phraser: say "даже не знаю, что сказать" when there is nothing to say (V-397)

Review of #108: "поговорили." reads as a summary of a conversation that did
not happen. One exported constant now, so the Stub, the LLMPhraser fallback
and the daemon all say the same thing.

internal/voice/replier.go keeps its own copy — that is the separate replier
seam, not this one.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

cmd/mavend/actions.go

@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"log"
 
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/phraser"
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/router"
 )
 
@@ -58,10 +59,14 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) actionChat(ctx context.Context, dec router.Decision) s
 	// Conversational: build history from dialogue session (prior user turns)
 	// and let the LLM respond from general knowledge + context.
 	history := h.chatHistory()
+	// The phraser hands back its own fallback text alongside the error, so the
+	// turn survives a dead server and the failure still reaches the log.
 	reply, err := h.phraser.PhraseChat(ctx, dec.Utterance, history)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Printf("voice: chat: %v", err)
-		return "поговорили."
+	}
+	if reply == "" {
+		return phraser.ChatFallback
 	}
 	return reply
 }

cmd/mavend/actions_query.go

@@ -445,7 +445,13 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) queryMemory(ctx context.Context, t *queryTurn) (string
 	// A note is phrased in Maven's voice; a fact is read back as it was
 	// stored.
 	if hit.Meta["type"] == "note" {
-		if reply, perr := h.phraser.PhraseQuery(ctx, t.dec.Utterance, []string{text}); perr == nil && reply != "" {
+		reply, perr := h.phraser.PhraseQuery(ctx, t.dec.Utterance, []string{text})
+		switch {
+		case perr != nil:
+			// Reading the note back verbatim beats the phraser's own fallback,
+			// which only wraps the same text in "вот что я нашла:".
+			log.Printf("voice: recall phrase: %v", perr)
+		case reply != "":
 			return reply, true
 		}
 	}

cmd/mavend/capture.go

@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ func (l llmCompleter) Complete(ctx context.Context, system, user string) (string
 // grammar, or a llama-server too old to honour one, gets the plain text it used
 // to get rather than an empty meeting summary.
 func unwrapSummary(raw string) string {
-	s := stripThink(strings.TrimSpace(raw))
+	s := phraser.StripThink(strings.TrimSpace(raw))
 	start := strings.Index(s, "{")
 	end := strings.LastIndex(s, "}")
 	if start < 0 || end <= start {

cmd/mavend/replier_llm.go

@@ -2,122 +2,33 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"context"
-	"encoding/json"
-	"strings"
-	"time"
 
-	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/llm"
-	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/persona"
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/phraser"
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/router"
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/voice"
 )
 
-// completer is the LLM seam for the replier (subset of router.Completer).
+// llmReplier is the daemon-side wiring around phraser.Replier: it owns the
-// *llm.Client satisfies it.
+// deterministic floor, and nothing else. The phrasing itself, the prompt and the
-type completer interface {
+// output parsing live in internal/phraser so the eval can score them (#396).
-	Complete(ctx context.Context, r llm.Req) (string, error)
-}
-
-// llmReplier phrases reactive confirmations with the resident model
-// (Qwen3-1.7B). Stub is the
-// floor on any error (offline-safe). Maven speaks as "she", feminine RU.
 type llmReplier struct {
-	c    completer
+	p    *phraser.Replier
 	stub *voice.StubReplier
-
-	// block renders the shared context block per turn (who he is, the time).
-	// nil ⇒ the prompt stands alone.
-	block func() string
 }
 
-func newLLMReplier(c completer, block func() string) *llmReplier {
+func newLLMReplier(c phraser.Completer, block func() string) *llmReplier {
-	return &llmReplier{c: c, stub: voice.NewStubReplier(), block: block}
+	return &llmReplier{p: phraser.NewReplier(c, block), stub: voice.NewStubReplier()}
 }
 
-const replySystem = `Ты — Maven, домашняя ассистентка (о себе — в женском роде). Владелец — мужчина, говоришь с ним на "ты", в единственном числе; никогда не "вы"/"ваш" и не "он"/"его". Подтверди действие РОВНО ОДНИМ коротким предложением (≤120 символов), по-русски, спокойно и без официальных формулировок. Не задавай вопросов, не повторяй слова, не добавляй ничего после точки. Отвечай ТОЛЬКО одним объектом JSON с полями "response" (текст) и "mood" (ровно одно из: neutral, happy, thinking, tired, confused).
+// Reply never fails: a clarify, a model error and an unusable generation all
-Пример: {"response": "Записала, что ты выпил стакан воды.", "mood": "neutral"}
+// answer from the stub, which is what keeps a turn from breaking on the model.
-Никогда не пиши "..." в поле response.`
-
 func (r *llmReplier) Reply(d router.Decision) string {
 	if d.Clarify {
 		return r.stub.Reply(d)
 	}
-	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 60*time.Second)
+	out, err := r.p.PhraseReply(context.Background(), d)
-	defer cancel()
+	if err != nil || out == "" {
-	out, err := r.c.Complete(ctx, llm.Req{
-		System:        persona.Prepend(r.block, replySystem),
-		User:          replyContext(d),
-		Grammar:       phraser.ResponseGrammar,
-		MaxTokens:     512,
-		RepeatPenalty: 1.3,
-	})
-	if err != nil {
 		return r.stub.Reply(d)
 	}
-	out = stripThink(out)
+	return out
-	if response, _ := parseResponseMood(out); response != "" {
-		return response
-	}
-	// fallback: try plain-text parsing
-	if out = firstSentence(out); out != "" {
-		return out
-	}
-	return r.stub.Reply(d)
-}
-
-// firstSentence trims the model's output to a single clean confirmation: first
-// line, first sentence, whitespace-normalized — the last-line defense against a
-// small model that rambles past the first period despite the prompt + stop.
-// stripThink removes the <think> block that Thinking-variant models emit.
-func stripThink(s string) string {
-	if i := strings.LastIndex(s, "</think>"); i >= 0 {
-		s = strings.TrimSpace(s[i+8:])
-	}
-	return s
-}
-
-func firstSentence(s string) string {
-	s = strings.TrimSpace(s)
-	if i := strings.IndexByte(s, '\n'); i >= 0 {
-		s = s[:i]
-	}
-	// keep up to and including the first sentence-ending punctuation.
-	if i := strings.IndexAny(s, ".!?"); i >= 0 {
-		s = s[:i+1]
-	}
-	return strings.TrimSpace(s)
-}
-
-// parseResponseMood extracts {"response","mood"} from LLM output, tolerant
-// of thinking tokens and extra text before/after the JSON block.
-func parseResponseMood(raw string) (response, mood string) {
-	cleaned := strings.TrimSpace(raw)
-	start := strings.Index(cleaned, "{")
-	end := strings.LastIndex(cleaned, "}")
-	if start < 0 || end < 0 || end <= start {
-		return "", ""
-	}
-	var parsed struct {
-		Response string `json:"response"`
-		Mood     string `json:"mood"`
-	}
-	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(cleaned[start:end+1]), &parsed); err != nil {
-		return "", ""
-	}
-	return parsed.Response, parsed.Mood
-}
-
-// replyContext renders the decision into a compact RU description for the model.
-func replyContext(d router.Decision) string {
-	switch d.Intent {
-	case router.IntentFact:
-		return "записала факт: " + d.Slots.Key + " " + d.Slots.Value
-	case router.IntentNote:
-		return "сохранила заметку: " + d.Slots.Text
-	case router.IntentReminder:
-		return "поставила напоминание: " + d.Slots.Text
-	default:
-		return string(d.Intent) + ": " + d.Slots.Text
-	}
 }

