partforge 0.47.0 → 0.48.0

package/docs/AUTHORING-PARTS.md

@@ -453,104 +453,357 @@ even at animation rates (see `runtime.setParams`).
 
 ## Parameters: the control-panel schema
 
-`parameters` is an **array of sections**; the framework builds the panel from it and
-binds each control to a key in `defaults`. Two section kinds:
+`src/parts/planter.js`'s "Body" section is a live in-repo example of the full node
+shape — a preset, headline sliders, and a nested `"Wall"` group holding a
+`recommended` band and an `innerDia` readout. `src/parts/bracket.js`'s "Shape ops"
+section shows a `"radio"` control, and mixes it with two sections left on the legacy
+shape — proof the two coexist in one part.
 
-**Preset + controls section:**
+`parameters` is an **array of sections**. Each section is a node with a `controls`
+array, and **authored order is render order** — what you write top-to-bottom is what
+the user reads top-to-bottom:
 
 ```js
 {
-  id: "body",
+  id: "body",              // optional; also the node id (see "Ids" below)
   title: "Body",
-  presets: { M3: { od: 8, bore: 3.4, h: 10 }, M5: { od: 12, bore: 5.4, h: 16 } }, // name → param overrides
-  advanced: [                                  // controls revealed under "Advanced"
-    { key: "od",   label: "Outer diameter", unit: "mm", min: 4, max: 40, step: 0.5 },
-    { key: "bore", label: "Bore",           unit: "mm", min: 1, max: 30, step: 0.1, control: "number" },
-    { key: "title", label: "Title", control: "text" },
-    { key: "label", label: "Label", control: "textarea" },
-  ],
+  description: "...",      // CommonMark, behind the section's ⓘ glyph
+  collapsed: "auto",       // true | false | "auto" (default)
+  when: { ... },           // optional condition — see "Conditions" below
+  controls: [ /* entries, in render order */ ],
 }
 ```
 
-Numeric slider/feature controls show an **editable number box** beside them — drag the
-slider or type an exact value (finer than `step` is allowed; typed values clamp to
-`[min, max]`). Optional `control` per parameter chooses the input:
+Every entry in `controls` is one of four things, told apart by its `type`:
 
-- omit it (or use `"slider"`) for a slider + number box;
-- `"number"` for a number box only (handy for precise or wide-range values);
-- `"text"` for a single-line string field;
-- `"textarea"` for a multiline string field whose line breaks are preserved.
+- a **control** — bound to one key in `defaults` (`type` defaults to `"slider"`,
+  so a plain `{ key, label, min, max, step }` is a slider);
+- **`type: "group"`** — a nested container with its own `controls` array;
+- **`type: "preset"`** — a picker that writes a bundle of parameters at once;
+- **`type: "readout"`** — a read-only display of a `derive()` output.
 
-Text fields update `params` live on every edit, so the existing rebuild loop previews
-the new string immediately. Give every text key a string value in `defaults`; empty
-strings are valid control values, while the part's build function decides whether its
-geometry supports them. Editing any control in a preset section selects `Custom`, and
-choosing a preset updates both numeric and text fields.
+Groups nest, but **two levels is the limit** — a section plus one fold inside it is
+as deep as a 300 px rail stays readable, and `partforge lint` warns (`group-depth`)
+past that. Flatten by promoting the inner group to its own section.
 
