Fork with Document Model architecture and Rich Tables — feedback welcome

[martinakos]

Hi! I've created a fork of CherryTree v1.6.3 that migrates the internal architecture to use command, observer, and document model/viewer patterns, and adds Rich Tables (table cells with rich text formatting and embedded widgets). The fork was developed interactively with Claude Code. I tested it extensively and added GUI-level regression tests. Initially, I was thinking of making a PR, just for the rich tables. But as the architecture has changed, and it’s a major change, I think it would be better to just have a discussion. I'm sharing it here in case this version is useful to CherryTree — whether as inspiration, as code to merge, or simply as a separate fork.

The fork is packaged as cherrytree+docmodel (with a purple cherry icon) and can be installed side-by-side with CherryTree via .deb. Both load the same documents, but cherrytree+docmodel saves as .ctbx to avoid accidentally overwriting, in case the original cherrytree loads a database with rich tables. I've been using cherrytree+docmodel for a week now, with my personal database of size 307MB and 718 Nodes, making use of the rich tables, and it has been as robust and functional as the original cherrytree.

Fork: https://github.com/martinakos/cherrytree/tree/document_model
Release: https://github.com/martinakos/cherrytree/releases/tag/v1.6.3-docmodel.1

Motivation:

I've been using CherryTree since 2018, when I moved from Windows to Linux as my daily driver. The only software I missed from Windows was OneNote, which I used extensively. CherryTree was the closest thing I found on Linux, but one feature I always missed was organising charts and snapshots from my experiments inside tables. There were already issues requesting improved tables back then. I kept waiting and hoping for that feature to be developed, but eight years later we still have the same limited tables.

This past Christmas, I decided to try implementing Rich Tables myself using Claude Code. It wasn't as simple as I thought. I could quickly get a functional rich table, but the undo/redo wouldn't work. The existing snapshot-based undo/redo mechanism couldn't handle rich tables well, where each cell is essentially like a rich text node. I hit many edge cases and got stuck several times.

Eventually, I decided to change the underlying architecture so it could support Rich Tables.

I migrated the architecture to use command, observer, and document model/viewer patterns. This makes functional, unlimited undo/redo possible. And makes CherryTree more extensible. Then I added the Rich Tables.

The fork includes an ARCHITECTURE_CHANGES.md document with a detailed comparison of the original and new architectures, including an honest assessment of the trade-offs. The fork also includes extensive GUI-level regression tests, undo/redo correctness tests, and document model unit tests.

The rich tables are inserted with the same insert table button and choosing the Rich Table checkbox.

You can see a snapshot of an example rich table:

and buttons showing the undo/redo drop down list:

I hope this fork is useful for CherryTree. Any feedback welcome! @giuspen

Martin

[wgreene310]

Very nice piece of work! I installed your deb file and have started experimenting. As expected, I can now change text properties in a table cell. I was surprised and pleased that I can insert latex in a table cell! However, inserting a list in a table cell does not work for me. I also tried to insert a new table in a table cell and the new table gets placed to the left of the original table instead of in the cell. Should these work?

