feat(wow): add a width-safe Tiny Actor Grid for ASCII agent scenes

[JeremyDev87]

Background

CodingBuddy already has a strong visual language for character output:

• Buddy uses compact face banners such as ◕‿◕, ◕⌄◕, and ◕⁀◕.
• Agents already define their own visual.eye glyphs in agent JSON.
• Rendering helpers already exist for display-width-aware padding and truncation.

The goal is not to invent a completely different mascot style. The goal is to extend the existing style into a kitschy, character-driven ASCII scene that can show multiple agents at once.

Goal

Introduce a Tiny Actor Grid presentation for agent scenes such as PLAN, EVAL, AUTO, and SHIP.

The grid must feel playful and characterful, but it must also be technically robust:

• it must not tilt,
• it must not break with CJK text,
• it must not break with emoji,
• it must not break with ANSI color codes,
• and it must degrade responsively instead of forcing a broken multi-column layout.

Core constraints

• Reuse the existing display-width helpers from /Users/pjw/workspace/codingbuddy/packages/claude-code-plugin/hooks/lib/buddy_renderer.py.
• Do not use naive len()-based visible-width logic for layout decisions.
• Derive agent faces from each agent JSON visual.eye value rather than inventing unrelated character sets.
• Keep Buddy as the moderator character and keep the rest of the cast in the existing eye + mouth + eye style.
• Support both Unicode mode and asciiMode fallback.
• Use responsive column fallback. If the terminal is too narrow, the layout must move from 4 or 3 columns to 2 or 1 columns instead of rendering a crooked grid.

Non-goals for the first milestone

• Full multi-agent orchestration is not required here.
• Replacing all existing Buddy surfaces is not required.
• A TUI-wide rollout is not required in the first pass.

Initial implementation strategy

1. Define a small card contract for actor entries.
2. Build a width-safe card renderer.
3. Build a responsive grid layout engine.
4. Add regression tests specifically for alignment safety.
5. Add a feature-flagged preview path before replacing stable output paths.

Expected output style

The final style should look like a compact sticker board or cardboard standee cast, not like full-body ASCII characters.

Example direction:

• [⎔⌄⎔] planner
• [◮‿◮] security
• [⊙‿⊙] test
• ◕⁀◕ Buddy: conditional yes

Implementation notes

Candidate integration points:

• /Users/pjw/workspace/codingbuddy/packages/claude-code-plugin/hooks/lib/buddy_renderer.py
• /Users/pjw/workspace/codingbuddy/packages/claude-code-plugin/hooks/lib/agent_status.py
• /Users/pjw/workspace/codingbuddy/packages/claude-code-plugin/commands/buddy.md

Candidate new module:

• /Users/pjw/workspace/codingbuddy/packages/claude-code-plugin/hooks/lib/tiny_actor_grid.py

Sub-issues

• feat(plugin): add a TinyActorCard contract and mood-to-face mapping for ASCII actor scenes #1270 Add a TinyActorCard contract and mood-to-face mapping
• feat(plugin): implement a width-safe Tiny Actor card renderer using display-width helpers #1269 Implement a width-safe Tiny Actor card renderer using display-width helpers
• feat(plugin): add a responsive Tiny Actor Grid layout engine with column fallback #1268 Add a responsive Tiny Actor Grid layout engine with column fallback
• feat(plugin): define mode-specific Tiny Actor cast presets and Buddy moderator copy #1272 Define mode-specific Tiny Actor cast presets and Buddy moderator copy
• test(plugin): add alignment regression coverage for Tiny Actor Grid across CJK, emoji, ANSI, and asciiMode #1273 Add alignment regression coverage across CJK, emoji, ANSI, and asciiMode
• feat(plugin): add a feature-flagged Tiny Actor Grid preview to Buddy or council surfaces #1271 Add a feature-flagged Tiny Actor Grid preview to Buddy or council surfaces

Recommended execution order

1. feat(plugin): add a TinyActorCard contract and mood-to-face mapping for ASCII actor scenes #1270
2. feat(plugin): implement a width-safe Tiny Actor card renderer using display-width helpers #1269
3. feat(plugin): add a responsive Tiny Actor Grid layout engine with column fallback #1268
4. test(plugin): add alignment regression coverage for Tiny Actor Grid across CJK, emoji, ANSI, and asciiMode #1273
5. feat(plugin): define mode-specific Tiny Actor cast presets and Buddy moderator copy #1272
6. feat(plugin): add a feature-flagged Tiny Actor Grid preview to Buddy or council surfaces #1271

[JeremyDev87]

All 6 sub-issues completed and merged: #1269 (PR #1292), #1268 (PR #1291), #1271 (PR #1290), #1270 (PR #1283), #1273 (PR #1282), #1272 (PR #1284). Tiny Actor Grid system fully implemented.