plugins/lint/.apm/skills/vale-config/SKILL.md

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ description: >
 
 metadata:
   category: lint
-  version: "0.1.1"
+  version: "0.1.2"
   source_keys:
     - context7-websites-vale-sh
     - house-vale-3-15-2-repro
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ metadata:
 - A style in `BasedOnStyles` that is neither built-in nor a directory under `StylesPath` fails hard, not silently: `E100 [loadStyles]`, exit 2, nothing linted.
 - `vale sync` alone does not clear that `E100`. Sync fetches only what the top-level `Packages` key declares, so against a `BasedOnStyles`-only name it reports `Synced 0 package(s)` and exits 0, fetching nothing. Add the style to `Packages`, then sync. A style lints only once it is in both keys — and the reverse case is silent, exiting 0.
 - Only *package* styles need fetching: built-in `Vale`, and any style whose YAML is already committed under `StylesPath`, lint with no `Packages` entry and no sync.
-- `.vale.ini` is order-sensitive: core settings first, then `[formats]`, then glob sections. Anything written below a glob header applies only to files matching that glob.
+- `.vale.ini` order is enforced, not stylistic: put core settings first, then `[formats]`, then glob sections. A core setting (`StylesPath`, `MinAlertLevel`, `Vocab`, `IgnoredScopes`, `SkippedScopes`) written below a `[glob]` header is a hard error — `E201 ... 'StylesPath' is a core option; it should be defined above any syntax-specific options`, exit 2, nothing linted. `Packages` is the exception, and the worse one: below a glob header it is accepted with no error, then ignored — `vale sync` reports `Synced 0 package(s)` and downloads nothing.
 - A rule scoped to `text.frontmatter.<key>` silently matches nothing when the field spans multiple lines in most YAML forms. If you scope a rule to frontmatter, read `references/configuration-reference.md` first.
 
 ## Setup workflow
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ metadata:
   [*.md]
   BasedOnStyles = Vale
   ```
-  `Vale` here is the built-in style (`Vale.Spelling`, `Vale.Terms`, `Vale.Avoid`, `Vale.Repetition`) — no download needed, it always works.
+  `Vale` here is the built-in style (`Vale.Spelling`, `Vale.Terms`, `Vale.Avoid`, `Vale.Repetition`): no `Packages` entry and no `vale sync`. It still needs the `StylesPath` directory to exist — declare `StylesPath = styles` without creating `styles/` and even a `Vale`-only config dies with `E201 ... The path '...' does not exist`, exit 2. That is why the previous step creates the directory.
 - [ ] **Add third-party styles** (optional) by declaring them in `Packages`, then activating them in the same or another glob's `BasedOnStyles`:
   ```ini
   Packages = Google, write-good

