Specimen Toolchest – Accelerate Patterns

Five posts hold roughly 140 specimens. They sort into ten homes — not 140 separate decisions — and the homes bundle into a dozen kits, most of which are one small piece of machinery plus authoring habits. This page assigns every specimen a home (some get two), names the kits, and proposes a build order for when the owner ends the exploration freeze.

Standing constraint: exploration only — nothing here is a work queue. This is the plan for when the word is given. The record of truth is spec/in-progress/accelerate-specimen-toolchest.md in the hub.

The ten homes

The axis that matters is who owns it and where it lives. Every specimen lands in at least one:

Home	What it is
Floor	Suite-wide CSS shipped in `pattern_render.css`, weighted with `:where()` so any template rule beats it. Like the button floor today.
Token	Values derived from the palette and scales, emitted as custom properties: state colors, tint ramps, elevation, spacing, radius relation, tracking. The derivation engine.
Fact	Numbers and attributes the renderer/runtime writes for sheets to spend: `--accpt-i`/`--accpt-n`, the page’s theme attribute, registered `@property` types, later seam facts.
Behavior	The closed runtime set in `pattern_render.js`, declared in template.json like `accordion`/`tabs` today. Templates still ship zero JavaScript.
Vocab	Designer-only template.json declarations: motion verbs, named easings, the shape set, frame treatments, reveal treatments. Validated, never buyer-facing.
Module	An extension of an existing module — `rating`, `stat`, `form`, image frames, collections — rather than anything new-shaped.
Cookbook	Pure-CSS technique documented in the modules spec, with its trap noted. No machinery; the specimen post is the living demo. Includes doctrine (“don’t justify”, “restraint”).
Site	A plugin-global setting with block/template override or fallback — the “set once for the whole site” tier. Very small on purpose.
Instrument	A tool for looking at the work, not part of it: contrast audit, grid overlay, frame counter, validator warnings. Hub/designer only, never deployed.
Park	Deliberately not now — a dependency or scope question decides it later. Recorded so it never resurfaces as a surprise.

Buyer options are conspicuously absent as a home: on the standing rules almost nothing here is the buyer’s. The exceptions are argued individually in the forks at the end.

The kits

Bundles that ship together because they share code, a decision, or a doc section.

1 · Suite floor rules Floor

text-wrap: balance on headings, pretty on body; every gradient in oklab; explicit color: inherit defense for text elements; the seam rule (space between sections belongs to the lower one); tabular numerals in generated tables and stat figures; central prefers-reduced-motion handling. All free, all catalog-wide, none can look worse.

2 · Derivation engine Token

Relative color syntax turning one role into hover / active / soft / ring / complement; the oklch tint ramp per role; surfaces mixed from the accent; a five-step elevation scale (level 0 is a border); a spacing scale; the radius relation (inner = outer − padding); tracking as a function of size; tinted shadows as an opt-in token. The through-line of the composition and color pillars: derived, never picked twice.

3 · Index facts Fact

--accpt-i / --accpt-n on every collection item, plus central @property registrations (angle, percentage, integer). Cheapest item in any pillar; unlocks staggers, ramps, alternation, conic borders, rings and counters with zero per-template work.

4 · State kit Behavior

Fixes before features: calc-size(auto) and transition-behavior: allow-discrete complete the shipped accordion and tabs so they animate open and closed honestly. Then the FLIP instrument (one primitive behind filter, sort, add/remove, card→panel), with View Transitions as the enhancement on top.

5 · Reveal kit Behavior Vocab

The reveal behavior (class on entering view) plus the motion verb vocabulary — rise / fade / zoom / wipe / letters / words with duration and distance, declared per node, designer-only. @starting-style covers above-the-fold entrances free; reveal covers below. Named easings (linear() springs) join the vocabulary as longhands only — the shorthand-reset trap is documented.

6 · Scroll kit Behavior

scrollprogress writes --p, with the three measures declared explicitly — runway, band, distance — because picking the wrong one was the source of two bugs. Stateless, so it reverses free. Consumers (parallax, color ramp, edge cues, sideways section) are cookbook entries spending --p.

7 · Pointer kit Behavior

One reporter writing --mx/--my/--px/--py and proximity; the sheet decides meaning. Covers tilt, glare, spotlight, magnetic, cursor parallax, ripple, directional hover, proximity glint — eight effects, one behavior. Stands down where there is no pointer.

