In a chat, the point of our chip alone marks a message that names us

The notch and the point together were too heavy. The mark is now one cell,
the point of our chip in its fill, then a space before the time. Without
chips, it is ">" in our hue.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

CLAUDE.md

@@ -488,15 +488,16 @@ as a grouped list does. Filling a page in is editing its `.md`; no Python follow
   the star in the chip's dark ink: a yellow star measured under 3:1 on the light fill for
   238 of 256 hues, and the star on the page right of the chip was tried and put back (JP,
   2026-10-13). A **mention** of us is the turned-over chip with no star
-  (`mention_chip(you=True)`); the message carrying it gets **the two ends of our chip**
-  in the two cells left of its time instead — notch then point, no label, in our chip's
-  fill (`widgets.mention_mark` → `pathline.chip_ends`; `>>` in our hue in arrow mode;
-  it replaced a `★`, JP 2026-10-13). Every time sits two cells right to keep the column
-  (`❯`, a space, the mark, then `12:34  body`), and the Messages list puts the mark left
-  of the row's age. Arrow mode draws the chip as
-  a padded reverse-video block. The PicoCalc can't put a bright slot behind text, so
-  there the chip keeps the normal colours and the `★` alone marks us. With no name or key from the device, the bare `★` chip stays. Path lines
-  (delivery paths, the packet viewer, routes) keep `★`.
+  (`mention_chip(you=True)`); the message carrying it gets **the point of our chip**
+  alone, one cell in our chip's fill, left of its time instead (`widgets.mention_mark` →
+  `pathline.chip_point`; `>` in our hue in arrow mode). It replaced a `★`, and then the
+  notch-and-point pair, which read as ugly (JP, 2026-10-13). Every time sits two cells
+  right to keep the column (`❯`, a space, the mark, a space, then `12:34  body`), and the
+  Messages list puts the mark left of the row's age. Arrow mode draws the chip as a
+  padded reverse-video block. The PicoCalc can't put a bright slot behind text, so there
+  the chip keeps the normal colours and the `★` alone marks us. With no name or key from
+  the device, the bare `★` chip stays. Path lines (delivery paths, the packet viewer,
+  routes) keep `★`.
 - **The compose line draws a mention as its chip** (`ui/compose.py`, `MentionEditor`): the
   moment `]` completes an `@[Name]` token it renders as the same chip the transcript will
   show, and from then on it is an **atom** — ←/→ step over it, ^←/^→ never stop inside

meshterm/tools/chat.py

@@ -986,15 +986,15 @@ def _title(
         text.append(" " * _BADGE_WIDTH)
     # The relative age lane (right-aligned) is between the badge and the message text. Thus
     # the ages are in one neat column, and all the previews start at the same position. A
-    # last message that names us has the ends of our chip at the left of its age, the same
-    # as the transcript has them at the left of the time (refer to ChatScreen._body_lines).
+    # last message that names us has the point of our chip at the left of its age, the same
+    # as the transcript has it at the left of the time (refer to ChatScreen._body_lines).
     age = _ago(last.created_at) if last is not None else ""
     lane = f"  {age:>{_AGE_WIDTH}}"
     if age and last is not None and _names_us(last, us):
-        mark = len(lane) - len(age) - 2  # the two cells of the mark, then the age
+        mark = len(lane) - len(age) - 2  # the mark, a space, then the age
         text.append(lane[:mark])
         text.append_text(mention_mark(us[1]))
-        text.append(age, style="muted")
+        text.append(lane[mark + 1 :], style="muted")
     else:
         text.append(lane, style="muted")
     text.append("  ")
@@ -1057,7 +1057,7 @@ def _preview_text(
 
     - Our own messages start with our chip, ``★ Name`` turned over (refer to
       :func:`~meshterm.ui.widgets.self_chip`). A mention of our name has the chip that is
-      turned over, with no star. A message that names us has the ends of our chip at the
+      turned over, with no star. A message that names us has the point of our chip at the
       left of the age of the row (refer to :func:`_title`).
     - In a received channel message, the inline ``Name:`` sender is the author, in the hue
       that comes from its key (the node grey when no known node has the name).

meshterm/ui/chat.py

@@ -775,9 +775,9 @@ class ChatScreen(Screen):
         is marked as the reply target (the same as the ``❯`` pointer and the highlight of
         the select screen).
 
