Add the Vessel family: vessel-react, vessel-light fingerprint, steering-eval harness

.changeset/adapting-a-starter.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@design-intelligence/ghost": minor
+---
+
+The skill bundle gains the `adapting-a-starter` recipe: the seven-step transplant procedure for turning an installed starter — a body like vessel-light or the naked skeleton — into your own brand's fingerprint, plus guidance for consuming an unadapted starter honestly.

.changeset/body-install.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@design-intelligence/ghost": minor
+---
+
+`ghost init` gains `--body vessel-light`: install a full inhabited fingerprint package — answered signature dials, a materials tree with tokens and embedded fonts, annotated reference compositions, and its own checks. Init template payloads now ship as packed files in dist, so bodies can carry binary materials.

.changeset/config.json

@@ -7,5 +7,5 @@
   "access": "public",
   "baseBranch": "main",
   "updateInternalDependencies": "patch",
-  "ignore": ["@design-intelligence/vessel", "ghost-docs"]
+  "ignore": ["@design-intelligence/vessel-react", "ghost-docs"]
 }

.changeset/median-headings-vessel-docs.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@design-intelligence/ghost": patch
+---
+
+Reframe the median as Ghost-stamped model truth and align Vessel's median check with heading anchors.

.changeset/median-one-home.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@design-intelligence/ghost": minor
+---
+
+The median floor gets one authored home: `anti-goal.median` rules become markdown headings with per-rule check references, so `ghost validate` warns on every flag orphaned by pruning. All init templates (`skeleton`, `minimal`, `composition`) now stamp the median node; `ghost checks init` copies the paired check from the packaged payload and skips it when the node is absent.

.changeset/review-locator-matching.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@design-intelligence/ghost": patch
+---
+
+`ghost review` now resolves package-relative `materials/…` locators to their repo-relative form before matching diff paths, so packages living below the repo root offer their value checks correctly.

.changeset/skeleton-default-template.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@design-intelligence/ghost": minor
+---
+
+`ghost init` now scaffolds the skeleton starter: value-free grammar nodes, unanswered signature dials, and the `anti-goal.median` floor — replacing the Morrow Ledger demo content. `ghost checks init` scaffolds a live median-tells check alongside the example. `steering` remains as an alias for the new `skeleton` template.

.gitignore

@@ -26,4 +26,4 @@ packages/ghost-ui/.ghost/cache/*
 docs/superpowers/plans/
 docs/superpowers/specs/
 notes/
-demo/
+/demo/

CLAUDE.md

@@ -89,7 +89,8 @@ edits and checks.
 | Package | Published? | Description |
 | --- | --- | --- |
 | `packages/ghost` | yes: `@design-intelligence/ghost` | The public package. Ships the `ghost` CLI, node authoring, corpus validation, gather/pull/pulse, review packet assembly, and the unified skill bundle. Shared runtime lives in `packages/ghost/src/ghost-core`. |
-| `packages/vessel` | no | A standalone shadcn component registry plus `vessel-mcp` MCP server: the opinionated default reference body. Design-system-agnostic; nothing in Ghost requires it. |
+| `packages/vessel-react` | no | A standalone shadcn component registry plus `vessel-mcp` MCP server: the opinionated default reference body. Design-system-agnostic; nothing in Ghost requires it. |
+| `packages/vessel-light` | no | Vessel's design language as a portable `.ghost/` fingerprint package for agents writing raw HTML/CSS. No build, no dependencies. |
 | `apps/docs` | no | Docs site. |
 
 ## CLI Commands

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ the list.
 ## Dogfooding
 
 Surfaces in this repo carry their own fingerprints: `apps/docs/.ghost` and
-`packages/vessel/.ghost`. If you touch a surface, `ghost gather` from its
+`packages/vessel-react/.ghost`. If you touch a surface, `ghost gather` from its
 fingerprint before you build, and expect review against it. This is where
 you experience Ghost as a user — treat friction you hit here as a bug worth
 reporting.