plugins/lint/.apm/skills/vale-config/references/configuration-reference.md

@@ -25,6 +25,10 @@ Map an unrecognized extension onto a supported one so Vale lints it with the rig
 mdx = md
 ```
 
+`mdx` is the case that matters, because Vale 3.15.2 has no built-in MDX support. The mapping above is not cosmetic: it is what lets `.mdx` files lint with nothing else installed. Leave it out and Vale takes the native MDX path, which shells out to an external `mdx2vast` binary — absent from `PATH`, the run dies with `E100 [lintMDX] Runtime error / mdx2vast not found`, exit 2, and every other file in the same invocation goes unlinted too. Install it with `npm install -g mdx2vast` or take the mapping.
+
+The choice also decides the inline-suppression syntax, and it is inverted between the two: mapped to `md`, `.mdx` takes Markdown's `<!-- vale off -->`; native, it takes `{/* vale off */}`. `vale-run`'s `references/troubleshooting.md` carries the verified matrix.
+
 ## Vocabularies
 
 Reference a named vocabulary (a folder of accept/reject word lists under `StylesPath`) via `Vocab`, then apply styles per glob:
@@ -89,6 +93,8 @@ Only *package* styles need fetching. A style whose YAML rule files are already c
 | Style in `Packages` and synced, but in no glob's `BasedOnStyles` | 0 findings, exit 0 — downloads, never lints, indistinguishable from a clean run |
 | `BasedOnStyles` names an *empty* directory under `StylesPath` | 0 findings, exit 0 — loads and lints nothing; `vale sync` never produces this state |
 | Built-in `Vale`, or a style's YAML committed under `StylesPath` | lints immediately, no `Packages` entry, no sync |
+| Core option (`StylesPath`, `MinAlertLevel`, `Vocab`, `IgnoredScopes`, `SkippedScopes`) below a `[glob]` header | `E201 Invalid value` — `'X' is a core option; it should be defined above any syntax-specific options ([...])`, exit 2 |
+| `Packages` below a `[glob]` header | no error, exit unaffected — parsed as a per-glob rule toggle (`SChecks: {"*.md": {"Packages": false}}` in `ls-config`), so `vale sync` reports `Synced 0 package(s)` and downloads nothing |
 
 ## Frontmatter Scopes
 

plugins/lint/.apm/skills/vale-config/references/sources.md

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 ## house-vale-3-15-2-repro
 
 - **URL:** (house-verified — reproduced locally against the `vale` binary, not an external source)
-- **Description:** Behaviour of Vale 3.15.2 established by running it against purpose-built fixtures in this repo, where vale.sh documents nothing: the `E100 [loadStyles]` / exit-2 failure for a `BasedOnStyles` name absent from `StylesPath`, `vale sync` reporting `Synced 0 package(s)` for a name not declared in `Packages`, the `E201` / exit-2 failure when the `StylesPath` directory does not exist, the exit-0 no-op of an empty style directory, and the `text.frontmatter.<key>` scope matrix across multi-line YAML forms.
+- **Description:** Behaviour of Vale 3.15.2 established by running it against purpose-built fixtures in this repo, where vale.sh documents nothing: the `E100 [loadStyles]` / exit-2 failure for a `BasedOnStyles` name absent from `StylesPath`, `vale sync` reporting `Synced 0 package(s)` for a name not declared in `Packages`, the `E201` / exit-2 failure when the `StylesPath` directory does not exist, the exit-0 no-op of an empty style directory, the `E201` / exit-2 failure when a core option is written below a `[glob]` header (with `Packages` as the silent exception), and the `text.frontmatter.<key>` scope matrix across multi-line YAML forms.
 - **Research doc:** none — house-verified reproduction, not part of the plugin's research corpus (no `plugins/lint/docs/research/` topic file backs this entry)
 - **Contributing files:** SKILL.md, references/configuration-reference.md
 - **Status:** `extracted`

plugins/lint/.apm/skills/vale-run/SKILL.md

@@ -6,16 +6,17 @@ description: >
   as in "lint the docs", "check prose style", or "why is CI failing on the docs
   check". Not setting up Vale config or styles -> `vale-config`.
 metadata:
-  version: "0.1.2"
+  version: "0.1.3"
   category: lint
   source_keys:
     - context7-websites-vale-sh
+    - house-vale-3-15-2-repro
 ---
 
 ## Gotchas
 
 - Vale's exit code keys off `error`-level alerts only — `warning` and `suggestion` alerts print and still exit `0`, and `MinAlertLevel`/`--minAlertLevel` filter what is displayed, never the exit code — no flag makes warnings fail. A rule that must gate CI or a commit hook has to be `level: error`. This is the most common way a Vale gate silently passes everything.
-- Check whether the target repo documents its own `vale` wrapper script (README, CONTRIBUTING, pre-commit config, `scripts/`) before calling the binary. Some projects wrap `vale` to work around real bugs — e.g. a scope that silently stops matching multi-line YAML block-scalar frontmatter — so bare `vale` skips whatever the wrapper fixes. Invoke the documented wrapper with the same arguments.
+- Check whether the target repo documents its own `vale` wrapper script (README, CONTRIBUTING, pre-commit config, `scripts/`) before calling the binary. Some projects wrap `vale` to work around real bugs — e.g. a `text.frontmatter.<key>` scope that silently stops matching multi-line values (`>` folded scalars, plain continuation lines and quoted multi-line scalars all go unmatched; a `|` literal block scalar still works) — so bare `vale` skips whatever the wrapper fixes. Invoke the documented wrapper with the same arguments.
 
 ## Running vale
 
@@ -34,20 +35,22 @@ Key flags:
 | `--no-exit` | Suppresses the nonzero exit that `error`-level alerts would otherwise cause; a no-op when no rule is `error`-level. Use in CI stages that should surface lint output without hard-failing the build. |
 | `--ignore-syntax` | Treats input as plain text, skipping format-aware parsing — use when a file's syntax-aware parser produces noisy or wrong results. |
 
-`vale sync` downloads the packages/styles declared in `.vale.ini` — that's a one-time-per-change setup step (vale-config's territory), not part of a normal lint run. If a run behaves as though no styles are active, check `vale ls-config` to confirm what actually loaded before concluding it is a sync problem — an unrun `vale sync` is the usual cause, and not a `vale-run` problem.