-        A message that mentions our name has a mark at the left of its time: the two ends
-        of our chip, in its colour, with no label (refer to
-        :func:`~meshterm.ui.widgets.mention_mark`, JP, 2026-10-13). The chip of the mention
+        A message that mentions our name has a mark at the left of its time: the point of
+        our chip, in its colour (refer to :func:`~meshterm.ui.widgets.mention_mark`, JP,
+        2026-10-13). The chip of the mention
         in the body is turned over, but it has no star (refer to
         :func:`~meshterm.ui.widgets.mention_hop`). Thus the mark of a message that names us
         is in one column, where the eye finds it when it goes down the transcript. Each time
@@ -799,6 +799,7 @@ class ChatScreen(Screen):
         prefix.append("❯ " if selected else "  ", style="cursor" if selected else None)
         if self._names_us(body):
             prefix.append_text(mention_mark(self._self_key))
+            prefix.append(" ")
         else:
             prefix.append("  ")
         prefix.append(f"{stamp:%H:%M}  ", style="cursor" if selected else "muted")
@@ -855,7 +856,7 @@ class ChatScreen(Screen):
         Thus the user sees that a mention belongs to the node that it names. The text
         around the mentions keeps the base style of the line (``cursor`` when the message
         is the selected reply target, or else no style). A mention of our own name has our
-        chip, turned over, and the line has the ends of our chip at the left of its time
+        chip, turned over, and the line has the point of our chip at the left of its time
         (refer to :meth:`_body_lines`). Thus a message that names us is easy to see.
 
         The chip opens on the notch, because the node that a mention names is the

meshterm/ui/pathline.py

@@ -1294,12 +1294,11 @@ def _bind_chips(platform: Platform) -> None:
         _colours_of, _WEIGHT, _FLAT = _slot_colours, "not bold ", "not bold "
 
 
-def chip_ends(hop: PathHop) -> Text:
-    """The two ends of the chip of ``hop`` with no label between them: the notch, then the point.
+def chip_point(hop: PathHop) -> Text:
+    """The point of the chip of ``hop`` alone: one cell in the fill of the chip.
 
-    It is two cells in the fill of the chip, the same two cells that open and close a chip
-    of a destination (refer to :meth:`PathLine._notch`). A chat puts it at the left of the
-    time of a message that names us, in the fill of our chip (refer to
+    It is the same cell that closes a chip whose route goes on. A chat puts it at the left
+    of the time of a message that names us, in the fill of our chip (refer to
     :func:`~meshterm.ui.widgets.mention_mark`). The colours come from the palette of the
     platform, so the PicoCalc draws it in the fill that the chip has there.
 
@@ -1307,12 +1306,9 @@ def chip_ends(hop: PathHop) -> Text:
         hop: The hop whose chip gives the fill.
 
     Returns:
-        The two styled cells.
+        The one styled cell.
     """
-    fill = _colours_of(hop).fill
-    text = PathLine._notch(fill)
-    text.append(POWERLINE_SEP, style=f"{_FLAT}{fill}")
-    return text
+    return Text(POWERLINE_SEP, style=f"{_FLAT}{_colours_of(hop).fill}")
 
 
 def _shorten(value: str, hash_bytes: int | None) -> str:

meshterm/ui/widgets.py

@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ from .marks import (
     LabelRgbOf,
     parse_hex,
 )
-from .pathline import SELF_GLYPH, PathHop, PathLine, chip_ends, path_line
+from .pathline import SELF_GLYPH, PathHop, PathLine, chip_point, path_line
 from .termfont import powerline_enabled
 from .theme import glyph, mark_rgb, name_style, node_style, snr_style
 
@@ -698,8 +698,8 @@ def self_chip(name: str | None, key: str | None, *, role: str | None = None) ->
     :attr:`~meshterm.ui.pathline.PathHop.inverse`).
 
     A mention of our name is a different mark (refer to :func:`mention_chip`). The chip is
-    turned over, but it has no star. The message that names us has the ends of our chip at
-    the left of its time (refer to :func:`mention_mark`).
+    turned over, but it has no star. The message that names us has the point of our chip
+    at the left of its time (refer to :func:`mention_mark`).
 
     Our node with no name or no key (the device did not report them) keeps the bare ``★``
     chip of a route.
@@ -718,26 +718,26 @@ def self_chip(name: str | None, key: str | None, *, role: str | None = None) ->
 
 
 def mention_mark(key: str | None) -> Text:
-    """The mark of a message that names us: the two ends of our chip, with no label.
+    """The mark of a message that names us: the point of our chip, alone.
 
-    The notch, then the point, in the fill of our chip (refer to
-    :func:`~meshterm.ui.pathline.chip_ends`). The chat puts it in the two cells at the left
-    of the time of each message that mentions our name, and the Messages list puts it at
-    the left of the age of a row whose last message does (JP, 2026-10-13). It replaced a
-    ``★``. The mark has the colour of the chip that the mention has in the body, so the eye
-    joins the two. Where the terminal draws no chips, it is ``>>`` in our hue, the colour
-    that our chip has there.
+    One cell in the fill of our chip (refer to :func:`~meshterm.ui.pathline.chip_point`).
+    The chat puts it at the left of the time of each message that mentions our name, and
+    the Messages list puts it at the left of the age of a row whose last message does (JP,
+    2026-10-13). It replaced a ``★``, and then the notch and the point together, which JP
+    found too heavy. The mark has the colour of the chip that the mention has in the body,
+    so the eye joins the two. Where the terminal draws no chips, it is ``>`` in our hue,
+    the colour that our chip has there.
 
