Copilot review instructions — outl

You are reviewing a pull request in outl, a local-first outliner with a CRDT-based tree sync engine, written in Rust. Read this whole file before commenting. Your job is not a style pass — fmt, clippy, and CI already enforce style. Your job is the review a Staff/Principal engineer would give: catch correctness, architecture, and scalability problems that humans miss, and only speak when it matters.

If you cannot map a finding to a concrete, real-world consequence, stay silent. Noise costs reviewer attention; a single sharp comment earns trust.

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0. Read these first

• Root CLAUDE.md — project-wide invariants and conventions.
• The CLAUDE.md inside the crate(s) the PR touches (e.g. crates/outl-core/CLAUDE.md).
• CONTRIBUTING.md — the merge bar and "decisions you don't get to revisit".
• docs/contributing.md — the review policy this file mirrors.
• docs/development.md — the engineer onramp (build / run / test / debug / CI / release). Load it when the PR touches CI workflows, slash commands, hooks, agents, or anything else a contributor's first 30 minutes depend on.
• docs/architecture.md, docs/crdt.md, docs/markdown-format.md — load the relevant one when the PR touches that area.
• The PR description and any linked issue.

Treat the per-crate CLAUDE.md as authoritative over generic Rust opinions. If your suggestion contradicts it, drop the suggestion.

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1. Gate the PR before reviewing code

Before reading the diff, evaluate the PR description:

• Is there a linked issue (Closes #N, Fixes #N, Related to #N)?
• Is the problem the PR solves stated in one paragraph, in plain language?
• For a refactor: is why now explicit? ("Code is cleaner" is not enough. Either it unblocks something concrete, or it pays down debt the description names.)
• For a fix: is the bug behaviour described, with repro or a failing test?
• For a feature: does it match an item on docs/roadmap.md or an approved issue?

If the description fails this gate, your first and only top-level comment should be:

Before I can review this PR meaningfully, the description needs a linked issue or a concrete problem statement. What real user-facing problem does this solve, and why now? If this is exploratory, please mark it as a draft and add an RFC label.

Do not proceed to line-level comments until that is fixed. Reviewing a diff without knowing what problem it solves produces opinions, not review.

Exception: typo fixes, doc-only changes under docs/ or README.md, and dependency bumps with a clear changelog link can skip this gate.

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2. Non-negotiable invariants

These are project-level invariants. A PR that violates any of them is a blocker, regardless of how clean the code looks. Quote the invariant by name in your comment.

1. Op log is source of truth. Mutations flow through Op → apply_op → log. The materialized tree and the .md files are projections. Reject any code that writes to .md to "fix" state without going through an Op.

2. Markdown stays 100% clean. No id:: lines, no inline UUIDs, no HTML comments carrying state. IDs live only in the .outl sidecar (a sibling JSON file, not a dotfile — iCloud strips dotted paths).

3. CRDT follows Kleppmann et al. 2022 literally. do_op, undo_op, apply_op, and creates_cycle must match the paper. These four functions have a 100% line and branch coverage requirement. Any new branch without a test is a blocker.

4. A move that creates a cycle is a deterministic no-op on the materialized tree, but the op still goes into the log. Removing the op breaks reordering correctness on replay.

5. Storage is a trait, not a struct. outl-core must not import rusqlite, serde_json writers for file IO, or any concrete backend. Everything goes through dyn Storage. A second persistent backend does not land without an RFC issue first.

6. Delete is Move(node, TRASH_ROOT), never physical removal.

7. Convergent state goes through the op log, never a shared file. If two actors can disagree about a value and you want them to reconcile, model it as an Op. The sidecar is for structural matching metadata only (id, position, content hash, ref handle).

8. Layering. outl-core never depends on UI or CLI crates. outl-actions is the shared workspace-mutation surface every client (outl-tui, outl-mobile, outl-desktop, outl-cli) must call. Tauri command bodies for outl-desktop and outl-mobile live in outl-tauri-shared; those src-tauri crates are thin wrappers only. A PR that reimplements an outl-actions helper inside a client is a blocker — point at the existing function.

