Smarttab plugin + Purescript: how to get spaces when typing TAB?

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1

Hi, folks. I’m using Kakoune to write Purescript code. This language does not want TAB characters at all. How should I configure the smarttab plugin to give me spaces instead of the TAB character when I use the TAB key to indent?

Please note: the indent commands work fine; the indent width is correct. I merely want to know whether I can use the smarttab plugin to insert spaces when I type TAB or if I have to get used to indenting using only the indent command and when auto-indenting happens.

I’m very new to plugins—I installed the plugins manager for the first time yesterday. Please feel free to assume that I know nothing and might have made some rookie mistakes. :slight_smile:

Thanks!

2

Hi there, smarttab README mentions the expandtab command which is what you should use: https://github.com/andreyorst/smarttab.kak#usage. In order to set it automatically according to file type you can use hooks. The README also has examples of hooks you can adapt, for vanilla or plug.kak installs.

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3

Thank you! I’ve added this to my kakrc and when I press TAB inside a Purescript file, I still get a TAB character instead of spaces. I have confirmed by debugging the options in my Purescript buffer that filetype is indeed purescript. I have this in my kakrc:

plug "andreyorst/smarttab.kak" defer smarttab %{
  # when `backspace' is pressed, 4 spaces are deleted at once
  set-option global softtabstop 4
} config %{
  # these languages will use `expandtab' behavior
  hook global WinSetOption filetype=(rust|markdown|kak|lisp|scheme|sh|perl|purescript|elm) expandtab
  # these languages will use `noexpandtab' behavior
  hook global WinSetOption filetype=(makefile|gas) noexpandtab
  # these languages will use `smarttab' behavior
  hook global WinSetOption filetype=(c|cpp) smarttab
}

How can I confirm that the expandtab option is set for this buffer? When I debug all the options, I don’t see any option called expandtab among the options set. Should I look for something else or does this mean that I’ve made a mistake somewhere?

I suppose that this is how I will learn how the plugins work. :slight_smile:

Thanks.

4

That’s interesting, if the filetype is purescript I would expect your config to work.

How can I confirm that the expandtab option is set for this buffer?

You can check with :echo %opt{smarttab_expandtab_mode_name}, it should echo expandtab if it is set correctly. Maybe the plugin isn’t actually loaded for whatever reason, in which case no such option should exist for that window.

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5

Maybe you forgot to :plug-install?

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6

@useredsa Yep! :plug-list shows the plugin as “not installed”. Thank you. :slight_smile:

7

@bravekarma Indeed, the option was not set. As @useredsa points out, I didn’t install the plugin. :slight_smile:

Thank you both for the help!

1 Like