+`vale sync` downloads the packages/styles declared in `.vale.ini` — that's a one-time-per-change setup step (vale-config's territory), not part of a normal lint run. If a run behaves as though no styles are active, check `vale ls-config` before concluding it is a sync problem — an unrun `vale sync` is the usual cause, and not a `vale-run` problem. `ls-config` resolves config files, styles and `StylesPath` search paths; it never enumerates rules, so it cannot tell you a given rule is live.
 
 Prefer `--output=JSON` whenever the caller (a script, a CI step, another agent) needs to act on individual alerts rather than just get a pass/fail signal — `CLI` and `line` are for humans reading the terminal.
 
 ## Fixing false positives
 
-Before writing any inline suppression markup (steps 2 and 3 below), read `references/troubleshooting.md` for your file's format: the markup is format-specific, and the wrong form suppresses nothing while Vale reports no error — the Markdown HTML-comment form is inert in an MDX file.
+Before writing any inline suppression markup (steps 2 and 3 below), read `references/troubleshooting.md`: the form follows the parser the config picks, not the file extension, and the wrong form suppresses nothing while Vale reports no error.
+
+`.mdx` is the trap — the two parsers take opposite forms, so read `.vale.ini` first. Under `[formats] mdx = md` (what `vale-config` recommends) it is Markdown: `<!-- vale off -->` suppresses, `{/* vale off */}` does not. Without that mapping Vale takes the native MDX path, which needs the external `mdx2vast` binary (`npm install -g mdx2vast`); missing, the whole invocation dies — `E100 [lintMDX] ... mdx2vast not found`, exit 2 — leaving every other file in the run unlinted too.
 
 Scope the fix as narrowly as possible, in this order:
 
 1. **Mentioning banned phrasing rather than using it**: wrap it in backticks or a fenced code block. Vale skips code spans and fences, so no suppression is needed at all. Try this before any suppression markup.
 2. **One-off**: inline-suppress the specific text run with the format's `vale off`/`vale on` markup.
 3. **Recurring known-exception string, one rule**: disable that specific rule for that specific match inline (in Markdown, e.g. `<!-- vale Style.Redundancy["ACT test","OTHER"] = NO -->` ... `= YES`), rather than the whole rule.
-4. **Known project term failing spell check**: add it to the style's `ignore` list, not an inline suppression.
+4. **Known project term failing spell check**: add it to the style's `ignore` list, not an inline suppression — and put the listed file at the `StylesPath` root, because an `ignore` path that resolves nowhere is a silent no-op (`references/troubleshooting.md`).
 
 Never disable a rule project-wide to fix one false positive — editing `.vale.ini`/`BasedOnStyles` is vale-config's job, and it silences the rule everywhere, not just the false-positive case.
 

plugins/lint/.apm/skills/vale-run/references/sources.md

@@ -7,3 +7,11 @@
 - **Research doc:** plugins/lint/docs/research/docs/vale/sources.md
 - **Contributing files:** SKILL.md, references/troubleshooting.md
 - **Status:** `extracted`
+
+## house-vale-3-15-2-repro
+
+- **URL:** (house-verified — reproduced locally against the `vale` binary, not an external source)
+- **Description:** Behaviour of Vale 3.15.2 established by running it against purpose-built fixtures in this repo, where vale.sh documents nothing or documents it wrongly: `.mdx` has no built-in support and needs either `[formats] mdx = md` or an external `mdx2vast` binary (absent, the whole invocation exits 2 with `E100 [lintMDX]`), the inline-suppression form inverts between those two configurations, the `spelling` check's `ignore` paths resolve against `StylesPath` or the working directory but never against the rule file's own directory and fail silently when they resolve nowhere, `ls-config` reports styles and paths but never rules, and the `text.frontmatter.<key>` scope matrix across multi-line YAML forms.
+- **Research doc:** none — house-verified reproduction, not part of the plugin's research corpus (no `plugins/lint/docs/research/` topic file backs this entry)
+- **Contributing files:** SKILL.md, references/troubleshooting.md
+- **Status:** `extracted`

plugins/lint/.apm/skills/vale-run/references/troubleshooting.md

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 ---
 source_keys:
   - context7-websites-vale-sh
+  - house-vale-3-15-2-repro
 ---
 
 # Vale troubleshooting reference
@@ -9,19 +10,68 @@ source_keys:
 
 `vale ls-config` prints the fully-resolved, currently active configuration as JSON. Check that
 before rereading `.vale.ini` — what is written in the config file is not necessarily what is
-active, and the resolved output is the fastest way to see which styles and rules a run actually
+active, and the resolved output is the fastest way to see which config files, styles and
-loaded.
+`StylesPath` directories a run actually loaded.
+
+It stops at styles. It does not enumerate rules, and neither does any other Vale 3.15.2
+subcommand — `ls-config`, `ls-dirs`, `ls-vars` and `ls-metrics` were each checked and none
+names the rule. Against a config
+whose custom rule was demonstrably firing on the target file, `ls-config` reported
+`"SBaseStyles": {"*.md": ["MyStyle"]}` and the two `StylesPath` search paths, but
+`"Checks": null`, `"SChecks": {"*.md": {}}` and `"RuleToLevel": {}` — the firing rule's own name
+appeared nowhere in the output. So `ls-config` answers "is this style loaded, and from where",
+not "is this rule live". For the latter, run Vale over a small fixture that should trigger the
+rule and see whether it alerts.
 
 ## Inline suppression syntax by format
 
-Markdown uses HTML comments — the MDX `{/* */}` form does not suppress anything in a plain `.md` file:
+### Prerequisite: `.mdx` needs a decision before it lints at all
+
+Vale 3.15.2 has no built-in MDX support. If `.vale.ini` does **not** map the extension, Vale takes
+the native MDX path and shells out to an external `mdx2vast` binary. Without it on `PATH` the run
+dies before linting anything:
+
+```
+$ vale .            # doc.md and doc.mdx both present, no [formats] mapping
+E100 [lintMDX] Runtime error
+
+mdx2vast not found
+
+Execution stopped with code 1.
+$ echo $?
+2
+```
+
+That is the whole invocation, not just the `.mdx` file — the `.md` alongside it produced no output
+either. Fix it one of two ways, and the choice is not cosmetic because it also decides the
+suppression syntax:
+
