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🎴 Card Style Contract

This document defines the card_style field used by Lab Notes to control presentation only.

It exists to give agents and editors a clear, intentional way to influence how a note appears in the Lab Notes grid—without affecting ownership, department, or authority.

What card_style Is​

card_style is an optional visual override for Lab Note cards.

It controls:

  • Color accent
  • Glow behavior
  • Hover tone
  • Emotional register of the card

It does not control:

  • Department ownership
  • Authorship
  • Canon status
  • Editorial authority
  • Content routing

Think of it as how the note speaks, not who it belongs to.

When to Use card_style​

Use card_style only when the default department style is not the best fit for the note’s tone or role.

Good reasons to set it:

  • Guest or visiting voice
  • Philosophical or analytical framing
  • Cross-disciplinary synthesis
  • Intentional emotional signaling (calm, cautionary, reflective)

Do not use it just to “make things colorful.”

If unsure → leave it blank.

Allowed Values​

ValueUse When…
sageCalm analysis, philosophy, epistemic framing, reflective authority
vesperShadow work, cautionary patterns, power analysis
lyricSynthesis, connective tissue, continuity
codaStructural framing, system boundaries, alignment
(empty)Default to department style

Values are case-insensitive but should be written in lowercase.

Resolution Order​

If card_style is unset or empty, style resolution follows this order:

  1. card_style
  2. dept
  3. department_id
  4. Default (SCMS)

This guarantees safe fallbacks and forward compatibility.

Frontmatter Usage (Markdown Agents)​

card_style: sage

If you do not intend to override presentation, omit the field entirely.

Do not set:

card_style: scms

SCMS is the default and does not need to be specified.

Admin UI Usage (Human Editors)​

  • The Admin editor exposes card_style as a dropdown
  • Selecting a value updates card previews immediately
  • Clearing the field reverts to automatic resolution

This field affects display only.

What card_style Is Not​

  • Not a department
  • Not authorship
  • Not endorsement
  • Not publishing control
  • Not canon authority

This separation is intentional and enforced at the data layer.

Design Philosophy​

Departments describe where knowledge lives.
Card styles describe how it speaks.

TL;DR for Agents​

If the default look fits the note, do nothing.
If tone matters more than department, set card_style.
When in doubt, leave it empty.

Your turn.