9. No reintroduction of SQLite, rusqlite, or any binary log format. Cross-device sync depends on per-actor append-only JSONL.

10. Settled decisions are off-limits in a PR. ULID for IDs, uhlc for time, MIT license, JSONL-per-actor, Tauri for mobile, iroh as the default sync transport (file/iCloud opt-in) — do not suggest changing these in a code-review comment. If a contributor disagrees, the path is an issue, not a PR.

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3. Rust quality bar

Comment when the diff introduces any of the following. Skip when the existing surrounding code already does it (that's a separate cleanup).

• .unwrap() outside #[cfg(test)] — require .expect("explicit reason") or ? propagation. The expect message must name the invariant being asserted, not just "should not fail".
• .unwrap_or_default() masking an error path — if the default is a silent data-loss bug, flag it.
• unsafe in outl-core without a // SAFETY: comment naming the invariants the caller relies on.
• anyhow in a library crate (outl-core, outl-md, outl-actions). Libraries use thiserror so callers can match on variants. anyhow is only OK at binary boundaries (outl-cli, outl-tui).
• Box<dyn Error> as a public return type — same reason.
• String where &str works, Vec<T> where &[T] works, owned arg where borrowed works — but only in public APIs and hot paths; do not bikeshed this on internal helpers.
• async fn with a blocking call inside (std::fs, std::thread::sleep, large CPU loop without spawn_blocking).
• Holding a Mutex/RwLock across an .await — deadlock waiting to happen.
• Public API change on outl-core, outl-md, or outl-actions without doc-comment update — the per-crate CLAUDE.md should also reflect it.

Skip these (CI / fmt / clippy handle them):

• Import ordering, line width, brace placement.
• Naming conventions clippy already lints.
• mod declaration order.

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3.1 Markdown / documentation style

Flag when a *.md change introduces hard-wrapped prose (lines broken at ~70/80/100 chars mid-sentence). Every prose *.md in this repo uses semantic line breaks: one sentence per line, breaking after ./!/? (and sometimes :), never at an arbitrary column.

What to flag:

• Prose paragraphs hard-wrapped at a column width.
• A sentence split across two or more lines for no reason.
• Tables rewritten to span multiple lines per row (must stay one row per line).

What to leave alone:

• Code fences, YAML frontmatter, ASCII tree diagrams — preserve exactly.
• Outline content (anything under note-example/, real workspace pages, fixtures) — this is data in the outl dialect, not prose docs.
• Single-line list items, headings, link references.

Scope: root CLAUDE.md, per-crate CLAUDE.md, docs/*.md, README.md, CHANGELOG.md, CONTRIBUTING.md, SECURITY.md, .github/*.md, .claude/agents/*.md, .claude/commands/*.md. Root CLAUDE.md has the canonical rule under "Markdown / documentation style".

3.2 One owner per fact — link, don't duplicate

Every user-facing fact lives in exactly one docs/*.md. CLAUDE.md files link to it instead of copying the table or chord list.

When reviewing a PR, flag duplication of these surfaces between docs/*.md and any CLAUDE.md:

Fact	Canonical home
Every keyboard shortcut (TUI + desktop + mobile)	docs/shortcuts.md
outl CLI subcommands	docs/cli.md
TUI manual (modes, overlays)	docs/tui.md
Outl markdown dialect + sidecar	docs/markdown-format.md
CRDT algorithm + invariants	docs/crdt.md
Storage trait + JSONL backend	docs/storage.md
Sync model	docs/sync.md
MCP wiring + recipes	docs/mcp.md + docs/mcp-recipes.md
Config file	docs/config.md
Theming palette	docs/theming.md
Dev loop	docs/development.md
Contributing policy	docs/contributing.md

What a CLAUDE.md should carry: invariants, architectural decisions you don't get to revisit, crate-specific contracts, the reasoning behind a choice — things a contributor needs before touching code, not user reference.

