Add simple-dictionary extension

[Osmagtor]

Description

Screencast

Checklist

• I read the extension guidelines
• I read the documentation about publishing
• I ran npm run build and tested this distribution build in Raycast
• I checked that files in the assets folder are used by the extension itself
• I checked that assets used by the README are placed outside of the metadata folder

[raycastbot]

Congratulations on your new Raycast extension! 🚀

You can expect an initial review within five business days.

Once the PR is approved and merged, the extension will be available on our Store.

[Osmagtor]

While I am aware that there exist other dictionary extensions, I wanted to build one that would (1) work on both Windows and macOS, (2) allow you to store your favorite words, and (3) show comprehensive yet straightforward entries. All in all, something similar to the built-in dictionary app on macOS.

[greptile-apps]

Greptile Summary

This PR introduces a new simple-dictionary extension that provides dictionary lookup and favorites management functionality. The extension uses the Free Dictionary API to fetch word definitions in multiple languages and allows users to save favorite entries locally.

• Core functionality: Two main commands - word search with language selection and favorites list management
• Multi-language support: Comprehensive language dropdown with 28 supported languages including complex conjugation systems
• Favorites system: Full CRUD operations for saving dictionary entries with local storage persistence
• Rich markdown rendering: Detailed word definitions with pronunciations, forms, examples, and synonyms
• Proper configuration: Following Raycast standards for Prettier, ESLint, and TypeScript configuration

Confidence score: 4/5

• This PR is safe to merge with one minor logic issue to address
• Well-structured extension following Raycast conventions with comprehensive language support and proper error handling, but has one consistency issue between add/remove favorites operations
• Pay attention to extensions/simple-dictionary/src/search.tsx for the language parameter inconsistency

Important Files Changed

File Analysis

Filename	Score	Overview	Issues
extensions/simple-dictionary/package.json	5/5	Package configuration for simple dictionary extension with proper dependencies and metadata	None identified
extensions/simple-dictionary/src/search.tsx	4/5	Main search component with dictionary lookup and favorites management functionality	Inconsistent language parameter usage between add/remove favorites operations
extensions/simple-dictionary/src/list.tsx	5/5	Favorites list view with filtering, language selection, and removal capabilities	None identified
extensions/simple-dictionary/src/classes/dictionary.ts	5/5	Dictionary API client with complex pronunciation and form rendering for multiple languages	None identified
extensions/simple-dictionary/src/classes/favorite.ts	5/5	Local storage manager for favorite dictionary entries with full CRUD operations	None identified

_{11 files reviewed, 1 comment}

_{Edit Code Review Bot Settings | Greptile}

[pernielsentikaer]

Hi 👋

Thanks for your contribution 💪

I have now tested your extension, and I have some feedback ready for you:

What we should improve

Issue	Severity	File	Impact
Missing error handling in fetch	CRITICAL	dictionary.ts:79	App crashes on network failure
Unsafe JSON.parse	CRITICAL	favorite.ts:33	App crashes on corrupted data
Race condition in favorites	HIGH	search.tsx:47-66	State corruption
Missing error handling in useEffect	HIGH	search.tsx:38-44	Infinite loading state
Inconsistent async error handling	MEDIUM	search.tsx:147-150	UI/state inconsistency

🔧 Recommended Fixes

1. Add try-catch blocks around all async operations
2. Implement proper error boundaries for JSON parsing
3. Fix the race condition by using Promise.all() or proper state management
4. Add error states to handle failed operations gracefully
5. Implement retry logic for network operations

I'm looking forward to testing this extension again 🔥

Request a new review when you are ready. Feel free to contact me here or at Slack if you have any questions.

[Osmagtor]

Thank you for your valuable feedback. I have tried improving the code per your suggestions and to the best of my capabilities. Let me know if there are any other issues. I'll be glad to work on them 👍

[pernielsentikaer]

@greptileai, can you please do a new review?

[greptile-apps]

I'll review this new Simple Dictionary extension PR. Let me analyze the code structure, implementation, and adherence to Raycast guidelines.

Overall Assessment

This is a well-structured dictionary extension that provides word lookup functionality with favorites management. The code is clean and follows TypeScript best practices.

