From b6b0976c194649c30863ff6d449b3292682e0650 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Anton Vakhrushev <anwinged@ya.ru>
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2026 21:16:29 +0300
Subject: [PATCH] =?UTF-8?q?=D0=B8=D1=81=D0=BF=D1=80=D0=B0=D0=B2=D0=BB?=
 =?UTF-8?q?=D0=B5=D0=BD=D1=8B=20=D0=BD=D0=B0=D1=85=D0=BE=D0=B4=D0=BA=D0=B8?=
 =?UTF-8?q?=20=D1=80=D0=B5=D0=B2=D1=8C=D1=8E=20=D0=BF=D1=80=D0=BE=D0=B5?=
 =?UTF-8?q?=D0=BA=D1=82=D0=BD=D0=BE=D0=B9=20=D1=81=D1=82=D0=BE=D1=80=D0=BE?=
 =?UTF-8?q?=D0=BD=D1=8B?=
MIME-Version: 1.0
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Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

- манифест читается так, как записан: решётка внутри строки не открывает
  комментарий, скобка внутри комментария не закрывает массив, имя внутри
  комментария не становится подпиской; новый ключ встаёт после массива,
  а не внутрь него
- всё записываемое проходит через manifest.Quote — обратный слэш в пути
  делал файл, который инструмент сам не читает
- маркер локальной части переехал в doc и пропускает огороженные блоки:
  процитированный в примере маркер больше не считается границей, а копия
  без маркера не перезаписывается молча
- лишний позиционный аргумент отсекается: flag прекращал разбор и прятал
  флаги после себя, из-за чего pull, list и check игнорировали --for
- заведены тесты проверок копий, включая молчание на исправной копии
---
 CLAUDE.md                          |  29 ++-
 internal/check/copies.go           |  41 ++---
 internal/check/copies_test.go      | 177 ++++++++++++++++++
 internal/check/form.go             |   2 +-
 internal/cli/add.go                |  16 +-
 internal/cli/check.go              |  51 ++++--
 internal/cli/cli.go                |  26 +++
 internal/cli/init.go               |  16 +-
 internal/cli/list.go               |   3 +
 internal/cli/project.go            |  29 ++-
 internal/cli/project_test.go       | 140 ++++++++++++++
 internal/cli/pull.go               |   3 +
 internal/cli/suitecheck.go         |  43 +++--
 internal/cli/suitelist.go          |  14 --
 internal/doc/doc.go                |  43 +++++
 internal/manifest/edit.go          |  37 +++-
 internal/manifest/editlist.go      | 281 ++++++++++++++++++++++-------
 internal/manifest/editlist_test.go |  96 ++++++++++
 internal/project/project.go        |  54 +++---
 19 files changed, 904 insertions(+), 197 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 internal/check/copies_test.go

diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 8dabb83..963efab 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -68,7 +68,14 @@ internal/cli        команды, диалог, два режима
   заголовка до следующего заголовка любого уровня. Метка открывает блок только
   первой в абзаце и полужирным. Огороженные блоки кода исключаются везде;
   инлайн-код вырезается там, где ищутся ссылки, и не вырезается там, где ищутся
-  пути канона.
+  пути канона. Маркер локальной части — то же самое: `doc.LocalMarker` один на
+  весь инструмент, `doc.Marker()` пропускает огороженные блоки, потому что
+  конвенция о ведении копий этот маркер цитирует.
+- **Манифест читается так, как он записан.** Решётка внутри строки не открывает
+  комментарий, скобка внутри комментария не закрывает массив, имя внутри
+  комментария не подписка. Регуляркой по сырым строкам это не берётся —
+  `splitComment` и `scanCode` в `internal/manifest`. Превращение комментария в
+  данные — единственная ошибка, из которой нет дороги назад.
 - **Уровень называется ссылкой, а не путём.** Проект ссылается на набор, набор
   на язык; `source.Ref` разбирает ссылку, `source.Open` отдаёт директорию,
   которую можно читать. Транспортов два, но `Kind` — перечисление, а не булево:
@@ -114,7 +121,16 @@ internal/cli        команды, диалог, два режима
 - **Целостность набора проверяется локально.** Когда `[language] source`
   заполнен, `suite check` не тянет описание языка и пропускает проверки
   документов о языке (META-30 в том числе), проверяя вместо этого саму ссылку.
-  Проверка гоняется на каждой правке и в сеть ходить не должна.
+  Проверка гоняется на каждой правке и в сеть ходить не должна. Пропуск
+  объявляется строкой в выводе: молча не выполненная проверка читается ровно
+  как пройденная.
+- **Всё, что попадает в манифест, проходит через `manifest.Quote`.** Обратный
+  слэш в пути — обычный случай, на котором инструмент перестаёт читать файл,
+  который сам записал.
+- **Позиционный аргумент отсекается явно.** `flag` прекращает разбор на первом
+  не-флаге, поэтому лишний аргумент не просто лежит без дела — он прячет все
+  флаги после себя. `noStrayArgs` в командах без позиционных, ручное снятие
+  темы с головы в `convy add`.
 
 ## Проверки
 
@@ -128,7 +144,8 @@ internal/cli        команды, диалог, два режима
 Новая проверка заводится вместе с двумя тестами: что она срабатывает и что она
 **молчит** там, где не должна. Второй важнее: проверка, краснеющая на исправном
 файле, выключается целиком. Ложные срабатывания собраны в
-`TestNoFalsePositives`.
+`TestNoFalsePositives` для набора и в `TestCopiesAreSilentOnASoundCopy` для
+копий.
 
 Перед тем как заводить проверку, стоит прогнать её замысел по живому канону
 (`dev-conventions`): если она покраснеет на исправном наборе, замысел неверен.
@@ -152,6 +169,12 @@ internal/cli        команды, диалог, два режима
 - `convy add` пишет подписку после сборки — если сборка прошла, а запись в
   манифест упала, копия останется неучтённой. Обратный порядок хуже: подписка
   без файла отправляет следующий `pull` искать то, чего не делали.
+- Директории компонентов сверяются на равенство, а не на вложенность. Компонент
+  в `docs` и компонент в `docs/sub` манифест пропустит; `convy check` от
+  двойных находок защищён отдельно (`distinct`).
+- `lang.Recognize` при отсутствии словаря с совпавшим номером версии отдаёт
+  первого кандидата, у которого совпали слова. Пока версия в реестре одна, это
+  безвредно; со второй версией того же естественного языка станет неверно.
 
 ## Тесты
 
diff --git a/internal/check/copies.go b/internal/check/copies.go
index c4a3053..9ddfc13 100644
--- a/internal/check/copies.go
+++ b/internal/check/copies.go
@@ -19,9 +19,10 @@ import (
 // below it takes a prefix on X.
 
