Testing Helix

Test Markdown-Oxide in Helix

Overview

markdown-oxide is an LSP server for markdown/Obsidian vaults. Helix has built-in language server support for markdown-oxide -- no configuration files are needed. Just ensure the markdown-oxide binary is on PATH.

Outcome

Verify that markdown-oxide LSP features work correctly in Helix, including wiki link completions, tag completions, and fuzzy matching against the TestFiles/ directory. Testing is done in two recorded phases: first reproduce/demonstrate the current behavior, then validate the fix or expected behavior.

Procedure

1. Build the markdown-oxide binary

cd ~/repos/markdown-oxide && cargo build
sudo cp target/debug/markdown-oxide /usr/local/bin/markdown-oxide

Verify it's on PATH: which markdown-oxide

2. Install Helix (if not installed)

HELIX_VERSION=$(curl -s "https://api.github.com/repos/helix-editor/helix/releases/latest" | grep -Po '"tag_name": "\K[0-9.]+')
wget -qO /tmp/helix.tar.xz "https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/releases/latest/download/helix-${HELIX_VERSION}-x86_64-linux.tar.xz"
sudo mkdir -p /opt/helix
sudo tar xf /tmp/helix.tar.xz --strip-components=1 -C /opt/helix
sudo ln -sf /opt/helix/hx /usr/local/bin/hx

Verify: hx --version

3. Verify Helix recognizes markdown-oxide

hx --health markdown

You should see: markdown-oxide: /usr/local/bin/markdown-oxide (with a checkmark). Helix has built-in support for markdown-oxide -- no additional configuration is needed.

4. Launch Helix

Open a terminal emulator and launch Helix on TestFiles:

konsole --workdir ~/repos/markdown-oxide/TestFiles -e bash -c "hx Test.md" &

Wait for Helix to open. Verify the LSP is running: pgrep -a markdown-oxide

5. Test LSP features

Testing is split into two recorded phases:

Phase 1: Reproduce current behavior

Start a screen recording (recording_start). Demonstrate the current state of each feature before any fix. This establishes a baseline and captures any issues:

• Annotate the recording: "Phase 1: Reproducing current behavior in Helix"
• Exercise each feature below and note what works and what doesn't
• Stop the recording (recording_stop) when done

Phase 2: Validate the fix

After applying the fix (rebuild markdown-oxide, copy to PATH, quit and relaunch Helix to restart the LSP):

• Start a new screen recording (recording_start)
• Annotate the recording: "Phase 2: Validating fix in Helix"
• Re-test each feature and confirm it works correctly
• Stop the recording (recording_stop) when done

Test each feature:

Wiki Link Completions

• In Normal mode, press g then e to go to end of file
• Press o to open a new line below (enters Insert mode)
• Type [[ -- a completion menu should appear with files, headings, and block references
• Type to fuzzy-filter (e.g., [[Reso should show "Resolved File" and "Resolved File#Resolved Heading")
• Press Escape and u to undo when done

Tag Completions

• Press o to open a new line, type #ta
• Should show hierarchical tag completions: tag, tag/subtag, tag/othersubtag, mapofcontent/tag, mapofcontent/tag/supertag, mapofcontent/tag/supertag/tag
• All labeled as "keyword" type
• Press Escape and u to undo when done

Go-to-Definition (optional)

• Navigate to a line with [[This is another link]]
• Position cursor inside the link
• Press g then d for go-to-definition

Hover (optional)

• Position cursor on a wiki link
• Press Space then k to show hover info

6. Post recordings to PR

After both recording phases are complete, post the recordings as comments on the PR:

1. Use git_comment_on_pr to post the Phase 1 recording with a comment like:

   Phase 1: Reproducing current behavior in Helix

2. Use git_comment_on_pr to post the Phase 2 recording with a comment like:

   Phase 2: Validating fix in Helix

This provides reviewers with visual evidence of the issue and its resolution.

7. Clean up

Undo any test edits: Escape, then u repeatedly. Quit without saving: :q!

Available Test Files

• TestFiles/Test.md -- Main test file with headings, wiki links, block refs, tags
• TestFiles/Resolved File.md -- Has # Resolved Heading and heading links
• TestFiles/Another Test.md -- Has # This is a test heading and ## This is a nested test heading
• TestFiles/This is another link.md -- Target for wiki link navigation tests

Specifications

• Wiki link completions must show files, headings, and block references with fuzzy matching
• Tag completions must show hierarchical tags (including nested tags like tag/subtag)
• The LSP server process (markdown-oxide) must be running (verify with pgrep)
• Two screen recordings must be produced: one showing current behavior (reproduce), one showing the fix (validate)
• Both recordings must be posted as comments on the PR

Advice

• Helix has built-in language server support for markdown-oxide -- no configuration files are needed. Just ensure the markdown-oxide binary is on PATH.
• Block completions (unindexed blocks via [[ ) are NOT supported in Helix yet (as noted in the Features Index docs).
• Helix's health check (hx --health markdown) is useful for verifying the LSP binary is detected.
• Helix may also show marksman as a configured language server for markdown. This is fine -- markdown-oxide takes priority if both are available.
• Use :log-open inside Helix to view the editor log for debugging LSP issues.
• After rebuilding the binary, you must quit Helix and relaunch to restart the LSP.
• cargo build (debug) is much faster than cargo build --release -- use debug for testing iterations.

Forbidden Actions

• Do not modify the TestFiles content permanently (undo all test edits)
• Do not force push or modify the main branch