     Args:
         key: Our public key, which gives the hue. With ``None``, the mark has the keyless
             grey, the same as the chip of the mention.
 
     Returns:
-        The mark, two cells wide.
+        The mark, one cell wide. The caller puts a space after it.
     """
     if powerline_enabled():
-        return chip_ends(PathHop("", key=key or None, inverse=bool(key)))
-    return Text(">>", style=node_style(key) if key else "node.unknown")
+        return chip_point(PathHop("", key=key or None, inverse=bool(key)))
+    return Text(">", style=node_style(key) if key else "node.unknown")
 
 
 def mention_hop(name: str, key: str | None, *, you: bool = False) -> PathHop:

tests/test_chat.py

@@ -1624,7 +1624,7 @@ def test_a_mention_of_our_name_takes_our_chip_with_no_star(powerline) -> None:
 def test_a_message_that_names_us_has_the_mark_left_of_its_time() -> None:
     """The mark goes in the two cells before the time, and each time moves two cells right.
 
-    The suite draws no chips, so the mark is ``>>`` in our hue (refer to the widget tests
+    The suite draws no chips, so the mark is ``>`` in our hue (refer to the widget tests
     for the two ends of the chip).
     """
     from datetime import datetime, timezone
@@ -1637,12 +1637,12 @@ def test_a_message_that_names_us_has_the_mark_left_of_its_time() -> None:
     ]
     screen = _channel_screen(messages, self_name="Me", self_key=_OUR_KEY)
     rows = _strip_ansi("\n".join(screen._render_grouped(72))).splitlines()
-    assert any(row.startswith(f"  >>{stamp}  hi") for row in rows)
+    assert any(row.startswith(f"  > {stamp}  hi") for row in rows)
     assert any(row.startswith(f"    {stamp}  hi") for row in rows)  # the other message
     screen.handle("up")
     screen.handle("up")  # the first message: the pointer, then the mark
     rows = _strip_ansi("\n".join(screen._render_grouped(72))).splitlines()
-    assert any(row.startswith(f"❯ >>{stamp}  hi") for row in rows)
+    assert any(row.startswith(f"❯ > {stamp}  hi") for row in rows)
 
 
 def _channel_screen(
@@ -1766,7 +1766,7 @@ def test_a_row_whose_last_message_names_us_has_the_mark_left_of_its_age(
     lanes = _lanes([conv])
     marked = _title(ctx, conv, {"chan:c0": named}, _NO_KEYS, lanes, us=us).plain
     plain = _title(ctx, conv, {"chan:c0": other}, _NO_KEYS, lanes, us=us).plain
-    assert ">>now  " in marked and ">>" not in plain
+    assert "> now  " in marked and ">" not in plain
     assert marked.index("now") == plain.index("now")  # the mark takes the cells of the gap
 
 

tests/test_widgets.py

@@ -399,23 +399,22 @@ def test_a_mention_of_us_is_turned_over_with_no_star(powerline) -> None:
     assert not mention_hop("Me", None, you=True).inverse  # no key: no hue to turn over
 
 
-def test_the_mark_of_a_message_that_names_us_is_the_ends_of_our_chip(powerline) -> None:
-    """The notch, then the point, in the fill of our chip, and no label between them."""
+def test_the_mark_of_a_message_that_names_us_is_the_point_of_our_chip(powerline) -> None:
+    """One cell: the point, in the fill of our chip."""
     powerline(True)
     mark = mention_mark("5e7f")
     fill = _span_style(mention_chip("Me", "5e7f", you=True), "Me").bgcolor.name
 
-    assert mark.plain == POWERLINE_SEP * 2
-    notch, point = (Style.parse(str(span.style)) for span in mark.spans)
-    assert notch.reverse and notch.color.name == fill  # cut out of the fill
-    assert not point.reverse and point.color.name == fill  # the point of the fill
+    assert mark.plain == POWERLINE_SEP
+    point = Style.parse(str(mark.style))
+    assert not point.reverse and point.color.name == fill
 
 
-def test_the_mark_without_chips_is_two_arrows_in_our_hue(powerline) -> None:
-    """With no chips, the mark is ``>>``, in the hue that our chip has in arrow mode."""
+def test_the_mark_without_chips_is_an_arrow_in_our_hue(powerline) -> None:
+    """With no chips, the mark is ``>``, in the hue that our chip has in arrow mode."""
     powerline(False)
     mark = mention_mark("5e7f")
-    assert mark.plain == ">>" and str(mark.style) == node_style("5e7f")
+    assert mark.plain == ">" and str(mark.style) == node_style("5e7f")
     assert str(mention_mark(None).style) == "node.unknown"