diff --git a/tests/test_card_render.py b/tests/test_card_render.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2843583
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_card_render.py
@@ -0,0 +1,437 @@
+"""Unit tests for the card display layer of emulo.py.
+
+The card is the one artifact users screenshot and post, and it renders text a
+language model wrote into a fixed-width terminal frame and into HTML. Only the
+happy path was covered (one subprocess run in test_emulo.py, one HTML label
+assertion in test_profile_store.py); everything below is the malformed-input,
+boundary and layout behaviour that a regression would otherwise reach the
+screenshot before anyone noticed.
+"""
+
+import contextlib
+import importlib.util
+import io
+import json
+import os
+import shutil
+import sys
+import tempfile
+import unittest
+from pathlib import Path
+from unittest import mock
+
+
+ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]
+SPEC = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location("emulo_card", ROOT / "emulo.py")
+emulo = importlib.util.module_from_spec(SPEC)
+SPEC.loader.exec_module(emulo)
+
+
+def sample_card(**overrides):
+    card = {
+        "archetype": "Proof-First Builder",
+        "laws": [
+            {"text": "done means it runs live in production for a real user", "count": "18/20"},
+            {"text": "fix the one thing", "count": "15/20"},
+            {"text": "no filler in the report", "count": "9/20"},
+        ],
+        "truth": "asks the agent to explain his own system back to him",
+        "stats": {
+            "sessions": 1656,
+            "messages": 7678,
+            "tokens": 2950000,
+            "first_date": "2025-11-02",
+            "last_date": "2026-07-08",
+        },
+    }
+    card.update(overrides)
+    return card
+
+
+def render_terminal_card(card, columns=80, stream=None):
+    """Render the static card and return its stdout as a string."""
+    buf = stream if stream is not None else io.StringIO()
+    size = os.terminal_size((columns, 48))
+    with mock.patch.object(shutil, "get_terminal_size", return_value=size):
+        with contextlib.redirect_stdout(buf):
+            emulo.print_card(card, still=True)
+    return buf.getvalue()
+
+
+def frame_lines(rendered):
+    return [line for line in rendered.split("\n") if line.strip()]
+
+
+class TokenAndDateFormattingTest(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_fmt_tokens_switches_units_at_the_exact_boundaries(self):
+        self.assertEqual("0", emulo.fmt_tokens(0))
+        self.assertEqual("999", emulo.fmt_tokens(999))
+        self.assertEqual("1K", emulo.fmt_tokens(1000))
+        self.assertEqual("999K", emulo.fmt_tokens(999_999))
+        self.assertEqual("1.0M", emulo.fmt_tokens(1_000_000))
+        self.assertEqual("3.0M", emulo.fmt_tokens(2_950_000))
+
+    def test_fmt_tokens_truncates_thousands_instead_of_rounding_up(self):
+        # 1999 tokens must never read as "2K" on a card people screenshot
+        self.assertEqual("1K", emulo.fmt_tokens(1999))
+
+    def test_months_between_counts_an_inclusive_span(self):
+        self.assertEqual(9, emulo.months_between("2025-11-02", "2026-07-08"))
+        self.assertEqual(1, emulo.months_between("2026-07-01", "2026-07-31"))
+        self.assertEqual(12, emulo.months_between("2025-01-05", "2025-12-31"))
+
+    def test_months_between_clamps_a_reversed_range_to_one_month(self):
+        self.assertEqual(1, emulo.months_between("2026-07-08", "2025-11-02"))
+
+    def test_months_between_returns_zero_for_unparseable_dates(self):
+        for first, last in (
+            ("", ""),
+            ("not-a-date", "2026-07-08"),
+            ("2025-11-02", "nope"),
+            ("2025", "2026"),
+            ("2026-7-8", "2026-09-01"),
+        ):
+            with self.subTest(first=first, last=last):
+                self.assertEqual(0, emulo.months_between(first, last))
+
+    @unittest.expectedFailure
+    def test_months_between_survives_null_dates(self):
+        # BUG: months_between catches (ValueError, IndexError) but a card.json
+        # with `"first_date": null` yields None, and None[:4] raises TypeError.
+        # That escapes both print_card and render_card_html, so `emulo --card`
+        # tracebacks on a reducer that emitted nulls instead of empty strings.
+        # Fix is one word: add TypeError to the except tuple. Not fixing here.