+| `.vale.ini` | Prerequisite | Parser | Suppression form that works |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| `[formats]` maps `mdx = md` (what `vale-config` recommends) | none | Markdown | `<!-- vale off -->` |
+| no `mdx` mapping (native MDX) | `npm install -g mdx2vast` | MDX | `{/* vale off */}` |
+
+Key the markup to that config row, never to the file extension. Verified against Vale 3.15.2, same
+three fixtures under each config:
+
+| File | Mapped `mdx = md` | Native MDX (`mdx2vast` installed) |
+|---|---|---|
+| no suppression (control) | alert, exit 1 | alert, exit 1 |
+| `<!-- vale off -->` | suppressed, exit 0 | `E100 ... failed to parse MDX: Unexpected character` `` `!` ``, exit 2 |
+| `{/* vale off */}` | **not suppressed**, exit 1 | suppressed, exit 0 |
+
+Under the mapping the JSX comment is worse than inert: it is linted as prose, so
+`{/* vale Vale.Repetition = NO */}` produced three alerts where the un-suppressed file produced
+one — its own markup tripped the rule twice more.
+
+Markdown, and `.mdx` mapped onto it — HTML comments:
 ```markdown
 <!-- vale off -->
 This text will be ignored.
 <!-- vale on -->
 ```
 
-MDX:
+Native MDX only (no `[formats]` mapping, `mdx2vast` on `PATH`):
 ```mdx
 {/* vale off */}
 This text will be ignored.
@@ -46,7 +96,8 @@ This is some text ACT test
 <!-- vale Style.Redundancy["ACT test","OTHER"] = YES -->
 ```
 
-MDX:
+Native MDX only — under `[formats] mdx = md` an `.mdx` file takes the Markdown form above, and
+this one silences nothing:
 ```mdx
 {/* vale Style.Redundancy["ACT test","OTHER"] = NO */}
 This is some text ACT test
@@ -66,6 +117,36 @@ ignore:
   - ignore2.txt
 ```
 
+**Where the file goes, and why a wrong answer is invisible.** Each entry resolves against the
+`StylesPath` root, or against the working directory `vale` is invoked from. It does **not** resolve
+against the rule file's own directory — which is the natural reading of the YAML above, since the
+path sits inside the rule, and it is wrong. Verified against Vale 3.15.2 across four fresh trees,
+each with the same rule and the same unknown word:
+
+| Where `ignore1.txt` was placed | Result |
+|---|---|
+| `<StylesPath>/ignore1.txt` | word ignored, exit 0 |
+| `./ignore1.txt` in the directory `vale` runs from | word ignored, exit 0 |
+| `<StylesPath>/<Style>/ignore1.txt`, beside the rule | word still flagged, exit 1 |
+| file absent entirely | word still flagged, exit 1 |
+
+The two failing rows emit no warning, no error, and no diagnostic of any kind: the output is
+byte-identical to the same rule with the `ignore` key deleted. A misplaced ignore list looks exactly
+like a list that was read and did not contain the word.
+
+Prefer the `StylesPath` root. The run-directory form is the fragile one — move the invocation and it
+silently stops working. Same tree, same file, only the working directory changed:
+
+```
+$ cd project && vale doc.md                                  # ignore1.txt at project root
+✔ 0 errors, 0 warnings and 0 suggestions in 1 file.          # exit 0
+
+$ cd /elsewhere && vale --config=project/.vale.ini project/doc.md
+ 1:5  error  Did you really mean 'zzqwidget'?  MyStyle.Spell  # exit 1
+```
+
+The `StylesPath` copy survives that move; the run-directory copy does not.
+
 ## Plain-text fallback
 
 If a file's syntax-aware parsing produces noisy or incorrect results (an unsupported or malformed format), rerun with `--ignore-syntax` to treat it as plain text instead of relying on the format-specific parser.

plugins/lint/skills/vale-config/SKILL.md

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ description: >
 
 metadata:
   category: lint
-  version: "0.1.1"
+  version: "0.1.2"
   source_keys:
     - context7-websites-vale-sh
     - house-vale-3-15-2-repro
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ metadata:
 - A style in `BasedOnStyles` that is neither built-in nor a directory under `StylesPath` fails hard, not silently: `E100 [loadStyles]`, exit 2, nothing linted.
 - `vale sync` alone does not clear that `E100`. Sync fetches only what the top-level `Packages` key declares, so against a `BasedOnStyles`-only name it reports `Synced 0 package(s)` and exits 0, fetching nothing. Add the style to `Packages`, then sync. A style lints only once it is in both keys — and the reverse case is silent, exiting 0.
 - Only *package* styles need fetching: built-in `Vale`, and any style whose YAML is already committed under `StylesPath`, lint with no `Packages` entry and no sync.
-- `.vale.ini` is order-sensitive: core settings first, then `[formats]`, then glob sections. Anything written below a glob header applies only to files matching that glob.
+- `.vale.ini` order is enforced, not stylistic: put core settings first, then `[formats]`, then glob sections. A core setting (`StylesPath`, `MinAlertLevel`, `Vocab`, `IgnoredScopes`, `SkippedScopes`) written below a `[glob]` header is a hard error — `E201 ... 'StylesPath' is a core option; it should be defined above any syntax-specific options`, exit 2, nothing linted. `Packages` is the exception, and the worse one: below a glob header it is accepted with no error, then ignored — `vale sync` reports `Synced 0 package(s)` and downloads nothing.
 - A rule scoped to `text.frontmatter.<key>` silently matches nothing when the field spans multiple lines in most YAML forms. If you scope a rule to frontmatter, read `references/configuration-reference.md` first.
 
 ## Setup workflow
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ metadata:
   [*.md]
   BasedOnStyles = Vale
   ```
-  `Vale` here is the built-in style (`Vale.Spelling`, `Vale.Terms`, `Vale.Avoid`, `Vale.Repetition`) — no download needed, it always works.
+  `Vale` here is the built-in style (`Vale.Spelling`, `Vale.Terms`, `Vale.Avoid`, `Vale.Repetition`): no `Packages` entry and no `vale sync`. It still needs the `StylesPath` directory to exist — declare `StylesPath = styles` without creating `styles/` and even a `Vale`-only config dies with `E201 ... The path '...' does not exist`, exit 2. That is why the previous step creates the directory.
 - [ ] **Add third-party styles** (optional) by declaring them in `Packages`, then activating them in the same or another glob's `BasedOnStyles`:
   ```ini
   Packages = Google, write-good

plugins/lint/skills/vale-config/references/configuration-reference.md

@@ -25,6 +25,10 @@ Map an unrecognized extension onto a supported one so Vale lints it with the rig
 mdx = md
 ```
 
