Answer prose round 1: the refusal list lives in the error row, the slot rule gives its reason, and stale item citations go

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -18,11 +18,12 @@
   spelled `-0`, and a `codeBlock` of several text nodes is a fence per node. A `codeBlock` holding
   other than plain text nodes rides the block carry, where it was refused.
 - **Breaking:** `unspellable-character` and `unspellable-line-start` leave `ConvertErrorCode`, and
-  `adfToMarkdown` no longer refuses `unspellable-whitespace`. A carriage return in text is spelled
-  `
` and a null character `!adf:text{text="\u0000"}`; a code block holding either, a text node
-  holding no text or holding `content`, a paragraph line opening with a code span whose backticks
-  read back as a fence, and an `emoji`, `mention` or `status` whose `text` holds a line ending or a
-  null character ride the carry. See `MIGRATION.md`.
+  `adfToMarkdown` no longer returns `unspellable-whitespace`. A carriage return in text is spelled
+  `
` and a null character `!adf:text{text="\u0000"}`; a paragraph line opening with a code span
+  is spelled as that code span, its backticks opening no fence; a code block holding either
+  character, a code span holding a null character, a text node holding no text or holding
+  `content`, and an `emoji`, `mention` or `status` whose `text` holds a line ending or a null
+  character ride the carry. See `MIGRATION.md`.
 - Fix a link `title` holding a null character: it is written as `!adf:link[text]{attrs}`, where it
   read back as U+FFFD.
 - **Breaking:** `unspellable-link` leaves `ConvertErrorCode`; a link whose `href` or `title` no

MIGRATION.md

@@ -63,15 +63,17 @@ Markdown the spelling table leaves alone, which `0.2.0` reads as a different doc
 ### Error codes
 
 `unspellable-character`, `unspellable-line-start` and `unspellable-link` leave `ConvertErrorCode`:
-a `switch` naming one stops compiling, and the document it named converts.
+a `switch` naming one stops compiling. A document `adfToMarkdown` refused with one of them now
+converts; markdown the parser refused with one of them now refuses with the code the table gives.
 
 | Input | `0.1.0` | `0.2.0` |
 | --- | --- | --- |
 | a link whose `href` or `title` no CommonMark escape spells, on emit | `unspellable-link` | spells `!adf:link[text]{attrs}` |
 | a carriage return in text, on emit | `unspellable-character` | spells `
` |
 | a null character in text, on emit | `unspellable-character` | spells `!adf:text{text="\u0000"}` |
-| a carriage return or null character in a code block or code span, on emit | `unspellable-character` | rides the carry |
-| a paragraph line opening with a code span whose backticks read back as a fence, on emit | `unspellable-line-start` | rides the inline carry |
+| a carriage return or null character in a code block, or a null character in a code span, on emit | `unspellable-character` | rides the carry |
+| a paragraph line opening with a code span of three or more backticks, on emit | `unspellable-line-start` | spells the code span |
+| a block directive whose CommonMark spelling holds a carriage return, a null character or a code span opening a line, on parse | `unspellable-character`, `unspellable-line-start` | `unsupported-node-shape`; write the CommonMark spelling |
 | an `emoji`, `mention` or `status` whose `text` holds a line ending or a null character, on emit | `unspellable-whitespace`, `unspellable-character` | rides the inline carry |
 | a text node holding no text, or holding `content`, on emit | `unsupported-node-shape` | rides the carry |
 | a `codeBlock` holding other than plain text nodes, on emit | `unsupported-node-shape` | rides the block carry |

README.md

@@ -196,7 +196,7 @@ emit refuses:
 | Code | Fires when | What you can do |
 | --- | --- | --- |
 | `unsupported-nesting-depth` | blocks, marks, an attribute's JSON or a carried node's JSON nest past 500 levels | keep the ADF and pass the document over, or show it read-only; flatten the input where you are the one who wrote it |
-| `unsupported-node-shape` | a node carries an attribute, value, argument or body its type does not take, or lacks one it needs — or markdown writes as a directive a node or mark the lossless flavour spells as CommonMark, or a reserved directive stands out of place: `!adf:textBreak{}` or `!adf:listBreak` parting nothing, `!adf:doc` anywhere but as the whole document | fix what the message names; `spec/flavour.md` lists every type's attributes and body |
+| `unsupported-node-shape` | parsing: markdown spells a node with an attribute, value, argument or body its type does not take, or without one it needs, writes as a directive a node or mark the lossless flavour spells as CommonMark, or puts a reserved directive out of place: `!adf:textBreak{}` or `!adf:listBreak` parting nothing, `!adf:doc` anywhere but as the whole document. Emitting: a node carrying one mark type twice, a block or a non-text inline node holding `text`, or a leaf block or a non-text inline node holding `content` | fix what the message names; `spec/flavour.md` lists every type's attributes and body |
 
 ## The guarantees
 
@@ -224,8 +224,8 @@ Serves Goals 1, 3 and 4.
   text, which the spec requires and the reference itself breaks, nesting one `<a>` in the other.
   The first three are pinned `pending` in `corpus/commonmark-spec/exceptions.json`; the suite
   holds no example of the fourth.
-- Not every document converts back: `adfToMarkdown` refuses with `unsupported-nesting-depth` or
-  `unsupported-node-shape` as the tables above say. Show the refusal and keep the document
+- Not every document converts back: `adfToMarkdown` refuses a document nesting past 500 levels, and
+  the node shapes the `unsupported-node-shape` row lists. Show the refusal and keep the document
   read-only; saving markdown you could not produce is the loss the round-trip exists to stop.
 - The pipe table narrows GFM's twice: every row opens with a pipe, so GFM's bare form is an error
   result rather than the prose it reads as, and an alignment colon in the delimiter row is an

corpus/README.md

@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ One directory per contract kind:
   is the suite; `refusals.json` pins each refusing example to its error `code`; `exceptions.json`
   pins each known divergence by `check`, `example`, `kind` and the exact `divergence`, with a
   `reason`. `kind` is `mark-model` (the permanent count divergence from ADF's mark-per-text-node
-  model), `unspellable` (parses but the flavour has no spelling) or `pending` (a parser gap).
+  model) or `pending` (a parser gap).
 
