diff --git a/skills/workflow-render/SKILL.md b/skills/workflow-render/SKILL.md
new file mode 100644
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+++ b/skills/workflow-render/SKILL.md
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+---
+name: workflow-render
+user-invocable: false
+allowed-tools: Bash(node .claude/skills/workflow-render/scripts/render.cjs)
+---
+
+# Workflow Render
+
+Deterministic renderer for fixed-shape workflow output. Layout that is fully determined by data is computed here, in code, and emitted verbatim — never re-derived character-by-character on every render. The wrap/width math lives here once, so the gutter-budget bug can exist in only one place.
+
+Two ways in:
+
+- **CLI** — Claude invokes it via Bash for trivial-input shapes (a label, a title). Print the result verbatim to the user.
+- **Library** — other scripts `require()` it and call the functions in-process. The data-owner (e.g. `discovery.cjs`) builds the structure and calls the renderer; Claude never assembles the input.
+
+The output is for display. Never read a rendered block back to extract a decision — decision data comes from structured state, not from parsing the rendered text.
+
+## Invocation
+
+```bash
+node .claude/skills/workflow-render/scripts/render.cjs <command> [args]
+```
+
+All shapes are a fixed `--width` (default `49`, the canonical workflow width).
+
+## Commands
+
+### `signpost <label> [--style step|substep] [--width N]`
+
+A step or sub-step marker, padded to width. One line.
+
+```
+render signpost "Construct Specification"
+── Construct Specification ──────────────────────
+
+render signpost "Extract Sources" --style substep
+·· Extract Sources ······························
+```
+
+Loop and route labels are passed verbatim: `render signpost "Task Execution (3 of 12)"`.
+
+### `box <title> [--width N]`
+
+A bullet-bordered phase-title box with a trailing blank line.
+
+```
+render box "Planning Overview"
+●───────────────────────────────────────────────●
+  Planning Overview
+●───────────────────────────────────────────────●
+```
+
+### `wrap <text> [--width N] [--prefix STR]`
+
+Word-wrap `text` so that `prefix + line` stays within `width`; every line carries the prefix (the gutter/indent). The wrap budget is `width − prefix.length` — this is the primitive trees and wrapped lists build on. Utility/inspection command; in code, call `wrapWithPrefix` directly.
+
+## Library API
+
+```js
+const { signpost, box, wrap, wrapWithPrefix, fillTo, WIDTH } =
+  require('.../skills/workflow-render/scripts/render.cjs');
+
+signpost(label, { style, width })          // → string (one line)
+box(title, { width })                       // → string (block, trailing blank)
+wrapWithPrefix(text, { width, prefix })     // → string[] (each line prefixed)
+wrap(text, budget)                          // → string[] (segments ≤ budget)
+fillTo(head, fillChar, width)               // → string (head padded to width)
+```
+
+`wrapWithPrefix` throws if the prefix leaves no room within the width — a misconfigured gutter fails loudly rather than silently overflowing.
+
+## Tests
+
+`tests/scripts/test-render.cjs` (run `node --test tests/scripts/test-render.cjs`). Add a test alongside any change to `render.cjs`.
diff --git a/skills/workflow-render/scripts/render.cjs b/skills/workflow-render/scripts/render.cjs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b47a37b29
--- /dev/null
+++ b/skills/workflow-render/scripts/render.cjs
@@ -0,0 +1,171 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+'use strict';
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Deterministic renderer for fixed-shape workflow output.
+//
+// Layout that is fully determined by data is computed here, in code, and
+// emitted verbatim — never re-derived character-by-character by the model on
+// every render. This is both a LIBRARY (scripts `require()` it and call the
+// functions in-process) and a CLI (Claude invokes it via Bash for trivial
+// shapes). The wrap/width math lives here once, so the gutter-budget bug can
+// exist in exactly one place.
+//
+// Slice 1: the shared width/wrap core + the signpost family (step markers,
+// sub-step markers, phase-title boxes). Menus, lists, and trees build on the
+// same core later.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+const WIDTH = 49; // canonical fixed width (CONVENTIONS.md: phase titles, markers)
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Core: width + wrap primitives
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+// Fill a head string out to `width` with `fillChar`. If the head already meets
+// or exceeds the width, it is returned unchanged (never truncated, never a
+// negative repeat).
+function fillTo(head, fillChar, width) {
+  const deficit = width - head.length;
+  return deficit > 0 ? head + fillChar.repeat(deficit) : head;
+}
+
+// Greedy word-wrap `text` into segments no wider than `budget` columns. A word
+// longer than the budget is hard-split (so a long unbroken token can never
+// overflow the budget). Returns an array of segments with no trailing spaces.
+function wrap(text, budget) {
+  if (!Number.isInteger(budget) || budget < 1) {
+    throw new Error(`wrap: budget must be a positive integer (got ${budget})`);
+  }
+  const words = String(text).trim().split(/\s+/).filter(Boolean);
+  const lines = [];
+  let line = '';
+  for (let word of words) {
+    while (word.length > budget) {
+      // Hard-split an oversized token across as many lines as needed.
