Cross-platform support: macOS TextEdit and Linux text editors

[djdarcy]

Summary

Investigate cross-platform support for extracting text from default text editors on macOS (TextEdit) and Linux (various editors).

Context

The current implementation is Windows 11 Notepad-specific, using:

• win32gui / win32con for window enumeration and WM_GETTEXT
• pywinauto UIA backend for tab discovery and switching
• Windows-specific APIs (RichEditD2DPT, NotepadTextBox class names)

Platform Assessment

macOS — TextEdit (Medium difficulty)

• Accessibility API: pyobjc + macOS Accessibility framework
• Window enumeration: NSWorkspace or CGWindowListCopyWindowInfo
• Text extraction: Accessibility API AXValue attribute on text areas
• Tab support: TextEdit doesn't use tabs — each document is a separate window
• Challenge: Accessibility permissions required (System Preferences → Privacy)

Linux (Hard — fragmented)

• Desktop environments: GNOME (gedit/Text Editor), KDE (Kate/KWrite), XFCE (Mousepad)
• Accessibility: AT-SPI2 (Assistive Technology Service Provider Interface)
• Window enumeration: wmctrl, xdotool, or Wayland equivalents
• Challenge: Each editor has different internals; no single "Notepad equivalent"
• Likely approach: Focus on GNOME Text Editor as the closest equivalent

Proposed Architecture

• Abstract the platform-specific extraction behind an interface
• discovery.py → platform-specific implementations
• extractor.py → platform-specific read methods
• CLI and organizer remain platform-agnostic

Tasks

• Define extraction interface (discover windows, count tabs, read text)
• Spike: macOS TextEdit extraction via pyobjc
• Spike: Linux GNOME Text Editor extraction via AT-SPI2
• Refactor discovery.py and extractor.py into platform backends

Analysis

See 2026-02-13__22-34-00__non-obtrusive-tab-extraction-analysis.md for the original extraction approach analysis.