 JSON is two-space indent, keys sorted, and a document read back must deep-equal the fixture's
 (`docs/decisions.md` §Equality is deep). `spec.json` is the vendored, upstream machine-readable

corpus/round-trip/block-nodes/code-block-carriage-return.json

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+{
+  "content": [
+    {
+      "content": [
+        {
+          "text": "a\r\nb",
+          "type": "text"
+        }
+      ],
+      "type": "codeBlock"
+    }
+  ],
+  "type": "doc",
+  "version": 1
+}

corpus/round-trip/block-nodes/code-block-carriage-return.md

@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+```adf:codeBlock
+{
+  "content": [
+    {
+      "text": "a\r\nb",
+      "type": "text"
+    }
+  ]
+}
+```

corpus/round-trip/commonmark-subset/code-span-line-start.json

@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+{
+  "content": [
+    {
+      "content": [
+        {
+          "marks": [
+            {
+              "type": "code"
+            }
+          ],
+          "text": "``",
+          "type": "text"
+        }
+      ],
+      "type": "paragraph"
+    }
+  ],
+  "type": "doc",
+  "version": 1
+}

corpus/round-trip/commonmark-subset/code-span-line-start.md

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+``` `` ```

corpus/round-trip/inline-nodes/text-carriage-return-null.json

@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+{
+  "content": [
+    {
+      "content": [
+        {
+          "text": "a\r\nb\u0000c",
+          "type": "text"
+        },
+        {
+          "marks": [
+            {
+              "attrs": {
+                "href": "https://example.com/",
+                "title": "t\u0000"
+              },
+              "type": "link"
+            }
+          ],
+          "text": "link",
+          "type": "text"
+        }
+      ],
+      "type": "paragraph"
+    },
+    {
+      "content": [
+        {
+          "attrs": {
+            "color": "neutral",
+            "text": "a\nb"
+          },
+          "type": "status"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "text"
+        }
+      ],
+      "type": "paragraph"
+    }
+  ],
+  "type": "doc",
+  "version": 1
+}

corpus/round-trip/inline-nodes/text-carriage-return-null.md

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+a
!adf:text{text="\n"}b!adf:text{text="\u0000"}c!adf:link[link]{href="https://example.com/" title="t\u0000"}
+
+!adf:carry{json="{\"attrs\":{\"color\":\"neutral\",\"text\":\"a\\nb\"},\"type\":\"status\"}"}!adf:carry{json="{\"type\":\"text\"}"}

docs/decisions.md

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ sanitized and a mention keeps the test user's real account id.
 
 ## Markdown in is a canonical fixpoint
 
-2026-08-23, the maintainer; the way back made total 2026-10-04. Goals 1 and 4. Valid while
+2026-08-23, the maintainer; every parsed document converts back since 2026-10-04. Goals 1 and 4. Valid while
 markdown input may be written by hand.
 
 The other direction is a canonical fixpoint, not byte-identity: human markdown normalizes, the way
@@ -347,10 +347,10 @@ handles one cause alike whichever node, attribute or direction raised it.
 
 - A code names the cause; where one cause recurs across node types, across one mark's attributes
   or across directions, one code covers them all and `path` and `message` say which —
-  `unsupported-nesting-depth` is the 500-level guard whichever direction hits it. Where two codes
-  stay apart, the line between them is what they name: `unspellable-whitespace` is the newline an
-  inline directive's content slot spells in input, where the emitter carries the node
-  (2026-10-04).
+  `unsupported-nesting-depth` is the 500-level guard whichever direction hits it.
+  `unspellable-whitespace` is the newline an inline directive's content slot spells in input; the
+  emitter carries such a node. A null character in that slot is `unsupported-node-shape`, since
+  `unspellable-whitespace` does not read true of it (2026-10-04).
 - A claim code names the spelling claimed, never the node that spelling would have built: a
   malformed `!adf:table` is a `malformed-directive`, and an alignment colon a
   `malformed-pipe-table` — the flavour's own delimiter row is `-` runs, so the grammar refuses the
@@ -493,16 +493,18 @@ exits 0 on.
 2026-10-03, the maintainer. KISS, a technical principle, and its comprehension floor of 7. Valid
 while `todo.md` items 59, 60, 61 and 62 are open.
 
-A four-seat comprehension panel scored the project under the floor of 7. Its round-5 scores
-(2026-10-03) are the baseline. Since 2026-10-04, a chunk whose panel scores any dimension lower
-improves what the seats named and scores again, and after three such rounds asks the maintainer.
+A four-seat comprehension panel scored the project under the floor of 7. Its scoring run of
+2026-10-04 is the baseline. Since 2026-10-04, a chunk whose panel scores any dimension
+lower improves what the seats named and scores again, and after three such rounds asks the
+maintainer.
 
 | Seat | Navigation | Locality | Shape | Self-sufficiency | Overall |
 |---|---|---|---|---|---|
-| Junior | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5.5 |
-| Mid | 6.5 | 5 | 6 | 4.5 | 5.5 |
-| Senior | 6.5 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 5.5 | 6 |
-| Architect | 6.5 | 5.5 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
+| Junior | 7 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 6 | 6 |
+| Mid | 7 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 6 | 6 |
+| Senior | 7 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 5.5 | 6 |
+| Architect | 7 | 5.5 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
+| Mean | 7.00 | 5.50 | 6.38 | 5.88 | 6.00 |
 
 Three panels on near-identical code scored overall means of 5.88, 5.75 and 5.75, and a seat moves
 ±0.5 between runs.

spec/flavour.md

@@ -450,7 +450,8 @@ the nodes below, `emoji`, `mention` and `status` spell their `text` attribute in
 plain text: `[]` is the empty string, absent content is the absent attribute, non-empty content
 parsing to anything but one text node carrying neither marks, attributes nor content is a named
 error, and so is a `text` key in `{attrs}`. An enclosing mark spelling does not reach into the slot.
-A node whose `text` holds a line ending or a null character rides the inline carry.
+An `emoji`, `mention` or `status` whose `text` attribute holds a line ending or a null character
+rides the inline carry; a content slot spelling one is a named error.
 The rest take no content, `!adf:text` included; content on a node that takes none is a named error.
 