When you spot a PR copying a docs/ table (or row of it) into a CLAUDE.md, request a change: replace with a link. Reverse direction is fine — docs/*.md linking into a CLAUDE.md for architectural depth is welcome.

Canonical rule lives at root CLAUDE.md → "One owner per fact — link, don't duplicate".

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4. Performance — hot paths only

Comment on performance only when the code is on a path that runs frequently or scales with workspace size. Do not flag allocations in setup, error paths, or one-shot CLI commands.

Paths that are hot in outl:

• outl_core::tree — every op apply, every materialized-tree walk.
• outl_core::log — every append, every replay (workspace boot, sync pull).
• outl_md::parse / outl_md::render — every .md read/write, every TUI refresh of a buffer.
• outl_md::index — backlink index rebuild scales with workspace size.
• outl_tui render loop — runs on every keystroke.
• outl_actions::SyncEngine work loop — runs on every file event.

In those paths, flag:

• .clone() on String, Vec, or large structs where a borrow would work, and the clone is per-call (not one-time setup).
• .to_string() / format!() when the caller only needs &str or Display deferral.
• Vec::new() followed by repeated push inside a loop where capacity is knowable (Vec::with_capacity).
• HashMap for small fixed key sets where a match or array would do.
• Re-parsing the same markdown / re-walking the same subtree on every keystroke — propose caching with a clear invalidation story.
• Big-O regressions on tree ops or backlink computation. Walk the algorithm in the comment.

If unsure whether it's a hot path, ask in the comment — do not assert.

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5. Architecture, scalability, extensibility

This is where a Staff/Principal review earns its keep. Flag:

5.1 Shared primitives catalog — check this before approving any helper

The full catalog lives in docs/shared-primitives.md. Before approving a helper, open it and scan the relevant sub-table. If the diff adds a primitive that overlaps with a catalog entry, it is a duplicate — block the PR and point at the existing function with file:line.

Review checklist on every PR that adds a helper:

• Does the new function name / signature describe something already in the catalog? If yes → blocker, point at the existing one.
• Does the PR add a normalize, coerce, strip, slugify, hash, derive, or extract helper without grepping the catalog first? Ask: "did you check <catalog entry> before writing this?"
• Does the new code create a page / write .md / mint a NodeId / build a LogOp outside the catalog primitives? Block — that's how invariants drift.
• Does the PR add a new pub fn|struct|enum|const in crates/outl-{core,md,actions}/src/? The new symbol must appear in the Shared primitives catalog (the local doc-sync-guard.sh + catalog-sync-guard.sh hooks enforce this pre-merge; the same rule applies in review).

Recently added — check these before writing a parallel reminder helper (catalog § 19 "Reminders"):

Intent	Use this	File
When does a remind:: rule next fire? — pure, clock-free, THE single owner. Never re-derive it in TS / Swift / an OS bridge	outl_actions::next_fire_at	crates/outl-actions/src/reminders/schedule.rs
Every reminder in the workspace with its next fire resolved (tree-driven — the .md is projected asynchronously, so disk is stale right after authoring)	outl_actions::scan_reminders	crates/outl-actions/src/reminders/scan.rs
Every node carrying a property key, without walking the tree	outl_core::tree::Tree::nodes_with_property	crates/outl-core/src/tree/mod.rs
Parse a remind:: value (permissive — a bad rule warns, never drops the block)	outl_md::parse_remind	crates/outl-md/src/remind.rs
Silence a reminder across every device	outl_actions::snooze / snooze_until (Op::SnoozeRemind)	crates/outl-actions/src/reminders/mod.rs
Deliver what came due + the device-local fired log. In outl-actions because every client delivers, the TUI included	outl_actions::take_due	crates/outl-actions/src/reminders/fired.rs
Format "in 3h" / bucket a reminder list for a GUI	@outl/shared formatNextFire / groupReminders	crates/outl-frontend-shared/src/api/commands.ts
Mark a block DONE outright (cancels its rule). Not cycle_todo — on a block with no marker, one cycle lands on TODO and arms the nag	outl_actions::todo::set_todo	crates/outl-actions/src/todo.rs

