Repository navigation
Preview: keep rendered HTML live when the page or its images change outside the watcher #2142
Description
Important
Problem — Preview reloads a file only on a watcher change event for that exact file. A dashboard regenerated by a script outside the project (the personal vault, a run directory) never fires one, and regenerating a plot without rewriting the page leaves a stale image.
Approach — For rendered HTML only: re-render when any inlined image changes on the watcher, and while the tab is visible re-read the page and its images every few seconds, re-rendering only when content actually changed.
Scope — in: HTML view refresh · out: other file types' reload behaviour.
Acceptance Criteria
- Rewriting the page from outside the watcher's reach updates the visible view within the poll interval.
- Rewriting a referenced image updates the view without the page itself changing.
- An unchanged re-read does not re-render (no flicker, scroll untouched).
- No polling happens while the Preview tab or the file's pane is hidden, or while Source has unsaved edits.
Testing Decisions
Unit-test the change detector (content fingerprint of page + assets) and the gating predicate (visible, no unsaved edits); reuse the existing stale-read guard.
Activity