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doc-status: draft
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# Nonlinear Timeline Editor

## Overview

Replace the current playbar timeline/sequence strip with a keyboard-first, simplified nonlinear timeline editor. The goal is a cleaner editing instrument than a full NLE: fast clip navigation, ripple edits, trims, slips, effects, and random source insertion without DaVinci-level UI weight.

This document is an early UI/interaction sketch. Keep it concrete and revise by looking at the interface and keymap.

## Keymap / Operations

Design pressure: keep one canonical way to do each operation. Avoid persistent modes except clip selection.

| Key                                        | Mode / Operation           | Behavior                                                                                                                  |
| ------------------------------------------ | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `Space`                                    | Play / Pause               | Toggle playback.                                                                                                          |
| `Left` / `Right`                           | Navigate                   | Focus previous / next clip in timeline order.                                                                             |
| `Shift+Left` / `Shift+Right`               | Move clip                  | Move selected/focused clip earlier/later in sequence.                                                                     |
| `Enter`                                    | Toggle clip selection      | Select focused clip and enter/continue clip-selection mode; if already selected, deselect it.                             |
| `Backspace`                                | Ripple delete focused clip | Delete currently highlighted clip and close the gap.                                                                      |
| `Option+Left` / `Option+Right`             | Trim clip                  | Shorten / extend focused clip duration.                                                                                   |
| `Option+Shift+Left` / `Option+Shift+Right` | Slip clip                  | Shift source window inside focused clip duration.                                                                         |
| `Esc`                                      | Clear / exit selection     | Exact behavior TBD: likely clear selection or leave selection mode.                                                       |
| `Cmd+Z`                                    | Undo                       | Undo last timeline edit.                                                                                                  |
| `Cmd+Shift+Z`                              | Redo                       | Redo last undone timeline edit.                                                                                           |
| `M`                                        | Blend mode                 | Cycle focused clip blend mode.                                                                                            |
| `Cmd+C`                                    | Copy                       | Copy focused clip or selected clips.                                                                                      |
| `Cmd+X`                                    | Cut                        | Cut focused clip or selected clips; whether ripple or leave gap TBD.                                                      |
| `Cmd+V`                                    | Paste after                | Paste copied/cut clip(s) after focused clip.                                                                              |
| `N`                                        | New clip after             | Create a new clip after the focused clip using a random source by default; if no source is available, prompt for a clip.  |
| `Shift+N`                                  | New clip before            | Create a new clip before the focused clip using a random source by default; if no source is available, prompt for a clip. |

## Persistent Modes

Modes are persistent states that remain active after keys are released and require an explicit exit.

| Mode         | Purpose                               | Possible Non-Modal Alternative                    |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
| Select clips | Build a selection one clip at a time. | `Enter` toggles focused clip in/out of selection. |

## Timeline Mockup

```text
│  00:00        00:05        00:10        00:15        00:20        00:25      │
│  ──┬───────────┬───────────┬───────────┬───────────┬───────────┬──────      │
│    │                                                                        │
│    │ [ clip A ]────[FOCUSED clip B]────[ clip C ]────[ clip D ]────[ clip E ]│
│    │                                                                        │
│    ▲ playhead                                                               │
│ Focus: clip B   Source: 00:02.4-00:07.8   Blend: Screen                      │
│ Space Play/Pause   Enter Select   ⇧←/→ Move   ⌥←/→ Trim   ⌥⇧←/→ Slip   M Mix │
```