@rangojs/router 0.0.0-experimental.15 → 0.0.0-experimental.150

package/skills/prerender/SKILL.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 name: prerender
-description: Pre-render route segments at build time with Prerender and passthrough fallback
+description: Pre-render route segments at build time with Prerender and Passthrough live fallback. Use when a page's content is mostly static and shouldn't render on every request, speeding up cold responses, or deciding which routes to prerender vs render live.
 argument-hint: [passthrough]
 ---
 
@@ -11,6 +11,13 @@ deserialization path, same segment system. The worker handles every request --
 there are NO static .html or .rsc files served from assets. The worker reads
 pre-computed Flight payloads instead of executing handler code.
 
+## Not this skill if…
+
+- You want a cached HTML shell captured at runtime, with holes and loaders
+  staying live per request — see `/ppr`.
+- You want runtime segment caching with TTL/SWR — that is the `cache()` DSL:
+  see `/caching`. Prerender is the same cache filled at build time.
+
 ## API: Prerender
 
 ### Static Route (no params)
@@ -51,8 +58,14 @@ path("/blog/:slug", BlogPost, { name: "blog.post" })
 
 ### With Passthrough (live fallback for unknown params)
 
+Wrap a `Prerender` definition with `Passthrough()` to add a separate live handler
+for unknown params at runtime. The build handler runs at build time, the live
+handler runs at request time.
+
 ```typescript
-export const ProductPage = Prerender(
+import { Prerender, Passthrough } from "@rangojs/router";
+
+export const ProductPageDef = Prerender(
   async () => {
     const top = await db.query("SELECT id FROM products WHERE featured");
     return top.map(p => ({ id: p.id }));
@@ -61,30 +74,42 @@ export const ProductPage = Prerender(
     const product = await db.query("SELECT * FROM products WHERE id = ?", ctx.params.id);
     return <Product data={product} />;
   },
-  { passthrough: true }
+  { concurrency: 4 }
 );
+
+// In route definition:
+path("/products/:id", Passthrough(ProductPageDef, async (ctx) => {
+  const product = await ctx.env.DB.query("SELECT * FROM products WHERE id = ?", ctx.params.id);
+  return <Product data={product} />;
+}), { name: "product" })
 ```
 
-## Passthrough Mode
+## Passthrough Wrapper
 
-Controls whether the handler stays in the RSC server bundle after build:
+`Passthrough(prerenderDef, liveHandler)` wraps a `Prerender` definition with a
+separate handler for runtime fallback. The build and live handlers are separate
+functions — no `ctx.build` branching needed.
 
-| | `passthrough: false` (default) | `passthrough: true` |
-|---|---|---|
-| Known params | Served from pre-rendered Flight payload | Served from pre-rendered Flight payload |
-| Unknown params | Handler evicted, no live fallback | Handler runs live at request time |
-| Bundle size | Handler code + imports removed | Handler code kept in RSC bundle |
-| `revalidate()` | Not allowed (handler gone) | Allowed (handler can re-render) |
-| `loading()` | Ignored (segments fully resolved) | Works for live fallback renders |
+|                     | Plain `Prerender` (no wrapper)          | `Passthrough(def, liveHandler)`          |
+| ------------------- | --------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
+| Known params        | Served from pre-rendered Flight payload | Served from pre-rendered Flight payload  |
+| Unknown params      | Handler evicted, no live fallback       | Live handler runs at request time        |
+| `ctx.passthrough()` | Throws (not on Passthrough route)       | Skips artifact, defers to live handler   |
+| Bundle size         | Build handler code + imports removed    | Build handler evicted, live handler kept |
+| `revalidate()`      | Not allowed (handler gone)              | Allowed (live handler can re-render)     |
+| `loading()`         | Ignored (segments fully resolved)       | Works for live fallback renders          |
 
-### When to use passthrough
+### When to use Passthrough
+
+Use `Passthrough()` when:
 
