mavend: say the query answers from the file (V-503)

The three daemon tests that pinned a wording ask the entry instead. The eval
scores every query variant on the persona checks, minus hisgender: it reads her
own feminine verb next to "у тебя" as addressing him as a woman.

cmd/mavend/ack.go

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import (
 	"log"
 
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/loop"
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/phraser"
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/router"
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/store"
 )
@@ -35,10 +36,10 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) resolveAck(ctx context.Context, text string, src turnS
 	}
 	if err := h.api.ResolveNudge(ctx, target.ID, store.NudgeActed, now); err != nil {
 		log.Printf("voice: ack nudge %d (%s, %s): %v", target.ID, target.Rule, src, err)
-		return "не получилось отметить.", true
+		return phraser.Ack(phraser.FailAck, nil), true
 	}
 	log.Printf("voice: acked nudge %d (rule %s) from %s", target.ID, target.Rule, src)
-	return "отлично, отметила.", true
+	return phraser.Ack(phraser.AckNudge, nil), true
 }
 
 // ackFromFact — post-action hook, called once the turn's decision has been

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_fact.go

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"strconv"
 
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/ipc"
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/phraser"
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/router"
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/store"
 )
@@ -14,7 +15,7 @@ import (
 // it for recall, and let pattern detection propose a routine.
 func (h *reactiveHandler) actionFact(ctx context.Context, dec router.Decision) string {
 	if !dec.Slots.HasKey {
-		return "не разобрала, что записать — попробуй иначе."
+		return phraser.Ack(phraser.FailFactUnparsed, nil)
 	}
 	// A question is never a fact about him (#470). "какая последняя версия
 	// языка Go?" used to land here, and the value stored was whatever the
@@ -62,7 +63,7 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) actionFact(ctx context.Context, dec router.Decision) s
 	factID, err := h.api.WriteFact(ctx, req)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Printf("voice: write fact: %v", err)
-		return "не получилось сохранить факт."
+		return phraser.Ack(phraser.FailFact, nil)
 	}
 	// Index the fact in long-term memory (best-effort, must not fail the fact
 	// write). Facts aren't in the notes table, so this is the only recall path

cmd/mavend/actions_note.go

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"log"
 	"strconv"
 
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/phraser"
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/router"
 )
 
@@ -23,13 +24,13 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) actionNote(ctx context.Context, dec router.Decision) s
 	vec, err := router.EmbedPassage(ctx, h.embedder, dec.Utterance)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Printf("voice: embed note: %v", err)
-		return "не получилось сохранить заметку."
+		return phraser.Ack(phraser.FailNote, nil)
 	}
 	noteTs := h.now()
 	noteID, err := h.api.WriteNote(ctx, noteTs, dec.Utterance, vec, "tap:voice")
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Printf("voice: write note: %v", err)
-		return "не получилось сохранить заметку."
+		return phraser.Ack(phraser.FailNote, nil)
 	}
 	// Insert into long-term memory (best-effort, must not fail the note write).
 	// text/ts in the meta make a Search hit self-describing (see bestRecall).

cmd/mavend/actions_query.go

@@ -147,9 +147,9 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) actionQuery(ctx context.Context, dec router.Decision)
 		// The previous question cannot be re-asked for another day. Saying so
 		// beats "не знаю", which reads as "no data for tomorrow" when the
 		// truth is that she never looked.
-		return "про другой день так не отвечу — спроси целиком."
+		return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryOtherDay, nil)
 	}
-	return "не знаю."
+	return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryUnknown, nil)
 }
 
 // queryFactByKey — when the dialogue layer resolved an anaphoric reference to
@@ -167,11 +167,11 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) queryFactByKey(ctx context.Context, t *queryTurn) (str
 	if dec.Slots.HasTime {
 		// The query asks about timing — the fact's own timestamp is the
 		// answer it's looking for. Format as a natural reply.
-		return fmt.Sprintf("я записала это %s", formatTime(f.Ts)), true
+		return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryFactWhen, map[string]string{"when": formatTime(f.Ts)}), true
 	}
 	// General fact reference: describe what we know.
 	if dec.Utterance == "" {
-		return fmt.Sprintf("вот что я знаю: %s — %s", dec.Slots.Key, f.Value), true
+		return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryFactValue, map[string]string{"key": dec.Slots.Key, "value": f.Value}), true
 	}
 	// The utterance still carries the question; fall through to normal RAG
 	// with the resolved key in context.
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) queryDayPlan(ctx context.Context, t *queryTurn) (strin
 	plan, err := h.api.DayPlan(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Printf("voice: day plan: %v", err)
-		return "не получилось собрать план.", true
+		return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryFailPlan, nil), true
 	}
 	if !router.IsRestOfDayQuery(t.dec.Utterance) {
 		return plan.Spoken, true
@@ -242,7 +242,7 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) queryHabits(ctx context.Context, t *queryTurn) (string
 	facts, err := h.api.RecentActiveFactsByKind(ctx, string(store.KindSelf), habitFactWindow)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Printf("voice: habits: recent facts: %v", err)
-		return "не получилось посмотреть записи.", true
+		return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryFailNotes, nil), true
 	}
 	obs := make([]memory.Observation, 0, len(facts))
 	for _, f := range facts {
@@ -281,7 +281,7 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) queryFeeds(ctx context.Context, t *queryTurn) (string,
 		// Claim the turn rather than fall through: "не читаю ленты" is true, and
 		// letting general knowledge answer "что нового?" would be an invented
 		// news bulletin.
-		return "я пока не читаю ленты — они не настроены.", true
+		return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryFeedsOff, nil), true
 	}
 	// By source, not the last 200 notes of any kind: a busy day of voice notes
 	// used to push the newest headline out of the window, and she answered "в
@@ -289,7 +289,7 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) queryFeeds(ctx context.Context, t *queryTurn) (string,
 	notes, err := h.api.RecentNotesFromSource(ctx, rss.SourcePrefix, feedNoteWindow)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Printf("voice: feeds: recent notes: %v", err)
-		return "не получилось посмотреть ленты.", true
+		return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryFailFeeds, nil), true
 	}
 	var picked []string
 	for _, n := range notes {
@@ -306,11 +306,11 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) queryFeeds(ctx context.Context, t *queryTurn) (string,
 	}
 	if len(picked) == 0 {
 		if q.Category != "" {
-			return "по этой теме в лентах пока ничего.", true
+			return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryFeedsTopic, nil), true
 		}
-		return "в лентах пока ничего нового.", true
+		return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryFeedsEmpty, nil), true
 	}
-	return "вот что нового: " + strings.Join(picked, "; "), true
+	return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryFeedsNew, map[string]string{"items": strings.Join(picked, "; ")}), true
 }
 
 // queryCalendar — "что у меня сегодня?", "планы на завтра?"
@@ -324,7 +324,7 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) queryCalendar(ctx context.Context, t *queryTurn) (stri
 	events, err := h.api.CalendarEvents(ctx, date, date.Add(24*time.Hour))
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Printf("voice: calendar events: %v", err)
-		return "не получилось проверить календарь.", true
+		return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryFailCalendar, nil), true
 	}
 	// Provenance travels with each event. A work meeting relayed off a phone
 	// notification (source ambient:notif, #126) is stored below full confidence
@@ -382,19 +382,23 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) queryWeather(ctx context.Context, t *queryTurn) (strin
 	if loc == "" {
 		// He named no city and voice.weather.default_location is unset. Saying
 		// so is the only honest answer; picking a city would be inventing one.
-		return "не знаю, для какого города — задай voice.weather.default_location или назови город.", true
+		return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryWeatherWhere, nil), true
 	}
 	ctxWT, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, 5*time.Second)
 	defer cancel()
 	w, err := h.weatherProvider.CurrentWeather(ctxWT, loc)
 	if errors.Is(err, weather.ErrNotConfigured) {
-		return "погода не настроена.", true
+		return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryWeatherOff, nil), true
 	}
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Printf("voice: weather: %v", err)
-		return "не получилось узнать погоду.", true
+		return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryFailWeather, nil), true
 	}
-	return fmt.Sprintf("в %s сейчас %.0f градусов, %s.", w.Location, w.Temperature, w.Condition), true
+	return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryWeatherNow, map[string]string{
+		"location":  w.Location,
+		"temp":      fmt.Sprintf("%.0f", w.Temperature),
+		"condition": w.Condition,
+	}), true
 }
 
