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+# Bibiman Development Plans
+
+This document outlines the planned features and improvements for bibiman, organized by priority and implementation complexity.
+
+## 0. Cleanup UI
+
+- Edit title line to take up less space - integrate 'BIBIMAN' into same line as 'Bibliolographic Entries'
+- Change keywords section to be authors, sorted by num articles descending. (I guess configure this optionally).
+- Change (optionally) author section to show first & last author last names. Maybe show first/middle name initials also? That's becoming a different project at that point perhaps. `Scholten ... Tetienne` for authors?
+- Would be nice to also have pgup/down do what ctrl+u/d do now.
+- Can we make more things 'click-able'?
+
+## 1. Dynamic Column Configuration
+
+### Overview
+Allow users to fully customize the entry table columns through configuration, replacing the current hardcoded column structure.
+
+### Goals
+- **Flexibility**: Users can choose which fields to display and in what order
+- **Performance**: Maintain current speed through pre-computed display data
+- **Simplicity**: Easy-to-understand configuration format
+- **Backward Compatibility**: Graceful handling of existing configs
+
+### Design
+
+#### Configuration Structure
+```toml
+[[entry_table_columns]]
+title = "Author"
+field = "authors"
+width = "25%"
+
+[[entry_table_columns]]
+title = "Title"
+field = "title"
+width = "fill"
+
+[[entry_table_columns]]
+title = "Year"
+field = "year"
+width = "6"
+
+[[entry_table_columns]]
+title = "Res."
+field = "symbols"
+width = "auto"
+```
+
+#### Available Fields
+- **Basic**: `authors`, `title`, `year`, `citekey`, `keywords`
+- **Extended**: `journaltitle`, `organization`, `institution`, `series`, `publisher`, `pubtype`
+- **Special**: `symbols` (resource indicators), `subtitle`, `doi_url`
+
+#### Width Options
+- `"fill"` - Takes remaining space (like current Title column)
+- `"auto"` - Fits content automatically based on longest entry
+- `"15"` - Fixed width in characters
+- `"20%"` - Percentage of total table width
+
+#### Implementation Plan
+
+1. **Config Layer** (`src/config.rs`)
+   - Add `ColumnDefinition` struct with `title`, `field`, `width` fields
+   - Add `entry_table_columns: Vec<ColumnDefinition>` to `General` config
+   - Implement width parsing (`"20%"` → percentage, `"15"` → fixed, etc.)
+   - Provide sensible defaults matching current behavior
+   - Add deprecation warning for `custom_column` field
+
+2. **Data Layer** (`src/bibiman/bibisetup.rs`)
+   - Modify `BibiData` to support dynamic field access
+   - Replace `BibiRow` struct with `Vec<Text>` for dynamic columns
+   - Add `get_field_content(field: &str) -> Text` method with explicit match statement
+   - Pre-compute all display data based on configured columns
+
+3. **UI Layer** (`src/tui/ui.rs`)
+   - Refactor `render_entrytable()` to build table dynamically
+   - Generate constraints from column width specifications
+   - Build headers from column titles with sort indicators
+   - Handle special cases (symbol column width calculation, sort adjustments)
+
+4. **Sorting** (`src/bibiman/entries.rs`)
+   - Replace `EntryTableColumn` enum with string-based field names
+   - Update sorting logic to use field names instead of enum variants
+   - Maintain sort state with field name strings
+
+### Migration Strategy
+- Detect `custom_column` in existing configs and show deprecation warning
+- Provide automatic conversion suggestion or maintain backward compatibility
+- Default column configuration matches current hardcoded behavior exactly
+
+---
+
+## 2. Duplicate Key Handling (Issue #52)
+
+### Overview
+Resolve crashes when loading multiple bib files containing entries with duplicate citekeys, enabling cross-project search workflows.
+
+### Problem
+- Current implementation concatenates all bib files and parses as one
+- `biblatex` crate strictly enforces unique citekeys per BibLaTeX standard
+- Application crashes immediately when duplicates found
+- Prevents users from searching across multiple project files
+
+### Solution Design
+
+#### Core Approach
+1. **Parse files individually** instead of concatenating
+2. **Implement "first wins" deduplication** - keep first occurrence of duplicate citekeys
+3. **Track source files** for transparency and debugging
+4. **Provide clear user feedback** about duplicates found
+
+#### Implementation Plan
+
+1. **Parsing Changes** (`src/bibiman/bibisetup.rs`)
+   - Modify `BibiSetup::new()` to parse each file separately
+   - Collect entries from all files into single list
+   - Implement duplicate detection after parsing
+   - Keep first occurrence, discard subsequent duplicates
+
+2. **Source Tracking**
+   - Add `source_file: PathBuf` field to `BibiData` struct
+   - Track which file each entry originated from
+   - Display source in entry info panel: `"Source: project1.bib"`
+
+3. **User Feedback**
+   - Show non-blocking warning when duplicates found
+   - Display count: `"Found 5 duplicate entries, kept first occurrence"`
+   - Optional: Show which specific citekeys were duplicated
+   - Log detailed information for debugging
+
+4. **Configuration Options** (future)
+   ```toml
+   [general]
+   duplicate_handling = "first_wins"  # or "last_wins", "error"
+   show_duplicate_warnings = true
+   show_source_in_info = true
+   ```
+
+#### Benefits
+- **Enables cross-project workflows** - users can search all their bib files
+- **Predictable behavior** - first file loaded wins for duplicates
+- **Non-destructive** - original files remain unchanged
+- **Transparent** - users know which version they're seeing
+- **Robust** - no more crashes from duplicate keys
+
+---
+
+## 3. Bibliography Management Features
+
+### Overview
+Transform bibiman from a bibliography viewer into a comprehensive bibliography manager with editing, export, and project management capabilities.