cmd/mavend/replier_llm_test.go

@@ -5,28 +5,22 @@ import (
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/llm"
-	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/phraser"
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/router"
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/voice"
 )
 
-type mockCompleter struct {
+// The phrasing itself is tested in internal/phraser. What is left here is the
+// only thing the daemon adds: the stub floor, on the three ways a reply can
+// fail to arrive.
+type stubCompleter struct {
 	out string
 	err error
 }
 
-func (m mockCompleter) Complete(_ context.Context, _ llm.Req) (string, error) { return m.out, m.err }
+func (s stubCompleter) Complete(_ context.Context, _ llm.Req) (string, error) { return s.out, s.err }
 
-func TestLLMReplierReturnsLLMReply(t *testing.T) {
+func TestLLMReplierPassesTheModelReplyThrough(t *testing.T) {
-	r := newLLMReplier(mockCompleter{out: `{"response":"записала, кофе закончился","mood":"neutral"}`}, nil)
+	r := newLLMReplier(stubCompleter{out: `{"response":"записала, кофе закончился","mood":"neutral"}`}, nil)
-	got := r.Reply(router.Decision{Intent: router.IntentNote, Slots: router.Slots{Text: "кофе закончился"}})
-	if got != "записала, кофе закончился" {
-		t.Errorf("got %q, want %q", got, "записала, кофе закончился")
-	}
-}
-
-func TestLLMReplierFallsBackToPlainText(t *testing.T) {
-	r := newLLMReplier(mockCompleter{out: "записала, кофе закончился"}, nil)
 	got := r.Reply(router.Decision{Intent: router.IntentNote, Slots: router.Slots{Text: "кофе закончился"}})
 	if got != "записала, кофе закончился" {
 		t.Errorf("got %q, want %q", got, "записала, кофе закончился")
@@ -34,54 +28,30 @@ func TestLLMReplierFallsBackToPlainText(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestLLMReplierFallsBackToStubOnError(t *testing.T) {
-	r := newLLMReplier(mockCompleter{err: errTestLLMDown}, nil)
+	r := newLLMReplier(stubCompleter{err: errReplierTest}, nil)
-	noteDec := router.Decision{Intent: router.IntentNote}
+	assertStub(t, r, router.Decision{Intent: router.IntentNote}, "llm error")
-	got := r.Reply(noteDec)
-	want := voice.NewStubReplier().Reply(noteDec)
-	if got != want {
-		t.Errorf("on llm error: got %q, want stub %q", got, want)
-	}
 }
 
 func TestLLMReplierFallsBackToStubOnEmpty(t *testing.T) {
-	r := newLLMReplier(mockCompleter{out: ""}, nil)
+	r := newLLMReplier(stubCompleter{out: ""}, nil)
-	noteDec := router.Decision{Intent: router.IntentNote}
+	assertStub(t, r, router.Decision{Intent: router.IntentNote}, "empty llm")
-	got := r.Reply(noteDec)
-	want := voice.NewStubReplier().Reply(noteDec)
-	if got != want {
-		t.Errorf("on empty llm: got %q, want stub %q", got, want)
-	}
 }
 
 func TestLLMReplierClarifyUsesStub(t *testing.T) {
-	r := newLLMReplier(mockCompleter{out: "я всё поняла"}, nil)
+	r := newLLMReplier(stubCompleter{out: "я всё поняла"}, nil)
-	clarifyDec := router.Decision{Clarify: true}
+	assertStub(t, r, router.Decision{Clarify: true}, "clarify")
-	got := r.Reply(clarifyDec)
+}
-	want := voice.NewStubReplier().Reply(clarifyDec)
+
+func assertStub(t *testing.T, r *llmReplier, d router.Decision, what string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	got, want := r.Reply(d), voice.NewStubReplier().Reply(d)
 	if got != want {
-		t.Errorf("on clarify: got %q, want stub %q", got, want)
+		t.Errorf("on %s: got %q, want stub %q", what, got, want)
 	}
 }
 