-Use `passthrough: true` when:
 - The route has a large or open-ended param space (e.g., user profiles, product pages)
 - You want to pre-render popular/known params for speed but still serve unknown params live
 - You need `revalidate()` on the route
+- The live handler needs runtime bindings (e.g., `ctx.env.DB`)
+
+Use plain `Prerender` (no wrapper) when:
 
-Use `passthrough: false` (default) when:
 - All possible params are known at build time (e.g., markdown files, config-driven pages)
 - You want maximum bundle size reduction (handler code + node:fs imports removed)
 - The route uses build-only APIs (node:fs, local files) not available at runtime
@@ -95,18 +120,60 @@ Handlers receive `BuildContext` at build time, a subset of the runtime `HandlerC
 
 ```typescript
 interface BuildContext<TParams> {
-  params: TParams;           // From getParams
-  use: <T>(handle: Handle<T>) => (data: T) => void;  // Push handle data
-  url: URL;                  // Synthetic URL from pattern + params
-  pathname: string;          // Pathname from synthetic URL
-  // NOT available: req, headers, cookies, env (throws descriptive errors)
+  params: TParams; // From getParams
+  build: true; // Always true at build time
+  dev: boolean; // true in Vite dev mode, false during production build
+  use: <T>(handle: Handle<T>) => (data: T) => void; // Push handle data
+  url: URL; // Synthetic URL from pattern + params
+  pathname: string; // Pathname from synthetic URL
+  searchParams: URLSearchParams; // URLSearchParams from the synthetic URL (always empty for prerender)
+  search: {}; // Typed search params -- always {} for prerender (no real query string)
+  set(key: string, value: any): void; // Set context variable (string key)
+  set<T>(contextVar: ContextVar<T>, value: T): void; // Set typed context variable
+  get(key: string): any; // Read context variable (string key)
+  get<T>(contextVar: ContextVar<T>): T | undefined; // Read typed context variable
+  reverse(
+    name: string,
+    params?: Record<string, string>,
+    search?: Record<string, unknown>,
+  ): string; // URL generation
+  passthrough(): PrerenderPassthroughResult; // Skip local artifact (Passthrough routes only)
+  env: DefaultEnv; // Available when buildEnv is configured in rango() (throws otherwise)
+  // NOT available: request, headers, cookies (always throw)
 }
 ```
 
+Use `createVar<T>()` to share typed data from a Prerender handler to child layouts:
+
+```typescript
+import { Prerender, createVar } from "@rangojs/router";
+
+interface PaginationData { current: number; total: number; }
+export const Pagination = createVar<PaginationData>();
+
+export const ArticleList = Prerender<{ page: string }>(
+  async () => [{ page: "1" }, { page: "2" }],
+  async (ctx) => {
+    ctx.set(Pagination, { current: Number(ctx.params.page), total: 2 });
+    return <Articles />;
+  },
+);
+```
+
 All items inside the path's use() callback (child layouts, parallels) also receive
 `BuildContext` during pre-rendering. Loaders are the exception -- they run at
 request time with full server context.
 
+This is one reason prerender is a good fit for handler-first composition:
+the handler and its child layouts/parallels participate in the same full
+render pass, so data set with `ctx.set()` is available downstream via
+`ctx.get()`.
+
+At runtime, partial action revalidation follows a narrower rule: only
+revalidated segments are recomputed. If a child segment depends on data
+established by an outer handler/layout, that outer segment must also be
+revalidated, or the child must load/guard the data independently.
+
 ## Supported Export Patterns
 
 All of the following are equivalent and fully supported by the Vite transform:
@@ -139,15 +206,17 @@ In production builds, `Prerender` exports are replaced with stubs:
 // Original
 export const BlogPost = Prerender(getParams, handler);
 
