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KN-86 Deckline

Influences

The four-folder reference corpus. Inspiration tells you what the device should feel like, prototype tells you what to build it from, research tells you how to build the pieces in between, and effect carries the visual-effect grammar. The synthesis is the cross-batch reading that turns the corpus into a small set of project-wide commitments — most recently the Ferris Sweep keyboard adoption (ADR-0031).

This corpus is reference material, not engineering specification. Promotion to ADR or runtime spec is a separate step — entries here exist so design conversations have a shared vocabulary to point at.

Synthesis (2026-06-06) The cross-batch read. Inputs: six batches across all four folders. Outputs: project-wide commitments, the Ferris Sweep keyboard decision (§4), the ASCII-effect doctrine, the v0.1 ship list.
Inspiration What the device should feel like. TUI craft, retro-software touchstones, cyberdeck hardware lineage, sister-product references. 31 entries across six batches.
Prototype What to build it from. TUI tech-stack candidates (Bubble Tea, termbox2), the Ferris Sweep + holykeebs BOM, the QRPπ Pelican-1170 chassis template, Sweep case + keycap reinforcement.
Research How to build the pieces in between. TUI widget libraries (termui, blessed-contrib, tuibox), Lisp implementation blueprints (mal, BuildYourOwnLisp), Emacs-derived keyboard philosophy, runtime patterns, archived custom-keyboard knowledge.
Effect The screen as a first-class capability. ASCII-effect spec (project-wide), libcaca reference engine, react-video-ascii prop matrix.

The four-folder split

Section titled “The four-folder split”

The split is deliberate — same entries in one folder would lose the framing. The synthesis names each folder’s role:

FolderWhat it tells youExamples
InspirationWhat KN-86 should feel like4TRK, l123, AetherTune, Zork, PulseDeck, NetWatch, Cyberdeck Cafe
PrototypeWhat KN-86 should be built fromBubble Tea, Lip Gloss, termbox2, QRPπ, Ferris Sweep, holykeebs Buyer’s Guide
ResearchHow to build the pieces in betweenmal, BuildYourOwnLisp, termui, blessed-contrib, EXWM, webmacs, BOOTSTRA.386
EffectThe screen as a first-class capabilityASCII-effect spec, libcaca, react-video-ascii

Status of corpus material

Section titled “Status of corpus material”

Material in this section is reference, not specification. Three rules:

  1. Nothing here is a committed feature. A pattern surfaces here, gets cross-cited in a synthesis, and may later be promoted to an ADR or runtime spec. The corpus does not bypass that process.
  2. Entries are immutable in spirit. When evidence changes, write a new entry rather than rewriting an old one — the corpus is a record of what was studied, not what’s currently true.
  3. Cross-references between entries are first-class. The synthesis depends on entries pointing at each other; broken links here weaken the framing the project leans on.
Section titled “Related”
  • Architecture Decision Records — where corpus-driven decisions land. ADR-0031 (Ferris Sweep adoption) is the most recent direct consequence.
  • Definitive Guide — the cross-pillar synthesis the rendered site is organized around.