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+# What visitors expect from each tag
+
+A work list for the Tag family: what people already expect from a semantic element or a combination of elements, and the CSS (TagBrush.css) or JavaScript (TagAction) that would deliver it. Only gaps are listed; anything in the guides today is left out. Written November 10, 2026 against TagBrush.css 1.2.0 + unreleased, TagAction 0.2.0 + unreleased.
+
+## For the implementer
+
+- Every repo's `CLAUDE.md` and the family `Spec.md` still apply: no classes as API, hooks in the order native → ARIA → `data-tag*`, pages work without JavaScript, one PR per pattern (TagBrush) with CHANGELOG, README, `llms.txt` and demo in the same change.
+- Budgets: TagBrush.css is 11.0 of 15 KB gzipped, TagAction 9.0 of 15 KB, the TagBrush guide index 3,038 of 4,000 tokens. Each item below must fit in one guide line.
+- Each CSS pattern needs a false-match test (nearby markup it must leave alone). Each behavior needs mouse, keyboard, dynamic-insertion and no-JS tests.
+- New attributes and commands must be added to TagCheck's vocabulary (`unknown-attribute`, `unknown-command`) in the same round.
+- Before writing an item marked **mwg**, retrieve that guide: `npx -y modern-web-guidance@latest retrieve <id>`. Follow its fallback rules; do not assume browser support from memory.
+- Decided November 10, 2026: section 2 ships as TagBrush.css 2.0 (the new look is the default, no opt-in variable), and the sticky header hook is `<header data-layout="sticky">`.
+
+## 1. Defects (fix first)
+
+Found by rendering TagKit's templates with the local builds.
+
+| # | Where | What happens | Fix |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| D1 | TagAction `password.js` | The Show button wraps the input in a `role="group"` div, so a help `<small>` after the field is no longer next to it. In `signup.html` "At least 10 characters." lands inline beside the next label. The validation message placement ("a `<small>` right after the field") likely breaks the same way. | Move a following `<small>` (and the message element) so it follows the group, or look past the group when placing. Test with the sign-up template. |
+| D2 | TagBrush stat tiles | `<del>−0.4%</del>` in a `<dl>` tile is struck through on a red highlight, so a drop reads as a deleted value. `<ins>` is a green highlight. | In `dl > div`, `ins` and `del` are plain colored text (success, error), no line, no background, with `▲`/`▼` before them (`content: "▲ " / ""`). Elsewhere unchanged. |
+| D3 | Tables | Only cells holding a lone `<data>` align right. In the blog template "Customers" (42, 118) is left-aligned next to a right-aligned "Revenue", and no numeric header lines up with its column. | TagAction's sort already knows which columns are numeric: mark those `th` and `td` (`data-tag="num"`), and style them in TagAction's own sheet: `text-align: end; font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums`. An author's `align`/`text-align` wins. |
+| D4 | TagAction `theme.js` | The saved theme is applied when the deferred script runs, after first paint on long pages: a flash of the other scheme. | Apply `data-theme` at module top level (before `start()`), and say in the guide that a page with a theme switch loads the script without `defer`. |
+| D5 | Page footer columns | Columns bunch at the start and leave half the row empty. | The leading paragraph takes the free space; the `<nav>` columns sit at the end. |
+
+## 2. The look: reading as designed, not generated (TagBrush.css 2.0)
+
+`ROADMAP.md` chunk 23 left this open; it is now decided as the 2.0 default. The rendered templates confirm it: the landing page shows most of the marks people now read as machine-made.