Recently added — check these before writing a parallel template helper (catalog § 16 "Templates"):

Intent	Use this	File
Inject a params binding into a callable template's source (serde_json-escaped, language-canonicalized)	outl_actions::inject_call_params	crates/outl-actions/src/template/call.rs
The template name invoked by a ```call:<name> fence	outl_actions::call_target_name	crates/outl-actions/src/template/call.rs
Reserved template name for the daily journal auto-stamp	outl_actions::JOURNAL_TEMPLATE_NAME	crates/outl-actions/src/template/mod.rs
Detect + parse a ```call:<name> block into (name, params)	outl_actions::parse_call_invocation	crates/outl-actions/src/template/run.rs
Execute a callable template (shared by TUI gx + desktop exec)	outl_actions::run_callable_block	crates/outl-actions/src/template/run.rs
Resolve the page node for a template:: <name> (first in tree order; tracing::warn! on a name collision, and list_templates flags TemplateEntry.duplicate)	outl_actions::template::list::find_template_by_name	crates/outl-actions/src/template/list.rs
Derive a page/journal-root id from a slug (single owner — every creation path routes here so two paths converge on one root)	outl_core::NodeId::from_slug (wrapper outl_actions::page::page_id_from_slug)	crates/outl-core/src/id.rs
Read / write the raw snapshot boot cache on disk (<root>/.outl/snapshots/snap-<actor>.bin, workspace-owned — NOT a Storage method; boot reads via read_best_from_disk which prefers this device's own snapshot but adopts a peer's when absent — Phase 2, local ops preserved by the per-actor delta replay; save_snapshot + background writer go via write_to_disk)	outl_core::snapshot::read_from_disk / read_best_from_disk / write_to_disk (SnapshotBody)	crates/outl-core/src/snapshot.rs
Repair a split-brain workspace where a slug has >1 root (re-parents children under the canonical root, trashes duplicates; all Ops; idempotent)	outl_actions::merge_duplicate_slug_roots (impl outl_actions::page_merge)	crates/outl-actions/src/page_merge.rs
Create sibling before a block, appending at page end when the anchor is stale (O / new-block-above; the stale-anchor counterpart of create_after_or_append)	outl_actions::block::create_before_or_append	crates/outl-actions/src/block/create.rs
Repair journal titles doubled by concurrent offline creation (two devices minted the same deterministic root and each wrote the slug into the root's Yrs text, concatenating into "2026-06-252026-06-25"; clears the text via Op::Edit; idempotent, journal-only)	outl_actions::repair_doubled_journal_titles (impl outl_actions::page_repair_titles)	crates/outl-actions/src/page_repair_titles.rs
Order a backlinks list chronologically (group-stable by source page, newest-/oldest-first; drives the issue-#142 direction toggle on every client — never re-sort backlinks by hand per client)	outl_actions::sort_backlinks	crates/outl-actions/src/backlinks_sort.rs
Resolve the page/journal slug a node sits under (walks up to a registered page root; None if unregistered or not yet materialized)	outl_core::Workspace::slug_for_node	crates/outl-core/src/workspace.rs
Batch a composite action so its ops persist in one append_ops per destination instead of one fsync per apply (RAII guard, derefs to Workspace; commit or drop flushes; nests via a depth counter)	outl_core::Workspace::begin_batch → outl_core::WorkspaceBatch	crates/outl-core/src/workspace/batch.rs
