Track linked outputs and preview updates when source files change
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- Dominant language
- Rust
- Stars
- 125k
- Forks
- 19.4k
- PR merge metrics
- PR metrics pending
Description
What variant of Codex are you using?
Codex App on macOS.
What feature would you like to see?
Let a project retain explicit relationships between source files and generated outputs, flag outputs that may need refreshing, and preview updates before applying them.
For example, Codex creates a chart and report from a CSV. After the CSV changes, the project could show: "The chart and report summary use an earlier version of this data. Preview updates?"
Proposed interaction design
Add a Link to source… action to a generated file's menu. The user confirms the source and which output or generated section it supplies. Keep the resulting links accessible beside file previews.
Linked outputs 2 need review
Source: sales.csv Changed
[x] revenue.png Source changed
[x] report.md · Summary Source changed
[Preview updates]
Selecting Preview updates generates proposed replacements separately from the existing files. The review shows Current and Proposed, using a text diff for Markdown and side-by-side previews for charts. Users can select which updates to apply.
| Situation | Proposed behavior |
|---|---|
| Source changes | Show "Source changed"; generate replacements when requested. |
| Output was manually edited | Show a conflict and exclude it from bulk application until the user resolves it. |
| Source or output changes during review | Mark the preview out of date and require a fresh preview before applying. |
| Source is missing | Offer to relink it; keep the existing output available. |
| Refresh fails or is cancelled | Preserve the existing output and show the result for that item. |
"Up to date" means the output was generated from the tracked source version; it does not certify the content's correctness. Unlinking stops tracking and keeps both files.
Initial scope and interface details
Keep links explicit and project-scoped, with one local CSV feeding a chart and a generated Markdown section. Preserve the links when the project is reopened. Multi-step dependency chains and Office formats can follow.
Reuse Codex's existing typography, controls, and status treatments. Status needs text as well as color, keyboard access, and a clear primary action appropriate to the current state. The layout and copy above are proposals for discussion.
Additional information
Related: #24399 requests refreshing a Markdown preview after its file changes. This proposal tracks dependencies between separate files and refreshes their content. Support for spreadsheets and presentations could follow the smaller local-file workflow.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
No implementation files, tests, or entry points are named. Start by locating Codex App's project-scoped file and preview-management code, then determine how local files and generated previews are persisted; done means explicit source-output links survive reopening and the proposed CSV-to-chart and Markdown refresh flow supports preview, conflict handling, and selective application.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- macos, rust
- Domain
- desktop
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 5/5
- Estimated time
- Over a week
- Activity status
- Active
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 35/100