Browser runtime

chops-search.js runs in one of two modes, chosen automatically at load.

Mode selection

Page contains `#chops-input`?	Mode
No	Overlay: a dialog is mounted as a direct child of `<body>`
Yes	Inline: the existing markup is driven in place

Element contract (inline mode)

Element	Requirement
`#chops-input`	The query input
`#chops-results`	Must be a `<ul>`; results are appended as `<li>`
`#chops-mode`	A `<span>`; receives the status line (`aria-live` recommended)

In inline mode, showing/hiding the container, clearing behaviour, and stacking context are your responsibility.

Data attributes (both modes)

Attribute	Effect
`data-chops-open`	Opens the overlay on click, Enter, or Space
`data-chops-clear`	Wired as a clear button; an empty element gets the icon injected

Programmatic clearing must dispatch the event, since setting .value fires nothing: input.dispatchEvent(new Event('input')).

Keyboard

Key	Action
`Ctrl/Cmd-K` or `/`	Open (overlay mode; `/` only outside text fields)
`↓` `↑`	Move through results (`↑` from no selection goes to the last)
`Ctrl-N` / `Ctrl-P`	Same, readline-style (some browsers reserve `Ctrl-N`)
`Enter`	Open the selected result
`Esc` or `Ctrl-[`	Clear the query; close if already empty

Status line

#chops-mode reports the states a user needs to know about: keyword-only mode when semantic rows can't load, and unavailability when the engine can't boot. See Designed degradation for when each occurs.

Theming

Every colour in the built-in overlay derives from currentColor; the custom properties on .chops are the theming surface, so the dialog inherits your site's palette and a handful of property overrides tune the rest. The stylesheet is search/chops-search.css, regenerated by every build, so put overrides in your own stylesheet rather than editing it.

Network behaviour

The page script spawns search-worker.js, which loads the wasm engine (from search/pkg/, version-queried), plans byte ranges per query, and persists fetched rows in a Cache API row cache. Queries are debounced, and a superseded in-flight query is dropped rather than raced. The artifact reference lists what loads when.