fix: preserve blank lines for newline chunking (#1645) (thanks @tyler6204)

- Changed the default value of `chunkMode` from 'newline' to 'length' in the BlueBubbles configuration and related processing functions.
- Updated documentation to reflect the new default behavior for chunking messages.
- Adjusted tests to ensure the correct default value is returned for BlueBubbles chunk mode.

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.clawd.bot
 - Docs: add Bedrock EC2 instance role setup + IAM steps. (#1625) Thanks @sergical. https://docs.clawd.bot/bedrock
 - Exec approvals: forward approval prompts to chat with `/approve` for all channels (including plugins). (#1621) Thanks @czekaj. https://docs.clawd.bot/tools/exec-approvals https://docs.clawd.bot/tools/slash-commands
 - Gateway: expose config.patch in the gateway tool with safe partial updates + restart sentinel. (#1653) Thanks @Glucksberg.
+- BlueBubbles: add newline chunking mode option for streaming. (#1645) Thanks @tyler6204.
 
 ### Fixes
 - BlueBubbles: keep part-index GUIDs in reply tags when short IDs are missing.

docs/channels/bluebubbles.md

@@ -196,6 +196,7 @@ Provider options:
 - `channels.bluebubbles.sendReadReceipts`: Send read receipts (default: `true`).
 - `channels.bluebubbles.blockStreaming`: Enable block streaming (default: `true`).
 - `channels.bluebubbles.textChunkLimit`: Outbound chunk size in chars (default: 4000).
+- `channels.bluebubbles.chunkMode`: `length` (default) splits only when exceeding `textChunkLimit`; `newline` splits on every newline and sends each line immediately during streaming.
 - `channels.bluebubbles.mediaMaxMb`: Inbound media cap in MB (default: 8).
 - `channels.bluebubbles.historyLimit`: Max group messages for context (0 disables).
 - `channels.bluebubbles.dmHistoryLimit`: DM history limit.

extensions/bluebubbles/src/accounts.ts

@@ -47,7 +47,8 @@ function mergeBlueBubblesAccountConfig(
   };
   const { accounts: _ignored, ...rest } = base;
   const account = resolveAccountConfig(cfg, accountId) ?? {};
-  return { ...rest, ...account };
+  const chunkMode = account.chunkMode ?? rest.chunkMode ?? "length";
+  return { ...rest, ...account, chunkMode };
 }
 
 export function resolveBlueBubblesAccount(params: {

extensions/bluebubbles/src/config-schema.ts

@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ const bluebubblesAccountSchema = z.object({
   historyLimit: z.number().int().min(0).optional(),
   dmHistoryLimit: z.number().int().min(0).optional(),
   textChunkLimit: z.number().int().positive().optional(),
+  chunkMode: z.enum(["length", "newline"]).optional(),
   mediaMaxMb: z.number().int().positive().optional(),
   sendReadReceipts: z.boolean().optional(),
   blockStreaming: z.boolean().optional(),

extensions/bluebubbles/src/monitor.ts

@@ -1851,16 +1851,21 @@ async function processMessage(
             account.config.textChunkLimit && account.config.textChunkLimit > 0
               ? account.config.textChunkLimit
               : DEFAULT_TEXT_LIMIT;
+          const chunkMode = account.config.chunkMode ?? "length";
           const tableMode = core.channel.text.resolveMarkdownTableMode({
             cfg: config,
             channel: "bluebubbles",
             accountId: account.accountId,
           });
           const text = core.channel.text.convertMarkdownTables(payload.text ?? "", tableMode);
-          const chunks = core.channel.text.chunkMarkdownText(text, textLimit);
+          const chunks =
+            chunkMode === "newline"
+              ? core.channel.text.chunkTextWithMode(text, textLimit, chunkMode)
+              : core.channel.text.chunkMarkdownText(text, textLimit);
           if (!chunks.length && text) chunks.push(text);
           if (!chunks.length) return;
-          for (const chunk of chunks) {
+          for (let i = 0; i < chunks.length; i++) {
+            const chunk = chunks[i];
             const result = await sendMessageBlueBubbles(outboundTarget, chunk, {
               cfg: config,
               accountId: account.accountId,
@@ -1869,6 +1874,17 @@ async function processMessage(
             maybeEnqueueOutboundMessageId(result.messageId, chunk);
             sentMessage = true;
             statusSink?.({ lastOutboundAt: Date.now() });
+            // In newline mode, restart typing after each chunk if more chunks remain
+            // Small delay allows the Apple API to finish clearing the typing state from message send
+            if (chunkMode === "newline" && i < chunks.length - 1 && chatGuidForActions) {
+              await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 150));
+              sendBlueBubblesTyping(chatGuidForActions, true, {
+                cfg: config,
+                accountId: account.accountId,
+              }).catch(() => {
+                // Ignore typing errors
+              });
+            }
           }
         },
         onReplyStart: async () => {

