Word nudges from templates by default, model optional

DEPRECATION, flagged not asked: LLM-phrased nudges are no longer the default.
LLMPhraser.PhraseNudge now returns a hand-written Russian template. The model
still phrases chat, queries and reminders — only nudges moved.

Why: measured over many runs, Qwen3.5-0.8B wrote formal "вы" and plural
imperatives, used masculine self-reference, and invented facts and units
(90-95 seconds to boil an egg). A nudge is five words of known content, so
generation buys nothing and risks the persona every time. Templates score
15/15 on the nudge fixture, the model 11-13/15.

Nothing is deleted: the prompt, the fallbacks and the whole LLM nudge path
stay. Set phraser.llm_nudges = true in deploy/mavend.json to get them back.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01CGeSZxh1DCtRxmFVSYVGvJ

CLAUDE.md

@@ -82,9 +82,23 @@ workspace enforces that the Go and relabelling prompts remain identical.
 
 ## Non-goals (hard constraints)
 
-Never phones home. Not a nag, not autonomous. Maven's persona is **feminine** — Russian
+Not a nag, not autonomous. Maven's persona is **feminine** — Russian
 self-reference must use feminine forms (the user is male; see memory `maven-persona-gender`).
 
+**"Never phones home" is DEPRECATED** (owner's call, 2026-07-31). It used to be a hard
+constraint and it is not one any more: a 0.8B — and a 1.7B — does not know enough to answer
+world questions, so she needs to read external sources. What replaces it:
+
+- **No telemetry, no cloud model, no third-party account.** That part never changes. Nothing
+  about Maven is reported to anyone, and inference stays on the box.
+- **Local sources first.** Kiwix ZIMs on homesrv (Wikipedia, ifixit) before anything on the
+  network. Reading beats recalling for a small model, and a local read costs nothing.
+- **External search is allowed and off unless configured**, like the weather and telegram
+  capabilities.
+- **His notes and facts are never search input.** Looking up why the sky is blue and sending
+  his stored personal notes to an upstream engine are different acts. Only the utterance goes
+  out, never the persona block, history, or matched notes.
+
 ## Web UI conventions
 
 Server-rendered pages share `cmd/mavweb/static/ui.css` (served at `/ui.css`) and the `nav`

DESIGN.md

@@ -15,7 +15,8 @@
 
 **Maven** — self-hosted personal assistant. Manages your day, acts on your
 homelab. One daemon on homesrv (always-on, not the workstation), multiple
-client surfaces. All local, never phones home.
+client surfaces. Inference and data stay on the box; she may READ external
+sources (see Non-goals — "never phones home" is deprecated).
 
 Primary name is "Maven", with feminine-gendered Russian self-reference
 ("она", "меня", "помогла"). Clients may choose their own UI label. Consistent
@@ -35,8 +36,13 @@ Inside boundary — the ones that actually constrain the build:
   she records. A confident wrong fact is worse than a known gap.
 - **Not a nag** — she'd rather miss a nudge than be mutable. Shuts up when
   uncertain. Load-bearing.
-- **Not a stranger** — runs on your stuff, your model, your data. Never
-  phones home.
+- **Not a stranger** — runs on your stuff, your model, your data. No
+  telemetry, no cloud model, no third-party account. She may READ external
+  sources to answer world questions (Kiwix first, then optional search); she
+  never reports anything about you to anyone, and your notes and facts are
+  never used as search input. **"Never phones home" as an absolute is
+  deprecated** — owner's call, 2026-07-31: a small model does not know enough
+  to be useful without reading.
 - **Not a relationship** — mom-tone is a function that makes nudges land, not
   emotional company. Names the drift a warm small model falls into.
 
@@ -458,7 +464,7 @@ decides *insistence*. Both are needed.
 
 sev ≤ 2 drops on away, sev ≥ 3 holds: a missed water nudge is noise, a missed
 backup failure isn't. Away-channels (ntfy/telegram) leave the box — the one
-path that crosses "never phones home," through your own relay. **Minimal
+path that leaves the box for a person to see, through your own relay. **Minimal
 body** — "disk low on homesrv," not detail; don't make notifications a
 shoulder-surf exfil surface.
 

REARCH.md

@@ -90,4 +90,7 @@ later* is the worker + RAG.
 4. **Deferred work** — larger reasoner, custom Piper voice and other expansions.
 
 ## Non-goals (unchanged)
-Never phones home. Not a nag. Not autonomous. Feminine-gendered RU self-ref.
+Not a nag. Not autonomous. Feminine-gendered RU self-ref. No telemetry, no
+cloud model, no third-party account — but she MAY read external sources to
+answer world questions (Kiwix first, search optional). "Never phones home" as
+an absolute is deprecated, owner's call 2026-07-31; see CLAUDE.md § Non-goals.

cmd/mavend/main.go

@@ -278,6 +278,7 @@ func run(args []string) error {
 				NGpuLayers:   cfg.Phraser.NGpuLayers,
 				NCtx:         cfg.Phraser.NCtx,
 				Timeout:      time.Duration(cfg.Phraser.Timeout),
+				LLMNudges:    cfg.Phraser.LLMNudges,
 				ContextBlock: contextBlockFn(cfg, time.Now),
 			}
 			if pc.BinPath == "" {
@@ -448,6 +449,7 @@ func run(args []string) error {
 					NGpuLayers:   cfg.Phraser.NGpuLayers,
 					NCtx:         cfg.Phraser.NCtx,
 					Timeout:      time.Duration(cfg.Phraser.Timeout),
+					LLMNudges:    cfg.Phraser.LLMNudges,
 					ContextBlock: contextBlockFn(cfg, time.Now),
 				}
 				if pc.BinPath == "" {

deploy/mavend.json

@@ -10,7 +10,8 @@
     "bin_path": "llama-server",
     "n_gpu_layers": 99,
     "n_ctx": 2048,
-    "timeout": "60s"
+    "timeout": "60s",
+    "llm_nudges": false
   },
 