-**Feature-toggle section** (checkbox enables a feature + reveals its sliders; `0` = off):
+A complete section, exercising most of the model:
 
 ```js
-{
-  id: "flange",
-  title: "Flange",
-  features: [
-    { label: "Base flange", key: "flange_d", on: 16,    // checked → set key to `on`; unchecked → 0
-      sliders: [{ key: "flange_d", label: "Flange diameter", unit: "mm", min: 8, max: 50, step: 1 }] },
-  ],
-}
+defaults: { profile: "round", facets: 6, dia: 80, wall: 2, feet: 0 },
+derive: (p) => ({ innerDia: p.dia - 2 * p.wall }),
+
+parameters: [
+  {
+    id: "body",
+    title: "Body",
+    description: "Silhouette and size of the vessel.",
+    controls: [
+      { type: "preset", presets: {
+          "Pen cup": { dia: 80,  wall: 2,   profile: "round" },
+          Vase:      { dia: 120, wall: 2.4, profile: "faceted", facets: 8 },
+      } },
+
+      { key: "profile", type: "radio", label: "Profile",
+        options: [{ value: "round", label: "Round" }, { value: "faceted", label: "Faceted" }],
+        description: "**Round** revolves the silhouette; **faceted** prisms it." },
+
+      { key: "facets", type: "slider", label: "Facets", min: 3, max: 12, step: 1,
+        when: { profile: "faceted" },              // only shown on a faceted profile
+        description: "Sides of the prism. 6–8 reads as faceted without looking coarse." },
+
+      { key: "dia", type: "slider", label: "Diameter", unit: "mm", min: 30, max: 150, step: 1,
+        description: "Outer diameter at the widest point; 60–100 mm suits a pen cup." },
+
+      { type: "group", title: "Wall", collapsed: "auto", controls: [
+        { key: "wall", type: "slider", label: "Thickness", unit: "mm",
+          min: 0.8, max: 4, step: 0.1, recommended: [1.2, 4],
+          description: "Wall thickness. Under 1.2 mm an FDM print gets fragile." },
+
+        { type: "readout", label: "Inner diameter", derivedKey: "innerDia", unit: "mm",
+          description: "Diameter minus both walls — the space something actually has to fit into." },
+
+        { key: "feet", type: "checkbox", label: "Raised feet", on: 3,
+          description: "Lift the base on four 3 mm feet so it drains and de-moulds cleanly." },
+      ] },
+    ],
+  },
+]
 ```
 
-Every `key` used must exist in `defaults`. `src/parts/demo.js` is the worked example for
-everything below.
+Every control `key` must exist in `defaults`, or the control is silently dead —
+`control-key-not-in-defaults` is an error for exactly that reason.
+
+**Ids.** A section, a group and a preset may carry an `id`; the renderer keys its
+element, state and disclosure maps on ids, so they must be unique across the whole
+panel (`duplicate-node-id`). A **control** entry's `id` is ignored — controls get
+positional ids — and lint reports it as an unknown field. Leave `id` off unless you
+need a stable handle.
+
+### Control types
+
+Every control accepts `key`, `type`, `label`, `description`, `hidden`, `when` and
+`whenFalse`. Beyond those:
+
+| `type` | Renders as | Extra fields |
+|---|---|---|
+| `"slider"` (default) | a range track plus an editable number box | `unit`, `min`, `max`, `step`, and the refinements below |
+| `"number"` | the number box alone — for precise or very wide ranges | `unit`, `min`, `max`, `step`, `recommended` (see below) |
+| `"text"` | a single-line string field | — |
+| `"textarea"` | a multiline string field; line breaks are preserved | — |
+| `"checkbox"` | an on/off box: ticked writes `on`, cleared writes `0` | `on` (default `1`) |
+| `"select"` | a dropdown | `options` |
+| `"radio"` | a segmented button row | `options` |
+
+Numeric controls always show the number box: drag the slider *or* type an exact
+value. Typed values may be finer than `step` and clamp to `[min, max]` on commit.
+Text fields write `params` on every keystroke, so the rebuild loop previews the new
+string immediately; give every text key a string default (empty strings are valid,
+and the build decides whether its geometry tolerates one).
+
+**`options`** (select/radio) takes either the shorthand `["round", "faceted"]` —
+each entry is both value and label — or the long form
+`[{ value, label, description? }]`. Values may be strings or numbers, and
+`defaults[key]` **must be one of them** (`select-default-not-in-options`; watch
+types, `12` is not `"12"`). An option's `description` surfaces as a hover tooltip
+on that one option, not as a ⓘ popover.
+
+**`"readout"` is not a control.** It has no `key`, never writes `params`, and can
+never be a preset target. It displays one output of `derive()`, named by
+`derivedKey`, refreshed on every parameter change; `unit` is appended to numeric
+values. A `derivedKey` no `derive` group returns shows an em-dash forever, which
+`readout-unknown-derived-key` warns about. Readouts are how a panel closes the loop
+on design intent — show the user the clearance, the inner diameter, the resulting
+wall — without adding a parameter nobody should edit.
+
+**A `group`** takes `type`, `id`, `title`, `collapsed`, `bare`, `controls`,
+`hidden`, `when` and `whenFalse`. It deliberately takes **no `description`**: the
+fold's title is itself a button, and there is nowhere to hang an ⓘ glyph beside it.
+Put the explanation on the section or on the controls inside. `bare: true` drops the
+title and the disclosure entirely, leaving an indented block — useful for a run of
+controls that appear and disappear together under one `when`.
+
+### Control metadata
 
