Feature plan: Step 1 · Step 2 · Step 3 · Step 4

Debug mode: enabled

Stage 1 - Trim the page header

• Changes:

  • templates/pages/compose_thread.php: heading "Compose Thread" → "New thread"; replaced the "Posts are stored as canonical text files…" paragraph with one short line.

  • tests/Support/ProfileRegressionContract.php: compose marker updated to the new heading.

• Verification:

  • php tests/run.php LocalAppSmokeTest PresentationProfileMatrixTest: 140 run, 140 passed.

• Notes:

  • The document <title> still reads "Compose Thread" (from QdbExperience), which serves as the accessible page title, so no hidden heading was added.

Stage 2 - Tags/subject expando

• Changes:

  • templates/partials/thread_compose_form.php: non-compact form now renders the body first, then a <details data-compose-disclosure="tags-subject"> wrapping board tags and subject with unchanged names and status hooks. Opens server-side when tags ≠ general, subject is non-empty, or an error is present; summary shows current subject and tags.

  • Body normalization-status paragraph now sits directly under the body in both variants.

  • public/assets/compose.css: shared .compose-disclosure styling.

  • tests/LocalAppSmokeTest.php: closed-by-default and open-on-subject/open-on-tags assertions.

• Verification:

  • php tests/run.php LocalAppSmokeTest PresentationProfileMatrixTest LazyComposeSigningTest OfflineOutboxComposeTest BrowserSigningNormalizationTest: 225 run, 225 passed.

• Notes:

  • Query-string and quote-supplied values are covered by the same non-default rule; the error open path is not yet covered by a test and the normalization-warning open path arrives in Stage 4.

  • Event inputs are still visible; Stage 3 wraps them.

Stage 3 - Event expando

• Changes:

  • templates/partials/thread_compose_form.php: the four event inputs sit in <details data-compose-disclosure="event"> (only when event support is enabled). Opens when any event value is present or an error is shown; summary lists date/time/location.

  • tests/LocalAppSmokeTest.php: closed-by-default and open-when-prefilled assertions with events enabled.

• Verification:

  • php tests/run.php LocalAppSmokeTest PresentationProfileMatrixTest LazyComposeSigningTest OfflineOutboxComposeTest: 145 run, 145 passed.

• Notes:

  • The disabled-events case is covered by the existing name="event_date" absence assertions.

  • Warning auto-open and live summary updates come in Stage 4.

Stage 4 - Expando client behavior

• Changes:

  • public/assets/compose_disclosure.js (new): opens a disclosure when a normalization-status node inside it becomes visible, refreshes the collapsed summary on input, and refreshes after "Clear fields".

  • templates/layout.php / TemplateRenderer.php: load the script next to compose_draft_clear.js on every page, so it covers all compose surfaces.

  • tests/browser/compose_disclosure.mjs (new, self-contained fixture) and a fingerprinted-asset assertion in LocalAppSmokeTest.

• Verification:

  • php tests/run.php LocalAppSmokeTest PresentationProfileMatrixTest VersionCheckBehaviorTest: 146 run, 146 passed.

  • CHROMIUM_PATH=<playwright chromium> node tests/browser/compose_disclosure.mjs: ok (summary update, warning auto-open, summary after clear).

• Notes:

  • Browser test uses a fixture, not the real browser_signing.js warning flow; the real flow toggles the same hidden attribute on the same nodes, but an end-to-end check with an unsupported character is left for Stage 7's manual pass.

  • The script is loaded globally (layout) rather than per page, matching how the draft-clear script is loaded.

Stage 5 - Compact image widget

• Changes:

  • templates/partials/image_compose_fields.php: one-row widget (choose + remove buttons, small preview, status line); the border, "or drop it here" text, and the always-visible help message are gone; the legend is visually hidden; the description input is wrapped in a label hidden until an image is attached (the input stays in the DOM).

  • public/assets/image_upload.js: render() shows the description only while an image state exists.

  • public/assets/compose.css: slimmed image styles (no fieldset border/padding, smaller preview, drop highlight kept).

  • User request mid-stage: all "(optional)" labels removed from the thread form, event fields, and image widget; the intro line no longer says "optional".

  • tests/browser/image_content_browser.mjs: opens the Subject & tags expando before filling subject and fills the description after the image is attached.

• Verification:

  • node tests/browser/image_content_browser.mjs (Chromium): passed after the two test adjustments above.

  • node tests/browser/image_compose_transport.cjs: ran clean.

