Optimize ImGui renderer: viewport culling and width caching

Large files made idle CPU spike because every frame re-measured every
line, recompiled the search regex per line, and ran full per-line
rendering work even for off-screen rows.

- Render only visible rows (with a small margin for smooth scrolling)
  and advance the layout cursor to preserve total content height.
- Hoist the search std::regex compilation out of the per-line loop.
- Cache the max line width on the renderer; reset only when the buffer
  or font changes, not on every edit.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

Buffer.cc

@@ -231,7 +231,9 @@ Buffer::Buffer(const Buffer &other)
 	mark_set_         = other.mark_set_;
 	mark_curx_        = other.mark_curx_;
 	mark_cury_        = other.mark_cury_;
-	// Copy syntax/highlighting flags
+	// Copy edit mode + syntax/highlighting flags
+	edit_mode_          = other.edit_mode_;
+	edit_mode_detected_ = other.edit_mode_detected_;
 	version_            = other.version_;
 	syntax_enabled_     = other.syntax_enabled_;
 	filetype_           = other.filetype_;
@@ -281,6 +283,8 @@ Buffer::operator=(const Buffer &other)
 	mark_set_         = other.mark_set_;
 	mark_curx_          = other.mark_curx_;
 	mark_cury_          = other.mark_cury_;
+	edit_mode_          = other.edit_mode_;
+	edit_mode_detected_ = other.edit_mode_detected_;
 	version_            = other.version_;
 	syntax_enabled_     = other.syntax_enabled_;
 	filetype_           = other.filetype_;
@@ -326,7 +330,9 @@ Buffer::Buffer(Buffer &&other) noexcept
 	  undo_tree_(std::move(other.undo_tree_)),
 	  undo_sys_(std::move(other.undo_sys_))
 {
-	// Move syntax/highlighting state
+	// Move edit mode + syntax/highlighting state
+	edit_mode_          = other.edit_mode_;
+	edit_mode_detected_ = other.edit_mode_detected_;
 	version_            = other.version_;
 	syntax_enabled_     = other.syntax_enabled_;
 	filetype_           = std::move(other.filetype_);
@@ -364,7 +370,9 @@ Buffer::operator=(Buffer &&other) noexcept
 	undo_tree_      = std::move(other.undo_tree_);
 	undo_sys_       = std::move(other.undo_sys_);
 
-	// Move syntax/highlighting state
+	// Move edit mode + syntax/highlighting state
+	edit_mode_          = other.edit_mode_;
+	edit_mode_detected_ = other.edit_mode_detected_;
 	version_            = other.version_;
 	syntax_enabled_     = other.syntax_enabled_;
 	filetype_           = std::move(other.filetype_);

Buffer.h

@@ -517,6 +517,7 @@ public:
 	void SetEditMode(EditMode m)
 	{
 		edit_mode_ = m;
+		edit_mode_detected_ = true;
 	}
 
 
@@ -525,6 +526,13 @@ public:
 		edit_mode_ = (edit_mode_ == EditMode::Code)
 			             ? EditMode::Writing
 			             : EditMode::Code;
+		edit_mode_detected_ = true;
+	}
+
+
+	[[nodiscard]] bool EditModeDetected() const
+	{
+		return edit_mode_detected_;
 	}
 
 
@@ -660,6 +668,7 @@ private:
 
 	// Edit mode (code vs writing)
 	EditMode edit_mode_ = EditMode::Code;
+	bool edit_mode_detected_ = false; // true after initial auto-detection
 