 // CopyMarker is the boundary between what the suite wrote and what the
-// repository wrote. It is passed in rather than known here: the marker belongs
-// to the model of assembly, and the checks merely respect it.
-const CopyMarker = "<!-- conv:local -->"
+// repository wrote. It is one constant, defined next to the parsing that has to
+// respect it: two of them would drift apart in silence, and each half of the
+// tool would then read a different file.
+const CopyMarker = doc.LocalMarker
 
 // Copy checks one assembled convention.
 func Copy(d *doc.Document, rep *Report) {
@@ -34,8 +35,12 @@ func Copy(d *doc.Document, rep *Report) {
 	}
 	d.Blocks(v)
 
-	marker := markerLine(d)
-	checkMarker(d, marker, rep)
+	markers := d.Markers()
+	marker := 0
+	if len(markers) > 0 {
+		marker = markers[0]
+	}
+	checkMarker(d, markers, rep)
 	checkCopyHeadings(d, marker, rep)
 	checkHeadingHierarchy(d, rep)
 	for _, prefix := range prefixes(d) {
@@ -87,28 +92,18 @@ func recognize(d *doc.Document, rep *Report) (lang.Vocabulary, bool) {
 	return v, true
 }
 
-// markerLine finds the line the local marker stands on, or zero.
-func markerLine(d *doc.Document) int {
-	for n := 1; n <= d.Len(); n++ {
-		if strings.TrimSpace(d.Line(n)) == CopyMarker {
-			return n
-		}
-	}
-	return 0
-}
-
-func checkMarker(d *doc.Document, marker int, rep *Report) {
-	if marker == 0 {
+// checkMarker checks the boundary of the local part. A marker quoted inside a
+// fenced block is not one — a convention about keeping copies carries such a
+// quotation — and the parser has already left those out.
+func checkMarker(d *doc.Document, markers []int, rep *Report) {
+	if len(markers) == 0 {
 		rep.Errorf(Spread, d.Path, d.Len(),
 			"the copy carries no %s marker: there is nowhere to write a derogation, and a reassembly would overwrite whatever was written instead", CopyMarker)
 		return
 	}
-	for n := marker + 1; n <= d.Len(); n++ {
-		if strings.TrimSpace(d.Line(n)) == CopyMarker {
-			rep.Errorf(Spread, d.Path, n,
-				"the copy carries a second %s marker: the marker is one, and everything below the first belongs to the repository", CopyMarker)
-			return
-		}
+	if len(markers) > 1 {
+		rep.Errorf(Spread, d.Path, markers[1],
+			"the copy carries a second %s marker: the marker is one, and everything below the first belongs to the repository", CopyMarker)
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/check/copies_test.go b/internal/check/copies_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..266d553
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/check/copies_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,177 @@
+package check_test
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"git.vakhrushev.me/av/convy/internal/check"
+	"git.vakhrushev.me/av/convy/internal/doc"
+)
+
+// A copy is checked without a suite next to it: no manifest, no prefix of its
+// own, no path back to where it came from. These fixtures are therefore written
+// out whole rather than assembled — what the check sees is what a consuming
+// repository holds.
+
+const copyVersionLine = `Ключевые слова ДОЛЖЕН, НЕ ДОЛЖЕН, СЛЕДУЕТ, НЕ СЛЕДУЕТ, ДОПУСКАЕТСЯ и метки
+ПОЧЕМУ, ПРИМЕРЫ, МЕХАНИЗИРОВАНО и СНЯТО толкуются как описано в языке
+конвенций версии 1 — тогда и только тогда, когда написаны заглавными.`
+
+// soundCopy is what the assembler writes: two layers, the second a section of
+// the first, a local part with a rule of the repository in it.
+const soundCopy = `---
+origin: time
+---
+
+# Время
+
+Как приложение записывает моменты.
+
+` + copyVersionLine + `
+
+## Правила
+
+### TIME-1. Момент записывается в UTC
+
+**ДОЛЖЕН.** Момент времени записывается с суффиксом Z.
+
+**ПОЧЕМУ.** Без явного смещения не видно, в какой зоне запись сделана.
+
+### TIME-2. Ширина строки фиксируется
+
+**СНЯТО 2026-07-27.** ширина следует из TIME-1.
+
+## Время: реализация на Go
+
+Как базовый слой выполняется в Go-коде.
+
+### Правила
+
+#### GTIM-1. «Сейчас» берётся у слоя хранилища
+
+**ДОЛЖЕН.** Текущее время приходит из ` + "`store.Now()`" + `.
+
+**ПОЧЕМУ.** Единая точка даёт гарантированный UTC.
+
+<!-- conv:local -->
+
+TIME-1 — МЕХАНИЗИРОВАНО: ` + "`internal/archrules`" + `.
+Ссылка на чужую тему: SLOG-4 — эта копия её не держит.
+
+### XTIM-1. Часы в тестах замораживаются
+
+**ДОЛЖЕН.** Тест берёт время у подменённого ` + "`store.Now`" + `.
+
+**ПОЧЕМУ.** Плавающее время делает падение теста невоспроизводимым.
+`
+
+func checkCopy(t *testing.T, body string) *check.Report {
+	t.Helper()
+	d, err := doc.Parse("docs/conventions/time.md", body)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("parsing the fixture: %v", err)
+	}
+	return check.Copies([]*doc.Document{d})
+}
+
+// The one that matters most: a check that reddens on a sound file is a check
+// that gets switched off whole.
+func TestCopiesAreSilentOnASoundCopy(t *testing.T) {
+	rep := checkCopy(t, soundCopy)
+	if len(rep.Findings()) == 0 {
+		return
+	}
+	var b strings.Builder
+	for _, f := range rep.Findings() {
+		b.WriteString("  " + f.Msg + "\n")
+	}
+	t.Errorf("a sound copy produced findings:\n%s", b.String())
+}
+
+// A convention about keeping copies quotes the marker in an example. The
+// quotation is markup shown, not markup meant.
+func TestCopiesReadNoMarkerInsideAFencedBlock(t *testing.T) {
+	quoting := strings.Replace(soundCopy, "## Время: реализация на Go",
+		"## Пример\n\n"+"```markdown\n<!-- conv:local -->\n```\n\n## Время: реализация на Go", 1)
+
+	rep := checkCopy(t, quoting)
+	for _, f := range rep.Findings() {
+		if strings.Contains(f.Msg, "marker") {
+			t.Errorf("a quoted marker was taken for the boundary: %s", f.Msg)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestCopiesCatchWhatOnlyACopyCanGetWrong(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		name string
+		edit func(string) string
+		want string
+	}{{
+		name: "no origin key",
+		edit: func(s string) string { return strings.Replace(s, "origin: time", "topic: time", 1) },
+		want: "no origin key",
+	}, {
+		name: "a key of a suite file left in the front matter",
+		edit: func(s string) string {
+			return strings.Replace(s, "origin: time", "origin: time\nextends: arch/time.md", 1)
+		},
+		want: "key \"extends\" of a suite file",
+	}, {
+		name: "no marker at all",
+		edit: func(s string) string { return strings.Replace(s, "<!-- conv:local -->", "", 1) },
+		want: "carries no <!-- conv:local --> marker",
+	}, {
+		name: "a second marker",
+		edit: func(s string) string { return s + "\n<!-- conv:local -->\n" },
+		want: "second <!-- conv:local --> marker",
+	}, {
+		name: "a rule of the repository above the marker",
+		edit: func(s string) string {
+			return strings.Replace(s, "### TIME-2.", "### XTIM-9. Своё правило\n\n**ДОЛЖЕН.** Своя норма.\n\n**ПОЧЕМУ.** Своя причина.\n\n### TIME-2.", 1)
+		},
+		want: "would wipe it",
+	}, {
+		name: "a rule of the suite below the marker",
+		edit: func(s string) string { return strings.Replace(s, "### XTIM-1.", "### ZTIM-1.", 1) },
+		want: "takes a prefix the suite could hand out",
+	}, {
+		name: "a gap in the numbering of one of the prefixes",
+		edit: func(s string) string { return strings.Replace(s, "#### GTIM-1.", "#### GTIM-2.", 1) },
+		want: "numbering is not contiguous",
+	}, {
+		name: "a reference to a rule the file holds no such number of",
+		edit: func(s string) string {
+			return strings.Replace(s, "TIME-1 — МЕХАНИЗИРОВАНО", "TIME-9 — МЕХАНИЗИРОВАНО", 1)
+		},
+		want: "points at a rule this file does not hold",
+	}, {
+		name: "no language version line",
+		edit: func(s string) string {
+			return strings.Replace(s, copyVersionLine, "Просто вступление.", 1)
+		},
+		want: "no language version line",
+	}, {
+		name: "a word of another vocabulary",
+		edit: func(s string) string {
+			return strings.Replace(s, "**ДОЛЖЕН.** Момент", "**MUST.** Момент", 1)
+		},
+		want: "belongs to the \"en\" vocabulary",
+	}}
+
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			rep := checkCopy(t, tc.edit(soundCopy))
+			for _, f := range rep.Findings() {
+				if strings.Contains(f.Msg, tc.want) {
+					return
+				}
+			}
+			var b strings.Builder
+			for _, f := range rep.Findings() {
+				b.WriteString("  " + f.Msg + "\n")
+			}
+			t.Errorf("nothing said %q; the findings were:\n%s", tc.want, b.String())
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/check/form.go b/internal/check/form.go
index 696d270..fcf25d6 100644
--- a/internal/check/form.go
+++ b/internal/check/form.go
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@ func checkVersionLine(v lang.Vocabulary, d *doc.Document, rep *Report) (from, to
 	version := strconv.Itoa(v.Version)
 	if !containsNumber(p.Text(), version) {
 		rep.Errorf(Form, d.Path, p.Start,
-			"the language version line does not name version %s declared by the suite manifest", version)
+			"the language version line does not name version %s, the version this document is read by", version)
 	}
 	return p.Start, p.End
 }
diff --git a/internal/cli/add.go b/internal/cli/add.go
index a479de8..646453c 100644
--- a/internal/cli/add.go
+++ b/internal/cli/add.go
@@ -41,12 +41,9 @@ func runAdd(env Env, args []string) ExitCode {
 		}
 		topic = *topicFlag
 	}
-	if rest := fs.Args(); len(rest) > 0 {
-		if topic != "" && topic != rest[0] {
-			fmt.Fprintf(env.Err, "the topic is named twice and differently: %q and %q\n", topic, rest[0])
-			return Usage
-		}
-		topic = rest[0]
+	if left := fs.Args(); len(left) > 0 {
+		fmt.Fprintf(env.Err, "convy add takes one topic, and %q came after it as well\n", left[0])
+		return Usage
 	}
 
