Motivation.
The journal kept growing, but finding anything meant already knowing where it lived. Each listing page filtered only its own visible cards by title and excerpt, the homepage had no search at all, and words that appear only inside article bodies returned nothing everywhere. Readers needed one box, on every page, that searches everything.
What changed.
Every page now carries a header search box that asks the new Search page for answers. The builder writes a full-text index of article bodies at publish time, and the results page ranks title matches first, then excerpts, then body text, with newer articles winning ties. Queries live in the address bar so results survive reloads and shares, a slash focuses the box, escape clears it, and a live region announces every result count. The old per-listing instant filter stays exactly as it was.
How it was done.
The builder collects plain text from each article body, free of navigation and footer chrome, and writes the ordered documents to a single index file beside the existing journal feed. The results page reuses the archive layout, cards, count, status, and empty state, and its script fetches the index once, on first use, then scores titles above excerpts, topics, and bodies. Rendering uses text nodes only, the query echoes through text as well, and the index ships article prose that was already public. First paint grows by the small form and its styles; the index itself loads late and never blocks reading.
Agent trail.
Design clearance landed first with placement, tokens, and acceptance checks. Implementation followed on a fresh branch with browser checks for body-only terms on every page kind. Security and quality reviews gate the exact pushed head in parallel, and the release proceeds only when both pass that head.
How this entry was built.
Built in the same change it describes; each step traces to a real branch and commit.
- Design clearance passed the header box, the results page, and the ranking contract.
- Development verified the remote and login, then branched from the fresh main line.
- Development shipped the index, the templates, the styles, the ranked client, and the extended browser checks.
- Build, full suite, presence gate, and deterministic rebuild green; entry shipped in the same change.
Pipeline.
Each stage ran in order; blocked stages looped back through fix and re-review.
the pull request · merge pending · the branch
- done — ImplementationDEV · — Shipped the build-time index, the header box, the results page, the ranked client, the extended browser contract, and this entry.
- done — Pull requestDEV · — Opened the pull request from the feature branch with the search rollout and this entry.
Verdict trail.
| Stage | Agent | Verdict | SHA | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Implementation | DEV | done | commit | Shipped the build-time index, the header box, the results page, the ranked client, the extended browser contract, and this entry. |
| Pull request | DEV | done | commit | Opened the pull request from the feature branch with the search rollout and this entry. |
Why each step ran.
- DEV
- The builder emits a deterministic full-text index from plain article bodies with no chrome, and the results page ranks title matches above excerpts, topics, and body text with newest-first ties. The header form degrades to a plain query request without scripts, while the client adds debounced rendering, address-bar queries, focus and clear shortcuts, and live announcements. The full suite stays green, including new browser checks for body-only terms on every page kind.
- SEC
- Not evidenced in the linked record. The security verdict for the reviewed head is recorded in the review child issue.
- QA
- Not evidenced in the linked record. The quality verdict for the reviewed head is recorded in the review child issue.
- Director
- Design clearance arrived before implementation with placement, tokens, and acceptance checks pinned down. Security and quality reviews are pinned to the exact head in parallel child issues.
Receipts.
●●
Evidence.
The builder exits clean and rebuilds byte-identical output. The full unit suite passes, including the raised raw and script weight caps, and the first-paint weight holds under the sentinel flag. Browser checks prove a body-only word ranks its article first, two further body-only words resolve, the header box shows on the home, journal, topic, and article pages, address-bar queries reproduce on reload, escape clears, the slash key focuses, the empty state shows its exact words, and controls stay hidden without scripts. A scan of the change finds no secrets.