InputRef

Single-line text input. Tab-owned: the browser holds the canonical value.

defaults (class-level)

field	type	default	notes
`label`	`str`	`""`	visible label rendered above the input. empty means no label node.
`placeholder`	`str`	`""`	passed to `<input placeholder=...>`.
`value`	`str`	`""`	initial value seeded into the slice on mount.
`type`	`Literal["text", "password", "email", "number"]`	`"text"`	drives the native `<input type>`.
`max_length`	`int	None`	`None`

Class attributes on the python InputRef. Shipped on mount under the field entry's props key and used to seed the slice. Later server -> tab writes override slice value; label, placeholder, type, and max_length are mount-time only.

interactions

op	dir	payload	nu method	notes
`write`	server -> tab	`str`	`store`	canonical push or reset; replaces the local value.
`read`	server -> tab	request `null`; resp `str`	(via `aeval`)	request/response, correlated by `id`. resolves the live value.
`notify`	tab -> server	`null`	`changed`	emitted when the user commits a change (blur or Enter).

InputRef.aeval ships a read via session.aread and returns the string. InputRef.store(value) compiles to write. InputRef.changed() is the standard Changed subscription.

wire payloads

// mount field entry (inside the mount payload)
{"path": "HomePage.name", "type": "InputRef",
 "props": {"label": "your name", "placeholder": "type here",
           "value": "", "type": "text", "max_length": null}}

// server pushes a value
{"op": "write",  "ref": "HomePage.name", "payload": "alice"}

// server fetches
{"op": "read",   "ref": "HomePage.name", "payload": null,    "id": "ab12"}
{"op": "read",   "ref": "HomePage.name", "payload": "alice", "id": "ab12"}

// browser tells server the user committed
{"op": "notify", "ref": "HomePage.name", "payload": null}

write and read-response payloads are msgpack strings. notify and read-request payloads are msgpack nil.

renderer

web/src/refs/input.tsx. A <label> block wrapping a label span above a native <input>. Tailwind utility classes; no shadcn dep. Commit emits one notify on blur and on Enter (Enter also blurs the input).

slice shape

{
  type: "InputRef",
  value: string,
  label: string,
  placeholder: string,
  inputType: string,
  maxLength: number | null,
  write: (v: unknown) => void,
  get: () => string,
}

Seeded from field.props on mount. write coerces nil to "" and non-string payloads via String(v). get reads the live slice to avoid stale closures.

edge cases

write payload is msgpack nil (Nu sentinel): coerced to "".
write payload is non-string: stored as String(v).
slot never written and no props on mount: slice defaults to value="", label="", placeholder="", inputType="text", maxLength=null.
empty label: the label span is omitted; only the input renders.
max_length None: no maxLength attribute on the <input>.
type outside the four allowed: passed through; the browser falls back to text.
no debounce: one notify per commit (blur or Enter).

non-goals

no multi-line variant (that belongs to a separate TextAreaRef).
no per-keystroke notify; only commit notifies.
no validation rules beyond max_length.
no readonly / disabled flags.