Picture framing · browser-local mat geometry · 2026 · Solo — product framing, test-first mat arithmetic, interaction design, accessibility, responsive verification, production deployment
Matline
A cut-room instrument that keeps the visible mat opening and every cutter stop on the same tested geometry.
The problem
Artists, printmakers, and small framing shops cutting a single-window mat must translate a physical artwork, intended edge overlap, finished board, and optional optical bottom weighting into four cutter stops. When those values live in separate notes and sketches, the opening that looks right can drift away from the numbers carried to the cutter. Matline keeps that bounded workflow causal: enter one board and artwork, reserve overlap on every edge, add deliberate space below, watch the aperture lift by half that amount on a proportional board, then copy the same geometry as a four-stop ticket. It models one rectangular opening only and does not account for frame rabbet, mat thickness, squareness, float mounting, multi-opening layouts, conservation suitability, or machine calibration; the interface requires a scrap proof before cutting conservation material. Measurements stay in ephemeral browser state; there is no image upload, account, persistence, paid API, tracking SDK, outbound email, advertising, payment, or destructive operation. Production deployment dpl_AFQBuLxrHfcB14orkd7vn6bkLv95 reached READY before independent Foundry artifact, HTTPS deploy, and seven-step behavior checks passed at the stable alias.
Architecture
Key decisions
Make optical weighting physical
The bottom-weight control does not decorate a static preview. Added space is split around the geometric center, lifting the aperture by half the requested amount while top and bottom stops, the board, and the ticket update from one tested result.
Keep the board and handoff on one geometry
The proportional mat, cut labels, optical-lift receipt, and clipboard ticket all consume the same pure plan, preventing a polished preview from diverging from the numbers carried to the cutter.
Keep the framing claim narrow
Matline plans one rectangular aperture and labels itself as a planning aid. It does not infer conservation practice, material behavior, rabbet allowance, cutter calibration, or construction suitability, and it requires a scrap proof.
Use one cut-room Configure bench
Warm mat stock, oxblood cut marks, deep green inspection space, cyan measurement ink, Georgia editorial copy, condensed labels, and monospaced evidence form a register-to-inspect-to-carry sequence without feature tiles, center stacking, blur, icon toppers, or generic tech color.
Turn observed gate failures into evidence
The first dependency audit exposed one high and one moderate advisory; compatible lockfile updates produced a zero-vulnerability rebuild before Vercel deployment. The final artifact, marker, and seven-step behavior contracts all passed independently over HTTPS.