phase: 138_markdown_blockquotes

**Phase 138 final verification pass — all green, no defects found.**

- Verified: blockquote pass in `frontend/assets/markdown.js` (step 2b, between escape+inline and paragraphs), guard extended to `|blockquote`, docstring updated; `.md-quote` CSS (left border + padding + `--ink-soft`, no fill, palette vars only, contrast comments, user-bubble override); unit pins + node behavior; dedicated E2E (chat / viewer / restore); mock `QUOTE_TRIGGER`/`QUOTE_ANSWER`; fixture `tests/fixtures/quote_docs/`. Thinking block confirmed on the same shared renderer (app.js L2025/L3095).
- `uv run pytest tests/e2e/test_markdown_blockquotes.py -v --no-cov` → 3 passed (isolation)
- `uv run pytest --cov=app --cov-report=term-missing` → 3268 passed, 9 skipped; TOTAL **99%** (>90%)
- `uv run ruff check . && uv run pyright` → All checks passed; 0 errors
- Criteria: quotes render in chat/viewer/restore ✅ (E2E) + thinking ✅ (shared renderer + unscoped AA CSS); `>>` collapses, fence/table `>` untouched ✅ (unit+e2e); non-quote byte-identical ✅ (exact fixture; phase-44/renderer suites pass **unedited**, confirmed by empty `git diff --stat`)
- No deviations; commit + phase-dir move left to the harness per pipeline rules (working tree clean of stray changes — only phase-138 diffs present)
- Next pending phase: **139_read_range_tool_lines**

.agents/phases/complete/138_markdown_blockquotes/02_blockquote_css.md

@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+# Task 02 — `.md-quote` styling (theme-safe, WCAG AA)
+
+**Phase:** `138_markdown_blockquotes` · **Source:** `TODO.md:3` — "Markdown formatted ">" quotes aren't rendering"
+**Story:** n/a
+
+## Objective
+The blockquote is visually distinct and readable in all three rendering contexts (chat bubble, thinking block, document viewer) with ONE rule set, using only the existing `:root` palette.
+
+## Work
+1. `frontend/assets/styles.css` — add the `.md-quote` rule next to the other markdown element styles (the phase-44 `.md-table` / `.md-table-wrap` block is the anchor): `border-left: 3px solid <palette var>` (a visible-but-restrained border — pick from the existing `:root` palette, the executor's contrast judgment), `padding: 0.25rem 0.75rem`, `margin: 0.5rem 0`, `color: <muted palette var>` with a ≥4.5:1 contrast comment on the bubble surface per the house convention (`--ink-soft`'s `/* 8.2:1 on --surface */` qualifies — verify against the actual bubble background and document it).
+2. `frontend/assets/styles.css` — no background fill (ASSUMPTION A2); verify the rule renders acceptably in the chat `.bubble`, the `.thinking-text` block, and the document-viewer content region — add a scoped override only if the task-03 E2E proves a clash.
+- ASSUMPTION: the built-in dark palette is the single source of truth — the `:root`-drift unit test parses built-ins from this file, so no hex literal outside `:root` and no second copy.
+
+## Testing & Quality
+- Unit: `tests/unit/test_markdown_blockquotes.py` (task 03) source-pins the `.md-quote` rule's presence and its palette-var-only references (the phase-44 CSS-pin pattern).
+- Coverage: n/a (frontend).
+
+## Completion Criteria
+- [ ] the `.md-quote` rule exists in `styles.css`, references only `:root` palette vars, and carries a ≥4.5:1 contrast comment
+- [ ] the quote is visually distinct in chat + viewer (the E2E screenshot, task 03)
+- [ ] the theme no-op (B4) is unaffected — the rule uses existing vars; no new `ui_settings` column