+        self.assertEqual(0, emulo.months_between(None, None))
+
+
+class LawBarTest(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_bar_is_always_exactly_the_requested_width(self):
+        for count in ("18/20", "0/20", "20/20", "1/3"):
+            with self.subTest(count=count):
+                self.assertEqual(26, len(emulo._law_bar(count)))
+                self.assertEqual(40, len(emulo._law_bar(count, width=40)))
+
+    def test_bar_fills_in_proportion_to_the_ratio(self):
+        self.assertEqual("█" * 23 + "░" * 3, emulo._law_bar("18/20"))
+        self.assertEqual("░" * 26, emulo._law_bar("0/20"))
+        self.assertEqual("█" * 26, emulo._law_bar("20/20"))
+
+    def test_bar_clamps_ratios_outside_zero_to_one(self):
+        self.assertEqual("█" * 10, emulo._law_bar("30/20", width=10))
+        self.assertEqual("░" * 10, emulo._law_bar("-5/20", width=10))
+
+    def test_zero_denominator_does_not_divide_by_zero(self):
+        self.assertEqual("█" * 10, emulo._law_bar("18/0", width=10))
+
+    def test_non_ratio_counts_get_no_bar(self):
+        # these are the shapes a reducer actually emits when it drifts:
+        # a prose count, a bare number, a null, an over-split string
+        for count in ("2 sessions", "abc", "5", "", None, "1/2/3", "x/y"):
+            with self.subTest(count=count):
+                self.assertIsNone(emulo._law_bar(count))
+
+
+class CardHtmlTest(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_mined_text_is_html_escaped_in_every_slot(self):
+        html = emulo.render_card_html(sample_card(
+            archetype="<script>alert(1)</script>",
+            laws=[{"text": "ships & <b>proves</b>", "count": "<i>9/20</i>"}],
+            truth="he said 5 > 3 & meant it",
+        ))
+        self.assertNotIn("<script>", html)
+        self.assertIn("&lt;script&gt;alert(1)&lt;/script&gt;", html)
+        self.assertIn("ships &amp; &lt;b&gt;proves&lt;/b&gt;", html)
+        self.assertIn("5 &gt; 3 &amp; meant it", html)
+        # the grade cell reads from the same law and must be escaped too
+        self.assertNotIn("<i>9/20</i>", html)
+
+    def test_only_the_first_three_laws_are_rendered(self):
+        laws = [{"text": f"law number {i}", "count": f"{i}/20"} for i in range(1, 6)]
+        html = emulo.render_card_html(sample_card(laws=laws))
+        self.assertEqual(3, html.count("<div class=law>"))
+        self.assertIn("LEX III", html)
+        self.assertNotIn("law number 4", html)
+        self.assertNotIn("law number 5", html)
+
+    def test_missing_stats_drop_their_cells_instead_of_printing_zeroes(self):
+        html = emulo.render_card_html(sample_card(stats={}))
+        self.assertNotIn("<div class=stat>", html)
+        self.assertNotIn("messages on record", html)
+        self.assertIn("&nbsp;", html)
+        # no date range means no arrow line
+        self.assertNotIn("&rarr;", html)
+
+    def test_zero_valued_stats_are_treated_as_absent(self):
+        html = emulo.render_card_html(sample_card(stats={"sessions": 0, "tokens": 0}))
+        self.assertNotIn("sessions</span>", html)
+        self.assertNotIn("tokens of me", html)
+
+    def test_grade_falls_back_when_the_top_law_has_no_count(self):
+        self.assertIn("&mdash;", emulo.render_card_html(sample_card(laws=[{"text": "a law"}])))
+        self.assertIn("&mdash;", emulo.render_card_html(sample_card(laws=[])))
+
+    def test_truth_block_is_omitted_when_there_is_no_truth(self):
+        html = emulo.render_card_html(sample_card(truth=""))
+        self.assertNotIn("the uncomfortable one", html)
+
+    def test_art_is_relative_to_out_dir_and_remote_without_one(self):
+        remote = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ohad6k/emulo/main/assets/emulo.png"
+        with_dir = emulo.render_card_html(sample_card(_out_dir=str(ROOT / "emulo-out")))
+        self.assertIn('src="../assets/emulo.png"', with_dir)
+        # the remote copy stays as the onerror fallback
+        self.assertIn(remote, with_dir)
+        without = emulo.render_card_html(sample_card())
+        self.assertIn(f'src="{remote}"', without)
+
+    def test_html_has_no_unfilled_format_placeholders(self):
+        html = emulo.render_card_html(sample_card())
+        for slot in ("{archetype}", "{stats}", "{laws}", "{truth}", "{grade}", "{range}"):
+            self.assertNotIn(slot, html)
+
+    @unittest.expectedFailure
+    def test_html_renders_with_null_dates(self):
+        # same TypeError as test_months_between_survives_null_dates: a card.json
+        # carrying JSON nulls for the dates crashes the HTML writer too.
