What We Have Recovered in Light Table

Start With the Original Editor

The first useful milestone was small: open the original editor, edit a real file, save it, and show a JavaScript result beside the code that produced it. The early screenshot still on the workbench records a function returning 43, with its exact source hash. That established a working path through the editor. It did not establish a complete live-coding environment.

The revival keeps Light Table's original ClojureScript foundation. It now builds on Windows and runs on Electron 44.5.1 / Chromium 152.0.7977.130. File, Run, Help and the restored native menus carry the actions; Activity shows context, versions, values, console output and linked errors. Preserving the editor matters because its commands, documents and inline displays are the system being repaired. Upstream organizes that editor around behaviors, objects and tags; replacing it with an unrelated interface would not recover those workflows.

Bring the Project Workflow Back

File handling grew into project handling: new and existing projects, files inside a project, recent projects and tree refresh. A starter project contains JavaScript start/test scripts. Startup arguments now reach the original editor with tested spaces, Unicode names, line hints and repeated targets. Native menus follow the focused window instead of retaining another window's commands.

Save work now has a completed checkpoint. Forty-one original-editor checks cover Save, Save As, Save all, first Save, write failure, disk conflicts and dirty-buffer protection. A failed write retains the unsaved source and cursor. Save As changes document identity only after the destination is written. Linked full-document views share edits, undo/redo and saved state; linked-view Save As remains an open case.

Make Results Account for Their Source

Isolated JavaScript runs support files, selections and lines, statements, functions, objects, arrays, promises and bounded timers. Tested module paths include local ESM/CommonJS/JSON and browser-compatible installed packages. Top-level await and async iteration have checks too.

A value is only useful if it still belongs to the code on screen. Results capture source hashes and participating inputs. Unsaved buffers can execute without a silent Save. Editing those buffers or changing captured resolution inputs marks old results stale. Original inline watches observe selected expressions at their execution position, including tested imported functions and Node workers/forks. Error mapping leads back through generated code to the original source.

Explicit trusted-project Node/npm runs add built-ins, workers, child processes, dependency installation, tests, builds and development servers. Those commands use the account's normal Windows permissions. Their memory limits and Stop behavior are resource controls, not a security sandbox for arbitrary project code.

Recover Editing and Language Sessions

Feature recovery also reaches beyond JavaScript. Original Paredit source was imported with its MIT attribution. Rainbow parentheses use an independent source-preserving implementation. HTML closing/matching tags and tag navigation are restored, alongside Clojure/ClojureScript, SCSS and SHTML syntax identities. Syntax highlighting alone does not imply a compiler or language service.

Python and Clojure file/selection commands now use persistent local REPL sessions: definitions survive subsequent runs, and Activity retains values, stdout and source-linked errors. External nREPL and authenticated IPython/Jupyter clients have recorded protocol/editor checks. ClojureScript runs in a persistent Node REPL with tested project imports and JavaScript interop. Browser ClojureScript, JVM-only project macros, images, language watches and documentation/completion remain open.

External runtimes keep their own permissions and memory ownership. Stop requests interruption and disconnects the client; it does not guarantee that an external server has stopped computing.

Add a Local Project Assistant

Read the dedicated Ollama integration guide for model selection, setup, context, real tools, Stop/recovery and permissions.

A new Ollama assistant uses a Chat/Activity dock beside the code and running program. The recorded V1 checkpoint covers project context, file tools, canonical editor changes, conflict-aware undo, foreground/background commands, native preview inspection and paused restart recovery. Model discovery and tool calling use the installed local service.

File changes are journaled. Stale disk hashes and document revisions reject outdated edits; undo preserves later user changes. Terminal commands have separate output and exit receipts because undoing a file edit cannot reverse every command's filesystem or external effects. The assistant has the account's file and terminal permissions, and model behavior varies. Inline autocomplete, MCP and cooperating agents are still later work.

Read the Checkpoint at Its Actual Scope

The completed assistant V1 checkpoint includes 41 controller checks, 17 native-assistant checks, a complete 41-entry regression, a fresh 33-check Vite run and five live-demo checks. The final verifier binds 74 passing regression/Vite receipts to 277 frozen source/build/demo files, with separate real-model web and Python receipts and no owned proof processes/jobs/helpers remaining. A later context/Stop/read-loop follow-up passes 50 focused controller checks, 20 native checks and the live demo 5/5, including actual Stop actions and a 65,536-token model request. These focused checks are recorded separately from the completed full V1 regression.

Memory allowances have also changed from the early proof. Local execution and browser renderers use verified 1 GiB process-family limits; local Clojure uses a 1 GiB Java heap inside a 2 GiB family allowance. External language servers and the Ollama service remain outside those local limits. A memory allowance does not establish full platform compatibility.

The unsigned Windows x64 experimental testing release v0.9.0-revival.1 and our restoration source are now public. Runtime workflows require Node 24+ and PowerShell 7+; Java, Python and Ollama are optional for their respective features. Clean-machine certification, hosted CI and a fresh full regression remain pending. This is not a supported or full-parity release. Clean Windows verification, hosted CI, distribution hardening, broader framework compatibility and the remaining linked-view/reload cases are still open.

Keep the Lineage Visible

Light Table belongs to its original contributors, Kodowa and Cognitect. The upstream archive, original ClojureScript lineage and MIT terms remain part of the restoration. Paredit's original license is retained for imported code. This workshop account does not claim authorship of the original editor or an upstream contribution.