https://github.com/fezcode/descry
A keyboard-driven markdown editor in C, SDL2 & Lua — Obsidian/Lite XL ergonomics (vault, wiki links, live preview, plugin host) without the Electron tax.
https://github.com/fezcode/descry
c c11 cross-platform knowledge-base lua lua-plugins markdown markdown-editor md4c native no-electron note-taking notes obsidian pkm sdl2 text-editor wiki-links
Last synced: 4 days ago
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A keyboard-driven markdown editor in C, SDL2 & Lua — Obsidian/Lite XL ergonomics (vault, wiki links, live preview, plugin host) without the Electron tax.
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/fezcode/descry
- Owner: fezcode
- License: mit
- Created: 2026-06-04T15:50:09.000Z (26 days ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2026-06-26T16:42:13.000Z (4 days ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-06-26T18:14:51.592Z (4 days ago)
- Topics: c, c11, cross-platform, knowledge-base, lua, lua-plugins, markdown, markdown-editor, md4c, native, no-electron, note-taking, notes, obsidian, pkm, sdl2, text-editor, wiki-links
- Language: C
- Size: 2.44 MB
- Stars: 0
- Watchers: 0
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE.txt
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README
# Descry
A keyboard-driven markdown editor in C, SDL2, and Lua. Aims at the
Obsidian / Lite XL ergonomics — vault sidebar, wiki links, full
preview rendering, plugin host — without the Electron tax.
---
## What works
- **Live preview** of CommonMark via [md4c](https://github.com/mity/md4c)
— headings, lists, task lists, code fences, block quotes, tables,
inline styles, links, soft and hard breaks.
- **Edit mode** with a real text buffer (undo/redo, multi-byte caret,
selection, smart Enter for lists, auto-pairs, find/replace). Soft
word wrap on by default; toggle off (Alt+Z) for a horizontal
scrollbar with arrow buttons.
- **Tabs** — several files open at once, lossless switching (each tab
keeps its text, cursor, scroll, and undo), reopened on next launch.
A toggleable **split live-preview** (Ctrl+\\) renders the active file
source-left / preview-right.
- **Vault sidebar** with collapsible folders, drag-and-drop reorder,
right-click context menu, recents tracking, and **image files** that
open straight into the preview pane.
- **Wiki links** `[[note name]]` resolve case-insensitively across the
vault; backlinks panel shows every note that points at the current
one.
- **Outline panel** auto-generated from headings, pinned or modal.
- **Find / Replace** with regex, case-insensitive, whole-word, live
match count, caret-aware editing, click-to-position. Searches the
raw source in edit mode and the rendered text in preview so the
highlights line up in either view.
- **Vault-wide search** across every note with a results overlay.
- **Quick switcher** (Ctrl+P) — recents-first, fuzzy match.
- **Command palette** (Ctrl+Shift+P) — every action plus every
Lua-registered plugin action with a category chip and bound
shortcut.
- **Plugin host** — drop `*.lua` in `data/plugins/`, register actions
with `descry.register_action("name", fn)`, and do real work: read and
edit the open document (`descry.buffer.*`), list/open vault notes
(`descry.vault.list`, `descry.open`), and subscribe to `open` / `save`
/ `text_change` events (`descry.on`). Surface output with
`descry.notify` / `descry.dialog`. The Plugins overlay lists every
loaded file and the actions each registered, with a hot-reload button.
- **LaTeX math** — inline `$…$` and display `$$…$$` spans render
typographically: Greek letters, operators, `\frac{a}{b}`, roots, and
simple super/subscripts become real Unicode glyphs (`$\sum_{i=1}^{n}
x_i^2$` → `∑ᵢ₌₁ⁿ xᵢ²`). A typographic pass, not a full TeX engine.
- **Graph view** (Ctrl+Shift+M) — a force-directed map of the vault's
wiki-link graph. Node size scales with degree, the current note is
highlighted; drag to pan, scroll to zoom, click a node to open it.