-A feature's `on` is **required and must be greater than 0** — it is the real value the
-parameter takes when the box is ticked (a diameter, a count), and the panel reads
-`> 0` as "enabled", so there is nothing sensible to fall back to. `partforge lint`
-reports a missing or non-positive one as `features-requires-on`. A `toggles` entry is
-the exception: its `on` is just a flag and defaults to 1.
+- `description` — a CommonMark string shown in a click-open **ⓘ** popover beside the
+  label. Supports **bold/italic**, lists, `code`, links and images (for diagrams);
+  links open in a new tab and the rendered HTML is sanitized. Write one for every
+  control — see "A description for every control" below.
+- `hidden: true` — omits the node from the panel. Its `key` must still exist in
+  `defaults` and still drives the geometry: this is *no UI*, not *no parameter*. Use
+  it for internal constants the end user shouldn't edit. A group left with no visible
+  children doesn't render at all, and neither does an empty section.
+
+### Slider refinements
+
+Three optional fields shape how a numeric track behaves. All three are worth reaching
+for when a raw linear slider misrepresents the parameter.
+
+- **`scale: "log"`** — the thumb travels geometrically, so a 0.1–100 range gives each
+  decade equal width instead of burying everything below 10 in the first pixel. The
+  number box stays linear and exact, so typing `0.5` still works. `min` **must be
+  greater than 0** (`log(0)` is `-Infinity` and the mapping breaks); lint reports
+  `log-scale-needs-positive-min`.
+- **`ticks: [...]`** — marked values on the track (a native `datalist`). Every tick
+  must sit inside `[min, max]`. Add **`snap: true`** to quantize *slider drags* to the
+  nearest tick; the number box stays free, so an off-tick value is always still
+  typeable. Use it for stock sizes: M3/M4/M5, 3 mm / 6 mm plate.
+- **`recommended: [lo, hi]`** — tints that span of the track and puts a warning border
+  on the number box when the value sits outside it. This is the **visual companion to
+  the DFM checks**: the band is where the process the part targets is comfortable
+  (minimum wall, nozzle multiples, sane clearances), and `verify`'s `minWall` /
+  process checks are the same judgement enforced at measure time. It is advisory —
+  outside values remain selectable, because a user who knows their printer should not
+  be blocked by a default profile.
+
+`ticks`, `snap` and `recommended` render on a **linear track only**; combined with
+`scale: "log"` they are ignored, and `slider-refinement-invalid` warns. On a
+`"number"` control there is no track at all: `recommended` still tints the box on an
+out-of-band value, while `scale`, `ticks` and `snap` do nothing.
+
+### Conditions: `when` and `whenFalse`
+
+`when` is valid on **any** node — a control, a group, a preset, a readout, or a
+section itself. It is a plain data condition evaluated against raw parameters:
+
+```js
+when: { profile: "faceted" }                            // equality
+when: { wall: { gte: 1.2 } }                            // gt | gte | lt | lte | ne
+when: { style: { in: ["cup", "vase"] } }                // membership
+when: { drain: { gt: 0 }, mode: "planter" }             // multiple keys are ANDed
+when: { allOf: [{ drain: { gt: 0 } }, { mode: "planter" }] }
+when: { anyOf: [{ style: "cup" }, { style: "vase" }] }
+when: { not: { style: "plain" } }
+```
+
+The operators are `gt`, `gte`, `lt`, `lte`, `ne` and `in`; the combinators are
+`allOf`, `anyOf` and `not`. Two rules make conditions statically checkable, and both
+are enforced as **errors** because either failure is silent at runtime:
+
+- **Raw parameter keys only.** A `when` reads keys from `defaults`, never derived
+  values — that is what lets lint check every referenced key against `defaults`
+  (`when-key-not-in-defaults`), which no predicate function could support. Readouts
+  reach derived values through their own `derivedKey`, so there is never any doubt
+  which namespace a name is in.
+- **Known operators only.** `evalWhen` treats an unrecognised operator as false, so a
+  typo would hide the node forever; `when-unknown-operator` catches it first.
+
+A malformed condition evaluates to `false` rather than throwing — a control that
+hides is better than a panel that crashes.
+
+When the condition is false the node is **removed from the layout**, taking its
+subtree with it if it is a group. Set **`whenFalse: "disable"`** to grey it in place
+instead, for the case where the user should see that an option exists but needs
+something else switched on first. Disabling propagates through the whole subtree and
+sets real `disabled` attributes, so a disabled control cannot be focused or dragged.
+
+**`when` is not relevance dimming.** The panel also dims controls automatically, and
+the two are different mechanisms that must stay visually distinct:
+
+| | Relevance dimming | `when` |
+|---|---|---|
+| Answers | "does the geometry on screen actually read this parameter?" | "did the author say this applies right now?" |
+| Comes from | probing the build — automatic, nothing to write | your `when` condition |
+| Looks like | faded but fully usable, with a "doesn't affect the parts in the current view" tooltip | gone from the layout, or genuinely disabled |
+
+A control can be relevant but conditioned away, or conditioned in but irrelevant.
+Both recompute on the same tick as any parameter change. Don't reach for `when` to
+reproduce dimming — you'd be hand-maintaining something the framework already knows.
+
+### Collapsing
+
+Every section and every titled group is a disclosure, controlled by `collapsed`:
+`true` (start closed), `false` (start open), or `"auto"` (the default). `"auto"`
+defers to one rule:
+
+> A panel with **three or fewer visible top-level sections** opens every `"auto"`
+> section and fold on load. Beyond that, they all start closed.
 