-var errTestLLMDown = errTest("llm down")
+var errReplierTest = errTest("llm down")
 
 type errTest string
 
 func (e errTest) Error() string { return string(e) }
-
-// grammarRecorder captures the request so the grammar can be asserted on.
-type grammarRecorder struct{ req llm.Req }
-
-func (g *grammarRecorder) Complete(_ context.Context, r llm.Req) (string, error) {
-	g.req = r
-	return `{"response":"записала","mood":"neutral"}`, nil
-}
-
-func TestLLMReplierCarriesTheResponseGrammar(t *testing.T) {
-	rec := &grammarRecorder{}
-	r := newLLMReplier(rec, nil)
-	r.Reply(router.Decision{Intent: router.IntentNote, Slots: router.Slots{Text: "кофе закончился"}})
-	if rec.req.Grammar != phraser.ResponseGrammar {
-		t.Errorf("grammar = %q, want phraser.ResponseGrammar", rec.req.Grammar)
-	}
-}

cmd/mavend/worldmodel.go

@@ -54,7 +54,11 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) phraseSource(ctx context.Context, name, utterance stri
 		log.Printf("voice: %s: no world model, reading the source back instead", name)
 		return ""
 	case err != nil:
+		// The resident phraser answers this call with its fallback text and the
+		// error together. Drop the text: these callers hold the passage itself
+		// and read it back better than "вот что я нашла: <passage>" does.
 		log.Printf("voice: %s: phrase: %v", name, err)
+		return ""
 	}
 	return reply
 }

docs/evals/2026-08-03-recall-topic-veto.md

@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+# Recall topic veto, what it costs and what it buys, 2026-08-03
+
+Vikunja #496. The task asked for a cross-language fix. Skip the topic veto in
+`memory.RecallAllowed` when the question and the hit are in different scripts.
+An English question would then stop losing a Russian note.
+
+No such case exists. No fixture case puts the question and its wanted note in
+different scripts. The case the task named is not one either.
+
+    en-hard-024
+      query  "what fixed the screen problem"
+      note   "the flicker went away once i swapped the display cable"
+
+Both are English. It is a paraphrase failure, not a language failure. A script
+test would not have changed a single case, and neither would a bilingual stem
+map.
+
+## What the veto is worth today
+
+Measured with the real embedder, multilingual-e5-small int8, gate 0.55, margin
+0.008. The first row is the veto as it ships. The second is `RecallAllowed`
+forced to true.
+
+| | cases passing | answered | false recall | silenced by gate |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| veto on | 22/32 | 17/27 | 0/5 | 2 |
+| veto off | 22/32 | 18/27 | 1/5 | 1 |
+
+The pass count does not move. The veto trades one true recall for one false one.
+It costs `en-hard-024` and it buys `ru-silent-029`:
+
+    ru-silent-029
+      query  "во сколько отходит поезд"
+      note   "погулял вдоль реки"        0.835, margin 0.019
+
+The second case counted as silenced by the gate is `ru-home-026` at margin
+0.001, which the margin gate stops. The veto has nothing to do with it.
+
+## Why no lexical rule separates the two
+
+`en-hard-024` and `ru-silent-029` are in the same lexical class. Both questions
+share zero content words with their hit, and neither carries a first-person
+marker. The scores sit on top of each other, 0.826 against 0.835, and so do the
+margins, 0.023 against 0.019. Only one thing separates them. A screen problem
+and a swapped display cable are the same event. A train and a river walk are
+not. The embedder scores that difference at nine thousandths.
+
+So the signal is semantic and the gate is lexical. Any rule cheap enough to sit
+in `RecallAllowed` and strong enough to recover `en-hard-024` also re-admits
+`ru-silent-029`, which puts false recall back to 1/5.
+
+One near-miss rule was tried on paper and rejected: let the veto pass when the
+hit itself is first person. It works on these two, because the English note says
+"i swapped" and the Russian note says only "погулял". It is backwards as a
+principle. A first-person note is exactly the personal note the veto keeps away
+from a world question. The rule would weaken the veto where it was designed to
+bite. It survives here only because Russian drops the pronoun.
+
+## Decision
+
+Accept the loss. `en-hard-024` stays silenced and false recall stays 0/5.
+
+The way out is a reranker, not a longer word list. Recall@3 is 85.2% against
+recall@1 at 70.4%, so the right note is usually in the returned set and ranked
+wrong. That is where the remaining points are, and it is not this task.

internal/memory/lexical.go

@@ -60,6 +60,14 @@ var firstPerson = map[string]bool{
 // kill one false one. A question about his own life keeps the embedder alone
 // as its judge. A question about the world has to name something the memory
 // actually mentions.
+//
+// The veto's price was re-measured on 2026-08-03 (#496,
+// docs/evals/2026-08-03-recall-topic-veto.md). It costs one true recall and
+// buys one false one, and the fixture pass count is the same either way. The
+// lost case is an English paraphrase, not the cross-language loss it was
+// reported as, and the fixture has no cross-language case at all. Do not add a
+// script test or a bilingual stem map for it — both are no-ops here. The
+// separating signal is semantic and belongs in a reranker, not in this file.
 func RecallAllowed(query, text string) bool {
 	if mentionsHim(query) {
 		return true

internal/memory/lexical_test.go

@@ -31,6 +31,22 @@ func TestRecallAllowed(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// The known cost of the veto and the thing that pays for it, both measured on
+// the held-out fixture with the real embedder (#496,
+// docs/evals/2026-08-03-recall-topic-veto.md). The two are one lexical class:
+// zero shared content words, no first-person marker, scores 0.826 against 0.835
+// and margins 0.023 against 0.019. Recovering the first re-admits the second,
+// which puts false recall back to 1/5. Anyone loosening the veto has to move
+// the first line without moving the second.
+func TestRecallVetoTradeIsPinned(t *testing.T) {
+	if RecallAllowed("what fixed the screen problem", "the flicker went away once i swapped the display cable") {
+		t.Error("en-hard-024 is expected to stay vetoed — if this passes now, re-measure false recall before celebrating")
+	}
+	if RecallAllowed("во сколько отходит поезд", "погулял вдоль реки") {
+		t.Error("ru-silent-029 must stay vetoed — this is the false recall the veto exists to stop")
+	}
+}
+
 // A question made only of filler has no topic word to match on, and the score
 // gate is then the only judge it can have.
 func TestRecallAllowedFallsBackWhenNothingToCompare(t *testing.T) {

internal/phraser/eval/talk.go

@@ -26,20 +26,22 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/dialogue"
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/router"
 )
 