 - `date` — Attributes: `localId` (string), `timestamp` (string, epoch milliseconds).
@@ -473,12 +474,12 @@ The rest take no content, `!adf:text` included; content on a node that takes non
 Shipped !adf:emoji[🎉]{shortName=":tada:"} on !adf:date{timestamp=1756080000000}.
 ```
 
-**Characters CommonMark cannot hold.** A carriage return in text is `
`, which CommonMark reads
-back as the character. A newline inside a text node, a null character, which CommonMark reads as
-U+FFFD, and a space or tab where CommonMark strips or refuses one — a block's inline content edges,
-either side of a line break, an em, strong or strike spelling's inner edges, a pipe cell's edges —
-is spelled `!adf:text{text="…"}`, the reserved key carrying the node's text, escaped by the
-attribute grammar and never literal: pipe cells trim and pad. The emitter wraps the run alone and
+**Text CommonMark cannot hold plainly.** A carriage return in text is `
`, which CommonMark reads
+back as the character. Three things are spelled `!adf:text{text="…"}`: a newline inside a text
+node; a null character, which CommonMark reads as U+FFFD; and a space or tab where CommonMark strips
+or refuses one — a block's inline content edges, either side of a line break, an em, strong or
+strike spelling's inner edges, a pipe cell's edges. The reserved key carries the node's text,
+escaped by the attribute grammar and never literal: pipe cells trim and pad. The emitter wraps the run alone and
 leaves the rest plain text, which the spelled run joins on reading. Input reads that spelling
 alone: the value is one run of spaces and tabs, one run of newlines, or one run of null characters,
 and anything else — a mixed run, or text CommonMark carries plainly — is a named error.
@@ -534,9 +535,8 @@ breaks at every node the emitter carries, so no emitted carry sits inside a mark
 An inline node whose marks no nesting spells — a mark type not listed here, an attrs key its
 spelling does not list, a value that is not the spelling's type, an attribute the spelling needs and
 the mark lacks, an empty `attrs` on a mark CommonMark spells, an order putting a code span outside
-another mark, `code` over anything but a text node holding text, over text holding a line ending or
-a null character, or opening a paragraph line its backticks would read back as a fence, or a spelling
-CommonMark's flanking rules cannot open or close where the run sits (`un**-real**istic`), or one
+another mark, `code` over anything but a text node holding text, or over text holding a line ending
+or a null character, or a spelling CommonMark's flanking rules cannot open or close where the run sits (`un**-real**istic`), or one
 CommonMark's matching pairs elsewhere — the intra-word `*` runs together with a neighbouring `**`,
 and the multiple-of-3 rule can leave the merged run's pairing to another delimiter — rides the
 inline carry whole. An opaque carry inside a mark spelling is a named error in input: the carry

src/adf/document.ts

@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ export function emptyKeys(held: { attrs?: AdfAttributes; content?: AdfNode[]; ma
   return keys
 }
 
-// A format spells this node as text; anything more rides a carry, save content, which is refused.
+// No attrs, content or empty marks; a format may spell this node as text, and anything more rides a carry.
 export function isBareText(node: AdfNode): boolean {
   return node.type === 'text' && node.attrs === undefined && node.content === undefined && node.marks?.length !== 0
 }

src/conformance/adf-property.test.ts

@@ -34,11 +34,11 @@ function shownText(nodes: readonly AdfNode[]): string[] {
   return shown.filter((text) => text !== '')
 }
 
-test('a generated document refuses to emit, or its markdown reads back to it', { timeout: propertyTimeout }, () => {
+test('a generated document emits markdown that reads back to it', { timeout: propertyTimeout }, () => {
   fc.assert(
     fc.property(adfDocument, (document) => {
       const emitted = adfToMarkdown(document)
-      if (!emitted.ok) return
+      assert.ok(emitted.ok, emitted.ok ? '' : `${emitted.error.code}: ${emitted.error.message}`)
       const read = markdownToAdf(emitted.value)
       assert.ok(read.ok, read.ok ? '' : `${read.error.code}: ${read.error.message} — reading ${JSON.stringify(emitted.value)}`)
       assert.deepEqual(read.value, document, `reading ${JSON.stringify(emitted.value)}`)

src/markdown/commonmark/grammar.ts

@@ -83,10 +83,6 @@ export function backslashEscape(text: string, index: number): string | undefined
   return isAsciiPunctuation(escaped) ? escaped : undefined
 }
 
-export function claimsLine(line: string, position: LinePosition): boolean {
-  return escapesLineClaim(line, 0, position) || orderedListOpener.test(line)
-}
-
 export function claimsPipeLine(line: string): boolean {
   return pipeClaim.test(line)
 }

src/markdown/commonmark/link-syntax.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { backslashEscape, decodeTextEscapes, holdsControlCharacter } from './grammar.ts'
+import { backslashEscape, decodeTextEscapes, holdsControlCharacter, holdsNullCharacter } from './grammar.ts'
 import { holdsEntityReference } from './entity-references.ts'
 
 export type LinkDefinition = { destination: string; title?: string }
@@ -117,5 +117,5 @@ export function escapeUnbalanced(spelling: string, opener: string, closer: strin
 }
 
 function spellTitle(title: string): string | undefined {
-  return /[\n\r\0\\]/.test(title) || holdsEntityReference(title) ? undefined : ` "${title.replaceAll('"', '\\"')}"`
