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Planned Features & Roadmap

This page outlines planned features, upcoming improvements, and the development roadmap for VimAbl.

Detailed Implementation Checklist

For granular implementation details and phase-by-phase tasks, see the TODO.md in the repository root.

Current Status

Phase Complete: Phase 5e, 5f, 5j, and Phase 6 ✅ Overall Progress: 95% (Most core real-time features complete) Last Updated: 2025-11-25

High Priority Features

Phase 6: ClipSlot Matrix Implementation

Status: ✅ COMPLETE Dependencies: Phase 5f (Complete) Priority: HIGH

Goal: Implement full ClipSlot matrix representation in AST and real-time observation of clip/slot properties

For detailed implementation plan, see ClipSlot Implementation Architecture

Overview: - Add ClipSlotNode type to AST (tracks × scenes grid) - Parse all clip slots from XML (empty and filled) - Real-time observation of slot and clip properties - Web UI visualization with playback states

Key Features: - ✅ Empty clip slot representation - ✅ Stop button state tracking - ✅ Real-time playback status (stopped/playing/triggered) - ✅ Clip name and property changes - ✅ Cursor highlighting for clip slots

Completed: 2025-11-25

Phase 3: Real-Time Updates & Diff Visualization

Status: Planned Dependencies: WebSocket AST Server (Complete)

Phase 3a: Diff Application Logic

  • Enhance AST store with diff patching
  • Implement applyDiff(diff) function
  • Handle node additions, deletions, modifications
  • Preserve expand/collapse state during updates
  • Create diff utilities module
  • Parse diff format from Python server
  • Map diff paths to tree nodes
  • Add TypeScript types for diffs

Phase 3b: Visual Diff Indicators

  • Add change highlighting to TreeNode component
  • Green background for new nodes
  • Yellow background for modified nodes
  • Red background with strikethrough for removed nodes
  • Fade out highlights after 5 seconds
  • Create diff legend component
  • Add smooth transition animations

Phase 3c: Performance Optimization

  • Implement virtual scrolling for large trees
  • Optimize re-rendering with proper key bindings
  • Add debouncing for rapid updates
  • Test with 50+ track projects

Estimated Time: 2-3 weeks

Phase 4: Enhanced UI Features

Status: Planned Dependencies: Phase 3

Phase 4a: Search & Filter

  • Create search bar component
  • Text input with debouncing
  • Search by node name and type
  • Highlight matching nodes
  • Show match count
  • Implement search store logic
  • Full-text search across all nodes
  • Filter by attributes (muted, armed, etc.)
  • Support regex patterns
  • Add search navigation
  • "Next match" (keyboard: n)
  • "Previous match" (keyboard: N)
  • Auto-expand tree to show matches

Phase 4b: Node Details Panel

  • Create node details component
  • Show selected node's attributes
  • Display node hash (SHA)
  • Show file references
  • Display parent/child relationships
  • "Copy JSON" button
  • Add node selection to tree
  • Create split-pane layout (60/40)

Phase 4c: Project Statistics Dashboard

  • Create project stats widget
  • Total track, device, clip counts
  • File reference count
  • Last modified timestamp
  • Add real-time statistics updates
  • Create file references list component

Estimated Time: 3-4 weeks

Phase 5e: UDP/AST Server Integration

Status: ✅ COMPLETE Priority: High Dependencies: Phase 5f (Complete)

Goal: Connect UDP listener to WebSocket AST server for real-time UI updates

  • Update AST server with event processing
  • Start UDP listener as async task
  • Add process_live_event(event) method
  • Map OSC events to AST operations
  • Batch events (50ms window)
  • Implement incremental AST updates
  • In-place node updates for renames
  • Tree structure modifications for add/delete
  • Minimal diff generation
  • Add XML diff fallback mechanism
  • Trigger on UDP gap detection
  • Handle hash mismatches
  • Log fallback occurrences

Expected Result: Real-time UI updates within 100ms when editing in Ableton Live

Completed: 2025-11-25

Medium Priority Features

More Vim Motions

Expand Vim-style navigation beyond current implementation:

  • hjkl navigation (left/down/up/right)
  • Visual mode (v) for selecting multiple items
  • Yank (y) - Copy selected item
  • Put (p) - Paste copied item
  • Change (c) - Replace selected item
  • Direct undo (u) instead of za
  • Redo (Ctrl+r)

Estimated Time: 2-3 weeks

Advanced Tree Viewer Features

Phase 6a: Diff History Viewer

  • Store last N diffs (e.g., 50)
  • Display change history panel
  • Navigate through history
  • Highlight changed nodes from history
  • Optional revert functionality

Phase 6b: Export & Snapshots

  • "Export AST as JSON" button
  • Download full AST with timestamp
  • "Load snapshot" functionality
  • Compare current AST with snapshot
  • Show differences in UI

Phase 6c: Theming & Customization

  • Dark/light mode toggle (Tailwind)
  • Customizable tree display options
  • Show/hide node hashes
  • Show/hide node IDs
  • Adjust font size
  • Change color scheme
  • Settings panel with localStorage persistence

Estimated Time: 3-4 weeks

Command Palette Overlay

Status: Planned Priority: Medium

A Vim-like command palette for quick navigation and control:

  • Overlay UI with fuzzy search
  • Command history
  • Quick track/scene selection
  • Custom command creation
  • Keyboard shortcuts discovery