8 · Ribbon package Behavior

Duplicate-to-fill marquee (proven at 3/6/15 items, speed derived, ResizeObserver refill) plus cross-fade cycle for short lists, plus the snap-scroll auto-advancing row as the reader-owns-it variant. One package, three presentations of “a strip of logos”.

9 · Data-viz extensions Module

rating and stat already own charts and figures, so animated bars, donut segments, progress ring, rating sweep, count-up and the odometer are chart options and reveal treatments on existing modules, not new features. Sparkline is the one genuinely new chart shape.

10 · Form feelings Module

The form module gains the feedback family: idle→working→done submit lifecycle, inline validation, inline confirm, skeleton handover. The runtime already owns form behavior, so this is the module growing manners, not a new system.

11 · Seam kit Fact Vocab

Pillar five, later. Position facts a renderer knows and a template never can (what color is beneath, what follows), feeding the three expensive looks: card across the join, color handoff, shaped edge. The one piece that ships early is the gap-ownership floor rule — measured 77px vs 38px, one rule, all 91 templates.

12 · Instruments Instrument

The contrast audit (canvas-resolved, theme-aware), grid overlay, frame-count comparison, plus validator warnings: box-shadow on a clipped shape, animation shorthand over a named easing, transitioning layout properties. Hub and designer only.

Every specimen, assigned

Two chips = the specimen is two things (its machinery in one home, its use in another). Notes are the load-bearing detail from the specs.

Motion Specimens — post 10699

Specimen	Home	Plan
Scroll-driven vs triggered	Cookbook	Doctrine: triggered is the foundation (works everywhere, settles); driven stays a free Chromium-only enhancement where reversal is wanted.
Parallax via `--p`	Behavior Cookbook	Scroll kit, band measure. Travel derived from the picture’s own overhang; fitness check for short wide pictures.
Duplicate-to-fill ribbon	Behavior	Ribbon package core. Speed derived from cycle width; refill on element resize.
Drifting picture ground	Cookbook	Free; four current designs qualify.
Drifting gradient	Cookbook	The quiet win — fits `cta-band`, `hero-gradient`, `statement-figure`. Move the gradient’s position, not the box.
Sticky stack	Cookbook	Free; a future showpiece pattern, not machinery.
Hover choreography	Cookbook	Already the house habit; folds into the cookbook’s pointer section.
Stagger declarations	Fact	Entirely carried by `--accpt-i`/`--accpt-n`; one declaration serves 3 or 30 items.

Animation Specimens — post 10700 (21)

Specimen	Home	Plan
Pointer
Card lift	Cookbook	Already a house habit; document with the shadow step.
Zoom inside the frame	Cookbook	Pairs with image frames (`overflow` on `.accpt-frame`).
Underline wipe	Cookbook	Free.
Arrow nudge	Cookbook	Free.
Tilt to pointer	Behavior	Pointer kit consumer.
Spotlight follow	Behavior	Pointer kit consumer.
Entrance & text
Entry with no trigger (`@starting-style`)	Vocab	The above-the-fold half of the reveal kit; support question still open below the fold.
Letter stagger	Vocab Behavior	Motion verb `letters` — runtime splits spans and writes `--i`; reveal kit.
Disclosure from `display:none`	Behavior	State kit — completes shipped `accordion`/`tabs`.
Sheen across letterforms	Cookbook	Free.
Typewriter	Cookbook	Free (`steps()`); use sparingly — doctrine note.
Scramble to settle	Park	Needs its own timer instrument for one showy effect; demo-only until a design demands it.
Shape, ambient, data
Mask wipe	Vocab	The reveal treatment for anything the buyer chose — works on font glyphs.
Iris	Cookbook	Free (`clip-path: circle()`).
Border draw	Vocab	Stroke draw — designer geometry only (shape set, connectors); never a buyer icon. `getTotalLength()`, never a guessed length.
Rotating conic border	Cookbook Fact	Two-background technique; needs the central `@property` angle registration.
Aurora	Cookbook	Free; coprime periods.
Progress ring	Module	`rating` already has `chart: "circle"` — this is its animated reveal, via reveal kit + registered percentage.
Odometer	Module	`stat` figure treatment, data-viz extension; runtime-backed.
Easing & state
Easing gallery (`linear()`)	Vocab	Named curves in the vocabulary, emitted as longhands — the shorthand silently resets them.
Shimmer placeholder	Cookbook	Free; also feeds the form kit’s skeleton handover.