+      if (line) { lines.push(line); line = ''; }
+      lines.push(word.slice(0, budget));
+      word = word.slice(budget);
+    }
+    if (!line) {
+      line = word;
+    } else if (line.length + 1 + word.length <= budget) {
+      line += ' ' + word;
+    } else {
+      lines.push(line);
+      line = word;
+    }
+  }
+  if (line) lines.push(line);
+  return lines.length ? lines : [''];
+}
+
+// Wrap `text` and prefix every resulting line with `prefix`, keeping the total
+// rendered width (prefix + text) within `width`. THE budget bug lives here and
+// only here: the wrap budget is `width - prefix.length`, never the bare width.
+// `prefix` is the gutter/indent string applied to every line uniformly.
+function wrapWithPrefix(text, { width = WIDTH, prefix = '' } = {}) {
+  const budget = width - prefix.length;
+  if (budget < 1) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `wrapWithPrefix: prefix (${prefix.length}) leaves no room within width ${width}`
+    );
+  }
+  return wrap(text, budget).map((seg) => prefix + seg);
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Shapes: signpost family
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+const STYLES = {
+  step:    { lead: '── ', fill: '─' }, // ── name ────  (em-dash)
+  substep: { lead: '·· ', fill: '·' }, // ·· name ····  (middle dot)
+};
+
+// `── Label ──────…` step marker (default) or `·· Label ··…` sub-step marker,
+// padded to `width`. A single line, no trailing newline.
+function signpost(label, { style = 'step', width = WIDTH } = {}) {
+  const s = STYLES[style];
+  if (!s) throw new Error(`signpost: unknown style "${style}" (step|substep)`);
+  const text = String(label).trim();
+  if (!text) throw new Error('signpost: label is required');
+  return fillTo(s.lead + text + ' ', s.fill, width);
+}
+
+// Phase-title box — bullet-bordered, fixed width, 2-space title padding, with a
+// trailing blank line inside the block (CONVENTIONS.md: phase titles).
+//
+//   ●───…───●
+//     Title
+//   ●───…───●
+//   <blank>
+function box(title, { width = WIDTH } = {}) {
+  const text = String(title).trim();
+  if (!text) throw new Error('box: title is required');
+  const border = '●' + '─'.repeat(width - 2) + '●';
+  return `${border}\n  ${text}\n${border}\n\n`;
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Exports (library use)
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+module.exports = { WIDTH, fillTo, wrap, wrapWithPrefix, signpost, box };
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// CLI (Claude / shell use) — guarded so `require()` never runs it.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+function die(msg) {
+  process.stderr.write(msg + '\n');
+  process.exit(1);
+}
+
+// Minimal flag parser: collects `--key value` pairs and bare positionals.
+function parseArgs(argv) {
+  const opts = {};
+  const positional = [];
+  for (let i = 0; i < argv.length; i++) {
+    const a = argv[i];
+    if (a.startsWith('--')) {
+      opts[a.slice(2)] = argv[++i];
+    } else {
+      positional.push(a);
+    }
+  }
+  return { opts, positional };
+}
+
+function runCli(argv) {
+  const [command, ...rest] = argv;
+  const { opts, positional } = parseArgs(rest);
+  const width = opts.width !== undefined ? parseInt(opts.width, 10) : WIDTH;
+
+  switch (command) {
+    case 'signpost':
+      if (!positional.length) die('Usage: render signpost <label> [--style step|substep] [--width N]');
+      process.stdout.write(signpost(positional.join(' '), { style: opts.style || 'step', width }) + '\n');
+      break;
+    case 'box':
+      if (!positional.length) die('Usage: render box <title> [--width N]');
+      process.stdout.write(box(positional.join(' '), { width }));
+      break;
+    case 'wrap': {
+      if (!positional.length) die('Usage: render wrap <text> [--width N] [--prefix STR]');
+      const lines = wrapWithPrefix(positional.join(' '), { width, prefix: opts.prefix || '' });
+      process.stdout.write(lines.join('\n') + '\n');
+      break;
+    }
+    default:
+      die(`Unknown command "${command || ''}"\nCommands: signpost, box, wrap`);
+  }
+}
+
+if (require.main === module) {
+  try {
+    runCli(process.argv.slice(2));
+  } catch (err) {
+    die(err.message);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/tests/scripts/test-render.cjs b/tests/scripts/test-render.cjs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..00c9e0115
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/scripts/test-render.cjs
@@ -0,0 +1,130 @@
+'use strict';
+
+const { describe, it } = require('node:test');
