siftlode/docs/DESIGN.md

# DESIGN.md — how Siftlode looks and behaves

This is the one written source of truth for the UI: principles, tokens, the canonical solution per pattern,
and the interaction rules. Screens are measured against it. A pattern that has more than one look in the
code is either a decision still open here (marked **Pending**) or a violation to fix.

**Status:** being written in E28. Chapters marked _Decided_ are in force. Chapters marked **Pending** are
open decisions, each rendered side by side in the design lab (below) and settled by the product owner.

## How this document changes

- A rule changes only through an explicit decision recorded in the [decision log](#decision-log): what was
  decided, the options it was chosen from, and why. No mid-sprint taste changes. A new idea goes on the
  list for the next design round.
- Every rule rests on a named standard: Nielsen's heuristics, WCAG 2.2 AA, WAI-ARIA APG, Apple HIG or
  Material. The tag is in brackets after the rule.
- A rule stated here should also be enforced in code (an eslint rule, a primitive's type, a test). A rule
  that lives only in prose drifts. That is the finding that started this document.

## The design lab

`npm run dev`, then open **`http://localhost:5173/design-lab`**. The lab renders each open decision's variants
with the app's real CSS, tokens, glass and themes, and has its own switches for theme, scheme, text size and
backdrop. It is dev-only: `main.tsx` reaches it behind `import.meta.env.DEV`, and the build plugin
`frontend/devOnlyGuard.ts` fails a production build that would contain it. Once a decision is taken, the
losing variants are deleted and the chosen one stays as the reference rendering: the lab is the living
style guide.

## Principles

1. **Glass over a calm background is the look.** Surfaces are translucent layers (`.glass`,
   `.glass-card`, `.glass-menu`, `.glass-media`) over a per-scheme backdrop. Depth comes from the
   **header + fade**: a crisp sticky header with a short gradient just below it, so content dissolves as it
   slides under. The reference is `DataTable`'s sticky header. A flat opaque box where a glass surface
   belongs is a violation.
2. **Built for one known, daily user, on a desktop and a tablet.** Density is welcome where a mouse is
   the pointer; on touch every target grows. Nothing is designed for phones.
3. **One primitive per pattern.** Where a `components/ui/` primitive exists and is used, the looks don't
   drift. The drift lives in hand-rolled markup. A new generic control goes into `ui/`, and a screen
   composes primitives rather than restyling them.
4. **Measured, not eyeballed.** Contrast, target sizes and layout at the contract sizes are measured in a
   real browser before a UI change is called done.
5. **Honest states.** An error never renders as an empty state; loading, empty and error are three
   different screens (`QueryState` / `StateMessage`).

## Device adaptation — _Decided_

- **Supported:** tablet portrait and landscape and every size above them (from 768px wide). Phones are not a
  target. Measure a UI change at 1024×768, 820×1180 (portrait) and a desktop size.
- **Adapt by capability, never by user agent:** `@media (pointer: coarse)` and `(hover: none)` decide touch
  behaviour; container queries decide how a panel lays itself out. Breakpoints are named tokens, never
  literal pixel values scattered in call sites. [HIG, WCAG 1.4.10]
- **Touch never loses a function.** Anything revealed on hover is visible at rest on `hover: none` (the
  `.reveal` class), or it is removed on touch because the same action is reachable another way
  (`.reveal-hover`). [WCAG 1.4.13, Nielsen #6]
- **Targets:** at least 2.75rem (44px) on a coarse pointer, as a real box, not an invisible hit area:
  overlapping hit areas fire the wrong control. It covers every control primitive, not only `Button`
  (A3, under Controls). [HIG, WCAG 2.5.8]
- **Text inputs** use at least 1rem text on a coarse pointer, so a tablet browser doesn't zoom the page
  when an input gets focus.
- **Below 768px** (a narrow window, split screen): what replaces the side rails, and how a side panel opens on touch, is **Pending (C2)**. The Plex player on touch is **Pending (C3)**.

