chore: release 0.1.3

- Preset fields (from settings) are now seeded as editable/deletable rows in
  the modal alongside custom ones, using one consistent row style.
- The note's own merged frontmatter is shown as read-only (disabled) rows at
  the top of the list (only when 'Merge document frontmatter' is on, and only
  for keys not overridden by an editable row).
- Drops the separate read-only 'resolved' text preview; the rows are the
  WYSIWYG result.

Adds pure, unit-tested composeFrontmatter()/docFrontmatterToPairs() and removes
the superseded resolveFrontmatter(). Editable rows are authoritative: on a key
collision they override the merged document field. Presets are deep-copied so
editing rows never mutates saved settings.

Co-Authored-By: Claude

README.md

@@ -42,11 +42,12 @@ An Obsidian plugin that publishes the active note as a Jekyll blog post via git.
 
 ## Credentials model
 
-The plugin uses your **system git** binary for all remote operations. No passwords or tokens are stored inside Obsidian or the plugin's data files.
+The plugin uses your **system git** binary for all remote operations and stores **no** passwords or tokens inside Obsidian or the plugin's data files. Authentication is delegated entirely to git's own credential handling, which works across platforms:
 
-When git needs a credential (e.g. HTTPS password or a personal access token), an **askpass bridge** intercepts the prompt and shows a native Obsidian modal so you can type the value. The value is passed directly to git through a temporary socket and is never persisted.
+- **HTTPS remotes** — git uses your configured credential helper: **Git Credential Manager** (bundled with Git for Windows), **osxkeychain** (macOS), or libsecret (Linux). The first push prompts you through that helper's own dialog and caches the result in your OS keychain. If no helper is configured, the publish fails fast with a clear message (the plugin sets `GIT_TERMINAL_PROMPT=0` so git never hangs waiting on a non-existent terminal).
+- **SSH remotes** — git uses your existing SSH agent / `~/.ssh` key configuration. Use an `ssh://` URL and make sure your key (or agent) is set up; no extra steps in the plugin.
 
-For SSH remotes, the plugin relies on your existing SSH agent or `~/.ssh` key configuration — no extra steps needed.
+Commits are authored with the **Author name/email** from the plugin settings if set; otherwise git uses your machine's git identity (`user.name` / `user.email`). If neither is configured, git will refuse to commit — set an author in settings or configure a global git identity.
 
 ## Development
 

manifest.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "id": "jekyll-publish",
   "name": "Jekyll Publish",
-  "version": "0.1.0",
+  "version": "0.1.3",
   "minAppVersion": "1.5.0",
   "description": "Publish the active note as a Jekyll post (with images) via git.",
   "author": "Claude",

package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "obsidian-jekyll-publish",
-  "version": "0.1.0",
+  "version": "0.1.3",
   "description": "Publish the active Obsidian note as a Jekyll post (with images) via git.",
   "main": "dist/main.js",
   "type": "module",

src/PublishModal.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { App, Modal, Setting } from "obsidian";
-import { Pair, parseNote, resolveFrontmatter } from "./frontmatter";
+import { Pair, composeFrontmatter, docFrontmatterToPairs, parseNote } from "./frontmatter";
 import { Strategy } from "./images";
 import { JekyllPublishSettings } from "./settings";
 import { deriveDate, deriveSlug } from "./slug";
@@ -15,18 +15,26 @@ export interface ModalResult {
 export class PublishModal extends Modal {
   private result: ModalResult;
   private mergeDoc = true;
-  private custom: Pair[] = [];
+  /** Editable rows = preset fields (seeded from settings) + custom additions. */
+  private editableRows: Pair[];
+  /** The note's own frontmatter, shown read-only when merge is on. */
+  private readonly docPairs: Pair[];
+  private fmEl!: HTMLElement;
 