 // queryEmbed isn't an answer source — it's the shared cost the two recall
@@ -404,7 +408,7 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) queryEmbed(ctx context.Context, t *queryTurn) (string,
 	vec, err := router.EmbedQuery(ctx, h.embedder, t.dec.Utterance)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Printf("voice: embed query: %v", err)
-		return "не получилось найти ответ.", true
+		return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryFailAnswer, nil), true
 	}
 	t.vec = vec
 	return "", false
@@ -445,7 +449,13 @@ 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
 		}
 	}
@@ -467,7 +477,7 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) queryNotes(ctx context.Context, t *queryTurn) (string,
 	notes, err := h.api.QueryNotes(ctx, t.vec, 5)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Printf("voice: query notes: %v", err)
-		return "не получилось найти ответ.", true
+		return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryFailAnswer, nil), true
 	}
 	t.notes = notes
 	noteScores := make([]float64, len(notes))
@@ -492,7 +502,7 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) queryNotes(ctx context.Context, t *queryTurn) (string,
 		log.Printf("voice: phrase query: %v", err)
 	}
 	if reply == "" {
-		reply = "вот что я нашла: " + texts[0]
+		reply = phraser.Q(phraser.QueryFound, map[string]string{"text": texts[0]})
 	}
 	return reply, true
 }
@@ -526,13 +536,13 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) queryWeb(ctx context.Context, t *queryTurn) (string, b
 	page, err := h.crawler.Page(ctxFetch, link)
 	if err != nil {
 		if errors.Is(err, crawl.ErrRobots) {
-			return "эта страница закрыта для чтения — robots.txt не разрешает.", true
+			return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryPageBlocked, nil), true
 		}
 		log.Printf("voice: web: %v", err)
-		return "не получилось прочитать страницу.", true
+		return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryFailPage, nil), true
 	}
 	if page.Text == "" {
-		return "страница открылась, но читать там нечего.", true
+		return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryPageEmpty, nil), true
 	}
 	// The page is handed to the phraser the same way a note is: as context for
 	// the question he actually asked. She answers the question, she does not
@@ -542,7 +552,7 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) queryWeb(ctx context.Context, t *queryTurn) (string, b
 	if reply == "" {
 		// No phraser (or it failed): read back the top of the page rather than
 		// pretend the fetch did not happen.
-		return "вот что на странице: " + crawl.TrimRunes(page.Text, 300), true
+		return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryPageText, map[string]string{"text": crawl.TrimRunes(page.Text, 300)}), true
 	}
 	return reply, true
 }
@@ -608,7 +618,7 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) querySearch(ctx context.Context, t *queryTurn) (string
 	if reply == "" {
 		// No phraser, or it failed. Read back the best evidence rather than
 		// pretend the search did not happen.
-		return "вот что я нашла: " + crawl.TrimRunes(resp.Snippets()[0], 300), true
+		return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryFound, map[string]string{"text": crawl.TrimRunes(resp.Snippets()[0], 300)}), true
 	}
 	return reply, true
 }
@@ -689,7 +699,7 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) queryKiwix(ctx context.Context, t *queryTurn) (string,
 	if reply == "" {
 		// No phraser, or it failed. Read back the best hit rather than pretend
 		// the search did not happen.
-		return "вот что я нашла: " + crawl.TrimRunes(top.Title+" — "+page.Text, 300), true
+		return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryFound, map[string]string{"text": crawl.TrimRunes(top.Title+" — "+page.Text, 300)}), true
 	}
 	return reply, true
 }
@@ -719,7 +729,7 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) queryPersonal(ctx context.Context, t *queryTurn) (stri
 		return "", false
 	}
 	log.Printf("voice: %q is about him and his own data did not answer it; not asking the world", t.dec.Utterance)
-	return "не знаю — не нашла у тебя такой записи.", true
+	return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryPersonalNone, nil), true
 }
 
 // personalMarkers — first-person POSSESSION, not first person generally.
@@ -787,15 +797,15 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) queryGeneral(ctx context.Context, t *queryTurn) (strin
 	if h.phraser == nil {
 		// No model of any size. That is not the workstation being asleep, so it
 		// is not that gap: it is simply not knowing.
-		return "не знаю.", true
+		return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryUnknown, nil), true
 	}
 	reply, err := h.phraseWorld(ctx, t.dec.Utterance, nil)
 	if errors.Is(err, phraser.ErrNoWorldModel) {
 		log.Printf("voice: %q needs the world model and it is not available", t.dec.Utterance)
-		return worldGap, true
+		return worldGap(), true
 	}
 	if err != nil || reply == "" {
-		return "не знаю.", true
+		return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryUnknown, nil), true
 	}
 	return reply, true
 }

cmd/mavend/actions_reminder.go

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"log"
 
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/phraser"
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/router"
 )
 
@@ -21,13 +22,13 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) actionReminder(ctx context.Context, dec router.Decisio
 			}
 		}
 		if !dec.Slots.HasTime {
-			return "не получилось разобрать время напоминания."
+			return phraser.Ack(phraser.FailReminderTime, nil)
 		}
 	}
 	payload := `{"text":` + jsonString(dec.Utterance) + `}`
 	if _, err := h.api.CreateReminder(ctx, dec.Slots.Time, payload, ""); err != nil {
 		log.Printf("voice: create reminder: %v", err)
-		return "не получилось поставить напоминание."
+		return phraser.Ack(phraser.FailReminder, nil)
 	}
 	return ""
 }

cmd/mavend/actions_task.go

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"log"
 
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/ipc"
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/phraser"
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/router"
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/store"
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/tasks"
@@ -40,18 +41,18 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) captureTaskFromNote(ctx context.Context, dec router.De
 	})
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Printf("voice: capture task: %v", err)
-		return "не получилось записать задачу.", true
+		return phraser.Ack(phraser.FailTask, nil), true
 	}
 	if resp.Promoted {
 		// It was a candidate Maven derived from something she read, and he has
 		// now said it himself. Saying "уже в списке" here would be answering a
 		// confirmation with a shrug.
-		return "поняла, беру в работу: " + cap.Text, true
+		return phraser.Ack(phraser.AckTaskUrgent, map[string]string{"text": cap.Text}), true
 	}
 	if !resp.Created {
-		return "это уже в списке.", true
+		return phraser.Ack(phraser.AckTaskDuplicate, nil), true
 	}
-	return "записала: " + cap.Text, true
+	return phraser.Ack(phraser.AckTask, map[string]string{"text": cap.Text}), true
 }
 
 // queryTasks — "какие у меня задачи?", "что мне нужно сделать?".

cmd/mavend/actions_task_test.go

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/ipc"
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/phraser"
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/router"
 )
 
@@ -108,7 +109,7 @@ func TestCaptureTaskFromNoteReportsStoreFailure(t *testing.T) {
 	if !ok {
 		t.Fatal("a failed capture still claims the turn — the note path must not double-write")
 	}
-	if !strings.Contains(reply, "не получилось") {
+	if !phraser.IsAck(phraser.FailTask, nil, reply) {
 		t.Errorf("reply = %q, want an honest failure", reply)
 	}
 }

cmd/mavend/crawls_test.go

@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ func TestQueryWebRefusesNonHTML(t *testing.T) {
 	if !ok {
 		t.Fatal("the web source did not claim a question with a URL")
 	}
-	if !strings.Contains(reply, "не получилось") {
+	if !phraser.IsQ(phraser.QueryFailPage, nil, reply) {
 		t.Errorf("reply = %q, want the read-failed answer", reply)
 	}
 }

cmd/mavend/dayplan_test.go

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/calendar"
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/ipc"
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/phraser"
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/router"
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/store"
 )
@@ -147,8 +148,8 @@ func TestQueryDayPlanCoreFailure(t *testing.T) {
 	if !ok {
 		t.Fatal("a failed plan read must still answer, not fall through to RAG")
 	}
-	if reply != "не получилось собрать план." {
-		t.Errorf("reply = %q", reply)
+	if !phraser.IsQ(phraser.QueryFailPlan, nil, reply) {
+		t.Errorf("reply = %q, want the honest failure", reply)
 	}
 }
 

cmd/mavend/feeds_test.go

@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ func TestQueryFeedsByCategory(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("reply = %q, want only the технологии item", reply)
 	}
 	reply, _ = askFeeds(t, h, "что нового по спорту?")
-	if !strings.Contains(reply, "ничего") {
+	if !phraser.IsQ(phraser.QueryFeedsTopic, nil, reply) {
 		t.Fatalf("reply = %q, want an honest empty answer for an unread category", reply)
 	}
 }

cmd/mavend/netscan.go

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/config"
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/ipc"
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/netscan"
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/phraser"
 )
 