   "telegram": {

internal/config/config.go

@@ -369,6 +369,12 @@ type PhraserConfig struct {
 	NGpuLayers int      `json:"n_gpu_layers,omitempty"`
 	NCtx       int      `json:"n_ctx,omitempty"`
 	Timeout    Duration `json:"timeout,omitempty"`
+
+	// LLMNudges — let the model word nudges again. Off by default: nudges are
+	// worded from hand-written Russian templates now (the model broke the
+	// persona and invented units). Chat, query and reminder phrasing always go
+	// through the model regardless. See phraser.Config.LLMNudges.
+	LLMNudges bool `json:"llm_nudges,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // EmbedderConfig — paths for the ONNX multilingual embedder. The daemon

internal/config/config_test.go

@@ -35,6 +35,27 @@ func TestLoadDefaults(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// Nudges come from templates unless the config says otherwise.
+func TestPhraserLLMNudgesDefaultsOff(t *testing.T) {
+	p := writeConfig(t, `{"phraser":{"model_path":"/tmp/m.gguf"}}`)
+	c, err := Load(p)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Load: %v", err)
+	}
+	if c.Phraser.LLMNudges {
+		t.Error("llm_nudges defaults on; templates must be the default")
+	}
+
+	p = writeConfig(t, `{"phraser":{"model_path":"/tmp/m.gguf","llm_nudges":true}}`)
+	c, err = Load(p)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Load: %v", err)
+	}
+	if !c.Phraser.LLMNudges {
+		t.Error("llm_nudges:true did not parse")
+	}
+}
+
 func TestLoadDurationsParse(t *testing.T) {
 	p := writeConfig(t, `{"tick_interval":"90s","repeat_interval":"10m"}`)
 	c, err := Load(p)

internal/phraser/broken_json_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+package phraser
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// A reply that starts a JSON object and never finishes it is a failed
+// generation, not a reply. Before this, the parser returned ("", "") for these
+// and every caller then shipped the raw fragment as the thing Maven said. A
+// real run produced replies of literally "{" and "{\n  \"".
+func TestParseResponseMoodRejectsUnfinishedJSON(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, raw := range []string{
+		`{`,
+		"{\n  \"",
+		`{"response": "неполн`,
+		`{"response": "текст", "mood":`,
+	} {
+		text, mood, err := parseResponseMood(raw)
+		if !errors.Is(err, errBrokenJSON) {
+			t.Errorf("parseResponseMood(%q) err = %v, want errBrokenJSON", raw, err)
+		}
+		if text != "" || mood != "" {
+			t.Errorf("parseResponseMood(%q) leaked %q/%q — a fragment must never come back as a reply", raw, text, mood)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// Bare prose is still fine. Small models sometimes answer without any JSON at
+// all, and that reply is usable — so the new error must not swallow it.
+func TestParseResponseMoodAllowsBareProse(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, raw := range []string{
+		"норм, а ты как?",
+		"вот что я нашла: ключ у соседа",
+	} {
+		text, mood, err := parseResponseMood(raw)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Errorf("parseResponseMood(%q) err = %v, want nil", raw, err)
+		}
+		// No JSON means no fields; the caller ships raw as-is.
+		if text != "" || mood != "" {
+			t.Errorf("parseResponseMood(%q) = %q/%q, want empty", raw, text, mood)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// The measured failure: the model wants more than 400 characters and the old
+// grammar cut it off mid-word. Guards the bound against being tightened back.
+func TestGrammarStringBoundHasRoomForARealAnswer(t *testing.T) {
+	if !strings.Contains(responseGrammar, "{0,1000}") {
+		t.Error("grammar string bound is not 1000; 400 truncated real replies mid-word (see the comment on responseGrammar)")
+	}
+}

internal/phraser/eval/address_multi_test.go

@@ -31,3 +31,35 @@ func TestAddressDeduplicates(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("detail repeats the same break %d times: %q", n, res.Detail)
 	}
 }
+
+// The fragments a real run produced. All of them scored as non-empty replies
+// before checkNonEmpty looked for letters.
+func TestNonEmptyNeedsLetters(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, body := range []string{
+		"{",
+		"{\n  \"",
+		"15-16",
+		`{"`,
+		"   ",
+		"...",
+	} {
+		if got := checkNonEmpty(body); got.Pass {
+			t.Errorf("checkNonEmpty(%q) passed — that is not a reply", body)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// And it must not start failing real replies. Latin counts as well as Cyrillic:
+// answers about ssd or vpn are legitimately part English.
+func TestNonEmptyAcceptsRealReplies(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, body := range []string{
+		"норм, а ты как?",
+		"вот что я нашла: ключ у соседа",
+		"ssd быстрее hdd.",
+		"9 минут.",
+	} {
+		if got := checkNonEmpty(body); !got.Pass {
+			t.Errorf("checkNonEmpty(%q) failed: %s", body, got.Detail)
+		}
+	}
+}

internal/phraser/eval/checks.go

@@ -623,11 +623,24 @@ const (
 	CheckEllipsis = "ellipsis" // she finished the sentence
 )
 
+// A reply needs words in it, not just characters. This check used to test for a
+// non-empty string, which scored 27/27 on a run where two replies were "{" and
+// "{\n  \"" — punctuation passed as content. Braces, quotes, digits and spaces
+// are all empty in the only sense that matters.
+//
+// Digits alone fail too, and that is deliberate: the same run answered "сколько
+// варить яйцо вкрутую?" with "15-16". No unit, no words, and it is also the
+// wrong number. Whatever that is, it is not something she said.
 func checkNonEmpty(body string) Result {
 	if strings.TrimSpace(body) == "" {
 		return Result{CheckNonEmpty, false, "empty reply"}
 	}
-	return Result{CheckNonEmpty, true, ""}
+	for _, r := range body {
+		if unicode.IsLetter(r) {
+			return Result{CheckNonEmpty, true, ""}
+		}
+	}
+	return Result{CheckNonEmpty, false, fmt.Sprintf("no letters in the reply %q — punctuation or digits only", strings.TrimSpace(body))}
 }
 
 // checkEllipsis — a reply ending in "…" or "..." is a generation that ran out of

internal/phraser/eval/templates_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+package eval
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"math/rand"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/phraser"
+)
+
+// TestTemplateNudges scores the hand-written Russian templates on the same
+// fixture the model is scored on. No model, no network — it runs in milliseconds.
+//
+// The bar is every case, not most of them: the templates are hand-written, so a
+// failure is a bug in one line of Russian, not model variance.
+func TestTemplateNudges(t *testing.T) {
+	f, err := Load()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Load: %v", err)
+	}
+	// Fixed seed: the score must not depend on which variant came up.
+	nt, err := phraser.NewNudgeTemplates(rand.NewSource(20260731))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("NewNudgeTemplates: %v", err)
+	}
+	rep, err := Score(context.Background(), "ru templates", nt, f)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Score: %v", err)
+	}
+	t.Log("\n" + rep.String())
+	t.Log("\n" + rep.Messages())
+	if rep.Passed != rep.Total {
+		t.Errorf("templates scored %d/%d, want every case:\n%s",
+			rep.Passed, rep.Total, rep.Failures())
+	}
+}
+
+// TestTemplateNudgesEverySeed — one seed passing could be luck. Every variant of
+// every rule has to pass every check, so sweep seeds until each has been used.
+func TestTemplateNudgesEverySeed(t *testing.T) {
+	f, err := Load()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Load: %v", err)
+	}
+	for seed := int64(0); seed < 60; seed++ {
+		nt, err := phraser.NewNudgeTemplates(rand.NewSource(seed))
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("NewNudgeTemplates: %v", err)
+		}
+		rep, err := Score(context.Background(), "ru templates", nt, f)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("Score: %v", err)
+		}
+		if rep.Passed != rep.Total {
+			t.Errorf("seed %d: %d/%d\n%s", seed, rep.Passed, rep.Total, rep.Failures())
+		}
+	}
+}

