Marketplace Overhaul Proposal (v0.16.0)

To establish FerroTeX as a premium, “Gold standard” extension, we need to completely overhaul the Open VSX listing.

1. Visual Identity (The “Wow” Factor)

The current text-only README is functional but forgettable. We will introduce:

A. Hero Banner (Banner.png)

A sleek, dark-mode banner at the very top.

  • Concept: Glassmorphic abstract “Engine” visualization with the FerroTeX logo.
  • Attributes: Premium, Fast, Intelligent.

B. Feature GIFs (Show, Don’t Tell)

Instead of bullet points, we will use optimized GIFs to demonstrate the “Intelligence” features:

  1. “Smart Completion”: Showing \usepackage{tikz} -> \node completion.
  2. “Magic Comments”: Typing %!TEX root and seeing the build target change.
  3. “Snippet Pack”: Expanding @g to \gamma and pmat to a matrix.

2. Structural Changes

We will restructure editors/vscode/README.md into a marketing-first layout:

Section 1: The Pitch

“Stop fighting with your LaTeX editor. FerroTeX brings the intelligence of a modern IDE to your scientific writing.”

Section 2: Social Proof (Badges)

A row of shields.io badges:

  • [Marketplace Version]
  • [Installs]
  • [Build Status]
  • [Code Coverage]
  • [License: Apache 2.0]

Section 3: Feature Highlights (The “Grid”)

A table or grid layout showcasing the pillars:

  • ⚡ Performance: “Bundled for instant startup.”
  • 🧠 Intelligence: “Dynamic completion engine.”
  • 👁️ Observability: “Real-time log streaming.” (Coming in v0.16.0)

3. “Observability” Branding (v0.16.0 Specific)

Since v0.16.0 is the “Observability” update, the store page should highlight the Real-Time Log Store.

  • Mockup: A split-screen showing a PDF on the right and a clean, readable error log on the left (replacing the cryptic LaTeX console).

4. Proposed Asset List

  • raw/images/hero_v1.png
  • raw/images/demo_completion.gif
  • raw/images/demo_snippets.gif
  • raw/images/icon_premium.png (Update extension icon if needed)

Implementation Plan

  1. Design Assets: Create high-fidelity screenshots/GIFs.
  2. Rewrite README: Implement the new markdown structure.
  3. Bundle Assets: Ensure images are included in the .vsix (via vscodeignore exceptions for the images folder) so they render on Open VSX.