extensions/bluebubbles/src/types.ts

@@ -38,6 +38,8 @@ export type BlueBubblesAccountConfig = {
   dms?: Record<string, unknown>;
   /** Outbound text chunk size (chars). Default: 4000. */
   textChunkLimit?: number;
+  /** Chunking mode: "length" (default) splits by size; "newline" splits on every newline. */
+  chunkMode?: "length" | "newline";
   blockStreaming?: boolean;
   /** Merge streamed block replies before sending. */
   blockStreamingCoalesce?: Record<string, unknown>;

src/auto-reply/chunk.test.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,13 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 
-import { chunkMarkdownText, chunkText, resolveTextChunkLimit } from "./chunk.js";
+import {
+  chunkByNewline,
+  chunkMarkdownText,
+  chunkText,
+  chunkTextWithMode,
+  resolveChunkMode,
+  resolveTextChunkLimit,
+} from "./chunk.js";
 
 function expectFencesBalanced(chunks: string[]) {
   for (const chunk of chunks) {
@@ -231,3 +238,101 @@ describe("chunkMarkdownText", () => {
     expect(chunks.join("")).toBe(text);
   });
 });
+
+describe("chunkByNewline", () => {
+  it("splits text on newlines", () => {
+    const text = "Line one\nLine two\nLine three";
+    const chunks = chunkByNewline(text, 1000);
+    expect(chunks).toEqual(["Line one", "Line two", "Line three"]);
+  });
+
+  it("preserves blank lines by folding into the next chunk", () => {
+    const text = "Line one\n\n\nLine two\n\nLine three";
+    const chunks = chunkByNewline(text, 1000);
+    expect(chunks).toEqual(["Line one", "\n\nLine two", "\nLine three"]);
+  });
+
+  it("trims whitespace from lines", () => {
+    const text = "  Line one  \n  Line two  ";
+    const chunks = chunkByNewline(text, 1000);
+    expect(chunks).toEqual(["Line one", "Line two"]);
+  });
+
+  it("preserves leading blank lines on the first chunk", () => {
+    const text = "\n\nLine one\nLine two";
+    const chunks = chunkByNewline(text, 1000);
+    expect(chunks).toEqual(["\n\nLine one", "Line two"]);
+  });
+
+  it("falls back to length-based for long lines", () => {
+    const text = "Short line\n" + "a".repeat(50) + "\nAnother short";
+    const chunks = chunkByNewline(text, 20);
+    expect(chunks[0]).toBe("Short line");
+    // Long line gets split into multiple chunks
+    expect(chunks[1].length).toBe(20);
+    expect(chunks[2].length).toBe(20);
+    expect(chunks[3].length).toBe(10);
+    expect(chunks[4]).toBe("Another short");
+  });
+
+  it("returns empty array for empty input", () => {
+    expect(chunkByNewline("", 100)).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it("returns empty array for whitespace-only input", () => {
+    expect(chunkByNewline("   \n\n   ", 100)).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("chunkTextWithMode", () => {
+  it("uses length-based chunking for length mode", () => {
+    const text = "Line one\nLine two";
+    const chunks = chunkTextWithMode(text, 1000, "length");
+    expect(chunks).toEqual(["Line one\nLine two"]);
+  });
+
+  it("uses newline-based chunking for newline mode", () => {
+    const text = "Line one\nLine two";
+    const chunks = chunkTextWithMode(text, 1000, "newline");
+    expect(chunks).toEqual(["Line one", "Line two"]);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("resolveChunkMode", () => {
+  it("returns length as default", () => {
+    expect(resolveChunkMode(undefined, "telegram")).toBe("length");
+    expect(resolveChunkMode({}, "discord")).toBe("length");
+    expect(resolveChunkMode(undefined, "bluebubbles")).toBe("length");
+  });
+
+  it("returns length for internal channel", () => {
+    const cfg = { channels: { bluebubbles: { chunkMode: "newline" as const } } };
+    expect(resolveChunkMode(cfg, "__internal__")).toBe("length");
+  });
+
+  it("supports provider-level overrides for bluebubbles", () => {
+    const cfg = { channels: { bluebubbles: { chunkMode: "newline" as const } } };
+    expect(resolveChunkMode(cfg, "bluebubbles")).toBe("newline");
+    expect(resolveChunkMode(cfg, "discord")).toBe("length");
+  });
+
+  it("supports account-level overrides for bluebubbles", () => {
+    const cfg = {
+      channels: {
+        bluebubbles: {
+          chunkMode: "length" as const,
+          accounts: {
+            primary: { chunkMode: "newline" as const },
+          },
+        },
+      },
+    };
+    expect(resolveChunkMode(cfg, "bluebubbles", "primary")).toBe("newline");
+    expect(resolveChunkMode(cfg, "bluebubbles", "other")).toBe("length");
+  });
+
+  it("ignores chunkMode for non-bluebubbles providers", () => {
+    const cfg = { channels: { ["telegram" as string]: { chunkMode: "newline" as const } } };
+    expect(resolveChunkMode(cfg, "telegram")).toBe("length");
+  });
+});