+  return /[\n\r\\]/.test(title) || holdsNullCharacter(title) || holdsEntityReference(title) ? undefined : ` "${title.replaceAll('"', '\\"')}"`
 }

src/markdown/directive-syntax.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import type { AttributeKind, VocabularyPair, VocabularyValue } from '../adf/attribute-vocabulary.ts'
 import type { ConvertFault } from '../result.ts'
 import type { JsonValue } from '../json-value.ts'
-import { backslashEscape } from './commonmark/grammar.ts'
+import { backslashEscape, holdsNullCharacter } from './commonmark/grammar.ts'
 import { backtickRun, closingBacktickRun } from './commonmark/backtick-runs.ts'
 import { isJsonValue, overNested } from '../json-value.ts'
 import { largestNesting } from '../nesting.ts'
@@ -100,10 +100,10 @@ export function readSoleStringAttribute(span: DirectiveSpan, key: string): Read<
   return { value: spelled.decoded }
 }
 
-// An inline directive never spans lines, so no content slot holds a line ending.
-export function slotLineEndingFault(type: string, text: string): ConvertFault | undefined {
-  if (!/[\n\r]/.test(text)) return undefined
-  return { code: 'unspellable-whitespace', message: `the ${type} content slot holds a newline no inline directive spans` }
+// No content slot holds a line ending or a null character, which only the text directive spells; the emitter carries such a node.
+export function slotFault(type: string, text: string): ConvertFault | undefined {
+  if (/[\n\r]/.test(text)) return { code: 'unspellable-whitespace', message: `the ${type} content slot holds a newline no inline directive spans` }
+  return holdsNullCharacter(text) ? unsupportedNodeShape(`the ${type} content slot holds a null character: write the node as !adf:carry`) : undefined
 }
 
 export function spellAttributes(pairs: readonly (readonly [string, string])[]): string {

src/markdown/emit/adf-to-markdown.test.ts

@@ -153,11 +153,10 @@ function readsBack(doc: AdfDocument): string {
   return spelled
 }
 
-test('carries a code span whose backticks would open its line as a fence', () => {
-  const fence: AdfNode = { marks: [{ type: 'code' }], text: '```', type: 'text' }
-  const carried = '!adf:carry{json="{\\"marks\\":[{\\"type\\":\\"code\\"}],\\"text\\":\\"\\u0060\\u0060\\u0060\\",\\"type\\":\\"text\\"}"}'
-  assert.equal(readsBack(document(paragraph(fence))), `${carried}\n`)
-  assert.equal(readsBack(document(paragraph({ text: 'a', type: 'text' }, { type: 'hardBreak' }, fence, fence))), `a\\\n${carried}\`\`\`\` \`\`\` \`\`\`\`\n`)
+test('spells a code span opening a line, whose backticks open no fence', () => {
+  const fence: AdfNode = { marks: [{ type: 'code' }], text: '``', type: 'text' }
+  assert.equal(readsBack(document(paragraph(fence))), '``` `` ```\n')
+  assert.equal(readsBack(document(paragraph({ text: 'a', type: 'text' }, { type: 'hardBreak' }, fence))), 'a\\\n``` `` ```\n')
 })
 
 test('escapes the delimiter row a hard break leaves opening a pipe table with no leading pipe', () => {

src/markdown/emit/adf-to-markdown.ts

@@ -272,7 +272,7 @@ function emitCodeDirective(node: AdfNode, model: BlockNodeModel, path: ConvertEr
   return success(directivePair(node, opener.value, texts.map((text) => fencedCodeBlock(info, text)).join('\n')))
 }
 
-// The text each fence holds, or `undefined` where a child is no text a fence keeps, which the carry holds instead.
+// The text of each fence, or `undefined` where a child holds what no fence keeps, so the block carry takes the node.
 function fencedTexts(node: AdfNode): string[] | undefined {
   if (node.content === undefined) return ['']
   const texts: string[] = []

src/markdown/emit/inline-line.ts

@@ -4,17 +4,17 @@ import type { InlineNodeModel } from '../../adf/inline-nodes.ts'
 import type { LineContainer } from '../line-container.ts'
 import { assembleInlineLine, isSyntax, type InlineEscaping, type InlineSegment, type MarkRun, type NodeRange } from './line-escaping.ts'
 import { carriedInline } from '../opaque-carry.ts'
-import { claimsLine, holdsNullCharacter, trimTrailingSpace } from '../commonmark/grammar.ts'
+import { holdsNullCharacter, trimTrailingSpace } from '../commonmark/grammar.ts'
 import { commonMarkLink, linkHref, markSpelling, spellMarkAttributes } from '../mark-spellings.ts'
-import { identicalMark, isBareText, nodeAttrs, nodeContent, nodeMarks } from '../../adf/document.ts'
 import { escapeUnbalanced, spellDestination } from '../commonmark/link-syntax.ts'
+import { identicalMark, isBareText, nodeAttrs, nodeContent, nodeMarks } from '../../adf/document.ts'
 import { failure, success, type ConvertErrorPath, type Result } from '../../result.ts'
 import { highlightDelimiter } from '../plain/conventions.ts'
 import { inlineNodeModel } from '../../adf/inline-nodes.ts'
 import { joinsWhenRead, textBreakSpelling } from '../adjacent-text.ts'
 import { largestNesting } from '../../nesting.ts'
 import { longestBacktickRun } from '../commonmark/backtick-runs.ts'
-import { slotLineEndingFault, spellInlineDirectiveOpener, spellInlineLeafDirective } from '../directive-syntax.ts'
+import { slotFault, spellInlineDirectiveOpener, spellInlineLeafDirective } from '../directive-syntax.ts'
 import { spellInlineNodeAttributes } from './inline-directive-spelling.ts'
 import { spellTextDirective } from '../text-directive.ts'
 
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ type LineAttempt = { fallback: NodeRange | 'opening-link'; line?: undefined } |
 