 //go:embed talk_v1.json
 var talkFixtureJSON []byte
 
-// The three phrasing paths under test. Values match the fixture's "path" field.
+// The phrasing paths under test. Values match the fixture's "path" field.
 const (
 	PathChat      = "chat"      // PhraseChat
 	PathQuery     = "query"     // PhraseQuery with notes
 	PathKnowledge = "knowledge" // PhraseQuery with no notes
+	PathReply     = "reply"     // PhraseReply, the reactive confirmation
 )
 
 // TalkPaths — report order.
-var TalkPaths = []string{PathChat, PathQuery, PathKnowledge}
+var TalkPaths = []string{PathChat, PathQuery, PathKnowledge, PathReply}
 
 // TalkCheckNames — the checks that apply to a free-form reply, in report order.
 // Deliberately a subset of CheckNames: length, mood and "no questions" are nudge
@@ -58,17 +60,30 @@ var TalkCheckNames = []string{
 // WantAny is the on-topic contract: at least one lowercased fragment must appear
 // in the reply. Fragments are stems ("пароль" → "парол") so declension does not
 // defeat them.
+//
+// Intent, Key and Value carry the reply path's decision: that path is phrased
+// from what the router already resolved, not from the raw utterance. Utterance
+// stays filled anyway, because it is what a human reads in the report.
 type TalkCase struct {
 	ID        string   `json:"id"`
 	Path      string   `json:"path"`
 	Utterance string   `json:"utterance"`
 	History   []string `json:"history,omitempty"`
 	Notes     []string `json:"notes,omitempty"`
+	Intent    string   `json:"intent,omitempty"`
+	Key       string   `json:"key,omitempty"`
+	Value     string   `json:"value,omitempty"`
 	WantAny   []string `json:"want_any"`
 	Tags      []string `json:"tags,omitempty"`
 	Note      string   `json:"note,omitempty"`
 }
 
+// TalkSchemaVersion — the version this loader understands. Separate from the
+// nudge fixture's SchemaVersion: the two fixtures have different shapes and
+// change on different days, and one shared constant would force a bump on the
+// fixture that did not move.
+const TalkSchemaVersion = 1
+
 // TalkFixture — the versioned envelope, same gating as Fixture.
 type TalkFixture struct {
 	SchemaVersion int        `json:"schema_version"`
@@ -83,8 +98,8 @@ func LoadTalk() (TalkFixture, error) {
 	if err := json.Unmarshal(talkFixtureJSON, &f); err != nil {
 		return TalkFixture{}, fmt.Errorf("parse talk fixture: %w", err)
 	}
-	if f.SchemaVersion != SchemaVersion {
+	if f.SchemaVersion != TalkSchemaVersion {
-		return TalkFixture{}, fmt.Errorf("talk fixture schema_version %d, want %d", f.SchemaVersion, SchemaVersion)
+		return TalkFixture{}, fmt.Errorf("talk fixture schema_version %d, want %d", f.SchemaVersion, TalkSchemaVersion)
 	}
 	if len(f.Cases) == 0 {
 		return TalkFixture{}, fmt.Errorf("talk fixture has no cases")
@@ -92,13 +107,27 @@ func LoadTalk() (TalkFixture, error) {
 	return f, nil
 }
 
-// Talker — the two methods a conversational path must have to be scorable.
+// Talker — the methods a conversational path must have to be scorable.
-// *phraser.LLMPhraser satisfies it; same trick as Nudger.
+// *phraser.LLMPhraser satisfies the first two; *phraser.Replier satisfies the
+// third, so a run that scores all four paths passes a Pair.
 type Talker interface {
 	PhraseChat(ctx context.Context, utterance string, history []dialogue.Turn) (string, error)
 	PhraseQuery(ctx context.Context, utterance string, notes []string) (string, error)
 }
 
+// Confirmer — the reply path. *phraser.Replier satisfies it.
+type Confirmer interface {
+	PhraseReply(ctx context.Context, d router.Decision) (string, error)
+}
+
+// Pair joins the two objects the daemon wires separately — the phraser and the
+// replier — so one ScoreTalk call covers every path Maven speaks through. A bare
+// Talker still works; its reply cases score as errors, which is honest.
+type Pair struct {
+	Talker
+	Confirmer
+}
+
 // TalkOutcome — one scored case.
 type TalkOutcome struct {
 	Case    TalkCase
@@ -194,10 +223,30 @@ func (c TalkCase) run(ctx context.Context, t Talker) (string, error) {
 		return t.PhraseQuery(ctx, c.Utterance, c.Notes)
 	case PathKnowledge:
 		return t.PhraseQuery(ctx, c.Utterance, nil)
+	case PathReply:
+		conf, ok := t.(Confirmer)
+		if !ok {
+			return "", fmt.Errorf("target cannot phrase replies — pass a Pair")
+		}
+		return conf.PhraseReply(ctx, c.decision())
 	}
 	return "", fmt.Errorf("unknown path %q", c.Path)
 }
 
+// decision rebuilds what the router would have handed the replier. Text is the
+// utterance for a note or a reminder, which is what the router puts there.
+func (c TalkCase) decision() router.Decision {
+	return router.Decision{
+		Intent: router.Intent(c.Intent),
+		Slots: router.Slots{
+			Key:    c.Key,
+			Value:  c.Value,
+			Text:   c.Utterance,
+			HasKey: c.Key != "",
+		},
+	}
+}
+
 func (c TalkCase) turns() []dialogue.Turn {
 	turns := make([]dialogue.Turn, 0, len(c.History))
 	for _, h := range c.History {

internal/phraser/eval/talk_test.go

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/llm"
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/persona"
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/phraser"
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/router"
 )
 
