# No-Results Recovery

## Objective

Turn an empty search into a next step instead of a dead end.

A zero-result search state that says which part of the query is at fault and offers a concrete way to get results.

## Before You Begin

This feature is being added to an application that already exists and already
works. Do not scaffold a new project, and do not assume a blank slate.

Inspect the codebase first and establish:

- The existing application structure and where code of this kind already lives.
- The framework and version in use.
- The existing design system — colours, spacing, typography, and component conventions.
- Existing UI components you can reuse instead of writing new ones.
- The existing database structure, if this feature needs to persist anything.
- The existing authentication and authorization system, if this feature is user-scoped.
- Dependencies already installed, so you don't add a library that duplicates one.
- The existing test setup and conventions.

Only start writing code once you understand the above. If the application
already implements part of this feature, extend it rather than replacing it.

## Implementation Instructions

1. Separate the causes: no matches, a failed request, and results filtered away by permissions all look identical to the user and need different copy.
2. When filters are active, list them and let the user drop them individually — and name the one that eliminated the most results.
3. Rerun the query in a relaxed form behind the scenes (fewer terms, or without the narrowest filter) and offer that as a suggestion with its real count.
4. Suggest a spelling correction only when you have a real candidate from the index, phrased as a question the user can accept.
5. Do NOT show approximate or unrelated results as if they matched. A wrong answer presented confidently is worse than an honest empty state.

## UI and UX Requirements

Match the application's existing design system exactly. Reuse its components,
spacing, and typography. This feature should look like it was always there.

## Responsive Requirements

Works on mobile, tablet, and desktop. Touch targets are large enough to hit on a
phone, and nothing overflows horizontally at 320px.

## Accessibility Requirements

- Fully keyboard navigable.
- Correct semantic elements and ARIA roles.
- Visible focus states.
- Meets WCAG AA contrast.
- Dynamic changes are announced to screen readers.
- Respects prefers-reduced-motion.

## Edge Cases

- Suggested counts must respect the user's permissions, or the number itself reveals records they cannot see.
- A 'did you mean' must not suggest a term that also returns nothing.
- Never hint that a hidden record exists — no 'one result in a workspace you cannot access'.
- Log zero-result queries with their filters. That log is the highest-value backlog you have for search and for content gaps.
- Do not log query text if the privacy rules for search history forbid it; log the shape instead.
- A search that returns nothing because the account has no data at all is an onboarding problem, not a search problem — send them to the empty state.

## Testing

Exercise the feature end to end in the running application. Cover every edge case
above, then run the existing test suite and confirm nothing regressed.

## Acceptance Criteria

- [ ] No matches, request failure, and permission-filtered results have distinct states and copy.
- [ ] Active filters are listed and individually removable from the empty state.
- [ ] A broadened query is offered with its actual result count.
- [ ] Spelling suggestions come from the index and never lead to another empty result.
- [ ] No suggestion or count reveals the existence of a hidden record.
- [ ] Zero-result queries are recorded for review.
- [ ] The feature matches the existing design system.
- [ ] No existing functionality is broken.

## Adaptation Rules

- Match the existing design system. Do not introduce a new colour palette,
  spacing scale, or component library.
- Reuse existing components and utilities wherever they fit.
- Follow the naming, file layout, and code style already present.
- Do not upgrade, replace, or remove existing dependencies to make this
  feature fit. Adapt the feature to the app, not the app to the feature.
- Do not break existing functionality. If a change is genuinely required in
  existing code, make the smallest one that works and say so.
- If something in these instructions conflicts with how the application is
  built, follow the application and explain the deviation.

## Final Verification

Before you report the work as done:

1. Re-read the acceptance criteria above and check each one against what you
   actually built.
2. Run the application and exercise the feature end to end.
3. Run the existing test suite and confirm you have broken nothing.
4. Check the feature on mobile, tablet, and desktop widths.
5. Check keyboard navigation and focus handling.
6. Summarize what changed: files added, files modified, and anything you
   deliberately did differently because of how this application is built.

If any acceptance criterion is unmet, fix it before reporting completion.