+const assert = require('node:assert');
+
+const {
+  WIDTH,
+  fillTo,
+  wrap,
+  wrapWithPrefix,
+  signpost,
+  box,
+} = require('../../skills/workflow-render/scripts/render.cjs');
+
+describe('render core: fillTo', () => {
+  it('pads a head out to the target width', () => {
+    const out = fillTo('── Name ', '─', 49);
+    assert.strictEqual(out.length, 49);
+    assert.ok(out.startsWith('── Name '));
+    assert.ok(out.endsWith('─'));
+  });
+
+  it('returns the head unchanged when it already meets the width', () => {
+    assert.strictEqual(fillTo('exactly-ten', '─', 5), 'exactly-ten');
+  });
+
+  it('never produces a negative repeat', () => {
+    assert.doesNotThrow(() => fillTo('x'.repeat(60), '─', 49));
+  });
+});
+
+describe('render core: wrap', () => {
+  it('wraps greedily within the budget', () => {
+    const lines = wrap('the quick brown fox jumps', 10);
+    assert.deepStrictEqual(lines, ['the quick', 'brown fox', 'jumps']);
+    for (const l of lines) assert.ok(l.length <= 10);
+  });
+
+  it('hard-splits a token longer than the budget', () => {
+    const lines = wrap('fastest-cumulative-time wins', 10);
+    for (const l of lines) assert.ok(l.length <= 10, `"${l}" exceeds budget`);
+    assert.strictEqual(lines[0], 'fastest-cu'); // oversized token broken at the budget
+    assert.ok(lines.length >= 3);
+  });
+
+  it('returns a single empty segment for empty text', () => {
+    assert.deepStrictEqual(wrap('', 10), ['']);
+  });
+
+  it('rejects a non-positive budget', () => {
+    assert.throws(() => wrap('x', 0));
+    assert.throws(() => wrap('x', -3));
+  });
+});
+
+describe('render core: wrapWithPrefix (the budget bug lives here)', () => {
+  it('subtracts the prefix width from the budget so total width is respected', () => {
+    const prefix = '  │      '; // 9-char discovery-map gutter
+    const lines = wrapWithPrefix(
+      'AI imagery enhancement-only v1 description generation primitive',
+      { width: 49, prefix }
+    );
+    for (const l of lines) {
+      assert.ok(l.startsWith(prefix), 'every line carries the gutter');
+      assert.ok(l.length <= 49, `"${l}" (${l.length}) overruns width 49`);
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('keeps the gutter on every continuation line (tree never breaks)', () => {
+    const lines = wrapWithPrefix('one two three four five six seven', {
+      width: 20,
+      prefix: '│  ',
+    });
+    assert.ok(lines.length > 1);
+    for (const l of lines) assert.ok(l.startsWith('│  '));
+  });
+
+  it('throws when the prefix leaves no room within the width', () => {
+    assert.throws(() => wrapWithPrefix('x', { width: 5, prefix: '      ' }));
+  });
+});
+
+describe('render shape: signpost', () => {
+  it('renders a step marker at the canonical width', () => {
+    const out = signpost('Construct Specification');
+    assert.strictEqual(out.length, WIDTH);
+    assert.strictEqual(out, '── Construct Specification ' + '─'.repeat(WIDTH - 27));
+    assert.ok(out.startsWith('── Construct Specification '));
+  });
+
+  it('renders a sub-step marker with middle dots', () => {
+    const out = signpost('Extract Sources', { style: 'substep' });
+    assert.strictEqual(out.length, WIDTH);
+    assert.ok(out.startsWith('·· Extract Sources '));
+    assert.ok(out.endsWith('·'));
+  });
+
+  it('honours a custom width', () => {
+    assert.strictEqual(signpost('X', { width: 20 }).length, 20);
+  });
+
+  it('supports loop-iteration labels verbatim', () => {
+    const out = signpost('Task Execution (3 of 12)');
+    assert.ok(out.startsWith('── Task Execution (3 of 12) '));
+    assert.strictEqual(out.length, WIDTH);
+  });
+
+  it('rejects an empty label and an unknown style', () => {
+    assert.throws(() => signpost('   '));
+    assert.throws(() => signpost('X', { style: 'bogus' }));
+  });
+});
+
+describe('render shape: box (phase title)', () => {
+  it('renders a 49-wide bullet-bordered box with a trailing blank line', () => {
+    const out = box('Planning Overview');
+    const lines = out.split('\n');
+    // border, title, border, <visible blank>, "" (final terminator)
+    assert.strictEqual(lines[0], '●' + '─'.repeat(WIDTH - 2) + '●');
+    assert.strictEqual(lines[0].length, WIDTH);
+    assert.strictEqual(lines[1], '  Planning Overview');
+    assert.strictEqual(lines[2], lines[0]);
+    assert.strictEqual(lines[3], ''); // the breathing-room blank line
+    assert.ok(out.endsWith('\n\n'));
+  });
+
+  it('rejects an empty title', () => {
+    assert.throws(() => box(''));
+  });
+});