-// Stubbed (ships to server bundle when passthrough: false)
-export const BlogPost = { __brand: "prerenderHandler", $$id: "abc123#BlogPost" };
+// Stubbed (all Prerender handlers are evicted)
+export const BlogPost = {
+  __brand: "prerenderHandler",
+  $$id: "abc123#BlogPost",
+};
 ```
 
-The original module and its imports (node:fs, markdown libs) are excluded from
-the bundle. With `passthrough: true`, the handler code stays in the RSC bundle.
+All Prerender handlers are evicted in production. The live handler for
+`Passthrough()` routes lives in the urls module and is not evicted.
 
-In client and SSR environments, ALL prerender handlers are always stubbed
-(passthrough only affects the RSC server bundle).
+In client and SSR environments, ALL prerender handlers are always stubbed.
 
 ## Sub-use Semantics
 
@@ -181,22 +250,36 @@ path("/blog/:slug", BlogPost, { name: "blog.post" }, () => [
 
 ## Interaction with DSL Items
 
-| DSL item       | Behavior with Prerender |
-|----------------|--------------------------------------|
-| `loader()`     | Live at runtime, bundled normally. Use `cache()` for caching. |
-| `revalidate()` | Not allowed without passthrough. Allowed with passthrough. |
-| `cache()`      | Orthogonal -- use on parent layouts and loaders. |
-| `layout()`     | Child layouts inside path are pre-rendered. Parent layouts are live. |
-| `parallel()`   | Parallel slots inside path are pre-rendered. |
-| `middleware()`  | Skipped during pre-render (no request). Runs at request time for loaders. |
-| `loading()`    | Ignored without passthrough. Works for live fallback with passthrough. |
-| `intercept()`  | Not pre-rendered (intercepts are navigation-triggered). |
+| DSL item       | Behavior with Prerender                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
+| -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
+| `loader()`     | Live at runtime, bundled normally. Use `cache()` for caching.                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
+| `revalidate()` | Not allowed without Passthrough. Allowed with Passthrough.                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
+| `cache()`      | Orthogonal -- use on parent layouts and loaders.                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
+| `layout()`     | Child layouts inside path are pre-rendered. Parent layouts are live.                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
+| `parallel()`   | Parallel slots inside path are pre-rendered.                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
+| `middleware()` | Skipped during pre-render (no request). Runs at request time for loaders.                                                                                                                                                                                                |
+| `loading()`    | Ignored without Passthrough. Works for live fallback with Passthrough.                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
+| `intercept()`  | Pre-rendered at build time. Intercept variant stored under `/i` key alongside main segments. At runtime, the correct variant is served based on `ctx.isIntercept`. `when` config conditions are skipped at build time (all intercepts are pre-rendered unconditionally). |
+
+When Passthrough revalidation is enabled, remember that revalidation is
+still partial: opting a child segment into revalidation does not
+implicitly re-run outer prerender-derived handlers/layouts.
 
 ## Dev Mode
 
-In dev mode, `Prerender` is a normal handler. Routes render live
-on every request. No stubbing, no build-time pre-rendering. The handler runs
-with full runtime context (not BuildContext).
+In dev mode there is no production-style prerender build pass and no handler
+stubbing.
+
+**Node.js dev server** — `Prerender` acts as a normal handler. Routes render
+live on every request with full runtime context (`ctx.build === false`).
+
+**Non-Node runtimes (Cloudflare workerd, Deno workers)** — Handlers that
+depend on Node APIs (e.g. `node:fs`) cannot run in-process. The Vite plugin
+can intercept these requests and resolve them via the `/__rsc_prerender`
+endpoint, which runs `matchForPrerender` in a Node.js temp server. In this
+path the handler receives `BuildContext` (`ctx.build === true`) and segments
+are resolved identically to production prerendering, then served on-demand.
+This only applies when `__PRERENDER_DEV_URL` is set by the plugin.
 
 ## Storage Layout
 
@@ -212,41 +295,249 @@ dist/static/__<hash>/
       _.flight            # static route, no params
 ```
 