 // scanBudget — the whole spoken scan, end to end. A voice turn that takes
@@ -106,7 +107,7 @@ func (w *netWiring) scanSummary(ctx context.Context) (string, bool) {
 	res, err := w.scan(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Printf("netscan: scan: %v", err)
-		return "не получилось просканировать сеть.", true
+		return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryFailNetscan, nil), true
 	}
 	// A truncated run is not a statement about the LAN. Saying "нашла 6
 	// устройств" after stopping two thirds of the way through the range is a
@@ -116,7 +117,7 @@ func (w *netWiring) scanSummary(ctx context.Context) (string, bool) {
 		tail = ", но успела посмотреть не всю сеть"
 	}
 	if len(res.Hosts) == 0 {
-		return "в сети никого не нашла" + tail + ".", true
+		return phraser.Q(phraser.QueryNetEmpty, map[string]string{"tail": tail}), true
 	}
 	out := fmt.Sprintf("нашла %d %s", len(res.Hosts), hostWord(len(res.Hosts)))
 	if shape := scanShape(res.Hosts); shape != "" {

cmd/mavend/query_recall_test.go

@@ -121,8 +121,8 @@ func TestQueryRecallNoteCanWin(t *testing.T) {
 			{text: "выучил пару аккордов", score: 0.50, kind: "note"},
 		})
 		reply := askQuery(t, h, q)
-		if want := "вот что я нашла: молоко стоит в холодильнике"; reply != want {
-			t.Errorf("reply %q, want %q", reply, want)
+		if !phraser.IsSourcesFallback(reply, "молоко стоит в холодильнике") {
+			t.Errorf("reply %q, want the note read back", reply)
 		}
 		// One text, the winning memory's — the answer came from the memory
 		// pass, not from handing the phraser every note in the table.
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ func TestQueryRecallNoteCanWin(t *testing.T) {
 			{text: "молоко стоит в холодильнике", score: 0.860, kind: "note"},
 			{text: "молоко закончилось", score: 0.858, kind: "note"},
 		})
-		if reply := askQuery(t, h, q); reply != "не знаю." {
+		if reply := askQuery(t, h, q); !phraser.IsUnknownFallback(reply) {
 			t.Errorf("reply %q, want silence", reply)
 		}
 	})

cmd/mavend/quiet_toggle.go

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 	"unicode"
 
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/ipc"
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/phraser"
 )
 
 // resolveQuietToggle — pre-route keyword check. Returns (reply, true) when
@@ -32,10 +33,10 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) resolveQuietToggle(ctx context.Context, text string, s
 		return "", false
 	}
 	val := "false"
-	reply := "тихий режим выключен."
+	reply := phraser.Ack(phraser.AckQuietOff, nil)
 	if on {
 		val = "true"
-		reply = "тихий режим включён. буду реже напоминать."
+		reply = phraser.Ack(phraser.AckQuietOn, nil)
 	}
 	if _, err := h.api.WriteFact(ctx, ipc.WriteFactReq{
 		Ts:         h.now(),
@@ -46,7 +47,7 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) resolveQuietToggle(ctx context.Context, text string, s
 		Confidence: 1.0,
 	}); err != nil {
 		log.Printf("voice: write quiet_hours: %v", err)
-		return "не получилось переключить тихий режим.", true
+		return phraser.Ack(phraser.FailQuiet, nil), true
 	}
 	return reply, true
 }

cmd/mavend/replier_llm_test.go

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ 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"
 )
@@ -29,12 +30,12 @@ func TestLLMReplierPassesTheModelReplyThrough(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestLLMReplierFallsBackToStubOnError(t *testing.T) {
 	r := newLLMReplier(stubCompleter{err: errReplierTest}, nil)
-	assertStub(t, r, router.Decision{Intent: router.IntentNote}, "llm error")
+	assertAck(t, r, router.Decision{Intent: router.IntentNote}, phraser.AckNote, "llm error")
 }
 
 func TestLLMReplierFallsBackToStubOnEmpty(t *testing.T) {
 	r := newLLMReplier(stubCompleter{out: ""}, nil)
-	assertStub(t, r, router.Decision{Intent: router.IntentNote}, "empty llm")
+	assertAck(t, r, router.Decision{Intent: router.IntentNote}, phraser.AckNote, "empty llm")
 }
 
 func TestLLMReplierClarifyUsesStub(t *testing.T) {
@@ -42,6 +43,16 @@ func TestLLMReplierClarifyUsesStub(t *testing.T) {
 	assertStub(t, r, router.Decision{Clarify: true}, "clarify")
 }
 
+// assertAck — the stub picks between variants now, so two calls to it are not
+// expected to match. What must hold is that the reply is a line that entry can
+// produce, which is the same claim without pinning one wording.
+func assertAck(t *testing.T, r *llmReplier, d router.Decision, key, what string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	if got := r.Reply(d); !phraser.IsAck(key, nil, got) {
+		t.Errorf("on %s: got %q, want a %q line", what, got, key)
+	}
+}
+
 func assertStub(t *testing.T, r *llmReplier, d router.Decision, what string) {
 	t.Helper()
 	got, want := r.Reply(d), voice.NewStubReplier().Reply(d)

cmd/mavend/snooze.go

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/ipc"
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/phraser"
 	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/store"
 )
 
@@ -51,10 +52,10 @@ func (h *reactiveHandler) resolveSnooze(ctx context.Context, text string, src tu
 	}
 	if err := h.api.ResolveNudge(ctx, target.ID, store.NudgeSnoozed, now); err != nil {
 		log.Printf("voice: snooze nudge %d (%s, %s): %v", target.ID, target.Rule, src, err)
-		return "не получилось отложить.", true
+		return phraser.Ack(phraser.FailSnooze, nil), true
 	}
 	log.Printf("voice: snoozed nudge %d (rule %s) from %s", target.ID, target.Rule, src)
-	return "хорошо, вернусь к этому позже.", true
+	return phraser.Ack(phraser.AckSnooze, nil), true
 }
 
 // pendingNudge — the newest still-pending nudge sent inside snoozeWindow.

cmd/mavend/worldmodel.go

@@ -23,7 +23,11 @@ type worldPhraser interface {
 // question about his meeting came back as a swimming competition in Nottingham.
 // Naming the gap is the rule CLAUDE.md already applies to a sibling service
 // being down.
-const worldGap = "сейчас не могу ответить — большая модель недоступна, а придумывать не хочу."
+//
+// The wording lives in fallbacks_ru_v1.json and is fixed there, not picked from
+// variants: this sentence names one specific gap and must not drift into a
+// general "I don't know".
+func worldGap() string { return phraser.WorldGap() }
 
 // phraseWorld asks the world model, or reports the gap.
 //
@@ -54,7 +58,11 @@ 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
 }

cmd/mavend/worldmodel_test.go

@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ func TestQueryGeneralNamesTheGap(t *testing.T) {
 	if !ok {
 		t.Fatal("queryGeneral passed on the last source in the chain")
 	}
-	if reply != worldGap {
+	if reply != worldGap() {
 		t.Fatalf("reply = %q, want the named gap", reply)
 	}
 	if g.worldCalls != 1 {
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ func TestQueryGeneralWithoutAWorldModelIsUnchanged(t *testing.T) {
 	if !ok {
 		t.Fatal("queryGeneral passed on the last source in the chain")
 	}
-	if reply != "не знаю." {
+	if !phraser.IsUnknownFallback(reply) {
 		t.Fatalf("reply = %q, want the Stub's answer", reply)
 	}
 }
@@ -61,12 +61,12 @@ func TestQueryGeneralWithoutAWorldModelIsUnchanged(t *testing.T) {
 // English in it.
 func TestWorldGapIsInPersona(t *testing.T) {
 	for _, bad := range []string{"вы", "ваш", "рад ", "дорогой", "милый"} {
-		if strings.Contains(worldGap, bad) {
-			t.Errorf("the gap phrase contains %q: %s", bad, worldGap)
+		if strings.Contains(worldGap(), bad) {
+			t.Errorf("the gap phrase contains %q: %s", bad, worldGap())
 		}
 	}
-	if strings.ContainsAny(worldGap, "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz") {
-		t.Errorf("the gap phrase has Latin letters in it: %s", worldGap)
+	if strings.ContainsAny(worldGap(), "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz") {
+		t.Errorf("the gap phrase has Latin letters in it: %s", worldGap())
 	}
 }
 

