id(web): inline markup inside image alt text is stripped on save — emphasis and code spans flattened to plain text

Problem

In pkgs/id's web markdown codec, any inline markup inside an image's alt text is silently stripped on the first open→save: emphasis, strong, code spans, and nested links in the description are flattened to their plain text. The saved file no longer matches what the author wrote, and for code spans the flattening changes the literal alt text other renderers display.

Verified on main 37418e56 with a verbatim-codec probe crate (comrak 0.56.0; hidden_files/probe-2026-10-27-0854-laneA/out.log + out3.log):

Input	Saved
`![alt text](/x.png)`	`![alt text](/x.png)`
`![bold alt](/x.png)`	`![bold alt](/x.png)`
![a `code` b](/x.png)	`![a code b](/x.png)`
`![a [link](/y) b](/x.png)`	`![a link b](/x.png)`

Controls in the same probe: a direct comrak parse→format_commonmark round-trip with the codec's own options preserves every one of these byte-for-byte (![*alt* text](/x.png), ![a `code` b](/x.png)), so this is a codec loss, not a comrak renderer behaviour. Alt text containing an escaped bracket (![a\]b](/x.png)) and entities round-trip fine — only markup structure is lost.

Root cause

Parse direction, pkgs/id/src/web/markdown.rs:354-360 (the NodeValue::Image arm of convert_node): the alt is extracted with get_text_content(node) (:710), which concatenates only the text literals of the alt subtree. The PM image node stores alt as a plain string, so the markup is gone before the save direction (:1308, which re-emits the stored string as the image's text child) ever runs.

Why it matters

Alt text with emphasis or code spans is ordinary in imported notes and documentation (e.g. ![the `resize` handler](/img.png)). The loss is silent, happens on an untouched open→save, and is a stable fixpoint afterwards, so nothing downstream notices. It is the inside-the-image counterpart of #1407 (marks around an image); the two share the image node but have different root causes and fixes.

Acceptance criteria

![*alt* text](/x.png), ![**bold alt**](/x.png), and ![a `code` b](/x.png) round-trip with the alt markup preserved (exact markdown, or a form that re-parses to the same alt structure and renders the same alt text).
The chosen representation is coherent with how the editor treats alt as a plain string attribute today (pkgs/id/web/src/editor.ts image node): either the codec stores a markdown-form alt and re-parses it on save, or another representation is picked and any editor-side limitation is documented in the resolution.
Nested-link alt (![a [link](/y) b](/x.png)) is either preserved or explicitly decided and documented (it is invalid in some renderers — a documented flattening for this one case is acceptable if the emphasis/code cases above are fixed).
Regression tests in pkgs/id/src/web/markdown.rs cover emphasis, strong, and code-span alt text in both directions; existing web::markdown tests pass.

Related: #1407 (marks wrapping an image — different root cause), #880 (linked images), #1045 (unknown-mark policy).

CODE-507

🤖 Agent note · filed

Agent: new-issue-creator job (lane A, new-issue-creator-code-a)
Session / ID: new-issue-creator-code-a cron run, 2026-10-27 08:54 CDT
Found via: filed this run
Task: Triage/fix image alt-text markup loss in the web markdown codec (parse Image arm flattens the alt subtree via get_text_content, markdown.rs:354-360/:710)
Expectation: effort/s — codec representation decision (markdown-form alt vs alternative) plus regression tests both directions; done when the acceptance criteria on the issue pass
Links: probe evidence hidden_files/probe-2026-10-27-0854-laneA/out.log + out3.log (goal workspace); related id(web): emphasis/strong/strikethrough wrapping an image are silently dropped on save — mixed text+image spans split and leak   entities #1407 (marks around an image — different root cause)

🤖 Agent note · picked up

Agent: queue worker (repo-worker-code), Lane D
Session / ID: queue task 1414
Found via: queue claim
Task: Triage issue id(web): inline markup inside image alt text is stripped on save — emphasis and code spans flattened to plain text #1417 — verify image alt-text markup stripping in pkgs/id web markdown codec against fresh main, confirm root cause/representation, and route to a fix.
Expectation: effort/s — done when root cause is verified against current code and a routed outcome (fix task or documented decision) exists.
Links: queue task 1414

🤖 Agent note · parked

Agent: queue worker (repo-worker-code), lane C shift
Session / ID: queue task 1414 (second park)
Found via: queue claim (resume)
Task: PR fix(id-web): preserve inline markup in image alt text (#1417) #1471 full flake suite is now reporting but all 26 checks stayed queued/pending through a 5-min poll (fleet runner backlog), 4 pass, 0 failed at 2026-10-27T19:31Z.
Expectation: parked 20 min; on resume merge PR fix(id-web): preserve inline markup in image alt text (#1417) #1471 if green, then complete.
Links: PR fix(id-web): preserve inline markup in image alt text (#1417) #1471

🤖 Agent note · picked up

Agent: queue worker (repo-worker-code), Lane D shift
Session / ID: queue task 1414
Found via: queue claim (resume of parked task)
Task: PR fix(id-web): preserve inline markup in image alt text (#1417) #1471 CI was pending at park time; re-checking CI fresh and merging if green.
Expectation: done = PR fix(id-web): preserve inline markup in image alt text (#1417) #1471 merged (all checks green at pickup) and task 1414 completed.
Links: PR fix(id-web): preserve inline markup in image alt text (#1417) #1471 · branch queue/1414-1417-alt-markup

Merge pull request #1471 from developing-today/queue/1414-1417-alt-ma…

🤖 Agent note · done

Agent: queue worker (repo-worker-code), Lane D shift
Session / ID: queue task 1414
Found via: queue claim (resume of parked task)
Task: Merged PR fix(id-web): preserve inline markup in image alt text (#1417) #1471 after CI completed green.
Outcome: PR fix(id-web): preserve inline markup in image alt text (#1417) #1471 merged (merge commit 3b55904). All 32 checks SUCCESS (test-unit, test shards, web unit/typecheck, clippy, fmt). Alt text is stored in markdown form and re-parsed on save; emphasis/strong/code-span/nested-link alt round-trips; plain alts byte-identical. Issue auto-closed by the PR.
Links: PR fix(id-web): preserve inline markup in image alt text (#1417) #1471

chore(flake): bump opencode_2 to 401ba065 (opencode: bench ladder #1305…

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id(web): inline markup inside image alt text is stripped on save — emphasis and code spans flattened to plain text #1417

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id(web): inline markup inside image alt text is stripped on save — emphasis and code spans flattened to plain text #1417

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developing-today commented on Oct 27, 2026

dezren39 commented on Oct 27, 2026

dezren39 commented on Oct 27, 2026

39 remaining items

dezren39 commented on Oct 27, 2026

dezren39 commented on Oct 28, 2026

dezren39 commented on Oct 28, 2026

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