Interaction Specimens — post 10707 (47)

Specimen	Home	Plan
State change (6)
`calc-size(auto)` accordion	Behavior	Strongest candidate on any post — the missing half of shipped `accordion`/`tabs`. State kit, first.
View Transition	Behavior	Enhancement layer over FLIP where supported.
FLIP filter / sort	Behavior	One instrument (measure → change → measure → animate) behind a future filter behavior.
Card → panel	Behavior	Same FLIP instrument; a showpiece consumer later.
Add / remove	Behavior	Same instrument; pairs with future load-more.
`@starting-style` swap	Cookbook	Free.
Picture (6)
Ken Burns	Vocab	Image-frame treatment declared on the node / `imageDefaults`.
Before / after	Module	Candidate new module — inherently buyer content (two images + handle). Fork 5.
Grade shift	Cookbook	Free hover filter; frame treatment if it earns declaration.
Focus pull	Cookbook	Free.
Type cut out of a photo	Cookbook	Free (`background-clip: text`).
Directional hover	Behavior	Needs entry direction — pointer kit consumer.
Line (4)
Drawn icons	Vocab	Stroke draw on designer geometry; buyer icons get mask wipe instead. Stroke icon set = a fourth library, parked.
`d` morph (shape set)	Vocab	The generated 24-cubic shape set (11 shapes, any-to-any). Wanted by the designer with or without motion — build as a designer asset.
Measured connectors	Park	Needs per-layout measuring; revisit with a timeline/process pattern that wants it.
`offset-path` travel	Cookbook	Free.
Data (6)
Bars	Module	`rating`/`stat` chart, animated by reveal. Data-viz kit.
Sparkline	Module	The one genuinely new chart shape; needs designer geometry. Late in the data-viz kit.
Donut segments	Module	Chart option; conic + registered percentage.
Spring needle	Cookbook	`linear()` spring showcase; not a module until a design wants a gauge.
Rating sweep	Module	`rating` reveal treatment.
Formatted counter	Module	`stat` count-up on reveal; formatting stays the module’s.
Scroll (7)
Sideways section	Behavior	Scroll kit, runway measure; runway from content, never authored height.
Snap strip	Cookbook	Free with `scroll-snap`; auto-advance joins the ribbon package.
Condensing header	Park	Page chrome, not a block — outside the catalog’s scope today.
Reading bar	Park	Page-level; same reason.
Color ramp	Behavior	Scroll kit, band measure (the bug that named the three measures).
Edge fades	Cookbook	Free mask.
Retiring cue	Behavior	Scroll kit, distance measure; clock arms on first intersection.
Pointer (5)
Magnetic	Behavior	Pointer kit.
Ripple	Behavior	Pointer kit (needs coordinates).
Tilt with glare	Behavior	Pointer kit.
Layered cursor parallax	Behavior	Pointer kit.
Proximity fade with glint	Behavior	Pointer kit; fade on the sibling, never the wrapper (opacity-cap trap).
Text (4)
Word rise	Vocab	Motion verb `words`, reveal kit.
Per-line clip	Cookbook	Free where line structure is authored; verb candidate later.
Highlighter	Cookbook	Free.
Variable weight	Park	Means shipping a variable face as a dependency; fallback looks broken. Parked deliberately.
Feedback (4)
Idle → working → done	Module	`form` submit lifecycle. Form-feelings kit.
Skeleton handover	Module Cookbook	Form/posts loading state; shimmer is the free half.
Validation	Module	`form` inline validation styling + timing.
Inline confirm	Module	`form` success state (already has `successMessage`).
Ambient (3) & discipline (2)
Grain	Cookbook	Free (feTurbulence tile).
Breathing glow	Cookbook	Free.
Coprime drift field	Cookbook	Free.
Both motion settings at once	Floor Site	Reduced motion honoured once, centrally — a version of the design. Feeds fork 1.
Cheap vs expensive (frame counter)	Instrument	Becomes a standard + validator warning: transition `transform/opacity/filter/box-shadow` only.