 	o, code := openProject(env, *root)
@@ -70,12 +67,11 @@ func runAdd(env Env, args []string) ExitCode {
 			fmt.Fprintln(env.Err, "convy add without arguments asks which topic, and there is no terminal to ask on; name the topic as an argument")
 			return Usage
 		}
-		answer, err := newDialogue(env).ask(topicField(o, c))
-		if err != nil {
-			fmt.Fprintln(env.Err, "\ninterrupted, nothing was written")
+		given := map[string]string{}
+		if err := askAll(env, []Field{topicField(o, c)}, given); err != nil {
 			return Usage
 		}
-		topic = answer
+		topic = given["topic"]
 	}
 
 	if !o.Suite.Manifest.TopicLive(topic) {
diff --git a/internal/cli/check.go b/internal/cli/check.go
index 2c26ad9..77a85aa 100644
--- a/internal/cli/check.go
+++ b/internal/cli/check.go
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ import (
 
 	"git.vakhrushev.me/av/convy/internal/check"
 	"git.vakhrushev.me/av/convy/internal/doc"
-	"git.vakhrushev.me/av/convy/internal/manifest"
 	"git.vakhrushev.me/av/convy/internal/project"
 )
 
@@ -29,13 +28,19 @@ func runCheck(env Env, args []string) ExitCode {
 	if err := fs.Parse(args); err != nil {
 		return Usage
 	}
+	if code := noStrayArgs(env, "convy check", fs.Args()); code != OK {
+		return code
+	}
 
 	dir, code := projectRoot(env, *root)
 	if code != OK {
 		return code
 	}
-	m, err := manifest.LoadProject(dir)
-	if err != nil {
+	m, code := loadProject(env, dir)
+	if code != OK {
+		return code
+	}
+	if err := distinctDirs(m); err != nil {
 		fmt.Fprintln(env.Err, err)
 		return Usage
 	}
@@ -47,10 +52,16 @@ func runCheck(env Env, args []string) ExitCode {
 	var docs []*doc.Document
 	var broken []error
 	for _, name := range names {
-		found, errs := copies(dir, m.Components[name].Dir)
+		c := m.Components[name]
+		if c.Dir == "" {
+			fmt.Fprintf(env.Err, "the component %q names no dir, and there is nothing to look in\n", name)
+			return Usage
+		}
+		found, errs := copies(dir, c.Dir)
 		docs = append(docs, found...)
 		broken = append(broken, errs...)
 	}
+	docs = distinct(docs)
 
 	rep := check.Copies(docs)
 	for _, err := range broken {
@@ -104,23 +115,25 @@ func copies(root, dir string) ([]*doc.Document, []error) {
 	return docs, broken
 }
 
+// distinct drops a document reached through two components. Directories are
+// checked for equality before this, but one may still lie inside another, and a
+// finding printed twice reads as two.
+func distinct(docs []*doc.Document) []*doc.Document {
+	seen := make(map[string]bool, len(docs))
+	out := docs[:0]
+	for _, d := range docs {
+		if seen[d.Path] {
+			continue
+		}
+		seen[d.Path] = true
+		out = append(out, d)
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
 func printCopyReport(w io.Writer, rep *check.Report, files, comps int, quiet bool) {
 	findings := rep.Findings()
-	current := ""
-	for _, f := range findings {
-		if f.Path != current {
-			if current != "" {
-				fmt.Fprintln(w)
-			}
-			fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s\n", f.Path)
-			current = f.Path
-		}
-		where := ""
-		if f.Line > 0 {
-			where = fmt.Sprintf(":%d", f.Line)
-		}
-		fmt.Fprintf(w, "  %s%s  %s [%s]\n", f.Severity, where, f.Msg, f.Family)
-	}
+	printFindings(w, findings)
 
 	if quiet {
 		return
diff --git a/internal/cli/cli.go b/internal/cli/cli.go
index 0e56a11..45091c3 100644
--- a/internal/cli/cli.go
+++ b/internal/cli/cli.go
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"os"
+	"strings"
 )
 
 // ExitCode is the exit status of the process.
@@ -118,6 +119,31 @@ everything at once and ask nothing — that mode is for agents and scripts.
 `)
 }
 
+// noStrayArgs turns down an argument the command has no place for. The flag
+// package stops parsing at the first argument that is not a flag, so a stray one
+// does not merely sit there unused — it hides every flag written after it, and
+// the command then does something other than what was asked in silence.
+func noStrayArgs(env Env, name string, rest []string) ExitCode {
+	if len(rest) == 0 {
+		return OK
+	}
+	fmt.Fprintf(env.Err, "%s takes no argument, and %q was given; a component is named by --for\n", name, rest[0])
+	return Usage
+}
+
+// split reads a comma-separated list off the command line. An axis of a
+// component is a list — a component may sit on two stacks at once — and one
+// flag repeated is worse to type than one flag with commas in it.
+func split(value string) []string {
+	var out []string
+	for _, part := range strings.Split(value, ",") {
+		if part = strings.TrimSpace(part); part != "" {
+			out = append(out, part)
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
 // Main is the entry point of the process.
 func Main() int {
 	dir, err := os.Getwd()
diff --git a/internal/cli/init.go b/internal/cli/init.go
index be0c939..2c5edf8 100644
--- a/internal/cli/init.go
+++ b/internal/cli/init.go
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ const projectSkeleton = `# What this repository takes from a conventions suite.
 # Where the copies come from: a path on disk, relative to this file or absolute,
 # or a git repository over http or https. A trailing #branch, #tag or #commit
 # pins a revision.
-source = "%s"
+source = %s
 
 # ─── Components ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 #
@@ -54,6 +54,9 @@ func runInit(env Env, args []string) ExitCode {
 	if err := fs.Parse(args); err != nil {
 		return Usage
 	}
+	if code := noStrayArgs(env, "convy init", fs.Args()); code != OK {
+		return code
+	}
 
 	where := *root
 	if where == "" {
@@ -102,7 +105,7 @@ func runInit(env Env, args []string) ExitCode {
 		return Failed
 	}
 