Positive Aspects

✅ Good Architecture: Clean separation of concerns with dedicated classes for Dictionary and Favorite functionality
✅ TypeScript Implementation: Strong typing throughout with proper interfaces
✅ User Experience: Comprehensive features including favorites, filtering, and detailed markdown rendering
✅ Error Handling: Proper try-catch blocks and user feedback via toasts
✅ Code Quality: Good documentation, consistent formatting, and logical organization

Issues to Address

1. Package.json Inconsistencies

Issue: The extension is titled "Simple Dictionary" but the README and CHANGELOG refer to "Dictionary for Windows"

Files: package.json, README.md, CHANGELOG.md

The title should be consistent across all files. Also, while the package.json includes Windows in platforms, the README specifically mentions "Dictionary for Windows" which might be confusing.

2. Error Handling in Dictionary Class

File: src/classes/dictionary.ts (lines 84-102)

The catch block is empty and doesn't provide any user feedback:

} catch {
  // There was an error fetching the entries
}

Recommendation: Add proper error logging or user notification, especially for network-related issues.

3. Unsafe Array Access

File: src/classes/dictionary.ts (line 94)

this.language = entry.entries[0].language.name.slice(0, 1).toUpperCase() + entry.entries[0].language.name.slice(1).toLowerCase();

While you check !entry.entries.length earlier, this direct access to [0] could be safer with optional chaining.

4. Complex String Manipulation

File: Multiple locations

The repeated pattern of capitalizing first letter could be extracted into a utility function:

word.slice(0, 1).toUpperCase() + word.slice(1).toLowerCase()

5. Large Language Dropdown

File: package.json (lines 30-146)

The language dropdown contains 25+ options which might overwhelm users. Consider:

• Grouping common languages at the top
• Adding search functionality
• Or providing a preference for default language

6. Potential Memory Issues

File: src/classes/dictionary.ts (renderForms method)

The complex conjugation rendering creates nested loops and could be performance-intensive for languages with many forms. Consider pagination or lazy loading for very large form sets.

Minor Issues

7. Magic Numbers

File: src/search.tsx (line 24)

const colors: Color[] = [Color.Blue, Color.Green, Color.Magenta, Color.Orange, Color.Purple, Color.Red, Color.Yellow];

Consider making this configurable or adding more colors to avoid repetition with many parts of speech.

8. Toast Message Inconsistency

File: src/search.tsx

Some toast messages use different capitalization patterns. Standardize the message format.

Suggestions for Improvement

1. Add Loading States: Consider showing loading indicators for individual dictionary entries
2. Offline Support: Cache recent lookups for offline access
3. Search History: Maintain a history of searched words
4. Keyboard Shortcuts: Add more intuitive shortcuts for common actions

Security & Privacy

✅ No API Keys Required: Uses a free dictionary API
✅ Local Storage Only: Favorites are stored locally
✅ No External Dependencies: Minimal dependency footprint

Final Recommendation

This is a solid extension with good functionality and clean code. The main issues are around consistency in naming and some minor improvements in error handling and user experience. The architecture is sound and the implementation is largely correct.

Status: Approve with minor revisions recommended

The extension provides valuable functionality and follows Raycast best practices well. The issues identified are mostly minor and don't affect core functionality.

[pernielsentikaer]

Some of above might make sense to look into @Osmagtor

[Osmagtor]

I have made all the suggested fixes except for numbers 5, 6 and 7.

• 5: Raycast command parameters of dropdown type already have built-in search functionality.

• 6: While I understand the potential performance implications of rendering conjugation systems, these are only rendered once for all the definitions of a verb, regardless of the number of them.

• 7: the original idea behind color-coding the different parts of speech was to set the definitions for different parts of speech apart. This still applies even if there are any words that can belong to more parts of speech than there are colors. No two adjacent groups of definitions will ever have the same color.

As to the suggested improvements, I have implemented the following:

• A caching system to avoid unnecessary API calls.
• A command to see the search history in case a user has searched for a word and forgotten to add it to their favorites. It is limited to 50 search items for performance reasons.

Finally, I have also made some other modifications:

• Entry comparisons had to be redone to avoid mistakenly comparing strings in the same case (uppercase or lowercase) as words may have different meanings when capitalized. Thus, some capitalized words wouldn't be saved to the history or to favorites because their non-capitalized counterpart already existed in the history or the favorites list, and vice versa.
• A star icon was added next to any senses in search results that are already stored as favorites.
• A new method has been added to the Favorite class to check for the existence of grouped entries in the favorites list (existMultiple). Previously, grouped entries were checked one by one in search.tsx with the exist method, which meant that ALL favorites were being read and parsed from local storage for every iteration.