src/auto-reply/chunk.ts

@@ -10,11 +10,20 @@ import { INTERNAL_MESSAGE_CHANNEL } from "../utils/message-channel.js";
 
 export type TextChunkProvider = ChannelId | typeof INTERNAL_MESSAGE_CHANNEL;
 
+/**
+ * Chunking mode for outbound messages:
+ * - "length": Split only when exceeding textChunkLimit (default)
+ * - "newline": Split on every newline, with fallback to length-based for long lines
+ */
+export type ChunkMode = "length" | "newline";
+
 const DEFAULT_CHUNK_LIMIT = 4000;
+const DEFAULT_CHUNK_MODE: ChunkMode = "length";
 
 type ProviderChunkConfig = {
   textChunkLimit?: number;
-  accounts?: Record<string, { textChunkLimit?: number }>;
+  chunkMode?: ChunkMode;
+  accounts?: Record<string, { textChunkLimit?: number; chunkMode?: ChunkMode }>;
 };
 
 function resolveChunkLimitForProvider(
@@ -63,6 +72,94 @@ export function resolveTextChunkLimit(
   return fallback;
 }
 
+function resolveChunkModeForProvider(
+  cfgSection: ProviderChunkConfig | undefined,
+  accountId?: string | null,
+): ChunkMode | undefined {
+  if (!cfgSection) return undefined;
+  const normalizedAccountId = normalizeAccountId(accountId);
+  const accounts = cfgSection.accounts;
+  if (accounts && typeof accounts === "object") {
+    const direct = accounts[normalizedAccountId];
+    if (direct?.chunkMode) {
+      return direct.chunkMode;
+    }
+    const matchKey = Object.keys(accounts).find(
+      (key) => key.toLowerCase() === normalizedAccountId.toLowerCase(),
+    );
+    const match = matchKey ? accounts[matchKey] : undefined;
+    if (match?.chunkMode) {
+      return match.chunkMode;
+    }
+  }
+  return cfgSection.chunkMode;
+}
+
+export function resolveChunkMode(
+  cfg: ClawdbotConfig | undefined,
+  provider?: TextChunkProvider,
+  accountId?: string | null,
+): ChunkMode {
+  if (!provider || provider === INTERNAL_MESSAGE_CHANNEL) return DEFAULT_CHUNK_MODE;
+  // Chunk mode is only supported for BlueBubbles.
+  if (provider !== "bluebubbles") return DEFAULT_CHUNK_MODE;
+  const channelsConfig = cfg?.channels as Record<string, unknown> | undefined;
+  const providerConfig = (channelsConfig?.[provider] ??
+    (cfg as Record<string, unknown> | undefined)?.[provider]) as ProviderChunkConfig | undefined;
+  const mode = resolveChunkModeForProvider(providerConfig, accountId);
+  return mode ?? DEFAULT_CHUNK_MODE;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Split text on newlines, filtering empty lines.
+ * Lines exceeding maxLineLength are further split using length-based chunking.
+ */
+export function chunkByNewline(text: string, maxLineLength: number): string[] {
+  if (!text) return [];
+  if (maxLineLength <= 0) return text.trim() ? [text] : [];
+  const lines = text.split("\n");
+  const chunks: string[] = [];
+  let pendingBlankLines = 0;
+
+  for (const line of lines) {
+    const trimmed = line.trim();
+    if (!trimmed) {
+      pendingBlankLines += 1;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    const maxPrefix = Math.max(0, maxLineLength - 1);
+    const cappedBlankLines = pendingBlankLines > 0 ? Math.min(pendingBlankLines, maxPrefix) : 0;