README.md

@@ -189,7 +189,8 @@ point at things that moved.
 | Path | Role | Published? |
 | ---- | ---- | --- |
 | [`packages/ghost`](./packages/ghost) | The public `ghost` CLI, node authoring, corpus validation, gather/pull, review packet assembly, and the skill bundle. | yes: `@design-intelligence/ghost` |
-| [`packages/vessel`](./packages/vessel) | A standalone shadcn component registry plus `vessel-mcp` MCP server. | no |
+| [`packages/vessel-react`](./packages/vessel-react) | A standalone shadcn component registry plus `vessel-mcp` MCP server. | no |
+| [`packages/vessel-light`](./packages/vessel-light) | Vessel's design language as a portable `.ghost/` fingerprint for agents writing raw HTML/CSS. | no |
 | [`apps/docs`](./apps/docs) | Docs site. | no |
 
 ## Development

apps/docs/.ghost/asset.docs-materials.md

@@ -8,17 +8,17 @@ materials:
   - apps/docs/src/app/**/*.tsx
   - apps/docs/src/content/docs/*.mdx
   - apps/docs/src/generated/cli-manifest.json
-  - packages/vessel/src/styles/main.css
-  - packages/vessel/src/components/**
+  - packages/vessel-react/src/styles/main.css
+  - packages/vessel-react/src/components/**
 ---
 
 Do not invent docs-site vocabulary before inspecting the materials already in
 place.
 
 Material contract:
 
-- **Tokens and primitives** come from `@design-intelligence/vessel/styles.css`,
-  backed by `packages/vessel/src/styles/main.css`. Author with semantic roles
+- **Tokens and primitives** come from `@design-intelligence/vessel-react/styles.css`,
+  backed by `packages/vessel-react/src/styles/main.css`. Author with semantic roles
   (`bg-background`, `text-foreground`, `text-muted-foreground`, `border-border`,
   `bg-card`) and the named docs typography variables (`--heading-*`,
   `--label-*`). Avoid raw palette utilities unless they are already part of a

apps/docs/.ghost/index.md

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ materials:
 This fingerprint governs the Ghost docs site: the landing page, documentation
 index, tool landings, MDX docs pages, and the small components that carry them.
 It does not govern Vessel as a reference component registry; Vessel has its own
-fingerprint under `packages/vessel/.ghost/`. When the docs consume Vessel
+fingerprint under `packages/vessel-react/.ghost/`. When the docs consume Vessel
 materials, this fingerprint decides the docs' product stance and Vessel decides
 the component-system contract.
 

apps/docs/.ghost/principle.visual-composition.md

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ materials:
   - apps/docs/src/app/docs/page.tsx
   - apps/docs/src/app/tools/**/*.tsx
   - apps/docs/src/components/docs/**
-  - packages/vessel/src/styles/main.css
+  - packages/vessel-react/src/styles/main.css
 ---
 
 The Ghost docs site should render like a stark technical artifact with one

apps/docs/README.md

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 **Documentation site for the Ghost project.**
 
-`ghost-docs` is the deployed docs for everything in this monorepo: the `ghost` CLI, the fingerprint package format, the generation loop, and the live `vessel` component catalogue. A Vite + MDX app that consumes [`vessel`](../../packages/vessel) as a workspace dependency.
+`ghost-docs` is the deployed docs for everything in this monorepo: the `ghost` CLI, the fingerprint package format, the generation loop, and the live `vessel` component catalogue. A Vite + MDX app that consumes [`vessel-react`](../../packages/vessel-react) as a workspace dependency.
 
 ## Run
 

apps/docs/package.json

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
     "typecheck": "tsc --noEmit"
   },
   "dependencies": {
-    "@design-intelligence/vessel": "workspace:*",
+    "@design-intelligence/vessel-react": "workspace:*",
     "@hookform/resolvers": "^5.2.2",
     "@radix-ui/react-accordion": "^1.2.12",
     "@radix-ui/react-alert-dialog": "^1.1.15",

apps/docs/src/App.tsx

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { ThemeProvider } from "@design-intelligence/vessel";
+import { ThemeProvider } from "@design-intelligence/vessel-react";
 import { useEffect } from "react";
 import { Navigate, Route, Routes, useLocation } from "react-router";
 import DocsIndex from "@/app/docs/page";

apps/docs/src/app/docs/page.tsx

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 "use client";
 