-	entries := [][2]string{{"dir", quote(given["dir"])}}
+	entries := [][2]string{{"dir", manifest.Quote(given["dir"])}}
 	if list := split(given["lang"]); len(list) > 0 {
 		entries = append(entries, [2]string{"lang", array(list)})
 	}
@@ -111,7 +114,7 @@ func runInit(env Env, args []string) ExitCode {
 	}
 	entries = append(entries, [2]string{"topics", "[]"})
 
-	body, err := manifest.AddTable([]byte(fmt.Sprintf(projectSkeleton, given["source"])),
+	body, err := manifest.AddTable(fmt.Appendf(nil, projectSkeleton, manifest.Quote(given["source"])),
 		"components."+given["component"], entries)
 	if err != nil {
 		fmt.Fprintln(env.Err, err)
@@ -179,14 +182,11 @@ func initFields() []Field {
 	}}
 }
 
-func quote(s string) string {
-	return `"` + strings.ReplaceAll(s, `"`, `\"`) + `"`
-}
-
+// array writes a TOML array of strings.
 func array(values []string) string {
 	parts := make([]string, len(values))
 	for i, v := range values {
-		parts[i] = quote(v)
+		parts[i] = manifest.Quote(v)
 	}
 	return "[" + strings.Join(parts, ", ") + "]"
 }
diff --git a/internal/cli/list.go b/internal/cli/list.go
index ee8dec6..e28f62e 100644
--- a/internal/cli/list.go
+++ b/internal/cli/list.go
@@ -23,6 +23,9 @@ func runList(env Env, args []string) ExitCode {
 	if err := fs.Parse(args); err != nil {
 		return Usage
 	}
+	if code := noStrayArgs(env, "convy list", fs.Args()); code != OK {
+		return code
+	}
 
 	o, code := openProject(env, *root)
 	if code != OK {
diff --git a/internal/cli/project.go b/internal/cli/project.go
index 2f4e0fd..8f60557 100644
--- a/internal/cli/project.go
+++ b/internal/cli/project.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
 
 	"git.vakhrushev.me/av/convy/internal/manifest"
 	"git.vakhrushev.me/av/convy/internal/source"
@@ -40,13 +41,9 @@ func openProject(env Env, root string) (*opened, ExitCode) {
 	if code != OK {
 		return nil, code
 	}
-	m, err := manifest.LoadProject(dir)
-	if err != nil {
-		fmt.Fprintln(env.Err, err)
-		return nil, Usage
-	}
-	for _, key := range m.Undecoded {
-		fmt.Fprintf(env.Err, "warning: %s: the key %s is unknown to the tool\n", m.Path, key)
+	m, code := loadProject(env, dir)
+	if code != OK {
+		return nil, code
 	}
 	if m.Source == "" {
 		fmt.Fprintf(env.Err, "%s names no source: a copy comes from a suite, and the manifest is where the suite is named\n", m.Path)
@@ -93,6 +90,22 @@ func openProject(env Env, root string) (*opened, ExitCode) {
 	return o, OK
 }
 
+// loadProject reads the project manifest and says what it did not understand.
+// A typo in a key costs a whole component: `dyr` instead of `dir` leaves the
+// component pointing at the root of the repository, and nothing else would say
+// so.
+func loadProject(env Env, dir string) (*manifest.Project, ExitCode) {
+	m, err := manifest.LoadProject(dir)
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintln(env.Err, err)
+		return nil, Usage
+	}
+	for _, key := range m.Undecoded {
+		fmt.Fprintf(env.Err, "warning: %s: the key %s is unknown to the tool\n", m.Path, key)
+	}
+	return m, OK
+}
+
 // projectRoot finds the manifest of the project. A project command typed inside
 // a suite does not do anything at a guess: it says where it is and names the
 // command of that level.
@@ -133,7 +146,7 @@ func componentOf(env Env, m *manifest.Project, name string) (string, manifest.Co
 func components(env Env, m *manifest.Project, name string) ([]string, ExitCode) {
 	if name != "" {
 		if _, ok := m.Components[name]; !ok {
-			fmt.Fprintf(env.Err, "the project declares no component %q\n", name)
+			fmt.Fprintf(env.Err, "the project declares no component %q; it declares: %s\n", name, strings.Join(m.Names(), ", "))
 			return nil, Usage
 		}
 		return []string{name}, OK
diff --git a/internal/cli/project_test.go b/internal/cli/project_test.go
index 2d55e00..0ac2266 100644
--- a/internal/cli/project_test.go
+++ b/internal/cli/project_test.go
@@ -1,12 +1,16 @@
 package cli_test
 
 import (
+	"fmt"
 	"os"
+	"path"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
+	"git.vakhrushev.me/av/convy/internal/check"
 	"git.vakhrushev.me/av/convy/internal/cli"
+	"git.vakhrushev.me/av/convy/internal/doc"
 )
 
 // readingGuide stands in for what a suite puts next to its copies: the short
@@ -343,6 +347,11 @@ func TestTheLanguageMayLiveApartFromTheSuite(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	checkClean(t, suiteRoot)
 