+        emulo.render_card_html(sample_card(stats={"sessions": 3, "first_date": None, "last_date": None}))
+
+
+class LoadCardTest(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_stats_json_overrides_stats_embedded_in_card_json(self):
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmp:
+            out = Path(tmp)
+            (out / "card.json").write_text(
+                json.dumps({"archetype": "a", "stats": {"sessions": 1, "tokens": 10}}),
+                encoding="utf-8",
+            )
+            (out / "stats.json").write_text(
+                json.dumps({"sessions": 1656, "messages": 7678}), encoding="utf-8"
+            )
+            card = emulo.load_card(str(out))
+            self.assertEqual(1656, card["stats"]["sessions"])
+            self.assertEqual(7678, card["stats"]["messages"])
+            # keys only present in card.json survive the merge
+            self.assertEqual(10, card["stats"]["tokens"])
+
+    def test_card_stats_are_kept_when_no_stats_json_exists(self):
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmp:
+            out = Path(tmp)
+            (out / "card.json").write_text(
+                json.dumps({"archetype": "a", "stats": {"sessions": 7}}), encoding="utf-8"
+            )
+            self.assertEqual(7, emulo.load_card(str(out))["stats"]["sessions"])
+
+    def test_a_card_without_stats_gains_an_empty_stats_dict(self):
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmp:
+            out = Path(tmp)
+            (out / "card.json").write_text(json.dumps({"archetype": "a"}), encoding="utf-8")
+            (out / "stats.json").write_text(json.dumps({"sessions": 3}), encoding="utf-8")
+            self.assertEqual({"sessions": 3}, emulo.load_card(str(out))["stats"])
+
+    def test_missing_card_exits_one_with_the_mining_hint(self):
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmp:
+            buf = io.StringIO()
+            with contextlib.redirect_stdout(buf):
+                with self.assertRaises(SystemExit) as raised:
+                    emulo.load_card(tmp)
+            self.assertEqual(1, raised.exception.code)
+            self.assertIn("no card found", buf.getvalue())
+            self.assertIn("MINING_PROMPT.md", buf.getvalue())
+
+    def test_explicit_card_path_wins_over_the_out_dir_default(self):
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmp:
+            out = Path(tmp)
+            (out / "card.json").write_text(json.dumps({"archetype": "default"}), encoding="utf-8")
+            (out / "other.json").write_text(json.dumps({"archetype": "explicit"}), encoding="utf-8")
+            card = emulo.load_card(str(out), card_path=str(out / "other.json"))
+            self.assertEqual("explicit", card["archetype"])
+
+
+class TerminalCardLayoutTest(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_every_framed_line_is_the_same_width_at_every_terminal_size(self):
+        # the whole point of the card is that the box closes; a padding
+        # regression shows up as a torn right edge in the screenshot.