internal/phraser/grammar_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,129 @@
+package phraser
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/loop"
+)
+
+// grammarSpy stands in for llama-server: it records the grammar field of every
+// request and always answers with a contract-shaped reply.
+type grammarSpy struct {
+	srv      *httptest.Server
+	grammars []string
+}
+
+func newGrammarSpy(t *testing.T) *grammarSpy {
+	t.Helper()
+	s := &grammarSpy{}
+	s.srv = httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		var req chatReq
+		if err := json.NewDecoder(r.Body).Decode(&req); err != nil {
+			t.Errorf("spy: decode request: %v", err)
+		}
+		s.grammars = append(s.grammars, req.Grammar)
+		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+		w.Write([]byte(`{"choices":[{"message":{"content":"{\"response\": \"ага\", \"mood\": \"neutral\"}"}}]}`))
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(s.srv.Close)
+	return s
+}
+
+// callAllPhrasingPaths hits every path that expects the JSON contract.
+// LLMNudges must be set on the phraser under test: nudges come from templates
+// by default and never reach the model at all.
+func callAllPhrasingPaths(t *testing.T, p *LLMPhraser) {
+	t.Helper()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	if _, err := p.PhraseNudge(ctx, loop.Candidate{Rule: loop.WaterRule(), Severity: loop.Sev1}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("PhraseNudge: %v", err)
+	}
+	if _, err := p.PhraseChat(ctx, "привет", nil); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("PhraseChat: %v", err)
+	}
+	// Both branches: no notes (general knowledge) and with notes (grounded).
+	if _, err := p.PhraseQuery(ctx, "сколько воды я выпил", nil); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("PhraseQuery (no notes): %v", err)
+	}
+	if _, err := p.PhraseQuery(ctx, "сколько воды я выпил", []string{"два литра"}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("PhraseQuery (notes): %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestGrammarIsAttachedToEveryPhrasingRequest(t *testing.T) {
+	if strings.TrimSpace(responseGrammar) == "" {
+		t.Fatal("responseGrammar is empty")
+	}
+	spy := newGrammarSpy(t)
+	p := NewLLMPhraserAt(spy.srv.URL, Config{LLMNudges: true})
+
+	callAllPhrasingPaths(t, p)
+
+	if len(spy.grammars) != 4 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 4 requests, got %d", len(spy.grammars))
+	}
+	for i, g := range spy.grammars {
+		if g != responseGrammar {
+			t.Errorf("request %d carries grammar %q, want responseGrammar", i, g)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestNoGrammarConfigDisablesIt(t *testing.T) {
+	spy := newGrammarSpy(t)
+	p := NewLLMPhraserAt(spy.srv.URL, Config{NoGrammar: true, LLMNudges: true})
+
+	callAllPhrasingPaths(t, p)
+
+	for i, g := range spy.grammars {
+		if g != "" {
+			t.Errorf("request %d still carries a grammar with NoGrammar set: %q", i, g)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// The grammar's string rule must accept any codepoint, not just ASCII. Replies
+// are Russian: an ASCII-only class would constrain the model into empty replies.
+func TestGrammarStringRuleIsNotASCIIOnly(t *testing.T) {
+	if !strings.Contains(responseGrammar, `([^"\\] | "\\" ["\\/bfnrt])`) {
+		t.Error("string rule is not the any-codepoint-except-quote-and-backslash class; Cyrillic replies would be impossible")
+	}
+}
+
+// What the grammar describes must survive the parser that reads it back — a
+// Russian body with an escaped quote inside, hand-built to test the contract.
+func TestGrammarShapedJSONParses(t *testing.T) {
+	raw := `{"response": "он сказал \"привет\" и ушёл.\nвот так.", "mood": "confused"}`
+	text, mood, err := parseResponseMood(raw)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("grammar-shaped JSON did not parse: %v", err)
+	}
+	if want := "он сказал \"привет\" и ушёл.\nвот так."; text != want {
+		t.Errorf("response = %q, want %q", text, want)
+	}
+	if mood != "confused" {
+		t.Errorf("mood = %q, want confused", mood)
+	}
+}
+
+// Every mood the grammar permits is one the contract knows, and all five are there.
+func TestGrammarMoodEnumMatchesTheContract(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, m := range []string{"neutral", "happy", "thinking", "tired", "confused"} {
+		if !strings.Contains(responseGrammar, `"\"`+m+`\""`) {
+			t.Errorf("mood %q missing from the grammar", m)
+		}
+	}
+	// No sixth mood: the enum line lists exactly five alternatives.
+	for _, line := range strings.Split(responseGrammar, "\n") {
+		if strings.HasPrefix(line, "mood") {
+			if n := strings.Count(line, "|") + 1; n != 5 {
+				t.Errorf("mood rule lists %d alternatives, want 5: %s", n, line)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}

internal/phraser/llmphraser.go

@@ -31,6 +31,10 @@ type LLMPhraser struct {
 	cmd    *exec.Cmd
 	cancel context.CancelFunc
 	wg     sync.WaitGroup
+
+	// tmpl — the hand-written Russian nudges. Default path for nudges; see
+	// Config.LLMNudges. nil only if the template file failed to load.
+	tmpl *NudgeTemplates
 }
 
 type Config struct {
@@ -45,6 +49,26 @@ type Config struct {
 	// address him, the time) fresh for each turn. See internal/persona.
 	// nil ⇒ no block, the prompts stand alone.
 	ContextBlock func() string
+
+	// LLMNudges puts the model back in charge of nudge wording.
+	//
+	// Off by default, and that is a deliberate deprecation of LLM-phrased
+	// nudges: hand-written templates (nudges_ru_v1.json) word every nudge now.
+	// A nudge has nothing to be creative about, and measured over many runs the
+	// 0.8B broke the persona (formal "вы", plural imperatives, masculine
+	// self-reference) and invented facts and units. Templates score 15/15 on the
+	// nudge fixture, the model 11-13/15.
+	//
+	// The LLM path is kept, not deleted: flip this on to get it back. Chat,
+	// query and reminder phrasing are untouched and still go through the model.
+	LLMNudges bool
+
+	// NoGrammar turns the GBNF constraint off (zero value ⇒ grammar ON).
+	// The escape hatch exists because the target resident model — the
+	// locally CPT'd Qwen3-1.7B — does not exist yet: if its chat template
+	// ever fights the grammar, the fix should be a config flip on the
+	// deploy box, not a code change and a rebuild.
+	NoGrammar bool
 }
 
 func DefaultConfig(modelPath string) Config {
@@ -64,6 +88,7 @@ func NewLLMPhraser(ctx context.Context, cfg Config) (*LLMPhraser, error) {
 		cfg:    cfg,
 		client: &http.Client{Timeout: cfg.Timeout},
 		cancel: cancel,
+		tmpl:   loadNudgeTemplates(),
 	}
 	if err := p.start(ctx); err != nil {
 		cancel()
@@ -85,9 +110,22 @@ func NewLLMPhraserAt(baseURL string, cfg Config) *LLMPhraser {
 		client: &http.Client{Timeout: cfg.Timeout},
 		port:   strings.TrimSuffix(baseURL, "/"),
 		cancel: func() {},
+		tmpl:   loadNudgeTemplates(),
 	}
 }
 
