Add release notes for 25.01 (#55)

content/news/release-25.01-highlights.md

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+title = "Release 25.01 Highlights"
+date = 2025-01-03T00:01:00Z
+type = "post"
+description = "Highlights of the 25.01 release."
+in_search_index = true
++++
+
+The new year brings in a new Helix release! Say hello to 25.01. This is an
+especially large release comprising changes from a whopping 171 contributors.
+_Thank you_ to everyone who made this release possible!
+
+New to Helix?
+Helix is a modal text editor with built-in support for multiple selections,
+Language Server Protocol (LSP), tree-sitter, and experimental support for Debug
+Adapter Protocol (DAP).
+
+This large release has a bunch of big improvements so let's jump right in to
+the highlights.
+
+## Completions
+
+Completions have seen two big updates in 25.01. First, completions now support
+paths:
+
+{{ asciinema(id="path-completion", width="94", height="25") }}
+
+Helix now detects a possible path when inserting text and suggests either
+absolute paths or relative paths based on the current working directory. This
+is especially useful for some languages like Nix where paths are commonplace.
+
+Path completion is especially exciting because it's the first completion
+feature not driven by LSP. The change to add path completion refactored parts
+of the codebase that assumed that completions could only ever come from a
+language server and this should make it easier to add new completion sources
+in the future.
+
+The other big change comes to the behavior of snippet completions - currently
+only sent by language servers - as 25.01 adds support for snippet tabstops.
+
+{{ asciinema(id="snippet-tabstops", width="94", height="25") }}
+
+In the recording above, rust-analyzer suggests a snippet completion for `add`
+that includes some placeholders for the function arguments. In the past Helix
+would clear these placeholders when accepting the completion with the Enter
+key. Now the Enter key jumps the cursor to the first tabstop. The Tab key can
+be used to switch to the next tabstop. Typing in any other character replaces
+the placeholder text.
+
+## Diagnostics
+
+Historically, LSP diagnostics have appeared right-aligned in the top-right
+corner of the editor. While this display is straightforward, it can become hard
+to read on small terminal sizes or when a language server sends a long
+diagnostic message. 25.01 adds a new way to render diagnostics _inline_.
+
+{{ asciinema(id="inline-diagnostics", width="94", height="25") }}
+
+Inline diagnostics leverage the internal virtual text system to render
+diagnostics at the diagnostic's range in the document. Diagnostic messages
+appear after the end of the line or in between lines of the appropriate code.
+
+Inline diagnostics are currently disabled by default as we tune the display and
+iron out bugs and can be enabled with a config like so:
+
+```toml
+# ~/.config/helix/config.toml
+[editor]
+# Minimum severity to show a diagnostic after the end of a line:
+end-of-line-diagnostics = "hint"
+
+[editor.inline-diagnostics]
+# Minimum severity to show a diagnostic on the primary cursor's line.
+# Note that `cursor-line` diagnostics are hidden in insert mode.
+cursor-line = "error"
+# Minimum severity to show a diagnostic on other lines:
+# other-lines = "error"
+```
+
+Setting `end-of-line-diagnostics`, `cursor-line` or `other-lines` to anything
+other than `"disable"` enables inline diagnostics.
+
+## Tabular pickers
+
+The picker UI component is central in Helix: it's an efficient and readable way
+to jump between files and locations of interest like LSP diagnostics and
+symbols. In 25.01 the picker component has been overhauled significantly so
+that items are laid out as a table.
+
+{{ asciinema(id="tabular-pickers", width="94", height="25") }}
+
+Simple pickers such as the file picker (`<space>f`) which only need one column
+are unchanged. Pickers with multiple fields of information though now show
+column names at the top of the the results pane. Rows still correspond to
+individual items to pick but there are now columns that horizontally align
+the same kinds of content between items. The diagnostics picker for example now
+has three columns - "severity", "code" and "message" - while the LSP symbol
+picker has two - "kind" and "name".
+
+Columns are individually filterable: one column is filtered by default and
+others can be filtered with a query syntax: `%<column name> filter text`. For
+example the diagnostics picker can now be filtered down to only errors by
+searching for `%severity error`. Filter text is fuzzy matched and column names
+may be specified by a prefix, so a search for `%s e` will behave the same in
+the diagnostics picker as a search for `%severity error`.
+
+{{ asciinema(id="interactive-global-search", width="94", height="25") }}
+
+Alongside this change, the `global_search` command (`<space>/`) has been
+refactored to update with the picker's query dynamically. This allows searching
+a codebase for a regex interactively. Filenames can then be filtered separately
+with a query like `%path filename`.
+
+## Macro keybindings
+
+Initial support for keybindings written as macros has landed in 25.01. Macro
+keybindings can be written by prefixing a string of inputs with `@`.
+
+```toml
+# Change the `<space>y` keybinding to yank to the `a` register instead of the
+# system clipboard:
+[keys.normal]
+space.y = "@\"ay"
+```
+
+Macro keybindings use the same infrastructure as macros recorded with `q` and
+executed with `Q`, so the above behaves as if you typed
+
+1. `"`: open the register select popup
+2. `a`: select the 'a' register
+3. `y`: copy the selection contents to the register
+
+Macros cover a gap in keybindings: inputs into components like the register
+select popup are not exposed as commands, so operations like selecting a
+register would not otherwise be possible to bind.
+
+The initial support for macro keybinding limits the bindings to be unusable
+in a command sequence: you can't yet combine macros with regular commands. For
+example you could swap out the `y` above for its command `yank` in a sequence
+like `["@\"a", "yank"]`, but this is not yet supported.
+
+## Commenting
+
+25.01 includes improvements to commenting that make for a smoother experience
+when writing line comments like inline documentation.
+
+{{ asciinema(id="25.01-comment-improvements", width="94", height="25") }}
+
+Line comments are now continued by default: pressing the Enter key while in
+insert mode or `o`/`O` in normal mode while the cursor is on a line comment now
+extends that comment, inserting the current comment token prefix and a trailing
+space character. Trailing whitespace is now consistently stripped when pressing
+Enter, so `<ret><ret>` can be used to insert a break between two paragraphs in
+inline markdown documentation for example.
+
+The `join_selections` and `join_selections_space` commands (`J` and `A-J`) have
+also been improved to now strip the comment token when combining line comments.
+This makes it easier to edit existing comments or fix spacing between
+paragraphs.
+
+## Wrapping up
+
+As always, this is just the highlights from the 25.01 release. Check out the
+full [changelog] for the details.
+
+Come chat about usage and development questions in the [Matrix space][matrix]
+and follow along with Helix's development in the [GitHub repository][helix-git].
+
+[changelog]: https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md#2501-2025-01-03
+[helix-git]: https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/
+[matrix]: https://matrix.to/#/#helix-community:matrix.org