+    const prefix = cappedBlankLines > 0 ? "\n".repeat(cappedBlankLines) : "";
+    pendingBlankLines = 0;
+
+    if (trimmed.length + prefix.length <= maxLineLength) {
+      chunks.push(prefix + trimmed);
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    const firstLimit = Math.max(1, maxLineLength - prefix.length);
+    const first = trimmed.slice(0, firstLimit);
+    chunks.push(prefix + first);
+    const remaining = trimmed.slice(firstLimit);
+    if (remaining) {
+      chunks.push(...chunkText(remaining, maxLineLength));
+    }
+  }
+
+  return chunks;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Unified chunking function that dispatches based on mode.
+ */
+export function chunkTextWithMode(text: string, limit: number, mode: ChunkMode): string[] {
+  if (mode === "newline") {
+    return chunkByNewline(text, limit);
+  }
+  return chunkText(text, limit);
+}
+
 export function chunkText(text: string, limit: number): string[] {
   if (!text) return [];
   if (limit <= 0) return [text];

src/auto-reply/reply/block-streaming.ts

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import {
   INTERNAL_MESSAGE_CHANNEL,
   listDeliverableMessageChannels,
 } from "../../utils/message-channel.js";
-import { resolveTextChunkLimit, type TextChunkProvider } from "../chunk.js";
+import { resolveChunkMode, resolveTextChunkLimit, type TextChunkProvider } from "../chunk.js";
 
 const DEFAULT_BLOCK_STREAM_MIN = 800;
 const DEFAULT_BLOCK_STREAM_MAX = 1200;
@@ -68,6 +68,17 @@ export function resolveBlockStreamingChunking(
     fallbackLimit: providerChunkLimit,
   });
   const chunkCfg = cfg?.agents?.defaults?.blockStreamingChunk;
+
+  // BlueBubbles-only: if chunkMode is "newline", use newline-based streaming
+  const channelChunkMode = resolveChunkMode(cfg, providerKey, accountId);
+  if (channelChunkMode === "newline") {
+    // For newline mode: use very low minChars to flush quickly on newlines
+    const minChars = Math.max(1, Math.floor(chunkCfg?.minChars ?? 1));
+    const maxRequested = Math.max(1, Math.floor(chunkCfg?.maxChars ?? textLimit));
+    const maxChars = Math.max(1, Math.min(maxRequested, textLimit));
+    return { minChars, maxChars, breakPreference: "newline" };
+  }
+
   const maxRequested = Math.max(1, Math.floor(chunkCfg?.maxChars ?? DEFAULT_BLOCK_STREAM_MAX));
   const maxChars = Math.max(1, Math.min(maxRequested, textLimit));
   const minFallback = DEFAULT_BLOCK_STREAM_MIN;
@@ -91,6 +102,13 @@ export function resolveBlockStreamingCoalescing(
   },
 ): BlockStreamingCoalescing | undefined {
   const providerKey = normalizeChunkProvider(provider);
+
+  // BlueBubbles-only: when chunkMode is "newline", disable coalescing to send each line immediately
+  const channelChunkMode = resolveChunkMode(cfg, providerKey, accountId);
+  if (channelChunkMode === "newline") {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+
   const providerId = providerKey ? normalizeChannelId(providerKey) : null;
   const providerChunkLimit = providerId
     ? getChannelDock(providerId)?.outbound?.textChunkLimit

