v0.11.0 — Quick Open, light mode, inline previews

v0.11.0 — Find files faster, preview in place

New

• Quick Open with Ctrl+P finds files by fuzzy path and opens them through the normal preview flow. Thanks @tringuyen-mealsuite for the request. (#40, #47)
• Optional light color theme covers the sidebar, previews, diffs, selections, and icons. Thanks to first-time contributor @KyongSik-Yoon. (#43, #47)
• Optional inline preview placement opens files beside the sidebar; preview tabs remain the default. Thanks to first-time contributor @ajchemist. (#42, #47)

Fixes

• Multi-project workspaces now scope the sidebar to the matching host pane's working directory. Thanks @sk-hskov. (#50)
• Nerd Font detection now handles macOS font listings correctly. Thanks @romulof. (#51)

Maintenance

• Updated the release artifact upload action. (#45)

Install

herdr plugin install alexarthurs/herdr-sidebar/plugins/herdr-sidebar

Full changelog: v0.10.0...v0.11.0

v0.10.0 — Prebuilt installs and terminal colors

v0.10.0 — Install anywhere, fit your terminal

New

• Verified prebuilt binaries for Windows, Linux, and macOS. Installers verify SHA-256 checksums and fall back to source builds when needed. (#36)
• Optional terminal color theme using terminal-native ANSI colors; the VS Code palette remains the default. (#37)
• Strict-toggle and focus-on-open launcher settings. Thanks to first-time contributor @bahadiraraz. (#35)

Maintenance

• Added a maintainer-only workflow guard for local Claude/Codex issue-management commands and synchronized the checked-in branch ruleset. (#38, #39)

Install

herdr plugin install alexarthurs/herdr-sidebar/plugins/herdr-sidebar

Full changelog: v0.9.0...v0.10.0

v0.9.0

A sidebar that stays where you put it

New

• Set and persist the sidebar width from Settings, from 24 to 80 columns. Fixes #31.
• Preview tabs remember their originating tab and return there when closed. Fixes #32.

Fixes

• Serialize sidebar startup around tab.created on Unix and Windows so previews do not lose their sidebar.
• Report native clipboard-copy success only when the platform command actually succeeds. This adopts the verifiable portion of #33; thanks @thecoldblooded.
• Keep the Settings modal and Windows host-status text readable in narrow sidebars.

herdr plugin install alexarthurs/herdr-sidebar/plugins/herdr-sidebar

v0.8.1

Stop the Unix focus-hook replace loop

Fixes

• Hold the Unix ensure lock until a newly spawned sidebar stamps its identity token, preventing left-dock focus events from repeatedly closing and replacing the pane. Fixes #29.
• Add regression coverage for the startup-token probe and document the hook invariant.

Thanks @jesuith1 for the unusually thorough reproduction and root-cause analysis.

Install

herdr plugin install alexarthurs/herdr-sidebar/plugins/herdr-sidebar

v0.8.0

The VS Code-style sidebar workflow arrives

New

• VS Code-style ephemeral preview tabs that double-click to pin, with safe reuse across files, diffs, and Git history (#15).
• Scrollable long-line wrapping, syntax-highlighted previews, mouse selection, and clipboard copy (#17).
• A bounded experimental UTF-8 editor with mouse caret/selection, find, save conflicts, and dirty-buffer protection (#22).
• Explorer context menus, Git status decorations, and safe file/folder staging across nested repositories (#18, #19, #20).
• Richer Source Control workflows: multi-repo sections, history drawers, staging controls, sync, and live diff refresh.
• Follow-pane-folder behavior with an opt-out, right-side docking, and a documented sidebar reopen command (#21, #26, #27).

Fixes

• Uses Herdr 0.8-native relative hook commands on Windows and removes the VBS shim (#24).
• Launches correctly with non-PowerShell default shells (#25).
• Runs the macOS folder picker off the event loop so it cannot abort or stale the pane (#23).
• Hardens stale-pane recovery, preview-tab ownership, shared settings/state, and hidden-pane Git polling.

Compatibility

• Requires Herdr 0.8.0 or newer.
• Install with herdr plugin install alexarthurs/herdr-sidebar/plugins/herdr-sidebar.

Thanks to @dougcooper, @srmorete, @albertogalca, and @adrianbrad for the upstream PRs incorporated into this release.

v0.7.0

Community release: 4 contributed PRs, 2 issues fixed

First release built largely from community contributions - thank you @atomsbaza, @mustafaellam, @adandedjan-stephane, @asule90, and @rudironsoni!

Fixes

• open-git opened the Explorer view when the unified sidebar was off (#14): the unix launcher now pins --view git like the Windows one always did.
• Diff gutters desynced on deleted lines starting with -- (SQL/Lua comments looked like --- a/file headers) and huge minified lines froze the render thread - the diff parser is now hunk-aware and lines over 2000 chars skip syntax highlighting (#10, @atomsbaza).
• Unstage could stage a deletion instead: the index-drop fallback now only runs on a genuinely unborn branch; real git reset failures propagate (#13, @atomsbaza).
• A wedged herdr host could hang the sidebar forever - IPC roundtrips now time out after 5s on every platform, with a response-size cap (#13).
• Scratch/control files moved into a private mode-0700 subdirectory and refuse to follow pre-existing symlinks; redeploy matches processes by name instead of full command line (#13).