 type LineFallbacks = { carried: Set<number>; flavour: Flavour; openingLinkAsDirective: boolean }
 
-export type PlainLineFallback = { kind: 'claimed-line'; line: number; text: string } | { kind: 'opening-link' } | { kind: 'unspellable-run'; runs: [MarkRun, ...MarkRun[]] }
+export type PlainLineFallback = { kind: 'opening-link' } | { kind: 'unspellable-run'; runs: [MarkRun, ...MarkRun[]] }
 
 export function emitInlineLine(nodes: readonly AdfNode[], container: LineContainer, path: ConvertErrorPath, flavour: Flavour): Result<string> {
   const emitted = emitLine(nodes, container, path, flavour)
@@ -119,19 +119,7 @@ function attemptLine(segments: readonly InlineSegment[], container: LineContaine
   const verdict = lineVerdict(segments, container, flavour)
   if (verdict.kind === 'opening-link') return { fallback: 'opening-link' }
   if (verdict.kind === 'unspellable-run') return { fallback: verdict.runs[0] }
-  if (verdict.kind === 'line') return { line: verdict.text }
-  return { fallback: lineOpener(segments, verdict.line) }
-}
-
-// A code span's backticks are what block parsing claims, and its segment names its node; a segment naming none leaves takeFallback to refuse the line.
-function lineOpener(segments: readonly InlineSegment[], line: number): NodeRange {
-  let breaks = 0
-  const opener = segments.find((segment) => {
-    const opens = breaks === line && segment.text !== ''
-    breaks += segment.text.split('\n').length - 1
-    return opens
-  })
-  return opener?.nodes ?? { first: 0, last: -1 }
+  return { line: verdict.text }
 }
 
 // The fallbacks in the order a line takes them, or the line where it takes none.
@@ -139,10 +127,7 @@ function lineVerdict(segments: readonly InlineSegment[], container: LineContaine
   const assembled = assembleInlineLine(segments, container, flavour)
   if (assembled.openingLinkAsDirective) return { kind: 'opening-link' }
   const [run, ...others] = assembled.unspellableRuns
-  if (run !== undefined) return { kind: 'unspellable-run', runs: [run, ...others] }
-  const lines = assembled.line.split('\n')
-  const claimed = container === 'paragraph' ? lines.findIndex((single, index) => claimsLine(single, index === 0 ? 'first' : 'later')) : -1
-  return claimed === -1 ? { kind: 'line', text: assembled.line } : { kind: 'claimed-line', line: claimed, text: lines[claimed] ?? '' }
+  return run === undefined ? { kind: 'line', text: assembled.line } : { kind: 'unspellable-run', runs: [run, ...others] }
 }
 
 // spec/flavour.md, Inline nodes.
@@ -232,9 +217,14 @@ function nodePath(context: InlineContext, index: number): ConvertErrorPath {
   return [...context.path, 'content', index]
 }
 
+// Decides the text-node and slot-fault carries up front, so a line holding many of them is emitted once.
 function carries(node: AdfNode, carried: ReadonlySet<number>, index: number): boolean {
   if (carried.has(index)) return true
-  return node.type !== 'text' && inlineNodeModel(node.type) === undefined
+  if (node.type === 'text') return !isBareText(node) || typeof node.text !== 'string' || node.text === ''
+  const model = inlineNodeModel(node.type)
+  if (model === undefined) return true
+  const slot = model.textAttribute === undefined ? undefined : nodeAttrs(node)[model.textAttribute]
+  return typeof slot === 'string' && slotFault(node.type, slot) !== undefined && nodeContent(node).length === 0 && node.text === undefined
 }
 
 function emitLeaf(node: AdfNode, context: InlineContext, index: number): Result<Emission> {
@@ -268,13 +258,12 @@ function emitInlineDirective(node: AdfNode, model: InlineNodeModel, index: numbe
   if (attributes === undefined) return success({ carry: { first: index, last: index } })
   const slot = model.textAttribute === undefined ? undefined : nodeAttrs(node)[model.textAttribute]
   if (slot === undefined) return success({ segments: [syntax(spellInlineLeafDirective(node.type, attributes))] })
-  if (typeof slot !== 'string') return success({ carry: { first: index, last: index } })
-  if (slotLineEndingFault(node.type, slot) !== undefined || holdsNullCharacter(slot)) return success({ carry: { first: index, last: index } })
+  if (typeof slot !== 'string' || slotFault(node.type, slot) !== undefined) return success({ carry: { first: index, last: index } })
   const content: InlineSegment[] = slot === '' ? [] : [{ escaping: 'bracketed', text: slot }]
   return success({ segments: [syntax(spellInlineDirectiveOpener(node.type)), ...content, syntax(`]${attributes}`)] })
 }
 
-// spec/flavour.md, Inline nodes: CommonMark reads a carriage return as a line ending, and a null character as U+FFFD.
+// spec/flavour.md, Text CommonMark cannot hold plainly.
 function emitText(node: AdfNode, context: InlineContext, index: number): Emission {
   if (!isBareText(node) || typeof node.text !== 'string' || node.text === '') return { carry: { first: index, last: index } }
   const escaping: InlineEscaping = context.bracketed ? 'bracketed' : 'backslash'
@@ -324,16 +313,14 @@ function emitHighlight(nodes: readonly AdfNode[], depth: number, range: NodeRang
 
 // Each node its own span: CommonMark reads two adjacent text nodes in one span back as one.
 function emitCodeSpan(nodes: readonly AdfNode[], depth: number, range: NodeRange): Emission {
-  const segments: InlineSegment[] = []
-  for (const [offset, node] of nodes.entries()) {
+  const spans: string[] = []
+  for (const node of nodes) {
     const { text } = node
     if (!isBareText(node) || nodeMarks(node).length !== depth + 1 || typeof text !== 'string' || text === '' || /[\n\r]/.test(text) || holdsNullCharacter(text)) return { carry: range }