+`mdx` is the case that matters, because Vale 3.15.2 has no built-in MDX support. The mapping above is not cosmetic: it is what lets `.mdx` files lint with nothing else installed. Leave it out and Vale takes the native MDX path, which shells out to an external `mdx2vast` binary — absent from `PATH`, the run dies with `E100 [lintMDX] Runtime error / mdx2vast not found`, exit 2, and every other file in the same invocation goes unlinted too. Install it with `npm install -g mdx2vast` or take the mapping.
+
+The choice also decides the inline-suppression syntax, and it is inverted between the two: mapped to `md`, `.mdx` takes Markdown's `<!-- vale off -->`; native, it takes `{/* vale off */}`. `vale-run`'s `references/troubleshooting.md` carries the verified matrix.
+
 ## Vocabularies
 
 Reference a named vocabulary (a folder of accept/reject word lists under `StylesPath`) via `Vocab`, then apply styles per glob:
@@ -89,6 +93,8 @@ Only *package* styles need fetching. A style whose YAML rule files are already c
 | Style in `Packages` and synced, but in no glob's `BasedOnStyles` | 0 findings, exit 0 — downloads, never lints, indistinguishable from a clean run |
 | `BasedOnStyles` names an *empty* directory under `StylesPath` | 0 findings, exit 0 — loads and lints nothing; `vale sync` never produces this state |
 | Built-in `Vale`, or a style's YAML committed under `StylesPath` | lints immediately, no `Packages` entry, no sync |
+| Core option (`StylesPath`, `MinAlertLevel`, `Vocab`, `IgnoredScopes`, `SkippedScopes`) below a `[glob]` header | `E201 Invalid value` — `'X' is a core option; it should be defined above any syntax-specific options ([...])`, exit 2 |
+| `Packages` below a `[glob]` header | no error, exit unaffected — parsed as a per-glob rule toggle (`SChecks: {"*.md": {"Packages": false}}` in `ls-config`), so `vale sync` reports `Synced 0 package(s)` and downloads nothing |
 
