Adopt the semantic model across Ghost starter packages

.changeset/semantic-model-starter.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@design-intelligence/ghost": minor
+---
+
+The starter package follows the semantic model: kinds are `standard`, `foundation`, and `context`; the median floor ships as `standard.model-defaults` with rules labeled as shared Defaults; foundation and context bodies use `Usage`/`Rules`/`Never` sections; `ghost checks init` pairs the median check with the new node id and still supports legacy `cliche.median` packages.

CLAUDE.md

@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ Core workflow:
 
 | Command | Description |
 | --- | --- |
-| `ghost init` | Scaffold `.ghost/` with the starter package: manifest, glossary, a `brand.md` cover, foundation chapters, context nodes, and the cliche floor. `--body vessel-light` installs a full inhabited package instead. `--with checks` also adds the checks directory. |
+| `ghost init` | Scaffold `.ghost/` with the starter package: manifest, glossary, a `brand.md` cover, foundation chapters, context nodes, and the shared model-defaults floor. `--body vessel-light` installs a full inhabited package instead. `--with checks` also adds the checks directory. |
 | `ghost checks init` | Scaffold `.ghost/checks/` with an example review assertion. |
 | `ghost validate` | Validate the package: manifest shape, node validity, material locators, check references, and glossary kind prefixes. |
 | `ghost gather [ask…]` | Emit the complete guidance menu so the agent can pull applicable nodes. |

packages/context-control/demo/asks.md

@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ poison: context.conversation
 Build a pricing landing page with a hero, three plan tiers, a customer quote,
 and a closing call to action.
 
-expect: foundation.composition, foundation.color, foundation.type, cliche.median
+expect: foundation.composition, foundation.color, foundation.type, standard.model-defaults
 poison: context.conversation
 
 ## Ask 3 — assistant conversation

packages/ghost/src/init-payloads/median/median-tells.md

@@ -3,77 +3,77 @@ name: Median tells
 description: Flags the measured defaults of unsteered generation, the deterministic floor, and current model-signature tells — hover-lift, default accents, unprompted dark theme, gradient text, contrast, frequency tells, and per-model signatures.
 severity: high
 references:
-  - cliche.median > Hover-lift
-  - cliche.median > Indigo accent
-  - cliche.median > Dark theme
-  - cliche.median > Gradients
-  - cliche.median > Glassmorphism
-  - cliche.median > Side-stripe
-  - cliche.median > Cream surface
-  - cliche.median > Chat bubbles
-  - cliche.median > Stock copy
-  - cliche.median > Celebration
-  - cliche.median > Hero metric
-  - cliche.median > Eyebrow kicker
+  - standard.model-defaults > Hover-lift
+  - standard.model-defaults > Indigo accent
+  - standard.model-defaults > Dark theme
+  - standard.model-defaults > Gradients
+  - standard.model-defaults > Glassmorphism
+  - standard.model-defaults > Side-stripe
+  - standard.model-defaults > Cream surface
+  - standard.model-defaults > Chat bubbles
+  - standard.model-defaults > Stock copy
+  - standard.model-defaults > Celebration
+  - standard.model-defaults > Hero metric
+  - standard.model-defaults > Eyebrow kicker
 ---
 
 These flags target the measured convergence patterns of unsteered model
 generation, the deterministic floor the median node licenses, and tells
 specific to individual models. Each is mechanically detectable in a diff.
-Pruning a rule from `cliche.median` orphans its paired reference here —
+Pruning a rule from `standard.model-defaults` orphans its paired reference here —
 `ghost validate` warns; delete the flag and its reference together.
 
 Flag `transform` with `translateY` inside a `:hover` rule on cards,
 buttons, or list items, especially paired with a shadow increase. Hover
 confirmation in this package is color and background change, not lift.
-(`cliche.median > Hover-lift`)
+(`standard.model-defaults > Hover-lift`)
 
 Flag accent values in the indigo/blue/purple default family (`#4f46e5`,
 `#6366f1`, `#2563eb`, `#3b82f6`, `#8b5cf6`, and close neighbors)
 unless the diff shows the user asked for them. They are model defaults, not
-palette members. (`cliche.median > Indigo accent`)
+palette members. (`standard.model-defaults > Indigo accent`)
 
 Flag whole-page dark backgrounds when the ask did not request dark mode.
 Dark surfaces are a declared brand choice or an explicit theme, never an
-unprompted default. (`cliche.median > Dark theme`)
+unprompted default. (`standard.model-defaults > Dark theme`)
 