 	// Syntax/highlighting state
 	std::uint64_t version_ = 0; // increment on edits

CLAUDE.md

@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+# CLAUDE.md
+
+This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.
+
+## Project Overview
+
+**kte** (Kyle's Text Editor) is a C++20 text editor with a terminal-first design (ncurses) and optional GUI frontends (ImGui via SDL2/OpenGL/Freetype, or Qt6). It uses a WordStar/VDE-style command model. The terminal editor is `kte`; the GUI editor is `kge`.
+
+## Build Commands
+
+```bash
+# Configure (from project root, build dir is "build")
+cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug -DBUILD_GUI=ON -DBUILD_TESTS=ON
+
+# Build everything
+cmake --build build
+
+# Build specific targets
+cmake --build build --target kte        # terminal editor
+cmake --build build --target kge        # GUI editor (requires -DBUILD_GUI=ON)
+cmake --build build --target kte_tests  # test suite
+
+# Run all tests
+cmake --build build --target kte_tests && ./build/kte_tests
+```
+
+There is no single-test runner; the test binary runs all tests. Tests use a minimal custom framework in `tests/Test.h` with `TEST()`, `ASSERT_EQ()`, `ASSERT_TRUE()`, `EXPECT_TRUE()` macros.
+
+### Key CMake Options
+
+| Flag | Default | Purpose |
+|------|---------|---------|
+| `BUILD_GUI` | ON | Build `kge` (ImGui GUI) |
+| `KTE_USE_QT` | OFF | Use Qt6 instead of ImGui for GUI |
+| `BUILD_TESTS` | ON | Build test suite |
+| `ENABLE_ASAN` | OFF | AddressSanitizer |
+| `KTE_STATIC_LINK` | OFF | Static linking (Linux only) |
+| `KTE_ENABLE_TREESITTER` | OFF | Tree-sitter syntax highlighting |
+
+### Nix
+
+`flake.nix` provides devshells: `default` (ImGui+debug tools), `terminal`, `qt`.
+
+### Docker (cross-platform Linux testing)
+
+```bash
+docker build -t kte-linux . && docker run --rm -v "$(pwd):/kte" kte-linux
+```
+
+## Architecture
+
+Three-layer design with strict frontend independence:
+
+```
+Frontend Layer (Terminal / ImGui / Qt / Test)
+  InputHandler.h, Renderer.h, Frontend.h interfaces
+        ↓
+Command Layer
+  CommandId enum → CommandRegistry → handler functions in Command.cc
+        ↓
+Core Model Layer
+  Editor → Buffer → PieceTable
+  UndoSystem (tree-based, records at PieceTable level)
+  SwapManager (crash recovery journal per buffer)
+```
+
+### Core Components
+
+- **PieceTable** (`PieceTable.h/.cc`) - Text storage. Lazy materialization; most ops work on the piece list directly. Line index and materialization caches must be invalidated on content changes.
+- **Buffer** (`Buffer.h/.cc`) - Wraps PieceTable. Prefer `GetLineView(row)` (zero-copy) or `GetLineString(row)` over `Rows()` (legacy, materializes all lines). All text mutations must go through PieceTable API (`insert_text`, `delete_text`) to ensure undo and swap recording work.
+- **Editor** (`Editor.h/.cc`) - Top-level state container. Primarily getters/setters; editing logic lives in commands.
+- **Command** (`Command.h/.cc`) - 120+ editing commands. This is the main place to add new editing operations. Register via `CommandRegistry::Register()` in `InstallDefaultCommands()`.
+- **UndoSystem/UndoTree/UndoNode** - Tree-based undo with branching. Group related ops with `buf.Undo()->BeginGroup()` / `EndGroup()`.
+- **Swap** (`Swap.h/.cc`) - Append-only crash recovery journal. Uses circuit breaker pattern for resilience. Files in `~/.local/state/kte/`.
+- **Syntax highlighting** (`syntax/`) - Pluggable per-language highlighters registered in `HighlighterRegistry`. Per-line caching with buffer version tracking.
+
+### Frontend Implementations
+
+Each frontend implements three interfaces (`Frontend.h`, `InputHandler.h`, `Renderer.h`):
+- **Terminal**: ncurses-based (always built)
+- **ImGui**: SDL2+OpenGL+Freetype (built with `-DBUILD_GUI=ON`)
+- **Qt**: Qt6 (built with `-DBUILD_GUI=ON -DKTE_USE_QT=ON`)
+- **Test**: Programmatic frontend for testing (always built, no UI deps)
+
+## Code Style
+
+- **C++20**, compiled with `-Wall -Wextra -Werror -pedantic`
+- **Clang** uses `-stdlib=libc++`
+- **Naming**: PascalCase for classes/methods, snake_case for variables, trailing underscore for private members (e.g., `pieces_`)
+- **Indentation**: Tabs
+- **Error handling**: Fallible ops use `bool func(args..., std::string &err)` pattern. Always clear `err` at start, capture `errno` immediately after syscall failure. Use EINTR-safe wrappers from `SyscallWrappers.h` instead of raw syscalls.
+- **ErrorHandler**: Centralized logging to `~/.local/state/kte/error.log` with severity levels (Info/Warning/Error/Critical).
+
+## Testing
+
+Tests live in `tests/test_*.cc`. Use `TestFrontend`/`TestInputHandler`/`TestRenderer` for integration tests that exercise the full Editor+Buffer+Command stack without UI dependencies.
+
+Key test files by area:
+- PieceTable: `test_piece_table.cc`
+- Buffer I/O: `test_buffer_io.cc`
+- Commands: `test_command_semantics.cc`
+- Search/replace: `test_search.cc`, `test_search_replace_flow.cc`
+- Undo: `test_undo.cc`
+- Swap (crash recovery): `test_swap_*.cc` (7 files)
+- Reflow: `test_reflow_paragraph.cc`, `test_reflow_indented_bullets.cc`
+- Integration: `test_daily_workflows.cc`
+
+## Important Caveats
+
+- `Buffer::Rows()` is legacy; use `GetLineView()` / `GetLineString()` in new code
+- `GetLineView()` returns a `string_view` valid only until next buffer modification
+- After editing ops, call `ensure_cursor_visible()` to update viewport
+- All source files are in the project root (no `src/` directory); tests are in `tests/`; syntax highlighters in `syntax/`; themes in `themes/`; embedded fonts in `fonts/`
+- External deps: `ext/imgui/` (Dear ImGui), `ext/tomlplusplus/` (TOML parser)
+- GUI config: `~/.config/kte/kge.toml` (TOML preferred over legacy INI)