…

On Sat, Mar 21, 2026 at 8:57 AM martinakos ***@***.***> wrote: *martinakos* created an issue (giuspen/cherrytree#2831) <#2831> Hi! I've created a fork of CherryTree v1.6.3 that migrates the internal architecture to use command, observer, and document model/viewer patterns, and adds Rich Tables (table cells with rich text formatting and embedded widgets). The fork was developed interactively with Claude Code. I tested it extensively and added GUI-level regression tests. Initially, I was thinking of making a PR, just for the rich tables. But as the architecture has changed, and it’s a major change, I think it would be better to just have a discussion. I'm sharing it here in case this version is useful to CherryTree — whether as inspiration, as code to merge, or simply as a separate fork. The fork is packaged as *cherrytree+docmodel* (with a purple cherry icon) and can be installed side-by-side with CherryTree via .deb. Both load the same documents, but cherrytree+docmodel saves as .ctbx to avoid accidentally overwriting, in case the original cherrytree loads a database with rich tables. I've been using cherrytree+docmodel for a week now, making use of the rich tables, and it has been as robust as the original. Fork: https://github.com/martinakos/cherrytree/tree/document_model Motivation: I've been using CherryTree since 2018, when I moved from Windows to Linux as my daily driver. The only software I missed from Windows was OneNote, which I used extensively. CherryTree was the closest thing I found on Linux, but one feature I always missed was organising charts and snapshots from my experiments inside tables. There were already issues requesting improved tables back then. I kept waiting and hoping for that feature to be developed, but eight years later we still have the same limited tables. This past Christmas, I decided to try implementing Rich Tables myself using Claude Code. It wasn't as simple as I thought. I could quickly get a functional rich table, but the undo/redo wouldn't work. The existing snapshot-based undo/redo mechanism couldn't handle rich tables well, where each cell is essentially like a rich text node. I hit many edge cases and got stuck several times. Eventually, I decided to change the underlying architecture so it could support Rich Tables. I migrated the architecture to use command, observer, and document model/viewer patterns. This makes functional, unlimited undo/redo possible. And makes CherryTree more extensible. Then I added the Rich Tables. The fork includes an ARCHITECTURE_CHANGES.md document with a detailed comparison of the original and new architectures, including an honest assessment of the trade-offs. The fork also includes extensive GUI-level regression tests, undo/redo correctness tests, and document model unit tests. The rich tables are inserted with the same insert table button and choosing the Rich Table checkbox. image.png (view on web) <https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/65760dae-c1aa-44b6-812f-0e5e6cf99bec> You can see a snapshot of an example rich table: image.png (view on web) <https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/aaad861b-5774-4b46-b790-f8a0903d0ba1> and buttons showing the undo/redo drop down list: image.png (view on web) <https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/15022b51-689e-4549-be57-b36cc06ff3fe> image.png (view on web) <https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/9367d7ca-76b9-403a-85ba-9c49d1ac8f91> I hope this fork is useful for CherryTree. Martin — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#2831?email_source=notifications&email_token=AD4GIHA6SSMHQWTRS5DMEZT4R2GURA5CNFSL4Z3JMQ5C6L3HNF2C22DVMIXUS43TOVSS6NBRGEZDIMZVHAYDNJTSMVQXG33OVJZXKYTTMNZGSYTFMSSWK5TFNZ2KYZTPN52GK4S7MNWGSY3L>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AD4GIHFOJDTQCTASV6UZXW34R2GURAVCNFSM6AAAAACW2AXHDKVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43ASLTON2WKOZUGEYTENBTGU4DANQ> . You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[martinakos]

That’s great!
I deliberately made tables and codeboxes unable to go inside rich table cells, as they were adding some complexity, so I thought it wasn’t worth the effort. However, you can add rows/columns to a rich table, as in a normal tables. And about codeboxes, as you can paste highlighted code into a rich table cell and preserve the highlighting, that was enough for me.
I forgot to check inserting lists into a table. I’ll look into it.

[martinakos]

@wgreene310 I made a new release that enables lists and indentation in rich table cells. https://github.com/martinakos/cherrytree/releases/tag/v1.6.3-docmodel.2

[wgreene310]

I installed your new deb file. Very nice! But I've now stumbled on to something else that I expected to work-- adding an http link to a cell. This use case is actually one of my main requirements for enhanced tables in cherrytree. Thanks again for all the hard work! Bill

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On Mon, Mar 23, 2026 at 8:29 PM martinakos ***@***.***> wrote: *martinakos* left a comment (giuspen/cherrytree#2831) <#2831 (comment)> @wgreene310 <https://github.com/wgreene310> I made a new release that enables lists and indentation in rich table cells. https://github.com/martinakos/cherrytree/releases/tag/v1.6.3-docmodel.2 — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#2831?email_source=notifications&email_token=AD4GIHAHSFOPG2T6KGGSHKT4SHJIBA5CNFSNUABFM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2JONZXKZKDN5WW2ZLOOQXTIMJRGQ2TQOBTGA42M4TFMFZW63VHNVSW45DJN5XKKZLWMVXHJLDGN5XXIZLSL5RWY2LDNM#issuecomment-4114588309>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AD4GIHFCVPXKHLDDRIRJIS34SHJIBAVCNFSM6AAAAACW2AXHDKVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHM2DCMJUGU4DQMZQHE> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[martinakos]