internal/phraser/ack_ru_v1.json

@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+{
+  "schema_version": 1,
+  "name": "russian capture acknowledgements v1",
+  "notes": [
+    "What she says after storing something he said, and what she says when storing it failed. 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 он/его about him. No pet names.",
+    "He hears these many times a day, so most entries carry variants: identical wording is what makes a confirmation stop registering as one.",
+    "Placeholders: {key} {value} the fact he stated, {fn} the action, {text} the task title. His data is interpolated Go-side — the file holds the frame, never his words.",
+    "An acknowledgement confirms and stops. It does not ask a follow-up question and it does not editorialise about what he stored."
+  ],
+  "entries": {
+    "ack_fact": {
+      "variants": ["записала факт.", "записала.", "запомнила."]
+    },
+    "ack_fact_key": {
+      "variants": ["отметила: {key}", "записала: {key}", "запомнила: {key}"]
+    },
+    "ack_fact_kv": {
+      "variants": ["отметила: {key} = {value}", "записала: {key} — {value}", "запомнила: {key} — {value}"]
+    },
+    "ack_note": {
+      "variants": ["сохранила заметку.", "заметка сохранена.", "записала в заметки."]
+    },
+    "ack_reminder": {
+      "variants": ["напомню.", "напомню, не забуду.", "хорошо, напомню."]
+    },
+    "ack_act": {
+      "variants": ["ок, записала действие: {fn}", "приняла действие: {fn}"]
+    },
+    "ack_task": {
+      "variants": ["записала: {text}", "добавила в задачи: {text}", "внесла в список: {text}"]
+    },
+    "ack_task_urgent": {
+      "variants": ["поняла, беру в работу: {text}", "поняла, это срочно: {text}"]
+    },
+    "ack_task_duplicate": {
+      "variants": ["это уже в списке.", "такое уже есть в задачах."]
+    },
+    "ack_nudge": {
+      "variants": ["отлично, отметила.", "отметила.", "хорошо, отметила."]
+    },
+    "ack_snooze": {
+      "variants": ["хорошо, вернусь к этому позже.", "ладно, напомню попозже.", "хорошо, отложила."]
+    },
+    "ack_generic": {
+      "variants": ["приняла.", "поняла."]
+    },
+    "quiet_on": {
+      "fixed": true,
+      "variants": ["тихий режим включён. буду реже напоминать."]
+    },
+    "quiet_off": {
+      "fixed": true,
+      "variants": ["тихий режим выключен."]
+    },
+    "fail_fact": {
+      "variants": ["не получилось сохранить факт.", "факт не сохранился."]
+    },
+    "fail_note": {
+      "variants": ["не получилось сохранить заметку.", "заметка не сохранилась."]
+    },
+    "fail_reminder": {
+      "variants": ["не получилось поставить напоминание.", "напоминание не поставилось."]
+    },
+    "fail_reminder_time": {
+      "variants": ["не получилось разобрать время напоминания.", "не поняла, на когда напомнить."]
+    },
+    "fail_task": {
+      "variants": ["не получилось записать задачу.", "задача не записалась."]
+    },
+    "fail_ack": {
+      "variants": ["не получилось отметить.", "не смогла отметить."]
+    },
+    "fail_snooze": {
+      "variants": ["не получилось отложить.", "не смогла отложить."]
+    },
+    "fail_quiet": {
+      "variants": ["не получилось переключить тихий режим.", "тихий режим не переключился."]
+    },
+    "fail_fact_unparsed": {
+      "variants": ["не разобрала, что записать — попробуй иначе.", "не поняла, что записать. скажи иначе?"]
+    }
+  }
+}

internal/phraser/acks.go

@@ -0,0 +1,162 @@
+package phraser
+
+// The capture acknowledgements — what she says after storing something he said,
+// and what she says when storing it failed.
+//
+// They were string literals in eight files under cmd/mavend plus the stub
+// replier in internal/voice. He hears them many times a day, which is exactly
+// why they need variants and exactly why rewording one must not be a rebuild.
+// Same shape as fallbacks_ru_v1.json, on the shared deck (deck.go).
+//
+// His data stays Go-side. The file holds "отметила: {key} = {value}"; the key
+// and the value are interpolated here, so nothing he said lives in the copy.
+
+import (
+	_ "embed"
+	"log"
+	"math/rand"
+	"sync"
+)
+
+//go:embed ack_ru_v1.json
+var ackJSON []byte
+
+// AckSchemaVersion — this family's own version. A file that changes on a
+// different day than the fallbacks cannot share their number (Vikunja #397).
+const AckSchemaVersion = 1
+
+// The entry keys. Namespaced by family, because the floor map behind a nil deck
+// is process-wide.
+const (
+	AckFact          = "ack_fact"
+	AckFactKey       = "ack_fact_key"
+	AckFactValue     = "ack_fact_kv"
+	AckNote          = "ack_note"
+	AckReminder      = "ack_reminder"
+	AckAct           = "ack_act"
+	AckTask          = "ack_task"
+	AckTaskUrgent    = "ack_task_urgent"
+	AckTaskDuplicate = "ack_task_duplicate"
+	AckNudge         = "ack_nudge"
+	AckSnooze        = "ack_snooze"
+	AckGeneric       = "ack_generic"
+	AckQuietOn       = "quiet_on"
+	AckQuietOff      = "quiet_off"
+
+	FailFact         = "fail_fact"
+	FailFactUnparsed = "fail_fact_unparsed"
+	FailNote         = "fail_note"
+	FailReminder     = "fail_reminder"
+	FailReminderTime = "fail_reminder_time"
+	FailTask         = "fail_task"
+	FailAck          = "fail_ack"
+	FailSnooze       = "fail_snooze"
+	FailQuiet        = "fail_quiet"
+)
+
+// ackKeys — every key the code requires the file to define.
+var ackKeys = []string{
+	AckFact, AckFactKey, AckFactValue, AckNote, AckReminder, AckAct,
+	AckTask, AckTaskUrgent, AckTaskDuplicate, AckNudge, AckSnooze, AckGeneric,
+	AckQuietOn, AckQuietOff,
+	FailFact, FailFactUnparsed, FailNote, FailReminder, FailReminderTime,
+	FailTask, FailAck, FailSnooze, FailQuiet,
+}
+
+// ackFloor — the literal each key falls back to when the file is unusable.
+// These are the exact strings that lived in Go before this file existed.
+var ackFloor = registerFloor(map[string]string{
+	AckFact:          "записала факт.",
+	AckFactKey:       "отметила: {key}",
+	AckFactValue:     "отметила: {key} = {value}",
+	AckNote:          "сохранила заметку.",
+	AckReminder:      "напомню.",
+	AckAct:           "ок, записала действие: {fn}",
+	AckTask:          "записала: {text}",
+	AckTaskUrgent:    "поняла, беру в работу: {text}",
+	AckTaskDuplicate: "это уже в списке.",
+	AckNudge:         "отлично, отметила.",
+	AckSnooze:        "хорошо, вернусь к этому позже.",
+	AckGeneric:       "приняла.",
+	AckQuietOn:       "тихий режим включён. буду реже напоминать.",
+	AckQuietOff:      "тихий режим выключен.",
+
+	FailFact:         "не получилось сохранить факт.",
+	FailFactUnparsed: "не разобрала, что записать — попробуй иначе.",
+	FailNote:         "не получилось сохранить заметку.",
+	FailReminder:     "не получилось поставить напоминание.",
+	FailReminderTime: "не получилось разобрать время напоминания.",
+	FailTask:         "не получилось записать задачу.",
+	FailAck:          "не получилось отметить.",
+	FailSnooze:       "не получилось отложить.",
+	FailQuiet:        "не получилось переключить тихий режим.",
+})
+
+// Acks picks a hand-written Russian acknowledgement. Safe for concurrent use.
+type Acks struct{ d *deck }
+
+// LoadAcks reads the embedded file. Pass a source to make the picking
+// reproducible in tests; nil seeds from the clock.
+func LoadAcks(src rand.Source) (*Acks, error) {
+	d, err := loadDeck(ackJSON, AckSchemaVersion, ackKeys, ackFloor, src)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	// The three entries that exist to read his own words back. A variant
+	// without the placeholder would confirm the capture and drop what was
+	// captured, which reads as a successful save of nothing.
+	for _, req := range []struct{ key, ph string }{
+		{AckFactKey, "{key}"}, {AckFactValue, "{key}"}, {AckFactValue, "{value}"},
+		{AckAct, "{fn}"}, {AckTask, "{text}"}, {AckTaskUrgent, "{text}"},
+	} {
+		if err := d.requirePlaceholder(req.key, req.ph); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+	}
+	return &Acks{d: d}, nil
+}
+
+// deck reads through a nil *Acks, which is the unloadable-file case.
+func (a *Acks) deck() *deck {
+	if a == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return a.d
+}
+
+// Say returns one line for key, with his data filled into the frame. Pass nil
+// when the entry takes none.
+func (a *Acks) Say(key string, vars map[string]string) string {
+	return a.deck().text(key, vars)
+}
+
+// Variants returns every line the file can produce, for the persona scorer.
+func (a *Acks) Variants() []string { return a.deck().variants() }
+
+var (
+	ackOnce sync.Once
+	acks    *Acks
+)
+
+// DefaultAcks returns the shared instance, loading it on first use. A broken
+// file logs once and leaves a nil *Acks, which still answers from ackFloor.
+func DefaultAcks() *Acks {
+	ackOnce.Do(func() {
+		a, err := LoadAcks(nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Printf("phraser: acknowledgements unavailable, using the built-in lines: %v", err)
+			return
+		}
+		acks = a
+	})
+	return acks
+}
+
+// Ack — one acknowledgement line, the way every caller says it.
+func Ack(key string, vars map[string]string) string { return DefaultAcks().Say(key, vars) }
+
+// IsAck reports whether text is a line key could have produced. For the daemon
+// tests, which can no longer compare against one literal.
+func IsAck(key string, vars map[string]string, text string) bool {
+	return DefaultAcks().deck().matches(key, vars, text)
+}