   constructor(
     app: App,
-    private settings: JekyllPublishSettings,
+    settings: JekyllPublishSettings,
     private noteText: string,
-    private filename: string,
+    filename: string,
     private onSubmit: (r: ModalResult) => void
   ) {
     super(app);
     const { frontmatter } = parseNote(noteText);
     const title = typeof frontmatter.title === "string" ? frontmatter.title : "";
+    this.docPairs = docFrontmatterToPairs(frontmatter);
+    // Deep-copy the presets so editing/deleting rows here never mutates the
+    // saved settings.
+    this.editableRows = settings.presetFrontmatter.map((p) => ({ key: p.key, value: p.value }));
     this.result = {
       frontmatterPairs: [],
       slug: deriveSlug({ title, filename }),
@@ -37,13 +45,7 @@ export class PublishModal extends Modal {
   }
 
   private recompute() {
-    const { frontmatter } = parseNote(this.noteText);
-    this.result.frontmatterPairs = resolveFrontmatter(
-      this.settings.presetFrontmatter,
-      frontmatter,
-      this.custom,
-      this.mergeDoc
-    );
+    this.result.frontmatterPairs = composeFrontmatter(this.docPairs, this.editableRows, this.mergeDoc);
   }
 
   onOpen() {
@@ -63,16 +65,23 @@ export class PublishModal extends Modal {
         .setValue(this.result.strategy)
         .onChange((v) => (this.result.strategy = v as Strategy))
     );
-    new Setting(contentEl).setName("Merge document frontmatter").addToggle((t) =>
-      t.setValue(this.mergeDoc).onChange((v) => { this.mergeDoc = v; this.renderFrontmatter(); })
-    );
+    new Setting(contentEl)
+      .setName("Merge document frontmatter")
+      .setDesc("Include the note's own frontmatter (shown read-only below).")
+      .addToggle((t) =>
+        t.setValue(this.mergeDoc).onChange((v) => {
+          this.mergeDoc = v;
+          this.renderFrontmatter();
+        })
+      );
 
+    contentEl.createEl("h3", { text: "Frontmatter" });
     this.fmEl = contentEl.createDiv();
     this.renderFrontmatter();
 
     new Setting(contentEl).addButton((b) =>
       b.setButtonText("Add property").onClick(() => {
-        this.custom.push({ key: "", value: "" });
+        this.editableRows = [...this.editableRows, { key: "", value: "" }];
         this.renderFrontmatter();
       })
     );
@@ -88,25 +97,52 @@ export class PublishModal extends Modal {
     );
   }
 
-  private fmEl!: HTMLElement;
   private renderFrontmatter() {
     this.recompute();
     this.fmEl.empty();
-    this.fmEl.createEl("h3", { text: "Frontmatter (resolved)" });
-    for (const p of this.result.frontmatterPairs) {
-      this.fmEl.createDiv({ cls: "jekyll-publish-row", text: `${p.key}: ${p.value}` });
-    }
-    if (this.custom.length) {
-      this.fmEl.createEl("h4", { text: "Custom properties" });
-      this.custom.forEach((row, i) => {
-        const div = this.fmEl.createDiv({ cls: "jekyll-publish-row" });
-        const k = div.createEl("input", { value: row.key, placeholder: "key" });
-        const v = div.createEl("input", { value: row.value, placeholder: "value" });
-        k.oninput = () => { this.custom[i].key = k.value; this.recompute(); };
-        v.oninput = () => { this.custom[i].value = v.value; this.recompute(); };
-      });
+
+    const editableKeys = new Set(
+      this.editableRows.filter((r) => r.key.trim() !== "").map((r) => r.key)
+    );
+
+    // Document fields (read-only) first — only those not overridden by an
+    // editable row, so the modal never shows a key twice.
+    if (this.mergeDoc) {
+      const docRows = this.docPairs.filter((p) => !editableKeys.has(p.key));
+      for (const p of docRows) {
+        const row = this.fmEl.createDiv({ cls: "jekyll-publish-row" });
+        const k = row.createEl("input", { cls: "jekyll-publish-doc", value: p.key });
+        const v = row.createEl("input", { cls: "jekyll-publish-doc", value: p.value });
+        k.disabled = true;
+        v.disabled = true;
+        k.title = "From the note's frontmatter (edit the note to change)";
+        v.title = k.title;
+      }
     }
+
+    // Editable rows (presets + custom) — same style, all editable and deletable.
+    this.editableRows.forEach((row, i) => {
+      const div = this.fmEl.createDiv({ cls: "jekyll-publish-row" });
+      const k = div.createEl("input", { value: row.key, placeholder: "key" });
+      const v = div.createEl("input", { value: row.value, placeholder: "value" });
+      k.oninput = () => {
+        this.editableRows = this.editableRows.map((r, j) => (j === i ? { ...r, key: k.value } : r));
+        this.recompute();
+      };
+      v.oninput = () => {
+        this.editableRows = this.editableRows.map((r, j) => (j === i ? { ...r, value: v.value } : r));
+        this.recompute();
+      };
+      const del = div.createEl("button", { cls: "jekyll-publish-del", text: "×" });
+      del.setAttr("aria-label", "Delete property");
+      del.onclick = () => {
+        this.editableRows = this.editableRows.filter((_, j) => j !== i);
+        this.renderFrontmatter();
+      };
+    });
   }
 
