1. Positioning
For AI product builders, Glim is an ambient companion library — one four-state mind across hand-built bodies — because people trust a readable presence during model latency and ignore looping spinners.
derived — launch.html, index.html, README.md
2. The enemy
Opaque waiting — the UI goes dead or lies with fake progress while the model works.
draft Condition, not a competitor. Confirm wording with founder.
3. The two promises
Mount today: four-state API, free offline starter, zero dependencies.
derived
The product feels with you while it thinks — not abandoned, not faking.
draft
4. Decision filter
Would a junior ship this on a Friday without inventing a metric, a buy button that cannot buy, or a presence state the model is not in?
draft Yes/no answerable by a junior.
5. Hard gates
- States driven by real host events — not a loop sold as intelligence. draft
- Status copy honest: local vs live. derived
- Free path hands a working file that runs offline. derived
prefers-reduced-motion; decorative AT unless captions wired. derived- No fake checkout, fake proof, or invented counts. derived
6. Never-list
- Never ship a buy button that does not buy.
- Never invent metrics, testimonials, or “N companies.”
- Never claim the companion proves the model is correct — it shows
presence.state, not truth. - Never use revolutionary clichés or purple-glow SaaS wallpaper.
- Never treat a spinner loop as the product story.
- Never quietly shrink the free tier (8 MIT creatures + full API).
- Never pretend wrappers/SDKs ship in npm until they do. open
- Never use
--faintfor essential small body copy on--bgwithout fixing contrast. open
7. Trust rules
- Plain state when it maps to a real host phase.
- Qualify local personality vs live model.
- Withhold “live intelligence” when offline or unwired.
- Name absence — empty caption, sleeping GPU, waitlisted checkout — with a reason.
- Provenance:
presence.state+ caption + host status. Model truth is the host’s job. - Refusal: stay idle rather than invent a striking line every time.
8. Varies / does not
| Varies | Does not |
|---|---|
| Creature id, size, theme | Four state names |
| Host framework snippets | mount / setState / say / react |
| License tier for shipping bodies | Deep chroma canvas, type trio, voice |
9. Colour & voice
Voice: attentive, spare, warm, precise, unshowy. Owned words: presence, companion, four-state mind, offline starter, waitlist.