## Tokens

- **Colour:** only semantic tokens (`--bg --surface --card --fg --muted --accent --accent-fg --danger
--warn --success --info --border`, each with a `-fg` partner where text sits on it). Four schemes × dark
  and light (B2): **Midnight** (blue), **Forest** (cyan), **Slate** (fuchsia), **Matrix** (lime). Each earns its
  place with its own hue family. Normal text ≥ 4.5:1 and a control's edge ≥ 3:1 in **every** scheme and mode.
  [WCAG 1.4.3, 1.4.11] The input edge token is set under Controls (A4).
- **The accent never looks like a status.** A scheme's accent is at least 30° of OKLCH hue away from
  `--danger`, `--warn` and `--success`, and passes 4.5:1 both as text on `--bg` and under `--accent-fg` on
  the fill, in dark and light. A primary button must never read as a destructive one. A new scheme is
  measured against this before it ships (the lab's B2 tiles do the arithmetic). [WCAG 1.4.1, 1.4.3]
- **State layers (B3):** hover and pressed are a layer, not a colour swap: the text colour mixed at **10%**
  (hover) / **16%** (pressed) over whatever the control sits on, so it reads on the page, a card and glass
  alike. A filled control mixes its own text colour into its fill at 14% / 24%. Opacity dimming and
  `bg-card` hovers are violations (invisible on a light card). Selected stays the solid accent.
- **Type and size:** everything is rem-derived off `--font-scale` (the Settings text-size slider), so a
  px font size or a px-frozen box is an eslint error.
- **Radius:** chips and segmented controls `rounded-full`; tabs `rounded-lg`. Buttons, icon buttons and
  form fields `rounded-lg`; toolbar triggers and search a pill (Controls). Surfaces: see Surfaces.
- **Layers:** the fixed z-index scale in `index.css` (`base < menu < chrome < paneltab < panel < rail <
overlay < popover < tooltip`). No ad-hoc z-index. [maintainability]

## Controls — _Decided_ (batches A and B)

The chosen rendering of each rule is in the lab under "Decided". The primitives are built to it in S3.

- **Buttons (A1):** `rounded-lg` (r8): a control's corner is smaller than the surface it sits on (card r12,
  dialog r16). The rung follows the context: `md` in forms and dialog footers, `sm` in toolbars and panel
  headers, `xs` inside a table row. Glass is a `Button` variant, not a hand-built glass button. [HIG, Material]
- **Density (B1): compact, by explicit height.** `md` 2rem (32), `sm` 1.75rem (28), `xs` 1.5rem (24); icon
  buttons 1.75rem / 2rem. A toolbar's search pill, dropdown trigger, `sm` button and small icon button are
  the same 28, so the row lines up. Nothing goes under 24 (WCAG 2.5.8); touch grows it to 44 (A3).
- **Icon buttons (A2):** two sizes (28 / 32), r8: the smaller in rows and dense toolbars, the larger on its own. On a
  picture, a round, dark translucent button, readable on any thumbnail. Round means "on media" only.
- **Touch (A3):** on a coarse pointer every control primitive (`Button`, `SegmentedToggle`, `FilterSelect`,
  `Tabs`, `Switch`, chips, the nav rail) grows to 2.75rem (44px) through one token, as a real box. Mouse
  sizes don't change. [HIG, WCAG 2.5.8]
- **Input (A4):** one bordered input primitive. The edge is `color-mix(in srgb, var(--fg) 55%, var(--bg))`,
  ≥ 3:1 against the page in every scheme and mode. A form field is r8 at the `md` height (32); a toolbar search
  is a pill at the `sm` height (28). Text is 1rem on a coarse pointer. [WCAG 1.4.11]
- **Dropdown trigger (A5):** a pill in a toolbar (where the pill means "a filter or a choice"), r8 in a form
  (it lines up with the inputs).
- **Checkbox, switch, slider (A6):** the browser's own controls tinted with `accent-color`; the whole
  labelled row is the 44px target. Keyboard, screen reader and forced-colours support come from the browser.