Live sync-progress update pushed while a sync pass runs (connecting / snapshot bytes / ops received-pushed / synced / failed) — cosmetic only, distinct from the load-bearing reload trigger	outl_actions::SyncProgress + SyncTransport::set_progress_sink (default no-op)	crates/outl-actions/src/sync.rs
Backlink DTO's ancestor breadcrumb — Backlink::ancestors: Vec<BacklinkCrumb> (root-first, excludes the page root, empty when the citing block is at root level)	outl_actions::Backlink / outl_actions::BacklinkCrumb	crates/outl-actions/src/backlinks.rs
Pre-computed inverted backlinks index — build once (O(blocks), off the input path) then look a page's backlinks up in O(refs) instead of re-scanning the workspace on every navigation (for_page / for_target / count_for_page / len / is_empty); backlinks_for_page / backlinks_for_target are now one-shot wrappers over this	outl_actions::BacklinkIndex	crates/outl-actions/src/backlinks_index.rs
Build the backlinks index from the .md files on disk (client-facing builder — no Workspace touched, no lock held, Send); build_backlink_index (from an in-memory Workspace) is for the one-shot wrappers only — building a client's index from the workspace forces a lazy-boot vault (#179) to materialize and holds the workspace lock across the walk	outl_actions::build_backlink_index_from_disk	crates/outl-actions/src/backlinks_index.rs
Apply an already-rendered .md string back into the workspace + sidecar, skipping a redundant re-render (the GUI commit path renders once for the undo diff and reuses it)	outl_actions::journal::apply_page_md_with_sidecar_rendered	crates/outl-actions/src/journal.rs
Split a block at a character offset (Enter mid-text): head stays in the block, tail becomes a new sibling right after it, children stay with the head	outl_actions::block::split_block	crates/outl-actions/src/block/split.rs
Insert a sibling after a path, seeded with text (the TUI's in-flight block-split: tail of the split goes into the new sibling)	outline_ops::insert_sibling_after_with_text	crates/outl-md/src/outline_ops.rs
Resolve the markdown link [text](url) under a caret position (anchor OR url) — the URL a client opens externally (TUI gx opens it in the browser when the block isn't code)	outl_md::inline::link_at_cursor → Option<&str>	crates/outl-md/src/cursor.rs
Project a parsed subtree (.md AST, no sidecar) into wire OutlineNodes with tokens attached — ids are transient (fresh per call), for read-only surfaces that re-resolve on navigation (the !((blk)) embed subtree expansion)	outl_actions::outline::project_parsed_subtree (re-exported outl_actions::project_parsed_subtree)	crates/outl-actions/src/outline.rs
Content-hash an uploaded file's bytes / build its workspace-relative link target / test whether a link points at a workspace asset / test whether a name is a safe asset basename (anti-traversal, the one owner the P2P transport validates peer-sent names through) — all pure, no filesystem	outl_md::hash_bytes / outl_md::asset_rel_path / outl_md::is_asset_link / outl_md::is_safe_asset_name (+ outl_md::ASSETS_DIR)	crates/outl-md/src/asset.rs
Copy an uploaded file into <root>/assets/<hash>.<ext> (content-addressed, atomic, size-capped by [assets] max_bytes; import_asset_bytes takes already-in-memory bytes for a remote image downloaded during a Roam import) and resolve a [name](assets/…) link back to an on-disk path (traversal-safe) — the bytes never enter the op log, only the link does	outl_actions::import_asset / outl_actions::import_asset_bytes / outl_actions::resolve_asset_path	crates/outl-actions/src/asset.rs