-import { useStaggerReveal } from "@design-intelligence/vessel";
+import { useStaggerReveal } from "@design-intelligence/vessel-react";
 import { BookOpen, FileText, Rocket, ShieldCheck, Zap } from "lucide-react";
 import type { ReactNode } from "react";
 import { Link } from "react-router";

apps/docs/src/app/page.tsx

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { useStaggerReveal } from "@design-intelligence/vessel";
+import { useStaggerReveal } from "@design-intelligence/vessel-react";
 import { Hero } from "@/components/docs/hero";
 import { SectionWrapper } from "@/components/docs/wrappers";
 

apps/docs/src/app/tools/drift/page.tsx

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 "use client";
 
-import { useStaggerReveal } from "@design-intelligence/vessel";
+import { useStaggerReveal } from "@design-intelligence/vessel-react";
 import { BookOpen, Orbit, Rocket } from "lucide-react";
 import type { ReactNode } from "react";
 import { Link } from "react-router";

apps/docs/src/app/tools/page.tsx

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 "use client";
 
-import { useStaggerReveal } from "@design-intelligence/vessel";
+import { useStaggerReveal } from "@design-intelligence/vessel-react";
 import { FileText, Orbit } from "lucide-react";
 import type { ReactNode } from "react";
 import { Link } from "react-router";

apps/docs/src/app/tools/scan/page.tsx

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 "use client";
 
-import { useStaggerReveal } from "@design-intelligence/vessel";
+import { useStaggerReveal } from "@design-intelligence/vessel-react";
 import { BookOpen, FileText, Rocket } from "lucide-react";
 import type { ReactNode } from "react";
 import { Link } from "react-router";

apps/docs/src/components/docs/callout.tsx

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { cn } from "@design-intelligence/vessel";
+import { cn } from "@design-intelligence/vessel-react";
 import type { ReactNode } from "react";
 
 type Variant = "info" | "warning" | "wip";

apps/docs/src/components/docs/doc-prose.tsx

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { cn } from "@design-intelligence/vessel";
+import { cn } from "@design-intelligence/vessel-react";
 import type { ComponentProps } from "react";
 
 export function DocProse({

apps/docs/src/components/docs/dock.tsx

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ import {
   TooltipContent,
   TooltipTrigger,
   useTheme,
-} from "@design-intelligence/vessel";
+} from "@design-intelligence/vessel-react";
 import type { LucideIcon } from "lucide-react";
 import {
   BookOpen,

apps/docs/src/components/docs/docs-page-layout.tsx

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 "use client";
 
-import { cn } from "@design-intelligence/vessel";
+import { cn } from "@design-intelligence/vessel-react";
 import type { ReactNode } from "react";
 
 /**

apps/docs/src/components/docs/external-link.tsx

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { cn } from "@design-intelligence/vessel";
+import { cn } from "@design-intelligence/vessel-react";
 import { ArrowUpRight } from "lucide-react";
 import { ComponentProps } from "react";
 

apps/docs/src/components/docs/page-header.tsx

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { cn } from "@design-intelligence/vessel";
+import { cn } from "@design-intelligence/vessel-react";
 import { ComponentProps } from "react";
 
 function PageHeader({

apps/docs/src/components/docs/tooltip-wrapper.tsx

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import {
   Tooltip,
   TooltipContent,
   TooltipTrigger,
-} from "@design-intelligence/vessel";
+} from "@design-intelligence/vessel-react";
 import { ComponentProps } from "react";
 import { useShowTooltips } from "@/store/preferences-store";
 

apps/docs/src/components/docs/wrappers.tsx

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { cn } from "@design-intelligence/vessel";
+import { cn } from "@design-intelligence/vessel-react";
 import { ComponentProps } from "react";
 
 interface SectionWrapperProps extends ComponentProps<"div"> {

apps/docs/src/content/docs/cli-reference.mdx

@@ -51,12 +51,29 @@ a finding (exit `1`).
 