- **Spell check** — opt-in (`spellcheck = true` in `settings.lua`),
dictionary-driven red squiggles under unknown words in the editor.
Points at a system word list or your own `dictionary_path`; "Add to
dictionary" remembers words in `data/.dictionary_user`.
- **In-app modals** for Save / Save As / Rename / New File — no
native Win32 dialogs, full keyboard nav, sidebar-style file
browser.
- **Custom title bar** with File / Edit / View / Help menus, aero
snap, drag-to-move, min/maximize/close, working under
`SDL_WINDOW_BORDERLESS` via a WS_THICKFRAME + WM_NCCALCSIZE
trick.
- **Live resize indicator** — a centered `W x H` badge plus a window
outline render while the user drags an edge. The resize loop pumps
through an SDL event watch so the indicator animates during the
drag, not after.
- **Plugin actions, Ctrl+click external links, image preview,
About dialog, settings persistence, theme picker, keybinding
editor, daily-notes, HTML export, ASCII-art table aligner** ...
---
## Screenshots
### Image embeds in preview
### Wiki links and quote blocks
### Tags, lists, mid-line styling
---
## Stack
| Layer | Library |
|------------------|--------------------------------------------------|
| Language | C11 |
| Window / input | SDL2 |
| Glyph cache | FreeType + HarfBuzz |
| Markdown parser | [md4c](https://github.com/mity/md4c) (vendored) |
| Scripting | Lua 5.4 (vendored) |
| SVG icons / pills| [nanosvg](https://github.com/memononen/nanosvg) (vendored) |
| Image decode | libpng, libjpeg |
| Anti-aliasing | custom analytic signed-distance-field pill rasterizer |
| Build | CMake + Ninja |
No GTK, no Qt, no web view, no JS runtime. The compiled binary is a
single `descry.exe` plus its DLL dependencies (SDL2, FreeType,
HarfBuzz, libpng, libjpeg).
---
## Building
### Windows (MSYS2 MinGW-w64)
```sh
pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-{gcc,cmake,ninja,SDL2,freetype,harfbuzz,libpng,libjpeg-turbo}
cmake -G Ninja -B build
ninja -C build
./build/descry.exe
```
### macOS (Homebrew)
Apple Silicon and Intel both work; the app renders crisp on Retina and
falls back to system fonts (Menlo) automatically.
```sh
brew install cmake ninja pkg-config sdl2 freetype harfbuzz libpng jpeg
# Apple Silicon Homebrew lives under /opt/homebrew; on Intel use /usr/local.
# libjpeg is keg-only, so point pkg-config at it explicitly:
export PKG_CONFIG_PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/jpeg/lib/pkgconfig:/opt/homebrew/lib/pkgconfig"
cmake -G Ninja -B build
ninja -C build
./build/descry
```
**Package as a double-clickable app.** To get a self-contained `Descry.app`
(SDL/FreeType/HarfBuzz dylibs bundled inside, HiDPI-aware, ad-hoc signed so it
launches locally) instead of running the binary from a terminal:
```sh
brew install dylibbundler # bundles the dylibs into the app
./package_macos.sh # -> build/Descry.app
./package_macos.sh --dmg # also -> dist/Descry-.dmg (drag to /Applications)
```
For distribution to other Macs, sign with a Developer ID
(`--sign "Developer ID Application: …"`) and notarize.
### Linux
```sh
apt install build-essential cmake ninja-build libsdl2-dev libfreetype-dev libharfbuzz-dev libpng-dev libjpeg-dev
cmake -G Ninja -B build
ninja -C build
./build/descry
```
On Windows the build pulls every transitive MinGW DLL next to the exe
via `file(GET_RUNTIME_DEPENDENCIES)` so the build dir is portable —
zip it and run anywhere without an MSYS2 install. The `data/` folder
is *not* copied; the exe loads `data/` from its own directory at
runtime, so put your vault wherever you like and point Descry at it.