-**Standalone toggles** (a plain on/off checkbox, no accompanying sliders): add a
-`toggles` array to a preset section — shown below the preset picker, outside the
-Advanced fold, so it stays visible:
+The rail is a fixed-height column, and a long part otherwise scrolls forever; three
+sections is a panel the user can take in at a glance. The count is over the sections
+in the built tree — `hidden: true` sections and sections left with nothing in them are
+gone before counting, but a section that a false `when` or relevance merely hides from
+view still counts, since it can come back without rebuilding the panel.
+Only the **first** render applies it — after that the user's own clicks own the folds,
+and a slider drag never snaps a section they opened back shut. A `bare: true` group
+has no disclosure at all and is never collapsed.
+
+### Presets
+
+A preset picker is a node like any other:
+
+```js
+{ type: "preset", label: "Size", presets: {
+    M3: { od: 8,  bore: 3.4, h: 10 },
+    M5: { od: 12, bore: 5.4, h: 16 },
+} }
+```
+
+Each key of `presets` is a name, each value a bundle of parameter overrides (every
+key of which must exist in `defaults` — `preset-key-not-in-defaults`). The picker
+lists the names plus **Custom**, and opens on the first name. Choosing a preset
+assigns its overrides over `params` and refreshes that section's controls; editing
+any control in the section afterwards drops the picker to **Custom**.
+
+Because it is a node, a picker can sit **anywhere** in `controls` — among the
+controls it affects, not necessarily at the top — and a section may carry more than
+one. Note that Custom-marking tracks the section's **first** picker only, so if two
+pickers in one section both need to show divergence, give each its own section.
+
+**Preset names are global to the part**, not to the section: `verify()` expands one
+case per preset name (so every preset gets measured), and a repeated name throws
+there. `duplicate-preset-name` catches it at lint time instead.
+
+### Legacy section shapes (still supported)
+
+Everything above is what a **new part should write**. The original array-based shapes
+predate the node model, still work exactly as they always did, and are not going
+away — most of the in-repo parts are deliberately left on them as live proof.
+`desugar()` normalizes them into the very same nodes, so the **runtime** is uniform:
+one renderer, one state pass, one set of lint walkers, whichever shape you wrote.
+
+The **authorable surface is not** uniform, and deliberately so — the legacy
+descriptors are frozen at the fields they always had. `when`, `whenFalse` and
+`collapsed`, and the `"checkbox"`, `"select"`, `"radio"` and `"readout"` types, exist
+in the `controls` shape **only**. Written on a legacy descriptor they are dropped and
+reported as `unknown-control-field`; a legacy section's `collapsed` is ignored
+silently. Reach for any of them and you are writing a `controls` section.
+
+| Legacy | Normalizes to |
+|---|---|
+| `presets: {...}` | a `{ type: "preset" }` node, first child of the section |
+| `toggles: [{ key, label, on }]` | `"checkbox"` controls placed directly in the section, after the picker and before the Advanced fold |
+| `advanced: [...]` | a nested group titled **Advanced**, `collapsed: "auto"` |
+| `features: [{ key, on, sliders }]` | per feature: a `"checkbox"`, followed by a `bare` group of its sliders carrying `when: { [key]: { gt: 0 } }` — both inside the Advanced group |
+| `control: "number"` | `type: "number"` |
+| `hidden: true` | kept through desugaring (lint needs it), dropped when the render tree is built |
+
+**Preset + controls section** — a picker, standalone toggles, and an Advanced fold:
 
 ```js
 {
-  id: "shape",
-  title: "Shape ops",
+  id: "body",
+  title: "Body",
+  presets: { M3: { od: 8, bore: 3.4, h: 10 }, M5: { od: 12, bore: 5.4, h: 16 } },
   toggles: [
     { key: "clip", label: "Clip arms to a disc (intersect)", on: 1,
-      description: "**Intersect** the cross with a circle so the four arm tips are rounded off to a common radius." },
+      description: "**Intersect** the cross with a circle so the arm tips round off." },
+  ],
+  advanced: [                                  // controls revealed under "Advanced"
+    { key: "od",   label: "Outer diameter", unit: "mm", min: 4, max: 40, step: 0.5 },
+    { key: "bore", label: "Bore", unit: "mm", min: 1, max: 30, step: 0.1, control: "number" },
+    { key: "title", label: "Title", control: "text" },
   ],
 }
 ```
 