+	// A check that did not run says so: silence would read as a check passed.
+	if _, out := run(t, suiteRoot, "", false, "suite", "check"); !strings.Contains(out, "went unchecked") {
+		t.Errorf("the check did not say it left the language alone:\n%s", out)
+	}
+
 	root := wired(t, suiteRoot, "--component", "backend", "--dir", "docs/conventions", "--lang", "go")
 	if code, out := run(t, root, "", false, "add", "time"); code != cli.OK {
 		t.Fatalf("convy add returned %d: %s", code, out)
@@ -385,3 +394,134 @@ func TestCheckCatchesALocalRuleAboveTheMarker(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("the finding does not say what is at stake:\n%s", out)
 	}
 }
+
+// copyClean is the project half of the invariant worth the most: what the tool
+// writes, the tool accepts — and accepts in silence, warnings included.
+func copyClean(t *testing.T, root, dir string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	var docs []*doc.Document
+	entries, err := os.ReadDir(filepath.Join(root, filepath.FromSlash(dir)))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	for _, e := range entries {
+		if filepath.Ext(e.Name()) != ".md" {
+			continue
+		}
+		rel := path.Join(dir, e.Name())
+		d, err := doc.Load(rel, filepath.Join(root, filepath.FromSlash(rel)))
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("loading %s: %v", rel, err)
+		}
+		if d.Front.Origin != "" {
+			docs = append(docs, d)
+		}
+	}
+	if len(docs) == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("no copy was assembled in %s", dir)
+	}
+	rep := check.Copies(docs)
+	if len(rep.Findings()) == 0 {
+		return
+	}
+	var b strings.Builder
+	for _, f := range rep.Findings() {
+		fmt.Fprintf(&b, "  %s: %s\n", f.Path, f.Msg)
+	}
+	t.Fatalf("the copies the tool assembled do not check clean:\n%s", b.String())
+}
+
+func TestWhatTheToolAssemblesTheToolAccepts(t *testing.T) {
+	suiteRoot := subscribable(t)
+	root := wired(t, suiteRoot, "--component", "backend", "--dir", "docs/conventions", "--lang", "go")
+	run(t, root, "", false, "add", "time")
+	run(t, root, "", false, "add", "logging")
+	copyClean(t, root, "docs/conventions")
+}
+
+// The flag package stops at the first argument that is not a flag, so a stray
+// one hides every flag written after it and the command quietly does something
+// else than what was asked.
+func TestProjectCommandsTurnDownAStrayArgument(t *testing.T) {
+	suiteRoot := subscribable(t)
+	root := wired(t, suiteRoot, "--component", "backend", "--dir", "docs/conventions", "--lang", "go")
+
+	for _, args := range [][]string{
+		{"pull", "backend"},
+		{"list", "backend"},
+		{"check", "backend"},
+		{"init", "somewhere"},
+	} {
+		t.Run(args[0], func(t *testing.T) {
+			code, out := run(t, root, "", false, args...)
+			if code == cli.OK {
+				t.Fatalf("the stray argument went through:\n%s", out)
+			}
+			if !strings.Contains(out, "takes no argument") {
+				t.Errorf("the refusal does not say what is wrong:\n%s", out)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// The marker is always left by the assembler, so a copy without one was edited
+// by hand — and everything in it would count as suite text to be replaced.
+func TestPullRefusesACopyWhoseMarkerIsGone(t *testing.T) {
+	suiteRoot := subscribable(t)
+	root := wired(t, suiteRoot, "--component", "backend", "--dir", "docs/conventions", "--lang", "go")
+	run(t, root, "", false, "add", "time")
+
+	name := filepath.Join(root, "docs", "conventions", "time.md")
+	body := read(t, root, "docs/conventions/time.md")
+	body = strings.Replace(body, "<!-- conv:local -->", "Заметка, написанная руками.", 1)
+	if err := os.WriteFile(name, []byte(body), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	code, out := run(t, root, "", false, "pull")
+	if code == cli.OK {
+		t.Fatalf("the pull went ahead over a hand-edited copy:\n%s", out)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(out, "carries no <!-- conv:local --> marker") {
+		t.Errorf("the refusal does not say why:\n%s", out)
+	}
+	if got := read(t, root, "docs/conventions/time.md"); !strings.Contains(got, "Заметка, написанная руками") {
+		t.Errorf("the hand-written text was destroyed anyway:\n%s", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// Whatever the tool writes into the manifest it has to read back, and a
+// backslash is the ordinary way that fails.
+func TestInitWritesAManifestItCanRead(t *testing.T) {
+	suiteRoot := subscribable(t)
+	root := wired(t, suiteRoot, "--component", "backend", "--dir", `docs\conventions`)
+
+	code, out := run(t, root, "", false, "list")
+	if code != cli.OK {
+		t.Fatalf("the manifest the tool wrote does not parse: %d\n%s", code, out)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(out, `docs\conventions`) {
+		t.Errorf("the directory came back changed:\n%s", out)
+	}
+}
+
+// A typo in a key costs a whole component, and the parser knows about it — so
+// every command that reads the manifest has to pass that on.
+func TestCheckSaysWhatItDidNotUnderstand(t *testing.T) {
+	suiteRoot := subscribable(t)
+	root := wired(t, suiteRoot, "--component", "backend", "--dir", "docs/conventions", "--lang", "go")
+
+	body := read(t, root, ".conventions.toml")
+	body = strings.Replace(body, `dir = "docs/conventions"`, `dyr = "docs/conventions"`, 1)
+	if err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(root, ".conventions.toml"), []byte(body), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	code, out := run(t, root, "", false, "check")
+	if !strings.Contains(out, "dyr") {
+		t.Errorf("the typo in the manifest went unmentioned:\n%s", out)
+	}
+	if code == cli.OK {
+		t.Errorf("a component with no dir was checked anyway:\n%s", out)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/cli/pull.go b/internal/cli/pull.go
index 7202b4e..bf8992b 100644
--- a/internal/cli/pull.go
+++ b/internal/cli/pull.go
@@ -21,6 +21,9 @@ func runPull(env Env, args []string) ExitCode {
 	if err := fs.Parse(args); err != nil {
 		return Usage
 	}
+	if code := noStrayArgs(env, "convy pull", fs.Args()); code != OK {
+		return code
+	}
 
 	o, code := openProject(env, *root)
 	if code != OK {
diff --git a/internal/cli/suitecheck.go b/internal/cli/suitecheck.go
index 7b05e94..48d7d14 100644
--- a/internal/cli/suitecheck.go
+++ b/internal/cli/suitecheck.go
@@ -55,21 +55,7 @@ func runSuiteCheck(env Env, args []string) ExitCode {
 
 func printReport(w io.Writer, rep *check.Report, s *suite.Suite, quiet bool) {
 	findings := rep.Findings()
-	current := ""
-	for _, f := range findings {
-		if f.Path != current {
-			if current != "" {
-				fmt.Fprintln(w)
-			}
-			fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s\n", f.Path)
-			current = f.Path
-		}
-		where := ""
-		if f.Line > 0 {
-			where = fmt.Sprintf(":%d", f.Line)
-		}
-		fmt.Fprintf(w, "  %s%s  %s [%s]\n", f.Severity, where, f.Msg, f.Family)
-	}
+	printFindings(w, findings)
 
 	if quiet {
 		return
@@ -81,6 +67,12 @@ func printReport(w io.Writer, rep *check.Report, s *suite.Suite, quiet bool) {
 		plural(len(s.Docs), "file"),
 		plural(len(s.Manifest.LiveTopics()), "topic"),
 		s.Manifest.Language.Version, s.Manifest.Language.Lang)
+	// A check that was skipped says so. Reaching the language costs a fetch and
+	// this check runs on every edit, so the documents about the language go
+	// unread — and a check silently not run reads exactly like a check passed.
+	if spec := s.Manifest.Language.Source; spec != "" {
+		fmt.Fprintf(w, "the language lies at %s and was not fetched: its documents went unchecked\n", spec)
+	}
 	switch {
 	case rep.Errors() > 0:
 		fmt.Fprintf(w, "errors: %d, warnings: %d\n", rep.Errors(), rep.Warnings())
@@ -98,3 +90,24 @@ func plural(n int, noun string) string {
 	}
 	return fmt.Sprintf("%d %ss", n, noun)
 }
+
+// printFindings lays the findings out grouped by file. Both checks print them
+// the same way: a finding of the suite and a finding of a copy are read by the
+// same person, and two layouts would be two things to learn.
+func printFindings(w io.Writer, findings []check.Finding) {
+	current := ""
+	for _, f := range findings {
+		if f.Path != current {
+			if current != "" {
+				fmt.Fprintln(w)
+			}
+			fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s\n", f.Path)
+			current = f.Path
+		}
+		where := ""
+		if f.Line > 0 {
+			where = fmt.Sprintf(":%d", f.Line)
+		}
+		fmt.Fprintf(w, "  %s%s  %s [%s]\n", f.Severity, where, f.Msg, f.Family)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/cli/suitelist.go b/internal/cli/suitelist.go
index b79bbbc..fbee0ed 100644
--- a/internal/cli/suitelist.go
+++ b/internal/cli/suitelist.go
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"sort"
-	"strings"
 
 	"git.vakhrushev.me/av/convy/internal/doc"
 	"git.vakhrushev.me/av/convy/internal/lang"
@@ -142,19 +141,6 @@ func listRetired(w io.Writer, s *suite.Suite) {
 	fmt.Fprintln(w, "\nnone of these names is ever handed out again")
 }
 
-// split reads a comma-separated list off the command line. An axis of a
-// component is a list — a component may sit on two stacks at once — and one
-// flag repeated is worse to type than one flag with commas in it.
-func split(value string) []string {
-	var out []string
-	for _, part := range strings.Split(value, ",") {
-		if part = strings.TrimSpace(part); part != "" {
-			out = append(out, part)
-		}
-	}
-	return out
-}
-
 func sortedKeys(m map[string]string) []string {
 	keys := make([]string, 0, len(m))
 	for k := range m {
diff --git a/internal/doc/doc.go b/internal/doc/doc.go
index 7025301..531db74 100644
--- a/internal/doc/doc.go
+++ b/internal/doc/doc.go
@@ -378,3 +378,46 @@ func StripInline(line string) string {
 