 // perPathMinimum — the resolution floor. A per-path score built on a handful of
@@ -36,6 +37,10 @@ func TestTalkFixture(t *testing.T) {
 
 		switch c.Path {
 		case PathChat, PathQuery, PathKnowledge:
+		case PathReply:
+			if c.Intent == "" {
+				t.Errorf("%s: reply case has no intent — the replier is phrased from the decision", c.ID)
+			}
 		default:
 			t.Errorf("%s: unknown path %q", c.ID, c.Path)
 		}
@@ -69,10 +74,15 @@ type fakeTalker struct{ reply string }
 func (f fakeTalker) PhraseChat(context.Context, string, []dialogue.Turn) (string, error) {
 	return f.reply, nil
 }
+
 func (f fakeTalker) PhraseQuery(context.Context, string, []string) (string, error) {
 	return f.reply, nil
 }
 
+func (f fakeTalker) PhraseReply(context.Context, router.Decision) (string, error) {
+	return f.reply, nil
+}
+
 // TestScoreTalkCounts — a reply that fails on purpose must be counted on every
 // path, so a real run cannot report a hidden zero.
 func TestScoreTalkCounts(t *testing.T) {
@@ -104,7 +114,7 @@ func TestScoreTalkCounts(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-// TestLLMTalkBaseline — the resident model on the three conversational paths.
+// TestLLMTalkBaseline — the resident model on all four phrasing paths.
 // Opt-in exactly like TestLLMPhrasingBaseline: CI has no model and a run costs
 // minutes on the CPU target.
 //
@@ -132,32 +142,32 @@ func TestLLMTalkBaseline(t *testing.T) {
 	p := phraser.NewLLMPhraserAt(base, cfg)
 	defer p.Close()
 
-	// Unreachable server is fatal here, not a logged warning, and that differs
+	// The model id names the run in the report. Since Vikunja #397 every path
-	// from the nudge test on purpose. PhraseNudge returns its errors, so a dead
+	// returns its errors, so a server that dies mid-run shows up in the Errors
-	// server there shows up honestly in the Errors column. PhraseChat and
+	// column instead of scoring as bad phrasing — the before-and-after probe that
-	// PhraseQuery do NOT: they swallow every failure and return a canned string
+	// used to stand in for that is gone.
-	// ("поговорили.", "не знаю.", "вот что я нашла: …"). So on these three paths
-	// a dead server produces a full report with 0 errors and a terrible score —
-	// a number that looks like bad phrasing and is really no phrasing at all.
-	// Refusing to score without a confirmed model is the only guard available
-	// until the phraser reports its failures (Vikunja #397).
 	model, err := llm.ModelID(ctx, base)
 	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("no model at %s: %v — refusing to score, these paths hide their errors "+
+		t.Fatalf("no model at %s: %v", base, err)
-			"and would report a plausible-looking result off a dead server", base, err)
 	}
 	t.Logf("scoring model %s at %s", model, base)
 
-	rep, err := ScoreTalk(ctx, "llm ("+model+", built-in persona)", p, f)
+	// The reply path is a separate object in the daemon too: the phraser owns its
+	// own llama-server, the replier is handed an llm.Client. Pair scores both.
+	block := func() string { return persona.Facts{}.Block(time.Now()) }
+	target := Pair{Talker: p, Confirmer: phraser.NewReplier(llm.New(base, cfg.Timeout), block)}
+
+	rep, err := ScoreTalk(ctx, "llm ("+model+", built-in persona)", target, f)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("ScoreTalk: %v", err)
 	}
 	t.Log("\n" + rep.String() + "\nreplies:\n" + rep.Replies() + "\nfailures:\n" + rep.Failures())
 
-	// And again afterwards: the run takes minutes, and a server that died or got
+	// A run where nothing was phrased is not a low score, it is no measurement.
-	// OOM-killed halfway through would leave the first cases scored and the rest
+	if rep.Errors == rep.Total {
-	// silently canned. Checking only at the start would not catch that.
+		t.Fatalf("every case errored — nothing was measured, the score above is not a phrasing result")
-	if _, err := llm.ModelID(ctx, base); err != nil {
+	}
-		t.Fatalf("model at %s went away during the run: %v — the score above is not trustworthy", base, err)
+	if rep.Errors > 0 {
+		t.Logf("%d/%d cases errored — those are model failures, not phrasing failures", rep.Errors, rep.Total)
 	}
 }

internal/phraser/eval/talk_v1.json

@@ -222,6 +222,90 @@
       "utterance": "почему гром слышно позже молнии?",
       "want_any": ["звук", "све", "быстр", "гром", "молни"],
       "tags": ["general"]
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "reply-fact-coffee",
+      "path": "reply",
+      "intent": "fact",
+      "key": "кофе",
+      "value": "закончился",
+      "utterance": "кофе закончился",
+      "want_any": ["коф"],
+      "tags": ["fact"],
+      "note": "The plainest confirmation there is, and the sentence he hears most often."
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "reply-fact-weight",
+      "path": "reply",
+      "intent": "fact",
+      "key": "вес",
+      "value": "82",
+      "utterance": "мой вес 82",
+      "want_any": ["вес", "82"],
+      "tags": ["fact", "number"],
+      "note": "A number must survive into the confirmation; a paraphrase that drops it is useless."
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "reply-fact-pill",
+      "path": "reply",
+      "intent": "fact",
+      "key": "таблетки",
+      "value": "выпил",
+      "utterance": "таблетки выпил",
+      "want_any": ["таблетк"],
+      "tags": ["fact", "feminine"],
+      "note": "He says 'выпил', masculine and about himself. She must not copy the form onto herself."
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "reply-note-router",
+      "path": "reply",
+      "intent": "note",
+      "utterance": "роутер перезагружается сам по ночам",
+      "want_any": ["роутер"],
+      "tags": ["note"]
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "reply-note-long",
+      "path": "reply",
+      "intent": "note",
+      "utterance": "если диск снова отвалится, посмотреть кабель, а не контроллер, в прошлый раз был кабель",
+      "want_any": ["диск", "кабел"],
+      "tags": ["note", "length"],
+      "note": "A long note baits a long confirmation. One sentence is the contract."
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "reply-reminder-evening",
+      "path": "reply",
+      "intent": "reminder",
+      "utterance": "напомни вечером полить цветы",
+      "want_any": ["цвет", "полит", "вечер"],
+      "tags": ["reminder"]
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "reply-reminder-tomorrow",
+      "path": "reply",
+      "intent": "reminder",
+      "utterance": "напомни завтра позвонить в поликлинику",
+      "want_any": ["поликлиник", "позвон", "звон"],
+      "tags": ["reminder"]
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "reply-formality-bait",
+      "path": "reply",
+      "intent": "note",
+      "utterance": "запишите пожалуйста что счётчики я сдал",
+      "want_any": ["счётчик", "счетчик"],
+      "tags": ["note", "persona-bait", "address"],
+      "note": "Polite plural in the input. The confirmation must still be на ты."
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "reply-question-bait",
+      "path": "reply",
+      "intent": "note",
+      "utterance": "надо купить фильтр для воды, не помню какой",
+      "want_any": ["фильтр"],
+      "tags": ["note", "no-question"],
+      "note": "An unresolved note invites her to ask which filter. A confirmation does not ask."
     }
   ]
 }