 Flag `linear-gradient` or `radial-gradient` as page or section
-backgrounds, and gradient-filled buttons. (`cliche.median > Gradients`)
+backgrounds, and gradient-filled buttons. (`standard.model-defaults > Gradients`)
 
 Flag `backdrop-filter: blur` used for glassmorphism cards.
-(`cliche.median > Glassmorphism`)
+(`standard.model-defaults > Glassmorphism`)
 
 Flag `background-clip: text` (with or without the `-webkit-` prefix)
 paired with a gradient. Emphasis comes from weight or size in a single
 solid color.
 
 Flag a thick colored border on one side of an element (`border-left` or a
 `border-l-*` utility at 2px or more in a non-neutral color) while the
-other sides stay thin. (`cliche.median > Side-stripe`)
+other sides stay thin. (`standard.model-defaults > Side-stripe`)
 
 Flag warm off-white page backgrounds in the cream/sand/beige band, and token
 names like `--cream`, `--sand`, `--parchment`, `--linen` introduced
-by the diff. (`cliche.median > Cream surface`)
+by the diff. (`standard.model-defaults > Cream surface`)
 
 Flag assistant messages rendered as bubbles with initials-circle avatars.
-(`cliche.median > Chat bubbles`)
+(`standard.model-defaults > Chat bubbles`)
 
 Flag emoji used as icons or imagery in interface chrome. Text labels carry
 meaning.
 
 Flag stock template copy in headings: "Simple, transparent pricing",
 "Welcome back", and interchangeable-with-a-competitor phrasing. Recommend
 copy that states what this product specifically does.
-(`cliche.median > Stock copy`)
+(`standard.model-defaults > Stock copy`)
 
 Flag exclamation-marked success copy, confetti language, and celebratory UI
 ("You did it!", "Awesome!"). Confirmation is quiet and factual.
-(`cliche.median > Celebration`)
+(`standard.model-defaults > Celebration`)
 
 Flag the hero-metric template — a big number, small label, and supporting
 stats as default proof — unless the metric shows real user data. Recommend
 evidence specific to the product, or nothing.
-(`cliche.median > Hero metric`)
+(`standard.model-defaults > Hero metric`)
 
 Deterministic floor — licensed by the median node, verified here, never
 steered in prose:
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ Frequency tells — the crime is repetition, not the move (advisory):
 
 Flag three or more uppercase, tracked eyebrow kickers above section headings
 in one page. One named kicker is voice; a kicker on every section is model
-grammar. (`cliche.median > Eyebrow kicker`)
+grammar. (`standard.model-defaults > Eyebrow kicker`)
 
 Flag five or more em-dashes in body copy in one view.
 

packages/vessel-light/.ghost/anti-goal.median.md → packages/ghost/src/init-payloads/median/standard.model-defaults.md

@@ -2,9 +2,13 @@
 for: Any greenfield visual surface or first-draft copy.
 ---
 
-This is the model's median, not your brand. Each rule is reject→replace.
-Delete every line your brand legitimately violates — `ghost validate` will
-warn on any check reference the deletion orphans — delete the paired flag too.
+Shared defaults: the model's median, not your brand. Every rule below is a
+**Default** — a starting position that protects unsteered work from generic
+model behavior, never an obligation. Explicit brand guidance in the cover, a
+foundation, or a matching context may deliberately replace any of them.
+Each rule is reject→replace. Delete every line your brand legitimately
+violates — `ghost validate` will warn on any check reference the deletion
+orphans — delete the paired flag too.
 
 These are not aesthetic opinions. Where a count is given, it is the measured
 convergence of 300 unsteered generations across three frontier models (the

packages/ghost/src/init-payloads/skeleton/brand.md

@@ -6,9 +6,8 @@ This cover is unwritten. ghost gather always places this page in an agent's
 context; that is delivery status, not a claim that every sentence applies to
 every task. Use it for what cannot be retrieved by task: what this brand is about,
 in one paragraph, in the brand's own voice. The temperature its words and
-motion share. And the refusals only this brand makes — not generic don'ts
-(those live in each foundation's misuse list, and the model's cliches live
-in the cliche nodes), but the lines this brand alone draws.
+motion share. And the refusals only this brand makes — not generic don'ts,
+but the lines this brand alone draws.
 
