Features | Resizable Cosmo, thinking UI, relative dates, rubric sidecar

.gitignore

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ public/app.bundle.js
 public/hljs-*.css
 sessions.json
 scenario.json
+rubric.json
 report.md
 .agent-build
 dist

PRD.md

@@ -236,14 +236,18 @@ of the same shape.
     "hideAssistant": false,
     "hideHistory": false,
     "strings": {}
-  },
-
-  "rubricHints": {
-    "notes": "Reward: acknowledges proposal, counters price with rationale, proposes 12-month term, professional tone."
   }
 }
 ```
 
+Grading notes live in a sidecar `rubric.json` (not in the scenario), e.g.:
+
+```json
+{
+  "notes": "Reward: acknowledges proposal, counters price with rationale, proposes 12-month term, professional tone."
+}
+```
+
 ### 6.2 Seed email shape (illustrative)
 
 This object lives in `seed.inbox`. For a large mailbox, the same JSON may live
@@ -286,7 +290,8 @@ in a separate file and `seed.inbox` can be a path to it.
 - Control generation (model, temperature, thinking, language) and attachments.
 - Configure the submission label/limit and UI/i18n overrides (reusing ChatCPT's
   string-override + i18n approach).
-- Provide optional `rubricHints` metadata for the external tutor/assessment.
+- Provide optional grading notes in a sidecar `rubric.json` (never in the scenario
+  runtime or learner/Cosmo surface) for the external tutor/assessment.
 
 ---
 
@@ -389,9 +394,9 @@ draft revisions, the assistant chat transcript, and the final submission.
   - the **assistant chat transcript** (including any search/Q&A the learner did),
   - a combined **report** for the tutor/rubric.
   - Modes along the lines of `--mode full|submission|thread|assistant|report`,
-    plus `--latest`, `--output`, `--print-settings`.
-- **Used by:** the external AI tutor and assessment rubrics (the `rubricHints`
-  block in the scenario config can inform grading).
+    plus `--latest`, `--output`, `--print-settings`, `--rubric`.
+- **Used by:** the external AI tutor and assessment rubrics (sidecar `rubric.json`
+  can inform grading; it is not part of the scenario the learner runs).
 
 ---
 

README.md

@@ -166,7 +166,25 @@ shape, relative to the project root.
 | `attachments` | `{ enabled, allowedTypes }` | Outbound attachment support (learner can attach files in the composer when enabled). |
 | Seed email `attachments[]` | `{ name, text? }` | Optional on seeded inbound emails. `name` is shown in the UI. Author-provided `text` is readable by Cosmo (Q&A / summarize / extract); omit `text` when contents should stay unknown. Not real file parsing. |
 | `ui` | `{ hideHistory, strings }` | UI overrides + i18n strings. |
-| `rubricHints` | object \| string | Notes surfaced in the extraction report. |
+
+Relative date tokens in seed strings (resolved once at load): `${today}`,
+`${tomorrow}`, `${yesterday}`, `${next week}`, `${last week}`,
+`${3 days from today}`, `${in 2 days}`, `${5 days ago}`. Use them in
+`email.date`, bodies, subjects, and attachment `text`. Bare date fields like
+`"${today}"` become ISO datetimes (`…T12:00:00Z`); prose keeps `YYYY-MM-DD`.
+
+### Rubric sidecar (not part of the scenario)
+
+Grading notes do **not** belong in `scenario.json`. Put them in a sidecar file
+next to the scenario:
+
+| Scenario file | Rubric file |
+| --- | --- |
+| `scenario.json` | `rubric.json` |
+| `foo.scenario.json` | `foo.rubric.json` |
+
+`npm run report` includes the sidecar when present. Override with
+`--rubric <file>`. Cosmo and `/api/config` never see rubric content.
 
 ### Example scenarios
 
@@ -189,7 +207,9 @@ one to `scenario.json` to try it:
   prospects; Ryan is the right call).
 
 ```bash
-cp scenario-examples/04-simulated-recipient-support.scenario.json scenario.json && npm run dev
+cp scenario-examples/04-simulated-recipient-support.scenario.json scenario.json && \
+  cp scenario-examples/04-simulated-recipient-support.rubric.json rubric.json && \
+  npm run dev
 ```
 
 See [`scenario-examples/README.md`](scenario-examples/README.md) for details.