Estimated Time: 2 weeks

Low Priority Features

Lua Plugin System

Status: Planned Priority: Low

Allow users to extend VimAbl with custom Lua plugins:

  • Plugin API specification
  • Plugin loader mechanism
  • Example plugins
  • Plugin documentation
  • Community plugin repository

Estimated Time: 4-6 weeks

AI-Powered Features

Status: Concept Phase Priority: Low

Intelligent auto-completion and suggestions:

  • Genre-based template suggestions
  • Smart device recommendations
  • Arrangement structure analysis
  • Automated mixing suggestions

Estimated Time: TBD (Research phase)

Windows Support

Status: Planned Priority: Medium

Port Hammerspoon integration to Windows:

  • AutoHotkey integration (replaces Hammerspoon)
  • Windows-specific keybindings
  • Test on Windows 10/11
  • Windows installation docs

Estimated Time: 2-3 weeks

Phase 5 Detailed Roadmap (UDP/OSC)

Phase 5f: Observer Lifecycle Management ✅ COMPLETE

Status: ✅ Complete and Tested Date Completed: 2025-11-12

What Was Accomplished: - LiveState.py integration with UDP sender - Manual control commands (START/STOP/REFRESH/STATUS) - Observer status reporting - Comprehensive documentation - Manual testing with Ableton Live

Test Results: - End-to-end latency: ~10ms (target was < 100ms) - CPU usage: ~2% (target was < 5%) - Packet loss: 0% - 36+ tracks supported

Phase 5g: OSC Debugging Tools

Status: Planned

  • Create tools/osc_monitor.py
  • UDP packet sniffer for port 9002
  • Pretty-print OSC messages
  • Color-coded output
  • Create tools/osc_send.py
  • Send test OSC messages
  • Support all message types
  • Enhanced Remote Script logging

Estimated Time: 1 week

Phase 5h: Testing & Validation

Status: Planned

  • Unit tests for UDP sender/listener
  • Integration tests (end-to-end)
  • Stress tests (1000+ events)
  • Reliability tests (packet loss simulation)
  • Manual testing checklist completion

Estimated Time: 2 weeks

Phase 5i: Bi-Directional Communication (Optional)

Status: Planned

Commands from WebSocket/UI to Remote Script:

  • select_track(index)
  • select_device(track_index, device_index)
  • toggle_mute(track_index)
  • trigger_clip(track_index, scene_index)
  • Control buttons in Svelte UI
  • Success/error feedback

Estimated Time: 1-2 weeks

Phase 9: ZeroMQ Integration (Future)

Status: Concept Phase Priority: Low Dependencies: Phase 5 complete and stable

Goal: Replace UDP with ZeroMQ for production-grade reliability

Why Defer? - UDP/OSC is simpler and works well for local use - ZeroMQ requires additional dependencies - Can migrate later if needed

Architecture: - ZMQ PUB socket in Remote Script - ZMQ SUB socket in AST server - Automatic reconnection - Message queuing during disconnects

Estimated Time: 3-4 weeks (when prioritized)

Testing & Documentation Roadmap

Phase 7a: Unit Tests

  • Set up Vitest framework
  • Write tests for Svelte stores
  • Write tests for utilities
  • Component tests
  • Code coverage reporting

Phase 7b: Integration Tests

  • Python test suite for WebSocket server
  • End-to-end workflow tests
  • Error scenario tests

Phase 7c: Documentation

  • Update README with screenshots
  • Create DEVELOPMENT.md
  • Create user guide for TreeViewer
  • Add comprehensive code comments
  • API documentation

Estimated Time: 2-3 weeks

Deployment & Distribution

Phase 8a: Production Build

  • Configure Svelte for production
  • Optimize bundle size
  • Create static file server
  • Combine with WebSocket server

Phase 8b: Standalone Launcher

  • Unified launcher script
  • Command-line options
  • Auto-open browser
  • Single command: python3 -m src.main --mode=viewer

Phase 8c: Packaging (Optional)

  • Installation script
  • PyInstaller executable
  • macOS .app bundle
  • Distribution testing

Estimated Time: 2-3 weeks

Timeline Estimates

Near Term (Next 1-3 Months)

  1. Phase 3: Real-Time Updates (2-3 weeks)
  2. Phase 4: Enhanced UI (3-4 weeks)
  3. Phase 5e: UDP/AST Integration (1-2 weeks)

Medium Term (3-6 Months)

  1. More Vim Motions (2-3 weeks)
  2. Command Palette (2 weeks)
  3. Phase 6: Advanced Features (3-4 weeks)
  4. Testing & Documentation (2-3 weeks)

Long Term (6-12 Months)

  1. Windows Support (2-3 weeks)
  2. Lua Plugin System (4-6 weeks)
  3. Production Deployment (2-3 weeks)
  4. AI-Powered Features (TBD)

Contributing

Want to help implement these features?

  1. Check the Development Guide
  2. Pick a feature from the roadmap
  3. Open a GitHub issue to discuss approach
  4. Submit a pull request

Success Criteria

Overall Project Success

  • Tree viewer loads in < 2 seconds
  • Updates appear within 100ms of change
  • UI remains responsive with 50+ tracks
  • No WebSocket disconnections under normal use
  • Comprehensive documentation for all features

Notes

  • Phases are flexible and may be reordered based on user feedback
  • Timeline estimates are approximate and may change
  • Some features may be combined or split for efficiency
  • Community contributions are welcome and encouraged

Last Updated: 2025-11-17