-Each entry is `{ key, label, on?, hidden?, description? }`: checked sets `key` to `on`
-(default `1`); unchecked sets it to `0`. This is the correct home for a bare boolean —
-a `features` entry *requires* a `sliders` array (the panel reads `feat.sliders.filter(...)`
-unguarded and throws if it's missing), so a feature with nothing to reveal belongs in
-`toggles` instead. `src/parts/bracket.js`'s `clip` toggle (shown above) is the worked
-example.
+`control` is the legacy spelling of `type` and takes `"slider"` (the default),
+`"number"`, `"text"` or `"textarea"` — the newer `"checkbox"`, `"select"`, `"radio"`
+and `"readout"` types exist only in the `controls` shape. A `toggles` entry is
+`{ key, label, on?, hidden?, description? }`: checked writes `on` (default `1`),
+unchecked writes `0`. It is the right home for a bare boolean in this shape —
+`src/parts/hull-sweep.js`'s `wrap` toggle is the in-repo example.
 
-**Control metadata (optional — on any control def, feature, or section):**
-
-- `description` — a CommonMark string shown in a click-open **ⓘ** popover beside the
-  label. Supports **bold/italic**, lists, `code`, links, and images (for diagrams);
-  links open in a new tab and the rendered HTML is sanitized. Write one for every
-  control — see "A description for every control" below.
-- `hidden: true` — omits the control/feature/section from the panel. Its `key` must still
-  exist in `defaults` and still drives the geometry: use it for internal constants the
-  end user shouldn't edit (it is *no UI*, not *no parameter*). A section left with no
-  presets and no visible controls doesn't render at all.
+**Feature-toggle section** — a checkbox that enables a feature *and* reveals its own
+sliders (`0` = off):
 
 ```js
-advanced: [
-  { key: "od", label: "Outer diameter", unit: "mm", min: 4, max: 40, step: 0.5,
-    description: "Barrel OD. Keep it larger than the bore so a wall remains. See the [guide](https://example.com)." },
-  { key: "wall_seg", min: 8, max: 256, step: 1, hidden: true,   // internal constant; no UI, still in defaults
-    description: "Facet count — fixed by the design." },
-],
+{
+  id: "flange",
+  title: "Flange",
+  features: [
+    { label: "Base flange", key: "flange_d", on: 16,
+      sliders: [{ key: "flange_d", label: "Flange diameter", unit: "mm", min: 8, max: 50, step: 1 }] },
+  ],
+}
 ```
 
