Quick View
Generate minimal HTML to review structured data in a browser. Minimal styling, maximum readability.
When to Use
- User wants to review output that's hard to read in terminal
- Lists, tables, drafts, summaries that benefit from visual layout
- User says: "show me", "view this", "make reviewable", "open as webpage"
Output Rules
DO:
- Semantic HTML:
<table>,<ul>,<details>,<pre>,<h1-3> - Use the base template with CSS variables
- Write to
_private/views/ - Open with
open _private/views/{filename}
DO NOT:
- Add decorative styling beyond the base template
- Use CSS frameworks
- Over-engineer or "make it nice"
File Naming
Views have a lifecycle: temporary → keeper → archived.
| Stage | Filename | When |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary | name-temp.html | Default for new views |
| Keeper | name.html | User says "keep this", "this is good" |
| Archived | name.2025-01-01.html | Previous keeper when promoting new one |
Rules:
- Always create with
-tempsuffix — Every new view starts asname-temp.html - Promote on approval — When user approves, rename to
name.html - Archive before replacing — If
name.htmlexists, rename toname.DATE.htmlbefore promoting - Never regenerate keepers — Only regenerate
-tempfiles
Workflow:
# First iteration
drafts-temp.html ← created
# User: "keep this"
drafts.html ← promoted (temp deleted)
# Later iteration
drafts-temp.html ← new temp created
drafts.html ← keeper untouched
# User: "this is better, keep it"
drafts.2025-01-01.html ← old keeper archived
drafts.html ← new keeper promotedTrigger phrases for promotion:
- "keep this", "this is good", "save this"
- "make this the default", "lock this in"
- "I like this one"
Base Template
Every quick-view HTML file:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>{title}</title>
<style>
:root {
--bg: #fff;
--text: #222;
--muted: #666;
--border: #ddd;
--accent: #1976d2;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
:root {
--bg: #1a1a1a;
--text: #e0e0e0;
--muted: #999;
--border: #333;
--accent: #64b5f6;
}
}
body {
max-width: 800px;
margin: 40px auto;
padding: 0 20px;
font-family: system-ui;
background: var(--bg);
color: var(--text);
}
table { border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; }
td, th { border: 1px solid var(--border); padding: 8px; text-align: left; }
.meta { color: var(--muted); font-size: 0.875rem; margin-bottom: 1rem; }
details { margin: 0.5rem 0; }
summary { cursor: pointer; }
pre {
background: var(--border);
padding: 1rem;
overflow-x: auto;
border-radius: 4px;
}
/* Long content truncation */
.truncate {
max-height: 200px;
overflow: hidden;
position: relative;
}
.truncate.expanded { max-height: none; }
.truncate:not(.expanded)::after {
content: '';
position: absolute;
bottom: 0;
left: 0;
right: 0;
height: 60px;
background: linear-gradient(transparent, var(--bg));
}
.expand-btn {
color: var(--accent);
background: none;
border: none;
cursor: pointer;
padding: 0.5rem 0;
font-size: 0.875rem;
}
/* Type borders */
.type-user { border-left: 3px solid var(--accent); padding-left: 1rem; }
.type-draft { border-left: 3px solid #ff9800; padding-left: 1rem; }
.type-done { border-left: 3px solid #4caf50; padding-left: 1rem; }
/* Source attribution */
.source { color: var(--muted); font-size: 0.75rem; }
.source a { color: var(--muted); }
.source a:hover { color: var(--accent); }
</style>
</head>
<body>
<p class="meta">Generated: {timestamp} · {count} items</p>
{content}
<script>
// Truncation toggle
document.querySelectorAll('.truncate').forEach(el => {
if (el.scrollHeight > 220) {
const btn = document.createElement('button');
btn.className = 'expand-btn';
btn.textContent = 'Show more';
btn.onclick = () => {
el.classList.toggle('expanded');
btn.textContent = el.classList.contains('expanded') ? 'Show less' : 'Show more';
};
el.after(btn);
} else {
el.classList.add('expanded'); // No truncation needed
}
});
</script>
</body>
</html>Patterns
List of items
<h1>Title</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>@username</strong> — action item</li>
</ul>Table
<table>
<tr><th>Contact</th><th>Action</th><th>Draft</th></tr>
<tr><td>@name</td><td>Follow up</td><td>Hey...</td></tr>
</table>Expandable sections (for long content)
<details>
<summary><strong>@username</strong> — action</summary>
<div class="truncate">
<pre>Long content here that may need truncation...</pre>
</div>
</details>Type-differentiated items
<div class="type-user">User message or input</div>
<div class="type-draft">Draft content</div>
<div class="type-done">Completed item</div>With actions
<p>
<a href="tg://resolve?domain=username">Open Telegram</a> ·
<button onclick="navigator.clipboard.writeText('draft text')">Copy</button>
</p>Sourced data (citations & drill-down)
When displaying data gathered from external sources, always include attribution links for drill-down.
