Typography round 4 (owner): the snap to the ladder — prose 16.5→16, xxs rung merged into xs

The system: the ladder is the truth, everything snaps to it.

- Prose snaps to the ladder's 16px rung (--lh-prose-size 16.5→16; the
  half-pixel was a reskin-era hand-tune with no visible payoff and a
  system cost). lh-prose, lh-input, and the session titles all read the
  one variable — one reading size, now a ladder citizen. @theme inline
  inlines literals without emitting runtime vars, so the variable can't
  var()-link to --text-lg: documented as the one deliberate duplication
  (change one, change both).
- The 10px rung merges into 11px: one pixel apart was a distinction with
  no visible difference, and 10px sits at the mono legibility floor —
  quiet labels (Sessions, Background agents, dock hints, model-picker
  footers) get their quiet from color + tracking, not a notch of size.
  All 13 text-xxs uses → text-xs; --text-xxs token removed.
- Derived constant follows: TEXT_CAP_SCALE 16.5/12.5 → 16/12.5 (1.32 →
  1.28; test pin 232.32px → 225.28px) — the plan-graph text cap now
  tracks the snapped prose size.

Live: title 16px, Sessions/Background-agents labels 11px, composer 16px
with the 20px lh-input line box. Gates: typecheck, lint, 469/469.

Lane note: components/graph-context-marker.tsx (graph-stream file) had a
mechanical text-xxs → text-xs swap — required: the token removal
otherwise leaves a dead class in their file.

app/globals.css

@@ -40,7 +40,12 @@
 	/* Emphasis coloring in teaching prose — ready for the settings UI. */
 	--lh-ink-strong: #c96b4a;
 	--lh-ink-italic: #6fa9d6;
-	--lh-prose-size: 16.5px;
+	/* THE READING SIZE = the ladder's 16px rung (--text-lg). Can't be
+	   var()-linked: @theme inline inlines literals into utilities without
+	   emitting runtime vars — so this is the one documented duplication:
+	   change one, change both. (owner, typography round 4: snapped from
+	   the reskin's hand-tuned 16.5 to the ladder's 16.) */
+	--lh-prose-size: 16px;
 	--lh-prose-leading: 1.5;
 }
 
@@ -67,7 +72,12 @@
 	--ring: #8d8d8d;
 	--lh-ink-strong: #c96b4a;
 	--lh-ink-italic: #6fa9d6;
-	--lh-prose-size: 16.5px;
+	/* THE READING SIZE = the ladder's 16px rung (--text-lg). Can't be
+	   var()-linked: @theme inline inlines literals into utilities without
+	   emitting runtime vars — so this is the one documented duplication:
+	   change one, change both. (owner, typography round 4: snapped from
+	   the reskin's hand-tuned 16.5 to the ladder's 16.) */
+	--lh-prose-size: 16px;
 	--lh-prose-leading: 1.5;
 }
 
@@ -93,9 +103,12 @@
 	--font-mono: var(--font-jetbrains), ui-monospace, SFMono-Regular, monospace;
 	--font-sans: var(--font-sans3), ui-sans-serif, system-ui, sans-serif;
 	/* The modular type ladder — each size carries its own line-height.
-	   Component sizes must pull from this ladder. */
+	   Component sizes must pull from this ladder. (owner, typography
-	--text-xxs: 10px;
+	   round 4: the 10px rung is merged into 11 — one pixel apart was a
-	--text-xxs--line-height: 1.4;
+	   distinction with no visible difference, and 10px sits at the mono
+	   legibility floor; quiet labels get their quiet from color +
+	   tracking, not a notch of size. Reading prose = the 16px rung via
+	   --lh-prose-size.) */
 	--text-xs: 11px;
 	--text-xs--line-height: 1.4;
 	--text-sm: 12.5px;
@@ -166,9 +179,9 @@ body {
 
