Snapshot & browse

The default UBLX workflow: index a directory once with Nefaxer, then browse the flat catalog in the TUI on the Snapshot tab.

Directory → Nefaxer (walk + SQLite) → UBLX (Snapshot tab) → optional ZahirScan (right pane)

First snapshot

1. Install UBLX (Nefaxer and ZahirScan ship with it).

2. Open a project root:

   ublx /path/to/your/project

3. UBLX runs a background snapshot (unless disabled), writes SQLite under your user cache (ubli/), and opens Snapshot.

By default the catalog is path + filetype only — fast on large trees. See Path-only vs full enhance when you need Zahir-backed previews.

What Nefaxer writes

Data	Used for
Paths, sizes, mtimes	Categories, middle-pane file list
Optional Blake3 hashes	Duplicate detection
Diff vs prior snapshot	Delta tab on the next run

Details: Nefaxer UBLX integration, Database schema.

Snapshot tab layout

Pane	Role
Left	Category tree (extensions, directories, …)
Middle	Files in the selected category
Right	Right-pane tabs for the highlighted file

Cycle main tabs with ~: Snapshot, Lenses (when lenses exist), Delta (when a prior snapshot exists), Duplicates (after detection), Settings.

Pane focus, search, and scrolling: Layout & keys.

Typical browse session

1. Pick a category on the left.
2. Move through files in the middle (↑/↓, vim keys if enabled).
3. Read previews on the right (v / t / m / w when Zahir JSON exists).
4. Space on a row for quick actions — open, enhance, add to lens, copy path, …

Full key reference: Command mode & context menus.

Re-snapshot

Action	When
Ctrl+A → s	Background re-index while the TUI stays open
New ublx <dir>	Switch project root (when run_snapshot_on_startup is true)
ublx --snapshot-only	Headless index only — Headless snapshot + export

After a re-snapshot, check the completion toast: open Delta only when it reports added/modified/removed counts — not when it says No changes.

Toast when the snapshot finishes

Background snapshots (Ctrl+A → s, or startup re-index) show a toast when the walk completes:

1. Snapshot finished
2. Then either:
   • No changes — nothing added, modified, or removed vs the previous snapshot
   • N added, M modified, R removed — counts from the Nefaxer diff

When the toast says No changes, there is nothing new to inspect in Delta for that run — no new diff rows, and index-time batch ZahirScan does not run on unchanged files. You can stay on Snapshot; only re-open Delta after a snapshot that reports non-zero counts.

When counts are non-zero, Delta lists the paths in each bucket. See Change & duplicates.

Other background work (enhance, delete, lens export, duplicate detection) also finishes with toasts — Command mode & context menus.

Cache location

Per-root SQLite lives under ubli/ in your user cache (sanitized directory name + path hash). UBLX config controls paths, hidden files, and snapshot-on-startup — Configuration.

Related

• Install — prerequisites and first run
• TUI: Snapshot — tab-specific reference
• Right-pane previews — Viewer, Templates, Metadata, Writing
• Making and exporting lenses — saved path subsets