build-plan.md

@@ -330,7 +330,7 @@ Octavus presigned uploads.
 - [x] `extract-conversations.js` reading `sessions.json`, with modes:
       `full`, `submission`, `thread`, `assistant`, `report`; options `--latest`,
       `--output <file>`, `--print-settings`, `--help`. `npm run extract`/`report`.
-- [x] Output email bodies as Markdown; include `rubricHints` in the report header.
+- [x] Output email bodies as Markdown; include sidecar `rubric.json` hints in the report header.
 
 **Verify**
 - [x] Each mode prints/writes correct, readable output for a sample session.

extract-conversations.js

@@ -48,13 +48,17 @@
  *                      writes to report.md by default; other modes already
  *                      print to stdout unless --output is given).
  *   --print-settings  Include the scenario's key settings in the heading.
+ *   --rubric <file>   Rubric sidecar JSON for report mode (default: rubric.json
+ *                      next to the scenario, or foo.rubric.json beside
+ *                      foo.scenario.json).
  *   -h, --help        Show this help message.
  */
 
-import { readFileSync, writeFileSync } from 'fs';
+import { readFileSync, writeFileSync, existsSync } from 'fs';
 import { join, dirname } from 'path';
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'url';
 import { characterIsLive, normalizeWorld } from './lib/character-replies.js';
+import { defaultRubricPath, rubricLines } from './lib/rubric.js';
 
 const __dirname = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
 const SESSIONS_FILE = process.env.SESSIONS_FILE || join(__dirname, 'sessions.json');
@@ -86,11 +90,15 @@ Options:
   --output <file>  Write output to this file instead of the default
   --stdout         Print to stdout instead of writing report.md (report mode)
   --print-settings Include a human-readable World/Characters summary
+  --rubric <file>  Rubric sidecar for report mode (default beside scenario)
   -h, --help       Show this help message
 
 The assistant (Cosmo) conversation is only included when the scenario's
 "assistant.enabled" is true (the default); otherwise the report notes that
-the assistant was disabled for the scenario.`);
+the assistant was disabled for the scenario.
+
+Grading notes belong in a sidecar rubric file (not scenario.json) and are
+included in report mode when that file is present.`);
   process.exit(0);
 }
 
@@ -122,6 +130,8 @@ const explicitOutputFile = outputIdx !== -1 && args[outputIdx + 1] ? args[output
 // Report mode is meant to be handed to a human grader, so it writes a
 // report.md file by default instead of dumping to stdout.
 const outputFile = explicitOutputFile ?? (mode === 'report' && !stdout ? DEFAULT_REPORT_FILE : null);
+const rubricIdx = args.indexOf('--rubric');
+const explicitRubricFile = rubricIdx !== -1 && args[rubricIdx + 1] ? args[rubricIdx + 1] : null;
 
 // ── Load ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 // No sessions.json yet means the participant hasn't opened the scenario at
@@ -147,6 +157,23 @@ try {
   scenario = {};
 }
 
+const rubricPath = explicitRubricFile || defaultRubricPath(SCENARIO_FILE);
+let rubric = null;
+if (mode === 'report') {
+  if (explicitRubricFile && !existsSync(rubricPath)) {
+    console.log(`Error: rubric file not found: ${rubricPath}`);
+    process.exit(1);
+  }
+  if (existsSync(rubricPath)) {
+    try {
+      rubric = JSON.parse(readFileSync(rubricPath, 'utf8'));
+    } catch (err) {
+      console.log(`Could not read ${rubricPath}: ${err.message}`);
+      process.exit(1);
+    }
+  }
+}
+
 // Defaults to true, matching lib/scenario.js's default for `assistant.enabled`.
 const assistantEnabled = scenario.assistant?.enabled !== false;
 
@@ -209,6 +236,10 @@ function overviewLines() {
   return lines;
 }
 
+function rubricSectionLines() {
+  return rubricLines(rubric);
+}
+
 function emailLines(email) {
   const dir = email.outbound ? 'Outbound (participant)' : 'Inbound';
   const lines = [
@@ -466,6 +497,10 @@ if (mode === 'report') {
   lines.push('# CosmoMail Session Report', '');
   lines.push(`*Generated on ${formatDate(new Date().toISOString())}*`, '', '---', '');
   lines.push(...overviewLines());
+  const rubricBlock = rubricSectionLines();
+  if (rubricBlock.length) {
+    lines.push(...rubricBlock, '---', '');
+  }
   if (reportSessions.length === 0) {
     lines.push(NO_SESSIONS_MESSAGE, '');
   } else {

features.md

@@ -1,13 +1,17 @@
 ## Features
-- Support dates relative to today in seeds.  Instead of saying "By July 15th", I should be able to say something like "By ${today}" or "By ${next week}" or "By ${3 days from today}" etc
-- The scenario should not know anything about the grading rubric 
-- The assistant should use a SplitPanel so it can be re-sized
-- We need some way of knowing that Cosmo is "thinking".  A spinner, or some sort of animation, etc.