internal/phraser/failure_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+package phraser
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// A dead server must be distinguishable from bad phrasing. Both PhraseChat and
+// PhraseQuery keep the turn alive with canned text — ChatFallback, "не знаю.",
+// "вот что я нашла: …" — and every one of those is also a legitimate reply, so
+// the text alone cannot say which happened. The error is the only signal, and
+// before Vikunja #397 it was dropped: the talk scorer reported a full run with
+// zero errors off a server that answered nothing.
+func TestPhrasingReportsTheFailureWithTheFallback(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		http.Error(w, "model not loaded", http.StatusServiceUnavailable)
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+	p := NewLLMPhraserAt(srv.URL, Config{})
+
+	cases := []struct {
+		name string
+		call func() (string, error)
+		want string
+	}{
+		{"chat", func() (string, error) {
+			return p.PhraseChat(context.Background(), "как дела", nil)
+		}, ChatFallback},
+		{"knowledge", func() (string, error) {
+			return p.PhraseQuery(context.Background(), "кто написал войну и мир", nil)
+		}, "не знаю."},
+		{"evidence", func() (string, error) {
+			return p.PhraseQuery(context.Background(), "сколько воды я выпил", []string{"два литра"})
+		}, "вот что я нашла: два литра"},
+	}
+	for _, c := range cases {
+		t.Run(c.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			got, err := c.call()
+			if err == nil {
+				t.Fatalf("no error from a dead server; the scorer would count this as bad phrasing")
+			}
+			if got != c.want {
+				t.Errorf("fallback text = %q, want %q — the daemon still has to say something", got, c.want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// An empty answer is a failure too: the server is up and produced no tokens,
+// which is not an answer and must not score as one.
+func TestEmptyKnowledgeAnswerIsAnError(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+		w.Write([]byte(`{"choices":[{"message":{"content":""}}]}`))
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+	p := NewLLMPhraserAt(srv.URL, Config{})
+
+	got, err := p.PhraseQuery(context.Background(), "кто написал войну и мир", nil)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("an empty response scored as an answer")
+	}
+	if got != "не знаю." {
+		t.Errorf("fallback text = %q, want \"не знаю.\"", got)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "empty") {
+		t.Errorf("error = %v; want it to name the empty response", err)
+	}
+}

internal/phraser/llmphraser.go

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"bytes"
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"log"
@@ -26,6 +27,11 @@ import (
 
 var listenRE = regexp.MustCompile(`listening on (https?://\S+)`)
 
+// errEmptyResponse — the server answered and said nothing. Separate from a
+// transport failure: the model is up and produced no tokens, which is still not
+// an answer and must not score as one.
+var errEmptyResponse = errors.New("phraser: empty response from the model")
+
 type LLMPhraser struct {
 	cfg    Config
 	client *http.Client
@@ -428,8 +434,11 @@ func (p *LLMPhraser) PhraseNudge(ctx context.Context, c loop.Candidate) (deliver
 }
 
 // PhraseQuery prompts the LLM with the user's utterance and matching notes to
-// compose a natural answer. Falls back to "вот что я нашла: <notes>" on any
+// compose a natural answer. On any LLM error it returns the fallback text —
-// LLM error — better to give the raw data than silence.
+// "вот что я нашла: <notes>", or "не знаю." with no notes — and the error
+// together. The daemon uses the text and keeps the turn alive; a caller that is
+// measuring counts the failure. Until Vikunja #397 the error was dropped, so a
+// dead server scored as bad phrasing.
 func (p *LLMPhraser) PhraseQuery(ctx context.Context, utterance string, notes []string) (string, error) {
 	// Blank sources are no sources. A caller that hands over one empty string —
 	// a page that fetched to nothing, a snippet trimmed away — used to take the
@@ -439,13 +448,15 @@ func (p *LLMPhraser) PhraseQuery(ctx context.Context, utterance string, notes []
 	if len(notes) == 0 {
 		sys, prompt := p.knowledgePrompt(utterance)
 		resp, err := p.chatWithSystem(ctx, sys, prompt, 768)
-		if err != nil || resp == "" {
+		if err != nil {
-			return "не знаю.", nil
+			return "не знаю.", fmt.Errorf("phrase query (knowledge): %w", err)
+		}
+		if resp == "" {
+			return "не знаю.", errEmptyResponse
 		}
 		text, _, perr := parseResponseMood(resp)
 		if perr != nil {
-			log.Printf("phraser: PhraseQuery: %v", perr)
+			return "не знаю.", fmt.Errorf("phrase query (knowledge): %w", perr)
-			return "не знаю.", nil
 		}
 		if text != "" {
 			return text, nil
@@ -457,13 +468,12 @@ func (p *LLMPhraser) PhraseQuery(ctx context.Context, utterance string, notes []
 	text, _, perr := parseResponseMood(resp)
 	if err != nil || perr != nil {
 		// Read the notes out rather than ship a broken fragment.
-		if perr != nil {
+		cause := err
-			log.Printf("phraser: PhraseQuery: %v", perr)
+		if cause == nil {
+			cause = perr
 		}
-		if len(notes) == 1 {
+		return "вот что я нашла: " + strings.Join(notes, "; "),
-			return "вот что я нашла: " + notes[0], nil
+			fmt.Errorf("phrase query (evidence): %w", cause)
-		}
-		return "вот что я нашла: " + strings.Join(notes, "; "), nil
 	}
 	if text != "" {
 		return text, nil
@@ -472,8 +482,9 @@ func (p *LLMPhraser) PhraseQuery(ctx context.Context, utterance string, notes []
 }
 