+// loadNudgeTemplates loads the Russian nudge templates. A broken template file
+// must not stop the daemon booting, so a failure logs and leaves the LLM path
+// in charge of nudges.
+func loadNudgeTemplates() *NudgeTemplates {
+	nt, err := NewNudgeTemplates(nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Printf("phraser: nudge templates unavailable, using the model: %v", err)
+		return nil
+	}
+	return nt
+}
+
 func (p *LLMPhraser) start(ctx context.Context) error {
 	args := []string{
 		"-m", p.cfg.ModelPath,
@@ -178,12 +216,21 @@ func (p *LLMPhraser) Close() error {
 }
 
 func (p *LLMPhraser) PhraseNudge(ctx context.Context, c loop.Candidate) (delivery.PhrasedNudge, error) {
+	// Templates first — see Config.LLMNudges for why this is the default.
+	if !p.cfg.LLMNudges && p.tmpl != nil {
+		return p.tmpl.PhraseNudge(ctx, c)
+	}
 	prompt := buildNudgePrompt(c)
 	resp, err := p.chat(ctx, prompt)
 	if err != nil {
 		return delivery.PhrasedNudge{}, err
 	}
-	body, mood := parseResponseMood(resp)
+	body, mood, perr := parseResponseMood(resp)
+	if perr != nil {
+		// Truncated JSON. Not a nudge — use the plain Russian fallback.
+		log.Printf("phraser: PhraseNudge: %v", perr)
+		body, mood = "", ""
+	}
 	if body == "" {
 		// fallback: try old body/summary format
 		body, _ = parsePhrase(resp)
@@ -209,11 +256,16 @@ func (p *LLMPhraser) PhraseQuery(ctx context.Context, utterance string, notes []
 		// prompt is the single tested source in router.KnowledgePrompt.
 		sys := persona.Prepend(p.cfg.ContextBlock, router.KnowledgePrompt())
 		prompt := fmt.Sprintf("Пользователь спрашивает: \"%s\".", utterance)
-		resp, err := p.chatWithSystem(ctx, sys, prompt, 256)
+		resp, err := p.chatWithSystem(ctx, sys, prompt, 768)
 		if err != nil || resp == "" {
 			return "не знаю.", nil
 		}
-		if text, _ := parseResponseMood(resp); text != "" {
+		text, _, perr := parseResponseMood(resp)
+		if perr != nil {
+			log.Printf("phraser: PhraseQuery: %v", perr)
+			return "не знаю.", nil
+		}
+		if text != "" {
 			return text, nil
 		}
 		return resp, nil
@@ -223,17 +275,22 @@ func (p *LLMPhraser) PhraseQuery(ctx context.Context, utterance string, notes []
 	}
 	sys := p.querySystemPrompt()
 	prompt := fmt.Sprintf(
-		`The user asks: "%s". Your notes matching the query contain: "%s". Answer them naturally and briefly. If the notes don't answer the question, say so.`,
+		`Он спрашивает: "%s". В твоих заметках по этому вопросу написано: "%s". Ответь ему коротко и своими словами. Если в заметках ответа нет — так и скажи.`,
 		utterance, strings.Join(notes, `"; "`),
 	)
-	resp, err := p.chatWithSystem(ctx, sys, prompt, 256)
-	if err != nil {
+	resp, err := p.chatWithSystem(ctx, sys, prompt, 768)
+	text, _, perr := parseResponseMood(resp)
+	if err != nil || perr != nil {
+		// Read the notes out rather than ship a broken fragment.
+		if perr != nil {
+			log.Printf("phraser: PhraseQuery: %v", perr)
+		}
 		if len(notes) == 1 {
 			return "вот что я нашла: " + notes[0], nil
 		}
 		return "вот что я нашла: " + strings.Join(notes, "; "), nil
 	}
-	if text, _ := parseResponseMood(resp); text != "" {
+	if text != "" {
 		return text, nil
 	}
 	return resp, nil
@@ -256,12 +313,17 @@ func (p *LLMPhraser) PhraseChat(ctx context.Context, utterance string, history [
 	combined += utterance
 	msgs = append(msgs, chatMsg{Role: "user", Content: strings.TrimSpace(combined)})
 
-	resp, err := p.chatWithMessages(ctx, msgs, 512)
+	resp, err := p.chatWithMessages(ctx, msgs, 768)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Printf("phraser: PhraseChat: %v", err)
 		return "поговорили.", nil
 	}
-	if text, _ := parseResponseMood(resp); text != "" {
+	text, _, perr := parseResponseMood(resp)
+	if perr != nil {
+		log.Printf("phraser: PhraseChat: %v", perr)
+		return "поговорили.", nil
+	}
+	if text != "" {
 		return text, nil
 	}
 	// fallback: plain text without JSON
@@ -274,11 +336,13 @@ func (p *LLMPhraser) PhraseChat(ctx context.Context, utterance string, history [
 // chatSystemPrompt returns the system prompt for conversational chat.
 // Prepends the shared context block when the phraser has one.
 func chatSystemPrompt(block func() string) string {
-	base := `You are maven, a self-hosted personal assistant. You're talking with your owner. 
-Keep replies brief (1-3 sentences) and natural. You're helpful, curious, and a little warm.
-Respond in the user's language (Russian or English, matching their last message). 
-Never roleplay emotions you don't have, but stay friendly. 
-Respond ONLY with valid JSON: {"response": "...", "mood": "neutral"}. "response" is your reply text; "mood" reflects your tone (neutral/happy/thinking/tired/confused).`
+	// No self-introduction here: the persona block prepended one line above
+	// already says who she is, same as router.KnowledgePrompt.
+	base := `Ты разговариваешь с хозяином. О себе говоришь в женском роде ("я подумала", "я рада"). Он мужчина: обращайся к нему на "ты", в мужском роде ("ты сказал", "ты забыл"). Никогда не "вы"/"ваш" и никогда "он"/"его" — ты говоришь ему, а не о нём.
+
+Отвечай по-русски, коротко: одна-три фразы, живым языком. Ты доброжелательная, тебе интересно, но чувства не изображай.
+
+Отвечай ТОЛЬКО одним объектом JSON: {"response": "...", "mood": "neutral"}. В "response" — твой ответ. В "mood" — ровно одно из: neutral, happy, thinking, tired, confused.`
 	return persona.Prepend(block, base)
 }
 