-    if (offset > 0) segments.push(syntax(textBreakSpelling))
     const fence = '`'.repeat(longestBacktickRun(text) + 1)
-    const index = range.first + offset
-    segments.push({ escaping: 'none', nodes: { first: index, last: index }, text: `${fence}${needsPadding(text) ? ` ${text} ` : text}${fence}` })
+    spans.push(`${fence}${needsPadding(text) ? ` ${text} ` : text}${fence}`)
   }
-  return { segments }
+  return { segments: [syntax(spans.join(textBreakSpelling))] }
 }
 
 function needsPadding(text: string): boolean {

src/markdown/parse/directive-nodes.ts

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import { inlineMarkSpellingFault } from './directive-marks.ts'
 import { inlineNodeModel } from '../../adf/inline-nodes.ts'
 import { readEmptyKeys, spellsEmpty } from '../empty-keys.ts'
 import { readVocabulary } from './directive-attributes.ts'
-import { slotLineEndingFault } from '../directive-syntax.ts'
+import { slotFault } from '../directive-syntax.ts'
 import { textBreakName } from '../adjacent-text.ts'
 import { textDirectiveName } from '../text-directive.ts'
 
@@ -68,8 +68,8 @@ export function readInlineDirectiveNode(
     if (text === undefined) {
       return failure('unsupported-node-shape', `the ${name} content slot holds one text node carrying neither marks, attributes nor content: this one holds something else`, path)
     }
-    const spans = slotLineEndingFault(name, text)
-    if (spans !== undefined) return faulted(spans, path)
+    const fault = slotFault(name, text)
+    if (fault !== undefined) return faulted(fault, path)
     attrs.value[slot] = text
   }
   return success(namedNode(name, attrs.value, undefined, empty.value.empty))

src/markdown/parse/markdown-to-adf.test.ts

@@ -304,7 +304,7 @@ test('names the directive form a node CommonMark spells refuses', () => {
   assert.deepEqual(content(markdownToAdf('!adf:bulletList\n!adf:listItem\n---\n!adf:/listItem\n!adf:/bulletList\n')), [bulletList(item({ type: 'rule' }))])
 })
 
-test('refuses the directive form of a blockquote opening with a code span the carry spells', () => {
+test('refuses the directive form of a blockquote opening with a code span', () => {
   assert.equal(content(markdownToAdf('!adf:blockquote\n` `` `\n!adf:/blockquote\n')), 'unsupported-node-shape: blockquote takes the CommonMark spelling, not the directive form')
 })
 
@@ -1005,6 +1005,7 @@ test('names the content slot no lone plain text node reads back from', () => {
   assert.equal(content(markdownToAdf('!adf:status[!adf:text{text="\\n"}]{color=yellow}\n')), spans)
   assert.equal(content(markdownToAdf('!adf:status[a
b]{color=yellow}\n')), spans)
   assert.equal(content(markdownToAdf('!adf:status[a
b]{color=yellow}\n')), spans)
+  assert.equal(content(markdownToAdf('!adf:status[!adf:text{text="\\u0000"}]{color=yellow}\n')), 'unsupported-node-shape: the status content slot holds a null character: write the node as !adf:carry')
   assert.equal(content(markdownToAdf('Part !adf:mention{id=b1c2 text=A}.\n')), 'unsupported-node-shape: mention spells its text attribute in the content slot, never in {attrs}')
 })
 

src/markdown/plain/adf-to-plain-markdown.test.ts

@@ -313,12 +313,12 @@ test('breaks a line at a newline and trims whitespace at every edge CommonMark s
   assert.equal(plain(paragraph(text(' x ', code))), '`  x  `\n')
   assert.equal(plain(node('heading', { level: 1 }, text(' h\ni '))), '# h i\n')
   assert.equal(plain(paragraph(text('a\r\u0000b'))), 'ab\n')
+  assert.equal(plain(paragraph(text('x', link('/u', 't\r\u0000')))), '[x](/u "t")\n')
 })
 
-test('drops the code mark of a span opening a line with backticks that read as a fence', () => {
-  assert.equal(plain(paragraph(text('``` x', code))), '\\`\\`\\` x\n')
-  assert.equal(plain(paragraph(text('a\n'), text('``` x', code))), 'a\\\n\\`\\`\\` x\n')
-  assert.equal(plain(paragraph(text('a '), text('``` x', code))), 'a ```` ``` x ````\n')
+test('keeps a code span opening a line, whose backticks open no fence', () => {
+  assert.equal(plain(paragraph(text('``` x', code))), '```` ``` x ````\n')
+  assert.equal(plain(paragraph(text('a\n'), text('``` x', code))), 'a\\\n```` ``` x ````\n')
 })
 
 test('drops an empty paragraph and merges adjacent lists of one type', () => {

src/markdown/plain/inline-reduction.ts

@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ function plainMarks(marks: readonly AdfMark[], container: LineContainer, text: s
 function plainLink(mark: AdfMark, container: LineContainer): AdfMark | undefined {
   const attrs = nodeAttrs(mark)
   const held = attrs['href']
-  const title = typeof attrs['title'] === 'string' ? attrs['title'].replace(/\r/g, '').replace(/\n/g, ' ') : undefined
+  const title = typeof attrs['title'] === 'string' ? attrs['title'].replace(/[\r\0]/g, '').replace(/\n/g, ' ') : undefined
   if (typeof held !== 'string') return undefined
   const href = writableHref(container === 'table-cell' ? held.replaceAll('|', '%7C') : held)
   if (title === undefined || spellLinkTarget(href, title) === undefined || (container === 'table-cell' && title.includes('|'))) return { attrs: { href }, type: 'link' }
@@ -267,21 +267,13 @@ function spellableLine(leaves: AdfNode[], container: LineContainer, path: Conver
 
 function withoutFallback(leaves: readonly AdfNode[], fallback: PlainLineFallback): AdfNode[] | undefined {
   if (fallback.kind === 'unspellable-run') return withoutMarks(leaves, fallback.runs)
-  const first = fallback.kind === 'opening-link' ? 0 : lineStart(leaves, fallback.line)