+
+### Planned Features
+
+#### 3.1 Citekey Management
+- **Pattern-based regeneration**: User-defined templates for consistent citekeys
+- **Automatic deduplication**: Add suffixes for duplicates (`smith2023a`, `smith2023b`)
+- **Batch operations**: Regenerate citekeys for entire collections
+- **Validation**: Check for problematic characters, ensure uniqueness
+
+Example configuration:
+```toml
+[citekey_patterns]
+default = "{author_last}{year}{title_word}"
+article = "{author_last}{year}{journal_short}"
+book = "{author_last}_{year}_{title_short}"
+```
+
+#### 3.2 Export and Combination
+- **Merge multiple files** into single clean output
+- **Export filtered results** - save search/filter results as new .bib file
+- **Split operations** - separate by criteria (year, journal, keywords, project)
+- **Clean exports** - remove duplicates, fix formatting, validate required fields
+- **Format options** - different BibLaTeX styles, field ordering
+
+#### 3.3 Project Management
+- **Project configurations** - predefined sets of bib files
+- **Quick switching** between project contexts
+- **Import/export** between projects
+- **Shared libraries** - common files across projects
+
+Example configuration:
+```toml
+[projects]
+main_library = ["/path/to/main.bib"]
+current_project = ["/path/to/project1.bib", "/path/to/shared.bib"]
+thesis = ["/path/to/thesis.bib", "/path/to/main.bib"]
+```
+
+#### 3.4 Entry Editing and Creation
+- **Enhanced DOI import** - expand current feature with more metadata sources
+- **Manual entry creation** - forms for different entry types
+- **In-place editing** - modify existing entries directly
+- **Bulk operations** - update multiple entries (keywords, authors, formatting)
+- **Field validation** - ensure required fields, proper formatting
+
+#### 3.5 Advanced Workflows
+- **Backup system** - automatic backups before modifications
+- **Undo/redo** - revert changes safely
+- **Preview mode** - see changes before writing to files
+- **Batch find/replace** - across fields and entries
+- **Git integration** - track changes in version control
+- **Import from other formats** - EndNote, Zotero, etc.
+
+### Implementation Priority
+1. **Citekey regeneration** - builds on duplicate handling work
+2. **Basic export/merge** - high user value, moderate complexity
+3. **Entry editing** - expand current DOI feature
+4. **Project management** - configuration-heavy but valuable
+5. **Advanced workflows** - power-user features
+
+### Technical Considerations
+- **File safety** - always backup before modifications
+- **Performance** - maintain speed even with large collections
+- **Error handling** - robust validation and recovery
+- **User experience** - clear feedback and confirmation for destructive operations
+
+---
+
+## Implementation Timeline
+
+### Phase 1: Core Improvements (Immediate)
+1. **Dynamic Column Configuration** - Major UI flexibility improvement
+2. **Duplicate Key Handling** - Fixes existing pain point, enables new workflows
+
+### Phase 2: Management Features (Medium-term)
+1. **Citekey Regeneration** - Builds on duplicate handling infrastructure
+2. **Basic Export/Merge** - High-value feature for multi-file workflows
+3. **Enhanced Entry Creation** - Expand current DOI functionality
+
+### Phase 3: Advanced Features (Long-term)
+1. **Project Management** - Configuration and workflow improvements
+2. **Advanced Editing** - Bulk operations, validation, etc.
+3. **Integration Features** - Git, backup systems, import/export
+
+---
+
+## Design Principles
+
+Throughout all implementations, maintain these core principles:
+
+- **Performance First** - Keep bibiman fast and responsive
+- **Simple Configuration** - Easy-to-understand config options
+- **Robust Error Handling** - Graceful failures with clear messages
+- **Non-destructive Operations** - Always preserve original data
+- **Terminal-focused Workflow** - Maintain the TUI-first approach
+- **Backward Compatibility** - Don't break existing user setups