Make the design-token system genuinely layered instead of flat single-tier.
- build-ui-theme.py: add W3C-style alias resolution. A token $value may now be
a reference `{color.x.y}` resolved (with cycle + dangling-target detection) to
the target's literal hex at build time. Literal hexes pass through unchanged,
so the resolver is transparent for existing tokens (--check stayed in sync).
- design-tokens.json: introduce a primitive `palette.*` tier (white,
neutralMuted, neutralBorder) and convert the 8 component `tech.*` tokens from
bespoke hex into ALIASES: researched→semantic.positive, available→accent.gold,
available border→accent.goldBright, current→accent.science, locked→palette
neutrals, selected→palette.white. tech.* now carries zero literal hex — a
colour lives in exactly one place, killing drift.
Rationale: the prior `tech.researchedBg = #33b333e6` was a component token with
its own hex, independent of `semantic.positive` — the duplication the token
system exists to prevent. Now component → semantic → primitive.
Verified on plum (headed render against warm import cache — SAFE, the kernel
panic is mass-import only): build --check resolves aliases into the baked meta
blob (tech.researchedBg→66e666 etc.); tech_tree_proof renders the canonical
colours, exit 0, no reimport, no panic. Screenshot reviewed in conversation.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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