Workspace/Folder Support

Overview

Comprehensive folder/workspace management system that enables project-based editing with file tree navigation, context menus, file operations, quick file switching, file watching, and search-in-files functionality.

Key Files

• src/workspaces/mod.rs - Core workspace types (AppMode, Workspace) and module re-exports
• src/workspaces/file_tree.rs - File tree data structure and lazy directory scanning
• src/workspaces/file_index.rs - Background full-workspace file index (quick switcher, search)
• src/workspaces/settings.rs - Workspace-specific settings and persistence
• src/workspaces/persistence.rs - Workspace state persistence (expanded folders, recent files)
• src/workspaces/watcher.rs - File system watcher for detecting external changes
• src/ui/file_tree.rs - File tree sidebar panel UI
• src/ui/quick_switcher.rs - Quick file switcher overlay (Ctrl+P)
• src/ui/search.rs - Search in files panel (Ctrl+Shift+F)
• src/ui/dialogs.rs - File operation dialogs (New File, New Folder, Rename, Delete)
• src/ui/file_index_progress.rs - Indexing progress bar (quick switcher, search panel)
• src/state.rs - AppState integration for workspace mode
• src/app/ - Main application integration (file_ops.rs, central_panel.rs, mod.rs)

Implementation Details

Application Mode

The app operates in one of two modes:

pub enum AppMode {
    SingleFile,          // Traditional single-file editing
    Workspace {          // Folder-based project mode
        root: PathBuf,
        settings_path: PathBuf,
    },
}

Workspace Struct

When a folder is opened, a Workspace instance is created:

pub struct Workspace {
    pub root_path: PathBuf,
    pub file_tree: FileTreeNode,
    pub hidden_patterns: Vec<String>,
    pub recent_files: Vec<PathBuf>,
    pub settings: WorkspaceSettings,
    pub show_file_tree: bool,
    pub file_tree_width: f32,
}

File Tree

Lazy-loaded hierarchy for the sidebar (fast open on large repos):

pub enum FileTreeNodeKind {
    File,
    Directory { children: Vec<FileTreeNode> },
    DirectoryNotLoaded,  // scanned when user expands the folder
}

Subdirectories start as DirectoryNotLoaded and are scanned on expand. This does not limit quick switcher or search — see Workspace File Index.

Workspace File Index

Background walkdir index of all workspace files for Ctrl+P and Ctrl+Shift+F:

• Starts when a folder is opened; rebuilds on file create/delete/rename or tree refresh
• Incremental batches + progress bar on large folders (“Indexing… N files found”)
• Same hidden-folder rules as the tree

See workspace-file-index.md.

File Watcher

Uses the notify crate to monitor filesystem changes:

pub enum WorkspaceEvent {
    FileCreated(PathBuf),
    FileModified(PathBuf),
    FileDeleted(PathBuf),
    FileRenamed(PathBuf, PathBuf),
    Error(String),
}

Events are polled each frame and used to:

• Refresh the file tree when files are created/deleted
• Show toast notifications when open files are modified externally

Quick File Switcher

Fuzzy search across all indexed workspace files (not only expanded tree folders):

• Opens with Ctrl+P
• Uses fuzzy-matcher crate for scoring
• Prioritizes recently opened files
• Shows indexing progress on large folders until the background walk completes
• Keyboard navigation with arrow keys

Search in Files

Full-text search across the full workspace index:

• Opens with Ctrl+Shift+F
• Supports plain text and regex
• Case-sensitive toggle
• Indexing progress bar while the background walk runs
• Results grouped by file with highlighted matches
• Click result to open file

File Operation Dialogs

Modal dialogs for file operations:

• New File: Creates file with default markdown content
• New Folder: Creates empty directory
• Rename: Renames file/folder, updates open tabs
• Delete: Confirmation dialog, closes affected tabs

Dependencies Used

• notify = "6" - Cross-platform file system watching
• walkdir - Full-workspace file index (background thread)
• fuzzy-matcher = "0.3" - Fuzzy string matching for quick switcher
• regex - Regular expression support for search

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+B	Toggle file tree panel
Ctrl+P	Open quick file switcher
Ctrl+Shift+F	Open search in files

Ribbon Toolbar Buttons

When in workspace mode, additional buttons appear in the ribbon toolbar next to the Open Folder button:

• 🔎 Search in Files - Opens the search panel (same as Ctrl+Shift+F)
• ⚡ Quick File Switcher - Opens the file palette (same as Ctrl+P)

These buttons are only visible when a workspace/folder is open. The emoji icons are temporary placeholders for future SVG/PNG replacement.

UI Components

File Tree Panel

• Left sidebar showing folder structure
• Expand/collapse folders
• File icons based on extension
• Context menu (right-click):
  • New File
  • New Folder
  • Rename
  • Delete
  • Reveal in Explorer
  • Refresh

Quick Switcher

• Modal overlay in center of screen
• Search input with fuzzy matching
• File list with icons and paths
• Keyboard navigation

Search Panel

• Modal window with search input
• Regex and case-sensitive options
• Results list with match highlighting
• Click to navigate to file

Persistence

Workspace state is saved to .ferrite/ directory within the workspace root:

• settings.json - Workspace-specific settings
• state.json - UI state (expanded folders, recent files, panel width)

Usage

Opening a Workspace

1. Click "Open Folder" button in ribbon (or use Ctrl+Shift+O future shortcut)
2. Or drag a folder onto the application window

File Operations

1. Right-click a file/folder in the file tree
2. Select operation from context menu
3. Complete dialog (if applicable)

Searching Files

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+F
2. Enter search term
3. Press Enter to search
4. Click result to open file

Tests

Run workspace-related tests:

cargo test workspaces::file_index::
cargo test workspaces::
cargo test ui::file_tree::
cargo test ui::quick_switcher::
cargo test ui::search::
cargo test ui::dialogs::