+        card = sample_card()
+        for columns in (40, 62, 80, 103, 106, 107, 120, 200):
+            with self.subTest(columns=columns):
+                lines = frame_lines(render_terminal_card(card, columns=columns))
+                self.assertEqual(1, len(set(len(line) for line in lines)), set(len(l) for l in lines))
+                self.assertTrue(lines[0].startswith("╭"))
+                self.assertTrue(lines[-1].startswith("╰"))
+
+    def test_narrow_and_wide_layouts_both_carry_the_data_column(self):
+        narrow = render_terminal_card(sample_card(), columns=80)
+        wide = render_terminal_card(sample_card(), columns=140)
+        for rendered in (narrow, wide):
+            self.assertIn("PROOF-FIRST BUILDER", rendered)
+            self.assertIn("1,656 sessions", rendered)
+            self.assertIn("3.0M tokens", rendered)
+            self.assertIn("9 months", rendered)
+            self.assertIn("THE UNCOMFORTABLE ONE", rendered)
+            self.assertIn("LEX III", rendered)
+        # the wide layout puts the engraving beside the data, so it is shorter
+        self.assertLess(len(frame_lines(wide)), len(frame_lines(narrow)))
+
+    def test_long_law_text_wraps_instead_of_overflowing_the_frame(self):
+        card = sample_card(laws=[{"text": "prove it end to end " * 12, "count": "3/20"}])
+        lines = frame_lines(render_terminal_card(card, columns=80))
+        self.assertEqual(1, len(set(len(line) for line in lines)))
+
+    def test_a_count_without_a_ratio_is_printed_as_plain_text(self):
+        card = sample_card(laws=[{"text": "counts distinct sessions", "count": "12 sessions"}])
+        rendered = render_terminal_card(card, columns=80)
+        self.assertIn("12 sessions", rendered)
+        self.assertNotIn("░", rendered)  # no partial bar drawn
+
+    def test_only_three_laws_reach_the_terminal_card(self):
+        laws = [{"text": f"law number {i}", "count": f"{i}/20"} for i in range(1, 6)]
+        rendered = render_terminal_card(sample_card(laws=laws), columns=80)
+        self.assertIn("law number 3", rendered)
+        self.assertNotIn("law number 4", rendered)
+
+    def test_an_empty_card_still_renders_a_closed_frame(self):
+        rendered = render_terminal_card({}, columns=80)
+        lines = frame_lines(rendered)
+        self.assertEqual(1, len(set(len(line) for line in lines)))
+        # the brand mark and footer are fixed, so a card with no mined content
+        # degrades to an empty frame instead of a traceback
+        self.assertIn(emulo._CARD_LOGO[0].rstrip(), rendered)
+        self.assertIn("your working profile", rendered)
+        self.assertNotIn("THE UNCOMFORTABLE ONE", rendered)
+
+    def test_static_card_emits_no_ansi_when_stdout_is_not_a_tty(self):
+        self.assertNotIn("\x1b", render_terminal_card(sample_card(), columns=120))
+
+    def test_no_color_env_disables_the_accent_palette(self):
+        tty = mock.Mock()
+        tty.isatty.return_value = True
+        with mock.patch.dict(os.environ, {"NO_COLOR": "1"}):
+            with mock.patch.object(sys, "stdout", tty):
+                self.assertEqual({""}, set(emulo._card_colors().values()))
+
+
+class AsciiOnlyStream(io.StringIO):
+    """A cp437-style console: anything above ASCII blows up on write."""
+
+    def write(self, text):
+        for index, char in enumerate(text):
+            if ord(char) > 127:
+                raise UnicodeEncodeError("charmap", text, index, index + 1, "undefined")
+        return super().write(text)
+
+
+class PlainFallbackTest(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_a_console_that_cannot_draw_blocks_gets_the_ascii_card(self):
+        stream = AsciiOnlyStream()
+        rendered = render_terminal_card(sample_card(), columns=80, stream=stream)
+        self.assertNotIn("│", rendered)
+        self.assertIn("+---", rendered)
+        self.assertIn("PROOF-FIRST BUILDER", rendered)
+        self.assertIn("1,656 sessions | 3.0M tokens | 9 months", rendered)
+        self.assertIn("the uncomfortable one:", rendered)
+        self.assertIn("[18/20]", rendered)
+
+    def test_plain_card_rows_all_share_the_border_width(self):
+        buf = io.StringIO()
+        with contextlib.redirect_stdout(buf):
+            emulo._print_card_plain(sample_card(), sample_card()["stats"], 9)
+        lines = [line for line in buf.getvalue().split("\n") if line]
+        self.assertEqual(1, len(set(len(line) for line in lines)))
+
+    def test_plain_card_omits_missing_sections(self):
+        buf = io.StringIO()
+        with contextlib.redirect_stdout(buf):
+            emulo._print_card_plain({"archetype": "a", "laws": [], "truth": ""}, {}, 0)
+        rendered = buf.getvalue()
+        self.assertNotIn("uncomfortable", rendered)
