feat(palette): 2.0.0 retune — neutrals, comments, ANSI, accents, CVD; verifier hard-fail

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -5,14 +5,29 @@ All notable changes to the **Alone** theme will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
-## [Unreleased]
+## [2.0.0] - 2026-08-18
 
-### Changed — Internal: verifier v2, tests, CI (no palette changes)
+### Changed — Palette retune (visible look change)
 
-- **Verifier v2** (`scripts/verify-palette.mjs`). New checks alongside the L\* ladder, wavelength band, and key parity: an **APCA Lc** column and per-role floors (body 60 / syntax 40 / special 37 / punctuation 28 / comments 22, overridable per variant via `verify.apcaFloors` — Alone Soft declares a scaled set); **ΔE2000** on every tight ladder gap; a **colour-vision-deficiency** table (Viénot protan/deutan/tritan simulation) over the ten most confusable role pairs, passing on ΔE2000 ≥ 5 or a font-style difference; **ANSI** pairwise ΔE2000 among the eight normal terminal slots (≥ 10); and a **whole-theme wavelength scan** — every chromatic hex in every variant, not just the ten headline roles, must have a dominant wavelength ≥ 575 nm. The new perceptual checks report as **warnings** in this release (the current palette misses several — comments Lc 16, ANSI blue/cyan ΔE 5.2, Variables/Parameter under CVD); they become hard failures with the 2.0.0 retune. Each check's severity is a one-line `POLICY` entry.
+The first palette change since 1.0. Everything below was made in `themes/_src/variants/*.yaml` and mirrored into the four `terminal/` files; the verifier's perceptual checks (APCA floors, CVD confusability, ANSI ΔE2000, tight-gap ΔE2000, whole-theme wavelength scan) are now **hard failures** and the shipped palette passes all of them. Numbers below are for Alone / Alone Focused against `#0C0A09`; Alone Soft received the same transforms scaled to its dimmer range.
+
+- **Neutrals lose blue-subpixel drive.** The foreground/operator/punctuation grays kept a residual blue channel that lit the display's short-wavelength subpixel for every character on screen. Each neutral was shifted at (near-)constant L\* by pulling the B channel down 10–20 hex and warming the hue: foreground / variables / ANSI white `#C4B8A4→#C8B89A`, operators `#D4C8B8→#D8C8A8`, brightest text / ANSI bright-white `#E8DCD0→#EDDCC4`, mid grays `#9A9080→#9D9078`, `#8A8278→#8D8271`, `#7A7268→#7C7262`, dim UI gray `#5C544A→#5E5446`.
+- **Comments up to the readable floor.** `#5C544A→#6E665B` (APCA Lc 16 → 23, WCAG 2.7:1 → 3.5:1) for comments, CodeLens and ANSI bright-black; doc comments `#6B635A→#787062`; line numbers `#4A4540→#56504A`. Still clearly de-emphasised, no longer below the "non-essential text" floor. Soft comments `#4A433B→#625A50` (Lc 18).
+- **Ghost text (inline suggestions) no longer identical to comments.** Foreground `#5C544A→#6B635A` plus a faint translucent backing (`editorGhostText.background: #1E191580`, Soft `#18151280`) so a suggestion reads as "proposed", not "commented out". (The italic slant on ghost text is VS Code's own CSS and cannot be changed by a theme.)
+- **Accent solid fills dimmed.** `badge.background`, `activityBarBadge.background`, `statusBarItem.remoteBackground` and `extensionBadge.remoteBackground` `#D4A048→#A87C34` — the bright gold rectangles were the largest lit areas in the UI; the dimmer fill still carries Lc 39 for its dark label. Buttons, focus border and cursor keep `#D4A048`.
+- **`*.defaultLibrary` becomes a real step.** `variable.defaultLibrary`, `property.defaultLibrary` and `this`/`self`/`super` `#B89860→#B08C50` — one L\* step below Types instead of a near-duplicate.
+- **Numbers `#E0A850→#DEA64E`** (L\* 72.5 → 71.8) so Variables→Numbers clears the 3 L\* tight-gap floor without touching the foreground.
