config/os: add support for clickable tilde paths #9271
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Enables clicking on tilde-based paths like ~/.config/file.txt. When clicked, the path is expanded to the user's home directory and opened. Related to ghostty-org#1972 This addresses the maintainer feedback from PR ghostty-org#5813 by reusing the existing os.expandHome() function rather than duplicating tilde expansion logic. The implementation is cross-platform (Linux/macOS/FreeBSD) from the start. Implementation: - Modified URL regex to detect ~/path patterns (excludes bare ~ and ~user) - Removed :,. from file path character class to avoid underlining punctuation - Added negative lookbehind (?<!\.) to prevent trailing period matches - Reuse os.expandHome() for tilde expansion in os/open.zig - Added safety trimming for edge case punctuation handling - Added test cases for positive and negative scenarios The regex matches ~/path but not bare ~ or ~user/path (which would require different expansion logic). Trailing punctuation like colons and periods are excluded from matching to avoid visual clutter in common output like "Error at ~/.bashrc:42".
mitchellh
requested changes
Oct 19, 2025
The fallback open helper in os/open.zig is not used by all platforms. Each OS implements its own native opening mechanism (NSWorkspace on macOS, DBus on Linux, etc.), so URL processing like tilde expansion must happen before these platform handlers are called. This moves tilde path expansion from os/open.zig to Surface.zig where URLs are initially detected and matched. Expansion now occurs in processLinks() when links are clicked and in mouseRefreshLinks() when hover previews are shown. This ensures all OS-specific open handlers receive already-expanded paths and maintains proper separation of concerns in the URL handling pipeline.
mitchellh
requested changes
Oct 19, 2025
Tilde paths like ~/.config/file.txt weren't clickable before. This adds support for Ctrl/Cmd+clicking them, expanding ~ to your home directory when opened. The expansion happens in the link matching layer so all the platform handlers (NSWorkspace, DBus, etc.) get already-expanded paths. Also added a fast path for hover/click detection that only scans the line under the cursor instead of building a match set for the entire viewport. Line/column numbers (like :42 or :42:10) are stripped from paths before opening to handle compiler error output correctly.
The tilde expansion and URL preparation logic was duplicated across 4 different functions. This refactoring consolidates it into a single `prepareUrl()` helper function that: - Preserves OSC8 link integrity (no trimming of authoritative links) - Trims trailing punctuation/line numbers only from regex-detected links - Expands tilde paths for both link types - Returns an allocated copy with clear ownership Changes: - Add prepareUrl() helper that combines trimming and expansion - Replace all expandAndDupeUrl() calls with prepareUrl() - Fix matchSetFromOSC8Implicit to use passed prepared_url parameter - Remove redundant expandAndDupeUrl function @mitchellh This eliminates the code duplication you identified. However, I notice we still perform expansion multiple times for the same URL (e.g., once during hover preview, again on click). Should I implement caching to avoid these redundant expansion operations, or is the current approach acceptable? The expansion now happens in the link matching layer as requested, just centralized in one helper rather than scattered across functions.
@mitchellh yeah you were right, having the same expansion code copy-pasted 4 times was me being lazy and not checking my agent's work. I consolidated it all into one one thing - we're still expanding the same URL multiple times when you hover then click. want me to add caching? didn't wanna overcomplicate if it's not needed |
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Enables clicking on tilde-based paths like ~/.config/file.txt. When clicked, the path is expanded to the user's home directory and opened.
Related to #1972
This addresses the maintainer feedback from PR #5813 by reusing the existing os.expandHome() function rather than duplicating tilde expansion logic. The implementation is cross-platform (Linux/macOS/FreeBSD) from the start.
Implementation:
The regex matches ~/path but not bare ~ or ~user/path (which would require different expansion logic). Trailing punctuation like colons and periods are excluded from matching to avoid visual clutter in common output like "Error at ~/.bashrc:42".