manual_slop/conductor/tracks/markdown_highlighting_20260308/plan.md

Implementation Plan: Markdown Support & Syntax Highlighting

Phase 1: Markdown Integration & Setup

• Task: Research and configure imgui_markdown within the existing imgui-bundle environment.
  • Identify required font assets for Markdown (bold, italic, headers).
  • Create a MarkdownRenderer wrapper class in src/markdown_helper.py to manage styling and callbacks (links, etc.).
• Task: Implement basic Markdown rendering in a test panel.
  • Verify that bold, italic, and headers render correctly using the defined theme fonts.
• Task: Conductor - User Manual Verification 'Phase 1: Markdown Integration' (Protocol in workflow.md)

Phase 2: Syntax Highlighting Implementation

• Task: Implement syntax highlighting for PowerShell, Python, and JSON/TOML.
  • Research imgui-bundle's recommended approach for syntax highlighting (e.g., using ImGuiColorTextEdit or specialized Markdown callbacks).
  • Define language-specific color palettes that match the "Professional" theme.
• Task: Implement the language resolution logic.
  • Create a utility to extract language tags from code blocks and resolve file extensions.
  • Implement cheap heuristic for common code patterns (e.g., matching def , if $, { ").
• Task: Conductor - User Manual Verification 'Phase 2: Syntax Highlighting' (Protocol in workflow.md)

Phase 3: GUI Integration (Read-Only Views)

• Task: Integrate Markdown rendering into the Discussion History.
  • Replace imgui.text_wrapped in _render_discussion_panel with the MarkdownRenderer.
  • Ensure that code blocks within AI messages are correctly highlighted.
• Task: Integrate syntax highlighting into the Comms Log.
  • Update _render_comms_history_panel to render JSON/TOML payloads with highlighting.
• Task: Integrate syntax highlighting into the Operations/Tooling panels.
  • Ensure PowerShell scripts and tool results are rendered with highlighting.
• Task: Conductor - User Manual Verification 'Phase 3: GUI Integration' (Protocol in workflow.md)

Phase 4: Refinement & Final Polish

• Task: Refine performance for large logs.
  • Implement incremental rendering or caching for rendered Markdown blocks to maintain high FPS. (Hybrid renderer with TextEditor caching implemented).
• Task: Implement clickable links.
  • Handle link callbacks to open external URLs in the browser or local files in the configured text editor.
• Task: Conduct a final visual audit across all read-only views.
• Task: Conductor - User Manual Verification 'Phase 4: Final Polish' (Protocol in workflow.md)