+- **Parameters `#BCA890→#B8AA9C`.** Separated from Variables on the yellow–blue axis (which red-green-deficient readers retain) instead of the red-green axis; protan/deutan ΔE2000 vs Variables 4.7 → 6.6.
+- **Soft Functions `#9A6D53→#976D56`** (ΔE 1.2 from before) so Soft's Types/Functions pair clears the CVD floor; Standard Functions unchanged.
+- **ANSI blue and cyan.** Blue is now a warm gray `#9C948E` (was `#8B8178`, Lc 36 → 45 — `ls`, `grep`, `man` output on black is readable again) and cyan is the terracotta already used for functions, `#C08868` (was `#9A8B7A`). The two former slots were near-identical warm grays (ΔE2000 5.2, indistinguishable under CVD); every pair among the eight normal slots is now ≥ ΔE2000 10 (min 13.6). Bright slots follow: `#A89A8C→#B2AAA3`, `#B8A898→#CEA284`. Black/red/green/yellow/magenta unchanged. Kitty, iTerm2, Alacritty (normal + dim) and Windows Terminal files updated to match.
+- **`themes/_snapshot/`** stays as the immutable v1.2.0 reference; the pipeline test now checks structural coverage — every snapshot colour key, tokenColors rule (name/scope/fontStyle) and semantic selector is still present and styled the same, additions allowed — rather than hex equality.
+
+### Changed — Internal: verifier v2, tests, CI
+
+- **Verifier v2** (`scripts/verify-palette.mjs`). New checks alongside the L\* ladder, wavelength band, and key parity: an **APCA Lc** column and per-role floors (body 60 / syntax 40 / special 37 / punctuation 28 / comments 22, overridable per variant via `verify.apcaFloors` — Alone Soft declares a scaled set); **ΔE2000** on every tight ladder gap; a **colour-vision-deficiency** table (Viénot protan/deutan/tritan simulation) over the ten most confusable role pairs, passing on ΔE2000 ≥ 5 or a font-style difference; **ANSI** pairwise ΔE2000 among the eight normal terminal slots (≥ 10); and a **whole-theme wavelength scan** — every chromatic hex in every variant, not just the ten headline roles, must have a dominant wavelength ≥ 575 nm. The perceptual checks were introduced as warnings against the 1.3.1 palette (which missed several — comments Lc 16, ANSI blue/cyan ΔE 5.2, Variables/Parameter under CVD) and are hard failures from 2.0.0. Each check's severity is a one-line `POLICY` entry.
 - **README tables are now rendered by the verifier.** The L\* ladder, Syntax Colors table, bracket list, contrast table (now WCAG **and** APCA) and a new ANSI table live between `<!-- verify:<name>:start/end -->` markers; `node scripts/verify-palette.mjs --write-readme` re-renders them, and the default run fails on drift.
 - **Colour math extracted** to `scripts/lib/color.mjs` (sRGB/XYZ/Lab, WCAG, APCA 0.0.98G-4, CIEDE2000, CVD matrices, dominant wavelength) and the generator's substitution/validation rules to `scripts/lib/build.mjs`, so both are unit-testable. `build-themes.mjs` output is byte-identical.
-- **Tests** (`npm test`, `node:test`): colour-math sanity (21:1, L\* 100, APCA ±106/108, ΔE2000 red/green ≈ 86.6, sRGB primaries' λd), generator edge cases (bare vs interpolated tokens, unknown/unused tokens, non-object variant roots, path-escaping filenames), build determinism, committed-JSON freshness, `$schema` presence, v1.2.0 snapshot parity (skippable with `PALETTE_CHANGED=1`), and a verifier smoke run.
+- **Tests** (`npm test`, `node:test`): colour-math sanity (21:1, L\* 100, APCA ±106/108, ΔE2000 red/green ≈ 86.6, sRGB primaries' λd), generator edge cases (bare vs interpolated tokens, unknown/unused tokens, non-object variant roots, path-escaping filenames), build determinism, committed-JSON freshness, `$schema` presence, v1.2.0 snapshot structural coverage, and a verifier smoke run.
 - **CI** (`.github/workflows/ci.yml`): Node 22 + 24 — `npm ci` → build → `git diff --exit-code themes/` → verify → test → `vsce package` (VSIX uploaded as an artifact). Dependabot for npm and GitHub Actions, monthly.
 - `@vscode/vsce` added as a devDependency; `npm run package` builds the VSIX.
 