Also in force:

- An action button is `ui/Button` with a `SIZES` rung. A hand-rolled `<button className="px-3 …">` is a
  violation. A text-less button must have an accessible name, and the type enforces it. [WCAG 4.1.2]
- A choice between a few values is `SegmentedToggle`; a long list or a user's own list is `FilterSelect`.
  Never a native `<select>` (lint-enforced).
- A filter chip goes through `FilterChipGroup`.
- A button that starts slow work shows `loading` (a spinner, `aria-busy`) and can't be pressed twice.
  [Nielsen #1]

## Surfaces and page chrome — _Decided_ (batch B)

- **Surface per role (B5):** a dialog or panel is `.glass` r16; a card or picker `.glass-card` r12; a menu
  `.glass-menu` r12 with 4px padding and r8 items (12 − 4, so the corners nest); a tooltip `.glass-menu` r8.
  Translucency comes only from the tiers (the app backdrop, Plex media, light); a per-site alpha override is a
  violation.
- **Page chrome (B4):** a page's tabs and filters sit in ONE sticky band of the page colour, with the fade
  under it (below). Below ~600px of height the filter row folds into one "Filters · n" button. Every page has
  a visually hidden `h1`; the nav rail and the browser tab title are the visible identity. [WCAG 2.4.6]
- **The header + fade edge (B9):** a crisp band and a 1rem gradient of the colour it sits on, so content
  dissolves as it slides under. It goes on sticky toolbars and table headers, tabs over a scrolling panel, a
  long dialog's header and footer, and the clipped ends of an overflowing chip row. Not on thumbnails (they
  are the content) and not on buttons (it becomes a dated gloss).
- **Nav rail (B7):** a `NavRail` primitive, slim: 3.75rem wide. "You are here" is a soft accent tint plus a
  3px edge bar. Labels under the icons are optional, a per-user switch in Settings (off by default); they add
  height, never width, so each module has a short rail label that fits, and the full name stays in the
  tooltip. No wide padding around the icons.
- **Loading (B8):** a first load of a grid, list or table shows its skeleton (a `Skeleton` primitive), so
  nothing jumps when the data lands; a control's own work shows its spinner (`loading`). Neither appears
  before ~300ms. [Nielsen #1]
- **The public watch page (B6)** follows these same rules (glass, `Button`, the pressed-pill toggle, the
  scheme's backdrop); only the video keeps the browser's own controls, because a stranger's device is
  unknown.

Already in force:

- The glass role is load-bearing: a dropdown or menu is `.glass-menu` (it floats over undimmed content, so a
  card alpha would bleed through), a dialog is `.glass`, and a grid card is `.glass-card`.
- Every overlay is a `Modal`/`Overlay` or an anchored popover from the one popover engine. Escape closes the
  topmost layer only, and focus returns to the control that opened it. [WCAG 2.4.3, 2.1.2]

## Action placement — _Decided_

Which actions are visible and which live in a menu.

- **One menu, several triggers.** An object's actions are ONE list. The visible "…" button, a right-click,
  a long-press (touch) and Shift+F10 / the Menu key all open the same `ContextMenu` built from that list.
  A second, hand-made menu for the same object is a violation.
- **Nothing is reachable only by a gesture.** Every menu action also has a visible path: the "…" button,
  the page toolbar, or the object's detail view. A right-click is a shortcut, never the only door.
  [Nielsen #6, #7]
- **What stays visible:** the object's primary action (play or open) and any state the user needs to see
  (watched, saved, downloading). **What goes into the menu:** rare, secondary and destructive actions.
  Destructive ones keep their confirmation. [Nielsen #8, #5]
- **On touch, a card shows fewer actions and a "…" button.** The rest are in the menu. _Which actions stay
  visible per object is the classification table, **Pending review (C1)**._
- **Background menu:** a right-click on EMPTY content area (not over text, inputs, links or media) may open
  a page menu. It only mirrors page-scope actions that already exist in the toolbar (sort, view, quick
  filters, select all); it adds no new function. Shift+right-click falls through to the browser's own menu.
  Desktop only: on touch a long-press on the background clashes with scrolling and text selection, so the
  toolbar stays the touch path.