-  onClose() { this.contentEl.empty(); }
+  onClose() {
+    this.contentEl.empty();
+  }
 }

src/askpass.test.ts

@@ -1,83 +0,0 @@
-import { afterEach, expect, test } from "vitest";
-import { execFile } from "node:child_process";
-import { mkdtempSync, rmSync } from "node:fs";
-import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
-import { join } from "node:path";
-import { promisify } from "node:util";
-import { AskpassBridge } from "./askpass";
-
-const run = promisify(execFile);
-let bridge: AskpassBridge | undefined;
-afterEach(async () => {
-  bridge?.stop();
-  bridge = undefined;
-});
-
-test("helper script round-trips a prompt to onPrompt and returns the answer", async () => {
-  const dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "jp-ask-"));
-  bridge = new AskpassBridge({
-    dir,
-    onPrompt: async (p) => (p.includes("Password") ? "s3cret" : "alice"),
-  });
-  const env = await bridge.start();
-  const { stdout } = await run(env.GIT_ASKPASS, ["Password for 'https://x':"], {
-    env: { ...process.env, JEKYLL_ASKPASS_SOCK: env.JEKYLL_ASKPASS_SOCK },
-  });
-  expect(stdout.trim()).toBe("s3cret");
-  rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
-});
-
-test("onPrompt rejection: helper process completes promptly and returns empty answer", async () => {
-  const dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "jp-ask-reject-"));
-  bridge = new AskpassBridge({
-    dir,
-    onPrompt: async (_p) => { throw new Error("user cancelled"); },
-  });
-  const env = await bridge.start();
-
-  // The helper must exit within 3 seconds; if it hangs the test times out with a clear error.
-  const result = await Promise.race([
-    run(env.GIT_ASKPASS, ["Password:"], {
-      env: { ...process.env, JEKYLL_ASKPASS_SOCK: env.JEKYLL_ASKPASS_SOCK },
-    }).then(({ stdout }) => ({ timedOut: false, stdout }))
-      .catch(() => ({ timedOut: false, stdout: "" })),
-    new Promise<{ timedOut: true; stdout: string }>((resolve) =>
-      setTimeout(() => resolve({ timedOut: true, stdout: "" }), 3000)
-    ),
-  ]);
-
-  expect(result.timedOut, "helper process hung instead of exiting promptly").toBe(false);
-  // Empty answer is fine — git will fail fast on its own
-  expect(result.stdout.trim()).toBe("");
-  rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
-});
-
-test("restart on same dir: stop() then start() again succeeds with no EADDRINUSE", async () => {
-  const dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "jp-ask-restart-"));
-
-  // First session
-  bridge = new AskpassBridge({
-    dir,
-    onPrompt: async (p) => (p.includes("user") ? "bob" : "pass1"),
-  });
-  const env1 = await bridge.start();
-  const { stdout: out1 } = await run(env1.GIT_ASKPASS, ["username:"], {
-    env: { ...process.env, JEKYLL_ASKPASS_SOCK: env1.JEKYLL_ASKPASS_SOCK },
-  });
-  expect(out1.trim()).toBe("bob");
-  bridge.stop();
-  bridge = undefined;
-
-  // Second session — same dir; must not throw EADDRINUSE
-  bridge = new AskpassBridge({
-    dir,
-    onPrompt: async (p) => (p.includes("Password") ? "newpass" : "carol"),
-  });
-  const env2 = await bridge.start();
-  const { stdout: out2 } = await run(env2.GIT_ASKPASS, ["Password for 'https://y':"], {
-    env: { ...process.env, JEKYLL_ASKPASS_SOCK: env2.JEKYLL_ASKPASS_SOCK },
-  });
-  expect(out2.trim()).toBe("newpass");
-
-  rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
-});

