Copy: pare product claims to what we can certify, cut rule-of-three cadence, record arch 10 §10

.claude/skills/alignment/SKILL.md

@@ -155,7 +155,11 @@ role`) or the rule it demonstrates. - **Positional sub-section cross-refs.** Cit
 
 14. **User-facing copy**: keep user-visible strings centralized and written for users (sentence
     case, active voice, no "please", no exclamation marks in errors). If/when an i18n layer
-    exists, route strings through it instead of hardcoding.
+    exists, route strings through it instead of hardcoding. **Product claims** (landing,
+    About, onboarding, value props) follow `arch 10 §10`: claim only what we can certify, no
+    absolutes (never/always/fully/everything), no durability the platform doesn't back ("saved",
+    not "permanent"), and state a posture once per surface — reduce uncertain promises, keep the
+    real ones.
 
 15. **Chart-builder guidance reasons over role, not raw type** (`src/core/chart-builder.ts`):
     a `builderWarnings` rule (or any measure/dimension decision) must ask the post-transform

README.md

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 A browser-based **snippet manager for [Vega-Lite](https://vega.github.io/vega-lite/)
 visualizations**. Author chart specs as JSON, watch them render live, and keep a personal,
-searchable library — fully local, offline-capable, no account.
+searchable library — local, offline-capable, no account.
 