CMakeLists.txt

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ project(kte)
 include(GNUInstallDirs)
 
 set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 20)
-set(KTE_VERSION "1.10.0")
+set(KTE_VERSION "1.11.2")
 
 # Default to terminal-only build to avoid SDL/OpenGL dependency by default.
 # Enable with -DBUILD_GUI=ON when SDL2/OpenGL/Freetype are available.
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ set(BUILD_TESTS ON CACHE BOOL "Enable building test programs.")
 set(KTE_FONT_SIZE "18.0" CACHE STRING "Default font size for GUI")
 option(KTE_UNDO_DEBUG "Enable undo instrumentation logs" OFF)
 option(KTE_ENABLE_TREESITTER "Enable optional Tree-sitter highlighter adapter" OFF)
-option(KTE_STATIC_LINK "Enable static linking on Linux" ON)
+option(KTE_STATIC_LINK "Enable static linking on Linux" OFF)
 
 # Optionally enable AddressSanitizer (ASan)
 option(ENABLE_ASAN "Enable AddressSanitizer for builds" OFF)
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ else ()
     )
     if ("${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID}" STREQUAL "Clang")
         add_compile_options("-stdlib=libc++")
+        add_link_options("-stdlib=libc++")
     else ()
         # nothing special for gcc at the moment
     endif ()

Command.cc

@@ -1363,6 +1363,9 @@ cmd_toggle_edit_mode(const CommandContext &ctx)
 		b->ToggleEditMode();
 	}
 
+	// Writing mode disables syntax highlighting; code mode re-enables it.
+	b->SetSyntaxEnabled(b->GetEditMode() == EditMode::Code);
+
 	const char *mode_str = (b->GetEditMode() == EditMode::Writing) ? "writing" : "code";
 	ctx.editor.SetStatus(std::string("Mode: ") + mode_str);
 	return true;

GUIConfig.cc

@@ -99,16 +99,22 @@ GUIConfig::LoadFromTOML(const std::string &path)
 	}
 
 	// [font]
+	bool explicit_code_font    = false;
+	bool explicit_writing_font = false;
 	if (auto sec = tbl["font"].as_table()) {
 		if (auto v = (*sec)["name"].value<std::string>())
 			font = *v;
 		if (auto v = (*sec)["size"].value<double>()) {
 			if (*v > 0.0) font_size = static_cast<float>(*v);
 		}
-		if (auto v = (*sec)["code"].value<std::string>())
+		if (auto v = (*sec)["code"].value<std::string>()) {
 			code_font = *v;
-		if (auto v = (*sec)["writing"].value<std::string>())
+			explicit_code_font = true;
+		}
+		if (auto v = (*sec)["writing"].value<std::string>()) {
 			writing_font = *v;
+			explicit_writing_font = true;
+		}
 	}
 
 	// [appearance]
@@ -131,6 +137,12 @@ GUIConfig::LoadFromTOML(const std::string &path)
 			syntax = *v;
 	}
 
+	// Default code_font to the main font if not explicitly set
+	if (!explicit_code_font)
+		code_font = font;
+	if (!explicit_writing_font && writing_font == "crimsonpro" && font != "default")
+		writing_font = font;
+
 	return true;
 }
 
@@ -142,6 +154,9 @@ GUIConfig::LoadFromINI(const std::string &path)
 	if (!in.good())
 		return false;
 
+	bool explicit_code_font    = false;
+	bool explicit_writing_font = false;
+
 	std::string line;
 	while (std::getline(in, line)) {
 		// Remove comments starting with '#' or ';'
@@ -198,8 +213,10 @@ GUIConfig::LoadFromINI(const std::string &path)
 			font = val;
 		} else if (key == "code_font") {
 			code_font = val;
+			explicit_code_font = true;
 		} else if (key == "writing_font") {
 			writing_font = val;
+			explicit_writing_font = true;
 		} else if (key == "theme") {
 			theme = val;
 		} else if (key == "background" || key == "bg") {
@@ -222,5 +239,13 @@ GUIConfig::LoadFromINI(const std::string &path)
 		}
 	}
 
+	// If code_font was not explicitly set, default it to the main font
+	// so that the edit-mode font switcher doesn't immediately switch away
+	// from the font loaded during Init.
+	if (!explicit_code_font)
+		code_font = font;
+	if (!explicit_writing_font && writing_font == "crimsonpro" && font != "default")
+		writing_font = font;
+
 	return true;
 }

ImGuiFrontend.cc

@@ -39,11 +39,13 @@ apply_syntax_to_buffer(Buffer *b, const GUIConfig &cfg)
 	if (!b)
 		return;
 