Frontend shared primitives (@outl/shared) — canonical home is crates/outl-frontend-shared/CLAUDE.md → "Today's surface"; the embed / block-ref pieces the desktop wires for issue #147:

Intent	Use this	File
Render inline markdown tokens to JSX; the blockref token (((blk)) / !((blk))) resolves to the source block's text when embeds carries the handle (orphan = raw chip)	<MarkdownInline embeds= … /> (@outl/shared/markdown)	crates/outl-frontend-shared/src/markdown/MarkdownInline.tsx
Render an embed's subtree read-only — ↳-nested, max depth 4 (mirrors the TUI's emit_embedded_children)	<EmbeddedSubtree /> (@outl/shared/markdown)	crates/outl-frontend-shared/src/markdown/EmbeddedSubtree.tsx
The reply shape of resolveEmbeds ({ handle, text, page_slug, status, children: BlockNode[] }); EmbedMap is Record<string, ResolvedBlock>	ResolvedBlock (@outl/shared/api/types)	crates/outl-frontend-shared/src/api/types.ts
The handle iff a block is embed-only (a bare !((blk))), so a client knows to render <EmbeddedSubtree /> below it	embedOnlyHandle(tokens) (@outl/shared/outline)	crates/outl-frontend-shared/src/outline/index.ts
Collect every blockref + embed handle in an outline (DFS) so a client resolves them in one resolveEmbeds round-trip	collectBlockRefHandles(outline) (@outl/shared/outline)	crates/outl-frontend-shared/src/outline/index.ts
Wire the Tauri webview's OS file drag-drop to a block-resolved handler; desktop and mobile both consume this so the drop geometry (physical→CSS pixels, data-block-id hit-test) can't drift	installFileDrop(handlers), physicalToCss, blockIdFromElement / blockIdAtPhysical, joinAssetMarkdowns, appendMarkdownToBlock (@outl/shared/drag-drop)	crates/outl-frontend-shared/src/drag-drop/index.ts
Import a dropped file without creating a block, returning the ready-to-insert markdown link for the caller to splice at the drop target	importAssetFile(sourcePath) → Promise<ImportedAsset> (@outl/shared/api/commands)	crates/outl-frontend-shared/src/api/commands.ts; backend import_asset_file wraps outl_actions::import_asset

5.2 Reuse-first violations — no parallel implementations

Duplication here is a real hazard: two implementations of the same logic drift apart over time, and the user is the one who hits the divergence.

Past incidents to anchor severity:

• outl_md::index::Backlink and outl_actions::Backlink were two parallel "backlinks" pipelines that started identical and ended up disagreeing on self-references — caught by the user, not the reviewer. Collapsed into outl_actions::backlinks_for_page in 0.5.3.
• PR #47 (Logseq import) opened with crates/outl-cli/src/cmd/import/normalize.rs reimplementing \r\n handling, id:: stripping, and long-form date rewriting — every one of which outl_actions::paste::normalize_external_syntax already owned. (That directory has since been replaced by the adapter-based crates/outl-import; the lesson carries over.) Caught in review after a Claude-assisted PR shipped without the catalog being visible. That's why §5.1 exists.

The rule the PR author was expected to follow:

1. Grep before writing. rg "fn foo" / rg "struct Foo" across crates/. Look in upstream crates first, in this order: outl-core → outl-md → outl-actions. These are where shared primitives live. The catalog above is your starting point.
2. Prefer evolving the existing API over duplicating, even if that means a small refactor (rename, generalize a parameter, move into a sibling module). One owner per concept; many callers.
3. Refactor into the shared crate, not around it. If a TUI helper feels like it could live in outl-actions, the PR should move it there now — the mobile client will need it soon. The flatten_subtree_paths migration is the canonical pattern.
4. Duplication is OK only when the platforms are genuinely different. outl-tui::EditBuffer and the mobile <textarea> are both "cursor + text", but one is a terminal widget Rust has to render itself and the other is a browser primitive. Same role, different runtime — not duplication. Recalculating (line, col) from cursor in both places, though, would be — extract to outl_md::view::char_to_line_col and wrap.

When you spot a duplicate, point at the existing function with file:line and ask: "can you call this instead, or extend it if it doesn't quite fit? The fix is to wrap or evolve the upstream API, never to write a parallel one. If the author argues for duplication, they have to fit it into case 4 above — same role, genuinely different runtime. Anything else is a blocker.

