Saved templates

The Control-T shelf reuses saved @@template: blocks. Shelf keys are in Keyboard; template preview rows are in Capture previews; the list/save endpoints are in Protocol.

Saved templates¶

Bob Mac Capture's Control-T shelf reuses saved @@template: blocks. Picking a row inserts bob's draft at the start of the editor as one undoable edit and checks out that template in app memory. The original remains on disk. While it is checked out, the Templates count and shelf omit it. Escape, hiding the panel, and a failed capture keep the checkout. A successful capture moves the used block to the top; if you edited it, the new block replaces the checked-out one. Command-S saves the current template block without clearing the draft, and the next successful capture settles that checkout. To start one, type @@@ at the very start of a draft.

Discard releases the checkout and returns the original to the shelf. Removing the template header and receiving a fresh parse without a template, emptying the editor, or using Command-Z to undo the insert also releases it. Control-C stashes the full draft without checkout metadata and reports "Canceled draft stashed · template kept"; restoring that draft does not check out the template again. Quitting or crashing loses the draft and its in-memory checkout, while the shelf remains unchanged.

The shelf stores the template block, never the capture rows. It lives at ${XDG_STATE_HOME:-~/.local/state}/bob-cli/capture/templates.json with mode 0600; BOB_CAPTURE_TEMPLATES_FILE can override the file path. The default capacity is 36, configured with capture.max_saved_templates; setting it to 0 turns off automatic and Command-S saves while leaving existing templates available. Forced -r, -s, and -t destinations are not saved. Settings shows the count and file path, can reveal the file in Finder, and has a confirmed Clear Templates… action that also removes the quarantine copy.

The shelf refreshes on launch, after a capture or mutation, and on Recheck Bob. A panel show also refreshes, except when the last refresh started less than 5 s ago; those other reasons always run.

An older bob that does not know capture-templates hides the shelf and asks you to update bob. The app only sends --template-origin after a successful template-list request from that same bob executable. This identity check matters because an older bob capture can swallow an unknown option as capture text instead of rejecting it. If bob changes after the list request, an edited template is saved as a separate entry and the original stays safe.

Required bob features are capture-templates list, capture-templates save, and capture --template-origin. The list endpoint supplies the draft, caret, parse spans, and identity evidence; the app renders those results without parsing capture grammar.