 > Astrolabe is a **spec-driven rebuild** on an architecture adapted from its sibling
 > project Syto. The authoritative behavioral contract lives in [`docs/spec/`](docs/spec/).
@@ -23,10 +23,28 @@ npm run typecheck
 npm test           # Vitest
 ```
 
+## What it does
+
+- **Editor + live preview** — write Vega-Lite specs as JSON in Monaco with schema-aware
+  validation and autocomplete; the chart re-renders as you type.
+- **Snippet library** — save, search, tag, and organize specs. Each snippet carries a stable
+  published version plus a separate editable draft, so you can tinker without losing a
+  known-good copy.
+- **Reusable datasets** — store data once (inline, or fetched once from a URL and snapshotted)
+  and reference it by name from many snippets.
+- **Chart Builder** — a no-JSON on-ramp that generates a spec from field, mark, and encoding
+  choices. The JSON stays the source of truth and is always editable.
+- **Theming & fonts** — custom chart themes with a visual Theme Builder, a curated font roster,
+  and your own uploaded font faces.
+- **Local-first** — your library lives in the browser (IndexedDB); offline-capable and installable
+  (PWA), with import/export for backup and transfer. No account, no server.
+
 ## Status
 
-**M0 — Skeleton.** Toolchain green (typecheck, tests, build, PWA). The three-pane shell
-renders; features land milestone by milestone per the implementation plan (MVP at end of M1).
+Active development, **pre-1.0** and not yet publicly released — well past the initial milestones
+and usable day to day; the first public release will be `1.0.0`. Behavior is specified in
+[`docs/spec/`](docs/spec/) and the architecture patterns in
+[`docs/architecture/`](docs/architecture/00-overview.md).
 
 ## License
 

docs/architecture/10-interaction-and-feedback.md

@@ -683,6 +683,39 @@ choice isn't re-litigated per surface:
 _(Consulted via /council → WAI-ARIA APG tabs/accordion/disclosure, IBM Carbon
 accordion usage, NN/g #6/#8.)_
 
+## 10. Product claims & promise copy
+
+Declarative copy — the landing, the About modal, onboarding, empty-state value props —
+makes **claims** about the product, not just feedback about an action. The care the §3
+triad gives error wording applies here too: **say only what we can certify, and say it
+once.** An overstated claim reads as insecurity, and the first time a user catches one
+being false it costs more trust than the claim ever bought (NN/g credibility; GOV.UK
+"don't oversell"). The test is not modesty for its own sake — it is that every sentence
+survives a skeptical reading.
+
+- **Claim what we can certify — not the future, not what we don't control.** "No account,
+  no server" is structural and always true (there is no backend). "Never leave your machine"
+  is a vow over every future build and every edge case; state the posture instead — "stored
+  locally on your device; there's no server to send them to."
+- **No absolutes.** _never · always · fully · entirely · everything._ One edge case or one
+  future feature falsifies them, and the reader feels the overreach even when it happens to
+  hold. Prefer the scoped form: "works offline" over "fully offline"; "your library lives in
+  the browser" over "everything lives in the browser."
+- **Don't promise durability the platform doesn't back.** Browser storage (IndexedDB, no
+  `persist()`) is best-effort and the browser may evict it. A chart is **saved**, not kept
+  forever — route the permanence claim through **export**, which is the real backup.
+- **State a posture once per surface.** Repeating "local / no account / no server / offline"
+  across the hero, the lede, and a feature grid is three chances to sound unsure of it. Give
+  the posture one home and let the other surfaces describe the product.
+- **Match the register, and don't under-sell.** Astrolabe is a free, spare-time tool: the
+  voice is plain and matter-of-fact, not manifesto. But concrete, true capabilities —
+  portable Vega-Lite JSON, two authoring modes, custom themes — are claims worth making
+  plainly. Reducing promises means cutting the _uncertain_ ones, never the real ones.
+
+SOUL.md §"Local-Only by Default" is the internal **intent** and may be absolute; this
+section governs how that intent is **phrased to users**, where the promise should be only as
+strong as we can keep.
+
 ---
 
 ## Do / Don't
@@ -694,6 +727,8 @@ accordion usage, NN/g #6/#8.)_
 - Adopt the APG keyboard pattern for new widgets; route all global keys through the one
   router.
 - Mark **optional** fields, not required ones (GOV.UK) — e.g. "Comment (optional)".
+- In product claims, say only what we can certify, once per surface; route durability
+  through export.
 - Consult `/council` when this contract is silent — then record the answer back here.
 
 **Don't**
@@ -709,3 +744,5 @@ accordion usage, NN/g #6/#8.)_
 - Don't ship a **dead disabled control** as a placeholder for an unbuilt feature — a
   disabled button explains nothing and is skipped by assistive tech (GOV.UK, NN/g). Omit the
   action until it works, then show it enabled (e.g. "Build Chart" appears with M4).
+- Don't use absolutes in product claims (never/always/fully/everything) or promise what the
+  platform can't keep — say "saved," not "permanent."

src/app/components/AboutModal.tsx

@@ -47,9 +47,8 @@ export function AboutModal() {
           v<span className={styles.version}>{__APP_VERSION__}</span>
         </p>
         <p className={styles.body}>
-          A local-first workspace for authoring, organizing, and previewing Vega-Lite charts. Edit
-          JSON, see the chart update live, and keep a personal library of snippets — with no
-          account, no server, and full offline support.
+          A local-first workspace for authoring and organizing Vega-Lite charts. Edit the JSON,
+          watch it render live, and keep a personal library of snippets.
         </p>
       </section>
 
@@ -74,17 +73,18 @@ export function AboutModal() {
       <section className={styles.section}>
         <h3 className={styles.heading}>Privacy</h3>
         <p className={styles.body}>
-          Astrolabe runs entirely in your browser. Your snippets, datasets, and settings are stored
-          locally and never leave your machine.
+          Astrolabe runs in your browser. Your snippets, datasets, and settings are stored locally
+          on your device — there&rsquo;s no server to send them to.
         </p>
         <ul className={styles.list}>