-	// Auto-detect edit mode from file extension
+	// Auto-detect edit mode from file extension once per buffer so that
-	if (!b->Filename().empty())
+	// manual toggles (C-k m / : mode) are not overridden every frame.
+	if (!b->EditModeDetected() && !b->Filename().empty())
 		b->SetEditMode(DetectEditMode(b->Filename()));
 
-	if (cfg.syntax) {
+	// Writing mode disables syntax; otherwise follow the global config.
+	if (cfg.syntax && b->GetEditMode() != EditMode::Writing) {
 		b->SetSyntaxEnabled(true);
 		b->EnsureHighlighter();
 		if (auto *eng = b->Highlighter()) {
@@ -76,7 +78,9 @@ static void
 update_editor_dimensions(Editor &ed, float disp_w, float disp_h)
 {
 	float row_h = ImGui::GetTextLineHeightWithSpacing();
-	float ch_w  = ImGui::CalcTextSize("M").x;
+	// Use average character width rather than "M" (the widest character)
+	// so that column count is reasonable for proportional fonts too.
+	float ch_w  = ImGui::CalcTextSize("abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz").x / 26.0f;
 	if (row_h <= 0.0f)
 		row_h = 16.0f;
 	if (ch_w <= 0.0f)
@@ -565,7 +569,7 @@ GUIFrontend::Step(Editor &ed, bool &running)
 			running = false;
 		}
 
-		// Switch font based on current buffer's edit mode
+		// Switch font based on current buffer's edit mode (deferred to next frame)
 		{
 			Buffer *cur = wed.CurrentBuffer();
 			if (cur) {
@@ -577,9 +581,7 @@ GUIFrontend::Step(Editor &ed, bool &running)
 				if (fr.CurrentFontName() != expected && fr.HasFont(expected)) {
 					float sz = fr.CurrentFontSize();
 					if (sz <= 0.0f) sz = config_.font_size;
-					fr.LoadFont(expected, sz);
+					fr.RequestLoadFont(expected, sz);
-					ImGui_ImplOpenGL3_DestroyFontsTexture();
-					ImGui_ImplOpenGL3_CreateFontsTexture();
 				}
 			}
 		}

ImGuiRenderer.cc

@@ -85,11 +85,9 @@ ImGuiRenderer::Draw(Editor &ed)
 			float target_y = static_cast<float>(buf_rowoffs) * row_h;
 			ImGui::SetNextWindowScroll(ImVec2(-1.0f, target_y));
 		}
-		if (prev_buf_coloffs_ >= 0 && buf_coloffs != prev_buf_coloffs_) {
+		// Horizontal scroll is handled purely in pixel space (see
-			float target_x = static_cast<float>(buf_coloffs) * space_w;
+		// cursor-visibility block after the line loop) so we don't
-			float target_y = static_cast<float>(buf_rowoffs) * row_h;
+		// convert the character-based coloffs to an ImGui scroll here.
-			ImGui::SetNextWindowScroll(ImVec2(target_x, target_y));
-		}
 
 		// Reserve space for status bar at bottom.
 		// We calculate a height that is an exact multiple of the line height
@@ -108,32 +106,26 @@ ImGuiRenderer::Draw(Editor &ed)
 		ImVec2 child_window_pos = ImGui::GetWindowPos();
 		float scroll_y          = ImGui::GetScrollY();
 		float scroll_x          = ImGui::GetScrollX();
-		std::size_t rowoffs     = 0; // we render from the first line; scrolling is handled by ImGui
 
 		// Synchronize buffer offsets from ImGui scroll if user scrolled manually
 		bool forced_scroll = false;
 		{
 			const long scroll_top  = static_cast<long>(scroll_y / row_h);
-			const long scroll_left = static_cast<long>(scroll_x / space_w);
 
 			// Check if rowoffs was programmatically changed this frame
 			if (prev_buf_rowoffs_ >= 0 && buf_rowoffs != prev_buf_rowoffs_) {
 				forced_scroll = true;
 			}
 
-			// If user scrolled (not programmatic), update buffer offsets accordingly
+			// If user scrolled vertically (not programmatic), update buffer row offset
 			if (prev_scroll_y_ >= 0.0f && scroll_y != prev_scroll_y_ && !forced_scroll) {
 				if (Buffer *mbuf = const_cast<Buffer *>(buf)) {
 					mbuf->SetOffsets(static_cast<std::size_t>(std::max(0L, scroll_top)),
 					                 mbuf->Coloffs());
 				}
 			}
-			if (prev_scroll_x_ >= 0.0f && scroll_x != prev_scroll_x_ && !forced_scroll) {
+			// Horizontal scroll is pixel-based and managed by the cursor
-				if (Buffer *mbuf = const_cast<Buffer *>(buf)) {
+			// visibility block below; we don't sync it back to coloffs.
-					mbuf->SetOffsets(mbuf->Rowoffs(),
-					                 static_cast<std::size_t>(std::max(0L, scroll_left)));
-				}
-			}
 
