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+# Spacing Policy Playtest Plan
+
+Use this when tuning the two-thumb spacing policy. The goal is practical feel, not reading raw telemetry.
+
+The most important distinction:
+
+- **Auto-finish** = when the word commits.
+- **Auto-space** = when/if a trailing space appears after that commit.
+
+Those are separate. Several settings sound similar but affect different stages.
+
+---
+
+## 1. Timing model cheat sheet
+
+| Setting | Affects | Tap-only words | Swiped words | Tap-then-swipe words |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| **Grace timer** | base auto-finish delay | yes, unless swipe-only finish is ON | yes | yes |
+| **Tap extra grace** | extra delay for tap-started combining | yes, unless swipe-only finish is ON | no | yes before the swipe extends |
+| **Only auto-finish swiped words** | whether tap-only words can auto-commit | **blocks tap-only auto-finish** | no effect | still allows auto-finish after the swipe fragment |
+| **Adapt pause to the word** | modifies the grace timer by word signals | only if the word is allowed to auto-finish | yes | yes after the swipe fragment |
+| **Only auto-space after swipes** | trailing space only | tap word may still commit, just no space | allows space | allows space after swiped fragment |
+| **Defer grace space** | when the space materializes | no change to commit timing | no change to commit timing | no change to commit timing |
+
+Recommended safety defaults:
+
+```text
+Only auto-finish swiped words: ON
+Only auto-space after swipes: ON if you dislike tap-created spaces
+Adapt pause to the word: ON only while tuning / testing
+Defer grace space: ON only while testing deferred-space feel
+```
+
+---
+
+## 2. Presets to try
+
+Do not tune one slider at a time first. Try a complete profile.
+
+### Profile A — Conservative / safe
+
+```text
+Base grace timer: 650 ms
+Tap extra grace: 250 ms
+Finished-word speed-up: 150 ms
+Extendable-stem patience: 700 ms
+Only auto-finish swiped words: ON
+Adapt pause to the word: ON
+```
+
+Expected:
+- swiped complete words: about 500 ms
+- swiped prefix-rich stems: roughly 900–1200 ms
+- tap-only words: no auto-finish
+
+### Profile B — Balanced
+
+```text
+Base grace timer: 550 ms
+Tap extra grace: 250 ms
+Finished-word speed-up: 250 ms
+Extendable-stem patience: 600 ms
+Only auto-finish swiped words: ON
+Adapt pause to the word: ON
+```
+
+Expected:
+- swiped complete words: about 300 ms
+- medium stems: about 700–900 ms
+- prefix-heavy stems: about 1000 ms
+
+### Profile C — Fast / assisted
+
+```text
+Base grace timer: 450 ms
+Tap extra grace: 250 ms
+Finished-word speed-up: 300 ms
+Extendable-stem patience: 650 ms
+Only auto-finish swiped words: ON
+Adapt pause to the word: ON
+```
+
+Expected:
+- swiped complete words: about 150–250 ms
+- stems still protected by patience
+
+### Profile D — Debug / exaggerated
+
+```text
+Base grace timer: 600 ms
+Tap extra grace: 250 ms
+Finished-word speed-up: 450 ms
+Extendable-stem patience: 1000 ms
+Only auto-finish swiped words: ON
+Adapt pause to the word: ON
+```
+
+Expected:
+- swiped complete words commit very fast
+- `ba`, `pre`, `con` wait a long time
+
+Use this only to understand the system.
+
+---
+
+## 3. HUD labels
+
+Enable **Experimental → Draw gesture debug points**.
+
+HUD labels:
+
+- `FAST Nms · finished word` — complete dictionary word; timer shortened.
+- `WAIT Nms · many continuations` — prefix-rich stem; timer lengthened.
+- `TIMER Nms · not complete` — normal timer; no complete-word signal yet.
+- `INSTANT` / `PAUSE` — Assisted-tier gate decision once enabled.
+
+If the HUD says `WAIT` for a word you expected to be finished, the dictionary/suggestion signal thinks many continuations are plausible.
+
+---
+
+## 4. Practical tests
+
+### Test A — tap-only safety
+
+Input method: **tap only**.