 // PhraseChat uses the LLM to respond conversationally, building a multi-turn
-// message array from dialogue history + the current user utterance. Falls back
+// message array from dialogue history + the current user utterance. On any LLM
-// to a simple greeting on any LLM error — better to say something than nothing.
+// error it returns both ChatFallback and the error, on the same rule as
+// PhraseQuery: the fallback keeps the turn alive, the error stays visible.
 func (p *LLMPhraser) PhraseChat(ctx context.Context, utterance string, history []dialogue.Turn) (string, error) {
 	sys := chatSystemPrompt(p.cfg.ContextBlock)
 	msgs := []chatMsg{
@@ -490,13 +501,11 @@ func (p *LLMPhraser) PhraseChat(ctx context.Context, utterance string, history [
 
 	resp, err := p.chatWithMessages(ctx, msgs, 768)
 	if err != nil {
-		log.Printf("phraser: PhraseChat: %v", err)
+		return ChatFallback, fmt.Errorf("phrase chat: %w", err)
-		return "поговорили.", nil
 	}
 	text, _, perr := parseResponseMood(resp)
 	if perr != nil {
-		log.Printf("phraser: PhraseChat: %v", perr)
+		return ChatFallback, fmt.Errorf("phrase chat: %w", perr)
-		return "поговорили.", nil
 	}
 	if text != "" {
 		return text, nil

internal/phraser/phraser.go

@@ -66,11 +66,17 @@ type Stub struct{}
 // NewStub builds the floor phraser. no config — the Stub is stateless.
 func NewStub() *Stub { return &Stub{} }
 
+// ChatFallback — what she says on the chat path when the model gave her
+// nothing to say. It replaced "поговорили.", which reads as a summary of a
+// conversation that did not happen. Said out loud this one is an admission,
+// which is what it is.
+const ChatFallback = "даже не знаю, что сказать."
+
 // PhraseChat returns a stub reply — the LLMPhraser replaces this with a
 // prompted response from the model. The history parameter is accepted but
 // ignored at the stub level (the production impl uses it for multi-turn).
 func (s *Stub) PhraseChat(_ context.Context, _ string, _ []dialogue.Turn) (string, error) {
-	return "поговорили.", nil
+	return ChatFallback, nil
 }
 
 // PhraseQuery returns a deterministic summary of the best matching notes.

internal/phraser/replier.go

@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+// phraser/replier.go — reactive reply phrasing, the confirmation he hears
+// after every fact, note and reminder.
+//
+// It lived in cmd/mavend as package main until Vikunja #396, which meant the
+// most frequently heard sentence Maven says was the one path the phrasing eval
+// could not import, let alone score. Nothing here talks to the daemon: the
+// caller supplies the completer and the context block, and cmd/mavend keeps the
+// stub fallback so a model error still answers.
+package phraser
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/llm"
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/persona"
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/router"
+)
+
+// Completer is the model seam for the replier, a subset of router.Completer.
+// *llm.Client satisfies it.
+type Completer interface {
+	Complete(ctx context.Context, r llm.Req) (string, error)
+}
+
+// replyTimeout bounds one reply. Generous because the resident model on the CPU
+// floor is slow and the caller has a deterministic fallback anyway.
+const replyTimeout = 60 * time.Second
+
+// ReplySystemPrompt — the reactive confirmation contract: one short Russian
+// sentence, feminine self-reference, informal address, no question.
+const ReplySystemPrompt = `Ты — Maven, домашняя ассистентка (о себе — в женском роде). Владелец — мужчина, говоришь с ним на "ты", в единственном числе; никогда не "вы"/"ваш" и не "он"/"его". Подтверди действие РОВНО ОДНИМ коротким предложением (≤120 символов), по-русски, спокойно и без официальных формулировок. Не задавай вопросов, не повторяй слова, не добавляй ничего после точки. Отвечай ТОЛЬКО одним объектом JSON с полями "response" (текст) и "mood" (ровно одно из: neutral, happy, thinking, tired, confused).
+Пример: {"response": "Записала, что ты выпил стакан воды.", "mood": "neutral"}
+Никогда не пиши "..." в поле response.`
+
+// Replier phrases reactive confirmations with the resident model. It has no
+// fallback of its own: an error is returned, and the daemon answers from the
+// deterministic stub. That is also what makes it scorable — a dead server shows
+// up as an error rather than as bad phrasing.
+type Replier struct {
+	c Completer
+
+	// block renders the shared context block per turn (who he is, the time).
+	// nil ⇒ the prompt stands alone.
+	block func() string
+}
+
+// NewReplier builds a replier over c. block may be nil.
+func NewReplier(c Completer, block func() string) *Replier {
+	return &Replier{c: c, block: block}
+}
+
+// PhraseReply returns the confirmation for one decision. An empty string with a
+// nil error means the model produced nothing usable, which the caller must
+// treat exactly like an error.
+func (r *Replier) PhraseReply(ctx context.Context, d router.Decision) (string, error) {
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, replyTimeout)
+	defer cancel()
+	out, err := r.c.Complete(ctx, llm.Req{
+		System:        persona.Prepend(r.block, ReplySystemPrompt),
+		User:          replyContext(d),
+		Grammar:       ResponseGrammar,
+		MaxTokens:     512,
+		RepeatPenalty: 1.3,
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	out = stripThink(out)
+	if response, _, perr := parseResponseMood(out); perr != nil {
+		return "", perr
+	} else if response != "" {
+		return response, nil
+	}
+	// fallback: the model answered in bare prose, which is fine here.
+	return firstSentence(out), nil
+}
+
+// firstSentence trims the model's output to a single clean confirmation: first
+// line, first sentence, whitespace-normalized — the last-line defense against a
+// small model that rambles past the first period despite the prompt + stop.
+func firstSentence(s string) string {
+	s = strings.TrimSpace(s)
+	if i := strings.IndexByte(s, '\n'); i >= 0 {
+		s = s[:i]
+	}
+	// keep up to and including the first sentence-ending punctuation.
+	if i := strings.IndexAny(s, ".!?"); i >= 0 {
+		s = s[:i+1]
+	}
+	return strings.TrimSpace(s)
+}
+
+// replyContext renders the decision into a compact RU description for the model.
+func replyContext(d router.Decision) string {
+	switch d.Intent {
+	case router.IntentFact:
+		return "записала факт: " + d.Slots.Key + " " + d.Slots.Value
+	case router.IntentNote:
+		return "сохранила заметку: " + d.Slots.Text
+	case router.IntentReminder:
+		return "поставила напоминание: " + d.Slots.Text
+	default:
+		return string(d.Intent) + ": " + d.Slots.Text
+	}
+}
+
+// StripThink removes the <think> block a Thinking-variant model emits before its
+// answer. Exported for the daemon's own model callers, which parse output that
+// never passes through a phraser method.
+func StripThink(s string) string { return stripThink(s) }

