# BRIEFING — 2026-10-02T01:50:00Z

## Mission
Investigate current i18n architecture and cross-platform language handling across FreeExile, survey existing implementations, and design recommended reactive i18n architecture.

## 🔒 My Identity
- Archetype: explorer
- Roles: explorer, analyst, architect
- Working directory: c:\Projects\FreeExile\.agents\teamwork\explorer_survey_i18n_1
- Original parent: 0361e281-a64e-4264-a674-2b16c804009d (orchestrator_13)
- Milestone: i18n Survey & Architecture Design

## 🔒 Key Constraints
- Read-only investigation — do NOT implement source code
- Files for content delivery, messages for coordination
- Deliver survey_report.md and handoff.md in working directory
- Abide by 2026 FreeExile Engineering Standards and Diátaxis documentation guidelines

## Current Parent
- Conversation ID: 0361e281-a64e-4264-a674-2b16c804009d
- Updated: 2026-10-02T01:50:00Z

## Investigation State
- **Explored paths**:
  - `client/webapp/js/data/i18n.js` & `i18n_catalog.js`
  - `client/webapp/js/ui/chat_ui.js`
  - `client/webapp/js/ui/feedback.js`, `settings_modal.html`, `template_catalog_system.js`
  - `client/webapp/js/ui/tooltips.js`, `dialogue_npc.js`, `template_manager.js`
  - `client/webapp/index.html`
  - `client/src/i18n/LocalizationManager.ts` & `client/src/chat/ChatManager.ts`
  - `docs/standards/GLOBAL_LOCALIZATION_DICTIONARY.md`
  - `tests/unit/test_webapp_localization_engine.py` & `tests/unit/test_webapp_chat_ui.py`
  - `tools/lint/check_code_and_doc_hygiene.py`
- **Key findings**:
  - `chat_ui.js:310` listens only to `#lang-select` DOM `change` event, ignoring programmatic locale changes, phím tắt, or native calls.
  - `chat_ui.js` ignores `localStorage` on `initChatUI()`, leaving tabs in default Vietnamese.
  - `chat_ui.js:318-331` updates only tabs and ticker channel, leaving 10+ UI text strings hardcoded Vietnamese.
  - Settings Modal does not have language selection; `#lang-select` is in the HUD header.
  - Only 5 UI modules listen to `freeexile:localeChanged`.
  - `i18n_catalog.js` has 143 canonical keys across 9 languages tested by unit tests.
- **Unexplored areas**: None for M0 scope.

## Key Decisions Made
- Architecture design completed in `survey_report.md` specifying Centralized Reactive Pub/Sub Event Bus, Chat UI refactoring, 9-language dictionary parity, and static linter suite.

## Artifact Index
- DISPATCH.md — Recorded dispatch instructions
- BRIEFING.md — Persistent working memory
- progress.md — Liveness heartbeat and progress tracking
- survey_report.md — Comprehensive i18n survey and reactive architecture report
- handoff.md — Standard 5-component handoff report