ZCode - Safe Smart RTL Fixer

A safe, smart RTL (Right-to-Left) patch for ZCode that adds Persian/Arabic support without breaking the UI.

This patch keeps the editor, sidebar, activity bar, and menus in LTR, and only applies RTL to content paragraphs that actually contain Arabic/Persian characters.

✨ Features

• Sidebar Protected: Editor, sidebar, menus, activity bar stay LTR
• Smart Detection: Only elements containing [\u0600-\u06FF] become RTL
• Safe: Creates automatic backup app.asar.backup
• Cross-Platform: Works on macOS, Windows, and Linux
• Clean Restore: Restores clean backup before re-patching to avoid double injection

📋 Prerequisites

• Node.js >= 16
• ZCode installed

🚀 Installation

1. Clone or download this repo

git clone https://github.com/nimabhk/zcode-rtl-patch.git
cd zcode-rtl-patch

2. Close ZCode completely

Make sure ZCode is not running (Quit from Dock / Task Manager).

3. Run the patch

On macOS:

sudo node zcode-rtl-patch.js
# If auto-detection fails, provide path manually:
sudo node zcode-rtl-patch.js "/Applications/ZCode.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar"

On Windows (PowerShell as Admin):

node zcode-rtl-patch.js
# Or with manual path:
node zcode-rtl-patch.js "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Programs\ZCode\resources\app.asar"

On Linux:

sudo node zcode-rtl-patch.js

You should see:

🌟 ZCode Safe Smart RTL Fixer
✅ Found ZCode at: ...
📦 Creating backup...
📂 Extracting...
💉 Injecting RTL logic...
📦 Repacking...
✅ Success! ZCode is patched.

Now open ZCode again. Persian/Arabic paragraphs will auto-align to the right.

🔧 How it Works

The script:

1. Finds app.asar (Electron archive)
2. Creates backup app.asar.backup
3. Extracts it using asar
4. Injects CSS + MutationObserver into out/preload/index.cjs
   • CSS forces UI to stay LTR
   • JS observer sets dir="rtl" only for elements with RTL characters
5. Repacks app.asar
6. On macOS, fixes code signature with xattr -cr and codesign

♻️ Uninstall / Restore

Automatic restore:

# Windows
copy "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\ZCode\resources\app.asar.backup" "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\ZCode\resources\app.asar"

# macOS
sudo cp "/Applications/ZCode.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar.backup" "/Applications/ZCode.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar"
sudo xattr -cr /Applications/ZCode.app
sudo codesign --sign - --force --deep /Applications/ZCode.app

# Linux
sudo cp /opt/ZCode/resources/app.asar.backup /opt/ZCode/resources/app.asar

Or simply reinstall ZCode.

⚠️ Notes

• You need to re-run the patch after every ZCode update (updates overwrite app.asar).
• The patch does not modify your documents, only the app's UI logic.
• If ZCode doesn't start after patching on macOS, run:

  sudo xattr -cr /Applications/ZCode.app
  sudo codesign --sign - --force --deep /Applications/ZCode.app

🛠️ Troubleshooting

Error	Fix
Could not find app.asar	Provide manual path as second argument
EACCES / EPERM	Run with sudo (macOS/Linux) or Admin PowerShell (Windows)
ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE with LOCALAPPDATA	You are using old Windows-only version, use zcode-rtl-patch.js (this repo)
ZCode not opening on Mac	Run the two xattr + codesign commands above

📄 License

MIT - Feel free to use and improve.

🙏 Contributing

PRs are welcome! If you find a better preload path or edge case, open an issue.