Markstream Install

Markstream Install

Use this skill when the task is "add markstream to an app" or "fix a broken markstream install".

Read references/scenarios.md before making dependency choices.

Workflow

1. Detect the target framework and CSS stack.
   • Check package.json, app entry files, Tailwind or UnoCSS config, and whether the repo is SSR or streaming-focused.
   • Choose the package that matches the host app: markstream-vue, markstream-vue2, markstream-react, markstream-angular, or markstream-svelte.
   • Use markstream-svelte only for Svelte 5 apps.
2. Install the smallest peer set that matches the requested features.
   • Add peers only for features the user actually needs: Monaco, Mermaid, D2, KaTeX, or lightweight highlighting via stream-markdown.
   • Do not install every optional peer by default.
   • For Vue 3 Monaco preloading, use preloadCodeBlockRuntime from markstream-vue so the renderer runtime knows Monaco is warm. Existing getUseMonaco() calls are still compatible.
3. Fix CSS order.
   • Put reset styles before Markstream styles.
   • In Tailwind or UnoCSS projects, use @import 'markstream-*/index.css' layer(components);.
   • Do not rely on renderer imports to inject CSS; import the package CSS subpath explicitly.
   • Import katex/dist/katex.min.css when math is enabled.
4. Add the smallest working render example.
   • Use content for static or low-frequency rendering.
   • In Vue 3 apps with long AI conversations, thread restore, or an existing message virtualizer such as vue-virtual-scroller, do not stop at a trivial renderer. Use MarkstreamVirtualTimeline or useMarkstreamVirtualAdapter() and follow docs/guide/performance.md.
   • For Vue 3, choose renderer mode by surface before tuning lower-level props.
     • mode="chat": AI chat or SSE output; lightweight batches, <pre> code rendering by default, fade=false, max-live-nodes=0, and smooth-streaming="auto".
     • mode="docs": rich document surfaces; default mode, larger batches, tooltips, fade, and Monaco-backed code blocks when the peer is installed.
     • mode="minimal": lightweight non-chat surfaces.
     • If a docs page does not need Monaco-backed code blocks, set :render-code-blocks-as-pre="true".
   • For streaming AI chat in other Markstream packages, start with content and built-in smooth streaming.
     • Auto mode is the default: smoothStreaming="auto" / smooth-streaming="auto".
     • Auto pacing activates when typewriter=true or maxLiveNodes <= 0 / max-live-nodes <= 0.
     • typewriter only controls the blinking cursor and defaults to false.
     • fade controls node enter and streamed-text fade animations and defaults to true.
     • For high-frequency smooth streams, consider fade=false / :fade="false" / [fade]="false" to avoid fade stacking.
   • Streaming vs recovering history: in chat UIs the same renderer starts streaming and later switches to history when final becomes true.
     • Vue 3 streaming: mode="chat", smooth-streaming="auto", :fade="false", typewriter=true.
     • Vue 3 recovering/completed chat history: keep mode="chat" on the same chat row; use :smooth-streaming="false", typewriter=false, and only set :fade="true" when the host explicitly wants a history-entry animation.
     • Use mode="minimal" for lightweight non-chat recovered content, and use mode="docs" only for rich document surfaces.
     • Other packages streaming: smoothStreaming="auto" / smooth-streaming="auto", fade=false, typewriter=true.
     • Other packages recovering history: smoothStreaming=false / smooth-streaming=false, fade=true, typewriter=false.
     • Dynamic switch: smoothStreaming={isStreaming ? 'auto' : false}, fade={!isStreaming}.
   • Use nodes + final only for worker preparsing, shared AST stores, or custom AST control.
   • For manual pacing with nodes, use useSmoothMarkdownStream: enqueue() chunks, finish() when done, render from visible, wait for caughtUp before final parsing.
   • Preserve the default hardening: HTML policies now default to safe, and Mermaid runs in strict mode by default.
5. Keep customization scoped.
   • If the task requires overrides, prefer customId / custom-id plus scoped setCustomComponents(...).
6. Validate.
   • Run the smallest relevant build, typecheck, test, or docs build command.
   • Report which peers were installed, where CSS lives, and whether the repo should later adopt nodes.

Default Decisions

• Prefer the minimal peer set over "install everything".
• For Vue 3, omit mode only when the surface should use rich docs defaults.
• Prefer content for most streaming chat now that built-in smooth streaming is available across Vue 3, Vue 2, React, Svelte, and Angular.
• Move to nodes only when another layer owns parsing or AST transforms.
• For Vue 3 apps that already virtualize messages, keep the outer virtualizer responsible for mounted rows; use Markstream virtual-scroll coordination so item height comes from metrics.totalHeight, not the renderer DOM height.
• When using content for streaming, smooth streaming (smooth-streaming="auto") is on by default for typewriter or max-live-nodes <= 0. Set :smooth-streaming="false" to preserve raw chunk cadence.
• Streaming vs recovering history: when a chat message transitions from streaming to history, keep the renderer mode stable and switch props dynamically — smooth-streaming="auto", fade=false for streaming; smooth-streaming=false, optional fade=true for history. See docs/guide/ai-chat-streaming.md for full examples.
• Treat CSS order as a first-class part of installation, not a later cleanup.
• When the request includes SSR, explicitly gate browser-only peers behind client-only boundaries.
• Do not widen HTML or Mermaid security defaults unless the user explicitly needs trusted legacy compatibility.
• If compatibility requires it, scope the opt-out to the trusted surface with htmlPolicy / html-policy="trusted" and mermaidProps.isStrict = false instead of changing app-wide defaults blindly.

Useful Doc Targets

• docs/guide/installation.md
• docs/guide/usage.md
• docs/guide/performance.md
• docs/guide/troubleshooting.md
• docs/guide/component-overrides.md