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@@ -23,6 +23,9 @@
 
 ## Commit and PR conventions
 
+Before opening a PR, check the change against `docs/review-patterns.md` and run
+`deno task fmt`.
+
 Do not include any agent marketing material (e.g. "Generated with...",
 "Co-Authored-By: \<agent>") in commits, pull requests, issues, or comments.
 
diff --git a/docs/review-patterns.md b/docs/review-patterns.md
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+# Review patterns
+
+Recurring maintainer review feedback, distilled from past PRs. Check a change
+against this list before opening a PR. PR numbers point at the original
+discussion.
+
+## Specs
+
+- Specs describe what _is_. No "current", "earlier", "now extends", or "planned
+  transition" language. Version-to-version differences go in commits and PR
+  descriptions (#29).
+- A code change that touches spec'd behavior updates the spec in the same PR,
+  including stale parentheticals elsewhere in the doc (#42).
+- Specify edge-case policy (timeouts, capacity exhaustion, overflow) before
+  writing tests that prescribe an outcome (#85, #132).
+- Use the spec's vocabulary: directives (`open`/`close`/`text`), not
+  "descriptors" (#5).
+- Don't externalize internal helpers into the spec just to unit-test them. A
+  `Term` does no IO, so test through the public API (#130).
+- Spec'd C functions state how errors are represented (#130). Reference links
+  are complete URLs, not bare domains (#130).
+- Facts that will never change belong in the normative section, not in
+  implementation notes (#5).
+
+## Native first
+
+- Renderer state lives in C/WASM. Store it once in native state; don't copy it
+  across the boundary on every call (#133, #139).
+- Prefer encoding new declarations in the binary format and resolving them
+  during rendering, as `text({ caret })` does, over re-scanning ops in
+  TypeScript. A snapshot stays a snapshot (#137).
+- Logic that any host language would need belongs in C, so non-JS frameworks get
+  the same behavior (#116).
+- Follow Clay's intended mechanisms. Don't build a parallel code path to an
+  algorithm Clay already owns (e.g. text measurement) (#30). Link upstream Clay
+  issues for local workarounds so they can be removed later (#85).
+
+## API shape
+
+- String literals over numeric constants or TS enums (`"center-center"`, not
+  `ATTACH_POINT.CENTER_CENTER`). Use functions when a value is parameterized
+  (#29, #42).
+- Collapse type variants: one event union, one array-taking signature, no
+  overloads that only tests use (#133).
+- Names carry constraints: `id` when it must be unique, not `name` (#5).
+- Static facts are fixed at `createTerm()`; dynamic changes arrive as events via
+  `term.update()`, which returns the bytes to write. Don't defer work to the
+  next `render()` (#106).
+- Front-load configuration at creation so each paint stays one
+  `write(result.output)` (#101).
+
+## C and WASM correctness
+
+- Don't record side effects for operations that may no-op. `setcell()` returns
+  early outside the clip rect (#114).
+- When growing WASM memory, account for every region (parser state, transfer
+  buffer, tables). Keep a comment describing the memory layout (#132).
+- Check return values (e.g. `trie_add()` exhaustion) (#132).
+- On overflow, keep structures balanced and report through the error channel.
+  Never silently corrupt or truncate; warn once if it's user-visible (#85,
+  #114).
+- Never fabricate a default for unknown input: an unknown capability code must
+  not become a plausible-looking event (#132).
+- Preserve signals in public functions (`wcwidth()` returns `-1` for
+  unprintable) (#49).
+- Prefix C constants and put them in the header (`TERMINFO_*` in `terminfo.h`)
+  unless they mirror an external name (#131).
+
+## Tests
+
+- Assert layout as ASCII pictures:
+  `expect(trim(print(ansi, w, h))).toEqual(...)` (see `test/print.ts`). Extend
+  `print()` rather than asserting raw bytes (#85, #114).
+- One spec per test file; put tests in the matching file (e.g. color behavior in
+  `test/color.test.ts`) (#93).
+- Build input with named helpers (`arrowUp()`, `mousePress()`) instead of byte
+  arrays annotated by comments (#91).
+- Keep fixtures minimal; drop wrappers the assertion doesn't need (#87).
+- Parsers need adversarial coverage: incomplete and invalid input, every
+  byte-boundary split, conflicting replies in either order, capacity exhaustion,
+  numeric overflow, and recovery of the following key (#132).
+
+## Performance
+
+- Split unambiguous wins from trade-offs into separate PRs. Size-vs-speed
+  changes (`-Oz`, compression) need a benchmark showing the cost (#35, #50).
+- Benchmark only APIs that matter: `createTerm()`, `render()`, `createInput()`.
+  Startup belongs in a fresh process (#52).
+- Distrust regressions in benches the diff can't reach; investigate noise before
+  reacting (#56, #85, #102).
+
+## Hygiene
+
+- Run `deno task fmt` before opening a PR (#6, #28, #102).
+- Add a changeset for user-facing changes (#114).
+- Commits must be signed (#42). Follow the org PR template (#29).
+- Don't add build workarounds (PATH hacks, shims) for local-only environment
+  issues when CI builds clean (#6, #32).
+- Examples: `main()` at the top, helpers below (#48). Annotate raw escape
+  sequences (`// SGR reset`) (#48).