-  const mark = nodeMarks(leaves[first] ?? {})[0]
-  if (mark === undefined || mark.type !== (fallback.kind === 'opening-link' ? 'link' : 'code')) return undefined
-  let last = first
+  const mark = nodeMarks(leaves[0] ?? {})[0]
+  if (mark === undefined || mark.type !== 'link') return undefined
+  let last = 0
   while (sameMarkAt(nodeMarks(leaves[last + 1] ?? {}), [mark], 0)) last += 1
   // A code span is what binds the `]` a link definition reads, and dropping it keeps the link target.
-  const spans = leaves.slice(first, last + 1).some((leaf) => nodeMarks(leaf).length > 1 && nodeMarks(leaf).at(-1)?.type === 'code')
-  if (mark.type === 'link' && spans) return leaves.map((leaf, index) => (index < first || index > last ? leaf : withMarks(leaf, nodeMarks(leaf).filter((held) => held.type !== 'code'))))
-  return withoutMarks(leaves, [{ depth: 0, first, last }])
-}
-
-function lineStart(leaves: readonly AdfNode[], line: number): number {
-  let index = 0
-  for (let breaks = 0; breaks < line && index < leaves.length; index += 1) if (leaves[index]?.type === 'hardBreak') breaks += 1
-  return index
+  const spans = leaves.slice(0, last + 1).some((leaf) => nodeMarks(leaf).length > 1 && nodeMarks(leaf).at(-1)?.type === 'code')
+  return spans ? leaves.map((leaf, index) => (index > last ? leaf : withMarks(leaf, nodeMarks(leaf).filter((held) => held.type !== 'code')))) : undefined
 }
 
 // The runs cover disjoint leaves, so one pass drops them all.

todo.md

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
 `Bar = 9`
 
-`Next ID = 67`
+`Next ID = 70`
 
 | Goal | W |
 |---|---|
@@ -26,11 +26,13 @@
 |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 7 | 0.2.0 |  | **Ship HTML: `adfToHtml`, `htmlToAdf`, and `markdownToHtml` / `htmlToMarkdown` composed through ADF.** | 6 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 2, 3 | 25.8 |
 | 45 | 0.2.0 |  | **Replace `isAdfDocument` with a reader returning `Result<AdfDocument>`.** | 2 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 25.2 |
+| 67 | 0.2.0 | defect | **Push an expand title's leaves one at a time, so a title carrying many text nodes returns a result.** | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 24.8 |
 | 6 | 0.2.0 | decision | **Specify the HTML dialect.** | 2 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 2, 3 | 24.7 |
 | 64 | 0.2.0 | defect | **Read back unchanged on V8 every JSON key the emitter writes, with a fixture whose key holds `\`, `"` or a control character.** | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 1, 7 | 23.0 |
 | 66 | 0.2.0 | defect | **Refuse an attribute value that is not a plain object, array or JSON primitive.** | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 22.5 |
 | 43 | 0.2.0 | decision | **Give each markdown input its own reader, strict to its own standard.** | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 3, 4 | 22.3 |
 | 65 | 0.2.0 | defect | **Read an image not alone in its paragraph as its alt text linked to its URL, and a titled image alone in its paragraph as the image captioned with its title.** | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 3, 4, 6 | 18.7 |
+| 68 | 0.2.0 |  | **Carry a non-text inline node holding `content` or `text`, a block holding `text`, and a leaf block holding `content`.** | 3 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 18.2 |
 | 49 | 0.2.0 |  | **Read a list whose bullet or ordered delimiter changes as two lists, in both readers, and retire `!adf:listBreak`.** | 4 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 3, 4 | 17.2 |
 | 61 | 0.2.0 | decision | **Have the emitter ask the inline reader how a line reads back, in place of `line-escaping.ts` predicting it.** | 6 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 14.0 |
 | 52 | 0.2.0 |  | **Spell `colwidth` as a comma list, `colwidth="340,420"`.** | 3 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 13.0 |
@@ -49,6 +51,7 @@
 | 33 | 0.3.0 |  | **Emit a line in time linear in its mark runs, in `adfToMarkdown` and `adfToPlainMarkdown`.** | 4 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 10.7 |
 | 46 | 0.3.0 |  | **Publish the bundle size in the README, failing the release pipeline when it drifts.** | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7, 9 | 10.3 |
 | 9 | 0.3.0 |  | **Ship an online sandbox: a web page with two textboxes converting between ADF and markdown on the library's browser build.** | 2 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 10.3 |
+| 69 | 0.3.0 | question | **Decide whether `adfToPlainMarkdown` keeps a text node's `content`, and keep it or name the drop in the README.** | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7.9 |
 | 56 | 0.3.0 | principle | **Give each piece of `blocks.ts`'s block-walk state and `inline-content.ts`'s `Scan` one owner that returns what it changes.** | 4 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 6.8 |
 | 57 | 0.3.0 | principle | **Make each `ci.sh` leg build what it reads, so one leg run alone tests the current tree.** | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 1.2 |
 | 58 | 0.3.0 | principle | **Port `ci.sh`, `publish.sh` and `docker-runner.sh` to standalone Python scripts.** | 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 7 | -2.2 |
@@ -59,8 +62,7 @@
 ### 7. Ship HTML: `adfToHtml`, `htmlToAdf`, and `markdownToHtml` / `htmlToMarkdown` composed through ADF.
 
 Lands after items 6, 59, 60, 61 and 62. The CommonMark spec suite also runs against