### Text stays selectable — _Decided_

Wherever there is text, the user can select it and copy it, and no click action overrides that.

- A title or a name is never the text content of a `<button>`. The play/open target is the thumbnail, an
  icon, or a link-styled element.
- A click that ends a text selection does nothing: if the selection inside the element is non-empty, or
  the pointer moved past the drag slop, no play or open fires.
- On touch the long-press belongs to the context menu, so the object's menu offers **Copy title** and
  **Copy link**.

## Interaction rules — _Decided_

- **Keyboard:** everything works by keyboard, in visual order, with no traps. A shortcut is a row in
  `lib/keymap.ts`; list and grid navigation is `NavGrid`/`keyboardNav`. [WCAG 2.1.1, 2.4.3, 2.1.2]
- **Focus:** every control has a visible focus ring (the base ring in `index.css`; don't add a second). A
  sticky or fixed layer never covers the focused element. [WCAG 2.4.7, 2.4.11]
- **Menus and tabs follow WAI-ARIA APG:** arrow keys move, Home/End jump, Escape closes and returns focus;
  tabs carry `tablist`/`tab`/`tabpanel` roles.
- **Feedback:** a finished action is confirmed briefly (a toast that leaves by itself); anything that must
  be read or acted on is not only in a toast. Status changes are announced through a live region.
  [Nielsen #1, WCAG 2.2.1, 4.1.3]
- **Errors:** a failed write goes through `meta.failTitle` / `notifyActionError`, never a silent `catch`.
  An error sits next to what failed and says how to recover; a field error is under its field and linked
  with `aria-describedby`. Colour is never the only signal. [Nielsen #9, WCAG 3.3.1, 1.4.1]
- **Loading:** anything slower than ~300ms shows a loading state; a near-instant load doesn't flash one.
  Space is reserved for late content so the layout doesn't jump; the form is under Surfaces (B8).
- **Reordering:** anything you can drag also has a button or menu way to move it (Top / Up / Down / Bottom),
  and a drag handle carries `touch-action: none` so a finger drags instead of scrolling. [WCAG 2.5.7]
- **Motion:** 150–300ms micro-interactions, transform/opacity only; `prefers-reduced-motion` is respected.
  [WCAG 2.3.3]

## Dialogs — **Pending (C4)**

Where focus lands when a dialog opens (by purpose, APG), and whether the footer stays pinned while the body
scrolls. Open in the lab.

## Copy

- Every user-facing string is in both Hungarian and English with zero key drift, and a user-facing error is
  a structured `{code, reason}` translated on the client.
- A label says what happens ("Delete playlist"), not "OK". A destructive confirm names the object.

## Anti-patterns

- A flat `bg-card` / `bg-surface` box where a glass surface belongs.
- A hand-rolled control that restyles what a primitive already does.
- Information or actions that exist only on hover, or only behind a right-click.
- A click handler on text that swallows the user's text selection.
- A colour literal, a px font size, a px-frozen box.
- An empty state shown for an error.