+
+| Mark of a generated page | Where TagBrush.css does it today | Proposed default |
+|---|---|---|
+| Every block in the same tinted, bordered, rounded box | Feature cards, plans, testimonials, stat tiles, callouts, code, quotes all share one frame | Frame by role. A box means "one discrete thing you can act on or compare": plans, clickable cards, stat tiles. Feature cards (no link, no picture) lose the box: icon, heading, text, separated by space. A box has a fill or a border, never both. Shadow only on overlays and the featured card. |
+| Icon on a tinted rounded tile | `svg` first in a card | Plain icon at heading size in the text color. |
+| Uppercase, letter-spaced label in the brand color over each heading | `hgroup > p` before a heading | Sentence case, muted text color, normal spacing. |
+| Soft glow of the brand color behind the hero | `--hero-background` radial gradient | `none` by default; the variable stays. |
+| Blue-tinted "slate" neutrals and a navy dark mode | Text, surface, border and dark background all take the primary's hue (chroma × 0.14–0.15) | Near-neutral: cap the chroma carried into neutrals at about 0.012, so the brand color appears only where it means something. |
+| Brand color on everything that can take it | Header and sidebar nav links, table links, eyebrows are all primary blue | The primary color is for the main action, links inside prose, and focus. Nav links are text-colored (current page: full-contrast and heavier; others muted or with a hover fill). |
+| Quote and callout look alike | `blockquote` and `article aside` are both a filled box with a start rule | A quote is text: start rule, no fill, normal text color. A callout keeps the fill. |
+| Even, tight rhythm | About 2rem between landing sections; h1 sits on its subtitle | In `main[data-layout="full"]`, sections get generous block padding (`clamp(3rem, 8vw, 6rem)`). Space separates sections; boxes don't. More room between a hero h1 and its paragraph. |
+| One type size contrast | h1 tops out at 2.5rem | A hero h1 (in `body > header hgroup`) grows to about 3.5rem with tighter tracking. App and article h1 unchanged. |
+| The price is body text | "$12 per month" in a plan card (roadmap follow-up) | In a card, a paragraph that starts with `<strong>` or `<data>` followed by `<small>` is a price: large figure, small muted period. |
+
+What makes a page feel hand-built is less the palette than completeness: every state is considered (hover, pressed, selected, busy, empty, error, disabled), numbers line up, nothing shifts, and the keyboard works. Sections 3 and 4 are that work, and they matter more than this table.
+
+Not proposed: a new default brand color (any default becomes the tell; presets with font pairings in the theme builder do more), scroll reveals, hover lift on every card, gradient text.
+
+## 3. Expectations by element
+
+Priority: **P1** people notice its absence; **P2** familiar from good sites; **P3** polish. "CSS" is TagBrush.css, "JS" is TagAction. Without JavaScript each falls back to the plain element.
+
+### Buttons and controls
+
+| Markup | People expect | Work |
+|---|---|---|
+| `button[aria-expanded]` | A chevron that flips when open | P1 CSS: `::after` chevron, rotated for `="true"`. Covers TagAction dropdown buttons. |
+| `button[aria-pressed]` | A toggle looks held down when on | P1 CSS: pressed = filled with a tint. TagAction's own Show/Hide and theme buttons gain a visible state. |
+| `<button data-tone="error">` | A destructive action is red, most of all in a confirm dialog | P1 CSS: extend `data-tone` to buttons (solid and `.outline`). Update TagKit's confirm-dialog snippets. |
+| `aria-keyshortcuts="/"` on a field or button | "/" focuses search; a shortcut shown is a shortcut that works | P2 JS: one key listener. A key (or `Control+K`, `Meta+K`) focuses a field or clicks a button. Ignored while typing in a field, unless it has a modifier. |
+| `<button popovertarget>` + `[popover]`, TagAction dropdown list | The menu stays on screen: flips up or aligns to the other edge near a viewport edge | P2 CSS (and TagAction's sheet for `[data-tag="dropdown"]`): anchor positioning with fallbacks. **mwg** `viewport-aware-dropdowns` |
+| `[popover="hint"]` with `interestfor` | A tooltip on hover and focus | P3 CSS only: style it small and inverted. No JS fallback (tooltips stay out of scope). **mwg** `interest-triggered-tooltips` |
+
+### Forms
+
+| Markup | People expect | Work |
+|---|---|---|
+| `label` + `:required` field | To see which fields are required before submitting | P1 CSS: `label:has(+ :required)::after`, `label:has(> :required)`: `content: " *" / ""` in the error color. Only in a form that also has optional fields (`form:has(:optional:not(button, [type="hidden"], [type="submit"]))`). |
+| `<textarea>` in a form | Ctrl+Enter or ⌘+Enter sends it | P1 JS: `form.requestSubmit()`, so validation runs. **mwg** `ime-safe-enter-submit` |
+| `role="status"`, `role="alert"` | A "Saved" or "Couldn't save" banner looks like one | P1 CSS: a banner with a tone (`status` info, `alert` error; `data-tone` overrides). Server-rendered or swapped in by htmx. No auto-dismiss. |