[pernielsentikaer]

@greptileai, could you please do a fresh review here? 😊

[greptile-apps]

Greptile Summary

This PR introduces a comprehensive dictionary extension for Raycast that allows users to look up words, maintain search history, and save favorite definitions.

Key Changes:

• Added dictionary API integration with caching and markdown rendering
• Implemented favorites and history management with LocalStorage persistence
• Created three main commands: Search Word, View History, and View Favorites
• Added comprehensive language support with 25+ languages
• Included proper error handling and user feedback throughout the interface

Minor Issue Identified:

• Inconsistent language parameter formatting when adding favorites (should use lowercase for consistency with removal logic)

Confidence score: 4/5

• This PR is mostly safe to merge with one minor logic inconsistency
• The extension follows Raycast conventions well and implements proper error handling, but has a minor language parameter consistency issue in the favorites functionality that should be addressed
• Pay attention to extensions/simple-dictionary/src/search.tsx for the language parameter inconsistency

Important Files Changed

File Analysis

Filename	Score	Overview	Issues
extensions/simple-dictionary/package.json	5/5	Configuration file with dependencies, commands, and platform support	None identified
extensions/simple-dictionary/src/search.tsx	3/5	Main search component with dictionary lookup and favorites management	Language parameter inconsistency between adding and removing favorites
extensions/simple-dictionary/src/classes/dictionary.ts	5/5	Dictionary API client with caching, entry fetching, and markdown generation	None identified
extensions/simple-dictionary/src/classes/favorite.ts	5/5	LocalStorage-based favorites management with CRUD operations	None identified
extensions/simple-dictionary/src/classes/history.ts	5/5	LocalStorage-based search history with size limit and duplicate prevention	None identified

_{9 files reviewed, 1 comment}

_{Edit Code Review Bot Settings | Greptile}

[greptile-apps]

logic: Inconsistent language parameter usage when adding to favorites. You're using languageFull (line 137) but when removing favorites (line 175), you use languageFull again. However, the Favorite.addEntry and Favorite.removeEntry methods expect the same format.

Suggested change

	const success: boolean = await Favorite.addEntry(
	languageFull,
	word,
	sense.markdown || "",
	entryURL || "",
	j,
	partOfSpeech,
	);
	const success: boolean = await Favorite.addEntry(
	languageFull.toLowerCase(),
	word,
	sense.markdown || "",
	entryURL || "",
	j,
	partOfSpeech,
	);

[pernielsentikaer]

Could you check this @Osmagtor

[Osmagtor]

Just did. I made the casing consistent for the checks in the methods themselves instead of the parameteres.

[greptile-apps]

Greptile Summary

This PR adds a new Simple Dictionary extension that allows users to search for word definitions across multiple languages, save favorites, and view search history. The extension provides three main commands: search word (with language dropdown), view favorites, and view history. The implementation uses proper TypeScript types, follows Raycast conventions, and includes appropriate error handling and toast notifications.

Key changes:
• Complete new extension with dictionary lookup functionality
• Multi-language support (30+ languages including English, Spanish, French, etc.)
• Favorites management with LocalStorage persistence
• Search history tracking
• Proper metadata screenshots for store submission
• Follows Raycast extension guidelines and formatting standards

Confidence score: 4/5

• This PR is safe to merge with minor language parameter consistency issue
• Score reflects a well-structured extension with proper error handling, TypeScript types, and Raycast conventions, but has one logic issue with language parameter usage in favorites functionality
• Pay attention to the language parameter consistency issue in search.tsx favorites functionality

Important Files Changed

File Analysis

Filename	Score	Overview	Issues
extensions/simple-dictionary/src/classes/favorite.ts	5/5	Implements favorite word management with LocalStorage operations	None identified
extensions/simple-dictionary/package.json	5/5	Extension configuration with command definitions and multi-language support	None identified

_{1 file reviewed, 1 comment}

_{Edit Code Review Bot Settings | Greptile}

[greptile-apps]

logic: inconsistent language parameter usage when adding to favorites. You're using languageFull (full language name) but when removing on line 175-176 you use languageFull as well, but the addEntry function expects the same format that removeEntry uses

Suggested change

	const success: boolean = await Favorite.addEntry(
	languageFull,
	const success: boolean = await Favorite.addEntry(
	languageFull,

[github-actions]

Published to the Raycast Store:
https://raycast.com/CT-7567/simple-dictionary

[raycastbot]

🎉 🎉 🎉

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