+
+Use:
+- `ba` (saved shortcut if available)
+- any short typed word
+
+Settings:
+- **Only auto-finish swiped words: ON**
+
+Expected:
+- no auto-commit
+- no Text Expander expansion
+- no correction append behavior
+- word stays composing until you press space or pick a suggestion
+
+If this fails, the swipe-only finish gate is broken.
+
+### Test B — swiped complete words should finish faster
+
+Input method: **swipe**.
+
+Try:
+- `the`
+- `and`
+- `I`
+- `hello`
+
+Expected with **Adapt pause to the word ON**:
+- HUD says **FAST**
+- word commits sooner than with Adapt OFF
+- no need to tap space if the grace auto-space settings allow it
+
+Tuning:
+- Too eager → lower **Finished-word speed-up** or raise base grace.
+- Too slow → raise **Finished-word speed-up** or lower base grace.
+
+### Test C — swiped extendable stems should stay open longer
+
+Input method: **swipe or partial swipe**.
+
+Try stems:
+- `ba` (bad / bar / bat / ball / back / bank)
+- `ca` (can / car / cat / call / came)
+- `pre` (pretty / press / prefer / previous)
+- `con` (continue / control / content / consider)
+
+Expected:
+- HUD says **WAIT**
+- word does not auto-finish immediately
+- you can keep extending without fighting the timer
+
+Tuning:
+- Still commits too soon → raise **Extendable-stem patience** or base grace.
+- Too sticky / never finishes → lower **Extendable-stem patience**.
+
+### Test D — tap-then-swipe still extends
+
+Input method: **tap prefix, then swipe rest**.
+
+Example:
+- tap `fire`
+- swipe `truck`
+
+Expected:
+- tap prefix does not auto-finish by itself
+- after the swipe fragment, the combined word still auto-finishes normally
+- it should not become `fire firetruck`
+
+This verifies that **Only auto-finish swiped words** suppresses only the tap timer, not combining-mode entry.
+
+### Test E — Adapt ON vs OFF comparison
+
+Input methods: **swipe**, plus tap-only safety check.
+
+Words:
+- `the`
+- `ba`
+- `pre`
+
+Expected:
+- Adapt OFF: same pause for all swiped words/stems.
+- Adapt ON: complete words faster, prefix-rich stems slower.
+- Tap-only words still do not auto-finish when swipe-only finish is ON.
+
+If you cannot feel a difference:
+
+```text
+Finished-word speed-up = 350 ms
+Extendable-stem patience = 700 ms
+```
+
+### Test F — corrections replace, not append
+
+Input method: **tap only**.
+
+1. Misspell a word by tapping.
+2. Wait briefly.
+3. Pick the correction from the suggestion strip.
+
+Expected:
+- correction replaces the misspelled word
+- it does not append a second word
+
+If this fails, first confirm **Only auto-finish swiped words** is ON. The historical append bug came from the grace timer auto-committing tap words before the pick.
+
+### Test G — punctuation and deferred spacing
+
+Input method: **swipe**.
+
+With **Defer grace space** ON, try:
+- `hello.`
+- `the,`
+- `word?`
+
+Expected:
+- no double spaces
+- no space before punctuation
+- backspace after a grace commit still removes the right thing
+
+Remember: this tests **space materialization**, not auto-finish timing.
+
+---
+
+## 5. Recording results
+
+For each run, note:
+
+```text
+base grace:
+tap extra grace:
+finished-word speed-up:
+extendable-stem patience:
+Adapt pause to the word: on/off
+Only auto-finish swiped words: on/off
+Only auto-space after swipes: on/off
+Defer grace space: on/off
+input method: tap / swipe / tap-then-swipe
+word:
+HUD:
+result:
+```
+
+Good tuning notes look like:
+
+```text
+base 550, tap extra 250, speed-up 250, patience 600
+swipe "the" -> FAST 300ms, felt right
+swipe "ba" -> WAIT 910ms, still too fast, raised patience
+TAP shortcut "ba" -> stayed composing, good
+TAP then SWIPE fire+truck -> combined and committed, good
+```