Define Settings ownership boundaries

config/dot/hypr/looks.lua

@@ -22,16 +22,15 @@ hl.config({
         border_size = prefs.get("borderSize", 2),
 
         col = {
-            -- The prism: blue leads, orchid follows, on a diagonal so the pair
-            -- is visible on both a tall and a wide window. Same two colours as
-            -- the shell's hairline (quickshell/widgets/PrismEdge.qml) and the
-            -- tmux theme this palette came from.
+            -- The focused accent role: blue leads, orchid follows, on a
+            -- diagonal so the pair is visible on both a tall and a wide
+            -- window. ColorScheme never writes this role; a future accent
+            -- picker can own it without fighting light/dark mode.
             active_border   = { colors = { "rgba(82aaffee)", "rgba(b172b0ee)" }, angle = 115 },
-            -- Unfocused windows get no colour at all. The gradient only means
-            -- something if exactly one window on screen is wearing it.
-            -- Follows the colour scheme: a dark neutral is invisible against a
-            -- light desktop. services/ColorScheme.qml applies changes live;
-            -- this is the value a fresh session starts from.
+            -- The neutral inactive role follows the colour scheme because a
+            -- dark neutral disappears against a light desktop.
+            -- services/ColorScheme.qml applies the same values live; this is
+            -- the value a fresh session starts from.
             inactive_border = prefs.get("colorScheme", "dark") == "light"
                 and "rgba(a8aecb99)" or "rgba(3b426199)",
         },

config/dot/quickshell/config/PreferenceSchema.qml

@@ -503,7 +503,7 @@ Singleton {
         {
             key: "cursorInactiveTimeout", type: "int", def: 4, min: 0, max: 60, step: 1,
             unit: "s",
-            group: "input",
+            group: "pointer",
             label: "Hide pointer after",
             detail: "Seconds of stillness before the pointer fades out; 0 never hides it",
             // Reported as a float even though it is only ever set to whole

config/dot/quickshell/modules/settings/README.md

@@ -59,6 +59,36 @@ If it is compositor-backed, add the matching `prefs.get("blurSize", 8)` in
 `hypr/looks.lua` so the Hyprland config still stands alone with no settings
 file.
 
+## Setting ownership
+
+Every preference has **one primary page**, derived from its schema `group` and
+the route in `services/SettingsSearch.qml`. Search results always open that
+owner. A control may appear on a second page only when the same adaptation is
+part of another established mental model; otherwise use a labelled handoff to
+the owner instead of duplicating it.
+
+### Intentional mirrors
+
+| Setting | Primary page | Mirror | Why the mirror earns its place |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| `animationsEnabled` | Appearance | Accessibility | Reduced motion belongs both to visual polish and motion accessibility. |
+| `cursorInactiveTimeout` | Mouse | Accessibility | Pointer visibility is configured with pointer behaviour but affects motor and visual access. |
+| `cursorSize` | Accessibility | Mouse | Large cursors are an accessibility adaptation that users also look for beside pointer controls. |
+| `inactiveOpacity` | Appearance | Accessibility | Window translucency is an appearance choice with a direct readability impact. |
+| `lockMinutes` | Power | Privacy | Idle timing owns the mechanism; privacy owns the expectation that the unattended desktop locks. |
+| `lockOnSleep` | Power | Privacy | Suspend owns the transition; privacy owns whether waking requires authentication. |
+
+Mirrors must remain the same schema-backed control, never a second preference
+or a copied default. Additions to this table require a concrete discoverability
+reason and an update to `tests/quickshell/settings-ownership-contract.sh`.
+
+Window border colour follows the same ownership rule. The inactive border is a
+**scheme-relative role** owned by `ColorScheme.qml`: it changes only to retain
+neutral contrast in light and dark modes. The focused Prism border is the
+accent role owned by the visual theme (and, eventually, an accent picker).
+`ColorScheme.qml` must never write the focused border, so changing schemes
+cannot erase a user-selected accent.
+
 ## The rows
 
 | Component | For |

config/dot/quickshell/services/ColorScheme.qml

@@ -24,6 +24,11 @@ Singleton {
     readonly property string appThemePath: Quickshell.shellDir + "/scripts/panama-theme-apps"
 
     readonly property bool dark: DesktopPreferences.get("colorScheme") !== "light"
+    // A neutral contrast role, not an accent. The focused Prism border belongs
+    // to the visual theme and must remain untouched when this role changes.
+    readonly property string inactiveBorderDark: "rgba(3b426199)"
+    readonly property string inactiveBorderLight: "rgba(a8aecb99)"
+    readonly property string inactiveBorder: root.dark ? root.inactiveBorderDark : root.inactiveBorderLight
     property string lastError: ""
 
     // Applied one command at a time: Process runs a single command, and several
@@ -99,12 +104,10 @@ Singleton {
             ["gsettings", "set", "org.gnome.desktop.interface", "gtk-theme", gtkTheme]
         ];
 
-        // Unfocused window borders. The focused border is the prism gradient and
-        // is already scheme-independent; the inactive one is a flat neutral that
-        // would be invisible against the opposite background.
-        const inactive = root.dark ? "rgba(3b426199)" : "rgba(a8aecb99)";
+        // Unfocused window borders need scheme-relative contrast. The focused
+        // Prism border is deliberately owned by the accent/theme layer.
         commands.push(["hyprctl", "eval",
-            `hl.config({ general = { col = { inactive_border = "${inactive}" } } })`]);
+            `hl.config({ general = { col = { inactive_border = "${root.inactiveBorder}" } } })`]);
 
