lllin000_PaperForge/docs/ux-contract.md

UX Contract — Verifiable Workflow Specifications

This document defines concrete, single-measurement step sequences for every PaperForge user workflow. Every step has a Trigger (what the user does), a Measurable Outcome (what we verify), and an Error Contract (how failure presents). Journey tests validate against this contract.

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Workflow 1: First-Time Installation

Step ID	Trigger	Action	Measurable Outcome	Error Contract
W1-S1	Run paperforge setup --headless --vault /tmp/pf-test	Vault selection / directory creation	{vault}/paperforge.json exists with valid JSON containing system_dir, resources_dir, literature_dir	Exit code != 0; stderr: "Failed to create vault directory"
W1-S2	Setup writes config file	Config file generated	{vault}/paperforge.json keys: version (string), system_dir (string), resources_dir (string), literature_dir (string), base_dir (string)	Exit code != 0; stderr: "Failed to write paperforge.json"
W1-S3	Setup writes .env with API token	Environment file created	{vault}\System\PaperForge\.env exists and contains line PADDLEOCR_API_TOKEN=<non-empty>	Exit code != 0; stderr: "Failed to create .env"
W1-S4	Setup creates directory structure	Directory tree generated	Directories exist: System/PaperForge/exports/, System/PaperForge/ocr/, System/PaperForge/indexes/, Resources/Literature/, Bases/, .opencode/skills/	Exit code != 0; stderr: "Failed to create directory: {path}"
W1-S5	User runs paperforge sync	First sync from BBT JSON	paperforge sync exits code 0; stdout contains "Created" or "Found" to indicate new items	Exit code != 0; stderr: "Error reading exports directory"
W1-S6	Verify formal note created	First paper appears	{vault}/Resources/Literature/{domain}/{key} - {title}.md exists with frontmatter containing zotero_key, domain, has_pdf, pdf_path	No note created; stderr: "Failed to create formal note for {key}"

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Workflow 2: Daily Sync

Step ID	Trigger	Action	Measurable Outcome	Error Contract
W2-S1	User adds paper in Zotero	Zotero entry created	Better BibTeX auto-exports updated JSON to {vault}/System/PaperForge/exports/{collection}.json with new item entry	N/A — outside PaperForge scope
W2-S2	Better BibTeX auto-exports	JSON appears in exports/	File {vault}/System/PaperForge/exports/{collection}.json is valid JSON with items array containing the new paper's object	N/A — Zotero/BBT handles export
W2-S3	User runs paperforge sync	Sync processes new export	Exit code 0; stdout contains the new paper's title or key; log shows "Formal note created" or "1 new items"	Exit code != 0; stderr: "Sync failed"
W2-S4	Verify new formal note	Formal note exists with correct state	New .md file found at {vault}/Resources/Literature/{domain}/{key} - {title}.md; frontmatter has has_pdf: true, do_ocr: false, ocr_status: "pending", analyze: false	File not created; stderr shows error about missing key or title

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Workflow 3: OCR Pipeline

Step ID	Trigger	Action	Measurable Outcome	Error Contract
W3-S1	User sets do_ocr: true in formal note frontmatter	OCR trigger flag	Formal note frontmatter contains do_ocr: true, ocr_status: "pending"	N/A — manual file edit
W3-S2	User runs paperforge ocr	OCR job submitted	Exit code 0; stdout contains "Submitting" or "Processing" or job reference; meta.json created at {vault}/System/PaperForge/ocr/{key}/meta.json with ocr_status: "processing"	Exit code != 0; stderr: "OCR API authentication failed" or "Network error"
W3-S3	Wait for OCR job to complete	Polling OCR status	meta.json shows ocr_status: "done"; fulltext.md exists in OCR output directory with text content	ocr_status: "failed"; stderr: "OCR job {id} did not complete"
W3-S4	OCR artifacts extracted	Full text and figures available	{vault}/System/PaperForge/ocr/{key}/fulltext.md exists with >= 1 page; {vault}/System/PaperForge/ocr/{key}/images/ exists with at least 1 image or empty	Missing artifacts; ocr_status: "failed" with error detail
W3-S5	Formal note updated with OCR status	Frontmatter reflects OCR done	Formal note frontmatter ocr_status updated to "done"; fulltext_md_path references OCR fulltext file	ocr_status remains "pending" or "processing"; no error logged