+## Concurrency
+
+Prerender handlers can specify how many param sets render in parallel:
+
+```typescript
+export const BlogPost = Prerender(
+  async () => posts.map(p => ({ slug: p.slug })),
+  async (ctx) => <PostPage slug={ctx.params.slug} />,
+  { concurrency: 4 },
+);
+```
+
+Default is `1` (sequential). Only `Prerender` supports concurrency; `Static` handlers
+always render sequentially.
+
+## Skipping Entries with Skip
+
+Throw `Skip` inside a Prerender or Static handler to skip an individual entry
+without failing the build:
+
+```typescript
+import { Prerender, Skip } from "@rangojs/router";
+
+export const BlogPost = Prerender(
+  async () => [{ slug: "published" }, { slug: "draft" }],
+  async (ctx) => {
+    if (ctx.params.slug === "draft") {
+      throw new Skip("Draft articles are not pre-rendered");
+    }
+    return <PostPage slug={ctx.params.slug} />;
+  },
+);
+
+// Wrap with Passthrough to serve skipped params live at runtime
+export const BlogPost = Passthrough(BlogPostDef, async (ctx) => {
+  if (ctx.params.slug === "draft") {
+    throw new Skip("Draft articles are not pre-rendered");
+  }
+  return <PostPage slug={ctx.params.slug} />;
+});
+```
+
+Skipped entries are excluded from the build output. With `Passthrough()`,
+the live handler serves skipped params at request time.
+
+`Skip` also works in `Static` handlers:
+
+```typescript
+import { Static, Skip } from "@rangojs/router";
+
+export const TocSidebar = Static(() => {
+  throw new Skip("Not ready for pre-rendering");
+});
+```
+
+### Error behavior at build time
+
+When a render throws a non-`Skip` error, it is **surfaced to the build** — never
+baked into a frozen error page served as a 200 (issue #587). What happens next is
+controlled by `prerender.onError` in your `rango()` options:
+
+```ts
+rango({ prerender: { onError: "warn" } }); // default is "fail"
+```
+
+| Handler outcome             | `onError: "fail"` (default)                  | `onError: "warn"`                |
+| --------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------- |
+| JSX / `null`                | Normal prerender entry, log OK               | Normal prerender entry, log OK   |
+| `return ctx.passthrough()`  | Skip entry, log PASS (Passthrough routes)    | Skip entry, log PASS             |
+| `throw new Skip("reason")`  | Skip entry, log SKIP, continue               | Skip entry, log SKIP, continue   |
+| `throw new Error("reason")` | Log FAIL, stop ALL pre-rendering, fail build | Log WARN, skip the URL, continue |
+
+With `"warn"` the errored entry is logged and left un-baked (never served as a baked
+200 error page). `"warn"` is a build-unblock, not a runtime contract: the route falls
+through to normal resolution — it may render live (its handler is still bundled) or
+404 (once other baked entries trigger prerender handler eviction), so the outcome
+depends on the rest of the build, and a skipped `Static()` handler's evicted code can
+surface as an error. For DEFINED runtime behavior reach for `Passthrough()` (a live
+fallback) or `throw new Skip()` (an intentional skip — works in the render fn, not
+only `getParams()`); otherwise prefer the default `"fail"`.
+
+Both `Skip` and hard errors propagate to the router's `onError` callback with phase
+`"prerender"` or `"static"`.
+
+### Build logs
+
+The build produces per-URL timing logs:
+
+```
+[rango] Pre-rendering 12 URL(s) (concurrency: 4)...
+[rango]   OK   /articles/hello            (42ms)
+[rango]   PASS /articles/remote-only      (5ms) - live fallback
+[rango]   SKIP /articles/draft-post       (3ms) - Article is a draft
+[rango] Pre-render complete: 11 done, 1 skipped (1204ms total)
+
+[rango] Rendering 3 static handler(s)...
+[rango]   OK   DocsLayout                 (28ms)
+[rango]   SKIP TocSidebar                 (1ms) - Not ready
+[rango] Static render complete: 2 done, 1 skipped (120ms total)
+```
+
+A `FAIL` line is logged per-URL when a handler throws a non-Skip error (with the