-- Clicking a seeded inbound attachment chip should open a small read-only preview when author-provided `text` is present (name-only chips stay non-interactive; no real file parsing).
+- ~~Support dates relative to today in seeds.  Instead of saying "By July 15th", I should be able to say something like "By ${today}" or "By ${next week}" or "By ${3 days from today}" etc~~
+- ~~The scenario should not know anything about the grading rubric~~
+- ~~The assistant should use a SplitPanel so it can be re-sized~~
+- ~~We need some way of knowing that Cosmo is "thinking".  A spinner, or some sort of animation, etc.~~
+- ~~Clicking a seeded inbound attachment chip should open a small read-only preview when author-provided `text` is present (name-only chips stay non-interactive; no real file parsing).~~
 
 ## Bugs
-- No auth / session-ownership checks on mutating APIs (e.g. `POST /api/assistant/clear`, send, session save). Any caller who knows a `sessionId` can modify that session. Needs a real ownership model if this ever leaves a single-learner local harness. (not a bug. This is not a real production app and only runs in a sandbox for one user)
-- Session store (`sessions.json`) has no serialized read-modify-write: overlapping `/api/session/save`, `/api/session/events`, send, and draft saves can overwrite each other’s updates. Needs a shared per-file (or per-session) write queue if concurrent writers matter.
+- ~~No auth / session-ownership checks on mutating APIs (e.g. `POST /api/assistant/clear`, send, session save). Any caller who knows a `sessionId` can modify that session. Needs a real ownership model if this ever leaves a single-learner local harness.~~ (not a bug. This is not a real production app and only runs in a sandbox for one user)
+- ~~Session store (`sessions.json`) has no serialized read-modify-write: overlapping `/api/session/save`, `/api/session/events`, send, and draft saves can overwrite each other’s updates. Needs a shared per-file (or per-session) write queue if concurrent writers matter.~~ (fixed via `withSessionsWrite` / `updateSessionById`)
+- `sendAssistant` only guards on `chat.status === 'streaming'`, so Enter can still submit while a quick action is busy. Use `assistantIsBusy()` (keep the missing-chat guard).
 
 ## A11y
 
+Parked until after the resizable shell. Track remediation in
+[a11y_audits/findings-checklist.md](a11y_audits/findings-checklist.md)
+(start with C1/C2, then S1–S5). SplitPanel unblocks S3 reflow work.

i18n/en.json

@@ -40,6 +40,11 @@
     "Awaiting reply…": "Awaiting reply…",
     "New email": "New email",
     "Dismiss": "Dismiss",
-    "Discard": "Discard"
+    "Discard": "Discard",
+    "Thinking…": "Thinking…",
+    "Working…": "Working…",
+    "Resize Cosmo panel": "Resize Cosmo panel",
+    "Preview attachment": "Preview attachment",
+    "Attachment": "Attachment"
   }
 }

lib/relative-dates.js

@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+/**
+ * Expand ${relative date} tokens in scenario seed strings.
+ *
+ * Tokens resolve at scenario load time (not per request) so seeded sessions
+ * keep stable absolute timestamps for the life of the process.
+ *
+ * Supported expressions (case-insensitive):
+ *   today | tomorrow | yesterday
+ *   next week | last week
+ *   N days from today | N day from today
+ *   in N days
+ *   N days ago | N day ago
+ *
+ * Calendar-day results are YYYY-MM-DD. When a token stands alone as an
+ * email.date value, a midday UTC time is appended (T12:00:00Z) so ISO parsing
+ * stays unambiguous. Authors may also write `${today}T14:02:00Z`.