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Workflow 4: Dashboard View (Obsidian Plugin)

Step ID	Trigger	Action	Measurable Outcome	Error Contract
W4-S1	User opens Obsidian vault	Plugin loads and registers dashboard view	Plugin view registered; sidebar icon visible; clicking opens PaperForge dashboard panel	Plugin not loaded; console shows "Failed to register PaperForge view"
W4-S2	User opens a .base file	Collection mode activates	Dashboard switches to collection mode; preserves module order: header, workflow funnel (Total → PDF Ready → OCR Done → Deep Read), OCR pipeline scoped to current base, collection-scoped issue/health messaging only inside the collection view, then action buttons (Run OCR primary, Sync Library secondary)	Falls to global mode; missing stats; collection issues appear as a separate extra module outside the collection view
W4-S3	User opens a formal note (.md with zotero_key)	Paper mode activates	Dashboard switches to paper mode; preserves module order: paper header, status/file row, paper overview card, next-step or complete row, discussion card, collapsible technical details; panel keeps bottom-safe-area padding so final content is fully visible; expanding technical details does not trigger scrollbar reflow/width jump; first discussion expand does not collapse on the first click	Falls to global mode; components empty or erroring; bottom content is clipped; expanding discussion/technical details causes collapse or layout jump
W4-S4	User opens fulltext.md or other workspace file	Paper mode activates via workspace detection	Dashboard stays in paper mode for any file inside a paper workspace directory ({key} - {title}/). zotero_key resolved from dirname pattern	Falls to global mode
W4-S5	User opens no file or non-workspace .md	Global mode activates	Dashboard shows, in preserved order: library snapshot (papers / PDFs / OCR done / deep-read done), system status grid (runtime / index / Zotero export / OCR token), optional issues panel (only when anomalies exist with Run Doctor / Repair Issues), then action buttons (Open Literature Hub primary / Sync Library secondary); light and dark themes both keep muted accents, readable contrast, and visible keyboard focus on collection/global action controls	Shows loading/empty state; console errors; module order changes unexpectedly; light/dark theme contrast or focus visibility regresses
W4-S6	User toggles do_ocr or analyze checkbox	Workflow toggle writes to frontmatter	Checkbox state writes to formal note YAML frontmatter via processFrontMatter; Base view reflects change immediately (reads from file); dashboard auto-refreshes via modify event	Frontmatter not written; notice shows "Note file not found"

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Assertion Library

Use these shell commands in journey tests to verify each step:

# W1-S1: Config file exists
test -f "{vault}/paperforge.json" && python -c "import json; json.load(open('{vault}/paperforge.json'))"

# W1-S3: .env exists with token
grep -q "PADDLEOCR_API_TOKEN" "{vault}/System/PaperForge/.env"

# W1-S4: Directory structure complete
test -d "{vault}/System/PaperForge/exports" && test -d "{vault}/Resources/Literature"

# W1-S6: Formal note created
test -f "{vault}/Resources/Literature/"{domain}/*.md

# W2-S4: Frontmatter fields present
python -c "
import yaml; m=open('{note_path}').read()
fm=yaml.safe_load(m.split('---')[1])
assert fm.get('has_pdf')==True
assert fm.get('ocr_status') in ('pending','done')
"

# W3-S5: OCR status updated in note frontmatter
python -c "
import yaml; m=open('{note_path}').read()
fm=yaml.safe_load(m.split('---')[1])
assert fm.get('ocr_status')=='done'
assert fm.get('fulltext_md_path','')!=''
"