-`markdownToHtml`. The README documents HTML as it documents markdown, and its tagline and
-`package.json`'s `description` regain HTML.
+`markdownToHtml`. The README documents HTML as it documents markdown.
 
 ### 45. Replace `isAdfDocument` with a reader returning `Result<AdfDocument>`.
 
@@ -68,6 +70,13 @@ Goal 1 has every call return a result; the boolean guard is the one export that
 cannot say which branch refused, where `not-an-adf-document`'s message already does. Breaking:
 `MIGRATION.md` shows the guard's replacement.
 
+### 67. Push an expand title's leaves one at a time, so a title carrying many text nodes returns a result.
+
+`quoteNode`'s title loop (`parse/markdown-to-adf.ts`) spreads `inlineLeaves`'s result into
+`push`, against `docs/decisions.md` §Nothing spreads an unbounded array: an inline carry in a
+folded callout's title holding an unknown node with ~125k text children throws a `RangeError` from
+`plainMarkdownToAdf`. Found by the README-goals audit, 2026-10-04.
+
 ### 6. Specify the HTML dialect.
 
 Element-by-element mapping, the `data-*` fidelity scheme, the opaque-carry form, and the documented
@@ -111,6 +120,14 @@ its paragraph, it reads as the image with a `link` mark to `/uri`, which ADF's `
 alone in its paragraph, the image reads as its alt text linked to `/uri`, and its URL drops. A
 writer panel chose this reading 3 of 3 (2026-10-04), by Goal 5, which outranks Goal 6.
 
+### 68. Carry a non-text inline node holding `content` or `text`, a block holding `text`, and a leaf block holding `content`.
+
+`refuseContentAndText` (`emit/inline-line.ts`) and `emitDirectiveBlock` (`emit/adf-to-markdown.ts`)
+refuse these with `unsupported-node-shape`, though `isAdfDocument` accepts them and the carry
+round-trips them; `docs/decisions.md` §The code list gives a cause the carry answers no code. The
+Drop them from the README's "Not every document converts back" bullet. Found by the README-goals
+audit, 2026-10-04.
+
 ### 49. Read a list whose bullet or ordered delimiter changes as two lists, in both readers, and retire `!adf:listBreak`.
 
 Lands after item 43. Today `- a` then `+ b`, or `1.` then `1)`, reads as one list; CommonMark reads
@@ -126,7 +143,9 @@ which counts one fewer.
 
 The comprehension panel's worst place: `escapeClaims` and `escapeClosedRuns` re-implement the
 reader's view — flanking, code-span closers, link-definition openings, highlight flanking — and
-only the property tests catch drift. It caps the panel's Locality score.
+only the property tests catch drift. It caps the panel's Locality score. The replacement runs in
+time linear in the line: today `mergesWithSyntax`, `touchesSyntax` and `closesHeading` rescan a run
+of one character from each of its characters.
 
 ### 52. Spell `colwidth` as a comma list, `colwidth="340,420"`.
 
@@ -230,7 +249,9 @@ measured one.
 
 `adfToMarkdown` spends 23 s on one paragraph of 2000 × `un` plus `**-r**`: each run its flanking
 cannot spell re-emits the whole line before riding the carry, quadratic in the runs, and the plain
-reduction's `spellableLine` drops one mark per re-emit the same way. Make both linear.
+reduction's `spellableLine` drops one mark per re-emit the same way. An inline node whose
+attributes no spelling writes re-emits the line the same way before riding the carry. Make all
+three linear.
 
 ### 46. Publish the bundle size in the README, failing the release pipeline when it drifts.
 
@@ -242,13 +263,27 @@ or report the unminified gzip). The figure lands in README §The package beside
 dependencies" claim. Measured today, unminified: tarball 60.4 kB, unpacked 221.5 kB, JS gzipped 45.6
 kB.
 
+### 69. Decide whether `adfToPlainMarkdown` keeps a text node's `content`, and keep it or name the drop in the README.
+
+`nodeLeaves` (`plain/inline-reduction.ts`) keeps only a text node's `text`, so
+`{ text: 'a', content: [{ text: 'kept', type: 'text' }] }` writes `a`, though `toEditorNormal`
+keeps that content (`plain/editor-normal.ts`) and an unknown node's children keep their text.
+Atlassian's schema allows no `content` on a text node, so no Atlassian reader saw it; an
+export/indexing tool fed a looser producer loses searchable text. Goal 6 reads two ways here: keep
+the children's text as an unknown node's, or name the drop in the README's plain section. Found by
+the product-owner review, 2026-10-04.
+
 ### 56. Give each piece of `blocks.ts`'s block-walk state and `inline-content.ts`'s `Scan` one owner that returns what it changes.
 
 Technical principle "One owner per value": the `Walk` record passes through twelve functions that
 mutate it and return `void`; `walk.leaf` alone is written in seven places. `ContainerStack` in the
 same file shows the shape to follow. `inline-content.ts`'s `Scan` has the same shape: about fifteen
 functions write `pending`, `pieces`, `deactivatedBefore` and `openingSpellableLink` and return
-`void`, and `parseInlineContent` reads a flag `scanInline` leaves on it.
+`void`, and `parseInlineContent` reads a flag `scanInline` leaves on it. The same shape recurs in
+`mintTaskIds` (`plain/task-ids.ts`), which writes `attrs` on the document `readDocument` built;
+`takeFallback` (`emit/inline-line.ts`), which writes the record the next `lineSegments` pass reads;
+`writeUnpaired`, `markPairings` and `markHighlights` (`inline-content.ts`), whose order changes the
+output; and `nestIn` (`plain/adf-to-plain-markdown.ts`), which pushes into its caller's array.
 
 ### 57. Make each `ci.sh` leg build what it reads, so one leg run alone tests the current tree.