The repo ships thin wrappers around the commands above: `build.ps1`
for Windows (MSYS2 MinGW-w64) and `build.sh` for macOS/Linux. Both
configure + build into `build/`; pass `-Run` / `--run` to launch
afterwards.
### macOS notes
- **Retina / HiDPI** renders at native pixel density — glyphs are
rasterized at the display scale while layout stays in logical points,
so text is sharp rather than upscaled. Crossing between a Retina and
a non-Retina display re-rasterizes the fonts automatically.
- **Fonts** default to Menlo and fall back through Apple Symbols,
PingFang and Apple Color Emoji for symbols / CJK / emoji. A
`settings.lua` copied from another OS that points at a missing font
is detected and swapped for the platform default instead of failing
to start.
- **Reveal in Finder** uses `open -R`; external links and the log
folder open via `open`.
- File dialogs use AppleScript (`osascript`); logs and settings live
under `~/Library/Logs/Descry/`.
---
## Layout
```
src/ - C sources (single-binary)
main.c - app loop, UI, every overlay
buffer.c/h - the gap-free text buffer + cursor/selection/undo
markdown.c/h - md4c wrapper, line/style/wiki/link extraction
font.c/h - FreeType+HarfBuzz glyph cache, fallback chain
icons.c/h - nanosvg icon raster + SDF pill rasterizer
lua_host.c/h - Lua state, plugin loader, action registry, buffer/
vault/event bridge for plugins
vault.c/h - recursive directory scan + native dialogs
image.c/h - PNG/JPG decode -> SDL_Texture cache
regex.c/h - in-house regex engine (find/replace)
mermaid.c/h - mermaid diagram parse + layout
graph.c/h - force-directed wiki-link graph layout
spell.c/h - hash-set spell dictionary
tabs.c/h - open-file tab list + park/restore
data/ - default vault: sample notes, init.lua, plugins/
vendor/ - lua 5.4, md4c, nanosvg
```
---
## Plugins
A plugin is any `.lua` file under `data/plugins/`. The host exposes a
tiny global table:
```lua
-- data/plugins/hello.lua
descry.register_action("say_hello", function()
descry.dialog("Hello", "Hello from the plugin system!")
end)
descry.notify("[hello plugin] loaded")
```
After a reload (Ctrl+Alt+P > Reload, or restart), the action shows up
in the command palette with a `Plugin` category chip and can be
invoked by name or bound to a key.
Full reference — every available API call, lifecycle, debugging,
and an honest list of what's *not* exposed yet — lives in
[docs/plugins.md](docs/plugins.md).
---
## Keyboard
A non-exhaustive list. Every binding is editable from `Settings >
Keybindings` and persists to `settings.lua` next to the exe.
| Action | Shortcut |
|-----------------------|-------------------|
| Toggle edit / preview | Ctrl+E |
| Save | Ctrl+S |
| Save As | Ctrl+Shift+S |
| New file | Ctrl+N |
| Rename | F2 |
| Quick switcher | Ctrl+P |
| Command palette | Ctrl+Shift+P |
| Plugins overlay | Ctrl+Alt+P |
| Find | Ctrl+F |
| Find / Replace | Ctrl+H |
| Vault search | Ctrl+Shift+F |
| Outline | Ctrl+Shift+O |
| Backlinks | Ctrl+Shift+B |
| Tags | Ctrl+Shift+G |
| Graph view | Ctrl+Shift+M |
| Daily note | Ctrl+D |
| Toggle sidebar | Ctrl+B |
| Toggle word wrap | Alt+Z |
| Help & Keybindings | F1 |
| Settings | Ctrl+, or F10 |
When word wrap is off, long edit-mode lines extend past the viewport;
Shift+wheel pans, or use the horizontal scrollbar that appears at the
bottom of the editor. In preview, a table wider than the pane gets its
own horizontal scrollbar beneath it — drag the thumb, or hover the
table and use Shift+wheel or a horizontal swipe.
---
## Author
[fezcode](mailto:samil.bulbul@gmail.com)