claude-nova/docs/features/transcript.md

Transcript

Status: Implemented · Code: Scripts/transcript.js

Nova sidebars hold only tree rows, so the readable conversation lives in an editor tab as Markdown.

Where it lives

<workspaceStoragePath>/Claude Transcript.md (global storage when the window has no workspace). A real file rather than an untitled document so the tab has a name, survives restarts, and can be saved without a dialog.

Incremental rendering

build() produces the whole document; _render() diffs it against the previous render, finds the common prefix, and replaces only the differing tail:

edit.replace(new Range(prefix, current.length), text.slice(prefix));

Because output is append-mostly, the common prefix is usually the entire previous text — one small edit at the end. This is what keeps scroll position and selection stable while tokens stream in. Renders are throttled to 140ms; flush() forces one and saves.

The viewport is only auto-scrolled when the caret was already at the end, so a user reading earlier history is not yanked around.

Format notes

• Tool results are fenced and truncated to 12 lines / 1200 chars.
• Read results are replaced by <sub>read N lines</sub> — echoing file contents Claude just read buries the conversation.
• Fences widen past any backtick run in the body, so fenced content can't break out.
• Thinking is rendered as a blockquote, controlled by claudenova.showThinking.

Gotchas

• The document is user-editable. _render() diffs against the document's current text, not a cached copy, so manual edits are overwritten rather than corrupting the diff.
• editor.onDidDestroy clears the cached editor; the next show() reopens it.