Principles

Surface what the backend already knows

First-class UI for real user jobs; power-user syntax is not a substitute

Parity of affordances

If Mentions is a dropdown, Commenter must be too

GUI / source-of-truth sync

Settings GUI must reflect reality; jump-to-JSON when needed

Honest severity and exit codes

Warnings look like warnings; help is not failure

No silent failure / lying toasts

Explain why, offer a fix

Theme as contract

Previews and diagrams inherit host theme tokens

Preview fidelity

Interactive constructs stay interactive; sync tracks source

Progressive disclosure

Budget the first screen; deepen on demand

Processing maps for ordered systems

If the runtime is a sequence, compose it as one typed pipeline — nest parallelism inside steps

Share IR, not pixels

Prototypes split core, headless controller, renderers, and thin host wrappers — do not auto-export full UI

Unified selection modes

File and folder in one dialog when the job is "open something"

Non-frustrating responsiveness

Hangs are architectural bugs, not user patience tests

Attention ethics

Do not spend the user’s brain for engagement metrics