Add to base template CSS:
.source { color: var(--muted); font-size: 0.75rem; }
.source a { color: var(--muted); }
.source a:hover { color: var(--accent); }Inline attribution (preferred for lists):
<div class="tip">
<strong>Tip title</strong> — Description of the tip.
<span class="source">— <a href="https://x.com/user/status/123">@username</a></span>
</div>Table with source column:
<table>
<tr><th>Tip</th><th>Source</th></tr>
<tr>
<td>Description here</td>
<td class="source"><a href="https://x.com/user/status/123">@user</a></td>
</tr>
</table>Expandable with source in summary:
<details>
<summary><strong>Tip title</strong> <span class="source">— <a href="URL">@source</a></span></summary>
<p>Full content...</p>
</details>Meta header with main source:
<p class="meta">
Generated: {timestamp} · {count} items ·
Source: <a href="https://x.com/user/status/123">Original thread</a>
</p>Principles:
- Always link to original when data comes from external sources
- Use
@usernamefor social media, domain for articles - Source links should be muted/subtle, not prominent
- Include main source in meta header for collections from single source
Editable drafts (with diff tracking)
For drafts that user may edit before sending. Tracks original vs edited for later analysis.
<details>
<summary><strong>@username</strong> — action <span class="status"></span></summary>
<pre contenteditable="true"
data-username="username"
data-original="Original draft text here"
onblur="saveDraft(this)">Original draft text here</pre>
<div class="actions">
<a href="tg://resolve?domain=username">Open Telegram</a>
<button onclick="copyDraft(this)">Copy</button>
</div>
</details>Include this script block at end of <body> (before closing </body> tag):
function saveDraft(el) {
const key = 'draft_' + el.dataset.username;
const edited = el.textContent.trim();
const original = el.dataset.original;
if (edited !== original) {
localStorage.setItem(key, edited);
el.closest('details').querySelector('.status').textContent = '(edited)';
}
}
function copyDraft(btn) {
const pre = btn.closest('details').querySelector('pre');
navigator.clipboard.writeText(pre.textContent.trim());
btn.textContent = 'Copied!';
setTimeout(() => btn.textContent = 'Copy', 1500);
}
function restoreEdits() {
document.querySelectorAll('pre[data-username]').forEach(el => {
const saved = localStorage.getItem('draft_' + el.dataset.username);
if (saved) {
el.textContent = saved;
el.closest('details').querySelector('.status').textContent = '(edited)';
}
});
}
function exportEdits() {
const edits = [];
document.querySelectorAll('pre[data-username]').forEach(el => {
const original = el.dataset.original;
const current = el.textContent.trim();
if (original !== current) {
edits.push({ username: el.dataset.username, original, edited: current });
}
});
if (edits.length === 0) { alert('No edits to export'); return; }
const blob = new Blob([JSON.stringify({exported_at: new Date().toISOString(), edits}, null, 2)], {type: 'application/json'});
const a = document.createElement('a');
a.href = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
a.download = 'draft_edits.json';
a.click();
}
restoreEdits();Add export button in header when using editable drafts:
<p class="meta">Generated: {timestamp} · {count} drafts · <button onclick="exportEdits()">Export Edits</button></p>Workflow
- Identify the data to display (file, variable, recent output)
- Choose pattern: list, table, or expandable sections
- Generate HTML using template above
- Write to
_private/views/{name}-temp.html - Run
open _private/views/{name}-temp.html - If user approves, promote to
{name}.html
Example
User: "show me the drafts"
Agent:
- Reads
_private/drafts/outreach_drafts.md - Parses each draft (heading = contact, body = draft)
- Generates HTML with
<details>for each draft - Writes to
_private/views/drafts-temp.html - Runs
open _private/views/drafts-temp.html
Result: Browser opens, user sees expandable list of drafts with auto dark/light mode, long content truncated with "Show more", can copy each one.
User: "this looks good, keep it"
Agent:
- Renames
drafts-temp.html→drafts.html - Confirms: "Saved as drafts.html"
Styling Handoff
This skill produces functional HTML with minimal styling. For full visual styling, invoke the html-style skill after generating.
Classes used by quick-view (compatible with html-style):
| Class | Purpose |
|---|---|
.type-user | User input/message |
.type-draft | Draft content |
.type-done | Completed item |
.source | Attribution links |
.meta | Metadata header |
.truncate | Long content container |
.actions | Action button container |
Data attributes for JS hooks:
data-username— Identifier for draftsdata-original— Original text for diff tracking
Attribution
Truncation pattern and CSS variables approach inspired by simon willison's claude-code-transcripts.