Dock-zone surfaces never load the dashboard token scope — the motion contract is invisible on both

Context

Found by the PR #14966 pixel gate (2026-07-10): the first visual verification of the dock motion pipeline after the #14947 tokens → #14944 FLIP → #14966 choreography classes all landed/converged. Every prior verification tier (unit specs, Neural-Link topology assertions, hosted CI) exercises worker truth or committed state — none of it watches rendered pixels, which is exactly where this gap lives.

The Problem

The entire dock motion contract lives in resources/scss/src/dashboard/Container.scss: the --dock-transition-* token set scoped to .neo-dashboard, the reduced-motion collapse, the reveal keyframes, the arrival settle class, splitter cursors, rail/reveal-overlay hooks. The css-map loads that file with Neo.dashboard.Container instances — and neither dock-zone surface ever creates one:

• examples/dashboard/dock (the ADR 0029 verification surface) projects plain containers via DockLayoutAdapter; its element tree carries neo-dashboard-dock-* classes but no .neo-dashboard scope element and no src/dashboard/Container.css stylesheet.
• apps/agentos/childapps/dockdemo (Demo A): same shape, same absence.

Measured on both surfaces (live, dev server, 2026-07-10):

• --dock-transition-duration computes UNSET everywhere; dashboard/Container.css absent from document.styleSheets.
• Splitter cursor computes pointer (Container.scss says ew-resize/ns-resize) — even though DockSplitter IS instantiated, its styles live in the un-loaded Container.scss file.
• Edge-band width is flex-derived (~92px), not the stylesheet's 280px.

Consequences, post token-only convergence:

• Neo.main.addon.DockFlip (6cbc2dff6b) reads tokens as its SOLE motion authority and fails safe to instant → FLIP re-layouts are instant (motion-less) on both dock surfaces. The Demo-A tour lost its glide the moment the (correct) polish merged.
• The #14966 choreography classes (reveal slide, arrival settle) reference token durations and keyframes that don't exist on these surfaces → no visible motion.
• observe_motion / tour-runner step gating key off motion that can never render here.

Injection proof (same session): manually appending dist/development/css/src/dashboard/Container.css + stamping neo-dashboard on the projection root restores everything — tokens compute 260ms / cubic-bezier(0, 0, 0.2, 1), the reveal keyframes run a clean 0.4→1 opacity ramp over 260ms, the arrival outline decays over ~390ms. The CSS tier is fully correct; only the loading/scope is missing. (A DOM-stamped scope also dies on every re-projection — the fix must live in the projection/component tier.)

The FM cockpit is NOT affected: apps/agentos/view/Viewport.mjs mounts a real Neo.dashboard.Container, so the cockpit dashboard loads the file and carries the scope. That is why the token layer looked verified at #14947 review time — its home surface genuinely has it.

The Architectural Reality

• The css-map loads theme CSS per instantiated class: resources/scss/src/dashboard/Container.scss ↔ Neo.dashboard.Container. Classes the adapter merely names in cls strings load nothing.
• Neo.dashboard.Container itself is the detach-to-window dashboard (drag proxy + popup machinery) — making dock hosts extend/instantiate it would drag interaction semantics the dock-zone reducer pattern does not want.
• The landed opt-in mechanism for cross-class theme loading already exists: additionalThemeFiles (used by DemoAWorkspace for the AgentOS token bridge).

The Fix

Two shapes, recommendation first:

A (minimal, recommended for the July window): each dock workspace declares additionalThemeFiles: ['Neo.dashboard.Container'] and adds neo-dashboard to its host cls (vdom truth, not DOM patching) — examples/dashboard/dock/MainContainer and the dockdemo DemoAWorkspace. Two small diffs, no new classes, uses the landed mechanism.

B (structural, post-window candidate): a thin Neo.dashboard host class (baseCls ['neo-dashboard', ...], no detach machinery) that DockLayoutAdapter emits as the projection root — every consumer gets scope + CSS automatically, and the dock rules migrate out of Container.scss into its own theme file. Bundle-by-default says A now, B as a follow-up decision when a third consumer appears.

Acceptance Criteria

• Both dock-zone surfaces compute --dock-transition-duration: 260ms (token default) on the projection scope with zero manual injection.
• src/dashboard/Container.css present in document.styleSheets on both surfaces.
• FLIP re-layouts visibly animate again on both surfaces (DockFlip play() returns true on a committed op with default tokens).
• Splitter cursors render ew-resize/ns-resize per orientation.
• Reduced-motion collapse verified once on either surface (token computes 0ms under emulation).

Out of Scope

• The DockRevealOverlay hidden-cls delta defect (separate ticket, filed alongside this one).
• Shape B's host-class migration (follow-up if/when accepted).
• Any change to the token values or motion classes themselves — they are verified correct.

Decision Record impact

aligned-with ADR 0029 — presentation tier; restores the §2.x motion observability the token contract assumes.

Related: #14947 (token contract) · #14944 (FLIP, token-only authority) · #14966 (choreography classes, the gate that found this) · #14959 (drop-indicator menu — its styles ride the same file) · parent #13158.

Live latest-open sweep: latest 20 open checked at 2026-07-10T14:30Z; nearest is #14968 (tab-insert morph replacement — disjoint mechanism, no overlap). A2A herd window checked (30 msgs, all read-states): no competing claim on surface CSS loading.

Origin Session ID: 183ac080-2f24-4837-8f63-69bfc536af0d Retrieval Hint: "dock surface neo-dashboard token scope Container.css not loaded motion invisible pixel gate"