 /* lh-input (owner, typography round 2): lh-prose's 1.5 READING leading
    makes typing carets tower over the glyphs — the caret fills the line
-   box (24.75px at 16.5px text, ~2.1× the glyph height). Inputs are not
+   box (24px at 16px text, ~2× the glyph height). Inputs are not
    paragraphs: a tighter 1.25 leading brings the caret to the font-metric
-   floor (~21px, as close to the glyphs as Chromium will draw it) while
+   floor (~20px, as close to the glyphs as Chromium will draw it) while
    wrapped lines in growing textareas still read fine. Rendered prose keeps
    1.5 — the two share family and size, they differ only in leading. */
 .lh-input {

components/activity-dock.tsx

@@ -274,7 +274,7 @@ export function ActivitySection({ feed: feedProp }: { feed?: ActivityFeed }) {
 	// alone (the cost span is population, not decoration).
 	return (
 		<section data-testid="activity-section" className="border-t border-border px-3 pb-3 pt-2">
-			<div className="mb-1 flex items-center gap-1.5 text-xxs uppercase tracking-widest text-muted-foreground/70">
+			<div className="mb-1 flex items-center gap-1.5 text-xs uppercase tracking-widest text-muted-foreground/70">
 				<ActivityIcon className="size-3" />
 				Background agents
 				{blobs.length > 0 && (

components/answered-card.tsx

@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ export function AnsweredCard({ answer }: { answer: QuestionAnswerData }) {
 										)}
 									>
 										{/* Owner round 8: a touch smaller than the text (size-4→size-3.5,
-											   ≈14px vs the 16.5px row) while centered. */}
+											   ≈14px vs the 16px row) while centered. */}
 										{(key || sel) && <GlyphMark kind={key ? "check" : "x"} className="size-3.5" />}
 									</span>
 								)}
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ export function AnsweredCard({ answer }: { answer: QuestionAnswerData }) {
 
 			{answer.note && (
 				<div data-testid="your-thinking" className="mt-3 border-l-2 border-primary/40 pl-3">
-					<span className="mb-0.5 block text-xxs font-medium uppercase tracking-wide text-muted-foreground">
+					<span className="mb-0.5 block text-xs font-medium uppercase tracking-wide text-muted-foreground">
 						Your thinking
 					</span>
 					<span className="lh-prose block whitespace-pre-wrap text-foreground/90">{answer.note}</span>

components/graph-context-marker.tsx

@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ export function GraphContextList({ data }: { data: GraphContextData }): ReactNod
 					<li key={p.id} className="flex items-baseline gap-2">
 						<span className="shrink-0 tabular-nums text-muted-foreground">{i + 1}.</span>
 						{p.level && (
-							<span className="shrink-0 rounded bg-foreground/10 px-1 py-0.5 text-xxs text-muted-foreground">
+							<span className="shrink-0 rounded bg-foreground/10 px-1 py-0.5 text-xs text-muted-foreground">
 								{p.level}
 							</span>
 						)}

components/model-picker.tsx

@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@ export function ModelControl({
 				className="flex items-center gap-1.5 rounded-full border border-border/60 bg-card/70 px-2.5 py-1 transition-colors hover:border-border hover:bg-muted"
 			>
 				<span className="text-card-foreground">{effectiveId ? prettyModel(effectiveId) : "—"}</span>
-					<span aria-hidden className="text-xxs text-muted-foreground">▾</span>
+					<span aria-hidden className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">▾</span>
 			</button>
 			<button
 				type="button"
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ export function ModelControl({
 				<span className="text-card-foreground">
 					{effectiveLevel === undefined ? "—" : (LEVEL_LABEL[effectiveLevel] ?? effectiveLevel)}
 				</span>
-				<span aria-hidden className="text-xxs text-muted-foreground">▾</span>
+				<span aria-hidden className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">▾</span>
 			</button>
 
 			{open === "model" && (
@@ -267,7 +267,7 @@ export function ModelControl({
 							</li>
 						))}
 					</ul>
-					<div className="mt-1 border-t px-2 pt-1.5 text-xxs text-muted-foreground">
+					<div className="mt-1 border-t px-2 pt-1.5 text-xs text-muted-foreground">
 						Applies to the next turn · background agents stay config-pinned
 					</div>
 				</div>
@@ -299,7 +299,7 @@ export function ModelControl({
 						</button>
 					))}
 					{error && <div className="mt-1 text-destructive">{error}</div>}
-					<div className="mt-1 border-t px-2 pt-1.5 text-xxs text-muted-foreground">
+					<div className="mt-1 border-t px-2 pt-1.5 text-xs text-muted-foreground">
 						Levels this model actually supports
 					</div>
 				</div>

components/plan-block.tsx

@@ -192,8 +192,9 @@ export const GLOW_BLUR = 5;
 export const GLOW_REACH = GLOW_MARGIN + 3 * GLOW_BLUR;
 /** Node titles render at text-xs (12.5px) in svg units. The in-chat block
  *  scales up to fill the column but NEVER past the chat prose size
- *  (--lh-prose-size, 16.5px) — the width cap that makes that hold. */
+ *  (--lh-prose-size, 16px — the ladder's reading rung) — the width cap
-export const TEXT_CAP_SCALE = 16.5 / 12.5;
+ *  that makes that hold. */
+export const TEXT_CAP_SCALE = 16 / 12.5;
 
