§11 Archetypes

An archetype defines a reusable screen pattern with a specific layout, keyboard layer, and component set. Applications MUST select one archetype per screen and adhere to its rules. Applications MAY combine archetypes across screens (e.g., a Dashboard screen and an Admin screen in the same application).

All archetypes inherit the CUA base keyboard (§2.2), three-region layout (§1.3), and footer key strip (§1.4).

§11.1 Dashboard

Purpose: Real-time monitoring and status overview (htop, btop, system dashboards).

Layout:

╔══ Dashboard Title ══════════════════════════════╗
║ ▲ Metric A: 1,234  │ ◉ Status B  │ ⚠ Warns: 3  ║
╠═════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ Column 1    │ Column 2 │ Column 3 │ Column 4    ║
║ row data    │ ◉ OK     │  120ms   │ 0           ║
║ row data    │ ⚠ SLOW   │  890ms   │ 2           ║
║ row data    │ ◉ OK     │   45ms   │ 0           ║
╠═════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ ?Help  r Refresh  /Filter  s Sort  q Quit       ║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

Structure:

Keyboard (inherits all Tier 1; uses Tier 2 s, / from standard):

Key components: Metric cards, data table, sparklines, status indicators.

Example workflow — filter and sort a dashboard table:

§11.2 Admin / Config

Purpose: Application configuration and settings management (setup wizards, settings panels).

Layout:

┌─ Categories ─┬── General Settings ──────────────┐
│               │                                  │
│ ▸ General     │  Application Name                │
│   Network     │  [ My App_____________ ]         │
│   Security    │                                  │
│   Advanced    │  Log Level                       │
│               │  (*) Info                        │
│               │  ( ) Debug                       │
│               │  ( ) Error                       │
│               │                                  │
│               │  Enable Caching                  │
│               │  [X] Enabled                     │
│               │                                  │
│               │  < Save >   < Cancel >           │
├───────────────┴──────────────────────────────────┤
│ F1 Help  Tab Next  Esc Cancel  Enter Save        │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Structure:

Keyboard (inherits all Tier 1):

Note: Single-letter Tier 2 keys (d, e, a) are suppressed in the Admin archetype because form fields dominate the screen. Use Ctrl+ modified keys or buttons instead.

Key components: Entry fields, toggles/switches, radio groups, push buttons, tabbed content.

§11.3 File Manager

Purpose: File system navigation and operations (Norton Commander, ranger, Midnight Commander).

Layout (dual-pane):

┌── /home/user ────────────┬── /home/user/docs ───────┐
│ ..                       │ ..                        │
│ ▸ documents/             │   report.pdf         12K  │
│   downloads/             │   notes.txt           2K  │
│   projects/              │   slides.pptx        45K  │
│   .bashrc            1K  │                           │
│   .gitconfig         2K  │                           │
├──────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────┤
│ user@host:~$                                         │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ F3 View  F4 Edit  F5 Copy  F6 Move  F7 Mkdir  F8 Del│
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Structure:

Keyboard (inherits Tier 1 with overrides per §2.7; uses context-panel layer §2.6):

Key components: File list with columns (name, size, date), path breadcrumb, selection markers.

(Norton Commander §7, OFM paradigm, §2.7 archetype key overrides)

§11.4 Editor

Purpose: Text editing and document manipulation (Vim, Turbo Vision editor, nano).

Layout:

┌── filename.py ───────────────────── ln 42, col 8 ─┐
│  1 │ def calculate(x, y):                          │
│  2 │     result = x + y                            │
│  3 │     return result                             │
│  4 │                                               │
│  5 │ # TODO: add error handling                    │
│    │                                               │
├────┴───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ -- INSERT --                  UTF-8  LF  Python    │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ F1 Help  F2 Save  F3 Close  ^G Goto  ^F Find      │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Structure:

Keyboard (text input dominates — single-letter Tier 1/2 keys are suppressed by default):

The Editor archetype MAY add a modal keyboard layer (§2.6) for vi-style normal/insert/command modes. When a modal layer is active, Tier 1/2 single-letter keys (q, r, d, e, a, s, g, n, y) MAY be rebound within the normal-mode layer. If modal layers are used:

• The current mode MUST be displayed in the status line.
• Esc MUST return to normal/command mode.

Key components: Text buffer, line numbers, status bar, optional syntax highlighting.

§11.5 Fuzzy Finder

Purpose: Rapid search and selection from large item sets (fzf, telescope, command palettes).

Layout:

┌── Find File ─────────────────────────────────────┐
│ > search query█                                  │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ ▸ src/utils/helpers.py              [92% match]  │
│   src/utils/http.py                 [87% match]  │
│   src/core/handler.py               [71% match]  │
│   tests/test_helpers.py             [65% match]  │
│                                                  │
│                                     4 / 128      │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Enter Select  Esc Cancel  ↑↓ Navigate            │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Structure:

Keyboard (fuzzy layer §2.6 — all printable input goes to filter):

Tier 1/2 single-letter keys (q, r, /, d, etc.) are captured by the filter input. Only Esc, Enter, and Ctrl+ modified keys remain functional. CUA navigation keys (Tab, F-keys) are suspended while the fuzzy layer is active.

Key components: Search input, scored result list, match highlighting, optional preview pane.

Appendix A: Rule Index

For auditing convenience, every section’s prescriptive rules are summarized:

Appendix B: Glossary