internal/phraser/deck.go

@@ -0,0 +1,181 @@
+package phraser
+
+// deck — the mechanics every family of hand-written Russian lines shares.
+//
+// A family is one embedded JSON file: schema-versioned, several variants per
+// entry, never the same variant twice running, and a hard floor of Go literals
+// under it so a broken file cannot take her words away. fallbacks.go was the
+// first family (Vikunja #501) and acks.go the second, at which point copying
+// eighty lines of loader per family stopped being defensible.
+//
+// What stays per family: the file, the keys, the floor literals, the accessor
+// names, and any validation only that family can state.
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
+	"math/rand"
+	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// deckEntry — one line she can say, in as many wordings as the file gives.
+type deckEntry struct {
+	// Fixed — one variant, never picked between. For wording that must not
+	// drift from turn to turn, like a phrase naming one specific gap.
+	Fixed    bool     `json:"fixed"`
+	Variants []string `json:"variants"`
+}
+
+type deckFile struct {
+	SchemaVersion int                  `json:"schema_version"`
+	Name          string               `json:"name"`
+	Notes         []string             `json:"notes"`
+	Entries       map[string]deckEntry `json:"entries"`
+}
+
+// deck picks a line. Safe for concurrent use. A nil *deck answers from the
+// floor, which is what an unloadable file leaves behind.
+type deck struct {
+	mu    sync.Mutex
+	rnd   *rand.Rand
+	last  map[string]string
+	file  deckFile
+	keys  []string
+	floor map[string]string
+}
+
+// loadDeck parses raw, checks the version and every required key, and seeds the
+// picker. Pass a source to make the picking reproducible in tests; nil seeds
+// from the clock.
+func loadDeck(raw []byte, version int, keys []string, floor map[string]string, src rand.Source) (*deck, error) {
+	var f deckFile
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(raw, &f); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("parse: %w", err)
+	}
+	if f.SchemaVersion != version {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("schema_version %d, want %d", f.SchemaVersion, version)
+	}
+	for _, k := range keys {
+		e, ok := f.Entries[k]
+		if !ok || len(e.Variants) == 0 {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("entry %q is missing or empty", k)
+		}
+		if e.Fixed && len(e.Variants) != 1 {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("entry %q is fixed but has %d variants", k, len(e.Variants))
+		}
+	}
+	if src == nil {
+		src = rand.NewSource(time.Now().UnixNano())
+	}
+	return &deck{rnd: rand.New(src), last: map[string]string{}, file: f, keys: keys, floor: floor}, nil
+}
+
+// requirePlaceholder fails the load when a variant of key does not use ph. For
+// an entry whose whole job is to read something back, a variant without the
+// placeholder silently drops it.
+func (d *deck) requirePlaceholder(key, ph string) error {
+	for _, v := range d.file.Entries[key].Variants {
+		if !strings.Contains(v, ph) {
+			return fmt.Errorf("%q variant %q does not use %s", key, v, ph)
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// text returns one variant for key with the placeholders filled in. A nil
+// receiver answers from the floor, so no caller checks whether the file loaded.
+func (d *deck) text(key string, vars map[string]string) string {
+	tmpl := ""
+	if d != nil {
+		if e, ok := d.file.Entries[key]; ok && len(e.Variants) > 0 {
+			tmpl = d.pick(key, e)
+		}
+	}
+	if tmpl == "" {
+		tmpl = floorOf(d, key)
+	}
+	return fill(tmpl, vars)
+}
+
+// matches reports whether text is a line key could have produced. A caller that
+// has to recognise one of these lines cannot compare against a literal any more.
+func (d *deck) matches(key string, vars map[string]string, text string) bool {
+	if fill(floorOf(d, key), vars) == text {
+		return true
+	}
+	if d == nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	for _, v := range d.file.Entries[key].Variants {
+		if fill(v, vars) == text {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+// variants returns every line the file can produce, in key order, for the
+// persona scorer. Stable order so a failure names the same variant twice.
+func (d *deck) variants() []string {
+	if d == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	var out []string
+	for _, k := range d.keys {
+		out = append(out, d.file.Entries[k].Variants...)
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// pick chooses at random, skipping whatever this entry said last time.
+func (d *deck) pick(key string, e deckEntry) string {
+	d.mu.Lock()
+	defer d.mu.Unlock()
+
+	choices := e.Variants
+	if len(choices) > 1 {
+		fresh := make([]string, 0, len(choices))
+		for _, v := range choices {
+			if v != d.last[key] {
+				fresh = append(fresh, v)
+			}
+		}
+		if len(fresh) > 0 {
+			choices = fresh
+		}
+	}
+	got := choices[d.rnd.Intn(len(choices))]
+	d.last[key] = got
+	return got
+}
+
+// floorOf reads the Go literal behind key, and works on a nil deck because that
+// is exactly the case it exists for. The per-family map is the source of truth.
+func floorOf(d *deck, key string) string {
+	if d != nil && d.floor != nil {
+		return d.floor[key]
+	}
+	return deckFloors[key]
+}
+
+// deckFloors — every family's floor literals in one map, so a nil deck still
+// finds them. Families register at init; the keys are namespaced by family.
+var deckFloors = map[string]string{}
+
+func registerFloor(floor map[string]string) map[string]string {
+	for k, v := range floor {
+		deckFloors[k] = v
+	}
+	return floor
+}
+
+// fill substitutes {name} for each var. A placeholder with no value is left
+// alone rather than blanked, so a missing value is visible instead of silent.
+func fill(tmpl string, vars map[string]string) string {
+	for k, v := range vars {
+		tmpl = strings.ReplaceAll(tmpl, "{"+k+"}", v)
+	}
+	return tmpl
+}

internal/phraser/eval/fallbacks_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+package eval
+
+import (
+	"math/rand"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/phraser"
+)
+
+// TestFallbackPersona scores every line in fallbacks_ru_v1.json, ack_ru_v1.json and
+// query_ru_v1.json on the persona checks the nudges already pass. These lines are
+// heard out loud and they live in a JSON file now, so a reworded variant that
+// says "рад" or "вы" would otherwise reach him with nothing in between.
+//
+// Only the persona checks run. Mood and topic belong to a nudge, and these are
+// not nudges.
+func TestFallbackPersona(t *testing.T) {
+	fb, err := phraser.LoadFallbacks(rand.NewSource(20260804))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("LoadFallbacks: %v", err)
+	}
+	// No CheckHisGender. It reads a feminine verb near a second-person pronoun
+	// as addressing him as a woman, which is right for a nudge and wrong here:
+	// "не знаю — не нашла у тебя такой записи" is her own verb in her own
+	// sentence. CheckFeminine still holds her side of the rule.
+	persona := map[string]bool{
+		CheckLang: true, CheckFeminine: true,
+		CheckAddress: true, CheckCringe: true, CheckLength: true,
+	}
+	ack, err := phraser.LoadAcks(rand.NewSource(20260804))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("LoadAcks: %v", err)
+	}
+	qry, err := phraser.LoadQueries(rand.NewSource(20260804))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("LoadQueries: %v", err)
+	}
+	variants := append(fb.Variants(), ack.Variants()...)
+	variants = append(variants, qry.Variants()...)
+	if len(variants) == 0 {
+		t.Fatal("no variants — the file loaded empty")
+	}
+	for _, v := range variants {
+		// The placeholders stand for his own words and carry no persona.
+		body := v
+		for _, ph := range []string{"{sources}", "{key}", "{value}", "{fn}", "{text}", "{when}", "{items}",
+			"{location}", "{temp}", "{condition}", "{tail}"} {
+			body = strings.ReplaceAll(body, ph, "вода")
+		}
+		for _, r := range RunChecks(Case{}, body, "neutral") {
+			if persona[r.Name] && !r.Pass {
+				t.Errorf("%q fails %s: %s", v, r.Name, r.Detail)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}

internal/phraser/eval/talk.go

@@ -78,6 +78,12 @@ type TalkCase struct {
 	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"`
@@ -92,8 +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 {
-		return TalkFixture{}, fmt.Errorf("talk fixture schema_version %d, want %d", f.SchemaVersion, SchemaVersion)
+	if f.SchemaVersion != TalkSchemaVersion {
+		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")

internal/phraser/eval/talk_test.go

@@ -142,19 +142,13 @@ 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
-	// from the nudge test on purpose. PhraseNudge returns its errors, so a dead
-	// server there shows up honestly in the Errors column. PhraseChat and
-	// PhraseQuery do NOT: they swallow every failure and return a canned string
-	// ("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).
+	// The model id names the run in the report. Since Vikunja #397 every path
+	// returns its errors, so a server that dies mid-run shows up in the Errors
+	// column instead of scoring as bad phrasing — the before-and-after probe that
+	// used to stand in for that is gone.
 	model, err := llm.ModelID(ctx, base)
 	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("no model at %s: %v — refusing to score, these paths hide their errors "+
-			"and would report a plausible-looking result off a dead server", base, err)
+		t.Fatalf("no model at %s: %v", base, err)
 	}
 	t.Logf("scoring model %s at %s", model, base)
 