 ## Frontmatter Scopes
 

plugins/lint/skills/vale-config/references/sources.md

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 ## house-vale-3-15-2-repro
 
 - **URL:** (house-verified — reproduced locally against the `vale` binary, not an external source)
-- **Description:** Behaviour of Vale 3.15.2 established by running it against purpose-built fixtures in this repo, where vale.sh documents nothing: the `E100 [loadStyles]` / exit-2 failure for a `BasedOnStyles` name absent from `StylesPath`, `vale sync` reporting `Synced 0 package(s)` for a name not declared in `Packages`, the `E201` / exit-2 failure when the `StylesPath` directory does not exist, the exit-0 no-op of an empty style directory, and the `text.frontmatter.<key>` scope matrix across multi-line YAML forms.
+- **Description:** Behaviour of Vale 3.15.2 established by running it against purpose-built fixtures in this repo, where vale.sh documents nothing: the `E100 [loadStyles]` / exit-2 failure for a `BasedOnStyles` name absent from `StylesPath`, `vale sync` reporting `Synced 0 package(s)` for a name not declared in `Packages`, the `E201` / exit-2 failure when the `StylesPath` directory does not exist, the exit-0 no-op of an empty style directory, the `E201` / exit-2 failure when a core option is written below a `[glob]` header (with `Packages` as the silent exception), and the `text.frontmatter.<key>` scope matrix across multi-line YAML forms.
 - **Research doc:** none — house-verified reproduction, not part of the plugin's research corpus (no `plugins/lint/docs/research/` topic file backs this entry)
 - **Contributing files:** SKILL.md, references/configuration-reference.md
 - **Status:** `extracted`

plugins/lint/skills/vale-run/SKILL.md

@@ -6,16 +6,17 @@ description: >
   as in "lint the docs", "check prose style", or "why is CI failing on the docs
   check". Not setting up Vale config or styles -> `vale-config`.
 metadata:
-  version: "0.1.2"
+  version: "0.1.3"
   category: lint
   source_keys:
     - context7-websites-vale-sh
+    - house-vale-3-15-2-repro
 ---
 
 ## Gotchas
 
 - Vale's exit code keys off `error`-level alerts only — `warning` and `suggestion` alerts print and still exit `0`, and `MinAlertLevel`/`--minAlertLevel` filter what is displayed, never the exit code — no flag makes warnings fail. A rule that must gate CI or a commit hook has to be `level: error`. This is the most common way a Vale gate silently passes everything.
-- Check whether the target repo documents its own `vale` wrapper script (README, CONTRIBUTING, pre-commit config, `scripts/`) before calling the binary. Some projects wrap `vale` to work around real bugs — e.g. a scope that silently stops matching multi-line YAML block-scalar frontmatter — so bare `vale` skips whatever the wrapper fixes. Invoke the documented wrapper with the same arguments.
+- Check whether the target repo documents its own `vale` wrapper script (README, CONTRIBUTING, pre-commit config, `scripts/`) before calling the binary. Some projects wrap `vale` to work around real bugs — e.g. a `text.frontmatter.<key>` scope that silently stops matching multi-line values (`>` folded scalars, plain continuation lines and quoted multi-line scalars all go unmatched; a `|` literal block scalar still works) — so bare `vale` skips whatever the wrapper fixes. Invoke the documented wrapper with the same arguments.
 
 ## Running vale
 
@@ -34,20 +35,22 @@ Key flags:
 | `--no-exit` | Suppresses the nonzero exit that `error`-level alerts would otherwise cause; a no-op when no rule is `error`-level. Use in CI stages that should surface lint output without hard-failing the build. |
 | `--ignore-syntax` | Treats input as plain text, skipping format-aware parsing — use when a file's syntax-aware parser produces noisy or wrong results. |
 
-`vale sync` downloads the packages/styles declared in `.vale.ini` — that's a one-time-per-change setup step (vale-config's territory), not part of a normal lint run. If a run behaves as though no styles are active, check `vale ls-config` to confirm what actually loaded before concluding it is a sync problem — an unrun `vale sync` is the usual cause, and not a `vale-run` problem.
+`vale sync` downloads the packages/styles declared in `.vale.ini` — that's a one-time-per-change setup step (vale-config's territory), not part of a normal lint run. If a run behaves as though no styles are active, check `vale ls-config` before concluding it is a sync problem — an unrun `vale sync` is the usual cause, and not a `vale-run` problem. `ls-config` resolves config files, styles and `StylesPath` search paths; it never enumerates rules, so it cannot tell you a given rule is live.
 
