Extend WidgetComponents typespecs: :operator_shell family + ariston_ui/unified_ui source.system [DRAFT — needs Pascal blessing]

[ty13r]

Motivation

The Wave AshUI-3.3 audit for ariston-ui surfaced two operator-surface shell primitives — top_strip and mode_nav — that need canonical authoring upstream (issues #168 and #169). When I started authoring the Stage-1 IUR shape + catalog entries, the catalogs @type family enum and @type source typespecs blocked clean entries:

@type family ::
        :content_identity_and_disclosure
        | :form_control_and_composer
        | :row_and_artifact
        | :workflow_progress_and_status
        | :layer_shell_and_callout
        | :redline_and_code
        | :composition_behavior

@type source :: %{
        required(:system) => :ash_ui,
        required(:pr) => pos_integer(),
        required(:name) => atom()
      }

• top_strip is plausibly stretchable to :layer_shell_and_callout (existing entries: sticky_frosted_header, slide_over_panel, event_callout) but mode_nav does not fit any of the 7 existing families cleanly.
• New widgets originating from ariston-ui (or authored natively here) cannot honestly fit source.system: :ash_ui.

Changes

• Add :operator_shell to the @type family union and the @families runtime list.
• Widen @type source system field from :ash_ui to :ash_ui | :ariston_ui | :unified_ui.

No catalog entries are added in this PR. Stage-1 PRs for top_strip and mode_nav will land in follow-ups once this schema is blessed.

Why DRAFT

Pinging @pcharbon70 for schema preference:

Naming for the new family:

• Option A (this PR): :operator_shell — concise, specific to operator-surface chrome
• Option B: :shell_and_navigation — more generic, would also accommodate non-operator shells if they emerge

source.system shape:

• Option A (this PR): widened union :ash_ui | :ariston_ui | :unified_ui — keeps enum auditability
• Option B: open atom() — full flexibility, less compile-time safety

Happy to take either. If you want :shell_and_navigation + open atom(), I will re-author this PR with that shape.

Out of scope

• No new catalog entries (top_strip + mode_nav land in follow-up PRs after this lands)
• No changes to source.pr — kept as pos_integer() (new entries point to the unified_ui PR that introduces them)
• No changes to other catalog files / runtime functions

References

• Discovery audit + ariston-ui blocker context: https://github.com/The-Metagraph/ariston-ui/blob/main/docs/audit-protocols/canonical-grep-required.md
• ariston-ui wave plan: https://github.com/The-Metagraph/ariston-ui/blob/main/.spec/planning/ariston_ui/wave-ashui-3-canonical-alignment-and-comps.md §AshUI-3.3
• Issues motivated by: top_strip: canonical shell primitive missing from catalog + renderer (Stage 1-4 needed) #168 (top_strip), mode_nav: canonical shell primitive missing from catalog + renderer (Stage 1-4 needed) #169 (mode_nav)

[ty13r]

Closed per Pascal Discord 2026-05-16: corrected architecture path. New approach drops source field entirely (catalog schema relaxation) and authors widgets directly in UnifiedUi (dependency chain starts there, not ash_ui).