TODO Features

March 21, 2026 · View on GitHub

Planned features for the Markdown Inline Editor extension. Each item has a brief summary and up to five bullet points.

Default decorator rendering

Control whether markdown files open with decorations on or off by default.

  • Add setting under markdownInlineEditor.defaultBehaviors, e.g. decorations.enabledByDefault (default true).
  • Initial state applies when opening a file or when the extension activates; existing toggle command still overrides per session.
  • Optional: when off by default, skip parsing until the user runs the toggle (reduces CPU/memory with many open markdown files).
  • Aligns with existing defaultBehaviors.diffView.applyDecorations naming.
  • Can later integrate with per-file toggle state when that is implemented.

Default feature activation

Let users enable or disable specific markdown features (headings, links, tables, emoji, etc.) by default.

  • Per-feature or per-category config under markdownInlineEditor.*; apply at decoration time, not parse time.
  • Disabled features render as raw; 3-state visibility (Rendered/Ghost/Raw) and reveal-on-select still work for enabled features.
  • Prefer grouping by category (headings, links, lists, code, emoji, tables) to keep settings manageable.
  • Avoid re-parsing on config change; apply at decoration layer.
  • Stay consistent with diff-view policy (raw by default in diffs).

Highlighting support

Support ==text== highlighting syntax with background styling and hidden markers.

  • Detect ==text==, style with background color, hide markers; reveal raw on selection.
  • Non-standard extension (not GFM); breaks “works everywhere” principle; limited adoption.
  • Recommendation: remove from roadmap unless there is strong user demand.
  • Feasibility high, usefulness low, effort ~1 week.

Image UX improvements

Improve image experience: click-to-open, richer hover, visual distinction, optional status and thumbnails.

  • Phase 1: make images clickable (alt text opens image in VS Code viewer).
  • Phase 2: hover shows dimensions, file size, path, “Open Image” button; constrain preview size (e.g. max 400px).
  • Phase 3: distinct style for images vs links (color, background, border).
  • Phase 4 (optional): status indicators (valid, missing, external, large).
  • Phase 5 (future): inline thumbnails with performance/caching considered; or thumbnail only on hover.

Mentions and references styling

Implemented — see docs/features/done/mentions-references.md (inline styling, optional forge-aware links, settings markdownInlineEditor.mentions.*).

Ordered list auto-numbering

Hide ordered list markers and show computed numbers (1, 2, 3…), including nested lists.

  • Hide 1., 2., etc.; compute numbers from position; support GFM 1) as well as 1..
  • Handle nesting and out-of-order source numbering; reveal raw on selection.
  • Core GFM; competitive with markless; 2–3 weeks; reassess after core features.
  • Feasibility moderate, usefulness high, risk medium (edge cases).

Per-file toggle state

Enable or disable decorations per file instead of globally; state persists across sessions.

  • Store toggle state per file URI; add UI control; persist across VS Code sessions.
  • New files use default state; renamed files keep state (by URI or migration).
  • Competitive advantage (e.g. markless does not have it); good UX for mixed preferences.
  • Feasibility high, usefulness high, risk low, effort ~1 week.

Table column alignment (with markup)

Keep table columns aligned when cells contain formatted text (bold, code, italic). Hidden markup changes rendered width and currently breaks alignment.

  • Measure rendered width of formatted cells (VS Code text measurement or font metrics); adjust column spacing to preserve alignment.
  • Handle mixed cells, multiple formatting in one cell, and left/center/right alignment.
  • Depends on tables feature; 1–2 weeks; feasibility moderate, usefulness high.
  • See: GitHub issue #21.

Tables

Full GFM table support: hide pipes, style alignment, support multi-line cells, reveal raw on selection.

  • Detect GFM tables; hide | delimiters; style alignment (:---, :---:, ---:); support multi-line cells.
  • Preserve alignment when revealing raw; handle empty cells and inline formatting in cells.
  • Core GFM; high demand; competitive requirement; 2–3 weeks; feasibility high, risk medium (edge cases).