+A feature's `on` is **required and must be greater than 0** — it is the real value the
+parameter takes when the box is ticked (a diameter, a count), and the panel reads
+`> 0` as "enabled", so there is nothing sensible to fall back to
+(`features-requires-on`). `sliders` is required too (`features-requires-sliders`) — it
+is what the checkbox reveals, and a feature with nothing to reveal belongs in
+`toggles` instead. A section carrying `features` renders *only* its features — its
+`presets`, `toggles` and `advanced` are ignored. `src/parts/demo.js`'s `flange` is the
+in-repo example (`planter.js` has a second one).
+
+Three behaviours differ between the shapes, and they are frozen that way on purpose:
+
+- A legacy **feature** checkbox restores the magnitude the user had dialled in when
+  re-ticked; an authored `"checkbox"` always writes `on`. The node-model way to get a
+  feature is a checkbox plus a group gated on `when: { key: { gt: 0 } }` — which is
+  exactly what `features` desugars to.
+- **Every** control in a `controls` section marks the section's picker Custom when
+  edited. In the legacy shapes, feature sliders and toggles do not.
+- Collapse state is not authorable here, per the surface note above: a legacy section
+  and the "Advanced" fold it desugars to are both always `"auto"`, so they follow the
+  three-section rule and nothing else.
+
+**A section is one shape or the other.** Mixing `controls` with `advanced`,
+`toggles`, `features` or `presets` is the error `mixed-section-shape` — the render
+order of the mixture would be arbitrary. (`controls` wins if you do it anyway.) A
+single *part* may mix freely, one shape per section, so migration can go section by
+section.
+
 ---
 
 ## Designing the control panel
@@ -605,12 +858,65 @@ coherently:
 Tier the controls so the default view is uncluttered:
 
 1. **Presets** for the common cases — the first thing most users pick.
-2. A **few primary sliders** for the dimensions users change most.
-3. **`Advanced`** (the collapsible block) for the rest.
-4. **`hidden`** for internal constants the end user shouldn't edit.
-
-Aim for a panel with a few visible controls that still exposes the full design when
-someone opens Advanced.
+2. A **few primary controls** for the dimensions users change most, sitting loose in
+   the section.
+3. **A nested group** (`{ type: "group", title: "...", collapsed: "auto" }`) for the
+   rest — one per idea, titled for what it is (`Wall`, `Lid`, `Mounting`), not
+   "Advanced". Two levels is the ceiling.
+4. **`hidden: true`** for internal constants the end user shouldn't edit.
+
+Keep a section to **12 visible controls or fewer** — past that `section-too-many-controls`
+warns, because more than a dozen in one column reads as a wall rather than a set of
+choices. If a section is over budget, the fix is almost always that two ideas are
+sharing it: split the section, or hide internals (`hidden: true`) — grouping
+organizes but does not reduce the count.
+
+Aim for a panel whose first screen is a handful of controls, and whose full design is
+one click away in a fold.
+
+### Choosing a control
+
+The type carries meaning, so pick the one that matches the parameter rather than
+defaulting everything to a slider:
+
+- **A continuous dimension** → `"slider"`. Add `recommended` when there's a
+  manufacturable band, `ticks` + `snap` when real-world stock sizes exist, and
+  `scale: "log"` when the range spans decades.
+- **A precise or very wide number** (a count, a tolerance, a coordinate) →
+  `"number"`, so the user types rather than hunts.
+- **A discrete choice** → `"select"` when the values are a list, or `"radio"` when
+  there are **2–4** of them and seeing all the options at once is part of the
+  decision. Never fake either one with a slider over magic integers.
+- **A boolean** → `"checkbox"`. Ticked writes `on`, cleared writes `0`; there is no
+  reason for a two-position slider to exist.
+- **A computed value the user should see but not set** → `"readout"`. It costs no
+  parameter and answers the "so what did that do?" question in place.
+
+Then gate what doesn't always apply. A control that is meaningless in the current mode
+should carry a **`when`** rather than sit there inert — hide it by default, or use
+`whenFalse: "disable"` when its existence is itself the information ("Lid hinge:
+enable a lid first"). Conditions are also the cheapest way to keep a section under
+budget: three mode-specific controls that are never all relevant at once cost the
+reader one.
+
+Finally, **every control gets a `description`** — see below.
+
+### Ordering and naming
+
+Authored order is render order, so spend it deliberately: put the control a user
+reaches for first at the **top** — usually the primary dimension the presets don't
+settle — and order the rest by how a user thinks about the part, not by the order
+the build consumes them. A user scans the rail top-to-bottom once; the control they
+need should sit where that scan expects it, with fine-tuning below it and
+housekeeping last.
+
+Labels are for reading, not for the build: a short noun phrase (**"Wall
+thickness"**, **"Bolt hole ø"**), with units in `unit:` rather than in the label
+text, and never a parameter key or build-internal jargon — `flange_d` is a key,
+"Flange diameter" is a label. Every label must make sense on its own with its
+neighbours folded away; if a label only reads correctly next to another control
+("Diameter" … "Diameter" in two groups), rename until each stands alone or regroup
+until they are one idea.
 