 // ─── The owner's arrowhead (plan-graph round 5) ──────────────────────────────
 
@@ -808,7 +809,7 @@ export function PlanPopup({ messages, onClose }: { messages: readonly PopupMessa
 							/>
 						</div>
 						<div className="pointer-events-none absolute inset-x-0 bottom-0 flex items-end justify-between p-2">
-							<span className="text-xxs text-muted-foreground/60">Drag to pan · scroll to zoom</span>
+							<span className="text-xs text-muted-foreground/60">Drag to pan · scroll to zoom</span>
 							<div className="flex gap-1">
 								<button
 									type="button"

components/question-dock.tsx

@@ -307,7 +307,7 @@ function QuestionDockForm({
 										)}
 									>
 										{isSel && (
-											<span className={cn(qd.mode === "multi-select" ? "text-xxs" : "size-1.5 rounded-full bg-current")}>
+											<span className={cn(qd.mode === "multi-select" ? "text-xs" : "size-1.5 rounded-full bg-current")}>
 												{qd.mode === "multi-select" ? "✓" : ""}
 											</span>
 										)}
@@ -373,7 +373,7 @@ function QuestionDockForm({
 									)}
 								>
 									{sel.otherSelected && (
-										<span className={cn(qd.mode === "multi-select" ? "text-xxs" : "size-1.5 rounded-full bg-current")}>
+										<span className={cn(qd.mode === "multi-select" ? "text-xs" : "size-1.5 rounded-full bg-current")}>
 											{qd.mode === "multi-select" ? "✓" : ""}
 										</span>
 									)}
@@ -412,7 +412,7 @@ function QuestionDockForm({
 					data-testid={qd.mode === "text" ? "answer-field" : "thinking-field"}
 					className="rounded-xl border border-border/70 bg-background/60 transition-colors focus-within:border-primary/50"
 				>
-					<div className="px-2.5 pt-2 text-xxs font-medium uppercase tracking-wide text-muted-foreground">
+					<div className="px-2.5 pt-2 text-xs font-medium uppercase tracking-wide text-muted-foreground">
 						{qd.mode === "text" ? "Your answer" : "Your thinking"}
 					</div>
 					{qd.mode === "text" ? (
@@ -455,7 +455,7 @@ function QuestionDockForm({
 					)}
 					<div className="flex items-center justify-between gap-2 p-1">
 						{qd.mode !== "text" && (
-							<span aria-hidden className="pl-1.5 text-xxs text-muted-foreground">
+							<span aria-hidden className="pl-1.5 text-xs text-muted-foreground">
 								⌘/Ctrl + ↵ submits
 							</span>
 						)}

components/sidebar.tsx

@@ -218,7 +218,7 @@ function SessionsSidebar() {
 				</button>
 
 				<div className="mx-3 mb-1 flex items-center gap-2">
-					<span className="text-xxs uppercase tracking-widest text-muted-foreground/70">Sessions</span>
+					<span className="text-xs uppercase tracking-widest text-muted-foreground/70">Sessions</span>
 					<span className="relative flex-1">
 						<Input
 							data-testid="session-search"

tests/render-plan-block.test.tsx

@@ -130,9 +130,10 @@ describe("plan block render", () => {
 		assert.ok(!/data-testid="plan-block-full"[^>]*border/.test(html), "no wrapping chrome");
 		// Fills the column UP TO the chat-font cap: the svg is w-full +
 		// mx-auto with maxWidth = extent × TEXT_CAP_SCALE, so node text never
-		// renders past the 16.5px prose size (owner, plan-graph round 1).
+		// renders past the 16px prose size (owner, plan-graph round 1; the
+		// snap 16.5→16 landed in typography round 4).
 		assert.match(html, /<svg[^>]*class="block h-auto w-full mx-auto"/);
-		assert.match(html, /max-width:232\.32px/); // (160+16) × 1.32
+		assert.match(html, /max-width:225\.28px/); // (160+16) × 1.28
 		// Two stacked nodes: 2*NODE_H + GAP_Y = 136 extent + GRAPH_PAD on
 		// every side (strokes/glow never clip at the edges).
 		assert.match(html, /viewBox="-8 -8 176 152"/);