Composition Specimens — post 10708 (44)

Specimen	Home	Plan
Type (01–12)
01 Measure	Token	Measure token in `ch` — survives font-size changes.
02 `text-wrap: balance`	Floor	One rule, all headings, catalog-wide.
03 `text-wrap: pretty`	Floor	Body text; same rule family.
04 Type set for its size	Token	Tracking as a function of size in the type scale.
05 Numerals	Floor	`tabular-nums` in generated tables and `stat` figures; oldstyle stays a cookbook choice.
06 Hanging punctuation	Cookbook	Pull-quote technique with fallback.
07 Drop cap	Cookbook	`initial-letter` + float fallback.
08 Spacing says what belongs	Token	The spacing scale — gaps proportional to relationship.
09 Hierarchy from one face	Cookbook	Doctrine with worked example.
10 Small-caps labels	Cookbook	Free; pairs with tracking token.
11 Ligatures / alternates	Cookbook	Font-dependent — not a floor rule.
12 Justification	Cookbook	Doctrine: ragged right, with the why.
Depth & material (13–20)
13 Layered shadow ramp	Token	Feeds the elevation scale.
14 Light hits the top edge	Token	Part of each elevation level; also the dark-ground answer.
15 Frosted glass	Cookbook	Free.
16 Multi-radial gradient	Cookbook	Free.
17 Grain, standing still	Cookbook	Free.
18 Letterpress	Cookbook	Needs a mid-tone ground — trap noted for recolourable templates.
19 Foil	Cookbook	Free.
20 Elevation scale	Token	Five steps, level 0 = border; supersedes the current three-step habit. Fork 4.
Color (21–25)
21 Ramp derived, not picked	Token	oklch ramp per role, chroma tapered at the ends.
22 Surfaces from one color	Token	`color-mix` against roles — already the house habit; tokenise it.
23 Contrast, measured	Instrument	The canvas-resolved audit, theme-aware; white-on-accent fails in dark mode — the finding that justifies it.
24 Restraint	Cookbook	Doctrine: one accent.
25 Gradients that don’t gray	Floor Instrument	`in oklab` as standard + validator nudge on bare gradients.
Composition (26–32)
26 A grid used	Cookbook	Uneven spans doctrine; asymmetry reads as designed.
27 Overlap	Cookbook	Free inside a block; crossing blocks is the seam kit’s.
28 Bleed against contained	Cookbook	Already built — the block frame. Pointer to it, so nobody re-rolls it.
29 Whitespace is the hierarchy	Token	Same spacing scale as 08.
30 Figure and ground	Cookbook	Crop guidance; the crop tool already exists.
31 A pull quote that is one	Cookbook	Recipe; a pattern, not a module.
32 Optical size	Cookbook	The one thing that resists derivation — human judgment, documented (icon set and typeface chosen together).
Detail (33–38)
33 Hairline rules	Token	A hairline token (role mixed toward transparent).
34 Nested corners	Token	Radius relation: inner = outer − padding; equal values correctly give square.
35 Markers with a job	Cookbook	Collection `marker` already exists; counters-in-column is the recipe.
36 A table worth reading	Floor	Default styling for generated tables: no vertical rules, aligned figures.
37 A field that looks designed	Floor	`form` module floor: inset shadow, real focus ring.
38 The empty state	Cookbook	Empty affordances exist (`--empty` classes); recipe for styling them.
Where sections meet (39–44) — pillar five
39 Card across the join	Vocab Fact	Seam kit — needs facts about the neighbor a template can’t know.
40 Color handed to the next	Vocab Fact	Seam kit — color-beneath fact + band declaration. Also answers the gradient-border clip question.
41 A shaped edge	Vocab Fact	Seam kit — band-family edge treatment.
42 The gap nobody chose	Floor	Ships first of the six. One rule: the space between sections belongs to the lower one. 77px → 38px, all 91 templates.
43 Three sections, one color	Instrument	Page-level judgment — a wave-review check, not code.
44 One loud band, not three	Instrument	Same — page rhythm doctrine in the wave review.

Color Specimens — post 10710 (19 groups)