 ### Initialize: `init`
 
-Scaffold a `.ghost/` package with the steering starter: a manifest, a starter `glossary.md`, a core `index.md` node, and demo nodes for stance, composition, anti-goals, patterns, exemplars, materials, and decisions. The demo content is there for inspiration and guidance. Replace it with real product truth before using it to steer generation. Use `--template minimal` when you only want the small manifest/glossary/index starter. Add truths by adding files (`principle.density.md`). Use
+Scaffold a `.ghost/` package. Every template and body includes `anti-goal.median`; the skeleton starter also includes a manifest, a `glossary.md` declaring the grammar/signature/register/anti-goal kinds, a core `index.md`, six grammar nodes of value-free decision logic, and four signature nodes as unanswered dials awaiting your brand's values. The median node is Ghost's measured knowledge of unsteered model behavior — model truth, not brand truth — stamped at init and owned (pruned, adapted) by you thereafter. Nothing in the skeleton is fiction: grammar and the median floor are safe to consume verbatim; the dials tell the agent to ask or flag, never freehand. Use `--template minimal` when you only want the small manifest/glossary/index starter. Add truths by adding files (`principle.density.md`). Use
 `--package <dir>` for an exact directory, or set `GHOST_PACKAGE_DIR` when a host
 wrapper stores Ghost files outside the default `.ghost`. Core `init` scaffolds
 the fingerprint only; pass `--with checks` to also add the checks directory in
 one move.
 
+Templates are shapes of emptiness — structures awaiting your truths. A
+**body** is the same anatomy inhabited: answered signature dials, a
+`materials/` tree (tokens, fonts, worked reference compositions), and its own
+`checks/`. Install one with `--body`:
+
+```bash
+ghost init --body vessel-light
+```
+
+`vessel-light` installs Vessel's design language at full strength — the
+fork-axis corpus, `materials/tokens.css` owning every literal value, embedded
+fonts, six annotated refs, and five checks, included automatically (no
+`--with checks` needed; combining them is an error). The manifest id stays
+`vessel-light` until you adapt the starter: renaming it is deliberately the
+first step of making the brand yours. `--body` and `--template` are mutually
+exclusive.
+
 <CliHelp tool="ghost" command="init" hideDescription />
 
 ```bash

apps/docs/src/content/docs/getting-started.mdx

@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ assembles advisory review packets after, but never grades output itself. You
 work through a short loop:
 
 ```bash
-ghost init        # scaffold .ghost/ with the steering starter
+ghost init        # scaffold .ghost/ with the skeleton starter
 ghost validate    # artifact shape + node validity + kind-prefix check
 ghost gather <ask> # emit the menu for this task; your agent selects the truths it needs
 ghost pull <ids>   # read the selected truths' full bodies
@@ -80,13 +80,25 @@ by decision. One high-confidence truth beats an empty catalog.
 
 The CLI handles the deterministic package work. Your agent handles the authoring:
 interviewing you, working with the material you show it, drafting node prose,
-and asking you to curate the claims. `ghost init` scaffolds the steering starter: `manifest.yml`, a starter `glossary.md`, a core `index.md` node, and demo nodes for stance, composition, anti-goals, patterns, exemplars, materials, and decisions. The demo content is there for inspiration and guidance. Replace its claims, paths, examples, and decisions with your real product truth before using it to steer generation. Use `ghost init --template minimal` when you only want the small manifest/glossary/index starter.
+and asking you to curate the claims. `ghost init` stamps `anti-goal.median` into every template and body; the median node is Ghost's measured knowledge of unsteered model behavior — model truth, not brand truth — owned (pruned, adapted) by you after init. The skeleton starter also includes `manifest.yml`, a `glossary.md` declaring the grammar/signature/register/anti-goal kinds, a core `index.md`, six grammar nodes of value-free decision logic, and four signature nodes as unanswered dials. Nothing in the skeleton is fiction: grammar and the median floor hold for any brand, and each dial tells the agent to ask you or flag the gap rather than freehand a value. Answering the dials is how the skeleton becomes your brand. Use `ghost init --template minimal` when you only want the small manifest/glossary/index starter.
 
 ```bash
 ghost init
 ghost validate
 ```
 