+default `prerender.onError: "fail"`). The error is re-thrown immediately, so no
+summary line is printed — the build stops at the first failure. Under
+`prerender.onError: "warn"` the same case logs a `WARN` line, skips that URL, and
+the build continues.
+
+### Dev mode behavior
+
+**Node.js dev server** — `Skip` behaves like a regular runtime error because
+the handler runs live with `ctx.build === false`.
+
+**Non-Node runtimes using `/__rsc_prerender`** — `Skip` participates in the
+on-demand prerender path, so build-style skip logic does run for that request.
+The dev prerender endpoint treats it like a prerender miss and the request
+falls back according to normal dev/runtime behavior.
+
+## Per-Param Passthrough with ctx.passthrough()
+
+On routes wrapped with `Passthrough()`, the build handler can return
+`ctx.passthrough()` to skip writing a local prerender artifact for a specific
+param set. At runtime, the missing entry falls through to the live handler.
+
+```typescript
+export const BlogPostDef = Prerender(
+  async () => [{ slug: "a" }, { slug: "b" }, { slug: "c" }],
+  async (ctx) => {
+    const post = await getPost(ctx.params.slug);
+    if (!post) return ctx.passthrough();
+    return <article>{post.content}</article>;
+  },
+);
+
+export const BlogPost = Passthrough(BlogPostDef, async (ctx) => {
+  const post = await getPost(ctx.params.slug);
+  return <article>{post.content}</article>;
+});
+```
+
+### Semantics
+
+- JSX or `null` from the build handler produces a normal prerender entry.
+- `ctx.passthrough()` returns a sentinel that signals "no local artifact".
+  The build skips the manifest entry for that param set.
+- `ctx.passthrough()` on a route not wrapped with `Passthrough()` throws.
+- `ctx.passthrough()` at runtime (`ctx.build === false`) also throws.
+  It is a build-time-only control flow.
+- `getParams()` still enumerates the param set; the build handler decides
+  per-param whether to produce an artifact or defer to the live handler.
+
+### Difference from Skip
+
+| Mechanism           | Effect on build        | Runtime behavior                                       |
+| ------------------- | ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
+| `throw new Skip()`  | Skips entry, logs SKIP | No artifact, no live fallback unless Passthrough route |
+| `ctx.passthrough()` | Skips entry, logs PASS | Always defers to live handler (requires Passthrough)   |
+
+Use `ctx.passthrough()` when you want the live handler to run at request time
+for specific params. Use `Skip` when you want to exclude params entirely.
+
+### Use case: Remote storage
+
+`ctx.passthrough()` enables a pattern where build-time data is stored in a
+remote KV store instead of the local prerender manifest. The build handler
+pre-computes data during `getParams`, pushes it to KV, then calls
+`ctx.passthrough()` so the local build skips the artifact. At runtime,
+the Passthrough live handler reads from KV:
+
+```typescript
+export const ProductDef = Prerender(
+  async () => {
+    const products = await db.getFeaturedProducts();
+    for (const p of products) {
+      await kv.put(`product:${p.id}`, await renderProduct(p));
+    }
+    return products.map(p => ({ id: p.id }));
+  },
+  async (ctx) => {
+    // At build time: skip local artifact, data is in KV
+    return ctx.passthrough();
+  },
+);
+
+export const Product = Passthrough(ProductDef, async (ctx) => {
+  // At runtime: read from KV, fall back to DB
+  const cached = await kv.get(`product:${ctx.params.id}`);
+  if (cached) return cached;
+  return <Product data={await ctx.env.DB.getProduct(ctx.params.id)} />;
+});
+```
+
+### Build logs
+
+Passthrough entries are logged distinctly:
+
+```
+[rango]   OK   /blog/a                          (42ms)
+[rango]   PASS /blog/b                          (3ms) - live fallback
+[rango]   OK   /blog/c                          (38ms)
+```
+
 ## Edge Cases and Constraints
 
