flow/release_notes.md

Release 0.4.0

Celebrating 1000 github stars!   

New Features:

 - **File type configuration** - File types are now user configurable. Flow comes with a built-in
   list of file types that you can now modify and save to the configuration directory with the
   `Edit file type configuration` command. You can also create whole new file types simply by adding
   new files to the configuration directory in the `file_type` folder. The file type configuration
   defines the name, icon, description, formatter and language server, extensions and first line
   matching rules for a file type.

 - **Auto Save** - Enable auto save for the current buffer with the `Toggle auto save` command. This
   will automatically save the current buffer on every change. Debounce time is the currently
   configured frame rate. You can also enable auto save globally with the `enable_auto_save`
   configuration option, and limit which file type have auto save automatically enabled with the
   `limit_auto_save_file_types` configuration option (which is a list of file types, e.g.
   `["zig","rust"]`)

 - **Highlight columns** - Use the `Toggle highlight columns` (`toggle_highlight_columns`) command
   (bound to shift+f11 in flow mode) to enable a background dim effect at the configured column
   positions. The columns to highlight are configured via the `highlight_columns` configuration
   option.

 - **Smart insert & delete** - Brace pairs like (), [], {} and "" are now handled intelligently like
   in most code editors. Also, leading whitespace is now intelligently deleted in `indent_size`
   steps.

 - **Format on save toggle** - Format on save can now be toggled for the current buffer with the
   `Toggle format on save` command (`toggle_format_on_save`).

 - **Git support** - The status bar now shows a summary of the project's git status include current
   branch, number of changed files and number of unpushed/unpulled/stashed commits. Also, Flow now
   respects all of git's file ignore machanisms. Diffs do not yet use git, but that is planned.

 - **Auto create parent directories** - Flow will now automatically create parent directies if
   necessary when creating new files.

 - **Tilde expansion** - The `Open file` and `Save as` commands now correctly support expanding `~`
   to the user's home directory.

 - **Improved panic handling** - Flow now has much improved panic handling and will leave the
   terminal in a known good state for all panics and segfaults. Additionally, release and nightly
   builds are now available with full debug information that will produce fully detailed backtraces
   on crash. This should help catch and fix those rare but pesky crashes. Please submit issues!
   Additionally, there is a configuration option to automatically start and connect gdb to a
   crashing flow instance. (linux only)

 - **Terminal support** - Flow now supports the kitty explicit text width protocol. This improves
   unicode character rendering on terminals that support it and superceeds `wcwidth` when available.

 - **Language server protocol** - Flow language server protocol backend is now fully asynchronous.
   This means that slow language servers cannot cause pauses while editing.

 - **Language support**
    - Added powershell syntax highlighting
    - Added hurl syntax highlighting
    - Added rpmspec syntax highlighting
    - Added protobuf syntax highlighting
    - Added uxntal syntax highlighting
    - Added protobuf syntax highlighting
    - Added C# formatter (csharpier)
    - Added PHP language server (intelephense)

 - **Themes**
    - Themes can now be customized with the `Customise theme` command
    - Added the entire base16 theme collection
    - Added the hypersubatomic theme

 - **Home screen** - The home screen text and list of commands can now be customized. Also, the
   current build version and build type are now shown in the bottom right corner of the home screen.

 - **tree-sitter** - Queries are now biniary compiled and stored in the flow executable. This
   greatly improves load times and reduces binary size. Also, incremental tree-sitter parsing is
   now checked for parsing errors and will fallback to a full re-parse if errors occur.

 - **Integer arguments** - Flow now supports integer arguments to many commands similar to emacs and
   vim. Related bindings have been added to Flow, Emacs, Vim and Helix modes. Pending integer
   arguments are shown in the status bar.

 - **Vim mode improvements** - Insert mode now produces automic undo steps, much more like Vim. Many
   vim mode bindings have been improved to more closely match Vim in their behaviour. Visual line
   mode was added.

 - **Helix mode improvements** - Many helinx mode bindings have been improved to more closely match
   Helix in their behaviour.

 - **New keybindings**
   - **Flow mode**
     `home`/`end` now work in palettes
     `ctrl+shift+F5` => reload file