src/askpass.ts

@@ -1,82 +0,0 @@
-import { createServer, Server } from "node:net";
-import { chmodSync, unlinkSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
-import { join } from "node:path";
-
-export class AskpassBridge {
-  private server?: Server;
-  private sock = "";
-  private script = "";
-
-  constructor(private opts: { dir: string; onPrompt: (prompt: string) => Promise<string> }) {}
-
-  async start(): Promise<{
-    GIT_ASKPASS: string;
-    SSH_ASKPASS: string;
-    SSH_ASKPASS_REQUIRE: string;
-    JEKYLL_ASKPASS_SOCK: string;
-  }> {
-    this.sock = join(this.opts.dir, "askpass.sock");
-    this.script = join(this.opts.dir, "askpass.sh");
-
-    // Best-effort removal of a stale socket from a previous unclean shutdown.
-    try { unlinkSync(this.sock); } catch { /* ignore ENOENT */ }
-
-    this.server = createServer({ allowHalfOpen: true }, (conn) => {
-      let buf = "";
-      conn.on("data", (d) => (buf += d.toString()));
-      conn.on("end", () => {
-        // Wrap onPrompt in try/catch so a rejection never hangs the git/ssh process.
-        this.opts.onPrompt(buf.replace(/\n$/, "")).then(
-          (answer) => {
-            conn.end(answer.endsWith("\n") ? answer : answer + "\n");
-          },
-          (_err) => {
-            // User cancelled or onPrompt threw — send empty reply so git fails fast.
-            conn.end("\n");
-          }
-        );
-      });
-    });
-
-    // Fix: reject the promise on listen error (e.g. EADDRINUSE) instead of hanging.
-    await new Promise<void>((res, rej) => {
-      this.server!.once("error", rej);
-      this.server!.listen(this.sock, () => {
-        this.server!.removeListener("error", rej);
-        res();
-      });
-    });
-
-    // Helper: send argv[1] (the prompt) to the socket, print the reply.
-    // Uses a Node one-liner for reliable EOF signalling across platforms
-    // (nc -U without -N hangs on BSD-derived netcat; socat may also vary).
-    // Protocol: client writes prompt + "\n", server replies with answer + "\n" and closes.
-    // allowHalfOpen ensures the client can still receive after calling end().
-    const sh = [
-      "#!/bin/sh",
-      'node -e "' +
-        "const n=require('net'),s=process.env.JEKYLL_ASKPASS_SOCK,p=process.argv[1];" +
-        "const c=n.createConnection({path:s,allowHalfOpen:true},()=>{c.end(p+'\\n')});" +
-        "c.on('data',d=>process.stdout.write(d));" +
-        '" -- "$1"',
-      "",
-    ].join("\n");
-    writeFileSync(this.script, sh);
-    chmodSync(this.script, 0o755);
-
-    return {
-      GIT_ASKPASS: this.script,
-      SSH_ASKPASS: this.script,
-      SSH_ASKPASS_REQUIRE: "force",
-      JEKYLL_ASKPASS_SOCK: this.sock,
-    };
-  }
-
-  stop(): void {
-    this.server?.close();
-    this.server = undefined;
-    // Clean up socket and helper script to prevent stale-socket EADDRINUSE on restart.
-    try { unlinkSync(this.sock); } catch { /* ignore ENOENT */ }
-    try { unlinkSync(this.script); } catch { /* ignore ENOENT */ }
-  }
-}

