Harden note-local frontmatter value editing and write semantics #65

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opened 2026-05-21 13:29:34 +00:00 by steve · 0 comments

steve commented

2026-05-21 13:29:34 +00:00

Owner

Make frontmatter value edits predictable and durable for all built-in property
widgets, and consolidate the duplicated note-local write path used by markdown
frontmatter surfaces.

Context

Audit findings from the current implementation:

file-frontmatter.svelte and file-properties.svelte duplicate the same
processFrontMatter + lodash set/unset behavior.
Built-in widgets are imperative DOM renderers in widgets.ts; they update only
on blur in most cases, so checkbox/date/number/text changes can be lost when
focus is moved by a menu, a view switch, or editor remount.
Boolean, empty string, numeric, date, datetime, and unknown values have no
focused regression tests for conversion, clearing, or YAML serialization.
processFrontMatter() is solid for the cache-missing case but has limited
coverage for notes with no frontmatter block, empty frontmatter, parse errors,
concurrent edits, or avoiding no-op writes.
UI callers do not surface write failures, so YAML or vault errors can appear as
silent instability.

Acceptance Criteria

The markdown plugin exposes one note-local frontmatter mutation helper for add,
update, clear, and nested path writes, reused by live-preview frontmatter and
the file properties side view.
Built-in widgets commit at predictable interaction points; checkbox-style
values update on change, and text-like values do not lose edits when menus or
view transitions move focus.
Empty values, false, 0, empty arrays, and null/undefined removal have
explicit behavior and tests.
FileManager.processFrontMatter() coverage includes adding a first
frontmatter block, editing an existing block, preserving unrelated keys,
handling parser/write failures, and suppressing unnecessary writes where
practical.
Write failures are surfaced through the existing app notification/error path
rather than silently failing.

Notes

Relevant files:

packages/api/src/lib/file-manager.ts
packages/api/src/lib/__tests__/file-manager.test.ts
packages/plugins/plugin-markdown/src/lib/components/frontmatter/file-frontmatter.svelte
packages/plugins/plugin-markdown/src/lib/views/file-properties/file-properties.svelte
packages/plugins/plugin-markdown/src/lib/components/frontmatter/widgets.ts

Implementation Summary

Consolidated note-local frontmatter writes behind a shared helper, hardened falsey and nullish mutation semantics, surfaced write failures through Notice, expanded FileManager processFrontMatter edge-case coverage, and added widget/frontmatter regression tests.

Make frontmatter value edits predictable and durable for all built-in property widgets, and consolidate the duplicated note-local write path used by markdown frontmatter surfaces. ## Context Audit findings from the current implementation: - `file-frontmatter.svelte` and `file-properties.svelte` duplicate the same `processFrontMatter` + lodash `set`/`unset` behavior. - Built-in widgets are imperative DOM renderers in `widgets.ts`; they update only on `blur` in most cases, so checkbox/date/number/text changes can be lost when focus is moved by a menu, a view switch, or editor remount. - Boolean, empty string, numeric, date, datetime, and unknown values have no focused regression tests for conversion, clearing, or YAML serialization. - `processFrontMatter()` is solid for the cache-missing case but has limited coverage for notes with no frontmatter block, empty frontmatter, parse errors, concurrent edits, or avoiding no-op writes. - UI callers do not surface write failures, so YAML or vault errors can appear as silent instability. ## Acceptance Criteria - The markdown plugin exposes one note-local frontmatter mutation helper for add, update, clear, and nested path writes, reused by live-preview frontmatter and the file properties side view. - Built-in widgets commit at predictable interaction points; checkbox-style values update on change, and text-like values do not lose edits when menus or view transitions move focus. - Empty values, `false`, `0`, empty arrays, and `null`/`undefined` removal have explicit behavior and tests. - `FileManager.processFrontMatter()` coverage includes adding a first frontmatter block, editing an existing block, preserving unrelated keys, handling parser/write failures, and suppressing unnecessary writes where practical. - Write failures are surfaced through the existing app notification/error path rather than silently failing. ## Notes Relevant files: - `packages/api/src/lib/file-manager.ts` - `packages/api/src/lib/__tests__/file-manager.test.ts` - `packages/plugins/plugin-markdown/src/lib/components/frontmatter/file-frontmatter.svelte` - `packages/plugins/plugin-markdown/src/lib/views/file-properties/file-properties.svelte` - `packages/plugins/plugin-markdown/src/lib/components/frontmatter/widgets.ts` ## Implementation Summary Consolidated note-local frontmatter writes behind a shared helper, hardened falsey and nullish mutation semantics, surfaced write failures through Notice, expanded FileManager processFrontMatter edge-case coverage, and added widget/frontmatter regression tests.

steve

2026-05-21 13:29:34 +00:00