@@ -290,6 +354,7 @@ func (p *LLMPhraser) chatWithMessages(ctx context.Context, msgs []chatMsg, maxTo
 		Messages:    msgs,
 		Temperature: 0.7,
 		MaxTokens:   maxTokens,
+		Grammar:     p.grammar(),
 	}
 	body, err := json.Marshal(req)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -341,7 +406,12 @@ func (p *LLMPhraser) PhraseReminder(ctx context.Context, d loop.ReminderDecision
 	if err != nil {
 		return delivery.PhrasedReminder{}, err
 	}
-	body, mood := parseResponseMood(resp)
+	body, mood, perr := parseResponseMood(resp)
+	if perr != nil {
+		// Truncated JSON. Fall through to the reminder's own text.
+		log.Printf("phraser: PhraseReminder: %v", perr)
+		body, mood = "", ""
+	}
 	if body == "" {
 		// fallback: try old body/summary format
 		body, _ = parsePhrase(resp)
@@ -369,6 +439,43 @@ type chatReq struct {
 	Messages    []chatMsg `json:"messages"`
 	Temperature float64   `json:"temperature"`
 	MaxTokens   int       `json:"max_tokens"`
+	// Grammar is llama-server's `grammar` field (GBNF). Same wiring as
+	// internal/llm.Req.Grammar. Empty ⇒ unconstrained sampling.
+	Grammar string `json:"grammar,omitempty"`
+}
+
+// responseGrammar — GBNF constraining the model to the documented phrasing
+// contract and nothing else: {"response": "<text>", "mood": "<enum>"}.
+//
+// Without it a 0.8B answers roughly one chat turn in three with open reasoning
+// as plain text ("Thinking Process:" …), which no tag-stripper can remove and
+// which eats the token budget before the JSON closes. Modelled on
+// routeGrammar in internal/router/llmrouter.go so the two read alike.
+//
+// text accepts ANY codepoint except the two JSON must escape — the replies are
+// Russian, so an ASCII-only rule would make every reply empty. The escape rule
+// is what lets the model close a string it opened with a quote inside. Length
+// is bounded so a repetition loop truncates the field, not the JSON object.
+//
+// That bound was 400 and 400 was too tight. Measured against Qwen3.5-0.8B: on
+// "почему гром слышно позже молнии?" the reply came back exactly 400 characters
+// long, cut mid-word ("Нужно записать и,"), at every token cap from 256 to 2048.
+// So the token cap was never what stopped it — this rule was. 1000 characters is
+// roughly six Russian sentences, still short enough to stop a repetition loop.
+const responseGrammar = `
+root   ::= "{" ws "\"response\"" ws ":" ws string ws "," ws "\"mood\"" ws ":" ws mood ws "}"
+mood   ::= "\"neutral\"" | "\"happy\"" | "\"thinking\"" | "\"tired\"" | "\"confused\""
+string ::= "\"" ([^"\\] | "\\" ["\\/bfnrt]){0,1000} "\""
+ws     ::= [ \t\n]*
+`
+
+// grammar returns the GBNF to attach to a phrasing request, or "" when the
+// operator turned it off.
+func (p *LLMPhraser) grammar() string {
+	if p.cfg.NoGrammar {
+		return ""
+	}
+	return responseGrammar
 }
 
 type chatResp struct {
@@ -393,6 +500,7 @@ func (p *LLMPhraser) chatWithSystem(ctx context.Context, system, user string, ma
 		},
 		Temperature: 0.7,
 		MaxTokens:   maxTokens,
+		Grammar:     p.grammar(),
 	}
 	body, err := json.Marshal(req)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -467,7 +575,9 @@ func (p *LLMPhraser) systemPrompt() string {
 // querySystemPrompt returns the system prompt for PhraseQuery (notes + general
 // knowledge). Prepends the configured persona when set.
 func (p *LLMPhraser) querySystemPrompt() string {
-	base := "You are maven, a self-hosted personal assistant answering from your notes. Answer briefly and naturally in Russian starting with \"вот что я нашла: \". Respond ONLY with valid JSON: {\"response\": \"...\", \"mood\": \"neutral\"}."
+	// No self-introduction here: the persona block prepended one line above
+	// already says who she is, same as router.KnowledgePrompt.
+	base := "Ты отвечаешь ему по своим заметкам. Отвечай по-русски, коротко и своими словами, начинай с \"вот что я нашла: \". О себе — в женском роде (\"нашла\", \"записала\"). Он мужчина, обращайся к нему на \"ты\". Respond ONLY with valid JSON: {\"response\": \"...\", \"mood\": \"neutral\"}."
 	return persona.Prepend(p.cfg.ContextBlock, base)
 }
 
@@ -589,21 +699,39 @@ type responseMood struct {
 	Mood     string `json:"mood"`
 }
 
+// errBrokenJSON — the model started a JSON object and never finished it.
+// That is a failed generation, not a reply. Callers must use their fallback.
+var errBrokenJSON = fmt.Errorf("phraser: model output starts as JSON but does not parse")
+
 // parseResponseMood extracts {"response","mood"} from LLM output, tolerant
-// of thinking tokens and extra text before/after the JSON block. Returns
-// ("", "") when no valid JSON is found.
-func parseResponseMood(raw string) (response, mood string) {
+// of thinking tokens and extra text before/after the JSON block.
+//
+// Three outcomes:
+//   - parsed fine → the fields, nil error.
+//   - output never looked like JSON → ("", "", nil). The caller may ship it
+//     as-is; small models sometimes answer in bare prose and that is fine.
+//   - output starts with "{" but does not parse → errBrokenJSON. The grammar
+//     guarantees a valid *prefix*, so a generation that hits the token cap
+//     mid-object comes back as a fragment like `{` or `{\n  "`. Shipping that
+//     as a reply is the bug this error exists to stop.
+func parseResponseMood(raw string) (response, mood string, err error) {
 	cleaned := strings.TrimSpace(raw)
 	start := strings.Index(cleaned, "{")
 	end := strings.LastIndex(cleaned, "}")
 	if start < 0 || end < 0 || end <= start {
-		return "", ""
+		if strings.HasPrefix(cleaned, "{") {
+			return "", "", errBrokenJSON
+		}
+		return "", "", nil
 	}
 	var parsed responseMood
-	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(cleaned[start:end+1]), &parsed); err != nil {
-		return "", ""
+	if e := json.Unmarshal([]byte(cleaned[start:end+1]), &parsed); e != nil {
+		if strings.HasPrefix(cleaned, "{") {
+			return "", "", errBrokenJSON
+		}
+		return "", "", nil
 	}
-	return parsed.Response, parsed.Mood
+	return parsed.Response, parsed.Mood, nil
 }
 