 // Len returns the number of lines in the file.
 func (d *Document) Len() int { return len(d.lines) }
+
+// LocalMarker is the boundary inside a copy between what the suite wrote and
+// what the consuming repository wrote. It is the one piece of markup inside a
+// convention that means something to the tool, and it is single and nameless,
+// so there is no name to be orphaned by a rename.
+//
+// It lives here, next to the parsing, because both halves of the tool need it
+// and need it read the same way: the assembler to know what to keep, the check
+// to know what answers to which rules. Two constants would drift in silence.
+const LocalMarker = "<!-- conv:local -->"
+
+// Marker returns the line the local marker stands on, or zero.
+//
+// A marker inside a fenced block is a quotation of the markup rather than the
+// markup itself — a convention about keeping copies would carry one — and
+// taking it for the boundary would hand the whole document to the repository.
+func (d *Document) Marker() int {
+	for n := 1; n <= d.Len(); n++ {
+		if !d.fence[n-1] && strings.TrimSpace(d.lines[n-1]) == LocalMarker {
+			return n
+		}
+	}
+	return 0
+}
+
+// Markers counts the local markers outside fenced blocks.
+func (d *Document) Markers() []int {
+	var out []int
+	for n := 1; n <= d.Len(); n++ {
+		if !d.fence[n-1] && strings.TrimSpace(d.lines[n-1]) == LocalMarker {
+			out = append(out, n)
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// Below returns the lines from n to the end, joined.
+func (d *Document) Below(n int) string {
+	if n < 1 || n > d.Len() {
+		return ""
+	}
+	return strings.Join(d.lines[n-1:], "\n")
+}
diff --git a/internal/manifest/edit.go b/internal/manifest/edit.go
index 688714d..9b35f6c 100644
--- a/internal/manifest/edit.go
+++ b/internal/manifest/edit.go
@@ -135,15 +135,46 @@ func insertionPoint(keys []string, at []int, key string, lines []string, start,
 			}
 		}
 	}
-	return at[len(at)-1] + 1
+	// The entry goes after the last key, and a key is not always one line: an
+	// array written down a column ends where its bracket closes. Appending
+	// after the first line of it would land the entry inside the array.
+	return valueEnd(lines, at[len(at)-1], end) + 1
+}
+
+// valueEnd returns the last line the value of a key occupies.
+func valueEnd(lines []string, at, to int) int {
+	depth := 0
+	for n := at; n < to; n++ {
+		code, _ := splitComment(lines[n])
+		if n == at {
+			if i := strings.Index(code, "="); i >= 0 {
+				code = code[i+1:]
+			}
+		}
+		_, next, closeAt := scanCode(code, depth)
+		if closeAt >= 0 {
+			return n
+		}
+		if depth = next; depth <= 0 {
+			return n
+		}
+	}
+	return at
 }
 
 // renderEntry writes one key-value line, quoting the key when it is not bare.
 func renderEntry(key, value string) string {
 	if !bareRe.MatchString(key) {
-		key = `"` + escape(key) + `"`
+		key = Quote(key)
 	}
-	return key + ` = "` + escape(value) + `"`
+	return key + " = " + Quote(value)
+}
+
+// Quote writes a string the way TOML reads it back. Every value the tool puts
+// into a manifest goes through here: a Windows path is the ordinary case where
+// a backslash left alone makes the tool unable to read the file it just wrote.
+func Quote(s string) string {
+	return `"` + escape(s) + `"`
 }
 
 func escape(s string) string {
diff --git a/internal/manifest/editlist.go b/internal/manifest/editlist.go
index 94a3453..66c58c8 100644
--- a/internal/manifest/editlist.go
+++ b/internal/manifest/editlist.go
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"regexp"
 	"slices"
-	"sort"
 	"strings"
 )
 
@@ -13,13 +12,43 @@ import (
 // author wrote around the data — which component is what, why a topic is taken
 // — has to survive the tool touching the file.
 //
-// The shape of the array survives too. An array written on one line stays on
-// one line, one written down a column stays a column: reflowing it would make
-// every commit that adds a topic look like a rewrite of the file.
+// So the array is read as the manifest wrote it, not as a regular expression
+// over the raw lines: a # inside a string does not open a comment, a bracket
+// inside a comment does not close an array, and a name inside a comment is not
+// a subscription. Getting any of the three wrong turns a comment into data, and
+// there is no way back from that.
+//
+// The shape survives too. An array written on one line stays on one line, one
+// written down a column stays a column, and the comments keep their places: a
+// comment block above a value belongs to that value — the same rule that
+// governs a comment above a table — so sorting carries it along, while a
+// comment trailing on the same line stays on its line.
 
 var arrayKeyRe = regexp.MustCompile(`^(\s*)("[^"]+"|[A-Za-z0-9_-]+)\s*=\s*\[`)
 
-// AddToList appends a value to the array under key in the given table. A table
+// element is one value of an array together with what was written around it.
+type element struct {
+	value string
+	above []string
+	after string
+}
+
+// array is an array of the manifest, parsed.
+type array struct {
+	indent string
+	key    string
+	// column says the array was written down a column rather than on one line.
+	column bool
+	elems  []element
+	// opening is a comment trailing the opening bracket.
+	opening string
+	// dangling holds comment lines standing after the last value.
+	dangling []string
+	// tail is whatever follows the closing bracket.
+	tail string
+}
+
+// AddToList adds a value to the array under key in the given table. A table
 // that has no such key gets one holding the single value.
 func AddToList(source []byte, table, key, value string) ([]byte, error) {
 	lines := strings.Split(string(source), "\n")
@@ -29,7 +58,7 @@ func AddToList(source []byte, table, key, value string) ([]byte, error) {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("the manifest holds no table [%s]", table)
 	}
 
-	from, to, found := arrayBounds(lines, start+1, end, key)
+	from, found := arrayKeyLine(lines, start+1, end, key)
 	if !found {
 		keys, at := tableKeys(lines, start+1, end)
 		insert := insertionPoint(keys, at, key, lines, start, end)
@@ -41,21 +70,25 @@ func AddToList(source []byte, table, key, value string) ([]byte, error) {
 		return []byte(strings.Join(out, "\n")), nil
 	}
 
-	values := arrayValues(lines[from : to+1])
-	if slices.Contains(values, value) {
+	a, last, ok := readArray(lines, from, end)
+	if !ok {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("the array %s in [%s] is not closed by a bracket", key, table)
+	}
+	if slices.ContainsFunc(a.elems, func(e element) bool { return e.value == value }) {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s already holds %q", key, value)
 	}
-	sorted := sort.StringsAreSorted(values)
-	values = append(values, value)
-	if sorted {
-		sort.Strings(values)
-	}
 
-	indent := arrayKeyRe.FindStringSubmatch(lines[from])[1]
-	return splice(lines, from, to, renderArray(indent, key, values, from != to)), nil
+	sorted := slices.IsSortedFunc(a.elems, byValue)
+	a.elems = append(a.elems, element{value: value})
+	if sorted {
+		slices.SortStableFunc(a.elems, byValue)
+	}
+	return splice(lines, from, last, a.render()), nil
 }
 
-// RemoveFromList drops a value from the array under key.
+// RemoveFromList drops a value from the array under key. It is the other half
+// of AddToList: unsubscribing is not a command yet, and a pair of edits where
+// only one direction is written is a pair where the untried direction is wrong.
 func RemoveFromList(source []byte, table, key, value string) ([]byte, error) {
 	lines := strings.Split(string(source), "\n")
 
@@ -63,22 +96,27 @@ func RemoveFromList(source []byte, table, key, value string) ([]byte, error) {
 	if !ok {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("the manifest holds no table [%s]", table)
 	}
-	from, to, found := arrayBounds(lines, start+1, end, key)
+	from, found := arrayKeyLine(lines, start+1, end, key)
 	if !found {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("the table [%s] holds no key %s", table, key)
 	}
+	a, last, ok := readArray(lines, from, end)
+	if !ok {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("the array %s in [%s] is not closed by a bracket", key, table)
+	}
 
-	values := arrayValues(lines[from : to+1])
-	i := slices.Index(values, value)
+	i := slices.IndexFunc(a.elems, func(e element) bool { return e.value == value })
 	if i < 0 {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s does not hold %q", key, value)
 	}
-	values = slices.Delete(values, i, i+1)
-
-	indent := arrayKeyRe.FindStringSubmatch(lines[from])[1]
-	return splice(lines, from, to, renderArray(indent, key, values, from != to)), nil
+	// The comment above a value went with it and goes away with it; a comment
+	// left hanging over the next value would say the wrong thing about it.
+	a.elems = slices.Delete(a.elems, i, i+1)
+	return splice(lines, from, last, a.render()), nil
 }
 
