click a suggestion to apply it; the
     remaining underlines re-align automatically.

Editing the text after a check hides the underlines (their positions would no
longer be accurate) and disables the fix buttons until you re-check. The checker
sends the raw file text, so occasional markdown tokens (e.g. a `#` heading
marker) may be flagged.

## Header stripping on export

Manuscript files often carry editorial notes and metadata above the prose that
should not appear in the finished document. On export, each file is cleaned up:

* **HTML comments** (`<!-- ... -->`, including multi-line ones) are removed.
* **The header block** — everything above the **Draft marker** line (set in the
  top bar; default `### Rough Draft:`) — is dropped. From that header:
  * `# Title:` becomes the chapter heading (unless a manual override is set), and
  * `# Slug:` becomes an italic caption printed beneath the heading.

  Any other header text is discarded. Files with no marker line are exported
  whole, but stray `# Title:` / `# Slug:` lines are still lifted out. Clear the
  Draft marker field to disable header splitting entirely.

For example, this source file:

```markdown
# Title: The Gate
# Slug: in which the door will not open
<!-- remember to foreshadow the key -->
outline: she arrives, she knocks, nothing

### Rough Draft:

The prose that actually gets exported begins here.
```

exports as a chapter titled **The Gate**, captioned *in which the door will not
open*, containing only the prose below the marker.

## Files the app writes

| Location | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `<workspace>/*.md` | your manuscript files |
| `<workspace>/order.json` | the manual ordering (committed to git) |
| `<workspace>/titles.json` | chapter-title overrides (committed to git) |
| `~/.config/md-manuscript/config.json` | last workspace, export path, prefs |

## Markdown supported in ODT export

Headings, paragraphs, **bold**, *italic*, ***both***, `inline code`, fenced/indented
code blocks (monospace, whitespace preserved), ~~strikethrough~~, ordered and
unordered (nested) lists, block quotes, horizontal rules, and links. Images are
rendered as a text placeholder (not embedded).

A quick reference for all of this — plus the chapter metadata, draft-marker
header, and comment conventions — is built in: open **Help ▸ Markdown cheatsheet**
from the menu bar.