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Client parity

Client parity

What each client does with each Action in the shared catalog.

Why this table is generated

Before this file existed, “does mobile have undo?” had three answers in three places, and they disagreed:

  • docs/shortcuts.md listed y r (copy block ref) and : (command palette) as desktop chords. Neither has a handler — the keys do nothing and log to a console the user never opens.
  • The same doc listed mobile undo / redo as “toolbar”. Mobile has neither (#14 is still open), and Journal.tsx says so in a comment.
  • The desktop dispatcher’s own comment called its console.warn something “the user sees”.

Three hand-maintained copies of one fact, each stale in a different direction, and nothing that could fail. So the fact moved into the code — crates/outl-shortcuts/src/support.rs — and this table is a projection of it.

Do not edit the table below by hand. It is regenerated from outl_shortcuts::support and pinned by the_parity_doc_matches_the_code:

OUTL_UPDATE_PARITY_DOC=1 cargo test -p outl-shortcuts

Why a match, and not a list

support() is an exhaustive match on Action. A new variant does not compile until all three clients have declared what they do with it.

That is the whole mechanism. The gap gets recorded when it is created, by the person creating it — instead of being discovered months later by a user pressing a key that does nothing. It is invariant 12: when you add a capability, enumerate who does not have it.

How to read it

CellMeans
✅The client performs the action. Chord, button or gesture — the user does not care which, so neither does this table.
✅ nativeThe platform performs it, not outl (Backspace in an empty textarea, the OS text clipboard). Reachable, but there is no handler to test for.
⚠️Reachable, with less than the full semantics. The text is what the user is told.
❌Not implemented here, and it should be. The text is what the user is told, so it says what to do instead — never “unimplemented”.
—Cannot exist on this client by construction. The text says why.

The ⚠️ and ❌ text is not documentation. It is the string the client shows when the user reaches for the action, so it is written for them and pinned by nudges_are_written_for_the_user_not_the_developer.

ActionTUIDesktopMobile
OpenPicker✅✅✅
OpenCommandPalette✅❌ The command palette isn’t on the desktop yet — use the quick switcher (Cmd/Ctrl+P) or the slash menu inside a block.❌ The command palette isn’t on mobile yet — use the slash menu inside a block.
ToggleHelp✅✅✅
ToggleSidebar✅✅— Mobile is single-pane — the page switcher replaces the sidebar.
ToggleBacklinks✅✅✅
OpenSettings✅✅✅
Quit✅✅— Mobile apps are backgrounded by the OS, not quit from inside.
OpenToday✅✅✅
PrevDay✅✅✅
NextDay✅✅✅
SelectionDown✅✅— Not on mobile — tap the block you want instead of moving a selection.
SelectionUp✅✅— Not on mobile — tap the block you want instead of moving a selection.
OpenRefUnderCursor✅✅✅
EnterInsert✅✅✅
EnterInsertAtStart✅✅✅
EnterInsertAfter✅⚠️ No character cursor on the desktop, so a behaves like i.— Mobile has no vim modes — it edits directly on tap.
EnterInsertAtEnd✅✅✅
DeleteCharUnderCursor✅❌ This vim op needs a character cursor inside the block, which only the TUI has. Edit the block and use the arrow keys, or run it from the TUI.— Mobile has no vim modes — it edits directly on tap.
DeleteCharBeforeCursor✅❌ This vim op needs a character cursor inside the block, which only the TUI has. Edit the block and use the arrow keys, or run it from the TUI.— Mobile has no vim modes — it edits directly on tap.
DeleteToEndOfBlock✅❌ This vim op needs a character cursor inside the block, which only the TUI has. Edit the block and use the arrow keys, or run it from the TUI.— Mobile has no vim modes — it edits directly on tap.
ChangeToEndOfBlock✅❌ This vim op needs a character cursor inside the block, which only the TUI has. Edit the block and use the arrow keys, or run it from the TUI.— Mobile has no vim modes — it edits directly on tap.
SubstituteBlock✅✅— Mobile has no vim modes — it edits directly on tap.
SubstituteChar✅❌ This vim op needs a character cursor inside the block, which only the TUI has. Edit the block and use the arrow keys, or run it from the TUI.— Mobile has no vim modes — it edits directly on tap.
ReplaceChar✅❌ This vim op needs a character cursor inside the block, which only the TUI has. Edit the block and use the arrow keys, or run it from the TUI.— Mobile has no vim modes — it edits directly on tap.
FindCharForward✅❌ This vim op needs a character cursor inside the block, which only the TUI has. Edit the block and use the arrow keys, or run it from the TUI.— Mobile has no vim modes — it edits directly on tap.
FindCharBackward✅❌ This vim op needs a character cursor inside the block, which only the TUI has. Edit the block and use the arrow keys, or run it from the TUI.— Mobile has no vim modes — it edits directly on tap.
ToggleCharCase✅❌ This vim op needs a character cursor inside the block, which only the TUI has. Edit the block and use the arrow keys, or run it from the TUI.— Mobile has no vim modes — it edits directly on tap.
CursorWordEnd✅❌ This vim op needs a character cursor inside the block, which only the TUI has. Edit the block and use the arrow keys, or run it from the TUI.— Mobile has no vim modes — it edits directly on tap.
UnfoldAll✅✅✅
FoldAll✅✅✅
CenterViewport✅✅— Mobile scrolls by touch — there is no cursor to centre on.
ZoomIn✅✅✅
ZoomOut✅✅✅
SearchWordForward✅⚠️ The desktop seeds the quick switcher instead of jumping between hits.⚠️ Mobile has no word-under-cursor to search from and no forward/backward stepping between hits — open the page switcher’s Blocks tab (issue #19) and type the word instead.
SearchWordBackward✅⚠️ The desktop seeds the quick switcher instead of jumping between hits.⚠️ Mobile has no word-under-cursor to search from and no forward/backward stepping between hits — open the page switcher’s Blocks tab (issue #19) and type the word instead.
ReselectLastVisual✅✅✅
IndentVisualRange✅✅✅
OutdentVisualRange✅✅✅
NewBlockBelow✅✅✅
NewBlockAbove✅✅✅
IndentBlock✅✅✅
OutdentBlock✅✅✅
MoveBlockUp✅✅✅
MoveBlockDown✅✅✅
DeleteBlock✅✅✅
ToggleCollapsed✅✅✅
ToggleTodo✅✅✅
CopyBlockRef✅❌ Copying a block ref isn’t on the desktop yet — open the block’s properties, or copy the handle from the TUI with y r.✅
DeletePage✅✅✅
InsertRemind✅✅✅
InsertRemindNag✅✅❌ The nag preset isn’t on mobile — add a reminder, then edit the rule.
OpenReminders✅✅✅
SnoozeReminder✅✅✅
AddProperty✅✅✅
OpenProperties✅✅✅
TogglePin✅❌ Pinning a page isn’t on the desktop yet — pin it from the TUI with g P.✅
CutBlock❌ Cutting a whole block isn’t in the TUI yet — use d d, then paste.✅⚠️ Mobile’s cut duplicates the block with a fresh id instead of moving it, so any ((blk-…)) refs pointing at it go stale — copy the ref first (long-press → “Copy block ref”) if something else links to it.
CopyBlock❌ Copying a whole block + subtree isn’t in the TUI yet — use y y for the block alone.✅✅
PasteBlock❌ Block-clipboard paste isn’t in the TUI yet — p pastes the OS clipboard.✅✅
ExitInsert✅✅✅
CommitAndContinue✅✅✅
DeleteEmptyBlock✅✅ native — Backspace in an empty textarea is handled by the editor itself.✅
EnterVisual✅⚠️ The desktop enters a range selection rather than a full modal Visual state.⚠️ Mobile enters a touch-native block selection (long-press a block, then “Select blocks”) rather than a modal Visual state.
YankCurrentBlock✅✅✅
YankRange✅✅✅
DeleteRange✅✅✅
SelectRangeDown✅✅✅
SelectRangeUp✅✅✅
MoveVisualRangeUp✅✅✅
MoveVisualRangeDown✅✅✅
RunCodeBlock✅✅✅
WrapBold✅✅✅
WrapItalic✅✅✅
WrapCode✅✅✅
WrapStrike✅✅✅
InsertLink✅✅✅
Undo✅✅✅
Redo✅✅✅