src/frontmatter.test.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { describe, expect, test } from "vitest";
-import { parseNote, resolveFrontmatter, serializeFrontmatter } from "./frontmatter";
+import { composeFrontmatter, docFrontmatterToPairs, parseNote, serializeFrontmatter } from "./frontmatter";
 
 describe("parseNote", () => {
   test("splits frontmatter and body, strips BOM", () => {
@@ -12,27 +12,70 @@ describe("parseNote", () => {
   });
 });
 
-describe("resolveFrontmatter", () => {
-  const presets = [{ key: "layout", value: "post" }, { key: "kind", value: "essay" }];
-  test("presets only when mergeDoc is false", () => {
-    expect(resolveFrontmatter(presets, { title: "X" }, [], false)).toEqual(presets);
-  });
-  test("merge appends doc keys and doc overrides preset value", () => {
-    const r = resolveFrontmatter(presets, { kind: "note", title: "X" }, [], true);
-    expect(r).toEqual([
-      { key: "layout", value: "post" },
-      { key: "kind", value: "note" },
-      { key: "title", value: "X" },
+describe("docFrontmatterToPairs", () => {
+  test("converts a record to ordered string pairs", () => {
+    const pairs = docFrontmatterToPairs({
+      title: "Hello",
+      date: new Date("2026-02-06T00:00:00Z"),
+      draft: true,
+    });
+    expect(pairs).toEqual([
+      { key: "title", value: "Hello" },
+      { key: "date", value: "2026-02-06" },
+      { key: "draft", value: "true" },
     ]);
   });
-  test("custom rows come last and override everything", () => {
-    const r = resolveFrontmatter(presets, {}, [{ key: "layout", value: "page" }], false);
-    expect(r[0]).toEqual({ key: "layout", value: "page" });
-    expect(r).toHaveLength(2);
+  test("empty record yields an empty array", () => {
+    expect(docFrontmatterToPairs({})).toEqual([]);
   });
-  test("date object is rendered as YYYY-MM-DD", () => {
-    const r = resolveFrontmatter([], { date: new Date("2026-06-11T00:00:00Z") }, [], true);
-    expect(r).toEqual([{ key: "date", value: "2026-06-11" }]);
+});
+
+describe("composeFrontmatter", () => {
+  const doc = [
+    { key: "title", value: "Hello" },
+    { key: "date", value: "2026-02-06" },
+  ];
+  const editable = [
+    { key: "layout", value: "post" },
+    { key: "kind", value: "essay" },
+  ];
+
+  test("merge on: document fields first, then editable rows", () => {
+    expect(composeFrontmatter(doc, editable, true)).toEqual([
+      { key: "title", value: "Hello" },
+      { key: "date", value: "2026-02-06" },
+      { key: "layout", value: "post" },
+      { key: "kind", value: "essay" },
+    ]);
+  });
+  test("merge off: only the editable rows", () => {
+    expect(composeFrontmatter(doc, editable, false)).toEqual(editable);
+  });
+  test("an editable row overrides a document field with the same key (doc field dropped)", () => {
+    const ed = [
+      { key: "title", value: "Override" },
+      { key: "layout", value: "post" },
+    ];
+    expect(composeFrontmatter(doc, ed, true)).toEqual([
+      { key: "date", value: "2026-02-06" },
+      { key: "title", value: "Override" },
+      { key: "layout", value: "post" },
+    ]);
+  });
+  test("blank-key editable rows are skipped", () => {
+    const ed = [
+      { key: "", value: "" },
+      { key: "layout", value: "post" },
+      { key: "  ", value: "x" },
+    ];
+    expect(composeFrontmatter([], ed, true)).toEqual([{ key: "layout", value: "post" }]);
+  });
+  test("duplicate editable keys: last value wins at first position", () => {
+    const ed = [
+      { key: "tag", value: "a" },
+      { key: "tag", value: "b" },
+    ];
+    expect(composeFrontmatter([], ed, false)).toEqual([{ key: "tag", value: "b" }]);
   });
 });
 