+        self.assertNotIn("months", rendered)
+
+
+class ShowCardTest(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_show_card_writes_html_beside_the_card_and_never_opens_a_browser(self):
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmp:
+            out = Path(tmp) / "emulo-out"
+            out.mkdir()
+            (out / "card.json").write_text(json.dumps(sample_card()), encoding="utf-8")
+            buf = io.StringIO()
+            size = os.terminal_size((80, 48))
+            with mock.patch.object(shutil, "get_terminal_size", return_value=size):
+                with mock.patch("webbrowser.open") as opener:
+                    with contextlib.redirect_stdout(buf):
+                        emulo.show_card(str(out), no_open=True, still=True)
+            opener.assert_not_called()
+            html = (out / "card.html").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+            self.assertIn("Proof-First Builder", html)
+            self.assertIn("18/20", html)
+            self.assertIn("wrote:", buf.getvalue())
+
+    def test_show_card_html_points_at_the_repo_art_relative_to_out_dir(self):
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmp:
+            out = Path(tmp) / "emulo-out"
+            out.mkdir()
+            (out / "card.json").write_text(json.dumps(sample_card()), encoding="utf-8")
+            size = os.terminal_size((80, 48))
+            with mock.patch.object(shutil, "get_terminal_size", return_value=size):
+                with mock.patch("webbrowser.open"):
+                    with contextlib.redirect_stdout(io.StringIO()):
+                        emulo.show_card(str(out), no_open=True, still=True)
+            html = (out / "card.html").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+            # a temp dir on another volume cannot be relative to the repo, and
+            # the writer must fall back to the remote asset rather than crash
+            self.assertIn("assets/emulo.png", html)
+
+
+class FrontmatterStrippingTest(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_frontmatter_block_is_removed_from_the_profile_body(self):
+        text = "---\nname: you\ndescription: profile\n---\n- done means live\n"
+        self.assertEqual("- done means live", emulo.strip_frontmatter(text))
+
+    def test_text_without_frontmatter_is_only_trimmed(self):
+        self.assertEqual("- done means live", emulo.strip_frontmatter("\n- done means live\n\n"))
+
+    def test_unterminated_frontmatter_is_left_intact(self):
+        # better to leak the header than to swallow the whole profile
+        text = "---\nname: you\n"
+        self.assertEqual("---\nname: you", emulo.strip_frontmatter(text))
+
+    def test_a_body_containing_a_rule_line_keeps_that_rule(self):
+        text = "---\nname: you\n---\nintro\n\n---\n\nmore\n"
+        self.assertEqual("intro\n\n---\n\nmore", emulo.strip_frontmatter(text))
+
+    def test_cursor_rule_replaces_frontmatter_with_the_mdc_header(self):
+        rule = emulo.cursor_rule("---\nname: you\ndescription: d\n---\n- done means live\n")
+        self.assertTrue(rule.startswith("---\ndescription: emulo user profile\n"))
+        self.assertIn("alwaysApply: true", rule)
+        self.assertIn("- done means live", rule)
+        self.assertNotIn("name: you", rule)
+
+
+class InstallDestinationTest(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_each_target_maps_to_its_documented_path(self):
+        repo = os.path.join("R:", os.sep, "repo")
+        home = os.path.join("H:", os.sep, "home")
+        cases = {
+            "claude": os.path.join(home, ".claude", "skills", "you", "SKILL.md"),
+            "codex": os.path.join(home, ".codex", "skills", "you", "SKILL.md"),
+            "cursor": os.path.join(repo, ".cursor", "rules", "you.mdc"),
+            "agents": os.path.join(repo, "AGENTS.md"),
+            "gemini": os.path.join(repo, "GEMINI.md"),
+            "opencode": os.path.join(home, ".config", "opencode", "AGENTS.md"),
+        }
+        for target, expected in cases.items():
+            with self.subTest(target=target):
+                self.assertEqual(expected, emulo.install_destination(target, repo, home))
+
+    def test_home_targets_never_write_inside_the_repo(self):
+        repo = os.path.join("R:", os.sep, "repo")
+        home = os.path.join("H:", os.sep, "home")
+        for target in ("claude", "codex", "opencode"):
+            with self.subTest(target=target):
+                self.assertNotIn("repo", emulo.install_destination(target, repo, home))
+
+    def test_an_unknown_target_is_rejected_rather_than_guessed(self):
+        with self.assertRaisesRegex(ValueError, "unknown target"):
+            emulo.install_destination("windsurf", "repo", "home")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()