+func byValue(a, b element) int { return strings.Compare(a.value, b.value) }
+
 // AddTable appends a table to the end of the manifest. A new component is a new
 // table, and it goes last because the order of components is the author's:
 // there is nothing to sort them by that would mean anything.
@@ -122,54 +160,167 @@ func tableBounds(lines []string, table string) (start, end int, ok bool) {
 	return start, end, true
 }
 
-// arrayBounds finds the first and the last line of the array under key.
-func arrayBounds(lines []string, from, to int, key string) (start, end int, ok bool) {
+// arrayKeyLine finds the line an array opens on.
+func arrayKeyLine(lines []string, from, to int, key string) (int, bool) {
 	for i := from; i < to; i++ {
-		m := arrayKeyRe.FindStringSubmatch(lines[i])
-		if m == nil || strings.Trim(m[2], `"`) != key {
+		code, _ := splitComment(lines[i])
+		m := arrayKeyRe.FindStringSubmatch(code)
+		if m != nil && strings.Trim(m[2], `"`) == key {
+			return i, true
+		}
+	}
+	return 0, false
+}
+
+// readArray parses the array opening on line from and returns the line it
+// closes on.
+func readArray(lines []string, from, to int) (a array, last int, ok bool) {
+	code, comment := splitComment(lines[from])
+	m := arrayKeyRe.FindStringSubmatch(code)
+	if m == nil {
+		return a, 0, false
+	}
+	a.indent, a.key = m[1], strings.Trim(m[2], `"`)
+
+	open := strings.Index(code, "[")
+	values, depth, closeAt := scanCode(code[open:], 0)
+	for _, v := range values {
+		a.elems = append(a.elems, element{value: v})
+	}
+	if closeAt >= 0 {
+		a.tail = joinTail(code[open+closeAt:], comment)
+		return a, from, true
+	}
+	a.column = true
+	a.opening = comment
+
+	var pending []string
+	for n := from + 1; n < to; n++ {
+		code, comment := splitComment(lines[n])
+		values, next, closeAt := scanCode(code, depth)
+		depth = next
+
+		if len(values) == 0 && strings.TrimSpace(code) == "" && closeAt < 0 {
+			if comment != "" {
+				pending = append(pending, lines[n])
+			}
 			continue
 		}
-		for j := i; j < to; j++ {
-			if strings.Contains(lines[j], "]") {
-				return i, j, true
+		for i, v := range values {
+			e := element{value: v}
+			if i == 0 {
+				e.above, pending = pending, nil
+			}
+			if i == len(values)-1 && closeAt < 0 {
+				e.after = comment
+			}
+			a.elems = append(a.elems, e)
+		}
+		if closeAt >= 0 {
+			a.dangling = pending
+			a.tail = joinTail(code[closeAt:], comment)
+			return a, n, true
+		}
+	}
+	return a, 0, false
+}
+
+// render writes the array back in the shape it had.
+func (a array) render() []string {
+	quoted := make([]string, len(a.elems))
+	for i, e := range a.elems {
+		quoted[i] = `"` + escape(e.value) + `"`
+	}
+
+	if !a.column {
+		line := fmt.Sprintf("%s%s = [%s]", a.indent, a.key, strings.Join(quoted, ", "))
+		return []string{appendTail(line, a.tail)}
+	}
+
+	out := []string{appendTail(a.indent+a.key+" = [", a.opening)}
+	for i, e := range a.elems {
+		out = append(out, e.above...)
+		out = append(out, appendTail(a.indent+"  "+quoted[i]+",", e.after))
+	}
+	out = append(out, a.dangling...)
+	return append(out, appendTail(a.indent+"]", a.tail))
+}
+
+func appendTail(line, tail string) string {
+	if tail == "" {
+		return line
+	}
+	return line + " " + tail
+}
+
+func joinTail(rest, comment string) string {
+	return strings.TrimSpace(strings.TrimSpace(rest) + " " + comment)
+}
+
+// splitComment cuts a line into its code and its comment. A # inside a string
+// opens no comment, which is the whole reason this is not a call to strings.Cut.
+func splitComment(line string) (code, comment string) {
+	quote := byte(0)
+	for i := 0; i < len(line); i++ {
+		c := line[i]
+		if quote != 0 {
+			if quote == '"' && c == '\\' {
+				i++
+				continue
+			}
+			if c == quote {
+				quote = 0
+			}
+			continue
+		}
+		switch c {
+		case '"', '\'':
+			quote = c
+		case '#':
+			return line[:i], line[i:]
+		}
+	}
+	return line, ""
+}
+
+// scanCode walks the code of a line, collecting the strings in it and following
+// the bracket depth. closeAt is the offset just past the bracket that brought
+// the depth back to zero, or -1 while the array is still open.
+func scanCode(code string, depth int) (values []string, depthOut, closeAt int) {
+	closeAt = -1
+	for i := 0; i < len(code); i++ {
+		switch c := code[i]; c {
+		case '"', '\'':
+			var b strings.Builder
+			j := i + 1
+			for j < len(code) {
+				if c == '"' && code[j] == '\\' && j+1 < len(code) {
+					b.WriteString(code[j : j+2])
+					j += 2
+					continue
+				}
+				if code[j] == c {
+					break
+				}
+				b.WriteByte(code[j])
+				j++
+			}
+			text := b.String()
+			if c == '"' {
+				text = unescape(text)
+			}
+			values = append(values, text)
+			i = j
+		case '[':
+			depth++
+		case ']':
+			depth--
+			if depth == 0 && closeAt < 0 {
+				closeAt = i + 1
 			}
 		}
-		return i, i, true
 	}
-	return 0, 0, false
-}
-
-var stringRe = regexp.MustCompile(`"((?:[^"\\]|\\.)*)"`)
-
-// arrayValues pulls the strings out of an array. The array holds names — of
-// topics, of languages, of stacks — and a name is a string; anything else in
-// there is not a thing this tool wrote.
-func arrayValues(lines []string) []string {
-	text := strings.Join(lines, " ")
-	if i := strings.Index(text, "["); i >= 0 {
-		text = text[i:]
-	}
-	var out []string
-	for _, m := range stringRe.FindAllStringSubmatch(text, -1) {
-		out = append(out, unescape(m[1]))
-	}
-	return out
-}
-
-// renderArray writes the array back in the shape it had.
-func renderArray(indent, key string, values []string, column bool) []string {
-	quoted := make([]string, len(values))
-	for i, v := range values {
-		quoted[i] = `"` + escape(v) + `"`
-	}
-	if !column {
-		return []string{fmt.Sprintf("%s%s = [%s]", indent, key, strings.Join(quoted, ", "))}
-	}
-	out := []string{fmt.Sprintf("%s%s = [", indent, key)}
-	for _, q := range quoted {
-		out = append(out, indent+"  "+q+",")
-	}
-	return append(out, indent+"]")
+	return values, depth, closeAt
 }
 
 // splice replaces lines from..to inclusive with the given block.
diff --git a/internal/manifest/editlist_test.go b/internal/manifest/editlist_test.go
index 468b544..5dcf5c0 100644
--- a/internal/manifest/editlist_test.go
+++ b/internal/manifest/editlist_test.go
@@ -1,9 +1,12 @@
 package manifest_test
 
 import (
+	"slices"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
+	"github.com/BurntSushi/toml"
+
 	"git.vakhrushev.me/av/convy/internal/manifest"
 )
 