README.md

@@ -52,19 +52,19 @@ On calibrated OLED and miniLED displays, subtle color differences disappear. **A
 ```text
 L* 81  ███████████████████████████   Operators
 L* 75  █████████████████████████     Variables
-L* 73  ████████████████████████      Numbers
+L* 72  ████████████████████████      Numbers
 L* 68  ███████████████████████       Keywords (bold)
 L* 65  ██████████████████████        Types
 L* 61  ████████████████████          Functions
 L* 58  ███████████████████           Strings (italic)
 L* 55  ██████████████████            Special
-L* 48  ████████████████              Punctuation
-L* 36  ████████████                  Comments (italic)
+L* 49  ████████████████              Punctuation
+L* 44  ███████████████               Comments (italic)
 ```
 
 <!-- verify:ladder:end -->
 
-The ladder is monotonic descending. The warm-only palette can't deliver large gaps across all ten tiers — Operators (L\* 81) down to Comments (L\* 36) is a ~45-unit range. The largest gaps cluster at the top and bottom (Operators→Variables 5.9, Special→Punctuation 6.7, Punctuation→Comments 12.3); the middle tiers run in the ~3 L\* range and rely on font style (italic strings/comments/interfaces/`defaultLibrary`, bold keywords/escapes) and hue (gold vs olive vs dusty-rose) to carry the differentiation that lightness alone can't. The ladder above is rendered by `scripts/verify-palette.mjs` from the live theme files; the verifier hard-fails on out-of-order roles and warns on any adjacent gap below 3 L\* (or ΔE2000 below 4).
+The ladder is monotonic descending. The warm-only palette can't deliver large gaps across all ten tiers — the whole run from Operators to Comments spans under 40 L\*. The largest gaps sit at the top and bottom (Operators→Variables, Special→Punctuation, Punctuation→Comments); the middle tiers run in the 3–4 L\* range and rely on font style (italic strings/comments/interfaces/`defaultLibrary`, bold keywords/escapes) and hue (gold vs olive vs dusty-rose) to carry the differentiation that lightness alone can't. The ladder above is rendered by `scripts/verify-palette.mjs` from the live theme files (exact per-rung L\* and gaps are in its section 1 output); the verifier hard-fails on out-of-order roles and on any adjacent gap below 3 L\* or ΔE2000 below 4.
 
 ---
 
@@ -76,9 +76,9 @@ The ladder is monotonic descending. The warm-only palette can't deliver large ga
 
 | Element              | Hex       | Style              |
 | -------------------- | --------- | ------------------ |
-| Operators            | `#D4C8B8` | Normal             |
-| Variables            | `#C4B8A4` | Normal             |
-| Numbers              | `#E0A850` | Normal             |
+| Operators            | `#D8C8A8` | Normal             |
+| Variables            | `#C8B89A` | Normal             |
+| Numbers              | `#DEA64E` | Normal             |
 | Keywords             | `#C8A040` | **Bold**           |
 | Types                | `#BC9858` | Normal             |
 | Interface/Type-param | `#BC9858` | _Italic_           |
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ The ladder is monotonic descending. The warm-only palette can't deliver large ga
 | Strings              | `#9A8B60` | _Italic_           |
 | Escapes              | `#D4B088` | **Bold**           |
 | Regex / decorators   | `#A87878` | _Italic_           |
-| Comments             | `#5C544A` | _Italic_           |
+| Comments             | `#6E665B` | _Italic_           |
 | Errors               | `#D46A66` | **Bold** underline |
 