@@ -169,10 +163,11 @@ func TestLLMTalkBaseline(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	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
-	// OOM-killed halfway through would leave the first cases scored and the rest
-	// silently canned. Checking only at the start would not catch that.
-	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)
+	// A run where nothing was phrased is not a low score, it is no measurement.
+	if rep.Errors == rep.Total {
+		t.Fatalf("every case errored — nothing was measured, the score above is not a phrasing result")
+	}
+	if rep.Errors > 0 {
+		t.Logf("%d/%d cases errored — those are model failures, not phrasing failures", rep.Errors, rep.Total)
 	}
 }

internal/phraser/failure_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+package phraser
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// isFallback — the text she says is picked from that entry's variants, so a test
+// pins the entry rather than the wording. Pinning one line would make editing
+// fallbacks_ru_v1.json break Go tests, which is the coupling this file removed.
+func isFallback(t *testing.T, key, sources, got string) bool {
+	t.Helper()
+	return DefaultFallbacks().deck().matches(key, map[string]string{"sources": sources}, got)
+}
+
+// A dead server must be distinguishable from bad phrasing. Both PhraseChat and
+// PhraseQuery keep the turn alive with canned text — and every one of those
+// lines 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)
+		key     string
+		sources string
+	}{
+		{"chat", func() (string, error) {
+			return p.PhraseChat(context.Background(), "как дела", nil)
+		}, fbChat, ""},
+		{"knowledge", func() (string, error) {
+			return p.PhraseQuery(context.Background(), "кто написал войну и мир", nil)
+		}, fbQueryUnknown, ""},
+		{"evidence", func() (string, error) {
+			return p.PhraseQuery(context.Background(), "сколько воды я выпил", []string{"два литра"})
+		}, fbQuerySources, "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 !isFallback(t, c.key, c.sources, got) {
+				t.Errorf("fallback text = %q, want a %q variant — the daemon still has to say something", got, c.key)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// 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 !isFallback(t, fbQueryUnknown, "", got) {
+		t.Errorf("fallback text = %q, want a %q variant", got, fbQueryUnknown)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "empty") {
+		t.Errorf("error = %v; want it to name the empty response", err)
+	}
+}

internal/phraser/fallbacks.go

@@ -0,0 +1,138 @@
+package phraser
+
+// The phrasing fallbacks — what she says when the model gave her nothing usable.
+//
+// They were four string literals spread across phraser.go, llmphraser.go and
+// cmd/mavend/worldmodel.go. Every one of them is a line he hears out loud, so
+// rewording one was a Go edit, a rebuild and a redeploy for what is product copy.
+//
+// The floor under the floor is deliberate. These strings exist because something
+// already failed, so a broken template file must not be able to take the last
+// words she has: every accessor falls back to the literal it replaced.
+
+import (
+	_ "embed"
+	"log"
+	"math/rand"
+	"sync"
+)
+
+//go:embed fallbacks_ru_v1.json
+var fallbackJSON []byte
+
+// FallbackSchemaVersion — the version this code understands. Its own constant,
+// not shared with the nudge templates or the eval fixtures: two files that change
+// on different days cannot be versioned by one number (Vikunja #397).
+const FallbackSchemaVersion = 1
+
+// The entry keys. Every one of them is read by a method below, so a typo in the
+// file is caught at load rather than at the moment she needs the words.
+const (
+	fbChat         = "chat"
+	fbQueryUnknown = "query_unknown"
+	fbQuerySources = "query_sources"
+	fbWorldGap     = "world_gap"
+)
+
+// fbKeys — every key the code requires the file to define.
+var fbKeys = []string{fbChat, fbQueryUnknown, fbQuerySources, fbWorldGap}
+
+// hardFloor — the literal each key falls back to when the file is unusable.
+// These are the exact strings that lived in Go before this file existed.
+var hardFloor = registerFloor(map[string]string{
+	fbChat:         "даже не знаю, что сказать.",
+	fbQueryUnknown: "не знаю.",
+	fbQuerySources: "вот что я нашла: {sources}",
+	fbWorldGap:     "сейчас не могу ответить — большая модель недоступна, а придумывать не хочу.",
+})
+
+// Fallbacks picks a hand-written Russian fallback line. Safe for concurrent use.
+type Fallbacks struct{ d *deck }
+
+// LoadFallbacks reads the embedded file. Pass a source to make the picking
+// reproducible in tests; nil seeds from the clock.
+func LoadFallbacks(src rand.Source) (*Fallbacks, error) {
+	d, err := loadDeck(fallbackJSON, FallbackSchemaVersion, fbKeys, hardFloor, src)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	// query_sources is the one entry whose whole job is to read something back.
+	if err := d.requirePlaceholder(fbQuerySources, "{sources}"); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return &Fallbacks{d: d}, nil
+}
+
+// deck reads through a nil *Fallbacks, which is the unloadable-file case.
+func (f *Fallbacks) deck() *deck {
+	if f == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return f.d
+}
+
+// Chat — nothing usable came back on the chat path.
+func (f *Fallbacks) Chat() string { return f.deck().text(fbChat, nil) }
+
+// Unknown — a question she cannot answer and will not guess at.
+func (f *Fallbacks) Unknown() string { return f.deck().text(fbQueryUnknown, nil) }
+
+// FromSources — read back what she was handed, because phrasing it failed.
+func (f *Fallbacks) FromSources(sources string) string {
+	return f.deck().text(fbQuerySources, map[string]string{"sources": sources})
+}
+
+// WorldGap — the world model is the one configured to answer and it is not
+// answering. Fixed wording: it names a specific gap, and a variant set here
+// would let "the big model is asleep" drift into "I don't know".
+func (f *Fallbacks) WorldGap() string { return f.deck().text(fbWorldGap, nil) }
+
+// Variants returns every line the file can produce, for the persona scorer.
+func (f *Fallbacks) Variants() []string { return f.deck().variants() }
+
+// The process-wide instance. Package-level because these lines are needed on
+// paths that have no phraser to hand — cmd/mavend names the world gap without
+// one — and because a template file that is embedded and validated at load has
+// nothing per-instance to configure.
+var (
+	fallbackOnce sync.Once
+	fallbacks    *Fallbacks
+)
+
+// DefaultFallbacks returns the shared instance, loading it on first use. A
+// broken file logs once and leaves a nil *Fallbacks, which still answers from
+// hardFloor — a daemon must not fail to boot over its own copy deck.
+func DefaultFallbacks() *Fallbacks {
+	fallbackOnce.Do(func() {
+		fb, err := LoadFallbacks(nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Printf("phraser: fallbacks unavailable, using the built-in lines: %v", err)
+			return
+		}
+		fallbacks = fb
+	})
+	return fallbacks
+}
+
+// ChatFallback — what she says when the chat path produced nothing.
+func ChatFallback() string { return DefaultFallbacks().Chat() }
+
+// UnknownFallback — what she says when she has no answer and will not invent one.
+func UnknownFallback() string { return DefaultFallbacks().Unknown() }
+
+// SourcesFallback — read the sources back rather than ship a broken fragment.
+func SourcesFallback(sources string) string { return DefaultFallbacks().FromSources(sources) }
+
+// WorldGap — what he hears when the world model is configured and unreachable.
+func WorldGap() string { return DefaultFallbacks().WorldGap() }
+
+// IsUnknownFallback reports whether text is one of her "I do not know" lines.
+// The daemon tests read it to tell an answer from a shrug.
+func IsUnknownFallback(text string) bool {
+	return DefaultFallbacks().deck().matches(fbQueryUnknown, nil, text)
+}
+
+// IsSourcesFallback reports whether text is sources read back verbatim.
+func IsSourcesFallback(text, sources string) bool {
+	return DefaultFallbacks().deck().matches(fbQuerySources, map[string]string{"sources": sources}, text)
+}

internal/phraser/fallbacks_ru_v1.json

@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+{
+  "schema_version": 1,
+  "name": "russian phrasing fallbacks v1",
+  "notes": [
+    "What she says when the model gave her nothing usable. 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, never он/его about him. No pet names.",
+    "These are heard after a failure, so they stay short and admit the gap. None of them may claim knowledge she does not have.",
+    "Placeholders: {sources} the notes or passages she was handed. A variant whose placeholder has no value is skipped, so every entry needs at least one variant with no placeholder — except query_sources, which exists only to read sources back.",
+    "fixed: true means exactly one variant and no picking. Used where the wording is load-bearing and must not drift between turns."
+  ],
+  "entries": {
+    "chat": {
+      "variants": [
+        "даже не знаю, что сказать.",
+        "не могу найти слов.",
+        "мысль ускользнула, повтори?",
+        "у меня сейчас пусто в голове."
+      ]
+    },
+    "query_unknown": {
+      "variants": [
+        "не знаю.",
+        "не знаю, честно.",
+        "тут я пас.",
+        "не скажу, не знаю."
+      ]
+    },
+    "query_sources": {
+      "variants": [
+        "вот что я нашла: {sources}",
+        "нашла вот это: {sources}",
+        "есть только это: {sources}"
+      ]
+    },
+    "world_gap": {
+      "fixed": true,
+      "variants": [
+        "сейчас не могу ответить — большая модель недоступна, а придумывать не хочу."
+      ]
+    }
+  }
+}

