How to make all consult live preview buffers read-only?

[WuuBoLin]

I've searched through Issues, Discussions, and Reddit but haven't found anyone asking about this (or maybe I'm just being stupid).

How do I mark all live preview buffers displayed by consult as read-only before consult exits? This includes ripgrep, line, and all the others.

I love that consult does 100% what neovim's telescope.nvim does without hijacking emacs native functionality – it just uses the native display methods. But one thing that's been bugging me is that the preview buffers aren't read-only, so I might accidentally change the content (It is not saved, but stills makes me uncomfortable).

[minad]

The previewed file buffers are read-only for consult-grep. The files are only actually opened as regular read-write buffers if you leave the minibuffer during completion, such that editing is possible during completion. This is intentional. However accidental file modifications are almost impossible, since you have to manually leave the minibuffer.

consult-line leaves the buffers as is. If your buffer is read-only it will stay read-only, if it is read-write it will stay read-write. consult-line does not change this status as a side affect, but I argue that consult-line does not increase the chances of accidental modification. If your buffer had been read-write before you could have modified it accidentally before that as well.

[WuuBoLin]

Yes, I totally agree – I also don't like it when Emacs functions cause side effects. I think the principle should be: buffers the user manually opened should stay as-is, but buffers that consult displays for preview should be read-only.

So you're saying the buffer is actually read-only when I'm focused on the minibuffer? I'm currently using doom-modeline, but whenever I search using consult-find or consult-fd, the live preview buffer doesn't show a lock symbol like consult-grep does.
The main reason I'm asking is because consult-find, consult-locate, and similar commands don't seem to behave like consult-grep does in this regard.

Also, a bit off-topic, but I've found that affe works better for me than consult-find and consult-grep. One thing that bugs me about consult-find/grep is that they don't display any candidates until I start typing. Is there a way to make them show results immediately? And whether I use affe or consult, how can I make those preview buffers read-only?

[WuuBoLin]

P.S. If it's true that buffers "are only actually opened as regular read-write buffers if you leave the minibuffer during completion," that's still not the behavior I want. Yes, accidental file modifications are almost impossible... when using the keyboard. I don't use my mouse much in Emacs, like most vim/emacs users, but you still gotta use it when browsing the rest of the system. The problem is I hate that the X cut buffer pastes when clicking the middle mouse button, which could accidentally modify the preview buffer. (It's useful sometimes though, so don't tell me to disable it LOL)

[minad]

...but whenever I search using consult-find or consult-fd, the live preview buffer doesn't show a lock symbol like consult-grep

This must be your configuration. consult-find does not preview files by default as far as I can tell.

EDIT: Maybe you stumbled over a detail - if files are not yet open, they will be previewed in read-only Preview:filename buffers. But if the file is already open, Consult will simply "preview" the already open buffer as is. Is this what you are noticing?

Is there a way to make them show results immediately?

Certainly, but it will be too inefficient. Affe works differently to support this, but has other downsides, since only few matches are shown.

Yes, accidental file modifications are almost impossible... when using the keyboard.

To be honest, I think one should learn to live with the risk of accidental modifications. I remember when I started with Emacs, that I often made mistakes due to the non-modal nature of Emacs. If I forgot a modifier key, it led to an unwanted edit. The same problem happens with mouse handling. Nowadays I don't have these problems anymore.

Note that this risk is present everywhere in Emacs. I don't buy that Consult causes significant additional risk here.

[WuuBoLin]

Ah, I forgot that consult-find doesn't preview files by default, so sorry about that 😅. Turns out I was being stupid after all. And yes, that's also what I'm noticing.

Certainly, but it will be too inefficient. Affe works differently to support this, but has other downsides, since only few matches are shown.

Funny enough, affe actually works better on my machine, but I'm not sure why – consult-grep/ripgrep sometimes hangs and returns no results. I might look into it later to figure out why. I think it would be nice to have the option to let consult-find list files in the directory when invoked, and consult-grep list lines of the current buffer. This is just something I'd "prefer" and think would be "nice to have" though, since it's been bugging me ever since I switched from Ivy to Vertico.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to respond! Really appreciate your packages!!

[minad]

I'm not sure why – consult-grep/ripgrep sometimes hangs and returns no results. I might look into it later to figure out why.

Would be interesting to figure this out if you manage to create a minimal reproducer. consult-grep is used widely, and I've not heard of such problems, so it could be something else in your setup.