phase: 190_app_name_settings_fix

All gates re-verified green. Report:

- **Verified (all 4 tasks already complete; this was the final pass):** `effective_settings` resolves the 3 brand strings panel-row → tab-row → env (`applied_override_keys`, presence-not-value); `PUT /api/ui-settings` ignores string body fields; Theme-tab form is colors-only (17 pickers, no `#theme-app-name`/`#theme-placeholder`/`#theme-footer`); the ONE shared `applyBrandFromConfig` re-applies title/`.brand-text`/footer/placeholder after a panel save-reset and a tab save-reset; boot path byte-identical (single `/api/config`).
- **Completion criteria:**
  - strings order panel→tab→env, both branches — ✅ `tests/unit/test_theming.py::test_effective_app_name_prefers_settings_panel_row_over_ui_settings_row`, `..._fall_back_to_ui_settings_row_without_panel_row`, `..._per_field_panel_then_tab_then_env`, `..._ignore_panel_rows_when_the_overlay_is_off`
  - PUT ignores string fields + no 3 inputs in the tab — ✅ `tests/integration/test_ui_settings_api.py::test_put_ignores_string_fields_in_body` (+2) and the E2E `test_theme_tab_dom_is_colors_only`
  - live apply without reload + incident regression — ✅ `tests/e2e/test_app_name_settings_fix.py` tests 1–4
  - byte-identical boot, no double-apply — ✅ `tests/unit/test_brand_live.py` markers + E2E "exactly one /api/config"
  - suite green, coverage >90%, ruff+pyright clean — ✅
  - no behavior change in prior phases — ✅ (palette, phase-168 panel, env fallback suites all green)
  - atomic commit — **left to the harness** (pipeline rule overrides per-phase committing; no git write run)
- **Gates:** `uv run pytest --cov=app --cov-report=term-missing` → **4630 passed, TOTAL 6941 16 99%**, exit 0 · `uv run pytest tests/e2e/test_app_name_settings_fix.py -v --no-cov` → **6 passed** in isolation · regression E2E (isolated, one process each, all exit 0): `test_smoke` `test_configurable_brand` `test_admin_theme_tab` `test_theme_save_and_coverage` `test_theme_semantic_completion` `test_themed_favicon` `test_dark_tech_theme` `test_admin_settings_panel` `test_admin_settings_layout` `test_settings_mobile_value_width` · `uv run ruff check .` → All checks passed · `uv run pyright` → 0 errors.
- **Documentation:** README — fixed "saving one repaints *every* open page" (only the open document repaints; other pages on next load) and a broken paragraph wrap in *Customizing the look*; AGENTS.md rule 16 — `test_chunks_hnsw_recall.py` now described accurately (index paths forced with `enable_seqscan`/`indexonlyscan`/`bitmapscan` off, unforced plan asserted only on a pristine relation); `tests/unit/test_theme_frontend.py` — two stale section headers ("20 form fields"/"20 inputs" → 17 color). No AGENTS.md settings-overlay/resolution-order clause exists, so per the phase none was added. Full env-var cross-check (`BOR_*` in `app/config.py` vs README) → 0 gaps; 0 missing file references.
- **Notable:** the working tree also carries this phase's flake hardening of the phase-188 `tests/integration/test_chunks_hnsw_recall.py` (verified legit and green). Live infra untouched; shared DB left clean (0 `app_settings`, 0 `ui_settings`). **Flagged, not changed:** `settings_overlay.applied_override_keys` lets a `ProgrammingError` (missing `app_settings`) propagate from public `GET /api/config`, where `load_overrides` deliberately fails soft — only reachable on an un-migrated (0027) DB, outside this phase's pinned A1 semantics, so left for the owner to rule on rather than silently deviating.
- **Next pending phase:** `191_source_name_labels_tags`.

tests/unit/test_theme_frontend.py

@@ -3,7 +3,10 @@ pins).
 
 The Theme tab edits ALL 17 palette variables (the 9 identity + the 8
 semantic state colors — B3 revised, owner permission 2026-09-10,
-TODO.md L3) plus the 3 branding strings: 20 form fields total. The
+TODO.md L3) and NOTHING else since phase 190 (task 02, A1: the admin
+Settings panel is the single writable owner of the 3 brand strings, so
+the tab's "Branding" fieldset, its three string inputs and the string
+half of its PUT body are gone). The
 live behavior (live preview, the Save/Reset PUT body, the served-theme
 sync, the contrast warnings) is E2E-gated (``tests/e2e/
 test_admin_theme_tab.py`` + the phase-93 monochrome suite, task 04);
@@ -12,20 +15,25 @@ design depends on, so a silent regression is caught without a browser
 (house pattern: ``tests/unit/test_big_read_progress.py`` reads
 frontend sources and asserts on their mechanisms):
 