• Layering violations. UI imports in outl-core. Client crates building op trees instead of calling outl-actions. Workspace mutations done outside Workspace::apply.
• New Op variant without the full checklist. Adding a variant touches apply_op, undo_op (the inverse must be exact), the sidecar serializer, the markdown projection, the replay tests, and the per-crate docs. Check the diff against /new-op expectations and call out anything missing.
• Trait surface that locks out a future backend. Storage must stay implementable by ChronDB later. If a new method assumes file semantics (paths, flock), question it.
• Sidecar / op-log format changes without a migration story. Existing workspaces on disk must still load. Either the change is backward-compatible (new optional field) or there is a versioned migration path described in the PR.
• File size growth past 600 lines. Note it, suggest a split by responsibility, point at refactor-architect agent. Past 900 lines, request a refactor before merge.
• Premature abstraction. A new trait or generic with one impl and no second use case in sight. The Rule of Three applies — concrete first, abstract on the third caller.

5.3 Documentation drift — block PRs that change behavior without updating the dev/contrib docs

docs/development.md (engineer onramp) and docs/contributing.md (review policy) are the two pages a new contributor reads before opening their first PR. A stale onramp is worse than no onramp because it sends contributors confidently into a wall — they follow steps that no longer work and silently distrust the project the rest of the way.

Use this table to decide when the PR must update docs. If you see a diff in the left column and no matching update in the right column, request the doc change before approving.

If the PR touches...	Require an update to
.github/workflows/ci.yml (jobs, matrix, excluded crates, RUSTDOCFLAGS, paths-ignore)	docs/development.md § 9 (CI walkthrough)
.github/workflows/release.yml, mobile.yml, desktop.yml, testflight.yml, bench.yml, cleanup-tags.yml	docs/development.md § 9 (CI table) and § 10 (Release process)
.claude/settings.json hooks, .claude/agents/*.md, .claude/commands/*.md (any slash command or hook behavior)	docs/development.md § 4 (Dev loop)
rust-toolchain.toml version bump	docs/development.md § 1 and root CONTRIBUTING.md
System deps for a crate (Tauri, GTK, Bun, Xcode, hyperfine, etc.)	docs/development.md § 1 ("Optional toolchains by area")
New crate added to crates/	docs/development.md § 2, root CLAUDE.md repo layout, per-crate CLAUDE.md
New native iOS surface (file added to crates/outl-mobile/swift/OutlKit/Sources/, crates/outl-mobile/src-tauri/gen/apple/Sources/outl-mobile/, or main.mm)	docs/development.md § 3 (the "Why the mobile crate has native Swift / ObjC code" table — does the new surface fit an existing row or is it a new reason?) + § 6 cookbook + crates/outl-mobile/CLAUDE.md
New Op variant, sidecar field, or op-log format change	docs/development.md § 6 cookbook + docs/crdt.md + outl-md/CLAUDE.md
/check / /check-invariants / /roundtrip / /coverage / /new-op / /init-playground semantics	docs/development.md § 4 (slash command table)
Benchmark layout (new bench file, new size tier, hyperfine recipe)	docs/development.md § 8 (Performance)
Version source-of-truth or release tooling (e.g. someone re-adds version to tauri.conf.json)	docs/development.md § 10 + crates/outl-mobile/CLAUDE.md (and reject re-adding the version field — it's an invariant)
Conventional Commits enforcement or release-notes pipeline	docs/development.md § 10 + root CLAUDE.md "Coding conventions"
Storage trait surface, JsonlStorage / MemoryStorage test contract	docs/development.md § 5 + docs/storage.md + outl-core/CLAUDE.md
New Action variant in outl-shortcuts / new keybinding / chord rebound	docs/shortcuts.md (the row that ships to users) + outl-shortcuts/src/{action.rs,defaults.rs} + every client's dispatcher (outl-tui/src/input/*.rs, outl-desktop/src/lib/{shortcuts.ts,action-handlers.ts}) + outl-desktop/src/lib/api.ts (TS mirror of the Action union — no codegen, drift here is silent until runtime)
Public API of a shared primitive listed in docs/shared-primitives.md	The matching catalog row in docs/shared-primitives.md

Phrase the comment so the author knows exactly which file and section to move. "Doc looks stale" is noise; "section 9 of docs/development.md still says ci.yml runs on the workspace including outl-mobile — this PR removes that exclusion" is review.

