low convictionactive · updated 2026-08-23T00:00:00.000Z
Paper as visual source of truth → Paper-blind agent invents layout → tight-delta session that can see Paper
Paper is the visual source of truth for overlay/HUD work. A coding agent that cannot see Paper invents layout if asked to match the artboard. Design/HUD/copy therefore belongs in a Cursor session that can see Paper and the repo; copy-only asks stay copy-only; Paper-only chrome stays in Paper.
The chain
1
For overlay/HUD work, Paper is the visual source of truth and can hold chrome that must never land in the app.
From 2026-08-23-session-cursor-paper-grok-app-builder-workflow: "Paper is the visual source of truth."
From 2026-08-23-session-cursor-paper-grok-app-builder-workflow: "Keep the delta small. Paper can hold chrome that must never land in the app. Copy-only asks stay copy-only."
2
A coding agent without Paper invents layout if asked to match the artboard — this session’s first design-to-code pass restyled layout/tokens when the ask was copy.
From 2026-08-23-session-cursor-paper-grok-app-builder-workflow: "A coding agent without Paper will invent layout if asked to “match the artboard.”"
From 2026-08-23-session-cursor-paper-grok-app-builder-workflow: "first design-to-code pass restyled layout/tokens. The ask was copy. Reverted layout; kept copy: **High Scores**, **IONWAKE**, **Save Score**."
3
Design/HUD/copy must happen in a session that can see Paper and the repo; do not send “make it match Paper” to Grok App Builder or a Paper-blind coder; copy-only asks change copy only.
From 2026-08-23-session-cursor-paper-grok-app-builder-workflow: "Do not send “make it match Paper” to Grok App Builder (no Paper, no git) or to a Paper-blind coder."
From 2026-08-23-session-cursor-paper-grok-app-builder-workflow: "If the Paper delta is copy, change copy only."
From 2026-08-23-session-cursor-paper-grok-app-builder-workflow: "`design-to-code` in a session that can see Paper **and** the repo. Implement only the requested delta."
What would falsify this
- Step 2: Paper-blind agents reliably match an artboard from a written spec or screenshot without inventing layout.
- Step 3: Grok App Builder (no Paper, no git) ships overlay work that matches the Paper file without restyle drift.
Contradictions / tensions
- Single first-party session. The source does not test whether a screenshot or exported artboard is a substitute for live Paper MCP.
Implications
- Physics / scoring / persistence / refactors can go to a coding agent without Paper; overlay copy and chrome cannot.
- Verify in the running game (this session: desktop + mobile). Paper-only chrome (iOS status bar, decorative ship stand-in) stays in Paper.
- One session, one restyle-then-revert (`99b4bff`). One data point.
Companies
Concepts
Open questions
none