 			// Update trackers for next frame
 			prev_scroll_y_ = scroll_y;
@@ -141,8 +133,65 @@ ImGuiRenderer::Draw(Editor &ed)
 		}
 		prev_buf_rowoffs_ = buf_rowoffs;
 		prev_buf_coloffs_ = buf_coloffs;
-		// Cache current horizontal offset in rendered columns for click handling
+
-		const std::size_t coloffs_now = buf->Coloffs();
+		// Max-line-width cache: reset when the buffer or font changes. We only
+		// measure visible lines per frame and maintain a running max, so the
+		// scrollbar may be slightly conservative on first view of a file until
+		// the user scrolls, but idle CPU drops dramatically on large files.
+		// Edits bump the buffer version but we intentionally do NOT reset the
+		// max on version changes — keeping a conservative (possibly too-wide)
+		// scrollbar is preferable to per-keystroke jitter.
+		{
+			ImFont *cur_font = ImGui::GetFont();
+			float cur_fsize  = ImGui::GetFontSize();
+			if (buf != max_width_buf_
+			    || cur_font != max_width_font_
+			    || cur_fsize != max_width_font_size_) {
+				max_width_buf_       = buf;
+				max_width_font_      = cur_font;
+				max_width_font_size_ = cur_fsize;
+				max_width_px_        = 0.0f;
+			}
+			max_width_version_ = buf->Version();
+		}
+
+		// Hoist the search-regex compilation out of the per-line loop. Compiling
+		// std::regex per line per frame was a large source of idle CPU on macOS.
+		const bool search_mode = ed.SearchActive() && !ed.SearchQuery().empty();
+		const bool regex_mode  = search_mode && ed.PromptActive() && (
+			ed.CurrentPromptKind() == Editor::PromptKind::RegexSearch ||
+			ed.CurrentPromptKind() == Editor::PromptKind::RegexReplaceFind);
+		std::regex search_rx;
+		bool search_rx_valid = false;
+		if (regex_mode) {
+			try {
+				search_rx       = std::regex(ed.SearchQuery());
+				search_rx_valid = true;
+			} catch (const std::regex_error &) {
+				search_rx_valid = false;
+			}
+		}
+
+		// Compute the visible row range and skip rendering work for off-screen
+		// lines. ImGui clips drawing, but string allocation, tab expansion,
+		// syntax-highlight lookups, and width measurement are not free.
+		const std::size_t total_rows = lines.size();
+		std::size_t first_vis = 0;
+		std::size_t last_vis  = total_rows; // exclusive
+		if (row_h > 0.0f && total_rows > 0) {
+			const long margin = 4; // render a few extra rows above/below for smoother scrolling
+			long fv           = static_cast<long>(std::floor(scroll_y / row_h)) - margin;
+			long lv           = static_cast<long>(
+				std::ceil((scroll_y + child_h_plan) / row_h)) + margin;
+			if (fv < 0) fv = 0;
+			if (lv < 0) lv = 0;
+			if (static_cast<std::size_t>(fv) > total_rows)
+				fv = static_cast<long>(total_rows);
+			if (static_cast<std::size_t>(lv) > total_rows)
+				lv = static_cast<long>(total_rows);
+			first_vis = static_cast<std::size_t>(fv);
+			last_vis  = static_cast<std::size_t>(lv);
+		}
 
 		// Mark selection state (mark -> cursor), in source coordinates
 		bool sel_active    = false;
@@ -264,7 +313,13 @@ ImGuiRenderer::Draw(Editor &ed)
 		if (mouse_selecting_ && ImGui::IsMouseReleased(ImGuiMouseButton_Left)) {
 			mouse_selecting_ = false;
 		}
-		for (std::size_t i = rowoffs; i < lines.size(); ++i) {
+		// Advance the cursor Y so the first visible line draws at its correct
+		// scroll position. Skipped rows simply leave the layout cursor untouched.
+		if (first_vis > 0) {
+			ImGui::SetCursorPosY(ImGui::GetCursorPosY() +
+			                     static_cast<float>(first_vis) * row_h);
+		}
+		for (std::size_t i = first_vis; i < last_vis; ++i) {
 			// Capture the screen position before drawing the line
 			ImVec2 line_pos  = ImGui::GetCursorScreenPos();
 			std::string line = static_cast<std::string>(lines[i]);
@@ -286,31 +341,25 @@ ImGuiRenderer::Draw(Editor &ed)
 				}
 			}
 
-			// Helper: convert a rendered column position to pixel x offset
+			// Helper: convert a rendered column position to an absolute
-			// relative to the visible line start, using actual text measurement
+			// pixel x offset from the start of the line.  ImGui's scroll
-			// so proportional fonts render correctly.
+			// handles viewport clipping so we measure from column 0.
 			auto rx_to_px = [&](std::size_t rx_col) -> float {
-				if (rx_col <= coloffs_now)
-					return 0.0f;
-				std::size_t start = coloffs_now;
 				std::size_t end = std::min(expanded.size(), rx_col);
-				if (start >= expanded.size() || end <= start)
+				if (end == 0)
 					return 0.0f;
-				return ImGui::CalcTextSize(expanded.c_str() + start,
+				return ImGui::CalcTextSize(expanded.c_str(),
 				                           expanded.c_str() + end).x;
 			};
 