 Prefer `--output=JSON` whenever the caller (a script, a CI step, another agent) needs to act on individual alerts rather than just get a pass/fail signal — `CLI` and `line` are for humans reading the terminal.
 
 ## Fixing false positives
 
-Before writing any inline suppression markup (steps 2 and 3 below), read `references/troubleshooting.md` for your file's format: the markup is format-specific, and the wrong form suppresses nothing while Vale reports no error — the Markdown HTML-comment form is inert in an MDX file.
+Before writing any inline suppression markup (steps 2 and 3 below), read `references/troubleshooting.md`: the form follows the parser the config picks, not the file extension, and the wrong form suppresses nothing while Vale reports no error.
+
+`.mdx` is the trap — the two parsers take opposite forms, so read `.vale.ini` first. Under `[formats] mdx = md` (what `vale-config` recommends) it is Markdown: `<!-- vale off -->` suppresses, `{/* vale off */}` does not. Without that mapping Vale takes the native MDX path, which needs the external `mdx2vast` binary (`npm install -g mdx2vast`); missing, the whole invocation dies — `E100 [lintMDX] ... mdx2vast not found`, exit 2 — leaving every other file in the run unlinted too.
 
 Scope the fix as narrowly as possible, in this order:
 
 1. **Mentioning banned phrasing rather than using it**: wrap it in backticks or a fenced code block. Vale skips code spans and fences, so no suppression is needed at all. Try this before any suppression markup.
 2. **One-off**: inline-suppress the specific text run with the format's `vale off`/`vale on` markup.
 3. **Recurring known-exception string, one rule**: disable that specific rule for that specific match inline (in Markdown, e.g. `<!-- vale Style.Redundancy["ACT test","OTHER"] = NO -->` ... `= YES`), rather than the whole rule.
-4. **Known project term failing spell check**: add it to the style's `ignore` list, not an inline suppression.
+4. **Known project term failing spell check**: add it to the style's `ignore` list, not an inline suppression — and put the listed file at the `StylesPath` root, because an `ignore` path that resolves nowhere is a silent no-op (`references/troubleshooting.md`).
 
 Never disable a rule project-wide to fix one false positive — editing `.vale.ini`/`BasedOnStyles` is vale-config's job, and it silences the rule everywhere, not just the false-positive case.
 

plugins/lint/skills/vale-run/references/sources.md

@@ -7,3 +7,11 @@
 - **Research doc:** plugins/lint/docs/research/docs/vale/sources.md
 - **Contributing files:** SKILL.md, references/troubleshooting.md
 - **Status:** `extracted`
+
+## house-vale-3-15-2-repro
+
+- **URL:** (house-verified — reproduced locally against the `vale` binary, not an external source)
+- **Description:** Behaviour of Vale 3.15.2 established by running it against purpose-built fixtures in this repo, where vale.sh documents nothing or documents it wrongly: `.mdx` has no built-in support and needs either `[formats] mdx = md` or an external `mdx2vast` binary (absent, the whole invocation exits 2 with `E100 [lintMDX]`), the inline-suppression form inverts between those two configurations, the `spelling` check's `ignore` paths resolve against `StylesPath` or the working directory but never against the rule file's own directory and fail silently when they resolve nowhere, `ls-config` reports styles and paths but never rules, and the `text.frontmatter.<key>` scope matrix across multi-line YAML forms.
+- **Research doc:** none — house-verified reproduction, not part of the plugin's research corpus (no `plugins/lint/docs/research/` topic file backs this entry)
+- **Contributing files:** SKILL.md, references/troubleshooting.md
+- **Status:** `extracted`

plugins/lint/skills/vale-run/references/troubleshooting.md

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 ---
 source_keys:
   - context7-websites-vale-sh
+  - house-vale-3-15-2-repro
 ---
 
 # Vale troubleshooting reference
@@ -9,19 +10,68 @@ source_keys:
 
 `vale ls-config` prints the fully-resolved, currently active configuration as JSON. Check that
 before rereading `.vale.ini` — what is written in the config file is not necessarily what is
-active, and the resolved output is the fastest way to see which styles and rules a run actually
+active, and the resolved output is the fastest way to see which config files, styles and
-loaded.
+`StylesPath` directories a run actually loaded.
+
+It stops at styles. It does not enumerate rules, and neither does any other Vale 3.15.2
+subcommand — `ls-config`, `ls-dirs`, `ls-vars` and `ls-metrics` were each checked and none
+names the rule. Against a config
+whose custom rule was demonstrably firing on the target file, `ls-config` reported
+`"SBaseStyles": {"*.md": ["MyStyle"]}` and the two `StylesPath` search paths, but
+`"Checks": null`, `"SChecks": {"*.md": {}}` and `"RuleToLevel": {}` — the firing rule's own name
+appeared nowhere in the output. So `ls-config` answers "is this style loaded, and from where",
+not "is this rule live". For the latter, run Vale over a small fixture that should trigger the
+rule and see whether it alerts.
 
