Decide: should template-sync be owned by the markdown plugin?

[mindsocket]

Background

template-sync syncs Obsidian template files with schema examples. It reads templateDir, templatePrefix, and fieldMap from the markdown plugin config, making it inherently markdown-specific.

The plugin architecture currently supports a parse hook. If plugins could also register CLI commands, template-sync would naturally live inside the markdown plugin, alongside the config that drives it.

Options

Option A: Plugin command registration hook
Add a commands(program: Command): void hook to OstToolsPlugin. The markdown plugin registers template-sync directly and owns all its config. The core CLI only calls plugin.commands(program) during setup.

Option B: template-sync stays global, markdown is a template provider
Treat template syncing as a generic capability — define a templateSync hook on OstToolsPlugin so any plugin can provide templates. The core template-sync command invokes whichever plugin supports it. Less opinionated but adds abstraction for a single use case.

Option C: Keep as-is, accept the coupling
template-sync is explicitly a markdown workflow tool. The coupling to the markdown plugin is intentional and documented. No architecture change needed.

Current state

The config lookup (getMarkdownConfig) is encapsulated in the markdown plugin module, so index.ts doesn't reach into markdown internals by key. The residual coupling is that template-sync as a top-level command implies all spaces use markdown templates.

[mindsocket]

Let's assume that templates are a thing and go with option b.

From a design perspective, I think it's important to start thinking about how plugins decide whether they are participating or not. We have a comment about a can handle function and I'm not sure if that should be a can handle space or whether it should be more granular like canpas and can sync templates. We can continue deferring that decision for now. Make it such that the existing template sync calls a hook in the loaded plugins the same way that the readspace does and then we can move the markdown specific functionality into such a hook in the markdown plugin

[mindsocket]

@claude work on this in a new branch

[claude]

Claude encountered an error —— View job • Create PR ➔

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Implementing template-sync as plugin hook ✅

Successfully implemented Option B from issue #62: template-sync stays as a global command but uses a hook so plugins can provide template syncing.

Summary of Changes

1. Added TemplateSyncHook type to src/plugins/util.ts

   • Hook receives pluginConfig and options parameters
   • Follows similar pattern to ParseHook

2. Created src/plugins/markdown/template-sync.ts

   • Moved template-sync implementation from core command (376 lines → new file)
   • Exported templateSync function that plugin hook calls
   • Includes all helper functions (TypeVariant, generateNewContent, etc.)

3. Updated src/plugins/markdown/index.ts

   • Registered templateSync hook on markdown plugin
   • Hook wraps the implementation function

4. Refactored src/commands/template-sync.ts

   • Reduced from 376 lines to ~30 lines
   • Now uses plugin hook pattern (similar to readSpace)
   • Loads plugins and calls the first one that implements templateSync
   • No longer directly imports markdown-specific code

5. Updated test imports

   • Fixed imports in tests/commands/template-sync.test.ts

Verification

• ✅ Template-sync tests pass (2 tests, 8 expect() calls)
• ✅ Build succeeds (TypeScript compilation)
• ✅ Linting passes (with auto-fix applied)
• ✅ Committed to branch (8dbfc3c)

Benefits

• Decoupling: Core command no longer imports markdown-specific code
• Extensibility: Other plugins can provide template syncing by implementing the hook
• Consistency: Follows the established plugin hook pattern used for parse
• Maintainability: Markdown plugin owns all its template-sync logic and config

Note on Test Failures

The stop hook shows test failures, but these are ALL due to a pre-existing JSON5 import issue unrelated to these changes (TypeError: undefined is not an object (evaluating 'JSON5.parse')). The template-sync tests specifically pass when run in isolation.

Next Steps

The commit is ready. To create a PR, push the branch and use the link below: