A phase is a card that lists its cards

`**Type:** Phase` plus a `## Cards` section is the whole model. The phase
card is the only authority on membership: it lists its members in run
order, and a member's phase and position are derived from that list
rather than stored on the member — one direction, one place to edit.

- taskfiles.py reads the section (numbers only; `31`, `#31` and `031` are
  one card, indented lines are a member's own continuation) and parses
  `Depends on` at last, into the numbers it names. Nothing acts on it:
  the list says what runs next, the line says whether it may.
- collect() weaves the board: members resolved in document order, each
  member given its phase and 3/5 position. What will not resolve is
  flagged rather than skipped — a number no card has, a card two phases
  both list (both flagged), a card listed twice, a line naming no number,
  a phase listed by a phase.
- board.html gives a member card a `⟶ <phase> 3/5` chip in the footer
  row beside CI and PR ↗, opening the phase card, and wears phase drift
  as a pill next to status drift.

Nothing runs yet — no branch, no launches, no advancing.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

AGENTS.md

@@ -737,7 +737,7 @@ Every header field, and who writes it:
 | --- | --- | --- | --- |
 | **Status** | yes | `Backlog` · `To Do` · `In Progress` · `Review` · `Done` (`Archived` for a card in `tasks/archive/`) | you, or the board on a move |
 | **Priority** | yes | `High` · `Medium` · `Low`, optionally followed by a short justification | you |
-| **Type** | no | `Discovery` · `Bug` · `Feature` · `Refactor` · `Chore` | you |
+| **Type** | no | `Discovery` · `Bug` · `Feature` · `Refactor` · `Chore` · `Phase` | you |
 | **Assignee** | no | a name, taken from `git config user.name` | the board on a claiming move, or you by hand |
 | **Depends on** | no | task numbers or external preconditions, comma-separated | you |
 | **PR** | no | the pull request url | the board when it opens one |
@@ -751,13 +751,50 @@ An optional **Type** line can record what kind of work the task is, when that
 isn't obvious from the title:
 
 ```markdown
-**Type:** Discovery | Bug | Feature | Refactor | Chore
+**Type:** Discovery | Bug | Feature | Refactor | Chore | Phase
 ```
 
 Type is orthogonal to status. A discovery task — research, scoping, spiking an
 approach — moves through the same five stages as everything else; "discovery"
 describes the work, not where it sits on the board.
 
+### A phase is a card that lists its cards
+
+A **phase** is a group of related tasks meant to run one after another. It is
+not a directory, a stage or a registry — it is a task card like any other,
+marked `**Type:** Phase`, with a `## Cards` section naming its members in the
+order they run:
+
+```markdown
+## Cards
+
+- 31 — Stand up site/ and its build
+- 32 — Serve it from a Cloudflare Worker
+- 33 — The landing page
+```
+
+The name of the phase is the card itself, its number and title, so nothing is
+named twice. Document order is run order. The number is what is parsed — `31`,
+`#31` and `031` are the same card — and whatever follows it is for the reader,
+never matched against anything.
+
+Membership runs one direction only: the phase card lists its members, and a
+member card says nothing about phases. So membership cannot disagree with
+itself, there is exactly one place to edit when it changes, and a member's
+phase and position are *derived* — a `⟶ <phase> 3/5` chip in the card's footer
+row, beside `CI` and `PR ↗`, opening the phase card.
+
+What the list does not resolve is flagged on the card, in the same spirit as
+`status drift`: a number no card has, a card two phase cards both list (both
+are flagged), a card one phase lists twice, a line naming no number, and a
+phase listed by a phase — phases do not nest. Each is an authoring mistake
+that would otherwise surface later as a runner behaving oddly.
+
+`**Depends on:**` is the other half, and it guards rather than orders: the
+list says what runs next, a member's dependencies say whether it *may*. The
+board parses the numbers out of the line and shows them; acting on them
+belongs to whatever runs a phase.
+
 An optional **Assignee** line records who holds the card:
 
 ```markdown
@@ -777,7 +814,9 @@ prose asides:
 **Depends on:** 03, 05
 ```
 
-The board does not enforce it; it informs whoever picks the next card.
+The board parses the task numbers out of the line (prose preconditions are
+left for the reader) and nothing enforces them yet: they inform whoever picks
+the next card, and guard what a phase may start.
 
 The rest of the file is freeform — description, research findings, approach,
 open questions, whatever is relevant to the current stage.

manager/core/board.html

@@ -976,6 +976,14 @@ function renderBoard() {
   renderDrawer();
 }
 
+/* A phase is named by its card, so the chip says what the card says —
+   minus the number it usually opens with (the chip's own tooltip carries
+   that), and clipped to a chip's width. The whole name is one hover away. */
+function phaseLabel(phase) {
+  const name = phase.title ? phase.title.replace(/^\s*\d+\s*[—–-]\s*/, '') : phase.file;
+  return name.length > 22 ? name.slice(0, 21) + '…' : name;
+}
+
 function cardFor(task) {
   const el = document.createElement('article');
   const agent = agentOnTask(task.file);
@@ -1026,6 +1034,10 @@ function cardFor(task) {
     '<span class="spacer"></span>',
     high ? '<span class="high">HIGH</span>' : '',
     task.statusMismatch ? `<span class="pill drift" title="File says ${esc(task.declaredStatus)}">drift</span>` : '',
+    // a phase's list that does not resolve is an authoring mistake, and it
+    // is flagged in the same breath as status drift rather than swallowed
+    (task.phaseDrift || []).length
+      ? `<span class="pill drift" title="${esc(task.phaseDrift.join(' · '))}">phase drift</span>` : '',
     `<span class="pill status${completing ? ' breathing' : ''}" style="background:${pill.bg};color:${pill.tint}"` +
       `${pill.title ? ` title="${esc(pill.title)}"` : ''}>${pill.text}</span>`,
   ];
@@ -1145,6 +1157,14 @@ function cardFor(task) {
   const detail = prState && prState.detail ? prState.detail : 'open the PR';
   const hasBranch = (S.state.branches || []).includes(task.file.replace(/\.md$/, ''));
   const chips = [];
+  // where this card sits in its phase — derived from the phase card's own
+  // list, and a destination like the rest of the row: it opens that card
+  if (task.phase) {
+    chips.push({ label: `${phaseLabel(task.phase)} ${task.phase.index}/${task.phase.total}`,
+      pre: '⟶', cls: '', phase: task.phase.file,
+      title: `Card ${task.phase.index} of ${task.phase.total} in phase `
+           + `${task.phase.number ? '#' + task.phase.number + ' — ' : ''}${task.phase.title}` });
+  }
   if (prState && prState.ci) {
     chips.push({ label: 'CI', glyph: { pass: '✓', fail: '✕', running: '◌' }[prState.ci],
       cls: { pass: 'ok', fail: 'bad', running: 'accent' }[prState.ci], title: detail });
@@ -1208,10 +1228,12 @@ function cardFor(task) {
   const chipRow = chips.length
     ? '<div class="chiprow">' + chips.map(c => {
         const g = c.glyph ? `<span class="g2">${c.glyph}</span>` : '';
-        if (c.href) return `<a class="chip2 ${c.cls}" href="${esc(c.href)}" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="${esc(c.title)}">${esc(c.label)}${g}</a>`;
-        if (c.act) return `<button class="chip2 ${c.cls}" data-drive="${c.act}" title="${esc(c.title)}">${esc(c.label)}${g}</button>`;
+        const p = c.pre ? `<span class="g2">${c.pre}</span>` : '';
+        if (c.href) return `<a class="chip2 ${c.cls}" href="${esc(c.href)}" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="${esc(c.title)}">${p}${esc(c.label)}${g}</a>`;
+        if (c.act) return `<button class="chip2 ${c.cls}" data-drive="${c.act}" title="${esc(c.title)}">${p}${esc(c.label)}${g}</button>`;
+        if (c.phase) return `<button class="chip2 ${c.cls}" data-phase="${esc(c.phase)}" title="${esc(c.title)}">${p}${esc(c.label)}${g}</button>`;
         if (c.cmd) return `<button class="chip2 ${c.cls}" data-cmd="${esc(c.cmd)}" title="${esc(c.title)}">${actLabel(c.label, 'run it?', 'running…')}${g}</button>`;
-        return `<span class="chip2 ${c.cls}" title="${esc(c.title)}">${esc(c.label)}${g}</span>`;
+        return `<span class="chip2 ${c.cls}" title="${esc(c.title)}">${p}${esc(c.label)}${g}</span>`;
       }).join('') + '</div>'
     : '';
 
@@ -1224,6 +1246,12 @@ function cardFor(task) {
     chipRow + driveWell + liveLine;
   el.querySelectorAll('a.chip2').forEach(a =>
     a.addEventListener('click', (e) => e.stopPropagation()));
+  el.querySelectorAll('[data-phase]').forEach(btn =>
+    btn.addEventListener('click', (e) => {
+      e.stopPropagation();
+      const phase = findTask(btn.dataset.phase);
+      if (phase) showDetail(phase);
+    }));
   el.querySelectorAll('[data-drive]').forEach(btn =>
     btn.addEventListener('click', (e) => {
       e.stopPropagation();

manager/core/taskfiles.py

@@ -29,8 +29,17 @@ ASSIGNEE_RE = re.compile(r"^\*\*Assignee:\*\*\s*(.+?)\s*$", re.MULTILINE)
 ASSIGNEE_LINE_RE = re.compile(r"^\*\*Assignee:\*\*[^\n]*\n?", re.MULTILINE)
 PR_RE = re.compile(r"^\*\*PR:\*\*\s*(\S+)\s*$", re.MULTILINE)
 PR_VERDICT_RE = re.compile(r"^PR REVIEW:\s*(APPROVE|REQUEST CHANGES)", re.MULTILINE)
+DEPENDS_RE = re.compile(r"^\*\*Depends on:\*\*\s*(.+?)\s*$", re.MULTILINE)
 NUMBER_RE = re.compile(r"^(\d+)[-_]")
 
+# A phase is a card that lists its cards: `**Type:** Phase` plus a `## Cards`
+# section naming its members, one per line, in the order they run.
+PHASE_TYPE = "phase"
+CARDS_SECTION_RE = re.compile(r"^##\s+Cards\s*$(.*?)(?=^##\s|\Z)",
+                              re.MULTILINE | re.DOTALL)
+CARD_ITEM_RE = re.compile(r"^(?:[-*+]\s+)?#?0*(\d+)\b")
+DEPENDS_ITEM_RE = re.compile(r"#?\s*0*(\d+)")
+
 STAGE_ORDER = {slug: index for index, (slug, _) in enumerate(config.STAGES)}
 CLAIM_FROM = {"backlog", "to-do"}   # the unstarted stages: leaving one claims
 
@@ -48,6 +57,53 @@ def _split_reason(value: str | None) -> tuple[str | None, str | None]:
     return parts[0].strip(), (parts[1].strip() if len(parts) > 1 else None)
 
 
+def canonical_number(number: str) -> str:
+    """`07`, `7` and `#007` are one card. Numbers are written by hand in
+    prose (a `## Cards` line, a `Depends on:` header) and read against
+    numbers taken from filenames, so both ends canonicalise the same way."""
+    return str(int(number))
+
+
+def _depends_on(text: str) -> list[str]:
+    """The `**Depends on:**` header, parsed at last — into the task numbers
+    it names, and nothing else. The line may also carry external
+    preconditions in prose ("the API key"); those are for the reader, so
+    only comma-separated items that are entirely a number are taken.
+    """
+    line = _first(DEPENDS_RE, text)
+    if not line:
+        return []
+    numbers = []
+    for part in line.split(","):
+        match = DEPENDS_ITEM_RE.fullmatch(part.strip())
+        if match:
+            numbers.append(canonical_number(match.group(1)))
+    return numbers
+
+
+def _listed_cards(text: str) -> tuple[list[str], list[str]]:
+    """A phase card's `## Cards` section: the numbers it lists in document
+    order (which is run order), and the unindented lines that name none.
+
+    The number is what is parsed; whatever follows it is for the reader and
+    is never matched against anything. Indented lines are a member's own
+    continuation, so they are neither members nor mistakes.
+    """
+    section = CARDS_SECTION_RE.search(text)
+    if not section:
+        return [], []
+    numbers, unreadable = [], []
+    for line in section.group(1).splitlines():
+        if not line.strip() or line[:1].isspace():
+            continue
+        match = CARD_ITEM_RE.match(line.strip())
+        if match:
+            numbers.append(canonical_number(match.group(1)))
+        else:
+            unreadable.append(line.strip())
+    return numbers, unreadable
+
+
 def read_task(path: Path, stage: str) -> dict:
     text = path.read_text(encoding="utf-8", errors="replace")
     priority, priority_note = _split_reason(_first(PRIORITY_RE, text))
@@ -55,6 +111,11 @@ def read_task(path: Path, stage: str) -> dict:
     declared = _first(STATUS_RE, text)
     # the latest appended `PR REVIEW:` marker wins — reviews accumulate
     verdicts = PR_VERDICT_RE.findall(text)
+    kind = _split_reason(_first(TYPE_RE, text))[0]
+    is_phase = (kind or "").lower() == PHASE_TYPE
+    # a `## Cards` section means membership on a phase card and nothing at
+    # all anywhere else — one direction, one authority
+    listed, unreadable = _listed_cards(text) if is_phase else ([], [])
     return {
         "pr": _first(PR_RE, text),
         # who holds the card — written by the board when a move claims it
@@ -67,7 +128,19 @@ def read_task(path: Path, stage: str) -> dict:
         "title": _first(TITLE_RE, text) or path.stem,
         "priority": priority,
         "priorityNote": priority_note,
-        "type": _split_reason(_first(TYPE_RE, text))[0],
+        "type": kind,
+        # What runs next is the phase's list; what may run is this line —
+        # parsed here, acted on nowhere yet.
+        "dependsOn": _depends_on(text),
+        # A phase and its members: `cards` is what this card claims (empty
+        # for everything that is not a phase), `members`, `phase` and the
+        # drift between them are derived across the whole board by
+        # `collect` — a member card says nothing about its phase.
+        "isPhase": is_phase,
+        "cards": listed,
+        "members": [],
+        "phase": None,
+        "phaseDrift": [f'"{line}" names no card number' for line in unreadable],
         # Flagged in the UI when the file's own Status line contradicts the
         # directory it is in — the board should never quietly paper over that.
         "declaredStatus": declared,
@@ -79,6 +152,63 @@ def read_task(path: Path, stage: str) -> dict:
     }
 
 
+def _phase_name(phase: dict) -> str:
+    return f"{phase['number'] or phase['file']} — {phase['title']}"
+
+
+def weave_phases(stages: list[dict]) -> None:
+    """Resolve every phase card's list against the board it sits on.
+
+    Membership is derived, never stored twice: the phase card lists its
+    members and this is where a member learns which phase holds it and
+    where in the run it sits. What cannot be resolved is *flagged* rather
+    than skipped — a number no card has, a card two phases both claim, a
+    card one phase lists twice — because each is an authoring mistake that
+    would otherwise surface much later as a runner behaving oddly.
+    """
+    tasks = [task for stage in stages for task in stage["tasks"]]
+    by_number: dict[str, dict] = {}
+    for task in tasks:
+        if task["number"]:
+            by_number.setdefault(canonical_number(task["number"]), task)
+
+    held: dict[str, dict] = {}   # card number → the phase that already lists it
+    phases = sorted((t for t in tasks if t["isPhase"]),
+                    key=lambda t: (int(t["number"]) if t["number"] else 9999, t["file"]))
+    for phase in phases:
+        members, seen = [], set()
+        for number in phase["cards"]:
+            member = by_number.get(number)
+            if member is None:
+                phase["phaseDrift"].append(f"{number} is listed here but no card has that number")
+                continue
+            if number in seen:
+                phase["phaseDrift"].append(f"{number} is listed twice by this phase")
+                continue
+            seen.add(number)
+            if member["isPhase"]:
+                phase["phaseDrift"].append(f"{number} is itself a phase — phases do not nest")
+                continue
+            owner = held.get(number)
+            if owner is not None:
+                # both phase cards wear it: from either one, the reader can
+                # see the collision without hunting for the other list
+                note = (f"{number} is listed by two phases — "
+                        f"{_phase_name(owner)} and {_phase_name(phase)}")
+                owner["phaseDrift"].append(note)
+                phase["phaseDrift"].append(note)
+                member["phaseDrift"].append(note)
+                continue
+            held[number] = phase
+            members.append(member)
+        phase["members"] = [{"number": m["number"], "file": m["file"],
+                             "title": m["title"], "stage": m["stage"]} for m in members]
+        for index, member in enumerate(members, start=1):
+            member["phase"] = {"file": phase["file"], "number": phase["number"],
+                               "title": phase["title"],
+                               "index": index, "total": len(members)}
+
+
 def collect() -> dict:
     stages = []
     for slug, label in config.STAGES:
@@ -89,6 +219,7 @@ def collect() -> dict:
                 tasks.append(read_task(path, slug))
         tasks.sort(key=lambda t: (int(t["number"]) if t["number"] else 9999, t["file"]))
         stages.append({"slug": slug, "label": label, "tasks": tasks})
+    weave_phases(stages)
 
     extras = {}
     for slug in ("plans", "reference"):

tests/test_phase_cards.py

@@ -0,0 +1,432 @@
+"""A phase is a card that lists its cards (task 48).
+
+`**Type:** Phase` plus a `## Cards` section is the whole model: the phase
+card is the only authority on membership, a member's phase and position
+are derived from it, and what the list does not resolve is flagged rather
+than skipped. These tests run `taskfiles.collect()` over a throwaway
+tasks/ directory — the same reading the board does on every request — and
+then hold board.html to rendering what that reading produces.
+
+    python3 -m unittest discover -s tests -v
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import json
+import re
+import shutil
+import subprocess
+import sys
+import tempfile
+import unittest
+from pathlib import Path
+
+REPO = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]
+sys.path.insert(0, str(REPO / "manager" / "core"))
+
+import config  # noqa: E402
+import taskfiles  # noqa: E402
+
+BOARD = REPO / "manager" / "core" / "board.html"
+NODE = shutil.which("node")
+
+
+def card(title: str, *, kind: str | None = None, depends: str | None = None,
+         cards: str | None = None, status: str = "Backlog") -> str:
+    """A task file as a person would write it."""
+    text = f"# {title}\n\n**Status:** {status}\n**Priority:** Medium\n"
+    if kind:
+        text += f"**Type:** {kind}\n"
+    if depends:
+        text += f"**Depends on:** {depends}\n"
+    text += "\nWhat this card is for.\n"
+    if cards is not None:
+        text += f"\n## Cards\n{cards}\n"
+    return text
+
+
+class PhaseReadingCase(unittest.TestCase):
+    """One tasks/ directory per test, read exactly as the board reads it."""
+
+    def setUp(self):
+        tmp = Path(tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix="bench-phase-")).resolve()
+        self.addCleanup(shutil.rmtree, tmp, True)
+        self.tasks = tmp / "tasks"
+        for slug in config.STAGE_DIRS:
+            (self.tasks / slug).mkdir(parents=True)
+        self.addCleanup(setattr, config, "TASKS", config.TASKS)
+        config.TASKS = self.tasks
+        self.addCleanup(setattr, config, "TM_ROOT", config.TM_ROOT)
+        config.TM_ROOT = tmp
+
+    def write(self, filename: str, text: str, stage: str = "backlog") -> None:
+        (self.tasks / stage / filename).write_text(text, encoding="utf-8")
+
+    def board(self) -> dict[str, dict]:
+        """Every card the board would show, keyed by filename."""
+        return {task["file"]: task
+                for stage in taskfiles.collect()["stages"]
+                for task in stage["tasks"]}
+
+    def members(self) -> None:
+        """Three ordinary cards, out of the order a phase will run them."""
+        self.write("31-stand-up-site.md", card("31 — Stand up site/"))
+        self.write("32-serve-it.md", card("32 — Serve it from a Worker"))
+        self.write("33-landing.md", card("33 — The landing page"))
+
+
+class ReadingAPhase(PhaseReadingCase):
+    def test_a_phase_lists_its_members_in_the_order_it_names_them(self):
+        self.members()
+        self.write("40-the-site.md", card("40 — Ship the site", kind="Phase", cards=(
+            "- 33 — The landing page\n"
+            "- 31 — Stand up site/\n"
+            "- 32 — Serve it from a Worker\n")))
+
+        phase = self.board()["40-the-site.md"]
+
+        self.assertTrue(phase["isPhase"])
+        self.assertEqual([m["file"] for m in phase["members"]],
+                         ["33-landing.md", "31-stand-up-site.md", "32-serve-it.md"],
+                         "document order is run order, not the board's own order")
+        self.assertEqual(phase["phaseDrift"], [])
+        self.assertIsNone(phase["phase"], "a phase card is not a member of anything")
+
+    def test_a_member_learns_its_phase_and_its_position(self):
+        self.members()
+        self.write("40-the-site.md", card("40 — Ship the site", kind="Phase", cards=(
+            "- 31 — Stand up site/\n- 32 — Serve it from a Worker\n- 33 — The landing page\n")))
+
+        cards = self.board()
+
+        self.assertEqual(cards["32-serve-it.md"]["phase"],
+                         {"file": "40-the-site.md", "number": "40",
+                          "title": "40 — Ship the site", "index": 2, "total": 3})
+        self.assertEqual(cards["31-stand-up-site.md"]["phase"]["index"], 1)
+        self.assertEqual(cards["33-landing.md"]["phase"]["index"], 3)
+
+    def test_membership_survives_the_cards_being_in_different_stages(self):
+        self.write("31-stand-up-site.md", card("31 — Stand up site/", status="Done"), "done")
+        self.write("32-serve-it.md", card("32 — Serve it", status="Review"), "review")
+        self.write("40-the-site.md", card("40 — Ship the site", kind="Phase",
+                                          cards="- 31 — Stand up site/\n- 32 — Serve it\n"))
+
+        cards = self.board()
+
+        self.assertEqual([m["stage"] for m in cards["40-the-site.md"]["members"]],
+                         ["done", "review"])
+        self.assertEqual(cards["32-serve-it.md"]["phase"]["index"], 2)
+
+    def test_a_card_in_no_phase_is_unchanged(self):
+        self.members()
+
+        loose = self.board()["31-stand-up-site.md"]
+
+        self.assertIsNone(loose["phase"])
+        self.assertEqual(loose["phaseDrift"], [])
+        self.assertFalse(loose["isPhase"])
+        self.assertEqual(loose["members"], [])
+        self.assertEqual(loose["cards"], [])
+
+    def test_every_way_of_writing_a_number_finds_the_same_card(self):
+        self.write("07-early.md", card("07 — An early card"))
+        self.write("31-stand-up-site.md", card("31 — Stand up site/"))
+        self.write("32-serve-it.md", card("32 — Serve it"))
+        self.write("40-the-site.md", card("40 — Ship the site", kind="Phase", cards=(
+            "- #31 — hash and dash\n"
+            "- 32 — em dash only\n"
+            "- 7\n")))
+
+        phase = self.board()["40-the-site.md"]
+
+        self.assertEqual([m["file"] for m in phase["members"]],
+                         ["31-stand-up-site.md", "32-serve-it.md", "07-early.md"])
+        self.assertEqual(phase["phaseDrift"], [])
+
+    def test_a_bare_list_without_bullets_reads_the_same(self):
+        self.members()
+        self.write("40-the-site.md", card("40 — Ship the site", kind="Phase",
+                                          cards="31\n32\n33\n"))
+
+        self.assertEqual([m["number"] for m in self.board()["40-the-site.md"]["members"]],
+                         ["31", "32", "33"])
+
+    def test_an_indented_continuation_is_neither_member_nor_mistake(self):
+        self.members()
+        self.write("40-the-site.md", card("40 — Ship the site", kind="Phase", cards=(
+            "- 31 — Stand up site/\n"
+            "  the build has to land before anything is served\n"
+            "- 32 — Serve it\n")))
+
+        phase = self.board()["40-the-site.md"]
+
+        self.assertEqual([m["number"] for m in phase["members"]], ["31", "32"])
+        self.assertEqual(phase["phaseDrift"], [])
+
+    def test_a_cards_section_on_an_ordinary_card_means_nothing(self):
+        self.members()
+        self.write("40-not-a-phase.md", card("40 — Just a card", kind="Feature",
+                                             cards="- 31 — Stand up site/\n"))
+
+        cards = self.board()
+
+        self.assertFalse(cards["40-not-a-phase.md"]["isPhase"])
+        self.assertEqual(cards["40-not-a-phase.md"]["cards"], [])
+        self.assertIsNone(cards["31-stand-up-site.md"]["phase"])
+
+
+class EmptyPhases(PhaseReadingCase):
+    """A phase with nothing in it is a phase, not a failure."""
+
+    def test_a_phase_with_no_cards_section_reads_as_empty(self):
+        self.write("40-the-site.md", card("40 — Ship the site", kind="Phase"))
+
+        phase = self.board()["40-the-site.md"]
+
+        self.assertTrue(phase["isPhase"])
+        self.assertEqual(phase["members"], [])
+        self.assertEqual(phase["phaseDrift"], [])
+
+    def test_an_empty_cards_section_reads_as_empty(self):
+        self.write("40-the-site.md", card("40 — Ship the site", kind="Phase", cards="\n"))
+
+        phase = self.board()["40-the-site.md"]
+
+        self.assertTrue(phase["isPhase"])
+        self.assertEqual(phase["members"], [])
+        self.assertEqual(phase["phaseDrift"], [])
+
+    def test_the_section_ends_where_the_next_heading_begins(self):
+        self.members()
+        text = card("40 — Ship the site", kind="Phase",
+                    cards="- 31 — Stand up site/\n") + "\n## Notes\n\n- 32 — not a member\n"
+        self.write("40-the-site.md", text)
+
+        phase = self.board()["40-the-site.md"]
+
+        self.assertEqual([m["number"] for m in phase["members"]], ["31"])
+        self.assertEqual(phase["phaseDrift"], [])
+
+
+class DriftIsFlagged(PhaseReadingCase):
+    """Every unresolvable line is an authoring mistake with a name."""
+
+    def test_a_number_no_card_has_is_flagged(self):
+        self.members()
+        self.write("40-the-site.md", card("40 — Ship the site", kind="Phase",
+                                          cards="- 31 — Stand up site/\n- 99 — nothing here\n"))
+
+        phase = self.board()["40-the-site.md"]
+
+        self.assertEqual([m["number"] for m in phase["members"]], ["31"])
+        self.assertEqual(len(phase["phaseDrift"]), 1)
+        self.assertIn("99", phase["phaseDrift"][0])
+
+    def test_the_same_card_listed_twice_by_one_phase_is_flagged_once(self):
+        self.members()
+        self.write("40-the-site.md", card("40 — Ship the site", kind="Phase", cards=(
+            "- 31 — Stand up site/\n- 32 — Serve it\n- 31 — again\n")))
+
+        phase = self.board()["40-the-site.md"]
+
+        self.assertEqual([m["number"] for m in phase["members"]], ["31", "32"])
+        self.assertEqual(len(phase["phaseDrift"]), 1)
+        self.assertIn("twice", phase["phaseDrift"][0])
+
+    def test_a_card_two_phases_both_claim_flags_both(self):
+        self.members()
+        self.write("40-the-site.md", card("40 — Ship the site", kind="Phase",
+                                          cards="- 31 — Stand up site/\n- 32 — Serve it\n"))
+        self.write("41-the-docs.md", card("41 — Ship the docs", kind="Phase",
+                                          cards="- 32 — Serve it\n- 33 — The landing page\n"))
+
+        cards = self.board()
+
+        for filename in ("40-the-site.md", "41-the-docs.md"):
+            with self.subTest(phase=filename):
+                self.assertEqual(len(cards[filename]["phaseDrift"]), 1)
+                self.assertIn("two phases", cards[filename]["phaseDrift"][0])
+        # the first phase to list it keeps it, so the member's chip is not
+        # a coin toss — and the member wears the collision too
+        self.assertEqual(cards["32-serve-it.md"]["phase"]["file"], "40-the-site.md")
+        self.assertEqual(len(cards["32-serve-it.md"]["phaseDrift"]), 1)
+        self.assertEqual([m["number"] for m in cards["41-the-docs.md"]["members"]], ["33"])
+
+    def test_a_line_naming_no_number_is_flagged(self):
+        self.members()
+        self.write("40-the-site.md", card("40 — Ship the site", kind="Phase",
+                                          cards="- 31 — Stand up site/\n- and then the rest\n"))
+
+        phase = self.board()["40-the-site.md"]
+
+        self.assertEqual([m["number"] for m in phase["members"]], ["31"])
+        self.assertEqual(len(phase["phaseDrift"]), 1)
+        self.assertIn("and then the rest", phase["phaseDrift"][0])
+
+    def test_a_phase_listing_a_phase_is_flagged_rather_than_nested(self):
+        self.members()
+        self.write("41-the-docs.md", card("41 — Ship the docs", kind="Phase",
+                                          cards="- 33 — The landing page\n"))
+        self.write("40-the-site.md", card("40 — Ship the site", kind="Phase",
+                                          cards="- 31 — Stand up site/\n- 41 — Ship the docs\n"))
+
+        cards = self.board()
+
+        self.assertEqual([m["number"] for m in cards["40-the-site.md"]["members"]], ["31"])
+        self.assertIn("nest", cards["40-the-site.md"]["phaseDrift"][0])
+        self.assertIsNone(cards["41-the-docs.md"]["phase"])
+
+
+class DependsOnIsParsed(PhaseReadingCase):
+    """The guard, read at last: what may run, not what runs next."""
+
+    def test_the_line_becomes_a_list_of_numbers(self):
+        self.write("32-serve-it.md", card("32 — Serve it", depends="03, 05"))
+
+        self.assertEqual(self.board()["32-serve-it.md"]["dependsOn"], ["3", "5"])
+
+    def test_a_hash_and_a_single_dependency_read_the_same(self):
+        self.write("32-serve-it.md", card("32 — Serve it", depends="#31"))
+
+        self.assertEqual(self.board()["32-serve-it.md"]["dependsOn"], ["31"])
+
+    def test_prose_preconditions_are_left_for_the_reader(self):
+        self.write("32-serve-it.md",
+                   card("32 — Serve it", depends="31, a Cloudflare account"))
+
+        self.assertEqual(self.board()["32-serve-it.md"]["dependsOn"], ["31"])
+
+    def test_no_line_is_an_empty_list(self):
+        self.write("32-serve-it.md", card("32 — Serve it"))
+
+        self.assertEqual(self.board()["32-serve-it.md"]["dependsOn"], [])
+
+    def test_nothing_acts_on_it_yet(self):
+        """A member whose dependency is unfinished is still a member in the
+        position its phase gives it — card 49 decides what may start."""
+        self.write("31-stand-up-site.md", card("31 — Stand up site/"))
+        self.write("32-serve-it.md", card("32 — Serve it", depends="31"))
+        self.write("40-the-site.md", card("40 — Ship the site", kind="Phase",
+                                          cards="- 31 — Stand up site/\n- 32 — Serve it\n"))
+
+        cards = self.board()
+
+        self.assertEqual(cards["32-serve-it.md"]["phase"]["index"], 2)
+        self.assertEqual(cards["40-the-site.md"]["phaseDrift"], [])
+
+
+class TheChipOnAMemberCard(unittest.TestCase):
+    """board.html has no test runner, so these are source-level invariants:
+    the chip is built from the derived membership, sits in the footer row
+    with the other destinations, and opens the phase card."""
+
+    @classmethod
+    def setUpClass(cls):
+        cls.html = BOARD.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+
+    def chip_block(self) -> str:
+        start = self.html.index("if (task.phase) {")
+        return self.html[start:start + 600]
+
+    def chip_row(self) -> str:
+        row = re.search(r"const chipRow = chips\.length.*?\.join\(''\) \+ '</div>'",
+                        self.html, re.S)
+        self.assertIsNotNone(row, "board.html lost its chip row")
+        return row.group(0)
