46825 frontend [ template ] Dashes escaped with backslash in workflow name

[EBirkenfeld]

1. Description (Problem)

When launching a workflow from a template, backslashes appear before every dash (\-) in the "Workflow name" field of the launch modal.
Example: template {{date}} — {{template-name}}-{{field-xxx}} -{{workflow-id}} renders as Date — Template name \- Checkbox Field \- Workflow id.
Visible in the workflow launch modal ("Run" button on the template page) and in the template editor ("Workflow name" field in the Kick-off Form).

2. Context

The escapeMarkdown function was introduced to prepare text before loading it into the Lexical editor — so that markdown special characters (*, _, `, etc.) are not interpreted as formatting. The dash (-) was incorrectly included in the list of escaped characters, even though it is not a markdown special character in inline context (only at line start as a list marker, but the field is single-line with multiline={false}).

3. Solution

Remove the dash character from the escaping regex pattern in escapeMarkdown. This is a minimal one-line change that eliminates the issue without side effects.

4. Implementation Details

Files affected:

• frontend/src/public/utils/escapeMarkdown.ts — removed \- from regex character class on line 8
• frontend/src/public/utils/__tests__/escapeMarkdown.test.ts — new file, 59 tests

Regex change:

• Before: /([\\*_[]{}()#+-.!|&%=:"'~])/g`
• After: /([\\*_[]{}()#+.!|&%=:"'~])/g`
  No API, type, or contract changes. Frontend-only change.

5. What to Test

5.1 Preconditions

• Environment: dev
• Account with template editor access
• A template with "Workflow name" field containing dashes between variables

5.2 Positive Scenarios

1. Launch workflow with dashes in name:
   • Open template → Kick-off Form → set "Workflow name" to: {{date}} — {{template-name}}-{{field-xxx}}
   • Save template → click "Run"
   • In the launch modal, verify dashes display without backslashes
   • Launch the workflow → check that the workflow name in the list is correct (no \-)
2. Edit name in the launch modal:
   • Open the launch modal for a template with dashes in Workflow name
   • Edit the name: add/remove a dash
   • Click Run → verify the name is saved correctly
3. Template without dashes (regression):
   • Verify that a template like {{date}} {{template-name}} still works correctly

5.3 Negative Scenarios and Edge Cases

1. Multiple consecutive dashes: Workflow name ---{{date}}--- → should display as-is, no \
2. Dash only: Workflow name - → should remain just -
3. Markdown formatting in name: Enter **bold** _italic_ → asterisks and underscores should still be escaped (displayed as text, not formatting)
4. Empty workflow name: Leave field empty → Run button should be disabled

5.4 Verification Points

• Launch modal UI: dashes without backslashes
• Template editor UI (Kick-off Form → Workflow name): dashes without backslashes
• Created workflow name in the list: correct, no \-
• DevTools → Network → launch request payload: name field without \-

5.5 API Checks

This PR does not change API requests or responses. The change is only in the client-side text preparation before displaying in the Lexical editor. However, verify:

• In the POST /workflows request, the name field should not contain \-
• The wf_name_template field in GET /templates/{id} response remains unchanged (dashes without escaping)

5.6 What Was NOT Tested

• Not tested on mobile devices
• Not tested in production
• Locales were not checked (change does not affect i18n)
• Public form was not tested separately

6. Affected Areas (Dependencies)

escapeMarkdown is used in the InputWithVariables component, which is used in 3 places:

Location	Component	What to verify
Workflow launch modal	WorkflowEditPopup	"Workflow name" field — dashes without \
Template editor, Kick-off Form	KickoffRedux	"Workflow name" field — dashes without \
Template editor, task description	TaskForm	Task name field — dashes without \

7. Refactoring

No refactoring was performed. The change is a 1-character bugfix in a regex.

8. Commits

• 7d0b0ab7 — fix(frontend): stop escaping dashes in workflow name template

9. Release Notes

Fixed: dashes in workflow name template no longer display with backslashes when launching a workflow.

---

Note

Low Risk
Low risk: a one-character regex change to stop escaping -, plus comprehensive unit tests; main risk is a small behavior change where - will no longer be backslash-escaped in any escapeMarkdown usage.

Overview
Fixes workflow/template text rendering by updating escapeMarkdown to no longer escape hyphens (-) while continuing to escape other markdown-relevant characters.

Adds a comprehensive Jest test suite for escapeMarkdown, covering variable placeholder preservation ({{...}}), special-character escaping, dash handling, and edge/idempotency cases.

^{Reviewed by Cursor Bugbot for commit 7d0b0ab. Bugbot is set up for automated code reviews on this repo. Configure here.}

Note

Fix dash escaping in workflow name template escapeMarkdown function

Removes - from the set of characters backslash-escaped in escapeMarkdown.ts, so strings like a-b stay as a-b instead of becoming a\-b. Adds a Jest test suite in escapeMarkdown.test.ts covering dash handling, variable preservation, and idempotency.

^{Macroscope summarized 7d0b0ab.}

[Maria-Lordwill]

Review

The fix is correct and well-reasoned.

The change: Removing - from the escapeMarkdown regex is the right call. The field uses multiline={false}, so a dash can never appear at the start of a line in a markdown sense — it's not a list marker here. No need to escape it.

Tests: The test file is thorough — covers dash handling, variable preservation ({{...}}), markdown special characters, edge cases, and idempotency. 59 tests for a one-line change is exactly the right level of coverage for a utility function used in multiple places.

Risk: Low. The only behavioral change is that - will no longer be backslash-escaped in escapeMarkdown output. All other characters (*, _, `, !, etc.) continue to be escaped as before.

LGTM ✅