I see. That must be a regression. I think I tested that before. I'll sort it when I have a moment. Thanks for testing! :-)

[innovationvectors]

I am back in old days of Ubuntu 22.04. Too busy to upgrade. Can't use this.
Error: Dependency is not satisfiable
libatkmm-1.6-1v5 (>=2.28.4)

[martinakos]

@wgreene310 @innovationvectors New release sorting the issues inserting links in rich cells and ubuntu 22.04 deb.
https://github.com/martinakos/cherrytree/releases/tag/v1.6.3-docmodel.3

[innovationvectors]

Well it works now in Ubuntu 22.04, thanks.

How might this be rendered. New to this, https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/165830/fault-tree-using-tikz-draw-subtree-at-multiple-levels

[innovationvectors]

I tried this but see different results ..
https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/93797/how-to-rotate-text-inline

Just want to rotate block 90 degrees

[wgreene310]

Looks good. Thanks again for all your hard work. Bill

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On Fri, Mar 27, 2026 at 2:13 PM martinakos ***@***.***> wrote: *martinakos* left a comment (giuspen/cherrytree#2831) <#2831 (comment)> @wgreene310 <https://github.com/wgreene310> @innovationvectors <https://github.com/innovationvectors> New release sorting the issues inserting links in rich cells and ubuntu 22.04 deb. https://github.com/martinakos/cherrytree/releases/tag/v1.6.3-docmodel.3 — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#2831?email_source=notifications&email_token=AD4GIHG26GTXIX24BH24JZT4S3AD5A5CNFSNUABFM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2JONZXKZKDN5WW2ZLOOQXTIMJUGQZTQNJZGM3KM4TFMFZW63VHNVSW45DJN5XKKZLWMVXHJLDGN5XXIZLSL5RWY2LDNM#issuecomment-4144385936>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AD4GIHCHVC5O53QQ3354HST4S3AD5AVCNFSM6AAAAACW2AXHDKVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHM2DCNBUGM4DKOJTGY> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[martinakos]

How might this be rendered. New to this, https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/165830/fault-tree-using-tikz-draw-subtree-at-multiple-levels

Sorry, I can't help with that.

[kaspter]

great of work! Thanks for all your hard work.

[martinakos]

A new release, if you want to test it: https://github.com/martinakos/cherrytree/releases/tag/v1.6.3-docmodel.4

[wgreene310]

Got it, thanks. FYI, I am now building from your git tree using mingw on windows. Keep up the good work! ;-) Bill

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On Mon, Mar 30, 2026 at 5:04 PM martinakos ***@***.***> wrote: *martinakos* left a comment (giuspen/cherrytree#2831) <#2831 (comment)> A new release, if you want to test it: https://github.com/martinakos/cherrytree/releases/tag/v1.6.3-docmodel.4 — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#2831?email_source=notifications&email_token=AD4GIHDY6BANMA5QLHDZR4T4TLOMVA5CNFSNUABFM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2JONZXKZKDN5WW2ZLOOQXTIMJVHAYTOMJRGYZ2M4TFMFZW63VHNVSW45DJN5XKKZLWMVXHJLDGN5XXIZLSL5RWY2LDNM#issuecomment-4158171163>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AD4GIHCT5WRA5XC2D4F2OAL4TLOMVAVCNFSM6AAAAACW2AXHDKVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHM2DCNJYGE3TCMJWGM> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[martinakos]

OK. I tried to release the Windows artefacts, the workflow is already in CherryTree, but there were some errors when running it. I didn’t pursue it further, as I thought: who would use CherryTree on Windows when you could use OneNote instead? That may be a bit biased, though. So, did you managed to run it on Windows?