-* ``theme.js`` ``FIELDS`` — exactly 20 entries in the FORM's order
-  (the 3 branding strings, then the 17 colors in the server's
-  ``theming.COLOR_FIELDS`` order — identity, brand, then state):
-  everything that iterates FIELDS (live preview, ``collectBody``'s PUT
-  body, ``clearPreview``, ``applyServedTheme``'s tag content) covers
-  the 8 semantic pickers automatically only if this order holds;
+* ``theme.js`` ``FIELDS`` — exactly 17 entries (the colors ONLY — no
+  ``kind: "string"`` entry may come back) in the FORM's order, the
+  server's ``theming.COLOR_FIELDS`` order (identity, brand, then
+  state): everything that iterates FIELDS (live preview,
+  ``collectBody``'s PUT body, ``clearPreview``, ``applyServedTheme``'
+  tag content) covers the 8 semantic pickers automatically only if this
+  order holds — and the body ``collectBody`` builds carries no string
+  key either (the phase-190 pin: an old cached client's save can no
+  longer re-bake a brand string);
 * ``theme.js`` ``PAIRS`` — exactly the EIGHT WCAG 2.1 AA
   (4.5:1) pairs: the five identity pairs + the three semantic
   ink-on-bg pairs; the two ``*_line`` state variables stay EXCLUDED
   (decorative borders, no contrast duty — the same rule as
   ``--line`` / ``--grid-line``); the docstring mirror is pinned in
   ``tests/unit/test_theming.py``;
-* ``index.html`` ``#view-theme`` — all 20 inputs carry E2E-stable ids
-  + visible labels; the 17 color inputs are ``type="color"`` and ship
+* ``index.html`` ``#view-theme`` — the 17 color inputs carry E2E-stable
+  ids + visible labels, and the three removed string inputs stay absent
+  (``#theme-app-name`` / ``#theme-placeholder`` / ``#theme-footer`` —
+  the phase-190 A1 strip); the color inputs are ``type="color"`` and ship
   the BUILT-IN static values — asserted against
   ``frontend/assets/styles.css``'s ``:root`` parsed in-test (the
   house drift pattern — the same guard ``test_theming.py`` runs on
@@ -88,16 +96,24 @@ def _root_declarations() -> dict[str, str]:
     return dict(re.findall(r"(--[a-z-]+)\s*:\s*([^;]+);", block))
 
 
-# ---------- theme.js: FIELDS — the 20 form fields, in order ----------
+# ---------- theme.js: FIELDS — the 17 color form fields, in order ----------
 
 
-def test_fields_lists_all_20_in_form_order() -> None:
-    """``FIELDS`` has EXACTLY 20 entries — the 3 branding strings,
-    then the 17 color fields — in the form's own order (the palette
-    fieldset's 9 identity pickers, then the State colors fieldset's 8
-    semantic pickers), each with its E2E-stable ``theme-*`` id and
-    kind (the color entries are ``kind: "color"`` — the live preview,
-    ``collectBody``, and the served-theme sync all key on it)."""
+def test_fields_lists_the_17_colors_and_no_strings() -> None:
+    """``FIELDS`` has EXACTLY 17 entries — the color fields ONLY — in the
+    form's own order (the palette fieldset's 9 identity pickers, then
+    the State colors fieldset's 8 semantic pickers), each with its
+    E2E-stable ``theme-*`` id and kind (the color entries are
+    ``kind: "color"`` — the live preview, ``collectBody``, and the
+    served-theme sync all key on it).
+
+    Phase 190 (task 02, A1) is what makes this a CONTRACT and not a
+    coincidence: the admin Settings panel is the single writable owner
+    of ``app_name`` / ``input_placeholder`` / ``footer_text``, so no
+    entry may carry ``kind: "string"`` — an entry means a populated
+    input AND a PUT-body key, and a string key is exactly how the
+    Theme tab used to bake the then-effective name into its row and
+    shadow every later panel change (``TODO.md`` L3)."""
     js = _js()
     start = js.index("const FIELDS = [")
     end = js.index("];", start)
@@ -105,11 +121,8 @@ def test_fields_lists_all_20_in_form_order() -> None:
         r'\{\s*field:\s*"([a-z_]+)",\s*id:\s*"(theme-[a-z-]+)",\s*kind:\s*"([a-z]+)"\s*\}',
         js[start:end],
     )
-    assert len(fields) == 20, f"FIELDS must list exactly 20 entries, got {len(fields)}"
+    assert len(fields) == 17, f"FIELDS must list exactly 17 entries, got {len(fields)}"
     assert [(f, i) for f, i, _ in fields] == [
-        ("app_name", "theme-app-name"),
-        ("input_placeholder", "theme-placeholder"),
-        ("footer_text", "theme-footer"),
         ("bg", "theme-bg"),
         ("surface", "theme-surface"),
         ("ink", "theme-ink"),
@@ -127,11 +140,14 @@ def test_fields_lists_all_20_in_form_order() -> None:
         ("accent_bg", "theme-accent-bg"),
         ("accent_ink", "theme-accent-ink"),
         ("accent_line", "theme-accent-line"),
-    ], "FIELDS must list the 20 fields in the form's order"
-    assert all(kind == "color" for _, _, kind in fields[3:]), (
-        "the 17 palette entries are all kind color"
+    ], "FIELDS must list the 17 color fields in the form's order"
+    assert all(kind == "color" for _, _, kind in fields), (
+        "every palette entry is kind color — no string field is back in the tab"
     )
-    assert all(kind == "string" for _, _, kind in fields[:3])
+    for name in theming.STRING_FIELDS:
+        assert f'{{ field: "{name}"' not in js[start:end], (
+            f"{name} left the Theme tab in phase 190 — the panel owns it"
+        )
 
