CiteCiter (citeciter)

CiteCiter

Ask about any line in a DSH response—without stopping the agent or changing the source session.

A source-bound, read-only learning companion for sustained side questions.

简体中文 · npm · Issues

_{Select a line, ask beside it, and keep learning while the source Agent continues its work.}

CiteCiter lets you select text from a committed AI response, ask beside the source, and continue learning in an independent Topic bound to source evidence. It can inspect the source Session and project files through read-only tools without modifying either one.

See it in DSH

_{Ask beside the source while CiteCiter inspects reasoning, source events, and project files through read-only tools.}

Compatibility

Host	CiteCiter version	Status
DSH Web 0.1.1-rc.2	0.4.x	Fully verified
dataelement DSH Desktop development shell with DSH 0.1.1-rc.1	0.4.x	Linux source-shell verified; not a macOS/Windows installer claim
DSH Web 0.1.0-rc.7	0.3.2	Previous stable line
DSH TUI	—	Not supported yet

Install

CiteCiter 0.4.0 requires Node.js ^22.19.0 || >=24.0.0, DSH >=0.1.1-rc.1 <0.1.1-rc.3, and a configured model provider.

dsh plugin --profile web add @kirkchinese/dsh-citeciter@0.4.0

Restart the corresponding DSH Web process and refresh the page after installation or upgrade.

Use

1. Select text inside a committed assistant model call. The surrounding Agent turn may still be running.
2. Right-click the selection, enter your first question, and choose Citer!.
3. CiteCiter creates a new Topic in the learning dock.
4. Continue asking questions there, or reopen an earlier Topic from CiteCiter's Topic rail.
5. Change the Topic model, reasoning effort, title, archive state, or dock width without changing the source Session.

Highlights

• Model-call citations. Start learning as soon as an assistant/message is committed; there is no need to wait for the full Agent turn to end.
• Private Topics. Each submission creates an independent DSH Session under $DSH_HOME/citeciter/, outside the ordinary Session list.
• Precise selections. Visible Markdown selections map back to Host-verifiable source ranges.
• Cross-flow selections. A range spanning reasoning, tools, and body text binds to its final committed assistant call while retaining the complete visible quote in the learning workspace.
• Bound evidence. read_source_session reads committed events from one fixed source Session without exposing its physical log path.
• Open-ended investigation. The standard read-only glob and grep tools discover project files and search their contents before read opens a known path.
• Read-only operation. CiteCiter cannot write to the source Session or source workspace.
• Inspectable workflow. Live reasoning, prompt injections, tool calls, results, and user questions use compact expandable rows inside the learning dock.
• Natural follow-ups. After the first answer, the model may emit three strictly formatted next questions; malformed output creates no shortcuts and is logged silently.
• Native workflow. The selection popover, resizable learning dock, active/archive Topic navigation, and settings stay inside the DSH programming interface.

Context modes

Observer is the default. It creates an independent Topic and reads committed source evidence on demand, including while the source turn is still running.

Exact Fork is an advanced mode for a source turn that has already ended. exact-when-available uses Exact Fork when a stable boundary exists and otherwise falls back to Observer.

Upgrade from an earlier version

Install v0.4 with the same command, then verify the installed version:

dsh plugin --profile web add @kirkchinese/dsh-citeciter@0.4.0
dsh plugin --profile web list --depth 0

Upgrading from v0.3 does not migrate or rewrite existing Topics, settings, or source Sessions. Users remaining on DSH 0.1.0-rc.7 should keep CiteCiter 0.3.2.

Limitations

• A selection must include at least one committed assistant model call. User-only ranges, tool-only ranges, and still-streaming fragments cannot anchor a Citation.
• Renderer-generated KaTeX layout and footnote numbers do not have stable source coordinates and cannot be cited directly.
• Exact Fork cannot start from an open source turn.
• Source-file access depends on the running DSH filesystem service and remains read-only.
• Desktop validation covers dataelement's Linux development shell; it does not claim packaged macOS or Windows installer testing.
• There is currently no TUI interaction adapter.
• DSH is prerelease software; later DSH API versions may require a CiteCiter update.

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. Before submitting code, read the contribution guide.

License

MIT © CiteCiter contributors