https://github.com/sidojain/cypher

Cypher is a lightweight, feature rich, terminal-based text editor written in C, using Tree-Sitter highlighting.
https://github.com/sidojain/cypher

c data-structures file-io linux low-level-programming piece-table raw-mode terminal text-editor tree-sitter undo-redo wsl2

Last synced: 4 days ago
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Cypher is a lightweight, feature rich, terminal-based text editor written in C, using Tree-Sitter highlighting.

Host: GitHub
URL: https://github.com/sidojain/cypher
Owner: SidoJain
License: mit
Created: 2025-08-10T13:13:13.000Z (8 months ago)
Default Branch: master
Last Pushed: 2026-03-29T13:44:53.000Z (19 days ago)
Last Synced: 2026-03-29T16:43:18.797Z (19 days ago)
Topics: c, data-structures, file-io, linux, low-level-programming, piece-table, raw-mode, terminal, text-editor, tree-sitter, undo-redo, wsl2
Language: C
Homepage:
Size: 853 KB
Stars: 2
Watchers: 0
Forks: 0
Open Issues: 0
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE

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README

# Cypher - Terminal Text Editor

Cypher is a lightweight terminal-based text editor written in C, featuring native `Tree-Sitter` semantic syntax highlighting.
It runs in the terminal in **raw mode**.
This README file has been completely written using Cypher.

## Features

- **File Editing**
- Open and edit text files directly from the terminal.
- Save changed (`Ctrl-S`) with overwrite support.

- **Undo and Redo Engine**
- Time-based Batching: Groups continuous typing or backspacing into a single undo action.
- Macro Transactions: Massive operations (like pasting a huge block or a 50-item "Replace All") are grouped and undone in a single keystroke.
- Save State Tracking: Undoing your way back to the last saved state accurately removes the (modified) flag.

- **Navigation**
- `Arrow keys` for cursor movement.
- `Home/End` keys to jump to start/end of a line.
- `Page Up/Page Down` for fast scrolling.
- `Ctrl-ArrowKeys` for fast navigation.
- `Ctrl-G` to jump to a specific line.

- **Mouse Support**
- Mouse Scroll Wheel to scroll viewport up / down.
- Mouse left click to jump to row and column.
- Dragging while mouse left click to select text.

- **Editing Operations**
- Insert text anywhere.
- Backspace / Delete characters.
- Insert new lines (`Enter`).
- Automatic tab expansion to spaces.
- Paste command (`Ctrl-V`) from clipboard.
- Copy (`Ctrl-C`) and Cut (`Ctrl-X`) commands to clipboard.
- Move whole rows up (`Alt-Up`) or down (`Alt-Down`).
- Smart Bracket Assist: Auto-closes brackets/quotes.
- Smart Indentation: Pressing Enter between brackets automatically indents the new line and pushes the closing bracket down.
- Bracket Matching: Highlights the corresponding open/close bracket when your cursor is over one.
- Row Manipulation: Move rows up/down (`Alt-Up/Down`) or duplicate them (`Shift-Alt-Up/Down`).

- **Search & Replace**
- Incremental search (`Ctrl-F`) with real time navigation between matches.
- Works with pre-selected text well.
- Replace (`Ctrl-R`) functionality with interactive mode as well as replace all mode.

- **Status & Message Bars**
- Displays filename, total lines and cursor line.
- Temporary message area for prompts, warnings, information.

- **Syntax Highlighting (Tree-sitter)**
- Semantic Parsing: Uses Abstract Syntax Trees (ASTs) instead of brittle regular expressions for flawless, context-aware code highlighting.
- Dynamic Language Loading: Automatically loads language parsers at runtime via `.so` shared libraries. Adding a new language (C, Python, Rust, Go, etc.) requires zero recompilation of the core editor.
- True Color (24-bit) Rendering: Renders rich, high-fidelity RGB colors directly in your terminal.
- Hot-Swappable Themes: Fully customizable styling via a simple theme.config file. Map specific AST nodes directly to hex codes to recreate themes like VS Code Dark+ (default).