## Decision log

| Date       | Decision                    | Chosen                                                                                                 | Over                                          | Why                                                                                                                                                                  |
| ---------- | --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 2026-09-24 | Device contract             | Tablet portrait + landscape and up; phones out                                                         | A 1024px floor with a "too small" message     | Portrait tablet use is real, and the app already renders at 820 portrait                                                                                             |
| 2026-09-24 | Card actions on touch       | Fewer visible, the rest in a "…" menu                                                                  | 44px buttons that no longer fit the card      | Six 44px targets need more width than a card has                                                                                                                     |
| 2026-09-24 | Action placement            | One menu with several triggers, never gesture-only, a desktop background menu that mirrors the toolbar | Visible buttons for everything                | Fewer non-critical buttons on screen, without hiding any function                                                                                                    |
| 2026-09-24 | Text selection              | Text stays selectable; a click that ends a selection does nothing                                      | Click-to-play on titles                       | The user must be able to copy any text the app shows                                                                                                                 |
| 2026-09-24 | A1 Button shape             | r8 + a rung per context; glass is a Button variant                                                     | r12; a pill                                   | Nested corners (r8 in r12 in r16); the pill already means "a filter or a choice"                                                                                     |
| 2026-09-24 | A2 Icon buttons             | Two sizes, r8; a round button only on media                                                            | One size; all round                           | A lone toolbar icon at the row size looks lost; round rows read as tags                                                                                              |
| 2026-09-24 | A3 Touch size               | 44 for every control primitive                                                                         | 36 + gaps; Button only                        | One rule (HIG 44) instead of two sizes nobody remembers                                                                                                              |
| 2026-09-24 | A4 Input                    | Bordered, a 55% fg-into-bg edge (≥ 3:1)                                                                | Filled; today's look as a primitive           | The only option that clears WCAG 1.4.11 without a heavy fill on glass                                                                                                |
| 2026-09-24 | A5 Dropdown trigger         | Pill in a toolbar, r8 in a form                                                                        | Pill everywhere; r8 everywhere                | Matches the neighbours in each context                                                                                                                               |
| 2026-09-24 | A6 Checkbox, switch, slider | Native, accent-tinted, the row is the target                                                           | Drawn primitives                              | Free keyboard / screen-reader / forced-colours support; only 3 sites                                                                                                 |
| 2026-09-24 | B1 Density                  | Compact 32 / 28 / 24 by explicit height                                                                | Standard 38 / 32 / 26                         | The owner's read of the lab; touch is covered separately (A3), and one toolbar row lines up at 28                                                                    |
| 2026-09-24 | B2 Scheme set               | Midnight, Forest→cyan, Slate→fuchsia, Matrix→lime                                                      | Today's six                                   | The accent collided with danger (YouTube), warn (Slate) and success (Forest, Matrix); Midnight and Starship were one scheme twice; 4 of 6 light accents failed 4.5:1 |
| 2026-09-24 | B3 State layers             | Text colour at 10% / 16% over anything                                                                 | Material's 8 / 12%; today's opacity + bg-card | Visible in every scheme and mode (≥ 1.2:1); today's row hover was 1.00:1 on a card                                                                                   |
| 2026-09-24 | B4 Page chrome              | One sticky band + fade; filters fold when short                                                        | A floating glass bar; everything scrolls      | Tabs and filters always in reach, in one place; a keyboard-up tablet keeps its content                                                                               |
| 2026-09-24 | B5 Surfaces                 | One class + radius per role                                                                            | Today's per-site mix                          | Nested corners and no per-site alpha drift                                                                                                                           |
| 2026-09-24 | B6 /watch                   | The app's surfaces, native video controls                                                              | Flat and minimal                              | The page strangers see should look like the product; native controls work on any device                                                                              |
| 2026-09-24 | B7 Nav rail                 | Soft tint + edge bar, optional labels (a user setting), slim                                           | Solid accent (recommended); a Material rail   | The owner's combination: calmer than a solid fill, labels for who wants them, no width cost                                                                          |
| 2026-09-24 | B8 Loading                  | Skeleton by shape, spinner in a control                                                                | A spinner everywhere                          | Nothing jumps when data lands; a long wait doesn't look stuck                                                                                                        |
| 2026-09-24 | B9 Fade                     | Toolbars / headers, panel tabs, dialog edges, chip rows                                                | Thumbnails; buttons                           | The north-star depth where content scrolls under chrome; not on content or small controls                                                                            |