Zed: Fix Auto-Indentation In Markdown Lists

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Zed Automatically Indents Markdown List Items: A Bug Report and Discussion

Hey everyone! Today, we're diving into a peculiar issue reported in Zed, specifically concerning how it handles indentation in Markdown lists. It seems like there's an automatic indentation feature that, while helpful in some contexts, is causing unexpected behavior for some users. Let's break down the problem, explore the details, and see what's happening under the hood.

The Issue: Unexpected Auto-Indentation

The core issue revolves around Zed automatically indenting new list items in Markdown files. Imagine you're crafting a neatly formatted list, and every time you hit that newline and type -, Zed decides to push your item further in than you intended. This can disrupt your flow and force you to manually adjust the indentation, which, let's be honest, is a bit of a pain.

Reproduction Steps

To reproduce this, follow these simple steps:

  1. Open a Markdown file in Zed.
  2. Add a bullet point: - a
  3. Hit Enter to create a new line.
  4. Type - again.

Current Behavior: Zed automatically indents the new bullet point.

Expected Behavior: The new bullet point should maintain the same indentation level as the previous one.

It is important to maintain a consistent and predictable editing experience. When the editor automatically indents the new bullet point, it can disrupt the user's workflow and lead to frustration. Users expect the editor to maintain the same indentation level as the previous line unless they explicitly intend to change it. This unexpected behavior can be particularly annoying when creating nested lists or when trying to maintain a specific visual structure in the document.

For example, consider the following Markdown list:

- Item 1
- Item 2
  - Sub-item 1
- Item 3

In this case, the user has intentionally created a nested list with "Sub-item 1" indented under "Item 2". However, if Zed automatically indents the new bullet point, it could lead to the following incorrect structure:

- Item 1
- Item 2
  - Sub-item 1
    - Item 3 ; Incorrect indentation

This incorrect indentation can make the document look messy and disorganized, and it can also affect the way the document is rendered by Markdown parsers. Therefore, it is crucial for the editor to respect the user's intended indentation and avoid automatically indenting new bullet points unless explicitly instructed.

Potential Regression

There's a suspicion that this behavior might be a regression introduced by a previous pull request. Specifically, PR #40794 is mentioned as a potential culprit. It's possible that changes made in that PR, while intended to improve indentation in other areas, inadvertently affected the handling of Markdown lists.

Understanding the cause of this issue requires a thorough examination of the code changes introduced by the pull request. It is essential to identify the specific modifications that might have led to the unexpected indentation behavior. This analysis could involve debugging the code, reviewing the commit history, and consulting with the developers who worked on the pull request.

Once the root cause is identified, a solution can be developed to address the issue. This might involve reverting the problematic changes, modifying the code to handle Markdown lists correctly, or implementing a new mechanism to control the indentation behavior. The solution should be carefully tested to ensure that it resolves the issue without introducing any new problems.

System Information

Here are the details of the system where this issue was observed:

  • Zed Version: v0.217.0+nightly.1988.d6241b17d35c4eae1d23dfbde16cae0eb8187ac2 (Zed Nightly d6241b17d35c4eae1d23dfbde16cae0eb8187ac2)
  • OS: macOS 26.1
  • Memory: 64 GiB
  • Architecture: aarch64

This information is crucial for the developers to reproduce the issue on a similar environment. Knowing the specific Zed version, operating system, memory, and architecture helps them to identify any potential compatibility issues or platform-specific bugs. It also allows them to test the solution on a similar setup to ensure that it works correctly for the affected users.

For example, if the issue is specific to macOS, the developers can focus their testing efforts on that platform. Similarly, if the issue is related to the architecture, they can test the solution on both aarch64 and x86-64 architectures to ensure that it works correctly on all supported platforms. By providing detailed system information, users can help the developers to quickly identify and resolve the issue.

Diving Deeper: Logs and Settings

To further investigate, the user has provided their Zed log file and settings. These can offer valuable clues about what might be causing the issue.

Zed Log File

The log file contains a detailed record of Zed's activity, including any errors, warnings, or informational messages. By analyzing the log file, developers can gain insights into the internal state of the editor and identify any potential problems that might be related to the indentation issue.

For example, the log file might reveal that there is an error occurring when Zed tries to determine the indentation level of a new bullet point. It might also show that there is a conflict between different settings or extensions that are affecting the indentation behavior. By carefully examining the log file, developers can narrow down the search for the root cause of the issue.

In addition, the log file can provide valuable information about the user's workflow and the specific steps that led to the issue. This can help the developers to reproduce the issue on their own machines and to develop a solution that addresses the user's specific needs.

Relevant Zed Settings

The settings.json file contains the user's custom settings for Zed. These settings can affect various aspects of the editor's behavior, including indentation. By examining the settings file, developers can determine whether any of the user's custom settings are interfering with the default indentation behavior.

For example, the user might have enabled a setting that automatically indents new lines, or they might have configured a custom indentation style that is conflicting with the Markdown syntax. By comparing the user's settings with the default settings, developers can identify any potential conflicts or misconfigurations that might be causing the issue.

In addition, the settings file can provide valuable information about the user's preferences and the way they use Zed. This can help the developers to develop a solution that is tailored to the user's specific needs and preferences.

Next Steps and Community Input

Hopefully, this detailed report will help the Zed team pinpoint the cause of this auto-indentation issue. If you're experiencing the same problem, chime in! Sharing your experiences, system specs, and any relevant settings can help the developers squash this bug quickly. Let's work together to make Zed even better!

By actively participating in the discussion and providing valuable feedback, users can contribute to the development of Zed and help to improve the overall user experience. The more information that is shared, the easier it will be for the developers to identify and resolve the issue. So, if you're experiencing the same problem, don't hesitate to share your thoughts and insights.

In addition, users can also contribute to the development of Zed by submitting bug reports, feature requests, and pull requests. By actively participating in the Zed community, users can help to shape the future of the editor and make it even more powerful and user-friendly.

So, let's all work together to make Zed the best code editor possible!