## Keyboard Shortcuts

| Shortcut | Action |
|---------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
| `Ctrl-Q` | Quit editor |
| `Ctrl-S` | Save current file |
| `Ctrl-F` | Search in file |
| `Ctrl-R` | Find and replace |
| `Ctrl-A` | Select all |
| `Ctrl-H` | Open keybinds manual |
| `Ctrl-C` | Copy selected text |
| `Ctrl-X` | Cut selected text |
| `Ctrl-V` | Paste from clipboard |
| `Ctrl-G / L` | Jump to line |
| `Ctrl-Z` | Undo last major change |
| `Ctrl-Y` | Redo last major change |
| `Ctrl-D` | Debug Tree-Sitter Capture |
| `Arrow Keys` | Move cursor |
| `Home / End` | Move to start / end of line |
| `Page Up` | Scroll up by one screen |
| `Page Down` | Scroll down by one screen |
| `Backspace` | Delete character left of cursor |
| `Delete` | Delete character under cursor |
| `Enter` | Insert new line |
| `Shift-ArrowKeys / Home / End` | Select text |
| `Ctrl-Left / Right` | Skip words |
| `Ctrl-Up / Down` | Scroll up / down |
| `Alt-Up / Down` | Move row up / down |
| `Shift-Alt-Up / Down` | Copy row up / down |

## Clipboard Support

Cypher features integrated system clipboard handling that works across local and remote sessions. It employs a dual strategy approach to ensure compatibility across different operating systems and connection types.

### How it Works

1. **MacOS (Local):** When running natively on MacOS, Cypher detects the environment and uses the `pbcopy` utility to communicate directly with the system clipboard.

2. **Linux & Remote (SSH):** For Linux users or those connected via SSH, Cypher utilizes the **OSC 52** terminal escape sequence. This method Base64-encodes the selected text and "tunnels" it through the terminal emulator to your local machine's clipboard.

### Setup & Requirements

To use the clipboard over SSH or on Linux, your terminal emulator must support the OSC 52 protocol.

#### 1. Terminal Compatibility

#### 2. Using with tmux

If you use `tmux`, you must configure it to allow clipboard and mouse operations. Add the following line to your `~/.tmux.conf`:

```bash
set -s set-clipboard on
set -g mouse on
set -s escape-time 0
```

### Known Limitations

- Size Constraints: Most terminal emulators limit OSC 52 transfers to approximately 74 KB. Large copy operations exceeding this limit may fail silently.
- Security Settings: Some Linux distributions or hardened terminal configurations disable clipboard writing by default to prevent malicious scripts from altering your clipboard.

## Tree Sitter Setup

To utilize Cypher's semantic syntax highlighting, ensure the following files are present in the directory where Cypher is executed:

1. `theme.config`: A plain text file defining the hexadecimal colors for Tree-Sitter nodes.
2. `parsers/` A folder containing the compiled Tree-Sitter `.so` shared libraries for the languages you want to edit (e.g., `parsers/tree-sitter-c.so`).
3. `queries/` Directory: A folder containing the Tree-Sitter query files (`highlights.scm`) for each language. These files map the structural code parsed by the `.so` files to the color tags defined in your `theme.config`. They must be placed in a subdirectory matching the language name (e.g., `queries/c/highlights.scm`).

If these files are not present, Cypher will safely fall back to plain text editing.

### Current file formats that work with Tree-Sitter

- C
- C++
- Python

## Installation & Compilation

- **Requirements:**
- GCC compiler.
- Make utility
- POSIX-compliant system (Linux, macOS, WSL).

- **Compile:**

```bash
make
```

- **Run:**

```bash
# for new file
make run

# for existing file
make run FILE={filename}
```

- **Clean:**

```bash
make clean
```

## Usage

- Clone this repo.

```bash
git clone --recursive https://github.com/SidoJain/Cypher.git
cd Cypher
```

- Make the executable file.

```bash
make
```

- In ~/.bashrc

```bash
# add executable file directory to PATH
export PATH=":$PATH"
```

- Use cypher to view/edit any file.

```bash
cypher file.txt
```

## License

This project is licensed under the [MIT License](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT).

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