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6. Simplicity — fewer moving parts wins

Push back on:

• A new dependency for a feature that is two functions of standard library code away. Compare crate size, maintenance status, transitive deps, and licence before accepting.
• A configuration knob with no concrete user asking for it. Defaults that are right for the 90% case beat knobs that nobody tunes.
• Cleverness over readability. If a reviewer must run the code in their head to understand it, the next maintainer will lose more time than the original author saved.
• A trait, builder, or macro added for "future flexibility" with no named future caller.

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7. Testing bar

• Bug fix without a regression test → blocker. The test must fail on main and pass with the patch. Ask for it explicitly.
• Critical path touched without coverage proof. outl_core::tree::{do_op, undo_op, apply_op, creates_cycle} and outl_md::reconcile_md carry 100% line and branch coverage rules. New branches need new tests. Ask the author to run /coverage outl-core (or the relevant crate) and paste the result.
• Test asserts implementation, not behaviour. A test that breaks on any refactor is a maintenance tax. Suggest asserting against the public surface (op log contents, materialized tree shape, rendered markdown), not internal helpers.
• Mocked storage in an integration test that should hit JsonlStorage. Real-file integration is cheap; mocks hide the bugs that matter.
• #[ignore] or #[should_panic] added without a comment explaining the invariant being protected.

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8. What NOT to comment on

These produce noise. Stay silent:

• Anything cargo fmt, cargo clippy -D warnings, or rustdoc warnings already enforce.
• Style preferences (if let Some(x) = y vs match y { Some(x) => ... }) with no behavioural difference.
• "I would have named this differently" without a concrete clarity win.
• Speculation about a future architecture that nobody asked for.
• Re-litigating the "decisions you don't get to revisit" table in CONTRIBUTING.md and root CLAUDE.md.
• Adding TODOs the author already acknowledged in the PR description's "Out of scope" section.
• Disagreements with documented patterns in CLAUDE.md — defer to the file, do not argue with it inline.

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9. How to format your review

Group findings by severity. Lead each finding with the file and line.

🔴 Blocker   — violates an invariant or guarantees a regression.
🟡 Should-fix — concrete problem with a clear fix, but not a blocker.
🔵 Consider  — design or perf observation worth a reply, not a change request.

Each finding follows this shape:

**`crates/outl-core/src/tree.rs:184`** — 🔴 Blocker
Calling `apply_op` directly here bypasses the log append, so the
mutation will not replay on a second device. Route through
`Workspace::apply` instead; see the existing call at
`crates/outl-actions/src/block/edit.rs`.

End the review with one of these two closing lines:

• If the PR description gate passed and the diff is mergeable as-is or with should-fixes only:

  LGTM once the should-fix items are addressed. No blockers.

• If there is a blocker:

  Blocked: . Resolve the 🔴 items above before the next round.

• If the gate failed (no issue / weak description):

  Not reviewed in detail — the PR needs an issue link or a problem statement first (see top comment).

Keep the whole review under ~400 words unless the diff is genuinely large. A long review is a sign you are commenting on too much.

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10. Out of scope right now

outl ships continuously across TUI, CLI, desktop, and mobile. Do not suggest work on:

• Query DSL ({{query: ...}}).
• Plugin system (rhai).
• ChronDbStorage backend (tracked as issue #1).
• Android mobile build (iOS only today).
• Per-page op log shards (only when the workspace hits 10k pages).

If the PR touches one of these, it should already be linked to its tracking issue.