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 — undo anytime with --restore
• Update-Safe: Detects ZCode updates and refreshes the backup — never downgrades your app
• Cross-Platform: Works on macOS, Windows, and Linux
• Easy Launchers: One double-click file for macOS and one for Windows

📋 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

Easy way — double-click:

• macOS: double-click patch-mac.command (checks Node, detects a running ZCode, offers a sudo retry if needed)
• Windows: double-click patch-windows.bat (accept the administrator prompt)

Or from the terminal:

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 (recommended):

node zcode-rtl-patch.js --restore

Manual 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

• Security reviewed: the injected code only adjusts text direction in the DOM — no network calls, no data collection.
• macOS permissions reset is expected: patching re-signs the app, so macOS treats it as a new app and asks again for previously granted permissions. If you use Little Snitch, all old rules are re-asked with an "application modified" warning — this is caused by the patch, not by malware.
• Re-run the patch after every ZCode update (updates overwrite app.asar). It's update-safe: it detects updates and refreshes the backup instead of restoring the old one.
• No-patch alternative: test Chromium's native RTL flags (mirrors the entire UI, no modification, no re-signing):

  /Applications/ZCode.app/Contents/MacOS/ZCode --force-ui-direction=rtl --force-text-direction=rtl

• 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

📜 Changelog

v1.1.0 — 2026-08-20

• Update-safe backup handling: running the patch after a ZCode update refreshes the backup instead of restoring the old one (fixes silent downgrade)
• Idempotent injection: any previous patch is removed before re-injecting
• One-command undo: node zcode-rtl-patch.js --restore
• Double-click launchers: patch-mac.command and patch-windows.bat
• Re-signing now uses the detected app path instead of hardcoded /Applications/ZCode.app
• Console notes about expected macOS permission prompts (incl. Little Snitch)

v1.0.0

• Initial release: smart content-only RTL, sidebar protection, automatic backup

📄 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.