the direction becomes a visible contract in the artifact

Transcript evidence (a12 01-observability): plans commit and deliver on
the axes with contract-strength language (palette, type, even theme
inversion) and stay default on the axis without one (layout gets a
single conventional breath). And plans living in invisible reasoning
means nothing can hold a build to its intent. The direction is now
written as a comment block at the top of the artifact answering: the
concept, the hour-later memory, why not the modal competitor page, the
signature, the first viewport's move. Critics and evals can score
delivery-against-contract; a mood is not an answer.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
Paul Bakaus
2026-07-12 18:38:16 -07:00
co-authored by Claude Fable 5
parent 099aacee99
commit 5635b1d484
14 changed files with 14 additions and 14 deletions
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ Name one concrete subject, its audience, and the page's single job. The subject'
Sketch three directions in one line each before choosing: they must differ in concept, not in polish. If the direction you'd instinctively ship is the one any competent studio would also reach for, it is the default wearing your name; pick the direction that is most specific to this subject and still serves the mode.
Then state the chosen direction as one confirmable paragraph: the concept, the palette's anchor, the faces, the signature. When a user can respond and the work is substantial, pause there for confirmation; when the harness has native image generation, follow [codex.md](codex.md)'s mock flow before code. When no user can respond, record the decision in your reasoning and proceed without pausing. Either way the decision comes first; code that precedes a direction is the template reflex in motion.
Then state the chosen direction as a contract, written as a comment block at the top of the artifact (invisible to visitors, binding for you): the concept in one line; what a visitor would describe an hour after one viewport; why this page could not be the modal competitor page; the signature; and what the first viewport does instead of a generic header. If any answer is missing or reads like a mood, the direction isn't decided yet. The build is judged against this contract; delivering different pixels than the contract promises is a defect on whichever side is weaker. When a user can respond and the work is substantial, pause there for confirmation; when the harness has native image generation, follow [codex.md](codex.md)'s mock flow before code. When no user can respond, record the decision in your reasoning and proceed without pausing. Either way the decision comes first; code that precedes a direction is the template reflex in motion.
## Plan, self-check, build