---
epic: 7
story: 7.3
title: "Syntax Highlighting"
status: draft
---

## Epic 7 — macOS App (Swift/SwiftUI)
**Goal:** A beautiful, native macOS app that feels like it belongs on the platform.

### Story 7.3: Syntax Highlighting

As a **macOS user**,
I want syntax highlighting in the editor that colors numbers, operators, units, variables, comments, and errors,
So that I can visually parse my calculations quickly and spot mistakes at a glance.

**Acceptance Criteria:**

**Given** the user types `monthly_rent = $1250 // housing cost`
**When** the text is rendered in the editor
**Then** `monthly_rent` is colored as a variable, `=` as an operator, `$1250` as a number/currency, and `// housing cost` as a comment
**And** each category has a distinct color

**Given** the user types an invalid expression that produces an error
**When** the text is rendered
**Then** the erroneous portion is highlighted with an error color (e.g., red underline or red text)

**Given** the system appearance is set to Light mode
**When** the editor renders syntax highlighting
**Then** colors are appropriate for a light background (sufficient contrast, readable)

**Given** the system appearance is set to Dark mode
**When** the editor renders syntax highlighting
**Then** colors are appropriate for a dark background (sufficient contrast, readable)

**Given** the user types or edits text
**When** characters are inserted or deleted
**Then** syntax highlighting updates incrementally without visible flicker or lag

**Given** the editor uses a custom `NSTextStorage` subclass
**When** the engine tokenizer produces token spans for a line
**Then** the `NSTextStorage` applies the corresponding `NSAttributedString` attributes to match those spans