src/config/zod-schema.providers-core.ts

@@ -633,6 +633,7 @@ export const BlueBubblesAccountSchemaBase = z
     dmHistoryLimit: z.number().int().min(0).optional(),
     dms: z.record(z.string(), DmConfigSchema.optional()).optional(),
     textChunkLimit: z.number().int().positive().optional(),
+    chunkMode: z.enum(["length", "newline"]).optional(),
     mediaMaxMb: z.number().int().positive().optional(),
     sendReadReceipts: z.boolean().optional(),
     blockStreaming: z.boolean().optional(),

src/infra/outbound/deliver.ts

@@ -212,7 +212,8 @@ export async function deliverOutboundPayloads(params: {
       results.push(await handler.sendText(text));
       return;
     }
-    for (const chunk of handler.chunker(text, textLimit)) {
+    const chunks = handler.chunker(text, textLimit);
+    for (const chunk of chunks) {
       throwIfAborted(abortSignal);
       results.push(await handler.sendText(chunk));
     }

src/plugin-sdk/index.ts

@@ -112,6 +112,7 @@ export type { WizardPrompter } from "../wizard/prompts.js";
 export { DEFAULT_ACCOUNT_ID, normalizeAccountId } from "../routing/session-key.js";
 export { resolveAckReaction } from "../agents/identity.js";
 export type { ReplyPayload } from "../auto-reply/types.js";
+export type { ChunkMode } from "../auto-reply/chunk.js";
 export { SILENT_REPLY_TOKEN, isSilentReplyText } from "../auto-reply/tokens.js";
 export {
   buildPendingHistoryContextFromMap,

src/plugins/runtime/index.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,13 @@
 import { createRequire } from "node:module";
 
-import { chunkMarkdownText, chunkText, resolveTextChunkLimit } from "../../auto-reply/chunk.js";
+import {
+  chunkByNewline,
+  chunkMarkdownText,
+  chunkText,
+  chunkTextWithMode,
+  resolveChunkMode,
+  resolveTextChunkLimit,
+} from "../../auto-reply/chunk.js";
 import {
   hasControlCommand,
   isControlCommandMessage,
@@ -160,8 +167,11 @@ export function createPluginRuntime(): PluginRuntime {
     },
     channel: {
       text: {
+        chunkByNewline,
         chunkMarkdownText,
         chunkText,
+        chunkTextWithMode,
+        resolveChunkMode,
         resolveTextChunkLimit,
         hasControlCommand,
         resolveMarkdownTableMode,

src/plugins/runtime/types.ts

@@ -35,8 +35,11 @@ type ResolveInboundDebounceMs =
 type ResolveCommandAuthorizedFromAuthorizers =
   typeof import("../../channels/command-gating.js").resolveCommandAuthorizedFromAuthorizers;
 type ResolveTextChunkLimit = typeof import("../../auto-reply/chunk.js").resolveTextChunkLimit;
+type ResolveChunkMode = typeof import("../../auto-reply/chunk.js").resolveChunkMode;
 type ChunkMarkdownText = typeof import("../../auto-reply/chunk.js").chunkMarkdownText;
 type ChunkText = typeof import("../../auto-reply/chunk.js").chunkText;
+type ChunkTextWithMode = typeof import("../../auto-reply/chunk.js").chunkTextWithMode;
+type ChunkByNewline = typeof import("../../auto-reply/chunk.js").chunkByNewline;
 type ResolveMarkdownTableMode =
   typeof import("../../config/markdown-tables.js").resolveMarkdownTableMode;
 type ConvertMarkdownTables = typeof import("../../markdown/tables.js").convertMarkdownTables;
@@ -173,8 +176,11 @@ export type PluginRuntime = {
   };
   channel: {
     text: {
+      chunkByNewline: ChunkByNewline;
       chunkMarkdownText: ChunkMarkdownText;
       chunkText: ChunkText;
+      chunkTextWithMode: ChunkTextWithMode;
+      resolveChunkMode: ResolveChunkMode;
       resolveTextChunkLimit: ResolveTextChunkLimit;
       hasControlCommand: HasControlCommand;
       resolveMarkdownTableMode: ResolveMarkdownTableMode;