 <!-- verify:syntax-colors:end -->
@@ -300,22 +300,22 @@ Matching terminal themes are included in the `terminal/` directory:
 | **Alacritty**        | `terminal/alone.toml`                  | Import in your `alacritty.toml` config                            |
 | **Windows Terminal** | `terminal/alone-windows-terminal.json` | Add scheme to `settings.json`                                     |
 
-All terminal themes use the same warm color palette with intentionally muted blue/cyan (replaced with warm grays).
+All terminal themes use the same warm color palette. The blue and cyan slots carry no short-wavelength light: blue is a warm gray (`#9C948E`) and cyan is the terracotta used for functions (`#C08868`) — two hues a red-green-deficient reader can still tell apart (ΔE2000 ≥ 10 across all eight normal slots), instead of the two near-identical grays that shipped before 2.0.0. Programs that print blue-on-black (`ls`, `grep`, `man`) stay readable (blue Lc 45 against the terminal background).
 
 The sixteen ANSI slots (as shipped in the VS Code theme and mirrored in the terminal files):
 
 <!-- verify:ansi:start -->
 
 | Slot    | Hex       | L\* | Bright slot   | Hex       | L\* |
 | ------- | --------- | --- | ------------- | --------- | --- |
-| Black   | `#0C0A09` | 3   | BrightBlack   | `#5C544A` | 36  |
+| Black   | `#0C0A09` | 3   | BrightBlack   | `#6E665B` | 44  |
 | Red     | `#B85450` | 48  | BrightRed     | `#D46A66` | 57  |
 | Green   | `#9A8B60` | 58  | BrightGreen   | `#C4B078` | 72  |
 | Yellow  | `#D4A048` | 69  | BrightYellow  | `#E8B850` | 77  |
-| Blue    | `#8B8178` | 55  | BrightBlue    | `#A89A8C` | 64  |
+| Blue    | `#9C948E` | 62  | BrightBlue    | `#B2AAA3` | 70  |
 | Magenta | `#A87878` | 55  | BrightMagenta | `#C89088` | 65  |
-| Cyan    | `#9A8B7A` | 59  | BrightCyan    | `#B8A898` | 70  |
-| White   | `#C4B8A4` | 75  | BrightWhite   | `#E8DCD0` | 88  |
+| Cyan    | `#C08868` | 61  | BrightCyan    | `#CEA284` | 70  |
+| White   | `#C8B89A` | 75  | BrightWhite   | `#EDDCC4` | 89  |
 
 <!-- verify:ansi:end -->
 
@@ -350,14 +350,14 @@ Key contrast ratios against the editor background (`#0C0A09`):
 
 | Element   | Color     | WCAG   | WCAG level | APCA Lc |
 | --------- | --------- | ------ | ---------- | ------- |
-| Operators | `#D4C8B8` | 12.0:1 | AAA        | 74      |
-| Variables | `#C4B8A4` | 10.1:1 | AAA        | 65      |
-| Numbers   | `#E0A850` | 9.3:1  | AAA        | 61      |
+| Operators | `#D8C8A8` | 12.0:1 | AAA        | 74      |
+| Variables | `#C8B89A` | 10.1:1 | AAA        | 65      |
+| Numbers   | `#DEA64E` | 9.1:1  | AAA        | 60      |
 | Keywords  | `#C8A040` | 8.1:1  | AAA        | 54      |
 | Types     | `#BC9858` | 7.3:1  | AAA        | 49      |
 | Functions | `#C08868` | 6.6:1  | AA         | 45      |
 | Strings   | `#9A8B60` | 5.9:1  | AA         | 40      |
-| Comments  | `#5C544A` | 2.7:1  | —          | 16      |
+| Comments  | `#6E665B` | 3.5:1  | AA (large) | 23      |
 