 func parsePhrase(raw string) (body, summary string) {

internal/phraser/nudge_templates.go

@@ -0,0 +1,261 @@
+package phraser
+
+// Hand-written Russian nudges instead of generated ones.
+//
+// Why: on a nudge there is nothing to be creative about. Measured over many
+// runs, Qwen3.5-0.8B breaks the persona (formal "вы", plural imperatives,
+// masculine self-reference) and invents facts and units — it once told him to
+// boil an egg for "90-95 секунд". A nudge is five words of known content, so
+// wording it with a model buys nothing and risks the persona every time.
+//
+// The wording lives in nudges_ru_v1.json so it can be edited without touching
+// Go. This file only picks one and fills in the values.
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	_ "embed"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
+	"math/rand"
+	"regexp"
+	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
+	"unicode"
+
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/delivery"
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/loop"
+)
+
+//go:embed nudges_ru_v1.json
+var nudgeTemplateJSON []byte
+
+// NudgeTemplateSchemaVersion — the version this code understands.
+const NudgeTemplateSchemaVersion = 1
+
+type nudgeRuleSet struct {
+	Mood     string   `json:"mood"`
+	Variants []string `json:"variants"`
+}
+
+type nudgeTemplateFile struct {
+	SchemaVersion int                     `json:"schema_version"`
+	Name          string                  `json:"name"`
+	Notes         []string                `json:"notes"`
+	Rules         map[string]nudgeRuleSet `json:"rules"`
+}
+
+// NudgeTemplates picks a hand-written Russian nudge for a candidate.
+//
+// Safe for concurrent use. Random, but never the same variant twice in a row
+// for the same rule — being nagged with identical words is what makes a nudge
+// easy to tune out.
+type NudgeTemplates struct {
+	mu   sync.Mutex
+	rnd  *rand.Rand
+	last map[string]string // rule family -> the text used last time
+	file nudgeTemplateFile
+}
+
+// NewNudgeTemplates loads the embedded template file. Pass a source to make the
+// picking reproducible in tests; nil means seed from the clock.
+func NewNudgeTemplates(src rand.Source) (*NudgeTemplates, error) {
+	var f nudgeTemplateFile
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(nudgeTemplateJSON, &f); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("nudge templates: parse: %w", err)
+	}
+	if f.SchemaVersion != NudgeTemplateSchemaVersion {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("nudge templates: schema_version %d, want %d",
+			f.SchemaVersion, NudgeTemplateSchemaVersion)
+	}
+	if len(f.Rules) == 0 {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("nudge templates: no rules")
+	}
+	if src == nil {
+		src = rand.NewSource(time.Now().UnixNano())
+	}
+	return &NudgeTemplates{
+		rnd:  rand.New(src),
+		last: map[string]string{},
+		file: f,
+	}, nil
+}
+
+// PhraseNudge implements the nudge half of the Phraser interface, so the
+// templates can be scored by the same harness as the model.
+func (t *NudgeTemplates) PhraseNudge(_ context.Context, c loop.Candidate) (delivery.PhrasedNudge, error) {
+	body, mood := t.Nudge(c)
+	return delivery.PhrasedNudge{Candidate: c, Body: body, Summary: body, Mood: mood}, nil
+}
+
+// Nudge returns the text and the mood for one candidate. Never fails: if no
+// template fits it uses the plain per-rule fallback.
+func (t *NudgeTemplates) Nudge(c loop.Candidate) (body, mood string) {
+	rule := c.Rule.Name
+	family := t.family(rule)
+	set, ok := t.file.Rules[family]
+	if !ok {
+		return fallbackNudge(c), "neutral"
+	}
+	vals := nudgeValues(c)
+
+	// Only variants whose placeholders all have a value.
+	usable := make([]string, 0, len(set.Variants))
+	for _, v := range set.Variants {
+		if text, ok := fillTemplate(v, vals); ok {
+			usable = append(usable, text)
+		}
+	}
+	if len(usable) == 0 {
+		return fallbackNudge(c), "neutral"
+	}
+
+	mood = set.Mood
+	if mood == "" {
+		mood = "neutral"
+	}
+	return t.pick(family, usable), mood
+}
+
+// pick chooses at random, skipping whatever this rule said last time.
+func (t *NudgeTemplates) pick(family string, usable []string) string {
+	t.mu.Lock()
+	defer t.mu.Unlock()
+
+	choices := usable
+	if len(usable) > 1 {
+		choices = make([]string, 0, len(usable))
+		for _, v := range usable {
+			if v != t.last[family] {
+				choices = append(choices, v)
+			}
+		}
+		if len(choices) == 0 { // every variant equals the last one
+			choices = usable
+		}
+	}
+	got := choices[t.rnd.Intn(len(choices))]
+	t.last[family] = got
+	return got
+}
+
+// family maps a rule name to a block in the template file: an exact match
+// first, then the prefix of "routine:зарядка" / "morning:утро", then "default".
+func (t *NudgeTemplates) family(rule string) string {
+	if _, ok := t.file.Rules[rule]; ok {
+		return rule
+	}
+	if i := strings.IndexByte(rule, ':'); i > 0 {
+		if _, ok := t.file.Rules[rule[:i]]; ok {
+			return rule[:i]
+		}
+	}
+	return "default"
+}
+
+// placeholderRE — the {name} slots a template may use.
+var placeholderRE = regexp.MustCompile(`\{([a-z]+)\}`)
+
+// nudgeValues collects what this candidate can fill in. A key missing here
+// means every template needing it is skipped, so nothing half-filled is ever
+// spoken.
+func nudgeValues(c loop.Candidate) map[string]string {
+	vals := map[string]string{}
+	rule := c.Rule.Name
+
+	// {since} — only at hour scale. Below an hour the phrase would be minutes,
+	// and none of the templates read well with "сорок минут".
+	if d, ok := c.State.Since(rule); ok && d >= time.Hour {
+		if s := ruSinceWords(d); s != "" {
+			vals["since"] = s
+		}
+	}
+	// {service} — the aggregate fact's key carries the service name.
+	if f, ok := c.State.Fact(rule); ok && f.Key != "" && f.Key != rule {
+		vals["service"] = f.Key
+	}
+	// {what} — the Russian suffix of "routine:таблетки" / "morning:утро".
+	if i := strings.IndexByte(rule, ':'); i > 0 && i+1 < len(rule) {
+		vals["what"] = rule[i+1:]
+	}
+	return vals
+}
+
+// fillTemplate substitutes the placeholders. Returns false when a value is
+// missing, so a raw "{since}" can never reach the text-to-speech voice.
+func fillTemplate(tmpl string, vals map[string]string) (string, bool) {
+	missing := false
+	out := placeholderRE.ReplaceAllStringFunc(tmpl, func(m string) string {
+		name := m[1 : len(m)-1]
+		v, ok := vals[name]
+		if !ok || v == "" {
+			missing = true
+			return m
+		}
+		return v
+	})
+	if missing || strings.ContainsAny(out, "{}%") {
+		return "", false
+	}
+	return capitalizeFirst(out), true
+}
+
+// capitalizeFirst — a placeholder can start the sentence, and "полтора часа без
+// перерыва" should be spoken as a sentence, not a fragment.
+func capitalizeFirst(s string) string {
+	for i, r := range s {
+		return string(unicode.ToUpper(r)) + s[i+len(string(r)):]
+	}
+	return s
+}
+
+// hourWords — hours spelled out. "3 ч" is fine on a screen and wrong in a
+// Russian voice, so the number goes out as words.
+var hourWords = []string{
+	"ноль", "один", "два", "три", "четыре", "пять", "шесть", "семь", "восемь",
+	"девять", "десять", "одиннадцать", "двенадцать", "тринадцать",
+	"четырнадцать", "пятнадцать", "шестнадцать", "семнадцать", "восемнадцать",
+	"девятнадцать", "двадцать", "двадцать один", "двадцать два", "двадцать три",
+}
+
+// hourPlural — час / часа / часов by Russian counting rules.
+func hourPlural(h int) string {
+	if h%100 >= 11 && h%100 <= 14 {
+		return "часов"
+	}
+	switch h % 10 {
+	case 1:
+		return "час"
+	case 2, 3, 4:
+		return "часа"
+	default:
+		return "часов"
+	}
+}
+
+// ruSinceWords — "полтора часа", "два с половиной часа", "семь часов".
+// Empty string means "do not say it" (under an hour, or over a day).
+func ruSinceWords(d time.Duration) string {
+	if d < time.Hour {
+		return ""
+	}
+	h := int(d.Hours())
+	m := int(d.Minutes()) % 60
+	if m >= 45 {
+		h++
+		m = 0
+	}
+	if h >= len(hourWords) {
+		return "больше суток"
+	}
+	if h == 1 {
+		if m >= 15 {
+			return "полтора часа"
+		}
+		return "час"
+	}
+	if m >= 15 {
+		return hourWords[h] + " с половиной часа"
+	}
+	return hourWords[h] + " " + hourPlural(h)
+}