internal/phraser/fallbacks_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+package phraser
+
+import (
+	"math/rand"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// The embedded file must load, or the daemon speaks from hardFloor and nobody
+// finds out until he hears the wrong words.
+func TestFallbacksLoad(t *testing.T) {
+	fb, err := LoadFallbacks(rand.NewSource(1))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("LoadFallbacks: %v", err)
+	}
+	if got := fb.FromSources("два литра"); !strings.Contains(got, "два литра") {
+		t.Errorf("FromSources = %q, want the sources in it", got)
+	}
+	if fb.WorldGap() != hardFloor[fbWorldGap] {
+		t.Errorf("WorldGap = %q, want the fixed wording %q", fb.WorldGap(), hardFloor[fbWorldGap])
+	}
+}
+
+// A broken or missing file must not take her last words away: every accessor
+// answers from the literal it replaced.
+func TestNilFallbacksAnswerFromTheHardFloor(t *testing.T) {
+	var fb *Fallbacks
+	if got := fb.Chat(); got != hardFloor[fbChat] {
+		t.Errorf("Chat = %q, want %q", got, hardFloor[fbChat])
+	}
+	if got := fb.Unknown(); got != hardFloor[fbQueryUnknown] {
+		t.Errorf("Unknown = %q, want %q", got, hardFloor[fbQueryUnknown])
+	}
+	if got := fb.FromSources("два литра"); got != "вот что я нашла: два литра" {
+		t.Errorf("FromSources = %q", got)
+	}
+	if got := fb.WorldGap(); got != hardFloor[fbWorldGap] {
+		t.Errorf("WorldGap = %q", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// Hearing the identical words every time a request fails is how a failure stops
+// registering as one.
+func TestFallbacksDoNotRepeat(t *testing.T) {
+	fb, err := LoadFallbacks(rand.NewSource(7))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("LoadFallbacks: %v", err)
+	}
+	prev := fb.Chat()
+	for i := 0; i < 20; i++ {
+		got := fb.Chat()
+		if got == prev {
+			t.Fatalf("chat repeated %q on turn %d", got, i)
+		}
+		prev = got
+	}
+}
+
+// The acknowledgements load, fill his words into the frame, and answer from the
+// floor when the file is gone.
+func TestAcksLoad(t *testing.T) {
+	a, err := LoadAcks(rand.NewSource(1))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("LoadAcks: %v", err)
+	}
+	got := a.Say(AckFactValue, map[string]string{"key": "вода", "value": "2л"})
+	if !strings.Contains(got, "вода") || !strings.Contains(got, "2л") {
+		t.Errorf("Say(%s) = %q, want his key and value in it", AckFactValue, got)
+	}
+	var nilAcks *Acks
+	if got := nilAcks.Say(AckNote, nil); got != ackFloor[AckNote] {
+		t.Errorf("nil Acks said %q, want the floor %q", got, ackFloor[AckNote])
+	}
+}

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
-// LLM error — better to give the raw data than silence.
+// compose a natural answer. On any LLM error it returns the fallback text —
+// "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 == "" {
-			return "не знаю.", nil
+		if err != nil {
+			return UnknownFallback(), fmt.Errorf("phrase query (knowledge): %w", err)
+		}
+		if resp == "" {
+			return UnknownFallback(), errEmptyResponse
 		}
 		text, _, perr := parseResponseMood(resp)
 		if perr != nil {
-			log.Printf("phraser: PhraseQuery: %v", perr)
-			return "не знаю.", nil
+			return UnknownFallback(), fmt.Errorf("phrase query (knowledge): %w", perr)
 		}
 		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 {
-			log.Printf("phraser: PhraseQuery: %v", perr)
+		cause := err
+		if cause == nil {
+			cause = perr
 		}
-		if len(notes) == 1 {
-			return "вот что я нашла: " + notes[0], nil
-		}
-		return "вот что я нашла: " + strings.Join(notes, "; "), nil
+		return SourcesFallback(strings.Join(notes, "; ")),
+			fmt.Errorf("phrase query (evidence): %w", cause)
 	}
 	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
-// to a simple greeting on any LLM error — better to say something than nothing.
+// message array from dialogue history + the current user utterance. On any LLM
+// 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 "поговорили.", nil
+		return ChatFallback(), fmt.Errorf("phrase chat: %w", err)
 	}
 	text, _, perr := parseResponseMood(resp)
 	if perr != nil {
-		log.Printf("phraser: PhraseChat: %v", perr)
-		return "поговорили.", nil
+		return ChatFallback(), fmt.Errorf("phrase chat: %w", perr)
 	}
 	if text != "" {
 		return text, nil

internal/phraser/phraser.go

@@ -70,18 +70,15 @@ func NewStub() *Stub { return &Stub{} }
 // 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.
 func (s *Stub) PhraseQuery(_ context.Context, _ string, notes []string) (string, error) {
 	if len(notes) == 0 {
-		return "не знаю.", nil
+		return UnknownFallback(), nil
 	}
-	if len(notes) == 1 {
-		return "вот что я нашла: " + notes[0], nil
-	}
-	return "вот что я нашла: " + strings.Join(notes, "; "), nil
+	return SourcesFallback(strings.Join(notes, "; ")), nil
 }
 
 // Close implements Phraser.Close (no-op for the stub).

internal/phraser/query.go

@@ -0,0 +1,162 @@
+package phraser
+
+// The query answers and gaps — what a query source says when it answers from
+// something other than the model, and what it says when it has nothing.
+//
+// Third family on the shared deck (deck.go), after the fallbacks and the
+// acknowledgements. They were literals spread across actions_query.go and
+// netscan.go, where the largest single site held two dozen of them.
+//
+// QueryUnknown is not the phraser's UnknownFallback, even though the two read
+// the same today. Here she looked and found nothing; there she failed to phrase
+// an answer she had. Two files, two entries, so rewording one leaves the other.
+
+import (
+	_ "embed"
+	"log"
+	"math/rand"
+	"sync"
+)
+
+//go:embed query_ru_v1.json
+var queryJSON []byte
+
+// QuerySchemaVersion — this family's own version.
+const QuerySchemaVersion = 1
+
+// The entry keys.
+const (
+	QueryUnknown      = "query_unknown"
+	QueryOtherDay     = "other_day"
+	QueryPersonalNone = "personal_none"
+	QueryFactWhen     = "fact_when"
+	QueryFactValue    = "fact_value"
+	QueryFound        = "found"
+	QueryPageText     = "page_text"
+	QueryPageBlocked  = "page_blocked"
+	QueryPageEmpty    = "page_empty"
+	QueryFeedsOff     = "feeds_off"
+	QueryFeedsNew     = "feeds_new"
+	QueryFeedsEmpty   = "feeds_empty"
+	QueryFeedsTopic   = "feeds_empty_topic"
+	QueryWeatherNow   = "weather_now"
+	QueryWeatherOff   = "weather_off"
+	QueryWeatherWhere = "weather_nolocation"
+	QueryNetEmpty     = "net_empty"
+
+	QueryFailPlan     = "fail_plan"
+	QueryFailNotes    = "fail_notes"
+	QueryFailFeeds    = "fail_feeds"
+	QueryFailCalendar = "fail_calendar"
+	QueryFailWeather  = "fail_weather"
+	QueryFailAnswer   = "fail_answer"
+	QueryFailPage     = "fail_page"
+	QueryFailNetscan  = "fail_netscan"
+)
+
+var queryKeys = []string{
+	QueryUnknown, QueryOtherDay, QueryPersonalNone, QueryFactWhen, QueryFactValue,
+	QueryFound, QueryPageText, QueryPageBlocked, QueryPageEmpty,
+	QueryFeedsOff, QueryFeedsNew, QueryFeedsEmpty, QueryFeedsTopic,
+	QueryWeatherNow, QueryWeatherOff, QueryWeatherWhere, QueryNetEmpty,
+	QueryFailPlan, QueryFailNotes, QueryFailFeeds, QueryFailCalendar,
+	QueryFailWeather, QueryFailAnswer, QueryFailPage, QueryFailNetscan,
+}
+
+// queryFloor — the literal each key falls back to when the file is unusable.
+// These are the exact strings that lived in Go before this file existed.
+var queryFloor = registerFloor(map[string]string{
+	QueryUnknown:      "не знаю.",
+	QueryOtherDay:     "про другой день так не отвечу — спроси целиком.",
+	QueryPersonalNone: "не знаю — не нашла у тебя такой записи.",
+	QueryFactWhen:     "я записала это {when}",
+	QueryFactValue:    "вот что я знаю: {key} — {value}",
+	QueryFound:        "вот что я нашла: {text}",
+	QueryPageText:     "вот что на странице: {text}",
+	QueryPageBlocked:  "эта страница закрыта для чтения — robots.txt не разрешает.",
+	QueryPageEmpty:    "страница открылась, но читать там нечего.",
+	QueryFeedsOff:     "я пока не читаю ленты — они не настроены.",
+	QueryFeedsNew:     "вот что нового: {items}",
+	QueryFeedsEmpty:   "в лентах пока ничего нового.",
+	QueryFeedsTopic:   "по этой теме в лентах пока ничего.",
+	QueryWeatherNow:   "в {location} сейчас {temp} градусов, {condition}.",
+	QueryWeatherOff:   "погода не настроена.",
+	QueryWeatherWhere: "не знаю, для какого города — задай voice.weather.default_location или назови город.",
+	QueryNetEmpty:     "в сети никого не нашла{tail}.",
+
+	QueryFailPlan:     "не получилось собрать план.",
+	QueryFailNotes:    "не получилось посмотреть записи.",
+	QueryFailFeeds:    "не получилось посмотреть ленты.",
+	QueryFailCalendar: "не получилось проверить календарь.",
+	QueryFailWeather:  "не получилось узнать погоду.",
+	QueryFailAnswer:   "не получилось найти ответ.",
+	QueryFailPage:     "не получилось прочитать страницу.",
+	QueryFailNetscan:  "не получилось просканировать сеть.",
+})
+
+// Queries picks a hand-written Russian query line. Safe for concurrent use.
+type Queries struct{ d *deck }
+
+// LoadQueries reads the embedded file. Pass a source to make the picking
+// reproducible in tests; nil seeds from the clock.
+func LoadQueries(src rand.Source) (*Queries, error) {
+	d, err := loadDeck(queryJSON, QuerySchemaVersion, queryKeys, queryFloor, src)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	// The entries that exist to read something back. A variant without the
+	// placeholder would answer the question by dropping the answer.
+	for _, req := range []struct{ key, ph string }{
+		{QueryFactWhen, "{when}"}, {QueryFactValue, "{key}"}, {QueryFactValue, "{value}"},
+		{QueryFound, "{text}"}, {QueryPageText, "{text}"}, {QueryFeedsNew, "{items}"},
+		{QueryWeatherNow, "{location}"}, {QueryWeatherNow, "{temp}"}, {QueryWeatherNow, "{condition}"},
+	} {
+		if err := d.requirePlaceholder(req.key, req.ph); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+	}
+	return &Queries{d: d}, nil
+}
+
+// deck reads through a nil *Queries, which is the unloadable-file case.
+func (q *Queries) deck() *deck {
+	if q == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return q.d
+}
+
+// Say returns one line for key, with the values filled into the frame.
+func (q *Queries) Say(key string, vars map[string]string) string {
+	return q.deck().text(key, vars)
+}
+
+// Variants returns every line the file can produce, for the persona scorer.
+func (q *Queries) Variants() []string { return q.deck().variants() }
+
+var (
+	queryOnce sync.Once
+	queries   *Queries
+)
+
+// DefaultQueries returns the shared instance, loading it on first use. A broken
+// file logs once and leaves a nil *Queries, which still answers from queryFloor.
+func DefaultQueries() *Queries {
+	queryOnce.Do(func() {
+		q, err := LoadQueries(nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Printf("phraser: query lines unavailable, using the built-in ones: %v", err)
+			return
+		}
+		queries = q
+	})
+	return queries
+}
+
+// Q — one query line, the way every caller says it.
+func Q(key string, vars map[string]string) string { return DefaultQueries().Say(key, vars) }
+
+// IsQ reports whether text is a line key could have produced, for the tests.
+func IsQ(key string, vars map[string]string, text string) bool {
+	return DefaultQueries().deck().matches(key, vars, text)
+}