Capability parity

The table above covers only actions in the chord catalog — a chord fires a handler, and support() is exhaustive over it. Page history, the plugin marketplace, a calendar grid, templates, attaching a file, and pairing a new device have no chord anywhere: they’re a button, a sheet, or a slash command, not a key. That used to mean “not tracked anywhere” — RFC 0253 closed it with a second exhaustive match, over Capability instead of Action, reusing the same Support states and generated-table mechanism.

Do not edit the table below by hand — same rule, same regeneration command:

OUTL_UPDATE_PARITY_DOC=1 cargo test -p outl-shortcuts

A capability already covered by an Action — backlinks (ToggleBacklinks), block properties (OpenProperties / AddProperty), reminders (OpenReminders / InsertRemind) — stays in the table above and is deliberately not duplicated here; a second entry for the same fact is the drift this RFC exists to prevent.

CapabilityTUIDesktopMobile
PageHistory❌ Page history isn’t in the TUI — open the same page in the desktop app and use the ⏱ button to see what the op log recorded.✅❌ Page history isn’t on mobile yet — open the same page in the desktop app and use the ⏱ button.
PluginMarketplace❌ Browsing and installing plugins from a marketplace isn’t in the TUI — install by id from a terminal with outl plugin install <id>, or use the desktop or mobile app.✅✅
Calendar❌ There’s no calendar grid here — open the quick switcher (Cmd/Ctrl+P) and type the date (YYYY-MM-DD) to jump straight to that journal page.❌ There’s no calendar grid here — open the quick switcher (Cmd/Ctrl+P) and type the date (YYYY-MM-DD) to jump straight to that journal page.✅
Templates✅✅✅
Assets✅✅✅
PeerPairing❌ Pairing a new device isn’t in the TUI — run outl peer pair or outl peer qr from a terminal, or pair from the desktop or mobile app.⚠️ The desktop can host a pairing (show the QR / ticket) but has no camera to scan one — to join an existing workspace from a desktop, run outl peer pair in a terminal.✅
ReminderNotificationActions❌ Reminder banners can’t carry buttons here — open the reminders list (Ctrl+R in the TUI, Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+R on desktop) to snooze or tick off what came due.❌ Reminder banners can’t carry buttons here — open the reminders list (Ctrl+R in the TUI, Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+R on desktop) to snooze or tick off what came due.✅

What this table does not cover

Both tables cover the three clients that render an outline — TUI, desktop, mobile. The CLI and the MCP server are deliberately out of scope: they expose operations (outl search, outl_batch, …), not user-facing capabilities, so the gap between them and the GUI clients is a vocabulary mismatch rather than a missing feature. That is sub-project D of the client convergence effort (#255), not a closed gap and not this document’s job.