Group	Home	Plan
Backgrounds (01–06)
01 Gradients with a light source	Cookbook	Mesh / conic / starburst recipes over roles.
02 Hard-stop “gradients”	Cookbook	Free.
03 Paper, grids and dots	Cookbook	Free layered repeats.
04 Hatching	Cookbook	The one texture that survives text on top — the general-purpose pick.
05 Photographs recoloured	Cookbook	Blend-mode recipes; frame-treatment candidate if it recurs.
06 Edges that are not there	Cookbook	Mask spotlight / vignette / fade.
Edges (07–11)
07 Gradient border	Cookbook	Two-background recipe; the “mark one card of five” tool pricing tiers lack. Clip-surface question resolves via the seam kit’s color-beneath fact.
08 Corners only	Cookbook	Free.
09 Cut, notched, scalloped	Cookbook	Free; clipped side needs extra padding — trap noted.
10 Radii that are not circles	Cookbook	Percentage radii scale with the box — trap noted.
11 Underlines worth having	Cookbook	Free.
Shadows (12–14)
12 Tinted shadows	Token	Opt-in token (declared, not auto-derived) — a tinted shadow reads as a smear on a dark palette. Fork 3.
13 Shadow follows the shape	Cookbook Instrument	`drop-shadow` for anything clipped; validator warns on `box-shadow` + `clip-path`.
14 Wells, glows, long shadows	Cookbook	With the dark-ground inversion (light top edge, not dark bottom).
Color as a system (15–19)
15 Every state from one color	Token	The derivation engine’s flagship: hover / active / soft / ring derived from each role, designer-overridable. Removes work rather than adding it.
16 `light-dark()`	Cookbook	Niche — roles already swap via custom properties, and theme comes from the page’s attribute, never the OS. Noted, not adopted.
17 Tints that belong together	Token	Same ramp as composition 21.
18 Which way a gradient travels	Floor	oklab as the default; `longer hue` reserved for one showpiece.
19 All of it at once	Cookbook	The demo card — becomes the cookbook’s cover example.

Build order

Sequenced by the specs’ own arguments: stillness before motion, fixes before features, facts before consumers.

Suite floor rulesbalance / pretty, oklab gradients, color: inherit defense, the seam gap rule, tabular numerals, central reduced-motion. All free, all catalog-wide, zero design risk.
Derivation enginestate colors, ramp, surfaces, elevation, spacing, radius relation, tracking. Tokens the designer spends; nothing buyer-visible.
The cookbook~60 free techniques written into the modules spec, traps included. Unblocks authoring immediately — no code at all.
Index facts--accpt-i / --accpt-n + central @property registrations. Cheapest machinery, widest reach.
State kit fixescalc-size(auto) + allow-discrete into shipped accordion/tabs. Improves two shipped things before adding one.
Reveal kitreveal behavior + motion verbs + named easings (longhand) + @starting-style split above/below the fold.
Scroll + pointer kitsscrollprogress with its three declared measures; the pointer reporter. Consumers are cookbook entries.
Module extensionsdata-viz on rating/stat; feedback on form.
Ribbon packageduplicate-to-fill + cross-fade + snap scroller.
Seam kit + FLIPthe position facts and the three expensive seam looks; FLIP-backed filter/sort. The furthest-out machinery.

Open forks

1 · Motion intensity — whose control?

Site setting — one plugin-level control (full / subtle / off), templates inherit, prefers-reduced-motion always wins.
Buyer option per block — against the “they bought the design” rule, and 91 chances to be inconsistent.
No control — designer + OS preference only.

Recommend: site setting. It is accessibility-adjacent, so one owner-level decision fits; per-block options don’t.

2 · Derived state colors — replace or default?

Default with override — engine derives hover/active/soft/ring; a designer declaration beats it.
Replace outright — simpler, but takes a tool away from the designer.

Recommend: default with override — the same precedence shape as imageDefaults.

3 · Tinted shadows — derived or declared?

Declared opt-in token — designer asks for the tint where it works.
Auto-derived from the element’s role — consistent, but risks the colored-smear failure on dark palettes.

Recommend: declared. The modules spec already warns about tinted shadows on dark grounds; automation would fight that.

4 · Elevation — extend the 3-step habit or adopt the 5-step scale?

Adopt five steps (level 0 = border) as tokens; existing sheets migrate as they’re touched.
Keep three and document five as aspiration.

Recommend: adopt five in the token layer; the current three map onto steps 1–3 so nothing breaks.

5 · Before/after slider — module or skip?

New module — it is inherently buyer content (two images and a handle) and no existing module can fake it.
Skip — until a design in a wave actually wants it.

Recommend: skip for now, note it as the one specimen that would justify a new module when a wave calls for it.

Sources: spec/in-progress/accelerate-motion-system.md, accelerate-composition-system.md, accelerate-color-system.md; spec/built/accelerate-pattern-modules.md. Specimen posts 10699, 10700, 10707, 10708, 10710. Record of truth: spec/in-progress/accelerate-specimen-toolchest.md.