Markstream Install

Use this skill when the task is "add markstream to an app" or "fix a broken markstream install".

Read [references/scenarios.md](references/scenarios.md) before making dependency choices.

Workflow

1. Detect the target framework and CSS stack.

• Check package.json, app entry files, Tailwind or UnoCSS config, and whether the repo is SSR or streaming-focused.
• Choose the package that matches the host app: markstream-vue, markstream-vue2, markstream-react, markstream-angular, or markstream-svelte.
• Use markstream-svelte only for Svelte 5 apps.

2. Install the smallest peer set that matches the requested features.

• Add peers only for features the user actually needs. Check the chosen package's peerDependencies; peer availability differs by renderer.
• Vue 3 fenced code uses the built-in renderer automatically. Add stream-diffs for the enhanced File/Diff surface, omit it for automatic <pre><code> fallback, or set render-code-blocks-as-pre to force the plain path.
• Add @antv/infographic plus setInfographicLoader(...) only when infographic fences are needed.
• Do not install every optional peer by default.
• For Vue 3 enhanced code-block preloading, use preloadCodeBlockRuntime from markstream-vue. If the application intentionally owns a runtime controller, import that advanced API directly from stream-diffs.

3. Fix CSS order.

• Put reset styles before Markstream styles.
• In Tailwind or UnoCSS projects, use @import 'markstream-*/index.css' layer(components);.
• Do not rely on renderer imports to inject CSS; import the package CSS subpath explicitly.
• Import katex/dist/katex.min.css when math is enabled.

4. Add the smallest working render example.

• Use content for static or low-frequency rendering.
• In Vue 3 apps with long AI conversations, thread restore, or an existing message virtualizer such as vue-virtual-scroller, do not stop at a trivial renderer. Use MarkstreamVirtualTimeline or useMarkstreamVirtualAdapter() and follow docs/guide/performance.md.
• For Vue 3, choose renderer mode by surface before tuning lower-level props.
• mode="chat": AI chat or SSE output; lightweight batches, fade=false, max-live-nodes=0, and smooth-streaming="auto".
• mode="docs": rich document surfaces; default mode, larger batches, tooltips, and fade.
• mode="minimal": lightweight non-chat surfaces.
• In Vue 3 (including Nuxt), smooth-streaming controls output pacing and fade controls opacity; they can be enabled together. mode="chat" keeps fade=false as a lightweight default. Add fade when gradual text reveal is desired; keep it off when animation cost matters more.
• Regular fenced code uses the built-in renderer, enhanced by stream-diffs when installed. Use render-code-blocks-as-pre for a forced plain path or setCustomComponents(customId, { code_block: ... }) for a scoped application-owned renderer.
• For streaming AI chat in other Markstream packages, start with content and built-in smooth streaming.
• Auto mode is the default: smoothStreaming="auto" / smooth-streaming="auto".
• Auto pacing activates when typewriter=true or maxLiveNodes <= 0 / max-live-nodes <= 0.
• typewriter only controls the blinking cursor and defaults to false.
• fade controls node enter and streamed-text fade animations and defaults to true.
• For high-frequency smooth streams, consider fade=false / :fade="false" / [fade]="false" to avoid fade stacking.
• Streaming vs recovering history: in chat UIs the same renderer starts streaming and later switches to history when final becomes true.
• Vue 3 streaming: mode="chat", final, optional fade for gradual reveal, and optional typewriter for a cursor.
• Vue 3 recovering/completed chat history: keep mode="chat" on the same chat row; use :smooth-streaming="false", typewriter=false, and choose fade independently; it may remain enabled during both streaming and history display.
• Use mode="minimal" for lightweight non-chat recovered content, and use mode="docs" only for rich document surfaces.
• Other packages streaming: smoothStreaming="auto" / smooth-streaming="auto", fade=false, typewriter=true.
• Other packages recovering history: smoothStreaming=false / smooth-streaming=false, fade=true, typewriter=false.
• Optional policy for other packages: smoothStreaming={isStreaming ? 'auto' : false}, fade={!isStreaming}; this is not a required coupling.
• Use nodes + final only for worker preparsing, shared AST stores, or custom AST control.
• In Vue 3, use typewriter="simple" for a lightweight cursor on high-frequency streams; use precise mode only when the cursor must follow complex inline layout.
• For a non-virtual Vue 3 chat scroller, import useStickToBottom from markstream-vue/utils; call scheduleScrollToBottom() after the content update instead of starting a smooth scrollIntoView() animation for every token. Use MarkstreamVirtualTimeline with stick-to-bottom="auto" for long mixed timelines.
• For manual pacing with nodes, use useSmoothMarkdownStream: enqueue() chunks, finish() when done, render from visible, wait for caughtUp before final parsing.
• Preserve the default hardening: HTML policies now default to safe, and Mermaid runs in strict mode by default.

5. Keep customization scoped.

• If the task requires overrides, prefer customId / custom-id plus scoped setCustomComponents(...).

6. Validate.

• Run the smallest relevant build, typecheck, test, or docs build command.
• Report which peers were installed, where CSS lives, and whether the repo should later adopt nodes.

Default Decisions

• Prefer the minimal peer set over "install everything".
• For Vue 3, omit mode only when the surface should use rich docs defaults.
• Prefer content for most streaming chat now that built-in smooth streaming is available across Vue 3, Vue 2, React, Svelte, and Angular.
• Move to nodes only when another layer owns parsing or AST transforms.
• For Vue 3 apps that already virtualize messages, keep the outer virtualizer responsible for mounted rows; use Markstream virtual-scroll coordination so item height comes from metrics.totalHeight, not the renderer DOM height.
• When using content for streaming, smooth streaming (smooth-streaming="auto") is on by default for typewriter or max-live-nodes <= 0. Set :smooth-streaming="false" to preserve raw chunk cadence.
• Streaming vs recovering history: keep the renderer mode stable. In Vue 3, fade is independent of pacing and can stay enabled throughout a stream. The conservative fade-off streaming examples for other packages are not an API restriction; those adapters have not adopted the Vue 3 bounded fade implementation. See docs/guide/ai-chat-streaming.md for Vue 3 examples.
• Treat CSS order as a first-class part of installation, not a later cleanup.
• When the request includes SSR, explicitly gate browser-only peers behind client-only boundaries.
• Do not widen HTML or Mermaid security defaults unless the user explicitly needs trusted legacy compatibility.
• Enhanced code blocks in every Markstream package use stream-diffs; there is no stream-monaco or Shiki direct integration in current versions.
• Direct CodeBlockNode and top-level renderer configuration use the same codeBlockOptions / CodeBlockOptions contract. Keep component chrome in codeBlockProps; do not nest runtime options there.
• In Vue 3, large code blocks can be highlighted off the main thread by injecting an upstream @pierre/diffs WorkerPoolManager through setStreamDiffsWorkerPool(...). The host builds the pool with its own bundler and adds @pierre/diffs as a direct dependency. This is a Vue 3-only enhancement; the other framework packages do not expose it.
• If compatibility requires it, scope the opt-out to the trusted surface with htmlPolicy / html-policy="trusted" and mermaidProps.isStrict = false instead of changing app-wide defaults blindly.

Useful Doc Targets

• docs/guide/installation.md
• docs/guide/usage.md
• docs/guide/performance.md
• docs/guide/troubleshooting.md
• docs/guide/component-overrides.md