 ### Loaders are always live
+
 Loaders on pre-rendered routes run at request time. They are bundled normally
 and need `cache()` for caching. Do not use build-only APIs in loaders.
 
 ### Handle data is frozen
+
 Handle values pushed via `ctx.use()` during pre-rendering are baked into the
 Flight payload. They do not update at request time.
 
 ### Server actions work normally
+
 Actions do not re-render the B segment. The pre-rendered handler output stays
-frozen. Loaders are live and can be revalidated by actions. With `passthrough: true`
-and `revalidate()`, the handler itself can re-render live.
+frozen. Loaders are live and can be revalidated by actions. With `Passthrough()`
+and `revalidate()`, the live handler can re-render.
 
 ### Empty getParams
+
 If `getParams` returns an empty array, no Flight payloads are written. No error.
 
 ### Route name is required
+
 Routes using `Prerender` must have a `name` in path options.
 The name is used as the storage key for Flight payloads.
 
-### No revalidate without passthrough
-Using `revalidate()` with `passthrough: false` produces a build-time warning.
+### No revalidate without Passthrough
+
+Using `revalidate()` without `Passthrough()` produces a build-time warning.
 The handler is evicted -- there is nothing to re-render.
 
-### loading() is ignored without passthrough
+### loading() is ignored without Passthrough
+
 Pre-rendered segments are fully resolved at build time and never suspend.
-With `passthrough: true`, `loading()` works for live fallback renders.
+With `Passthrough()`, `loading()` works for live fallback renders.
 
 ## Complete Example
 
 ```typescript
 // pages/guides-handler.tsx
-import { Prerender } from "@rangojs/router";
+import { Prerender, Passthrough } from "@rangojs/router";
 import { Link } from "@rangojs/router/client";
 import { href } from "../router.js";
 
@@ -255,7 +546,7 @@ const knownGuides: Record<string, string> = {
   caching: "Caching Guide",
 };
 
-export const GuidesDetail = Prerender<{ slug: string }>(
+export const GuidesDetailDef = Prerender<{ slug: string }>(
   async () => Object.keys(knownGuides).map((slug) => ({ slug })),
   async (ctx) => {
     const title = knownGuides[ctx.params.slug] ?? `Guide: ${ctx.params.slug}`;
@@ -271,9 +562,23 @@ export const GuidesDetail = Prerender<{ slug: string }>(
       </div>
     );
   },
-  { passthrough: true },
 );
 
+export const GuidesDetail = Passthrough(GuidesDetailDef, async (ctx) => {
+  const title = knownGuides[ctx.params.slug] ?? `Guide: ${ctx.params.slug}`;
+  return (
+    <div>
+      <h1>{title}</h1>
+      <p>Slug: {ctx.params.slug}</p>
+      <nav>
+        <Link to={href("guides.detail", { slug: "routing" })}>Routing</Link>
+        {" | "}
+        <Link to={href("guides.detail", { slug: "dynamic-test" })}>Dynamic</Link>
+      </nav>
+    </div>
+  );
+});
+
 // pages/guides.tsx
 import { urls } from "@rangojs/router";
 import { GuidesDetail } from "./guides-handler.js";
@@ -283,23 +588,110 @@ export const guidesPatterns = urls(({ path }) => [
 ]);
 
 // urls.tsx
-import { urls, include } from "@rangojs/router";
+import { urls } from "@rangojs/router";
 import { guidesPatterns } from "./pages/guides.js";
 
-export const urlpatterns = urls(({ path }) => [
+export const urlpatterns = urls(({ path, include }) => [
   path("/", HomePage, { name: "home" }),
   include("/guides", guidesPatterns, { name: "guides" }),
 ]);
 ```
 
