# Roadmap
Tracked list of planned features for `markdown-tui-explorer` (the TUI app)
and `mermaid-text` (the standalone library). Items here are
**considered** or **in progress**; shipped work moves to the relevant
crate's `CHANGELOG.md`.
When picking what to work on next: skim this file first. When agreeing
on a new feature, add it here. When shipping, remove the entry (and let
the CHANGELOG be the historical record).
---
## In progress
_Nothing actively in progress._
---
## Next up (ordered roughly by ROI)
### Notes anchored to states — `mermaid-text`
`note left of X : text`, `note right of X : text`, `note over X : text`,
multi-line block form `note left of X / … / end note`. Render as a
small box connected to the target state by a dotted edge. The dotted
edge style + the A* router that handles arbitrary endpoints already
exist; this is mostly parser + edge synthesis. ~1 day.
### Sequence diagram polish — `mermaid-text`
Wire up the four parser TODOs that currently silently skip:
- `autonumber` directive — number messages 1, 2, 3, …
- `note over X` / `note left of X` / `note right of X` — render note
boxes anchored to lifelines.
- `activate X` / `deactivate X` — draw activation bars on lifelines
(vertical thick lines indicating active periods).
- Block statements (`loop`, `alt`, `opt`, `par`, `critical`, `break`,
`rect`) — render labelled bracket boxes around groups of messages.
Each piece is contained but the pile is ~2-3 days total.
---
## Bigger ideas
### `pie` charts — `mermaid-text`
Smallest new diagram type. `pie title Pet Counts \n "Dogs" : 386 \n
"Cats" : 85`. Render as either a horizontal bar chart or labelled
slices. ~200 LOC.
### Concurrent regions `--` — `mermaid-text`
State-diagram `state X { region1; --; region2 }` for orthogonal
sub-state-machines. Needs a new layout primitive ("two layouts
side-by-side in one container"). The hardest item on this list —
deserves its own design pass. Multi-day.
### `erDiagram` — `mermaid-text`
Most-requested missing diagram type for documentation use. Entities
with attribute lists, relationship cardinalities (`||--o{`),
foreign-key arrows. Substantial — entity boxes have internal
structure (header + attribute rows), and the relationship notation
is its own mini-language. Multi-day.
### `gantt` / `journey` / `classDiagram` — `mermaid-text`
Each is its own decent chunk of work. Lower priority than the above
unless someone asks. Multi-day each.
---
## Quality / polish backlog
### Edge-routing improvements
Dense graphs (e.g. the circuit-breaker FSM with 5 states + 3
back-edges) still produce visually busy outputs because A* is
greedy and doesn't optimise for label space. Better routing would
benefit every diagram. Hard, mostly-invisible-when-it-works.
### Composite-edge attach-to-border (state diagrams)
Today `Composite --> X` is rewritten at parse time to point at the
composite's synthesised inner `[*]` end. Works, but the arrow lands
on the inner marker rather than the composite border. A renderer
extension that lets edges target subgraph IDs (currently silently
dropped — see `crates/mermaid-text/src/render/unicode.rs:477`)
would let the arrow attach to the border like Mermaid's own
renderer does. Medium effort, would need new edge-routing logic.
### Per-composite direction-aware fork/join orientation
`mermaid-text` 0.7.2 ships fork/join shapes resolved from the
top-level graph direction. A composite with `direction TB` inside
an LR top-level diagram gets the wrong orientation (LR's vertical
bars instead of TB's horizontal). Fix needs the parser to track
each fork/join's enclosing composite path and resolve orientation
from the relevant composite's direction (or fall back to the
top-level). Small change, low priority unless someone hits it.
### Wider fork/join bars
Real Mermaid renders fork/join bars as filled rectangles several
cells thick. v1 uses single-cell-thick `━` / `┃`. A real "filled
thick bar" would need a new primitive (multi-row block fills) and
edge-routing changes to attach edges along the bar's long edge
rather than its midpoint.
### `<<choice>>` rendering without label for unnamed choices
Mermaid hides labels for unnamed choices; we still render the
state ID inside the diamond. Detect "synthetic" / placeholder IDs
and skip the label, or accept an explicit empty-label hint.
---
### `classDef DEFAULT` special semantics — `mermaid-text`
Mermaid treats `classDef DEFAULT …` as a base class merged into every
other class. We currently treat it as a normal classDef named
"DEFAULT" with no special semantics. Implement the merge if someone
asks. ~half day.
### Subgraph interior fill — `mermaid-text`
Today only `stroke` is honoured for subgraph styles (border colour);
`fill` and `color` are accepted in the schema but not rendered. A
real "fill the composite interior with a tint" pass would conflict
with inner node backgrounds — needs a layered-paint design (paint
subgraph fill first, then node fills overlay). Defer.
### `click` / hyperlink directives — `mermaid-text`
Mermaid `click NodeId "https://…"` makes the node clickable. In a
text terminal we'd render a footnote-style link reference, or use
OSC 8 hyperlinks where supported. Separate ticket.
## Done since 1.7.1 (recent history — see CHANGELOGs for detail)
- **0.8.0**: `classDef` + `class` + `:::className` shorthand for
flowcharts and state diagrams. New `Graph::class_defs` /
`subgraph_styles` registries. Subgraph border colouring. State
diagrams pick up `style` / `linkStyle` (no longer silently
skipped). Shared `parser/common.rs` module eliminates the prior
parser-helper duplication.
- **0.7.2**: `<<choice>>` / `<<fork>>` / `<<join>>` shape modifiers
for state diagrams (Diamond / direction-perpendicular Bar).
- **0.7.1**: edge-label collision avoidance (labels stop overwriting
node interiors).
- **0.7.0**: state diagrams default to LR (was TB) for better text
output.
- **0.6.0**: composite states `state X { … }` with recursive nesting,
per-composite `[*]` scope, external-edge rewrite, back-edge
perimeter connectors, orphan-marker GC.
- **0.5.0**: `stateDiagram` / `stateDiagram-v2` support.
- **0.4.0**: ANSI 24-bit color output (opt-in).
- **markdown-tui-explorer 1.8.1 / 1.8.2 / 1.9.0 / 1.9.1**: layout-height
fix, scroll-inside-mermaid fix, transitive bumps for the above.