ActivityPub Message Viewer

The ActivityPub Message Viewer Module

The built-in activity_pub_msg_viewer module provides a read-only, scrollable viewer for individual ActivityPub Notes from the Fediverse. It uses a two-art layout — a body art containing the message text and header labels, and a footer art containing a horizontal action menu — mirroring the FSE view-mode design.

Note

This module is normally pushed by the ActivityPub Message Browser and receives the selected message via extraArgs. It can also be launched directly from a menu if needed.

Layout

Two separate art files are used:

Art key	Form ID	Contents
art.body	1	Message body (%MT1) and header label views (%TL10+).
art.footer	4	Single-row action menu (%HM1).

The body occupies the top portion of the screen; the footer is drawn immediately below it.

Focus Model

The footer (%HM1) is always focused — this matches FSE view mode. The body form (form 1) exists only to hold %MT1 and the %TL10+ label views; it is never directly focused and accepts no input.

All user interaction — including scrolling the message body — is handled by action keys and the HM1 menu in form 4.

Config Block

Key	Required	Description
art.body	Yes	Art spec for the body screen (contains %MT1 and %TL10+).
art.footer	Yes	Art spec for the footer screen (contains %HM1).
dateTimeFormat	No	moment.js format string for the message date. am/pm are collapsed to a/p. Defaults to MM/DD hh:mma.

Example:

activityPubMsgViewer: {
    desc: ActivityPub Message Viewer
    module: ./activitypub/activity_pub_msg_viewer
    config: {
        art: {
            body:   activitypub_msg_viewer
            footer: activitypub_msg_viewer_footer
        }
    }
    // ...
}

Theming

MCI 1 — %MT1 Message Body (Form 1)

A multi-line text view displaying the decoded Note content. Should be configured in preview mode with acceptsFocus: false and acceptsInput: false. width and height must be set explicitly in the theme to match the art layout — the view system does not derive dimensions from art for MT type views.

Example in theme.hjson:

activityPubMsgViewer: {
    1: {
        mci: {
            MT1: {
                mode: preview
                width: 78
                height: 17
            }
        }
    }
}

Caution

If width or height are omitted, %MT1 will render as an empty area. Set them to match the usable space in your body art file.

MCI 10+ — Custom Header Views (Form 1)

%TL10, %TL11, etc. may be placed anywhere in the body art and configured via bodyInfoFormat## keys in the menu’s config block:

Property	Description
from	Sender handle in @user@host form.
subject	Message subject/summary. Prefixed with [CW] for content-warned posts, re: for replies.
date	Formatted timestamp string (see dateTimeFormat).
likes	Like count as a string; empty when zero.
boosts	Boost count as a string; empty when zero.
att	Attachment indicator character, or a space when no attachment.
hasAtt	'1' if the Note has attachments, otherwise ''.
threadPos	Position of this Note within its thread (e.g. '3'), or '' if unknown.
threadTotal	Total number of Notes in the thread, or '' if unknown.
threadInfo	Formatted thread position string (e.g. '3 of 7'), or '' if unknown.
hasPrev	'1' if the Note is a reply (has a parent), otherwise ''.
hasNext	'1' if a next Note exists in the thread, otherwise ''.
modeLabel	Source mode label passed from the browser: Federated, Local, Timeline, Mentions, or Thread.
likeIndicator	Like indicator character (CP437 ♥ by default; configurable via likeIndicator in config).
boostIndicator	Boost indicator character (CP437 ▲ by default; configurable via boostIndicator in config).

Example config:

activityPubMsgViewer: {
    config: {
        bodyInfoFormat10: "{modeLabel}"
        bodyInfoFormat11: "{from:<40.40}"
        bodyInfoFormat12: "{subject:<40.40}"
        bodyInfoFormat13: "{date:<14.14}"
        bodyInfoFormat14: "{threadInfo}"
    }
}

MCI 1 — %HM1 Footer Action Menu (Form 4)

A horizontal menu with the following items (by index):

Index	Default label	Action
0	prev	Navigate to the previous message in the browser list.
1	next	Navigate to the next message in the browser list.
2	next thd	Navigate to the next Note in the thread context (]).
3	prev thd	Navigate to the parent Note via inReplyTo ([).
4	boost	Boost (announce) the current Note.
5	like	Like the current Note.
6	reply	Reply to the current Note.
7	quit	Exit the viewer and return to the browser.

Items are plain strings; focus appearance is controlled by the art file or focusTextStyle in the HM1 MCI config. Place %HM1^[[...m%HM1 (two codes with a focus SGR between them) in the art to give the focused item a distinct style.

Default Action Keys

These may be changed in your board’s menu.hjson. All keys are handled by the footer form (form 4) — the footer is always focused.

Key(s)	Action
up arrow	Scroll message body up one line.
down arrow	Scroll message body down one line.
page up	Scroll message body up one page.
page down	Scroll message body down one page.
[	Navigate to the parent Note via inReplyTo (thread nav).
]	Navigate to the next Note in the thread context.
b	Boost the current Note.
l	Like the current Note.
r	Reply to the current Note.
q, Q, escape	Quit and return to the browser.

Menu config example:

activityPubMsgViewer: {
    form: {
        1: {
            mci: {
                MT1: {
                    mode: preview
                    acceptsFocus: false
                    acceptsInput: false
                }
            }
        }
        4: {
            mci: {
                HM1: {
                    items: ["prev", "next", "next thd", "prev thd", "boost", "like", "reply", "quit"]
                    focusItemIndex: 1
                    submit: true
                }
            }
            submit: {
                *: [
                    { value: { 1: 0 }  action: @method:prevNote }
                    { value: { 1: 1 }  action: @method:nextNote }
                    { value: { 1: 2 }  action: @method:threadNext }
                    { value: { 1: 3 }  action: @method:threadPrev }
                    { value: { 1: 4 }  action: @method:boostNote }
                    { value: { 1: 5 }  action: @method:likeNote }
                    { value: { 1: 6 }  action: @method:replyNote }
                    { value: { 1: 7 }  action: @method:quitViewer }
                ]
            }
            actionKeys: [
                {
                    keys: ["up arrow", "down arrow", "page up", "page down"]
                    action: @method:movementKeyPressed
                }
                {
                    keys: ["["]
                    action: @method:threadPrev
                }
                {
                    keys: ["]"]
                    action: @method:threadNext
                }
                {
                    keys: ["b"]
                    action: @method:boostNote
                }
                {
                    keys: ["l"]
                    action: @method:likeNote
                }
                {
                    keys: ["r"]
                    action: @method:replyNote
                }
                {
                    keys: ["escape", "q", "shift + q"]
                    action: @method:quitViewer
                }
            ]
        }
    }
}

Navigation

List navigation (prev/next menu items, Enter): walks backwards and forwards through the message list that was open in the browser when the viewer was launched. This is the primary navigation mechanism.

Thread navigation ([ / ]): [ follows the inReplyTo link to the parent Note; ] loads the thread context and advances to the next Note within it. These are available regardless of how the viewer was opened, but only work when the Note has inReplyTo or context/conversation fields set.