Group consecutive images into a Telegram-style mosaic #11

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opened 2026-10-04 20:24:59 +00:00 by robocub · 0 comments

robocub commented

2026-10-04 20:24:59 +00:00

Owner

Why

When someone posts several pictures in a row, Telegram shows them as one compact mosaic. Commet shows each picture as its own message in a long vertical column, at inconsistent sizes. A four-picture post that takes one screen in Telegram takes three or four in Commet. In a side-by-side comparison of the same four-picture post, Telegram fits it in a 2+2 grid about one screen tall; Commet stacks four separately sized pictures in a single column. (The comparison screenshots show a real person's posts, so they are not attached to this public issue.)

What exists

On Matrix every picture is normally its own event (m.image), and that is what bridges like mautrix-telegram send for a Telegram album.
Commet renders one event at a time. Within a single event, attachments go into a plain Wrap (timeline_event_view_attachments.dart), so nothing ever lays out pictures from different events together.
Consecutive messages from the same sender already collapse the name and avatar (shouldShowSender in timeline_event_view_message.dart), so the timeline already knows about "runs" by one sender.

Plan

Group runs client-side: consecutive image or video events from the same sender, sent within about a minute of each other, with no text messages in between, and not replies or thread messages. Render them as one block.
Mosaic layout like Telegram: rows sized from each picture's aspect ratio. Use info.w/info.h from the event so the layout doesn't jump while images load. Cap at about 10 tiles per block; the rest becomes a "+N" tile.
Keep per-picture actions: each tile is still its own event. Long-press or right-click a tile for that picture's menu (reply, react, save, delete). Reactions show on the tile they belong to.
Viewer: tapping a tile opens the full-screen viewer with swipe or arrow keys across the whole group.
Galleries in one event: also render the proposed m.gallery msgtype (MSC4274, open, unstable prefix per the MSC) the same way, so galleries sent by clients that support it display properly.
A setting to turn grouping off.

Acceptance

Four pictures posted together through the Telegram bridge render as one compact block, laid out like the Telegram screenshot.
Replying to or reacting on one picture in the block still targets that one event.
Pictures posted minutes apart, or with a text message between them, are not grouped.

Filed with LLM assistance. This is a fork-only issue; never refile it on Commet's tracker.

## Why When someone posts several pictures in a row, Telegram shows them as one compact mosaic. Commet shows each picture as its own message in a long vertical column, at inconsistent sizes. A four-picture post that takes one screen in Telegram takes three or four in Commet. In a side-by-side comparison of the same four-picture post, Telegram fits it in a 2+2 grid about one screen tall; Commet stacks four separately sized pictures in a single column. (The comparison screenshots show a real person's posts, so they are not attached to this public issue.) ## What exists - On Matrix every picture is normally its **own event** (`m.image`), and that is what bridges like mautrix-telegram send for a Telegram album. - Commet renders one event at a time. Within a single event, attachments go into a plain `Wrap` (`timeline_event_view_attachments.dart`), so nothing ever lays out pictures from *different* events together. - Consecutive messages from the same sender already collapse the name and avatar (`shouldShowSender` in `timeline_event_view_message.dart`), so the timeline already knows about "runs" by one sender. ## Plan 1. **Group runs client-side:** consecutive image or video events from the same sender, sent within about a minute of each other, with no text messages in between, and not replies or thread messages. Render them as one block. 2. **Mosaic layout like Telegram:** rows sized from each picture's aspect ratio. Use `info.w`/`info.h` from the event so the layout doesn't jump while images load. Cap at about 10 tiles per block; the rest becomes a "+N" tile. 3. **Keep per-picture actions:** each tile is still its own event. Long-press or right-click a tile for that picture's menu (reply, react, save, delete). Reactions show on the tile they belong to. 4. **Viewer:** tapping a tile opens the full-screen viewer with swipe or arrow keys across the whole group. 5. **Galleries in one event:** also render the proposed `m.gallery` msgtype (MSC4274, open, unstable prefix per the MSC) the same way, so galleries sent by clients that support it display properly. 6. A setting to turn grouping off. ## Acceptance - Four pictures posted together through the Telegram bridge render as one compact block, laid out like the Telegram screenshot. - Replying to or reacting on one picture in the block still targets that one event. - Pictures posted minutes apart, or with a text message between them, are not grouped. --- _Filed with LLM assistance. This is a fork-only issue; never refile it on Commet's tracker._

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2026-10-04 20:24:59 +00:00

robocub referenced this issue from a commit

2026-10-05 02:11:33 +00:00

feat: group consecutive pictures into a Telegram-style mosaic (#11)

robocub referenced this issue

2026-10-05 19:03:35 +00:00

Animated GIF/WebP in album rooms don't animate and lose transparency #22

robocub referenced this issue from a commit