 
 def test_fields_color_order_is_the_server_color_fields_order() -> None:
@@ -153,6 +169,28 @@ def test_fields_color_order_is_the_server_color_fields_order() -> None:
     )
 
 
+def test_collectbody_builds_the_17_colors_and_no_string_keys() -> None:
+    """``collectBody`` — the PUT body the Save button sends — is
+    FIELDS-driven and therefore carries the 17 colors ONLY: no string
+    key appears anywhere in its source (phase 190, A1), and the old
+    trimmed-string branch (``value.trim() || null`` — the bake) is gone.
+    The server ignores body strings defensively too
+    (``app/api/ui_settings.py``), so this is the client half of "a
+    Theme-tab save can never shadow the Settings panel again"."""
+    js = _js()
+    start = js.index("function collectBody()")
+    end = js.index("\n  }", start)
+    body_src = js[start:end]
+    assert body_src, "collectBody must exist"
+    for name in theming.STRING_FIELDS:
+        assert name not in body_src, f"{name} must never ride the PUT body"
+    assert "value.trim()" not in body_src, "the string-trim bake branch must be gone"
+    assert "for (const f of FIELDS)" in body_src, (
+        "the body stays FIELDS-driven — one ordering source for the PUT"
+    )
+    assert "isHex(value)" in body_src, "the colors keep their hex-or-null rule"
+
+
 # ---------- theme.js: PAIRS — exactly the eight WCAG pairs ----------
 
 
@@ -197,23 +235,24 @@ def test_line_vars_are_excluded_from_pairs() -> None:
         )
 
 
-# ---------- index.html: the #view-theme form (20 inputs) ----------
+# ---------- index.html: the #view-theme form (17 color inputs) ----------
 
 
-def test_theme_view_carries_all_20_labeled_inputs() -> None:
-    """All 20 inputs are STATIC markup in the shell (the E2E-stable
-    selectors convention): each with a visible ``<label for>``; the 17
-    palette inputs are ``type="color"`` (the 3 branding inputs
-    ``type="text"``)."""
+def test_theme_view_carries_the_17_labeled_color_inputs() -> None:
+    """The 17 color inputs are STATIC markup in the shell (the
+    E2E-stable selectors convention), each with a visible
+    ``<label for>`` and ``type="color"`` — and NO string input is in the
+    view (phase 190, task 02: the "Branding" fieldset and its
+    ``#theme-app-name`` / ``#theme-placeholder`` / ``#theme-footer``
+    inputs are gone, so the tab can neither show nor send a brand
+    string; the same absence is asserted in the browser by
+    ``tests/e2e/test_admin_theme_tab.py``)."""
     body = _theme_view(_html())
-    text_ids = ("theme-app-name", "theme-placeholder", "theme-footer")
-    for field_id in text_ids:
-        assert re.search(rf'<label[^>]*for="{field_id}"[^>]*>', body), (
-            f"missing the visible label for #{field_id}"
-        )
-        assert re.search(rf'<input[^>]*id="{field_id}"[^>]*type="text"[^>]*>', body), (
-            f"#{field_id} must be a text input"
+    for field_id in ("theme-app-name", "theme-placeholder", "theme-footer"):
+        assert f'id="{field_id}"' not in body, (
+            f"#{field_id} must be gone from the Theme tab (phase 190 A1)"
         )
+        assert f'for="{field_id}"' not in body, f"#{field_id}'s label must be gone"
     for field in theming.COLOR_FIELDS:
         field_id = f"theme-{field.replace('_', '-')}"
         assert re.search(rf'<label[^>]*for="{field_id}"[^>]*>', body), (