 <!-- verify:contrast:end -->
 

package.json

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   "name": "alone",
   "displayName": "Alone",
   "description": "A theme for those who thrive coding alone in the dark. The ultimate expression of vision science—protect your dark adaptation during extended sessions.",
-  "version": "1.3.1",
+  "version": "2.0.0",
   "publisher": "crypticpy",
   "author": {
     "name": "Chris",

scripts/verify-palette.mjs

@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@
  * Discovers every variant under themes/_src/variants/*.yaml, loads the
  * corresponding built JSON from themes/, and runs these checks. Each check
  * has a severity in POLICY below — `fail` exits non-zero, `warn` is reported
- * but does not fail the run. (v2 introduced the perceptual checks as
- * warnings; they flip to `fail` once the palette meets them.)
+ * but does not fail the run. Since the 2.0.0 retune every check is `fail`;
+ * demote one to `warn` only while a deliberate palette change is in flight.
  *
  *   1. L* ladder (standard variant) — the ten headline roles descend in the
  *      documented order. Out-of-order → fail. Adjacent gaps below
@@ -56,15 +56,16 @@ const README = path.join(ROOT, 'README.md');
 const WRITE_README = process.argv.includes('--write-readme');
 
 // ─── Policy & thresholds ─────────────────────────────────────────────
-// Severity per check. Flip a `warn` to `fail` once the palette meets it.
+// Severity per check. All hard since 2.0.0; demote to `warn` only while a
+// deliberate palette change is in flight.
 const POLICY = {
   ladderOrder: 'fail',
-  tightGap: 'warn',
-  apca: 'warn',
-  cvd: 'warn',
-  ansi: 'warn',
+  tightGap: 'fail',
+  apca: 'fail',
+  cvd: 'fail',
+  ansi: 'fail',
   wavelengthBand: 'fail',
-  wavelengthScan: 'warn',
+  wavelengthScan: 'fail',
   parity: 'fail',
   readme: 'fail',
 };

terminal/alone-windows-terminal.json

@@ -1,23 +1,23 @@
 {
     "name": "Alone",
     "background": "#0C0A09",
-    "foreground": "#C4B8A4",
+    "foreground": "#C8B89A",
     "cursorColor": "#E8B850",
     "selectionBackground": "#D4A048",
     "black": "#0C0A09",
     "red": "#B85450",
     "green": "#9A8B60",
     "yellow": "#D4A048",
-    "blue": "#8B8178",
+    "blue": "#9C948E",
     "purple": "#A87878",
-    "cyan": "#9A8B7A",
-    "white": "#C4B8A4",
-    "brightBlack": "#5C544A",
+    "cyan": "#C08868",
+    "white": "#C8B89A",
+    "brightBlack": "#6E665B",
     "brightRed": "#D46A66",
     "brightGreen": "#C4B078",
     "brightYellow": "#E8B850",
-    "brightBlue": "#A89A8C",
+    "brightBlue": "#B2AAA3",
     "brightPurple": "#C89088",
-    "brightCyan": "#B8A898",
-    "brightWhite": "#E8DCD0"
+    "brightCyan": "#CEA284",
+    "brightWhite": "#EDDCC4"
 }

terminal/alone.conf

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 # A warm, earthy terminal color scheme
 
 # Basic colors
-foreground #C4B8A4
+foreground #C8B89A
 background #0C0A09
 selection_foreground #0C0A09
 selection_background #D4A048
@@ -14,26 +14,26 @@ color0 #0C0A09
 color1 #B85450
 color2 #9A8B60
 color3 #D4A048
-color4 #8B8178
+color4 #9C948E
 color5 #A87878
-color6 #9A8B7A
-color7 #C4B8A4
+color6 #C08868
+color7 #C8B89A
 
 # Bright colors
-color8 #5C544A
+color8 #6E665B
 color9 #D46A66
 color10 #C4B078
 color11 #E8B850
-color12 #A89A8C
+color12 #B2AAA3
 color13 #C89088
-color14 #B8A898
-color15 #E8DCD0
+color14 #CEA284
+color15 #EDDCC4
 
 # URL color
 url_color #D4A048
 
 # Tab bar colors
 active_tab_foreground #0C0A09
 active_tab_background #D4A048
-inactive_tab_foreground #C4B8A4
-inactive_tab_background #5C544A
+inactive_tab_foreground #C8B89A
+inactive_tab_background #6E665B