+## Interaction with intercept()
+
+When a pre-rendered route is also the target of an `intercept()`, the build system
+resolves the intercept handler at build time and stores a combined entry (main
+segments + intercept segments) under an `/i`-suffixed key alongside the main entry:
+
+```
+prerender store keys:
+  "blog.post/a1b2c3"      -> main segments (full page)
+  "blog.post/a1b2c3/i"    -> main segments + intercept segments (modal variant)
+```
+
+At runtime, the cache-lookup middleware checks `ctx.isIntercept`:
+
+- **Intercept navigation**: looks up `paramHash/i` first. If found, yields
+  the combined entry. `handleCacheHitIntercept()` extracts intercept segments
+  (filtered by `namespace?.startsWith("intercept:")`) and sets up slots.
+- **Direct navigation**: looks up `paramHash` (no suffix). Standard prerender path.
+- **Intercept miss (no `/i` entry)**: falls through to the normal pipeline so
+  intercept-resolution middleware runs live. This handles `when` config conditions
+  that prevented pre-rendering.
+
+The `when` config selector receives an `InterceptSelectorContext` with `from.pathname`
+which is unknown at build time. All intercepts are pre-rendered unconditionally;
+`when` is evaluated at runtime by the intercept-resolution middleware.
+
+### Example: Pre-rendered route with intercept
+
+```typescript
+// Route handler is pre-rendered at build time
+export const ProductDetail = Prerender(
+  async () => [{ slug: "shoes" }, { slug: "jacket" }],
+  async (ctx) => <ProductPage slug={ctx.params.slug} />,
+);
+
+// urls.tsx
+layout(ShopLayout, () => [
+  path("/:slug", ProductDetail, { name: "detail" }, () => [
+    loader(ProductLoader),
+  ]),
+
+  // Intercept detail from shop index into a modal.
+  // At build time, this is resolved and stored under the /i key.
+  intercept(
+    "@modal",
+    ".detail",
+    <ProductModal />,
+    { when: ({ from }) => from.pathname === "/shop" },
+    () => [loader(ProductLoader)],
+  ),
+])
+```
+
+Both `ProductPage` (main) and `ProductModal` (intercept) are frozen at build time.
+Loaders run fresh at request time for both variants.
+
 ## Trie Flags
 
 Pre-rendered routes set flags on the route trie leaf at build time:
 
 - `pr: true` -- route has pre-rendered B segment data
-- `pt: true` -- passthrough mode (handler available for live fallback)
+- `pt: true` -- route wrapped with `Passthrough()` (live handler available)
 
 At runtime, the cache-lookup middleware uses these flags:
+
 - `pr + hit` -- serve pre-rendered Flight payload
-- `pr + pt + miss` -- fall through to live handler (handler kept in bundle)
+- `pr + pt + miss` -- fall through to Passthrough live handler
 - `pr + miss` (no pt) -- fall through (handler stubbed, no live render)
+
+## Contributor Checklist
+
+Before changing prerender behavior, run these tests.
+
+### Tests to run
+
+```bash
+# Core prerender e2e (Passthrough, eviction, loaders, sub-use, intercept)
+pnpm --filter @rangojs/router exec playwright test prerender
+
+# Prerender-specific unit test
+pnpm --filter @rangojs/router run test:unit -- prerender-passthrough
+
+# Semantic matrix (prerender rows cover intercept + ctx propagation)
+pnpm --filter @rangojs/router exec playwright test semantic-matrix
+
+# Handler-first (ctx.set/get visibility with prerender handlers)
+pnpm --filter @rangojs/router exec playwright test handler-first
+```
+
+### Dev-only vs build-parity
+
+- Prerender e2e tests run against a real production build by default (the
+  fixture builds the test app). Dev-mode prerender behavior is tested via
+  `/__rsc_prerender` endpoint tests and node.js dev-server fallback.
+- Log-based assertions (build output lines, debug cache logs) are inherently
+  dev/build-only and do not need a production counterpart.
+- Behavioral assertions (rendered content, loader freshness, Passthrough
+  fallback, intercept variant selection) must work in the production build.