   - **Vim mode**
     `ctrl-c` => exit insert mode
     `:e!` => reload file
     `gt` => next tab
     `gT` => previous tab
     `ctrl-v` => enter visual block mode
     `<` => unindent
     `>` => indent
     '*' => find work at cursor
     'J' => join line
     'dgg' => cut to beginning of buffer
     'dG' => cut to end of buffer
     'f' => move/select forward to char
     'F' => move/select backwards to char
     't' => move/select forward until char
     'T' => move/select backwards until char
     'N' => goto previous match
     'cc' => change whole line
     'C' => change to end of line
     'D' => delete to end of line
     'cw' => change word right
     'cb' => change word left
     'zz' => scroll view to center
     'w' => [VISUAL] select word right (vim)
     'W' => [VISUAL] select word right
     'e' => [VISUAL] select to end of word right (vim)
     'b' => [VISUAL] select word left (vim)
     'B' => [VISUAL] select word left
     'gg' => [VISUAL] select to beginning of buffer
     'G' => [VISUAL] select to end of buffer
     'c' => [VISUAL] change word right
     'C' => [VISUAL] change to end of line
     'D' => [VISUAL] delete to end of line

 - **New & updated commands**
   - copy_file_name => [NEW] Copy the current buffer file name (and optionally line number) to the
     clipboard.
   - reload_file => [NEW] Reload the current file from disk (mainting undo).
   - find_file => [NEW] Alias for open_recent.
   - save_file_with_formatting => [NEW] Format and save the current file. Independant of the current
     value of `enable_format_on_save`.
   - save_file_without_formatting => [NEW] Save the current file without first formatting it.
     Independant of the current value of `enable_format_on_save`.
   - open_file => [UPDATED] Open file will now detect if the current selection contains a valid file
     path, including optional line number. If it does, it will be opened immediately without first
     prompting.
   - join_next_line => [UPDATED] Join next line will now collapse whitespace.
   - shell_execute_stream_output => [UPDATED] Will now follow output tail if cursor is at buffer
     end.

 - **Command line improvements**
   - `--new-file` => Create a new file when starting Flow.
   - `--scratch` => Create a new scratch (ephemeral) buffer when starting Flow.
   - `--exec` => You can now pass string arguments to commands by separating them from the command
     name with a colon.

 - **UI improvements** - Many minor usability and visual UI improvments
   - The results pane now closes if `Find in files` mode is cancelled
   - The clock widget now supports multiple digit styles
   - Status bar widgets can support parameters for width or style depending on the widget
   - Scrollbars and file icons can be enabled/disabled via configuration options
   - Inline diagnostics (and gutter symbols) can now be toggled with the
     `Toggle display of diagnostics inline` command
   - Line numbers can now be displayed in various styles (toggled via middle click and/or config)


Fixes:
 - Add legacy input encoding compatible undo keybinding in emacs mode
 - Allow .cmd along with .exe for Windows executables
 - Fixed broken shifted keybinds for Helix mode
 - Fix palette crashing when its items's length is exceeded
 - Fix restoring of last_find_query from editor state
 - Fix make keybind module respect command.suppressed_errors list
 - Allow font names longer than 31 characters in win32
 - Fix panic on extra long plane names
 - Don't stop unindenting on blank or full unindented lines
 - Make sure to show_home if no files are opened via command line
 - Add workaround for LSPs sending junk null messages (omnisharp)
 - Don't truncate scratch buffer names in tabs and terminal title
 - Prevent unexpected message errors on missing LSP binary
 - Replace std.unicode.utf8Decode with safe function that cannot panic on invalid UTF-8 input
 - nudge_delete should handle cursor moving to same line as delete
 - Remove multithreaded buffer access in background async differ
 - Remove multithreaded buffer access in project_manager
 - Word/line wise dragging should keep the original word/line selected
 - Remove prefix from paths in ripgrep results
 - Use iso date format for default date instert keybind
 - Workaround broken dir.statFile on WSL1
 - Left an right movements jump to selection boundary
 - Prefer targetSelectionRange over targeRange if both are provided by LSP
 - Fix flicker: home screen should not load if we have a file to open
 - Update thespian to fix subprocess file descriptor race
 - Force ripgrep to never try search stdin
 - Bracketed paste should check for ctrl+j and insert \n
 - Render control codes in mini buffer input with unicode control code symbols
 - Proactive close subprocesses on early exit in shell module
 - Fix paste in goto mode
 - Don't match against legacy unshifted keys when we have extended input text
 - Remove blocking project manager call on startup
 - Never double free LSP init queue
 - Remove arbitrary limit to command buffer size
 - Remove ctrl+p command palette binding
 - Stop after removing widget in Widget.remove (fixes ReleaseFast crash)
 - Fix potention dangling pointer in mainview on view list realloc
 - MRU position should not override line numbers on command line
 - Don't restore editor view rows and cols
 - Prevent task palette from being too short to show palette label
 - Refresh hover on tab changes
 - Add workaround for conpty ul color escape sequence parser bug
 - get_mru_position should not hang if file not found in project
 - Fix row & column in get_mru_position
 - Remove initial empty frame render on startup
 - Make move_cursor_up/_down fallback to move_begin/_end
 - Don't get stuck in an overlay mode if it is triggered from the command line
 - Update cursor target column after nudge_insert/_delete