 ## Inline suppression syntax by format
 
-Markdown uses HTML comments — the MDX `{/* */}` form does not suppress anything in a plain `.md` file:
+### Prerequisite: `.mdx` needs a decision before it lints at all
+
+Vale 3.15.2 has no built-in MDX support. If `.vale.ini` does **not** map the extension, Vale takes
+the native MDX path and shells out to an external `mdx2vast` binary. Without it on `PATH` the run
+dies before linting anything:
+
+```
+$ vale .            # doc.md and doc.mdx both present, no [formats] mapping
+E100 [lintMDX] Runtime error
+
+mdx2vast not found
+
+Execution stopped with code 1.
+$ echo $?
+2
+```
+
+That is the whole invocation, not just the `.mdx` file — the `.md` alongside it produced no output
+either. Fix it one of two ways, and the choice is not cosmetic because it also decides the
+suppression syntax:
+
+| `.vale.ini` | Prerequisite | Parser | Suppression form that works |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| `[formats]` maps `mdx = md` (what `vale-config` recommends) | none | Markdown | `<!-- vale off -->` |
+| no `mdx` mapping (native MDX) | `npm install -g mdx2vast` | MDX | `{/* vale off */}` |
+
+Key the markup to that config row, never to the file extension. Verified against Vale 3.15.2, same
+three fixtures under each config:
+
+| File | Mapped `mdx = md` | Native MDX (`mdx2vast` installed) |
+|---|---|---|
+| no suppression (control) | alert, exit 1 | alert, exit 1 |
+| `<!-- vale off -->` | suppressed, exit 0 | `E100 ... failed to parse MDX: Unexpected character` `` `!` ``, exit 2 |
+| `{/* vale off */}` | **not suppressed**, exit 1 | suppressed, exit 0 |
+
+Under the mapping the JSX comment is worse than inert: it is linted as prose, so
+`{/* vale Vale.Repetition = NO */}` produced three alerts where the un-suppressed file produced
+one — its own markup tripped the rule twice more.
+
+Markdown, and `.mdx` mapped onto it — HTML comments:
 ```markdown
 <!-- vale off -->
 This text will be ignored.
 <!-- vale on -->
 ```
 
-MDX:
+Native MDX only (no `[formats]` mapping, `mdx2vast` on `PATH`):
 ```mdx
 {/* vale off */}
 This text will be ignored.
@@ -46,7 +96,8 @@ This is some text ACT test
 <!-- vale Style.Redundancy["ACT test","OTHER"] = YES -->
 ```
 
-MDX:
+Native MDX only — under `[formats] mdx = md` an `.mdx` file takes the Markdown form above, and
+this one silences nothing:
 ```mdx
 {/* vale Style.Redundancy["ACT test","OTHER"] = NO */}
 This is some text ACT test
@@ -66,6 +117,36 @@ ignore:
   - ignore2.txt
 ```
 
+**Where the file goes, and why a wrong answer is invisible.** Each entry resolves against the
+`StylesPath` root, or against the working directory `vale` is invoked from. It does **not** resolve
+against the rule file's own directory — which is the natural reading of the YAML above, since the
+path sits inside the rule, and it is wrong. Verified against Vale 3.15.2 across four fresh trees,
+each with the same rule and the same unknown word:
+
+| Where `ignore1.txt` was placed | Result |
+|---|---|
+| `<StylesPath>/ignore1.txt` | word ignored, exit 0 |
+| `./ignore1.txt` in the directory `vale` runs from | word ignored, exit 0 |
+| `<StylesPath>/<Style>/ignore1.txt`, beside the rule | word still flagged, exit 1 |
+| file absent entirely | word still flagged, exit 1 |
+
+The two failing rows emit no warning, no error, and no diagnostic of any kind: the output is
+byte-identical to the same rule with the `ignore` key deleted. A misplaced ignore list looks exactly
+like a list that was read and did not contain the word.
+
+Prefer the `StylesPath` root. The run-directory form is the fragile one — move the invocation and it
+silently stops working. Same tree, same file, only the working directory changed:
+
+```
+$ cd project && vale doc.md                                  # ignore1.txt at project root
+✔ 0 errors, 0 warnings and 0 suggestions in 1 file.          # exit 0
+
+$ cd /elsewhere && vale --config=project/.vale.ini project/doc.md
+ 1:5  error  Did you really mean 'zzqwidget'?  MyStyle.Spell  # exit 1
+```
+
+The `StylesPath` copy survives that move; the run-directory copy does not.
+
 ## Plain-text fallback
 
 If a file's syntax-aware parsing produces noisy or incorrect results (an unsupported or malformed format), rerun with `--ignore-syntax` to treat it as plain text instead of relying on the format-specific parser.