+Prefer starting from a working brand instead of an empty anatomy? Install a
+**body** — the same skeleton with a real brand's values plugged in: answered
+dials, a `materials/` tree with tokens and fonts, worked reference
+compositions, and its own checks:
+
+```bash
+ghost init --body vessel-light
+```
+
+The body's manifest keeps its own id (`vessel-light`) until you adapt it —
+renaming the id is deliberately the first step of making the brand yours.
+
 Each node's prose records a durable brand truth. While drafting, ask three
 questions of every truth: **why** (the stance — what this brand is, who it
 serves, what must remain true), **with what** (the materials — building blocks,

apps/docs/src/generated/cli-manifest.json

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 {
-  "generatedAt": "2026-07-07T16:48:56.039Z",
+  "generatedAt": "2026-07-09T11:06:22.019Z",
   "tools": [
     {
       "tool": "ghost",
@@ -53,7 +53,15 @@
             {
               "rawName": "--template <name>",
               "name": "template",
-              "description": "Init template to scaffold (default: steering)",
+              "description": "Init template to scaffold (default: skeleton)",
+              "default": null,
+              "takesValue": true,
+              "negated": false
+            },
+            {
+              "rawName": "--body <name>",
+              "name": "body",
+              "description": "Init body to install: a full inhabited package (e.g. vessel-light)",
               "default": null,
               "takesValue": true,
               "negated": false

apps/docs/src/main.tsx

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { StrictMode } from "react";
 import { createRoot } from "react-dom/client";
 import { BrowserRouter } from "react-router";
-import "@design-intelligence/vessel/styles.css";
+import "@design-intelligence/vessel-react/styles.css";
 import { App } from "./App";
 import "./styles/dev-fonts.css";
 

biome.json

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
     "useIgnoreFile": true
   },
   "files": {
-    "includes": ["**", "!**/test/fixtures"]
+    "includes": ["**", "!**/test/fixtures", "!packages/vessel-light/demo/out"]
   },
   "formatter": {
     "enabled": true,
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
   },
   "overrides": [
     {
-      "includes": ["packages/vessel/**", "apps/docs/**"],
+      "includes": ["packages/vessel-react/**", "apps/docs/**"],
       "linter": {
         "enabled": false
       }

install/manifest.json

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
   },
   "files": [
     "SKILL.md",
+    "references/adapting-a-starter.md",
     "references/authoring-scenarios.md",
     "references/blocks.md",
     "references/brief.md",

package.json

@@ -8,15 +8,15 @@
     "node": "^20.19.0 || >=22.12.0"
   },
   "scripts": {
-    "build": "tsc --build --force",
+    "build": "tsc --build --force && pnpm --filter @design-intelligence/ghost build",
     "clean": "tsc --build --clean",
     "test": "vitest run",
     "test:watch": "vitest",
     "typecheck": "tsc --build",
-    "build:ui": "pnpm --filter @design-intelligence/vessel build",
+    "build:ui": "pnpm --filter @design-intelligence/vessel-react build",
     "check": "biome check . && pnpm typecheck && pnpm check:package-bin && pnpm check:packed-package && pnpm check:file-sizes && pnpm check:terminology && pnpm check:docs && pnpm check:install-bundle && pnpm check:release-tarball && pnpm check:release-workflows && pnpm check:cli-manifest",
     "check:file-sizes": "node scripts/check-file-sizes.mjs",
-    "check:packed-package": "node scripts/check-packed-package.mjs",
+    "check:packed-package": "pnpm --filter @design-intelligence/ghost build && node scripts/check-packed-package.mjs",
     "check:package-bin": "chmod +x packages/ghost/dist/bin.js && node scripts/link-package-bin.mjs && node scripts/check-package-bin.mjs",
     "check:terminology": "node scripts/check-terminology.mjs",
     "check:docs": "node scripts/check-docs-frontmatter.mjs",

packages/ghost/package.json

@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@
     "provenance": true
   },
   "scripts": {
-    "build": "rm -rf dist tsconfig.tsbuildinfo && tsc --build --force && chmod +x dist/bin.js && node ../../scripts/link-package-bin.mjs && cp -r src/skill-bundle dist/skill-bundle",
+    "build": "rm -rf dist tsconfig.tsbuildinfo && tsc --build --force && chmod +x dist/bin.js && node ../../scripts/link-package-bin.mjs && cp -r src/skill-bundle dist/skill-bundle && node ../../scripts/sync-init-payloads.mjs",
     "prepublishOnly": "pnpm build"
   },
   "dependencies": {