New

• "Auto-open sidebar" toggle in the gear Settings (#8): off = the focus/tab/workspace hooks stop re-docking the sidebar; the explicit open-sidebar action still opens/focuses/closes it on demand. No more patched local checkouts to keep it closed.
• Markdown rendered via glow in the viewer pane when installed, with clean fallback to syntax highlighting (#12, @mustafaellam).
• "Open with Default App" in the Explorer and Source Control context menus - files only, resolved like a double click, no console flash on Windows 11 (#11, @adandedjan-stephane).

Dependencies

serde 1.0.229, serde_json 1.0.151, two-face 0.5.1, rfd 0.17.2, actions/checkout v7.

Install / update:

herdr plugin install alexarthurs/herdr-sidebar/plugins/herdr-sidebar

v0.6.1

First-run font prompt: actually actionable

Fixes the fresh-install experience reported on a new Windows machine, where the "No Nerd Font detected" panel showed "Download and install" as dead text — the answer keys had been clipped out of view in narrow panes, and any stray key silently declined.

• The prompt now re-wraps to any pane size and always keeps the actionable options visible: [Y] Install (Recommended) / [N] Use emoji icons, with Enter = install. Only N/Esc/q decline.
• Installing shows live progress (winget → download fallback) and can be safely abandoned with Esc — a hung installer can't wedge the pane.
• If the install fails or winget/curl is missing, the panel shows the error and the manual command (winget install DEVCOM.JetBrainsMonoNerdFont), copyable with c.
• After a successful install the font probe re-runs and the material icon theme applies without a restart — and the panel now explains that your terminal's active font must also be set to the Nerd Font (installing alone doesn't change the terminal profile).
• Also fixed: lingering on the prompt for ~20s could get the pane killed and respawned by the liveness watchdog.

Install / update:

herdr plugin install alexarthurs/herdr-sidebar/plugins/herdr-sidebar

v0.6.0

VS Code-style title-bar actions + unified by default

New

• Title-bar action buttons: hover the sidebar and VS Code's title actions appear top-right — New File, New Folder, Refresh, Collapse All in Explorer; Refresh + Collapse All in Source Control. Buttons show on mouse activity and fade a few seconds after it stops (terminals have no true hover); New File/Folder create in the selected row's directory, VS Code-style. Material theme uses VS Code's own codicon glyphs.
• Unified sidebar is now the default for fresh installs (both views in one pane with the activity-bar switcher). Existing installs keep their saved preference.

Fixed

• Footer messages (delete/discard/git confirms, notices, flashes) now wrap in narrow panes instead of clipping mid-question — the (y/N) is always visible. The file-name prompt shrinks instead: the hint drops when narrow and long input shows its tail so the cursor stays in view.
• macOS: a sidebar toggle racing the auto-ensure hook could dock two sidebars — the unix launchers now share the hook's lock.
• Opening a full-size preview right after a rebuild could leave the sidebar at half the tab width (follow-up hardening to v0.5.2's fix).

Also

• Verified end-to-end on macOS (herdr 0.7.4): install, auto-dock, SCM, full-size diff previews with park/restore, Nerd Font first-run prompt.
• README screenshots reshot to show the new title-bar buttons.

Install / update:

herdr plugin install alexarthurs/herdr-sidebar/plugins/herdr-sidebar

v0.5.2

Fixes & polish

• Fixed: sidebar jumping to half the tab width when opening a preview. Opening a file or diff right after a rebuild/redeploy could leave the sidebar at 50% width — the width was measured after closing a defunct viewer pane, when the sidebar was momentarily alone in the tab. The width is now measured first, degenerate readings fall back sanely, and the sidebar's split ratio is pinned after the viewer opens, so its width never changes when a preview opens.
• Scrollbar on overflow in both Explorer and Source Control lists.
• Wheel scrolling moves the view only — the selection stays put, and keyboard navigation still snaps the view to the selection.
• No row is highlighted until you select one — hover keeps its subtle highlight.

Install / update:

herdr plugin install alexarthurs/herdr-sidebar/plugins/herdr-sidebar

v0.5.1 — resumed sessions heal themselves

Fixed: dead sidebars after a herdr server restart

herdr's session resume restores panes with their labels and scrollback, but the plugin process inside is gone — leaving a blank or garbled "Sidebar"/"Explorer" pane that previously sat there until you happened to switch tabs.

Now: any pane restored with one of our labels but no live heartbeat is recognized as a corpse (including separated Source Control panes and the preview pane), and the self-heal triggers on your first interaction with the restored session — clicking any pane, switching tabs or workspaces, or creating a tab. The replacement machinery also gained a convergence guarantee (the spawner holds its lock until the new TUI proves it's alive), which is what makes the aggressive corpse detection safe.

Install / update

herdr plugin install alexarthurs/herdr-sidebar/plugins/herdr-sidebar