# CLAUDE.md

This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.

## Project Overview

Cthulhu is a fork of the Orca screen reader, designed as a desktop-agnostic screen reader for Linux. It works with applications supporting AT-SPI (Assistive Technology Service Provider Interface) including GTK+, Qt, Java Swing, LibreOffice, Gecko, and WebKitGtk.

**Key differentiators from Orca:**
- Desktop-agnostic: Works on KDE, XFCE, i3, Sway, and other environments (not just GNOME)
- Extensible plugin architecture using pluggy framework
- D-Bus remote control interface for external automation
- Enhanced support for tiling window managers

## Build Commands

```bash
# Local development build (installs to ~/.local)
./build-local.sh

# Test local installation
./test-local.sh

# Run local version
~/.local/bin/cthulhu

# Clean build artifacts and local installation
./clean-local.sh
./clean-local.sh --build-only    # Clean only build artifacts
./clean-local.sh --install-only  # Remove only local installation

# Manual Meson build
meson setup _build --prefix=$HOME/.local
meson compile -C _build
meson install -C _build
```

## Testing

Manual testing is recommended. The legacy keystroke-driven test harness has been removed.

## Architecture Overview

### Core Components (`src/cthulhu/`)

**Event & Input Processing:**
- `event_manager.py` - Central AT-SPI event handling and routing
- `input_event_manager.py` - Keyboard/mouse input processing
- `input_event.py` - Input event data structures
- `focus_manager.py` - Focus tracking across applications

**Accessibility Layer (ax_* files):**
- `ax_object.py` - Core accessible object abstraction
- `ax_utilities.py` - Common accessibility utilities
- `ax_utilities_role.py` - Role-based accessibility helpers
- `ax_utilities_collection.py` - Collection traversal utilities
- `ax_text.py`, `ax_table.py`, `ax_component.py` - Specialized interfaces

**Output Systems:**
- `speech.py`, `speechdispatcherfactory.py` - Speech synthesis
- `braille.py`, `braille_generator.py` - Braille display support
- `speech_generator.py` - Generate speech from accessible objects
- `sound.py`, `sound_generator.py` - Audio cue generation

**Script System:**
- `script_manager.py` - Loads/manages application-specific scripts
- `script.py` - Base script class
- `scripts/default.py` - Default behavior for all applications
- `scripts/apps/` - Application-specific customizations (Firefox, LibreOffice, etc.)
- `scripts/toolkits/` - Toolkit-specific scripts (GTK, Qt, WebKitGtk)
- `scripts/web/` - Web content handling

**Plugin System:**
- `plugin.py` - Base plugin class with `cthulhu_hookimpl` decorator
- `plugin_system_manager.py` - Plugin discovery and lifecycle
- `plugins/` - Built-in plugins (OCR, Clipboard, SpeechHistory, etc.)

**D-Bus Remote Control:**
- `dbus_service.py` - D-Bus service implementation
- Service: `org.stormux.Cthulhu.Service`
- Path: `/org/stormux/Cthulhu/Service`

**Settings & State:**
- `settings_manager.py` - User preferences persistence
- `settings.py` - Default settings values
- `cthulhu_state.py` - Runtime state (active script, focus, etc.)

### Key Design Patterns

**Script Inheritance:** Application scripts extend `default.Script`, overriding methods for custom behavior. The script manager selects scripts based on the focused application.

**Event Flow:** AT-SPI events → `event_manager` → active script's event handler → generators → output systems (speech/braille)

**Plugin Hooks:** Plugins implement hooks via `@cthulhu_hookimpl` decorator. Use `registerGestureByString()` for keybindings.

## Adding New Modules

When adding new Python modules under `src/cthulhu/`:

1. **Update `src/cthulhu/meson.build`** - Add the `.py` file to `cthulhu_python_sources`

2. **For new script modules** (e.g., `scripts/newmodule/`):
   - Create the directory with `__init__.py` and `script.py`
   - Add `meson.build` in the new directory
   - Add subdirectory to `src/cthulhu/scripts/meson.build`

3. **For new plugins**:
   - Create directory under `src/cthulhu/plugins/` with:
     - `__init__.py`, `plugin.py`, `plugin.info`, `meson.build`
   - Add subdirectory to `src/cthulhu/plugins/meson.build`

## Plugin Structure

```
src/cthulhu/plugins/MyPlugin/
├── __init__.py      # from .plugin import *
├── plugin.py        # Main implementation extending Plugin
├── plugin.info      # Metadata (name, version, description, etc.)
└── meson.build      # install_data for .py and .info files
```

Example plugin.py:
```python
from cthulhu.plugin import Plugin, cthulhu_hookimpl

class MyPlugin(Plugin):
    @cthulhu_hookimpl
    def activate(self, plugin=None):
        if plugin is not None and plugin is not self:
            return
        self.registerGestureByString(self.myHandler, "description", "kb:cthulhu+key")

    def myHandler(self, script=None, inputEvent=None):
        self.app.getDynamicApiManager().getAPI('CthulhuState').activeScript.presentMessage('Message')
        return True
```

## D-Bus Testing

```bash
# Check service availability
busctl --user list | grep Cthulhu

# Get version
busctl --user call org.stormux.Cthulhu.Service /org/stormux/Cthulhu/Service \
    org.stormux.Cthulhu.Service GetVersion

# Present message
busctl --user call org.stormux.Cthulhu.Service /org/stormux/Cthulhu/Service \
    org.stormux.Cthulhu.Service PresentMessage s "Hello"

# Introspect available methods
busctl --user introspect org.stormux.Cthulhu.Service /org/stormux/Cthulhu/Service
```

## Key Keybindings

- `Cthulhu+Space` - Open preferences
- `Cthulhu+H` - Enter learn mode
- `Cthulhu+Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Q` - Toggle sleep mode for current application
- `Cthulhu+Q` - Quit Cthulhu

## Self-Voicing Interface

External applications can speak through Cthulhu via Unix socket:
```bash
echo "Hello world" | socat - UNIX-CLIENT:/tmp/cthulhu.sock
echo "<!#APPEND#!>Without interrupt" | socat - UNIX-CLIENT:/tmp/cthulhu.sock
```

## Dependencies

**Core:** Python 3.9+, pygobject-3.0, gtk+-3.0, AT-SPI2, ATK
**Speech:** python-speechd, gstreamer-1.0
**Plugins:** pluggy, python-dasbus (optional, for D-Bus)
**Braille:** BrlTTY, BrlAPI, liblouis (optional)

## Repository

- **Main repo:** https://git.stormux.org/storm/cthulhu
- **Community:** IRC #stormux on irc.stormux.org
- **Email patches:** storm_dragon@stormux.org