 			// Compute search highlight ranges for this line in source indices
-			bool search_mode = ed.SearchActive() && !ed.SearchQuery().empty();
 			std::vector<std::pair<std::size_t, std::size_t> > hl_src_ranges;
 			if (search_mode) {
-				// If we're in RegexSearch or RegexReplaceFind mode, compute ranges using regex; otherwise plain substring
+				// In regex mode, reuse the compiled regex hoisted above the loop.
-				if (ed.PromptActive() && (
+				if (regex_mode) {
-					    ed.CurrentPromptKind() == Editor::PromptKind::RegexSearch || ed.
+					if (search_rx_valid) {
-					    CurrentPromptKind() == Editor::PromptKind::RegexReplaceFind)) {
 						try {
-						std::regex rx(ed.SearchQuery());
+							for (auto it = std::sregex_iterator(line.begin(), line.end(), search_rx);
-						for (auto it = std::sregex_iterator(line.begin(), line.end(), rx);
 							     it != std::sregex_iterator(); ++it) {
 								const auto &m  = *it;
 								std::size_t sx = static_cast<std::size_t>(m.position());
@@ -320,6 +369,7 @@ ImGuiRenderer::Draw(Editor &ed)
 						} catch (const std::regex_error &) {
 							// ignore invalid patterns here; status line already shows the error
 						}
+					}
 				} else {
 					const std::string &q = ed.SearchQuery();
 					std::size_t pos      = 0;
@@ -351,9 +401,6 @@ ImGuiRenderer::Draw(Editor &ed)
 					std::size_t sx       = rg.first, ex = rg.second;
 					std::size_t rx_start = src_to_rx(sx);
 					std::size_t rx_end   = src_to_rx(ex);
-					// Apply horizontal scroll offset
-					if (rx_end <= coloffs_now)
-						continue; // fully left of view
 					ImVec2 p0 = ImVec2(line_pos.x + rx_to_px(rx_start), line_pos.y);
 					ImVec2 p1 = ImVec2(line_pos.x + rx_to_px(rx_end),
 					                   line_pos.y + line_h);
@@ -392,7 +439,6 @@ ImGuiRenderer::Draw(Editor &ed)
 				if (line_has) {
 					std::size_t rx_start = src_to_rx(sx);
 					std::size_t rx_end   = src_to_rx(ex);
-					if (rx_end > coloffs_now) {
 					ImVec2 p0 = ImVec2(line_pos.x + rx_to_px(rx_start),
 					                   line_pos.y);
 					ImVec2 p1 = ImVec2(line_pos.x + rx_to_px(rx_end),
@@ -401,7 +447,6 @@ ImGuiRenderer::Draw(Editor &ed)
 					ImGui::GetWindowDrawList()->AddRectFilled(p0, p1, col);
 				}
 			}
-			}
 			if (vsel_active && i >= vsel_sy && i <= vsel_ey) {
 				// Visual-line (multi-cursor) mode: highlight only the per-line cursor spot.
 				const std::size_t spot_sx  = std::min(buf->Curx(), line.size());
@@ -413,7 +458,6 @@ ImGuiRenderer::Draw(Editor &ed)
 					// EOL spot: draw a 1-cell highlight just past the last character.
 					rx_end = rx_start + 1;
 				}
-				if (rx_end > coloffs_now) {
 				ImVec2 p0 = ImVec2(line_pos.x + rx_to_px(rx_start),
 				                   line_pos.y);
 				ImVec2 p1 = ImVec2(line_pos.x + rx_to_px(rx_end),
@@ -421,7 +465,6 @@ ImGuiRenderer::Draw(Editor &ed)
 				ImU32 col = ImGui::GetColorU32(ImGuiCol_TextSelectedBg);
 				ImGui::GetWindowDrawList()->AddRectFilled(p0, p1, col);
 			}
-			}
 			// Draw syntax-colored runs (text above background highlights)
 			if (buf->SyntaxEnabled() && buf->Highlighter() && buf->Highlighter()->HasHighlighter()) {
 				kte::LineHighlight lh = buf->Highlighter()->GetLine(
@@ -464,16 +507,12 @@ ImGuiRenderer::Draw(Editor &ed)
 				for (const auto &sp: spans) {
 					std::size_t rx_s = src_to_rx_full(sp.s);
 					std::size_t rx_e = src_to_rx_full(sp.e);
-					if (rx_e <= coloffs_now)
+					std::size_t draw_start = rx_s;
-						continue; // fully left of viewport
-					// Clamp to visible portion and expanded length
-					std::size_t draw_start = (rx_s > coloffs_now) ? rx_s : coloffs_now;
 					if (draw_start >= expanded.size())
-						continue; // fully right of expanded text
+						continue;
 					std::size_t draw_end = std::min<std::size_t>(rx_e, expanded.size());
 					if (draw_end <= draw_start)
 						continue;
-					// Screen position via actual text measurement
 					ImU32 col = ImGui::GetColorU32(kte::SyntaxInk(sp.k));
 					ImVec2 p = ImVec2(line_pos.x + rx_to_px(draw_start),
 					                  line_pos.y);
@@ -484,17 +523,14 @@ ImGuiRenderer::Draw(Editor &ed)
 				// Use row_h (with spacing) to match click calculation and ensure consistent line positions.
 				ImGui::SetCursorScreenPos(ImVec2(line_pos.x, line_pos.y + row_h));
 			} else {
-				// No syntax: draw as one run, accounting for horizontal scroll offset
+				// No syntax: draw the full line; ImGui scroll handles clipping.
-				if (coloffs_now < expanded.size()) {
+				if (!expanded.empty()) {
 					ImVec2 p = ImVec2(line_pos.x, line_pos.y);
 					ImGui::GetWindowDrawList()->AddText(
 						p, ImGui::GetColorU32(ImGuiCol_Text),
-						expanded.c_str() + coloffs_now);
+						expanded.c_str());
-					ImGui::SetCursorScreenPos(ImVec2(line_pos.x, line_pos.y + row_h));
-				} else {
-					// Line is fully scrolled out of view horizontally
-					ImGui::SetCursorScreenPos(ImVec2(line_pos.x, line_pos.y + row_h));
 				}
+				ImGui::SetCursorScreenPos(ImVec2(line_pos.x, line_pos.y + row_h));
 			}
 