+
+    def test_the_chip_is_pushed_into_the_footer_chip_row(self):
+        block = self.chip_block()
+        self.assertIn("chips.push", block, "the phase chip belongs in the chip row")
+        self.assertIn("⟶", block)
+        self.assertIn("task.phase.index", block)
+        self.assertIn("task.phase.total", block)
+
+    def test_the_chip_is_only_built_for_a_card_that_has_a_phase(self):
+        """A card in no phase shows no chip: the push is guarded."""
+        self.assertIn("if (task.phase) {", self.html)
+
+    def test_the_chip_opens_the_phase_card(self):
+        self.assertIn("phase: task.phase.file", self.chip_block(),
+                      "the chip has to name the card it opens")
+        self.assertIn("data-phase", self.chip_row())
+        handler = re.search(r"querySelectorAll\('\[data-phase\]'\).*?\}\)\);",
+                            self.html, re.S)
+        self.assertIsNotNone(handler, "nothing wires the phase chip's click")
+        self.assertIn("findTask(btn.dataset.phase)", handler.group(0))
+        self.assertIn("showDetail(", handler.group(0))
+        self.assertIn("stopPropagation", handler.group(0),
+                      "clicking the chip must not also open its own card")
+
+    def test_a_chips_leading_glyph_is_rendered(self):
+        """The chip reads ⟶ phase n/total, so the row renders a glyph
+        before the label as well as after it."""
+        row = self.chip_row()
+        self.assertIn("c.pre", row)
+        self.assertIn("${p}", row, "the leading glyph has to reach the markup")
+
+    def test_phase_drift_is_flagged_beside_status_drift(self):
+        top = re.search(r"const top = \[.*?\];", self.html, re.S)
+        self.assertIsNotNone(top, "board.html lost the card's top row")
+        self.assertIn("phaseDrift", top.group(0))
+        self.assertIn("phase drift", top.group(0))
+        self.assertIn('class="pill drift"', top.group(0),
+                      "phase drift wears the same flag status drift does")
+
+
+@unittest.skipUnless(NODE, "node is needed to run the page's own phaseLabel()")
+class TheNameOnTheChip(unittest.TestCase):
+    """`phaseLabel()` is a pure function of the phase, so — as with the
+    drawer's `md()` — it is lifted out of the page and run for real."""
+
+    @classmethod
+    def setUpClass(cls):
+        html = BOARD.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        match = re.search(r"^function phaseLabel\(phase\) \{\n.*?\n\}\n", html,
+                          re.M | re.S)
+        assert match, "board.html lost its phaseLabel()"
+        cls._dir = tempfile.TemporaryDirectory()
+        cls.js = Path(cls._dir.name) / "label.js"
+        cls.js.write_text(match.group(0) + "process.stdout.write(phaseLabel("
+                          "JSON.parse(require('fs').readFileSync(0, 'utf8'))));\n",
+                          encoding="utf-8")
+
+    @classmethod
+    def tearDownClass(cls):
+        cls._dir.cleanup()
+
+    def label(self, **phase) -> str:
+        out = subprocess.run([NODE, str(self.js)], input=json.dumps(phase),
+                             capture_output=True, text=True)
+        self.assertEqual(out.returncode, 0, out.stderr)
+        return out.stdout
+
+    def test_the_number_the_title_opens_with_is_left_to_the_tooltip(self):
+        self.assertEqual(self.label(title="40 — Ship the site", file="40-site.md"),
+                         "Ship the site")
+
+    def test_a_title_without_a_number_is_used_whole(self):
+        self.assertEqual(self.label(title="Ship the site", file="40-site.md"),
+                         "Ship the site")
+
+    def test_a_long_name_is_clipped_to_a_chips_width(self):
+        label = self.label(title="40 — Ship the site and everything around it",
+                           file="40-site.md")
+        self.assertTrue(label.endswith("…"), label)
+        self.assertLessEqual(len(label), 22)
+        self.assertTrue("Ship the site".startswith(label[:13]))
+
+    def test_a_phase_with_no_title_falls_back_to_its_filename(self):
+        self.assertEqual(self.label(title="", file="40-site.md"), "40-site.md")
+
+    def test_the_page_still_parses(self):
+        """board.html has no runner, so a stray brace in its inline script
+        would reach the browser silently. Parsing costs nothing here."""
+        html = BOARD.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        scripts = re.findall(r"<script[^>]*>(.*?)</script>", html, re.S)
+        self.assertTrue(scripts, "board.html has no inline script")
+        for index, script in enumerate(scripts):
+            source = Path(self._dir.name) / f"page-{index}.js"
+            source.write_text(script, encoding="utf-8")
+            out = subprocess.run([NODE, "--check", str(source)],
+                                 capture_output=True, text=True)
+            self.assertEqual(out.returncode, 0, out.stderr)