-          <li>No account, no sign-in, no server-side storage.</li>
-          <li>The app runs no analytics or tracking — no cookies, no telemetry, no profiling.</li>
+          <li>No account or sign-in.</li>
           <li>
-            The only outbound network requests are ones you create: URL-sourced datasets you add
-            yourself.
+            The app itself runs no analytics or tracking. Its host (Cloudflare) records standard,
+            aggregate traffic like any web server — not your library or the charts you build, which
+            stay in your browser.
           </li>
-          <li>After the first load, the app works fully offline.</li>
+          <li>The only outbound requests are ones you make: datasets you load from a URL.</li>
+          <li>After the first load, the app works offline.</li>
           <li>
             Use the header&rsquo;s import / export buttons to move your library between devices.
           </li>

src/app/components/Onboarding.tsx

@@ -137,8 +137,8 @@ export function Onboarding() {
       <div className={styles.inner}>
         <h2 className={styles.title}>Welcome to Astrolabe</h2>
         <p className={styles.tagline}>
-          A local library for your Vega-Lite charts — authored as JSON, rendered live, and kept on
-          your device.
+          A local library for your Vega-Lite charts — write the spec as JSON, watch it render live,
+          and keep it all on your device.
         </p>
 
         <div className={styles.ctaRow}>

src/app/feedback.ts

@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 /**
  * Project feedback channel.
  *
- * There is no server and no tracker (see the About modal — no telemetry of any
- * kind); feedback is a plain email the user composes and sends from their own
- * client. The address is a Cloudflare Email Routing alias that forwards to the
- * author, so it can be retired without exposing or churning a personal inbox.
+ * The app sends no telemetry of its own (see the About modal); feedback is a
+ * plain email the user composes and sends from their own client. The address is
+ * a Cloudflare Email Routing alias that forwards to the author, so it can be
+ * retired without exposing or churning a personal inbox.
  *
  * Shared by the Support modal and the About modal — a contact address is worth
  * a single source of truth so the two surfaces can't drift.

src/landing/Landing.tsx

@@ -369,8 +369,7 @@ export function Landing(): ReactNode {
           </h1>
           <p>
             Astrolabe is a local studio for Vega-Lite. Write a spec by hand or build one by
-            clicking, give it a theme, and keep all your charts in one library — in the browser,
-            with no account and no server.
+            clicking, give it a theme, and keep all your charts in one searchable library.
           </p>
           <div className={styles.heroCta}>
             <a className={`${styles.btn} ${styles.btnPrimary}`} href="/app/">
@@ -399,8 +398,8 @@ export function Landing(): ReactNode {
             </h2>
             <p className={styles.capP}>
               The editor is Monaco with the Vega-Lite schema loaded, so you get validation,
-              autocompletion, and inline docs without going online. Each chart keeps a draft and a
-              published version: edit the draft, publish when it's ready, revert when it isn't.
+              autocompletion, and inline docs without going online. Each chart keeps an editable
+              draft alongside a published version you can revert to.
             </p>
             <p className={styles.capP}>
               If you'd rather not start from JSON, the builder works from the kind of chart you
@@ -426,7 +425,7 @@ export function Landing(): ReactNode {
           <div className={styles.capText}>
             <div className={styles.capEyebrow}>One library</div>
             <h2 className={styles.capH}>
-              Every chart you make <b>stays</b>, with the data behind it.
+              Every chart you make is <b>saved</b>, with the data behind it.
             </h2>
             <p className={styles.capP}>
               Store a dataset once and reference it by name from as many charts as you want. Rename
@@ -434,8 +433,8 @@ export function Landing(): ReactNode {
             </p>
             <p className={styles.capP}>
               Load data by pasting CSV or JSON, or by fetching a URL. You can also lift inline data
-              out of a spec into a shared dataset. Search, sort, and duplicate as the collection
-              grows.
+              out of a spec into a shared dataset. Search and sort as the collection grows, and
+              duplicate a snippet to start a variant.
             </p>
           </div>
           <div className={styles.shot}>
@@ -599,17 +598,16 @@ export function Landing(): ReactNode {
             Your charts are <b>yours.</b>
           </h2>
           <p className={styles.creedLede}>
-            Astrolabe runs in your browser and stores everything locally — no account, no server.
-            What it produces is ordinary Vega-Lite JSON, so you can read it, edit it in other tools,
-            or keep it long after you've stopped using Astrolabe.
+            Astrolabe runs in your browser, and what it makes is ordinary Vega-Lite JSON — read it,
+            edit it in other tools, or take it elsewhere whenever you want.
           </p>
           <div className={styles.creedGrid}>
             <div>
               <span className={styles.creedKey}>private</span>
-              <h3>Stays on your machine</h3>
+              <h3>Local to your browser</h3>
               <p>
-                Charts, data, and themes are saved in your browser. Install it and it works with no
-                connection.
+                Charts, data, and themes are saved in this browser, and it keeps working offline
+                once installed.
               </p>
             </div>
             <div>
@@ -624,8 +622,8 @@ export function Landing(): ReactNode {
               <span className={styles.creedKey}>yours</span>
               <h3>Set up your way</h3>
               <p>
-                Two ways to author, your own fonts and themes, your own library. Arrange it to match
-                how you work.
+                Author by hand or by clicking, with your own fonts and themes. Arrange the library
+                to match how you work.
               </p>
             </div>
           </div>