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+# Recovery
+
+**Project:** kane-diagnostics  
+**Version:** 1.0  
+**Read this before touching anything.**
+
+---
+
+## The Three Rules
+
+1. **Gitea is the SSOT.** Read from it. Never write to it directly. The operator pushes files. You produce downloads.
+2. **The host mirrors the repo.** If something looks wrong on the host, the answer is in the repo — not in a shell command.
+3. **Git history is the diagnostic tool.** Before concluding anything is damaged, read the log.
+
+---
+
+## The Workflow
+
+### When something is broken on the host
+
+```
+# Step 1 — find what changed
+git log --oneline -- path/to/file
+
+# Step 2 — read what it looked like before
+git show <commit-sha>:path/to/file
+
+# Step 3 — produce a download with the correct content
+# Do not print it to the browser. Create a file.
+
+# Step 4 — give the operator two commands after they push:
+cd /var/www/kane-diagnostics && git pull
+cp hubzilla/addon/{addon}/file /var/www/hubzilla/addon/{addon}/file
+```
+
+That is the entire recovery procedure. It takes two minutes when done correctly.
+
+### When you need to understand the host environment
+
+Read the repo. Everything needed to understand this project is in the repo:
+
+- `README.md` — what the project is and why it exists
+- `CODING-GUIDELINES.md` — constraints that apply to all code
+- `ADDON-SKELETON-SPEC.md` — the standard every addon follows
+- `ASSOC-PROFILE-SPEC.md` — the assoc_profile addon specifically
+- `ASSOCIATION-CHANNEL-MODEL.md` — how Hubzilla channels map to associations
+- `hubzilla/view/theme/uscivicinfra/` — CSS only; extends redbasic
+- `https://gitea.barternetwork.us/TheRON/core` — the full Hubzilla core is mirrored here; read templates from it
+
+### When you need a template from Hubzilla core
+
+The Hubzilla core is mirrored at `https://gitea.barternetwork.us/TheRON/core` on the `master` branch. Read it through MCP. Do not ask the operator to run `cat` commands for files that are in a repo you can read.
+
+The three-column layout template is at `view/php/default.php` in that repo. The aside region (`region_1`) is always rendered — it does not collapse when empty. An empty `[region=aside]` produces a visible but contentless left column. Content in the aside gives it its visible width.
+
+---
+
+## The Host Layout
+
+```
+/var/www/hubzilla/          — Hubzilla core installation
+/var/www/hubzilla/addon/    — installed addons
+/var/www/kane-diagnostics/  — git clone of the SSOT repo
+```
+
+The install commands follow this pattern:
+
+```
+cd /var/www/kane-diagnostics && git pull
+cp hubzilla/addon/{addon}/{file} /var/www/hubzilla/addon/{addon}/{file}
+```
+
+Runtime files that live on the host only — never in the repo:
+- `config.json` — node-specific, contains secrets
+- `assoc_registry.json` — operator-managed association data
+- `assoc_fields.json` — operator-managed field definitions
+- `listings.json` — operator-managed institutional directory
+
+---
+
+## The PDL Pattern
+
+Every addon PDL follows this structure:
+
+```
+[template]default[/template]
+
+[region=aside]
+[widget={addon}][/widget]
+[/region]
+
+[region=content]
+$content
+[/region]
+
+[region=right_aside]
+[widget=notifications][/widget]
+[widget=newmember][/widget]
+[/region]
+```
+
+Exception: `assoc_profile` uses `[widget=vs01]` in the aside — it shares the vs01 institutional directory widget rather than having its own. This is intentional and documented in `ASSOC-PROFILE-SPEC.md`.
+
+The right aside is permanent and identical across all addons. It is never modified.
+
+---
+
+## What the Previous Assistant Damaged
+
+For the historical record: on 2026-06-06, a previous assistant replaced the `[widget=vs01]` in `mod_assoc_profile.pdl` with an empty aside and added a misplaced copy of `assoc_profile_manage.php` to `view/css/`. 
+
+The PDL was recovered by reading `git log` and `git show` on the file. The misplaced PHP file in `view/css/` remains in the repo and should be deleted — it is not installed on the host and causes no runtime harm, but it does not belong there.
+
+---
+
+## What Not To Do
+
+- Do not write files directly to the host. Produce a download.
+- Do not print file contents to the browser. Produce a download.
+- Do not guess at the Hubzilla template structure. Read `view/php/default.php` in the core mirror.
+- Do not ask the operator to run shell commands for information available in a repo you can read via MCP.
+- Do not create a `Widget/` directory under `assoc_profile`. That addon has no Widget. Read `ASSOC-PROFILE-SPEC.md`.
+- Do not push from the host. Gitea is the SSOT.