 Until a human writes it, the working stance is: quiet, precise, content
 first, decoration never. Treat that as provisional and say so in your
@@ -19,5 +18,10 @@ single element, it belongs in that element's chapter. In a single view, it
 belongs in the composition foundation. Only across the whole body of work —
 temperature, density, restraint — it belongs here.
 
+Generic don'ts do not live here either: element-scoped rejections live in
+each foundation's Never section, and the model's measured defaults live in
+the shared `standard.model-defaults` node. This page holds only the refusals
+this brand alone makes.
+
 The budget is one screen. When this page is real, delete every sentence of
 scaffolding above — including this one.

packages/ghost/src/init-payloads/skeleton/context.conversation.md

@@ -5,20 +5,29 @@ for: Chat threads, agent consoles, and prompt composers.
 In this context: AI conversation threads, agent consoles, review assistants,
 and prompt composers. Elsewhere, the defaults hold.
 
+## Usage
+
 Conversation UI is not chat cosplay. The assistant speaks on the page
-surface as plain text: no bubble, no border, no fill. Wrapping assistant
-messages in cards makes the system look defensive and wastes density —
-hierarchy comes from prose, spacing, and type.
+surface as plain text — hierarchy comes from prose, spacing, and type.
+Wrapping assistant messages in cards makes the system look defensive and
+wastes density. Tool calls are operational evidence, not conversation.
+
+## Rules
 
-User turns are compact muted surfaces aligned right. They mark authorship
-without turning the thread into alternating balloons.
+- Assistant turns render as plain text on the page surface: no bubble, no
+  border, no fill.
+- User turns are compact muted surfaces aligned right — authorship marked
+  without turning the thread into alternating balloons.
+- Tool calls collapse to a labeled one-line summary with status; expand only
+  when the user asks, then show mono content inside the disclosed area.
+- The prompt input is one bordered surface. The textarea stays empty of
+  controls; attachments, model choice, and send live in a single row below
+  it.
+- Stop and send are mutually exclusive states of the same action area.
 
-Tool calls are operational evidence. Collapse them to a labeled one-line
-summary with status; expand only when the user asks, then show mono content
-inside the disclosed area.
+## Never
 
-The prompt input is one bordered surface. The textarea stays empty of
-controls so writing remains the focus; attachments, model choice, and send
-live in a single row below it. There is one primary send action — stop and
-send are mutually exclusive states of the same action area, never two
-competing primaries.
+- Never wrap assistant messages in cards or bubbles — plain text on the
+  page surface.
+- Never render two competing primary actions in the composer — stop and
+  send share one action area.

packages/ghost/src/init-payloads/skeleton/foundation.color.md

@@ -9,34 +9,39 @@ until a human edits or confirms this chapter.
 
 Color is assigned by role, not by taste. The roles are the source of truth;
 raw color values are implementation detail, never product language. If a
-container needs a color, it first needs a role: `background`, `foreground`,
-`card`, `popover`, `primary`, `secondary`, `muted`, `accent`, `border`,
-`input`, `ring`, and the status roles.
-
-The status roles — destructive, success, warning, info — exist only when
-meaning demands them. Destructive means destructive or error. Success means
-success. None of them are brand accents.
-
-One view does not perform a color palette. If a status color is present, the
-rest of the view stays on the base roles. Richness beyond this comes from a
-closed expression set (`--expression-*`), used at the volume the situation
+container needs a color, it first needs a role. Richness beyond the base
+spine comes from a closed expression set, used at the volume the situation
 allows — a marketing page may turn it up; a settings form stays quiet.
 
