Methodox Threads: v0.5 Initial Release

Question

Overview

This project implements a multi-pane, branching text editor. It provides a tree-structured writing environment where each document can contain sibling and child documents, displayed simultaneously in a scrollable, linear canvas layout.

Features

This first public release includes:

Menus

• File: New, Open, Save (JSON)
• Edit: Create Sibling, Create Child
• Project: Edit README
• Annotate: Add Note to the focused document

Status Bar

• Current document complexity (subtree size)
• Current document level
• Root width and height sliders

Core Concepts

Project

A project stores a README (level 0) and a collection of level-1 documents. All data is serialized as JSON using a simple tree structure:

{
  "README": "Top-level summary or instructions for the project.",
  "Level1": [
    {
      "Content": "Overview of subsystem A",
      "Note": "Key considerations for subsystem A",
      "Prompt": "Explain subsystem A in detail.",
      "Children": [
        {
          "Content": "Detailed module description",
          "Note": "Additional notes",
          "Prompt": "Generate documentation for this module.",
          "Children": []
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "Content": "Overview of subsystem B",
      "Note": "High-level notes for subsystem B",
      "Prompt": "Summarize subsystem B.",
      "Children": []
    }
  ]
}

Documents

A document contains editable markdown text and optional note text. Documents can create:

• Siblings at the same level
• Children that form a deeper branch

Documents are arranged visually in a linear horizontal/vertical layout according to their level.

Layout Rules

• Level 1 documents use a fixed root width/height controlled by sliders in the status bar.
• Siblings at the same level share equal width.
• Children of a document divide the parent width equally and always use roughly half the parent height (ratio configurable).
• The entire workspace scrolls both horizontally and vertically.
• Document editors maintain fixed dimensions once created; resizing the window does not reflow them.
• The layout is regenerated every time the structure changes.

Limitations

• No document deletion is provided; No threads reorganization; once created, documents persist.
• The editor provides only a custom dark theme, similar to VS Code One Dark Pro.
• All user content is editable markdown but advanced preview is WIP.
• GenAI integration is WIP.

References

• Itch.io Page