+ */
+
+const TOKEN_RE = /\$\{([^}]+)\}/g;
+
+function startOfUtcDay(date) {
+  return new Date(Date.UTC(date.getUTCFullYear(), date.getUTCMonth(), date.getUTCDate()));
+}
+
+function addUtcDays(date, days) {
+  const next = new Date(date.getTime());
+  next.setUTCDate(next.getUTCDate() + days);
+  return next;
+}
+
+function formatUtcDate(date) {
+  return date.toISOString().slice(0, 10);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Parse a relative-date expression into a UTC calendar day, or null if unknown.
+ * @param {string} expression
+ * @param {Date} [now]
+ * @returns {Date|null}
+ */
+export function resolveRelativeDateExpression(expression, now = new Date()) {
+  const expr = String(expression || '').trim().toLowerCase().replace(/\s+/g, ' ');
+  if (!expr) return null;
+
+  const today = startOfUtcDay(now);
+
+  if (expr === 'today') return today;
+  if (expr === 'tomorrow') return addUtcDays(today, 1);
+  if (expr === 'yesterday') return addUtcDays(today, -1);
+  if (expr === 'next week') return addUtcDays(today, 7);
+  if (expr === 'last week') return addUtcDays(today, -7);
+
+  let match = expr.match(/^(\d+)\s+days?\s+from\s+today$/);
+  if (match) return addUtcDays(today, Number(match[1]));
+
+  match = expr.match(/^in\s+(\d+)\s+days?$/);
+  if (match) return addUtcDays(today, Number(match[1]));
+
+  match = expr.match(/^(\d+)\s+days?\s+ago$/);
+  if (match) return addUtcDays(today, -Number(match[1]));
+
+  return null;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Expand ${...} tokens inside a string. Unknown tokens are left unchanged.
+ * @param {string} value
+ * @param {Date} [now]
+ * @returns {string}
+ */
+export function expandRelativeDatesInString(value, now = new Date()) {
+  if (typeof value !== 'string' || !value.includes('${')) return value;
+  return value.replace(TOKEN_RE, (full, expr) => {
+    const resolved = resolveRelativeDateExpression(expr, now);
+    return resolved ? formatUtcDate(resolved) : full;
+  });
+}
+
+/**
+ * Expand tokens in an email.date field. Bare `${today}` becomes an ISO
+ * datetime; mixed strings (e.g. body prose) use expandRelativeDatesInString.
+ * @param {string} value
+ * @param {Date} [now]
+ * @returns {string}
+ */
+export function expandRelativeDateField(value, now = new Date()) {
+  if (typeof value !== 'string' || !value.includes('${')) return value;
+
+  const trimmed = value.trim();
+  const bare = trimmed.match(/^\$\{([^}]+)\}$/);
+  if (bare) {
+    const resolved = resolveRelativeDateExpression(bare[1], now);
+    if (resolved) return `${formatUtcDate(resolved)}T12:00:00Z`;
+  }
+
+  // `${today}T14:02:00Z` → `2026-09-30T14:02:00Z`
+  const withTime = trimmed.match(/^\$\{([^}]+)\}(T[\d:.]+Z?)$/i);
+  if (withTime) {
+    const resolved = resolveRelativeDateExpression(withTime[1], now);
+    if (resolved) return `${formatUtcDate(resolved)}${withTime[2]}`;
+  }
+
+  return expandRelativeDatesInString(value, now);
+}
+
+function expandValue(value, now, { asDateField = false } = {}) {
+  if (typeof value === 'string') {
+    return asDateField
+      ? expandRelativeDateField(value, now)
+      : expandRelativeDatesInString(value, now);
+  }
+  if (Array.isArray(value)) {
+    return value.map((entry) => expandValue(entry, now));
+  }
+  if (value && typeof value === 'object') {
+    const out = {};
+    for (const [key, child] of Object.entries(value)) {
+      out[key] = expandValue(child, now, { asDateField: key === 'date' });
+    }
+    return out;
+  }
+  return value;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Deep-expand relative date tokens across a resolved inbox `{ threads }`.
+ * @param {{ threads?: unknown[] }|null|undefined} inbox
+ * @param {Date} [now]
+ * @returns {{ threads: unknown[] }}
+ */
+export function expandRelativeDatesInInbox(inbox, now = new Date()) {
+  const threads = Array.isArray(inbox?.threads) ? inbox.threads : [];
+  return {
+    threads: threads.map((thread) => expandValue(thread, now)),
+  };
+}