v0.6 trust scenario (beta-tester guide)

~30 minutes. You need a terminal, Git, and a disposable practice repository — nothing you care about. Every step below says what you should see; anything else is a defect worth reporting.

0. Build the disposable repo

rm -rf /tmp/margin-beta && mkdir /tmp/margin-beta && cd /tmp/margin-beta
git init -q && git config user.email beta@example.com && git config user.name Beta
printf 'one\ntwo\nthree\nfour\nfive\nsix\nseven\neight\nnine\nten\neleven\ntwelve\n' > notes.txt
git add . && git commit -qm base
printf 'one\nTWO edited\nthree\nfour\nfive\nsix\nseven\neight\nnine\nten\nELEVEN edited\ntwelve\n' > notes.txt

The two edits are far enough apart to form two separate hunks (steps 2–4 need both: one to act on, one left over). Confirm with margin diff --json | jq '.files[0].hunks | length' → 2.

1. Install (pick one)

# Homebrew (stable releases only — skips candidates)
brew install imrajyavardhan12/tap/margin

# Shell script (macOS / Linux) — replace VERSION with the candidate
curl -fsSL https://github.com/imrajyavardhan12/Margin/releases/download/VERSION/margin-review-installer.sh | sh

# Rust (any OS, including candidates)
cargo install margin-review --version VERSION

Confirm: margin --version prints the candidate version.

2. Stage good, leave bad (s)

cd /tmp/margin-beta && margin

Move to the first hunk (J/K), press s. Quit (q), then run git status: exactly one hunk staged, the other still in the worktree. git diff --cached shows only the hunk you staged.

3. Unstage (u)

margin diff --staged

Cursor on the staged hunk, press u. Quit; git status shows nothing staged and both edits back in the worktree.

4. Discard and undo (x, typed yes, margin undo)

In margin, open the confirm prompt on a hunk with x. Check the prompt states that margin undo restores it. Type yes + Enter. Quit; the hunk is gone from the file. Run margin undo → restored …; the hunk is back, byte-identical (git diff matches the pre-discard state).

Then try x + typing no: nothing happens except a cancellation message. The file is untouched.

5. Notes and Markdown export (c, m, --notes)

In margin: c on a hunk, type needs a test, Enter. m on the file (checkmark + folds). Quit, then:

margin --notes

Your note prints as Markdown with a path:line anchor. Reopen margin: the note is still there, the file still checked.

6. Watch mode (-w)

margin -w

From another terminal in the same repo: printf 'seven\n' >> notes.txt. The review reloads within a second (status bar shows [watch]).

Then press c on a hunk and start typing; while you type, create a new file from the other terminal (printf 'x\n' > aaa.txt). The review waits until you press Enter, and the note stays on the hunk you chose — not on aaa.txt. Quit with q.

7. Terminal cleanup

These must all leave a usable prompt — no garbled input, no invisible typing, no stuck alternate screen:

1. Open margin, quit with q. Type a command: it echoes normally.
2. Open margin, press Ctrl-C. Same check.
3. margin diff | head -c 100 exits 0 with partial output.

If the terminal ever breaks: reset recovers it — and that recovery being necessary is itself the defect to report.

8. Report back (no private source)

Reply on the beta thread with:

• margin --version, OS, terminal emulator, multiplexer if any
• Which steps passed; where reality differed (copy the exact message)
• Any friction: what confused you, what you had to look up
• Trust failures (lost work, scary prompt, silent anything): report these immediately, separately, with full detail

Do not paste proprietary code, file paths from work projects, or review notes containing either. The disposable repo above keeps everything shareable. Margin collects no telemetry — silence from your machine is by design; your words in the thread are the entire feedback channel.