internal/phraser/replier_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+package phraser
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/llm"
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/router"
+)
+
+type mockCompleter struct {
+	out string
+	err error
+}
+
+func (m mockCompleter) Complete(_ context.Context, _ llm.Req) (string, error) { return m.out, m.err }
+
+func TestReplierReturnsLLMReply(t *testing.T) {
+	r := NewReplier(mockCompleter{out: `{"response":"записала, кофе закончился","mood":"neutral"}`}, nil)
+	got, err := r.PhraseReply(context.Background(), noteDecision())
+	if err != nil || got != "записала, кофе закончился" {
+		t.Errorf("got %q, %v, want %q, nil", got, err, "записала, кофе закончился")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestReplierFallsBackToPlainText(t *testing.T) {
+	r := NewReplier(mockCompleter{out: "записала, кофе закончился"}, nil)
+	got, err := r.PhraseReply(context.Background(), noteDecision())
+	if err != nil || got != "записала, кофе закончился" {
+		t.Errorf("got %q, %v, want %q, nil", got, err, "записала, кофе закончился")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestReplierReportsTheModelError(t *testing.T) {
+	r := NewReplier(mockCompleter{err: errTestLLMDown}, nil)
+	got, err := r.PhraseReply(context.Background(), noteDecision())
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Errorf("got %q, nil error — a dead model must be reported, not phrased around", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// A fragment the grammar left half-open is a failed generation. It must come
+// back as an error so the daemon reaches its stub, not as a reply.
+func TestReplierRejectsBrokenJSON(t *testing.T) {
+	r := NewReplier(mockCompleter{out: `{"response":"запис`}, nil)
+	got, err := r.PhraseReply(context.Background(), noteDecision())
+	if err == nil || got != "" {
+		t.Errorf("got %q, %v, want empty and an error", got, err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestReplierEmptyOutputIsEmpty(t *testing.T) {
+	r := NewReplier(mockCompleter{out: ""}, nil)
+	got, err := r.PhraseReply(context.Background(), noteDecision())
+	if err != nil || got != "" {
+		t.Errorf("got %q, %v, want empty and no error", got, err)
+	}
+}
+
+// grammarRecorder captures the request so the grammar can be asserted on.
+type grammarRecorder struct{ req llm.Req }
+
+func (g *grammarRecorder) Complete(_ context.Context, r llm.Req) (string, error) {
+	g.req = r
+	return `{"response":"записала","mood":"neutral"}`, nil
+}
+
+func TestReplierCarriesTheResponseGrammar(t *testing.T) {
+	rec := &grammarRecorder{}
+	r := NewReplier(rec, nil)
+	if _, err := r.PhraseReply(context.Background(), noteDecision()); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("PhraseReply: %v", err)
+	}
+	if rec.req.Grammar != ResponseGrammar {
+		t.Errorf("grammar = %q, want ResponseGrammar", rec.req.Grammar)
+	}
+	if rec.req.System != ReplySystemPrompt {
+		t.Errorf("system prompt = %q, want ReplySystemPrompt", rec.req.System)
+	}
+}
+
+func noteDecision() router.Decision {
+	return router.Decision{Intent: router.IntentNote, Slots: router.Slots{Text: "кофе закончился"}}
+}
+
+var errTestLLMDown = errTest("llm down")
+
+type errTest string
+
+func (e errTest) Error() string { return string(e) }

internal/phraser/swap_test.go

@@ -215,10 +215,12 @@ func TestSwap_RollbackFailureLeavesNoBackendAndDegrades(t *testing.T) {
 	if _, _, aerr := p.acquire(); !errors.Is(aerr, ErrNoBackend) {
 		t.Errorf("acquire error = %v; want ErrNoBackend", aerr)
 	}
-	// Phrasing degrades to its fallback instead of failing the turn.
+	// Phrasing degrades to its fallback instead of failing the turn, and since
+	// Vikunja #397 it reports the error next to that fallback so a measuring
+	// caller can tell "no model" from "bad phrasing".
 	got, err := p.PhraseChat(context.Background(), "привет", nil)
-	if err != nil {
+	if !errors.Is(err, ErrNoBackend) {
-		t.Fatalf("PhraseChat after a total failure returned an error: %v", err)
+		t.Errorf("PhraseChat error = %v; want ErrNoBackend alongside the fallback", err)
 	}
 	if got == "" {
 		t.Error("PhraseChat returned empty; the fallback must still say something")