MacDownApp / MacDownApp/macdown
Proposal: live PTY terminal pane with Cmd+Return fenced-code execution
- Dominant language
- Rich Text Format
- Stars
- 9.8k
- Forks
- 1.2k
- PR merge metrics
- No merged PRs in 30d
Description
## What
Terminal pane in the editor window (⌘⌥T), backed by SwiftTerm (MIT). Real PTY, bottom split, resizable/closable.
Cmd+Return with cursor in a ```bash/sh/zsh/shell``` fence runs that block directly in the pane (auto-opens if closed). Other languages/no tag: no-op.
Also: bundled MesloLGS NF font (Apache 2.0) + Paper/Dark ANSI themes, switchable in Preferences.
## Why
I read a lot of markdown docs with embedded shell snippets (setup steps, quick test commands) and kept alt-tabbing to a terminal to run them. Wanted to run the snippet where I'm already reading it, no context switch.
Prototype: `https://github.com/VinhTieuGit/macdown/tree/feature/terminal-pane`
## Tradeoffs
- New dependency: SwiftTerm.
- Bundled font adds binary size (few hundred KB).
- macOS only, no plans beyond that.
## Ask
Would love feedback on whether this fits the project's direction. Happy to open it as one PR, or split into smaller pieces (pane / font+theme / fence-exec) if that's easier to review. No worries either way if it's not a fit — just wanted to check before polishing further.
Contributor guide
Research direction
Review the linked feature/terminal-pane prototype first, then inspect MacDown’s editor and preference entry points to determine whether the pane, fenced-code execution, and font/theme work should be separate changes. Done would mean an agreed scope and maintainer decision before implementation.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- swift
- Domain
- desktop, devtools
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 5/5
- Estimated time
- Over a week
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Needs clarification
- Newbie friendliness
- 25/100