         // Applications that predate org.freedesktop.appearance and carry their
         // own palettes -- terminals, chiefly. Everything that reads the portal

tests/quickshell/settings-ownership-contract.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,132 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+# A setting has one schema-routed owner. A second page may mirror it only when
+# this contract names the exact owner and mirror set. The same ownership rule
+# keeps colour scheme propagation away from the focused Prism border.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+repo_dir="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/../.." && pwd)"
+pages_dir="$repo_dir/config/dot/quickshell/modules/settings"
+schema="$repo_dir/config/dot/quickshell/config/PreferenceSchema.qml"
+search="$repo_dir/config/dot/quickshell/services/SettingsSearch.qml"
+scheme="$repo_dir/config/dot/quickshell/services/ColorScheme.qml"
+looks="$repo_dir/config/dot/hypr/looks.lua"
+readme="$pages_dir/README.md"
+
+fail() {
+    printf 'settings ownership contract: %s\n' "$1" >&2
+    exit 1
+}
+
+python3 - "$pages_dir" "$schema" "$search" <<'PY' \
+    || fail 'page ownership or intentional mirrors drifted'
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import re
+import sys
+from collections import defaultdict
+from pathlib import Path
+
+pages_dir = Path(sys.argv[1])
+schema_text = Path(sys.argv[2]).read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+search_text = Path(sys.argv[3]).read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+
+expected = {
+    "animationsEnabled": {"owner": "appearance", "mirrors": {"accessibility"}},
+    "cursorInactiveTimeout": {"owner": "mouse", "mirrors": {"accessibility"}},
+    "cursorSize": {"owner": "accessibility", "mirrors": {"mouse"}},
+    "inactiveOpacity": {"owner": "appearance", "mirrors": {"accessibility"}},
+    "lockMinutes": {"owner": "power", "mirrors": {"privacy"}},
+    "lockOnSleep": {"owner": "power", "mirrors": {"privacy"}},
+}
+
+
+def strip_comments(text: str) -> str:
+    return re.sub(r"//.*", "", text)
+
+
+def page_name(path: Path) -> str:
+    stem = path.stem.removesuffix("Page")
+    return re.sub(r"(?<!^)(?=[A-Z])", "-", stem).lower()
+
+
+rows: dict[str, list[str]] = defaultdict(list)
+row_pattern = re.compile(
+    r"(?:ToggleRow|SliderRow|ChoiceRow|TextEntryRow|TimeOfDayRow)\s*\{(?P<body>.*?)\}",
+    re.S,
+)
+for page_path in pages_dir.glob("*Page.qml"):
+    text = strip_comments(page_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    for match in row_pattern.finditer(text):
+        setting = re.search(r'setting\s*:\s*"([^"]+)"', match.group("body"))
+        if setting:
+            rows[setting.group(1)].append(page_name(page_path))
+
+duplicates = {key: set(pages) for key, pages in rows.items() if len(pages) > 1}
+if set(duplicates) != set(expected):
+    raise SystemExit(
+        f"duplicate keys are {sorted(duplicates)}, expected {sorted(expected)}"
+    )
+
+group_pages = dict(re.findall(r'"([^"]+)"\s*:\s*"([^"]+)"', search_text))
+for key, policy in expected.items():
+    wanted_pages = {policy["owner"], *policy["mirrors"]}
+    if duplicates[key] != wanted_pages:
+        raise SystemExit(f"{key} appears on {sorted(duplicates[key])}, expected {sorted(wanted_pages)}")
+
+    block = re.search(
+        r'\{\s*\n\s*key:\s*"' + re.escape(key) + r'"(?P<body>.*?)\n\s*\}',
+        schema_text,
+        re.S,
+    )
+    if not block:
+        raise SystemExit(f"schema entry missing for {key}")
+    group = re.search(r'group:\s*"([^"]+)"', block.group("body"))
+    if not group:
+        raise SystemExit(f"schema group missing for {key}")
+    routed = group_pages.get(group.group(1))
+    if routed != policy["owner"]:
+        raise SystemExit(
+            f"{key} routes to {routed!r}, expected primary owner {policy['owner']!r}"
+        )
+PY
+
+for needle in \
+    '## Setting ownership' \
+    'one primary page' \
+    'Intentional mirrors' \
+    '`animationsEnabled`' \
+    '`cursorInactiveTimeout`' \
+    '`cursorSize`' \
+    '`inactiveOpacity`' \
+    '`lockMinutes`' \
+    '`lockOnSleep`' \
+    'scheme-relative role'; do
+    rg -Fq "$needle" "$readme" || fail "README is missing $needle"
+done
+
+python3 - "$scheme" "$looks" <<'PY' \
+    || fail 'scheme-relative border ownership drifted'
+import re
+import sys
+
+scheme = open(sys.argv[1], encoding="utf-8").read()
+looks = open(sys.argv[2], encoding="utf-8").read()
+
+dark = re.search(r'property string inactiveBorderDark:\s*"([^"]+)"', scheme)
+light = re.search(r'property string inactiveBorderLight:\s*"([^"]+)"', scheme)
+effective = re.search(r'property string inactiveBorder:\s*root\.dark\s*\?\s*root\.inactiveBorderDark\s*:\s*root\.inactiveBorderLight', scheme)
+if not dark or not light or not effective:
+    raise SystemExit("ColorScheme does not expose the two inactive-border roles")
+if dark.group(1) not in looks or light.group(1) not in looks:
+    raise SystemExit("Hyprland startup values disagree with the live scheme roles")
+
+without_comments = re.sub(r"//.*", "", scheme)
+if re.search(r"(?<![A-Za-z_])active_border\b", without_comments):
+    raise SystemExit("ColorScheme writes the focused border")
+if 'inactive_border = "${root.inactiveBorder}"' not in scheme:
+    raise SystemExit("ColorScheme does not apply its effective inactive role")
+PY
+
+printf 'settings ownership contract: PASS\n'