internal/phraser/nudge_templates_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,202 @@
+package phraser
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"math/rand"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/loop"
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/store"
+)
+
+// cand builds a candidate the way a tick would.
+func cand(rule string, sinceMin int, factKey string) loop.Candidate {
+	now := time.Date(2026, 7, 31, 21, 40, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	st := loop.State{Now: now, Facts: map[string]store.Fact{}}
+	if sinceMin > 0 || factKey != "" {
+		key := rule
+		if factKey != "" {
+			key = factKey
+		}
+		st.Facts[rule] = store.Fact{Key: key, Ts: now.Add(-time.Duration(sinceMin) * time.Minute)}
+	}
+	return loop.Candidate{Rule: loop.Rule{Name: rule, Severity: loop.Sev1}, Severity: loop.Sev1, State: st}
+}
+
+func newTestTemplates(t *testing.T, seed int64) *NudgeTemplates {
+	t.Helper()
+	nt, err := NewNudgeTemplates(rand.NewSource(seed))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("NewNudgeTemplates: %v", err)
+	}
+	return nt
+}
+
+func TestNudgeTemplatesLoad(t *testing.T) {
+	nt := newTestTemplates(t, 1)
+	for _, rule := range []string{"water", "meal", "break", "service_down", "netdata_critical", "routine", "morning", "default"} {
+		set, ok := nt.file.Rules[rule]
+		if !ok {
+			t.Errorf("no templates for %q", rule)
+			continue
+		}
+		if len(set.Variants) < 5 {
+			t.Errorf("%s: only %d variants", rule, len(set.Variants))
+		}
+		// Every rule needs one variant that needs no value, or a candidate
+		// without context has nothing to say. routine and morning are exempt:
+		// they always carry a name and must always say it.
+		plain := 0
+		seen := map[string]bool{}
+		for _, v := range set.Variants {
+			if !placeholderRE.MatchString(v) {
+				plain++
+			}
+			if seen[v] {
+				t.Errorf("%s: duplicate variant %q", rule, v)
+			}
+			seen[v] = true
+		}
+		if plain == 0 && rule != "routine" && rule != "morning" {
+			t.Errorf("%s: every variant needs a placeholder value", rule)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// The whole point of the picker: never the same words twice in a row.
+func TestNudgeNoImmediateRepeat(t *testing.T) {
+	nt := newTestTemplates(t, 7)
+	prev := ""
+	for i := 0; i < 200; i++ {
+		body, _ := nt.Nudge(cand("water", 200, ""))
+		if body == prev {
+			t.Fatalf("repeat at %d: %q", i, body)
+		}
+		prev = body
+	}
+}
+
+// Same seed, same sequence — otherwise the fixture score would drift run to run.
+func TestNudgeDeterministicWithSeed(t *testing.T) {
+	var runs [2][]string
+	for r := range runs {
+		nt := newTestTemplates(t, 42)
+		for i := 0; i < 20; i++ {
+			body, _ := nt.Nudge(cand("break", 100, ""))
+			runs[r] = append(runs[r], body)
+		}
+	}
+	for i := range runs[0] {
+		if runs[0][i] != runs[1][i] {
+			t.Fatalf("run %d differs: %q vs %q", i, runs[0][i], runs[1][i])
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// A variant is only used when its value exists, and nothing half-filled ships.
+func TestNudgeNoLeftoverPlaceholders(t *testing.T) {
+	nt := newTestTemplates(t, 3)
+	cases := []loop.Candidate{
+		cand("water", 0, ""),   // no duration
+		cand("water", 30, ""),  // under an hour
+		cand("water", 200, ""), // hours
+		cand("service_down", 3, "vaultwarden"),
+		cand("service_down", 3, ""), // no service name
+		cand("routine:таблетки", 0, ""),
+		cand("morning:утро", 0, ""),
+		cand("unknown_rule", 0, ""),
+	}
+	for _, c := range cases {
+		for i := 0; i < 40; i++ {
+			body, mood := nt.Nudge(c)
+			if body == "" {
+				t.Fatalf("%s: empty body", c.Rule.Name)
+			}
+			if strings.ContainsAny(body, "{}%") {
+				t.Fatalf("%s: unfilled template %q", c.Rule.Name, body)
+			}
+			if mood != "neutral" {
+				t.Fatalf("%s: mood %q", c.Rule.Name, mood)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// The routine name must actually land in the text.
+func TestNudgeSubstitutesWhat(t *testing.T) {
+	nt := newTestTemplates(t, 11)
+	for i := 0; i < 40; i++ {
+		body, _ := nt.Nudge(cand("routine:таблетки", 0, ""))
+		if !strings.Contains(strings.ToLower(body), "таблетки") {
+			t.Fatalf("routine text lost the name: %q", body)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestRuSinceWords(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		min  int
+		want string
+	}{
+		{30, ""},
+		{60, "час"},
+		{95, "полтора часа"},
+		{150, "два с половиной часа"},
+		{190, "три часа"},
+		{240, "четыре часа"},
+		{430, "семь часов"},
+		{660, "одиннадцать часов"},
+		{60 * 30, "больше суток"},
+	}
+	for _, c := range cases {
+		got := ruSinceWords(time.Duration(c.min) * time.Minute)
+		if got != c.want {
+			t.Errorf("%d min: got %q want %q", c.min, got, c.want)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// Templates are the default: a nudge must not reach the model at all.
+func TestLLMPhraserUsesTemplatesByDefault(t *testing.T) {
+	spy := newGrammarSpy(t)
+	p := NewLLMPhraserAt(spy.srv.URL, Config{})
+	pn, err := p.PhraseNudge(context.Background(), cand("water", 200, ""))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("PhraseNudge: %v", err)
+	}
+	if len(spy.grammars) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("nudge hit the model %d times, want 0", len(spy.grammars))
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(strings.ToLower(pn.Body), "вод") {
+		t.Errorf("nudge is not the water template: %q", pn.Body)
+	}
+}
+
+// ...and the flag brings the model back.
+func TestLLMNudgesFlagRestoresTheModel(t *testing.T) {
+	spy := newGrammarSpy(t)
+	p := NewLLMPhraserAt(spy.srv.URL, Config{LLMNudges: true})
+	pn, err := p.PhraseNudge(context.Background(), cand("water", 200, ""))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("PhraseNudge: %v", err)
+	}
+	if len(spy.grammars) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("nudge hit the model %d times, want 1", len(spy.grammars))
+	}
+	if pn.Body != "ага" {
+		t.Errorf("body = %q, want the model's reply", pn.Body)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestNudgeTemplatesPhraseNudge(t *testing.T) {
+	nt := newTestTemplates(t, 5)
+	pn, err := nt.PhraseNudge(context.Background(), cand("water", 200, ""))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("PhraseNudge: %v", err)
+	}
+	if pn.Body == "" || pn.Summary != pn.Body || pn.Mood != "neutral" {
+		t.Fatalf("bad nudge: %+v", pn)
+	}
+}

