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V2 read-only should stay app-level until the editor surface owns it

docs/solutions/logic-errors/2026-04-06-v2-read-only-should-stay-app-level-until-the-editor-surface-owns-it.md

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Original Source

V2 read-only should stay app-level until the editor surface owns it

Problem

While widening the editorial family in the replacement matrix, plaintext proved quickly.

read-only did not.

The tempting move was to force a readOnly prop onto the current Editable surface and call the family covered.

That would have been a lie.

Symptoms

  • The current read-only matrix row still saw contenteditable="true".
  • The same surface still exposed role="textbox".
  • A supposedly read-only package seam still behaved like an active editing root.

What Didn't Work

  • Treating readOnly as a tiny prop-threading change. The public contract looked small, but the behavior was not honestly packaged.
  • Trying to keep the new prop once the matrix showed it still rendered as an editable surface. That would have preserved fake progress.

Solution

Remove the fake package contract and keep the current read-only surface app-level.

The winning move was:

  • keep Editable and EditableBlocks as active editing surfaces
  • add a current read-only example surface built from existing render primitives
  • prove that surface in the replacement matrix

That keeps the replacement story honest:

  • the read-only family is covered
  • but it is covered by a current surface built on the runtime primitives
  • not by a prematurely stabilized package prop

Why This Works

This preserves the real package boundary.

The current slate-react editor-facing surface is still optimized around active editing:

  • selection ownership
  • clipboard ownership
  • active DOM reconciliation

If a supposedly read-only option still exposes the active editing DOM contract, the package is claiming more than it owns.

An app-level current surface is better than a lying package prop.

Prevention

  • When widening a family, prove the DOM contract before calling a new package prop “done”.
  • If the behavior is green only through app composition, document it as app-level current surface, not package-level stable API.
  • Do not keep a broken convenience prop just because the roadmap wants the family to move.