§10 review pass: address the architecture + product reviewers (todo §10); hide the gated Dashboard nav node from anonymous visitors in buildPluginChrome (a no-permission link to /dashboard only dead-ended them at /login) and dedup it into a shared DASHBOARD_NAV (admin-nav.ts, reused by chrome + adminNav). New chrome.signInHref bakes the current page in as return_to for the shell's anonymous Sign-in link (shell.ejs + reference overview.ejs), mirrored as optional ShellModel.signInHref so the typed builder is complete. ctx.chrome is now a lazy, memoized getter (context.ts chrome option = a factory) so a json/redirect handler or the public "/" with a standalone home never composes the global menu — app.ts passes the app-level memoized factory at every site. Default /dashboard prints a "Starter dashboard" note framing the mock-data home as a replaceable demo (signals its inert affordances); stale "until §4" comments fixed. RESERVED_PLUGIN_IDS drift-guard test derives the built-in segments from AUTH_FLOWS + ADMIN_*_BASE + host literals (home stays deliberately unreserved). Refreshed the stale plugin-contract status blurb and documented the chrome.*→partials/shell mapping. Reviewers: architecture + product APPROVE (no addressable findings remain), stability APPROVE (no Critical/High/Medium). typecheck + 356 units + visual(10) + full-flow(7) E2E green.

views/index.ejs

@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@
   sortable headers and pager are real GET links — q/sort/page round-trip the URL, zero-JS.
 %><%
   const nav = include("partials/nav-tree", { nodes: model.nav });
+  // The default home is a demo over mock data (its rows/actions/links are illustrative, not wired) —
+  // say so up front so the inert affordances read as a starter to replace, not a half-built product.
+  const note = include("partials/alert", { text: "The built-in demo home over mock data. Replace it by exporting a dashboard handler from a plugin.", title: "Starter dashboard" });
   const filters = include("partials/filter-bar", model.filterBar);
   const table = include("partials/data-table", model.table);
   const pager = include("partials/pagination", model.pagination);
@@ -14,7 +17,7 @@
 -%>
 <%- include("partials/shell", {
   actions,
-  body: filters + table + pager,
+  body: note + filters + table + pager,
   brand: model.shell.brand,
   breadcrumbs: model.shell.breadcrumbs,
   csrfToken: model.shell.csrfToken,

views/partials/shell.ejs

@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@
   `actions` (topbar buttons), `body` (page content); `styles` is an optional array of
   extra stylesheet hrefs (e.g. a plugin's own /public/<id>/x.css). Text locals: `title`, `brand`
   ({ name, logo?, sub? } — logo image else the default mark), `theme` (default for the
-  theme-switch), `user`, `breadcrumbs`, `csrfToken` (the Sign-out POST form's hidden field).
+  theme-switch), `user`, `breadcrumbs`, `csrfToken` (the Sign-out POST form's hidden field),
+  `signInHref` (anonymous "Sign in" target, carries return_to; default /login).
   Branding comes from config/menu.ts; `user`/`csrfToken` from §4 auth.
 %><%
   const title = locals.title || "Plainpages";
@@ -66,8 +67,9 @@
               </div>
             </details>
             <% } else { %>
-            <%# anonymous (a public page in the shell, §10): no session to end — offer a way in instead %>
-            <a class="btn btn-primary" href="/login" style="flex:1 1 auto"><svg class="ico ico-sm" aria-hidden="true"><use href="#i-user" /></svg>Sign in</a>
+            <%# anonymous (a public page in the shell, §10): no session to end — offer a way in instead.
+                signInHref carries this page as return_to (chrome.signInHref); falls back to bare /login. %>
+            <a class="btn btn-primary" href="<%= locals.signInHref || '/login' %>" style="flex:1 1 auto"><svg class="ico ico-sm" aria-hidden="true"><use href="#i-user" /></svg>Sign in</a>
             <% } %>
 
             <%- include("menu", {