 ### A description for every control
 
@@ -638,6 +944,9 @@ parameters change. You don't wire this up; it's automatic. To get the most from
   on-screen part shows dimmed, which is a useful signal that it's vestigial or
   misplaced.
 
+This is a separate mechanism from `when`, and stays visually distinct from it on
+purpose — see "Conditions: `when` and `whenFalse`" above for the split.
+
 ---
 
 ## Profiles & patterns
@@ -1130,9 +1439,80 @@ previously didn't; that's the fix working as intended, not a regression.
 `default-view-ambiguous` (warnings).
 
 **Parameter schema** — `features-requires-sliders`, `features-requires-on`,
-`control-key-not-in-defaults`, `preset-key-not-in-defaults` (errors);
+`control-key-not-in-defaults`, `preset-key-not-in-defaults`, `mixed-section-shape`,
+`duplicate-preset-name`, `duplicate-node-id`, `select-options-missing`,
+`select-default-not-in-options`, `log-scale-needs-positive-min`,
+`when-key-not-in-defaults`, `when-unknown-operator`, `unknown-control-type` (errors);
 `slider-range-excludes-default`, `unknown-control-field`, `duplicate-control-key`,
-`default-not-exposed` (warnings).
+`default-not-exposed`, `readout-unknown-derived-key`, `slider-refinement-invalid`,
+`group-depth`, `section-too-many-controls` (warnings).
+
+`mixed-section-shape` fires when a section mixes the new `controls` array with
+a legacy field (`advanced`, `toggles`, `features`, `presets`) — the two shapes
+can't coexist, since mixing them would make the render order arbitrary. Move
+the legacy entries into `controls` (a toggle becomes a checkbox control,
+`advanced` becomes a nested group, `presets` becomes `{ type: "preset" }`
+nodes), or drop `controls` and stay legacy.
+`duplicate-preset-name` fires when the same preset name is declared twice
+(legacy `presets` and/or `{ type: "preset" }` nodes both count) — preset names
+are global to the part, and `verify()` expands one case per name and throws on
+a repeat, a worse place to find out. Rename one of them.
+`duplicate-node-id` fires when two panel nodes (sections, groups, or controls)
+share an `id` — the renderer keys its element and state maps on ids, and a
+collision silently cross-wires the two nodes. Rename one `id`, or drop it to
+use the positional default.
+`select-options-missing` fires when a `select`/`radio` control has no
+`options` array — with none the control renders empty and its parameter can
+never change.
+`select-default-not-in-options` fires when `defaults[key]` is not one of a
+`select`/`radio`'s option values (watch value types — `12` is not `"12"`) —
+without this the panel opens showing a value the user can never get back to.
+Add the value to `options`, or change the default.
+`log-scale-needs-positive-min` fires when a slider/number sets `scale: "log"`
+without a positive `min` — `log(0)` is `-Infinity` and the thumb-to-value mapping
+breaks, so raise `min` above 0 or drop `scale`.
+`when-key-not-in-defaults` and `when-unknown-operator` walk every authored
+`when` (on a control, a group, a preset, a readout, or a section itself) —
+`allOf`/`anyOf`/`not` recurse — and check each condition against the two things
+that make it real: the param key must be one `defaults` actually declares, and
+each comparison operator (`{ gt: 0 }`, `{ in: [...] }`, …) must be one
+`evalWhen` recognises. Both are silent failure modes — an unknown key reads
+`undefined` and an unknown operator is treated as false, so either way the
+condition is always false and the node never shows — which is why both are
+errors rather than warnings.
+
+`unknown-control-type` fires when an authored control's `type` (e.g. a typo
+like `"sldier"`) isn't one of the recognised widget types — the renderer skips
+a node with an unrecognised type entirely, so the control silently vanishes
+from the panel with no other sign anything is wrong. An unrecognised type's
+field list falls back to the common set (`key`, `type`, `label`, `description`,
+`hidden`, `when`, `whenFalse`) rather than an empty one, so this error carries
+the diagnosis instead of every field on the control — even ordinary ones like
+`label` — separately warning as `unknown-control-field`. This only applies to
+the authored `controls` shape — a legacy descriptor's `control:` value was
+never validated and still isn't.
+
+`readout-unknown-derived-key` checks a `{ type: "readout" }` entry's `derivedKey`
+against the keys `derive()` actually produces (resolved once against `defaults`)
+— a readout naming a key no group returns shows an em-dash forever, so it warns
+rather than errors.
+`slider-refinement-invalid` covers a slider/number's optional `ticks` (native
+datalist marks; combine with `snap: true` to quantize slider drags to the
+nearest tick) and `recommended` (an `[lo, hi]` band tinted on the track, with
+the value box warning outside it): a tick outside `[min, max]`, a `recommended`
+that isn't exactly `[lo, hi]` with `lo < hi`, or either of them combined with
+`scale: "log"` (ticks and the band render on a linear track only) all warn.
+`group-depth` warns when authored groups nest more than two levels deep — a
+section plus one inner fold is as deep as a 300px rail can stay readable.
+Flatten by promoting the innermost group to its own section, or folding its
+controls into the parent.
+`section-too-many-controls` warns when a section (authored or legacy, desugared
+to a common format) shows more than 12 visible controls — the budget is
+deliberately conservative, revisable against real LLM-authored parts. More than a
+dozen in one section reads as a wall; split into multiple sections, or hide
+internals (`hidden: true`). Grouping controls organizes them but does not
+reduce the count — the check recurses into groups — so a group alone doesn't
+bring a section back under budget.
 
