stblake · msollami · Apr 8, 2026
diff --git a/notebook-tauri/.gitignore b/notebook-tauri/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+node_modules/
+dist/
+src-tauri/target/
+src-tauri/gen/
+*.pico
+src-tauri/resources/
diff --git a/notebook-tauri/README.md b/notebook-tauri/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+# PicoCAS Notebook
+
+A Mathematica-style notebook desktop app for [PicoCAS](https://github.com/stblake/picocas), built with [Tauri v2](https://tauri.app) (Rust backend + React frontend).
+
+## Features
+
+- **Code cells** — write and evaluate PicoCAS expressions with Shift+Enter
+- **Text cells** — editable Markdown for titles, headings, and notes (`# H1`, `**bold**`, `*italic*`)
+- **Plotting** — `Plot[expr, {x, min, max}]` renders an interactive line chart
+- **Save / Open** — save notebooks as `.pico` files and reopen them later
+- **Hello World notebook** — pre-loaded example cells on first launch
+- Syntax highlighting via CodeMirror 6
+- Math rendering via KaTeX
+
+## Requirements
+
+- [Node.js](https://nodejs.org) ≥ 18
+- [Rust](https://rustup.rs) (stable toolchain)
+- [Tauri CLI v2](https://tauri.app/start/prerequisites/)
+- Python 3 (for the PTY wrapper)
+- A built `picocas` binary (see below)
+
+## Setup
+
+### 1. Build picocas
+
+From the repo root:
+
+```sh
+make
+```
+
+This produces the `picocas` binary in the repo root.
+
+### 2. Bundle resources
+
+The app expects `picocas` and `pty_wrap.py` inside `notebook-tauri/src-tauri/resources/`:
+
+```sh
+mkdir -p notebook-tauri/src-tauri/resources
+cp picocas notebook-tauri/src-tauri/resources/
+cp notebook-tauri/pty_wrap.py notebook-tauri/src-tauri/resources/
+```
+
+### 3. Install JS dependencies
+
+```sh
+cd notebook-tauri
+npm install
+```
+
+## Development
+
+```sh
+cd notebook-tauri
+npm run tauri dev
+```
+
+The Vite dev server starts on port 1420 and the desktop window opens automatically.
+
+## Build (distributable)
+
+```sh
+cd notebook-tauri
+npm run tauri build
+```
+
+The `.dmg` (macOS), `.msi` (Windows), or `.AppImage` (Linux) will appear in `src-tauri/target/release/bundle/`.
+
+## Usage
+
+| Action | How |
+|--------|-----|
+| Evaluate a cell | Click the ▶ button or press **Shift+Enter** |
+| Add a code cell | Click **+ Code** at the bottom |
+| Add a text cell | Click **+ Text** at the bottom |
+| Edit a text cell | Click on it — it becomes a textarea |
+| Move a cell | ▲ / ▼ buttons in the cell toolbar (hover to reveal) |
+| Delete a cell | ✕ button in the cell toolbar |
+| New notebook | **New** button in the header |
+| Open notebook | **Open** button → pick a `.pico` file |
+| Save notebook | **Save** (overwrites current file) or **Save As** |
+
+## Notebook format
+
+Notebooks are saved as JSON with a `.pico` extension:
+
+```json
+{
+  "version": 1,
+  "cells": [
+    { "type": "text",  "input": "# My Notebook" },
+    { "type": "code",  "input": "2 + 3" }
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+## Architecture
+
+```
+notebook-tauri/
+├── src/                    React + TypeScript frontend
+│   ├── hooks/useNotebook.ts  Notebook state, evaluate, save/load
+│   ├── components/
+│   │   ├── Cell.tsx          Routes to TextCell or code cell
+│   │   ├── TextCell.tsx      Editable markdown cell
+│   │   ├── CellInput.tsx     CodeMirror 6 editor
+│   │   ├── CellOutput.tsx    KaTeX / text output
+│   │   └── PlotOutput.tsx    Recharts line chart
+│   └── lib/
+│       └── picocasHighlight.ts  CodeMirror syntax highlighter
+└── src-tauri/              Rust + Tauri backend
+    └── src/
+        ├── lib.rs            App setup, plugin registration
+        ├── commands.rs       Tauri IPC commands
+        └── picocas.rs        PicocasSession process manager
+```
+
+The Rust backend spawns `picocas` via a Python PTY wrapper (`pty_wrap.py`) so that `picocas` sees a TTY and uses line-buffered output. A background `std::thread` handles blocking I/O; Tauri async commands bridge via `tokio::sync::oneshot` channels.
diff --git a/notebook-tauri/index.html b/notebook-tauri/index.html
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html lang="en">
+  <head>
+    <meta charset="UTF-8" />
+    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
+    <title>PicoCAS Notebook</title>
+  </head>
+  <body>
+    <div id="root"></div>
+    <script type="module" src="/src/main.tsx"></script>
+  </body>
+</html>