src/frontmatter.ts

@@ -14,12 +14,26 @@ export function parseNote(text: string): { frontmatter: Record<string, unknown>;
   return { frontmatter, body: stripped.slice(m[0].length) };
 }
 
-export function resolveFrontmatter(
-  presets: Pair[],
-  docFrontmatter: Record<string, unknown>,
-  custom: Pair[],
-  mergeDoc: boolean
-): Pair[] {
+/**
+ * Convert a parsed note's frontmatter object into ordered, stringified pairs
+ * suitable for display (read-only) and composition.
+ */
+export function docFrontmatterToPairs(docFrontmatter: Record<string, unknown>): Pair[] {
+  return Object.entries(docFrontmatter).map(([key, v]) => ({ key, value: stringifyScalar(v) }));
+}
+
+/**
+ * Build the final frontmatter for the post.
+ *
+ * Editable rows (the preset fields seeded from settings plus any custom rows
+ * the user added) are authoritative: on a key collision they win over the
+ * document's own merged fields, which appear first (and are shown read-only in
+ * the modal). Blank-key rows are dropped; duplicate editable keys keep the last
+ * value at the first position.
+ */
+export function composeFrontmatter(docPairs: Pair[], editableRows: Pair[], mergeDoc: boolean): Pair[] {
+  const editable = editableRows.filter((r) => r.key.trim() !== "");
+  const editableKeys = new Set(editable.map((r) => r.key));
   const out: Pair[] = [];
   const idx = new Map<string, number>();
   const put = (key: string, value: string) => {
@@ -27,9 +41,8 @@ export function resolveFrontmatter(
     if (at !== undefined) out[at] = { key, value };
     else { idx.set(key, out.length); out.push({ key, value }); }
   };
-  for (const p of presets) put(p.key, p.value);
-  if (mergeDoc) for (const [k, v] of Object.entries(docFrontmatter)) put(k, stringifyScalar(v));
-  for (const c of custom) put(c.key, c.value);
+  if (mergeDoc) for (const p of docPairs) if (!editableKeys.has(p.key)) put(p.key, p.value);
+  for (const r of editable) put(r.key, r.value);
   return out;
 }
 

src/main.ts

@@ -1,9 +1,8 @@
-import { Modal, Notice, Plugin, Setting, TFile, normalizePath } from "obsidian";
+import { Notice, Plugin, TFile } from "obsidian";
 import { DEFAULT_SETTINGS, JekyllPublishSettings } from "./settings";
 import { JekyllPublishSettingTab } from "./SettingsTab";
 import { ModalResult, PublishModal } from "./PublishModal";
 import { ChildProcessGitClient } from "./git";
-import { AskpassBridge } from "./askpass";
 import { publish } from "./publish";
 