 **Kernel API**, found by executing `build()` against a geometry-free probe —
 `unknown-kernel-op`, `unknown-solid-op`, `invalid-op-options`, `build-throws`,

package/docs/ERROR-PATTERNS.md

@@ -337,6 +337,30 @@ Variant literals under this entry: `offsetPolygon: delta must be a finite number
 - **Fix:** pass `shading: "faceted"` to `k.loft` (or drop the smooth-implying
   option) per [AUTHORING-PARTS.md](AUTHORING-PARTS.md) shading-intent note.
 
+## duplicate-preset-name-throws
+
+- **Symptom:** `duplicate preset name across sections:` thrown from verify/measure, naming the repeated preset (e.g. `duplicate preset name across sections: "Compact"`).
+- **Cause:** The same preset name is declared twice — once via the legacy `presets` field, once as a `{ type: "preset" }` node, or twice within either.
+- **Fix:** Rename one of them; `npx partforge lint` reports it statically as `duplicate-preset-name` before verify ever runs. See [AUTHORING-PARTS.md](AUTHORING-PARTS.md) § "Rule catalog".
+
+## when-condition-never-true
+
+- **Symptom:** A control, group, preset, readout, or section with a `when` condition never appears, with no error anywhere.
+- **Cause:** The condition references a key `defaults` doesn't declare (reads `undefined`, which every comparison treats as false) or a typo'd operator (`evalWhen` treats an unrecognized operator as false too).
+- **Fix:** Run `npx partforge lint` — `when-key-not-in-defaults` or `when-unknown-operator` names the offending key or operator. See [AUTHORING-PARTS.md](AUTHORING-PARTS.md) § "Rule catalog".
+
+## readout-shows-em-dash
+
+- **Symptom:** A `{ type: "readout" }` control renders "—" forever, no matter what the other controls are set to.
+- **Cause:** The readout's `derivedKey` names a key that no `derive()` group actually produces.
+- **Fix:** Name a key a `derive` group returns, or add that key to `derive`; `npx partforge lint` warns via `readout-unknown-derived-key`. See [AUTHORING-PARTS.md](AUTHORING-PARTS.md) § "Rule catalog".
+
+## select-default-unreachable
+
+- **Symptom:** The panel opens showing a `select`/`radio` value the control can never be set back to by interacting with it.
+- **Cause:** `defaults[key]` is not among the control's `options` values — often a value-type mismatch (`12` is not `"12"`).
+- **Fix:** Add the default to `options`, or change the default to one of the existing options; `npx partforge lint` errors via `select-default-not-in-options`. See [AUTHORING-PARTS.md](AUTHORING-PARTS.md) § "Rule catalog".
+
 # Hardware library
 
 Reserved for `hardware-*` patterns (issue #30). No entries yet.

package/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "partforge",
-  "version": "0.47.0",
+  "version": "0.48.0",
   "description": "Turn a declarative part definition into a parametric-CAD web app (three.js + Manifold/Replicad). Requires a Vite-based consumer.",
   "type": "module",
   "license": "MIT",