 			// Draw a visible cursor indicator on the current line
@@ -506,7 +542,30 @@ ImGuiRenderer::Draw(Editor &ed)
 				ImU32 col = IM_COL32(200, 200, 255, 128); // soft highlight
 				ImGui::GetWindowDrawList()->AddRectFilled(p0, p1, col);
 			}
+
+			// Track widest line for content width reporting. We only measure
+			// visible lines and fold the result into a monotonic max cached on
+			// the renderer (see max_width_* members). Off-screen lines are not
+			// measured per frame; if the user scrolls or edits, the cache is
+			// refreshed accordingly.
+			if (!expanded.empty()) {
+				float line_w = ImGui::CalcTextSize(expanded.c_str()).x;
+				if (line_w > max_width_px_)
+					max_width_px_ = line_w;
 			}
+		}
+		// After the visible-range loop, advance the layout cursor to the end of
+		// the (virtual) content so ImGui sees the correct total size. Vertical
+		// height comes from total_rows; horizontal width comes from the cached
+		// max line width. A Dummy at the final position records both.
+		if (total_rows > last_vis) {
+			ImGui::SetCursorPosY(ImGui::GetCursorPosY() +
+			                     static_cast<float>(total_rows - last_vis) * row_h);
+		}
+		if (max_width_px_ > 0.0f) {
+			ImGui::SetCursorPosX(max_width_px_);
+		}
+		ImGui::Dummy(ImVec2(0, 0));
 		// Synchronize cursor and scrolling after rendering all lines so content size is known.
 		{
 			float child_h_actual = ImGui::GetWindowHeight();

ImGuiRenderer.h

@@ -2,8 +2,13 @@
  * ImGuiRenderer - ImGui-based renderer for GUI mode
  */
 #pragma once
+#include <cstdint>
+#include <string>
 #include "Renderer.h"
 
+struct ImFont;
+class Buffer;
+
 class ImGuiRenderer final : public Renderer {
 public:
 	ImGuiRenderer() = default;
@@ -20,4 +25,13 @@ private:
 	float prev_scroll_y_   = -1.0f;
 	float prev_scroll_x_   = -1.0f;
 	bool mouse_selecting_  = false;
+
+	// Max-line-width cache for the horizontal scrollbar. Measuring every line
+	// every frame is prohibitively expensive on large files; we only update the
+	// running max from visible lines and reset when buffer/version/font changes.
+	const Buffer *max_width_buf_ = nullptr;
+	std::uint64_t max_width_version_ = 0;
+	ImFont *max_width_font_ = nullptr;
+	float max_width_font_size_ = 0.0f;
+	float max_width_px_ = 0.0f;
 };

default.nix

@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 {
-  pkgs ? import <nixpkgs> {},
+  lib,
-  lib ? pkgs.lib,
   stdenv,
   cmake,
   ncurses,
@@ -10,9 +9,10 @@
   kdePackages,
   qt6Packages ? kdePackages.qt6Packages,
   installShellFiles,
+  copyDesktopItems,
+  makeDesktopItem,
   graphical ? false,
   graphical-qt ? false,
-  ...
 }:
 let
   cmakeContent = builtins.readFile ./CMakeLists.txt;
@@ -23,25 +23,29 @@ let
   version = builtins.head (builtins.match ".*set\\(KTE_VERSION \"(.+)\"\\).*" versionLine);
 in
 stdenv.mkDerivation {
-  pname = "kte";
+  pname = if graphical then (if graphical-qt then "kge-qt" else "kge") else "kte";
   inherit version;
 