@@ -96,3 +99,96 @@ func TestAddTableGoesLast(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("a second table of the same name went through")
 	}
 }
+
+// The array is read the way the manifest wrote it. A # inside a string opens no
+// comment, a bracket inside a comment closes no array, and a name inside a
+// comment is not a subscription — turning any of the three into data is the one
+// mistake there is no way back from.
+func TestAddToListReadsCommentsAsComments(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		name    string
+		src     string
+		add     string
+		values  []string
+		remains string
+	}{{
+		name:    "a name quoted inside a comment",
+		src:     "[c.app]\ntopics = [\n  \"errors\",\n  # \"config\" is not taken yet\n]\n",
+		add:     "time",
+		values:  []string{"errors", "time"},
+		remains: `# "config" is not taken yet`,
+	}, {
+		name:    "a bracket inside a comment",
+		src:     "[c.app]\ntopics = [\n  \"errors\", # [enough for now]\n  \"db-schema\",\n]\n",
+		add:     "config",
+		values:  []string{"errors", "db-schema", "config"},
+		remains: `"errors", # [enough for now]`,
+	}, {
+		name:    "a comment trailing a one-line array",
+		src:     "[c.app]\ntopics = [\"git\"] # only git for now\n",
+		add:     "time",
+		values:  []string{"git", "time"},
+		remains: `topics = ["git", "time"] # only git for now`,
+	}, {
+		name:    "a hash inside a value",
+		src:     "[c.app]\ntopics = [\"a#b\"]\n",
+		add:     "time",
+		values:  []string{"a#b", "time"},
+		remains: `topics = ["a#b", "time"]`,
+	}}
+
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			out, err := manifest.AddToList([]byte(tc.src), "c.app", "topics", tc.add)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			got := decodeTopics(t, out)
+			if !slices.Equal(got, tc.values) {
+				t.Errorf("the array holds %q, expected %q:\n%s", got, tc.values, out)
+			}
+			if !strings.Contains(string(out), tc.remains) {
+				t.Errorf("what the author wrote is gone — no %q:\n%s", tc.remains, out)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// decodeTopics reads the array back with the parser the tool itself uses.
+func decodeTopics(t *testing.T, source []byte) []string {
+	t.Helper()
+	var got struct {
+		C map[string]struct{ Topics []string } `toml:"c"`
+	}
+	if _, err := toml.Decode(string(source), &got); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("the manifest the tool wrote does not parse: %v\n%s", err, source)
+	}
+	return got.C["app"].Topics
+}
+
+// A key is not always one line. Appending after the first line of an array
+// written down a column would land the new entry inside it.
+func TestAddToListAppendsPastAMultilineNeighbour(t *testing.T) {
+	src := "[c.app]\ndir = \"docs\"\nstack = [\n  \"sqlite\",\n  \"postgres\",\n]\n"
+	out, err := manifest.AddToList([]byte(src), "c.app", "topics", "errors")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	body := string(out)
+	if !strings.Contains(body, "  \"postgres\",\n]\ntopics = [\"errors\"]") {
+		t.Errorf("the new key did not land past the array:\n%s", body)
+	}
+}
+
+// Whatever the tool writes into a manifest, it has to be able to read back.
+func TestQuoteSurvivesTheRoundTrip(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, value := range []string{`docs\conventions`, `a "quoted" name`, `both\ "kinds"`} {
+		out, err := manifest.AddToList([]byte("[c.app]\ntopics = []\n"), "c.app", "topics", value)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if list := decodeTopics(t, out); len(list) != 1 || list[0] != value {
+			t.Errorf("%q came back as %q", value, list)
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/project/project.go b/internal/project/project.go
index 6adbcf4..cb8e60e 100644
--- a/internal/project/project.go
+++ b/internal/project/project.go
@@ -24,10 +24,10 @@ import (
 	"git.vakhrushev.me/av/convy/internal/suite"
 )
 
-// LocalMarker is the one piece of markup inside a copy that means something to
-// the tool. It is single and nameless, so there is no name to be orphaned by a
-// rename.
-const LocalMarker = "<!-- conv:local -->"
+// LocalMarker is the boundary between what the suite wrote and what the
+// repository wrote. It is defined once, next to the parsing that has to respect
+// it, and named again here because assembly is where it is placed.
+const LocalMarker = doc.LocalMarker
 
 // Copy is the outcome of assembling one topic for one component.
 type Copy struct {
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ func Assemble(s *suite.Suite, root string, c manifest.Component, topic string) (
 		made.Layers = append(made.Layers, d.Path)
 	}
 
+	local := LocalMarker + "\n"
 	existing, err := os.ReadFile(name)
 	switch {
 	case os.IsNotExist(err):
@@ -75,12 +76,12 @@ func Assemble(s *suite.Suite, root string, c manifest.Component, topic string) (
 	case err != nil:
 		return Copy{}, err
 	default:
-		if err := ours(rel, string(existing), topic); err != nil {
+		kept, err := ours(rel, string(existing), topic)
+		if err != nil {
 			return Copy{}, err
 		}
+		local = kept
 	}
-
-	local := localPart(string(existing))
 	made.Kept = strings.TrimSpace(strings.TrimPrefix(local, LocalMarker)) != ""
 
 	body := Render(topic, layers, s.Vocab) + "\n\n" + local
@@ -123,37 +124,34 @@ func Reading(langRoot, path, root, dir string) (string, error) {
 	return rel, nil
 }
 
-// ours refuses to overwrite a file that is not a copy of this topic. A file
-// whose origin key was taken away has stopped being a copy and become a
-// document of the repository, and the tool has no business rewriting it.
-func ours(rel, existing, topic string) error {
+// ours decides whether a file standing in the way may be rewritten, and returns
+// the part of it that survives: everything from the marker down.
+//
+// Three ways it may not. A file whose origin key was taken away has stopped
+// being a copy and become a document of the repository. A file carrying the
+// origin of another topic is another copy that would be buried by this one. And
+// a file with no marker cannot be rewritten either — the marker is always
+// placed by the assembler, so a copy without one was edited by hand, and
+// everything in it counts as suite text that assembly would silently replace.
+func ours(rel, existing, topic string) (string, error) {
 	d, err := doc.Parse(rel, existing)
 	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("%s is in the way and cannot be read: %w", rel, err)
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("%s is in the way and cannot be read: %w", rel, err)
 	}
 	switch {
 	case d.Front.Origin == "" && d.Front.Topic == "" && d.Front.Prefix == "":
-		return fmt.Errorf("%s carries no origin key: it is a document of the repository rather than a copy, and assembly would overwrite it", rel)
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("%s carries no origin key: it is a document of the repository rather than a copy, and assembly would overwrite it", rel)
 	case d.Front.Origin == "":
-		return fmt.Errorf("%s carries no origin key, while it does carry the front matter of a suite file: it looks like a layer put here by hand", rel)
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("%s carries no origin key, while it does carry the front matter of a suite file: it looks like a layer put here by hand", rel)
 	case d.Front.Origin != topic:
-		return fmt.Errorf("%s is a copy of the topic %q, and the topic %q would be assembled into the same file", rel, d.Front.Origin, topic)
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("%s is a copy of the topic %q, and the topic %q would be assembled into the same file", rel, d.Front.Origin, topic)
 	}
-	return nil
-}
 
-// localPart returns everything from the marker down, together with the marker.
-// A file that has none gets one: the marker is placed by the assembler, and a
-// copy without it has nowhere to put a derogation.
-func localPart(existing string) string {
-	lines := strings.Split(existing, "\n")
-	for i, line := range lines {
-		if strings.TrimSpace(line) != LocalMarker {
-			continue
-		}
-		return strings.TrimRight(strings.Join(lines[i:], "\n"), "\n") + "\n"
+	marker := d.Marker()
+	if marker == 0 {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("%s carries no %s marker, and the assembler always leaves one: whatever is in the file was written above the boundary and would be replaced without trace", rel, LocalMarker)
 	}
-	return LocalMarker + "\n"
+	return strings.TrimRight(d.Below(marker), "\n") + "\n", nil
 }
 
 // Render lays out the part of a copy that comes from the suite: the front