  • php tests/run.php ImageContentTest LocalAppSmokeTest PresentationProfileMatrixTest LazyComposeSigningTest: 147 run, 147 passed.

• Notes:

  • The widget markup is shared, so reply, board, QDB add, and paned dialogs get it automatically; visual checks per surface are in Stage 7.

  • Description text is preserved (hidden) if the image is removed and is only read by signing when an image is attached.

  • Removing the help message also removed the "reselect after reloading" hint, as approved; failure/recovery messages are unchanged.

Stage 6 - "..." action menu

• Changes:

  • templates/partials/thread_compose_form.php: only the primary submit stays in the action row; "Create thread anonymously" (a submit button), the quote-only "Remove timestamps", and "Clear fields" moved into a <details class="compose-action-menu"> with a "..." toggle at the end of the row. The menu stays inside the form, with attributes unchanged.

  • public/assets/compose.css: menu toggle (44 px) and upward-opening list with 44 px items, aligned to the right edge.

  • public/assets/compose_disclosure.js: closes the menu after an item is chosen, on Escape (focus returns to the toggle), and on an outside click.

  • tests/LocalAppSmokeTest.php, tests/browser/compose_disclosure.mjs, tests/browser/image_content_browser.mjs: menu markup assertion, open/close behavior, and the image acceptance test opens the menu before the anonymous attempt.

• Verification:

  • node tests/browser/compose_disclosure.mjs: ok.

  • node tests/browser/image_content_browser.mjs (Chromium): passed, including anonymous-submit refusal from inside the menu.

  • php tests/run.php LocalAppSmokeTest LazyComposeSigningTest OfflineOutboxComposeTest BrowserSigningNormalizationTest PresentationProfileMatrixTest: all passed.

• Notes:

  • testStartAcceptsPortShorthand and testStartAcceptsColonPortShorthand failed in two earlier runs (3 s timeout on v3 start) and passed on re-run with and without these changes; they look timing-sensitive and unrelated.

  • Implicit Enter-key submission still uses the first submit button, which remains the primary action.

  • The reply form's own buttons are unchanged, per the approved scope.

  • todo.txt has uncommitted user edits (new compose-form items, including placing the "..." button at the bottom-right corner); it is deliberately left out of stage commits.

Stage 7 - Cross-surface verification and closeout

• Changes:

  • public/assets/outbox_compose.js: the thread composer's "Save thread to Outbox" button is now appended to the "..." menu (reply forms unchanged), so "..." is the last control in the row and the primary button is the only other visible action.

  • public/assets/compose.css: menu items share one font size/padding (the "Clear fields" item was smaller).

  • todo.txt: marked "collapse the image selector…" done (only that line is committed; the user's separate uncommitted additions to the file were left untouched).

• Verification:

  • Manual browser pass with screenshots (Chromium, 900 px) of /compose/thread (default, with a prepared image and the menu open), the board inline composer, and the reply page; the QDB add route is not part of the browser fixture, so it is covered by the render tests only.

  • php tests/run.php LocalAppSmokeTest PresentationProfileMatrixTest LazyComposeSigningTest OfflineOutboxComposeTest BrowserSigningNormalizationTest ImageContentTest ImageUploadValidatorTest VersionCheckBehaviorTest PrivateMessageComposerTest: 241 run, 241 passed.

  • node tests/browser/compose_disclosure.mjs, node tests/browser/image_compose_transport.cjs, node tests/browser/image_content_browser.mjs: passed.

  • php scripts/check_static_artifacts.php: all fingerprinted asset references resolve.

• Notes:

  • Not verified in a real browser: the events-enabled layout (fixture has events off; covered by render tests), the paned new-thread dialog, the QDB add page, a 390 px mobile pass of the new menu, and an end-to-end unsupported-character warning opening its expando.

  • Reply-form action buttons were intentionally left as they were.

  • The user's todo.txt additions (bottom-right "..." button, making the image and body modules look like the other modules) are not part of this cycle.

Follow-up - "..." always last

• Changes:

  • public/assets/compose.css: .compose-action-menu gets order: 99 and margin-left: auto so the toggle sits at the end of the action row even if a script appends another button later.

• Verification:

  • DOM order check in Chromium on /compose/thread, / (compact), and /forte (paned dialog): the menu is the last child of every thread action row.

• Notes:

  • It was already last in the committed markup; this makes the position independent of DOM order. Reply-form rows have no menu and are unchanged.