   src = lib.cleanSource ./.;
 
   nativeBuildInputs = [
     cmake
-    ncurses
     installShellFiles
-  ]
+  ] ++ lib.optionals graphical [
-  ++ lib.optionals graphical [
+    copyDesktopItems
+  ] ++ lib.optionals graphical-qt [
+    qt6Packages.wrapQtAppsHook
+  ];
+
+  buildInputs = [
+    ncurses
+  ] ++ lib.optionals graphical [
     SDL2
     libGL
     xorg.libX11
-  ]
+  ] ++ lib.optionals graphical-qt [
-  ++ lib.optionals graphical-qt [
     kdePackages.qt6ct
     qt6Packages.qtbase
-    qt6Packages.wrapQtAppsHook
   ];
 
   cmakeFlags = [
@@ -51,6 +55,30 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
     "-DKTE_STATIC_LINK=OFF"
   ];
 
+  desktopItems = lib.optionals graphical [
+    (makeDesktopItem {
+      name = "kge";
+      desktopName = "kge";
+      genericName = "Text Editor";
+      comment = "kyle's graphical text editor";
+      exec = if graphical-qt then "kge-qt %F" else "kge %F";
+      icon = "kge";
+      terminal = false;
+      categories = [ "Utility" "TextEditor" "Development" ];
+      mimeTypes = [
+        "text/plain"
+        "text/x-c"
+        "text/x-c++"
+        "text/x-python"
+        "text/x-go"
+        "text/x-rust"
+        "application/json"
+        "text/markdown"
+        "text/x-shellscript"
+      ];
+    })
+  ];
+
   installPhase = ''
     runHook preInstall
 
@@ -59,14 +87,11 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
     installManPage ../docs/kte.1
 
     ${lib.optionalString graphical ''
-      mkdir -p $out/bin
-  
       ${if graphical-qt then ''
         cp kge $out/bin/kge-qt
       '' else ''
         cp kge $out/bin/kge
       ''}
-
       installManPage ../docs/kge.1
 
       mkdir -p $out/share/icons/hicolor/256x256/apps
@@ -75,4 +100,10 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
     runHook postInstall
   '';
+
+  meta = {
+    description = "kyle's text editor" + lib.optionalString graphical " (graphical)";
+    platforms = lib.platforms.unix;
+    mainProgram = if graphical then (if graphical-qt then "kge-qt" else "kge") else "kte";
+  };
 }

flake.nix

@@ -3,8 +3,7 @@
 
   inputs.nixpkgs.url = "github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable";
 
-  outputs =
+  outputs = { self, nixpkgs, ... }:
-    inputs@{ self, nixpkgs, ... }:
     let
       eachSystem = nixpkgs.lib.genAttrs nixpkgs.lib.systems.flakeExposed;
       pkgsFor = system: import nixpkgs { inherit system; };
@@ -17,5 +16,27 @@
         kge = (pkgsFor system).callPackage ./default.nix { graphical = true;  graphical-qt = false; };
         qt  = (pkgsFor system).callPackage ./default.nix { graphical = true;  graphical-qt = true;  };
       });
+
+      devShells = eachSystem (system:
+        let pkgs = pkgsFor system;
+        in {
+          default = pkgs.mkShell {
+            inputsFrom = [ self.packages.${system}.kge ];
+            packages = with pkgs; [ gdb valgrind ];
+          };
+          terminal = pkgs.mkShell {
+            inputsFrom = [ self.packages.${system}.kte ];
+          };
+          qt = pkgs.mkShell {
+            inputsFrom = [ self.packages.${system}.qt ];
+            packages = with pkgs; [ gdb valgrind ];
+          };
+        }
+      );
+
+      overlays.default = final: prev: {
+        kte = self.packages.${final.system}.kte;
+        kge = self.packages.${final.system}.kge;
+      };
     };
 }

main.cc

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 #include <random>
 #include <thread>
 #include <signal.h>
+#include <filesystem>
 #include <string>
 #include <unistd.h>
 #include <sys/stat.h>
@@ -255,7 +256,18 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 					// Fall through: not a +number, treat as filename starting with '+'
 				}
 
-				const std::string path = arg;
+				// Resolve to absolute path now, before any
+				// chdir (macOS GUI changes CWD to HOME before
+				// deferred opens are processed).
+				std::string path = arg;
+				try {
+					std::filesystem::path p(path);
+					if (p.is_relative()) {
+						path = std::filesystem::absolute(p).string();
+					}
+				} catch (...) {
+					// Fall through with original path
+				}
 				editor.RequestOpenFile(path, pending_line);
 				pending_line = 0; // consumed (if set)
 			}