+| `command="--clone"` rows | Every added row can be removed | P1 JS: `command="--remove"` with `commandfor` naming the row (ids in clones are already renumbered). Focus moves to the previous row or the Add button. Written `hidden` in the template's first, static row. |
+| `input[type="file"][accept^="image"]` | A thumbnail of the chosen picture | P2 JS: object-URL `<img>` in the existing file list; revoke on change. |
+| `search input[type="search"]` | A magnifier in the field | P3 CSS: background icon from `--color-text-muted`. |
+| Submit with invalid fields | Focus goes to the first problem and it scrolls into view | Exists (`form.js`). Add a test that the field is not under a sticky header (see `scroll-padding`, below). |
+
+### Tables and lists
+
+| Markup | People expect | Work |
+|---|---|---|
+| Filter box + table or list, nothing matches | "No matches" instead of an empty table, and a count for screen readers | P1 JS: one `role="status"` line after the target ("No matches for 'x'", otherwise visually hidden "12 of 40 shown"). |
+| Filter box with a `name` | The filter survives reload and can be shared | P2 JS: start from `?name=` in the URL; `history.replaceState` as it changes. |
+| Filter box, matches | The matching text is highlighted | P2 JS + TagAction sheet: CSS Custom Highlight API, no DOM changes. **mwg** `highlight-text-ranges` |
+| `thead th > input[type="checkbox"]`, a checkbox first in each row | Select all, a mixed state, Shift-click for a range, selected rows tinted | P2 JS: header box checks visible rows and shows `indeterminate`; Shift-click range. CSS: `tr:has(td :checked)` tint. |
+| Sorted table | The order survives reload | P3 JS: under `data-tag-remember`, like `<details>`. |
+
+### Disclosure, tabs, dialogs
+
+| Markup | People expect | Work |
+|---|---|---|
+| `<details>` | It eases open; the marker is a chevron, not the browser's triangle | P1 CSS: chevron marker at the end of the summary in an accordion, at the start elsewhere; height transition where supported, instant otherwise and under reduced motion. **mwg** `animate-to-intrinsic-sizes` |
+| `<details>`, printing | A printed FAQ includes the answers | P2 JS: open all on `beforeprint`, restore on `afterprint`. CSS print block: hide `nav`, `button`, `search`, `[data-tag]` controls; avoid breaks inside cards. |
+| Tabs | Find-in-page reaches text in a hidden panel; a link to a panel's id selects its tab | P2 JS: hide panels with `hidden="until-found"`, select on `beforematch`, and select from the `#fragment` (as `details.js` does). |
+| Modal `<dialog>` | The page behind doesn't scroll, and nothing shifts sideways when it opens | P1 CSS: `html:has(dialog:modal) { overflow: hidden }` with `scrollbar-gutter: stable` on the root. |
+| Modal `<dialog>` on a phone | A sheet from the bottom edge, full width | P3 CSS: below about 30rem, dock to the bottom with top corners rounded; slide instead of scale. |
+| Image viewer with several pictures | Arrow keys and buttons step through the set | P3 JS: pictures in the same `<figure>` or section form a set. Add a TagKit gallery snippet (asked for in eval round 1). |
+
+### Page and navigation
+
+| Markup | People expect | Work |
+|---|---|---|
+| `<header data-layout="sticky">` (opt-in) | A top bar that stays, gains a hairline or shadow once stuck, and never covers a heading you jumped to | P2 CSS: `position: sticky`, `scroll-padding-top` on the root via `:has()`, stuck styling where supported. **mwg** `state-aware-sticky-headers` |
+| `a[target="_blank"]` in prose | A sign that it opens elsewhere | P2 CSS: `::after { content: " ↗" / " (opens in a new tab)" }`. Not on buttons, nav, cards, or image links. |
+| Sidebar `aside nav` on a phone | It collapses instead of pushing content down | Check what happens today at 360px; if it stacks above `main`, document the `popover` phone-menu pattern for sidebars and add it to the dashboard template. |
+
+## 4. Not doing
+
+- Sticky table headers (a scrolling `<figure>` gives `sticky` nothing to hold to), drag-to-reorder, multi-step form wizards, toasts that time out, infinite scroll: components or accessibility traps.
+- Automatic link prefetching: a prefetched `GET /logout` signs people out.
+- Animated row reordering on sort, scroll reveals, parallax: motion as decoration.
+- A tooltip fallback in JavaScript, and anything that needs a class.
+
+## 5. Order of work
+
+1. D1–D5.
+2. P1 CSS in TagBrush (chevron, pressed, danger button, required mark, status and alert banners, details marker and easing, dialog scroll lock), one PR each.
+3. P1 JS in TagAction (Ctrl+Enter, `--remove`, filter empty state), then TagCheck vocabulary and TagKit snippets that use them.
+4. Section 2 as TagBrush.css 2.0, one release with before/after screenshots of all six templates in light and dark.
+5. P2, then P3.
+6. Eval round 2 with requests that need the new patterns (a selectable admin table, a destructive confirm, a form with repeatable removable rows, a saved-status banner).