-## Palette
-
-Open — ask the human; do not freehand. The fixed relationship: a quiet base
-spine is the default atmosphere in every medium, and a closed expression set
-supplies the rest, its volume set by situation, never by taste. The open
-question: what is this brand's base spine, and what are the named hues of
-its expression set — how many, and which? When the human answers, restate
-this section as the brand's current answer and record the values where your
-materials live. Until then, proceed with a quiet provisional spine and label
-it provisional.
-
-## Misuse
-
-- Status colors never moonlight as atmosphere, in any context.
-- Expression never touches what you click. Buttons, inputs, and links stay
-  on the base roles everywhere. A colored control is a different design
+The status roles exist only when meaning demands them. None of them are
+brand accents.
+
+## Rules
+
+- Every colored element uses a named role: `background`, `foreground`,
+  `card`, `popover`, `primary`, `secondary`, `muted`, `accent`, `border`,
+  `input`, `ring`, or a status role.
+- Status roles carry their meaning exactly: destructive means destructive or
+  error, success means success, warning warns, info informs.
+- When a status color is present, the rest of the view stays on the base
+  roles. One view does not perform a color palette.
+- Expression color comes only from the closed `--expression-*` set, at the
+  volume the situation allows.
+- Known gap — the palette is unanswered. The fixed relationship: a quiet
+  base spine is the default atmosphere in every medium, and a closed
+  expression set supplies the rest, its volume set by situation, never by
+  taste. The open question: what is this brand's base spine, and what are
+  the named hues of its expression set — how many, and which? Ask the human;
+  do not invent values. Until answered, proceed with a quiet provisional
+  spine and label it provisional. When answered, restate this rule as the
+  brand's current answer and record the values where your materials live.
+
+## Never
+
+- Never use status colors as atmosphere, in any context — status color
+  appears only where its meaning applies.
+- Never put expression color on what you click. Buttons, inputs, and links
+  stay on the base roles everywhere; a colored control is a different design
   system.
-- No one-off hex values. If a color has no role, it has no place.
+- Never use a one-off hex value — if a color has no role, it has no place;
+  give it a role or delete it.

packages/ghost/src/init-payloads/skeleton/foundation.composition.md

@@ -9,25 +9,24 @@ until a human edits or confirms this chapter.
 
 Composition is the layer above layout: layout gives the stacks and gaps;
 composition decides what dominates, what recedes, and what comes last.
+Primacy comes from scale, position, and space. Actions land last — the user
+reads, then decides.
 
-Every view has exactly one focal point — one element at the largest scale.
-If two elements compete for primacy, demote or delete one; never resolve
-the tie by making both big.
+## Rules
 
-One primary action per view: the action the view exists to complete.
-Everything else steps down the control ladder (see the controls
-foundation). If two buttons both look primary, the composition failed.
+- Every view has exactly one focal point — one element at the largest scale.
+  If two elements compete for primacy, demote or delete one.
+- One primary action per view: the action the view exists to complete.
+  Everything else steps down the control ladder (see the controls
+  foundation).
+- Calls to action render at the end of reading order.
+- Separation escalates: whitespace first, then a divider, then a container —
+  in that order, never skipping a step.
 
-Actions land last. Calls to action render at the end of reading order —
-the user reads, then decides.
+## Never
 
-Separation escalates: whitespace first, then a divider, then a container —
-in that order, never skipping a step.
-
-## Misuse
-
-- Never fake a focal point with decoration. Primacy comes from scale,
+- Never fake a focal point with decoration — primacy comes from scale,
   position, and space.
 - Never promote a second action to primary because something wants
-  emphasis; step the other one down instead.
+  emphasis — step the other one down instead.
 - Never separate with a container when whitespace would do.

packages/ghost/src/init-payloads/skeleton/foundation.controls.md

@@ -15,18 +15,23 @@ may hold is a composition rule — see the composition foundation: one.
 Destructive is a meaning, not a rung. It is rare, it names the destructive
 act directly, and it is never borrowed for urgency, emphasis, or brand heat.
 
-Fields are quiet until active: hairline border, muted placeholder, clear
-label, and a focus ring when the user engages. The ring is guidance, not
-decoration. Errors state facts next to the field that caused them — never
-hidden in modals, toasts, or generic banners when the user needs to fix one
-input.
-
-Controls take the control radius; see the layout foundation for the two
-radius roles.
-
-## Misuse
-
-- Never two competing primary buttons.
-- Never destructive styling as attention-getting.
-- Never expression color on a control — what you click stays on the base
-  roles everywhere.
+Fields are quiet until active. The focus ring is guidance, not decoration.
+
+## Rules
+
+- Every action picks a rung from the five-rung ladder; no invented emphasis
+  levels.
+- Fields render with a hairline border, muted placeholder, clear label, and
+  a focus ring when the user engages.
+- Errors state facts next to the field that caused them — never hidden in
+  modals, toasts, or generic banners when the user needs to fix one input.
+- Controls take the control radius; see the layout foundation for the two
+  radius roles.
+
+## Never
+
+- Never render two competing primary buttons — step one down the ladder.
+- Never use destructive styling as attention-getting — destructive names a
+  destructive act, nothing else.
+- Never put expression color on a control — what you click stays on the
+  base roles everywhere.