internal/phraser/query_ru_v1.json

@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+{
+  "schema_version": 1,
+  "name": "russian query answers and gaps v1",
+  "notes": [
+    "What a query source says when it answers from something other than the model, and what it says when it has nothing. 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 он/его about him. No pet names.",
+    "A gap names its own gap. \"the feeds are not configured\", \"the search failed\" and \"I do not know\" are different sentences and must never collapse into one entry.",
+    "query_unknown here is a real answer — she looked and found nothing. The phraser's identical-looking line in fallbacks_ru_v1.json is a failure to phrase. Two files, two entries, on purpose.",
+    "Placeholders: {key} {value} a stored fact, {when} when she wrote it, {items} what she found, {text} a passage, {location} {temp} {condition} the weather.",
+    "fixed: true means exactly one variant and no picking. Used where the wording is load-bearing: the personal boundary, and the refusal to re-ask a question for another day."
+  ],
+  "entries": {
+    "query_unknown": {
+      "variants": ["не знаю.", "не нашла ничего.", "ничего не нашла."]
+    },
+    "other_day": {
+      "fixed": true,
+      "variants": ["про другой день так не отвечу — спроси целиком."]
+    },
+    "personal_none": {
+      "fixed": true,
+      "variants": ["не знаю — не нашла у тебя такой записи."]
+    },
+    "fact_when": {
+      "variants": ["я записала это {when}", "записала это {when}"]
+    },
+    "fact_value": {
+      "variants": ["вот что я знаю: {key} — {value}", "у меня записано: {key} — {value}"]
+    },
+    "found": {
+      "variants": ["вот что я нашла: {text}", "нашла вот это: {text}", "есть такое: {text}"]
+    },
+    "page_text": {
+      "variants": ["вот что на странице: {text}", "на странице вот это: {text}"]
+    },
+    "page_blocked": {
+      "fixed": true,
+      "variants": ["эта страница закрыта для чтения — robots.txt не разрешает."]
+    },
+    "page_empty": {
+      "variants": ["страница открылась, но читать там нечего.", "страница пустая, читать нечего."]
+    },
+    "feeds_off": {
+      "variants": ["я пока не читаю ленты — они не настроены."]
+    },
+    "feeds_new": {
+      "variants": ["вот что нового: {items}", "нового вот что: {items}"]
+    },
+    "feeds_empty": {
+      "variants": ["в лентах пока ничего нового.", "в лентах тихо."]
+    },
+    "feeds_empty_topic": {
+      "variants": ["по этой теме в лентах пока ничего.", "по этой теме в лентах тихо."]
+    },
+    "weather_now": {
+      "variants": ["в {location} сейчас {temp} градусов, {condition}.", "{location}: {temp} градусов, {condition}."]
+    },
+    "weather_off": {
+      "variants": ["погода не настроена."]
+    },
+    "weather_nolocation": {
+      "fixed": true,
+      "variants": ["не знаю, для какого города — задай voice.weather.default_location или назови город."]
+    },
+    "net_empty": {
+      "variants": ["в сети никого не нашла{tail}.", "никого в сети не видно{tail}."]
+    },
+    "fail_plan": {
+      "variants": ["не получилось собрать план.", "план не собрался."]
+    },
+    "fail_notes": {
+      "variants": ["не получилось посмотреть записи.", "записи не открылись."]
+    },
+    "fail_feeds": {
+      "variants": ["не получилось посмотреть ленты.", "ленты не открылись."]
+    },
+    "fail_calendar": {
+      "variants": ["не получилось проверить календарь.", "календарь не открылся."]
+    },
+    "fail_weather": {
+      "variants": ["не получилось узнать погоду.", "погода не пришла."]
+    },
+    "fail_answer": {
+      "variants": ["не получилось найти ответ.", "ответ не нашёлся."]
+    },
+    "fail_page": {
+      "variants": ["не получилось прочитать страницу.", "страница не прочиталась."]
+    },
+    "fail_netscan": {
+      "variants": ["не получилось просканировать сеть.", "сеть не просканировалась."]
+    }
+  }
+}

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 {
-		t.Fatalf("PhraseChat after a total failure returned an error: %v", err)
+	if !errors.Is(err, ErrNoBackend) {
+		t.Errorf("PhraseChat error = %v; want ErrNoBackend alongside the fallback", err)
 	}
 	if got == "" {
 		t.Error("PhraseChat returned empty; the fallback must still say something")

internal/voice/replier.go

@@ -25,7 +25,10 @@
 // the daemon seam (config wiring, no CoreAPI or voice-package change).
 package voice
 
-import "github.com/kami/maven/internal/router"
+import (
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/phraser"
+	"github.com/kami/maven/internal/router"
+)
 
 // Replier — the reactive reply phrasing seam. The daemon's reactive handler
 // calls Reply with the router's Decision; the impl produces a terse reply
@@ -60,27 +63,24 @@ func (s *StubReplier) Reply(d router.Decision) string {
 		if !d.Slots.HasFn {
 			return "не могу это сделать — не разобрала действие."
 		}
-		return "ок, записала действие: " + d.Slots.Fn
+		return phraser.Ack(phraser.AckAct, map[string]string{"fn": d.Slots.Fn})
 	case router.IntentReminder:
-		if d.Slots.HasTime {
-			return "напомню."
-		}
-		return "напомню."
+		return phraser.Ack(phraser.AckReminder, nil)
 	case router.IntentFact:
 		if d.Slots.HasKey {
 			if d.Slots.Value != "" {
-				return "отметила: " + d.Slots.Key + " = " + d.Slots.Value
+				return phraser.Ack(phraser.AckFactValue, map[string]string{"key": d.Slots.Key, "value": d.Slots.Value})
 			}
-			return "отметила: " + d.Slots.Key
+			return phraser.Ack(phraser.AckFactKey, map[string]string{"key": d.Slots.Key})
 		}
-		return "записала факт."
+		return phraser.Ack(phraser.AckFact, nil)
 	case router.IntentNote:
-		return "сохранила заметку."
+		return phraser.Ack(phraser.AckNote, nil)
 	case router.IntentQuery:
 		return "поискала в заметках — ничего не нашла."
 	case router.IntentChat:
 		return "поговорили." // stub — LLMReplier replaces this
 	default:
-		return "приняла."
+		return phraser.Ack(phraser.AckGeneric, nil)
 	}
 }