 export default class JekyllPublishPlugin extends Plugin {
@@ -43,31 +42,26 @@ export default class JekyllPublishPlugin extends Plugin {
       new Notice("Jekyll Publish: set a remote URL in settings first.");
       return;
     }
-    const dir = normalizePath(this.app.vault.configDir + "/plugins/jekyll-publish");
-    const adapter = this.app.vault.adapter as any;
-    if (typeof adapter.getFullPath !== "function") {
-      new Notice("Jekyll Publish requires desktop Obsidian (filesystem access unavailable).");
-      return;
-    }
-    const bridge = new AskpassBridge({
-      dir: adapter.getFullPath(dir),
-      onPrompt: (prompt) => this.promptCredential(prompt),
-    });
     try {
-      const env = await bridge.start();
-      const git = new ChildProcessGitClient({ env });
+      // Credentials are handled entirely by the user's system git: its
+      // configured credential helper (Git Credential Manager on Windows,
+      // osxkeychain on macOS, libsecret on Linux) for https:// URLs, or the
+      // ssh-agent / key for ssh:// URLs. The plugin stores nothing and sets
+      // GIT_TERMINAL_PROMPT=0 (in ChildProcessGitClient) so git fails fast
+      // with a clear message instead of hanging when no helper is available.
+      const git = new ChildProcessGitClient();
       const result = await publish(
         { noteText, ...r },
         this.settings,
         git,
         (linktext) => this.resolveImage(linktext)
       );
-      const warn = result.unresolved.length ? ` (${result.unresolved.length} image(s) unresolved)` : "";
+      const warn = result.unresolved.length
+        ? ` (${result.unresolved.length} image(s) unresolved)`
+        : "";
       new Notice(`Published ${result.postPath} with ${result.imageCount} image(s)${warn}`);
     } catch (e) {
-      new Notice(`Publish failed: ${(e as Error).message}`);
-    } finally {
-      bridge.stop();
+      new Notice(`Publish failed: ${withCredentialHint((e as Error).message)}`, 12000);
     }
   }
 
@@ -77,26 +71,24 @@ export default class JekyllPublishPlugin extends Plugin {
     const ab = await this.app.vault.readBinary(dest);
     return Buffer.from(ab);
   }
-
-  private promptCredential(prompt: string): Promise<string> {
-    return new Promise((resolve) => {
-      const modal = new Modal(this.app);
-      modal.titleEl.setText("Git credentials");
-      modal.contentEl.createEl("p", { text: prompt });
-      let value = "";
-      const masked = /pass|secret|token/i.test(prompt);
-      new Setting(modal.contentEl).addText((t) => {
-        if (masked) t.inputEl.type = "password";
-        t.onChange((v) => (value = v));
-        t.inputEl.addEventListener("keydown", (e) => {
-          if (e.key === "Enter") { modal.close(); resolve(value); }
-        });
-      });
-      new Setting(modal.contentEl).addButton((b) =>
-        b.setButtonText("OK").setCta().onClick(() => { modal.close(); resolve(value); })
-      );
-      modal.onClose = () => resolve(value);
-      modal.open();
-    });
-  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * When git fails for an authentication reason, append guidance pointing the
+ * user at their system credential helper / ssh setup, since the plugin
+ * deliberately does not store or prompt for credentials itself.
+ */
+function withCredentialHint(message: string): string {
+  const authPattern =
+    /could not read (Username|Password)|terminal prompts disabled|Authentication failed|Permission denied|access denied|fatal: Authentication|no email was given|Author identity unknown/i;
+  if (authPattern.test(message)) {
+    return (
+      `${message}\n\n` +
+      "Git could not authenticate or identify you. For an https:// URL, set up a " +
+      "git credential helper (e.g. Git Credential Manager). For an ssh:// URL, make " +
+      "sure your SSH key/agent is configured. You can also set an author name/email " +
+      "in the plugin settings."
+    );
+  }
+  return message;
 }

styles.css

@@ -1,2 +1,17 @@
-.jekyll-publish-row { display: flex; gap: 8px; margin-bottom: 6px; }
+.jekyll-publish-row { display: flex; gap: 8px; margin-bottom: 6px; align-items: center; }
 .jekyll-publish-row input { flex: 1; }
+
+/* Read-only document frontmatter fields shown when "Merge document
+   frontmatter" is on — visually muted to signal they cannot be edited here. */
+.jekyll-publish-row input.jekyll-publish-doc {
+  opacity: 0.65;
+  cursor: not-allowed;
+}
+
+/* Delete button on an editable property row. */
+.jekyll-publish-del {
+  flex: 0 0 auto;
+  width: 28px;
+  padding: 0;
+  line-height: 1;
+}