internal/phraser/nudges_ru_v1.json

@@ -0,0 +1,129 @@
+{
+  "schema_version": 1,
+  "name": "russian nudge templates v1",
+  "notes": [
+    "Hand-written Russian nudges. Edit the wording here, no Go changes needed.",
+    "Rules: she is feminine about herself, he is a man addressed as ты. Never вы/вас/ваш, never plural imperatives (выпейте), never он/его about him.",
+    "One short sentence. No questions, no emoji, no pet names, no emotional support.",
+    "Placeholders: {since} how long it has been (only used when it is at least an hour), {service} the service name, {what} the routine name. A variant whose placeholder has no value is skipped, so every rule needs at least one variant with no placeholder. The exception is routine and morning: those only exist for rules like routine:таблетки that always carry a name, and a routine nudge that drops the name is useless.",
+    "mood must be one of: neutral, happy, thinking, tired, confused."
+  ],
+  "rules": {
+    "water": {
+      "mood": "neutral",
+      "variants": [
+        "Ты не пил воду {since} — выпей стакан.",
+        "Пора выпить воды.",
+        "Стакан воды не помешает.",
+        "Воду ты не пил уже {since}.",
+        "Напоминаю про воду.",
+        "Сходи за водой, дела подождут.",
+        "Сделай глоток воды, пока помнишь.",
+        "Между делом выпей воды.",
+        "Вода — простое дело: выпей стакан.",
+        "Отвлекись на стакан воды."
+      ]
+    },
+    "meal": {
+      "mood": "neutral",
+      "variants": [
+        "Ты не ел {since} — поешь.",
+        "Пора поесть, сделай перекус.",
+        "Еда важнее ещё одного часа за столом.",
+        "Без еды уже {since}, поешь.",
+        "Напоминаю про еду — поешь.",
+        "Возьми перерыв на обед.",
+        "Сделай себе перекус, это пять минут.",
+        "Поешь, потом вернёшься к работе.",
+        "Поешь нормально, а не на ходу.",
+        "Еды не было {since} — разогрей что-нибудь."
+      ]
+    },
+    "break": {
+      "mood": "neutral",
+      "variants": [
+        "Ты за столом {since} — встань и разомнись.",
+        "Пора сделать перерыв.",
+        "Встань на пять минут.",
+        "{since} без перерыва — отойди от экрана.",
+        "Напоминаю про перерыв.",
+        "Разомни спину, потом продолжишь.",
+        "Короткая пауза не сорвёт дела.",
+        "Отойди от компьютера на минуту.",
+        "Сидишь без перерыва {since}.",
+        "Встань, пройдись, вернись."
+      ]
+    },
+    "service_down": {
+      "mood": "neutral",
+      "variants": [
+        "Сервис {service} не отвечает.",
+        "{service} упал — сервис не отвечает.",
+        "{service} не отвечает, сервис нужно поднимать.",
+        "Сервис {service} недоступен.",
+        "Проверь {service}: сервис не отвечает.",
+        "Сервис перестал отвечать.",
+        "Сервис {service} лежит, нужно смотреть.",
+        "{service} не отвечает уже {since}.",
+        "Мониторинг сообщает: {service} лежит.",
+        "Сервис {service} не отвечает, посмотри логи."
+      ]
+    },
+    "netdata_critical": {
+      "mood": "neutral",
+      "variants": [
+        "Netdata: критический алярм, проверь диск.",
+        "Критический алярм в netdata — посмотри диск.",
+        "Netdata поднял тревогу по диску.",
+        "Проверь диск: netdata ругается.",
+        "Алярм от netdata, критический.",
+        "Netdata: критический уровень, дело в диске.",
+        "Диск требует внимания — критический алярм в netdata.",
+        "Критический алярм: проверь место на диске.",
+        "Netdata сообщает о критической проблеме с диском.",
+        "Открой netdata: там критический алярм по диску."
+      ]
+    },
+    "routine": {
+      "mood": "neutral",
+      "variants": [
+        "По распорядку: {what}.",
+        "Пора — {what}.",
+        "Напоминаю: {what}.",
+        "В списке на сейчас: {what}.",
+        "{what} — сейчас самое время.",
+        "Не пропусти: {what}.",
+        "{what}: пора сделать.",
+        "Сейчас по плану {what}.",
+        "Твой распорядок: {what}.",
+        "{what} — по распорядку сейчас."
+      ]
+    },
+    "morning": {
+      "mood": "neutral",
+      "variants": [
+        "{what} — пора начать день.",
+        "{what}: пройди утренний список.",
+        "Начни {what} со списка.",
+        "{what}. Осталось пройти чеклист.",
+        "Утренний список ещё не пройден: {what}.",
+        "{what}: первый пункт списка за тобой.",
+        "{what} идёт, а список стоит.",
+        "{what}: не забудь про утренние дела.",
+        "По утреннему чеклисту ещё есть дела: {what}.",
+        "{what} — утренний список дел ещё ждёт."
+      ]
+    },
+    "default": {
+      "mood": "neutral",
+      "variants": [
+        "Напоминаю: есть дело.",
+        "Пора вернуться к отложенному делу.",
+        "Одно дело ждёт тебя.",
+        "Напоминаю про дело из списка.",
+        "В списке осталось дело.",
+        "Дело всё ещё не сделано."
+      ]
+    }
+  }
+}