Card

A visual presentation wrapper for an object within a block. A card is presentation-only — the object exists independently of its card representation.

A card:

• previews, launches, expands, or links to an object
• is temporary and replaceable
• is renderer-level
• scales across web, mobile, XR, and desktop runtimes

A card is NOT:

• a runtime container
• a navigation state
• a workspace
• a surface
• a panel

Examples:

• place card
• member card
• gathering card
• message card
• calendar card

Card variants:

• compact — minimal summary
• expanded — detailed with more fields visible
• hero — single large-format presentation
• stacked — overlapping stack of cards
• floating — detached from block flow
• minimal — icon or indicator only

Allowed:

• card
• [object] card (e.g., place card, member card)
• card variant

Forbidden:

• widget (implies third-party embeddable)
• tile (implies fixed-grid layout)
• cell (implies table model)
• item (too generic)
• window (distinct; see: window)

Notes:

• Cards live inside blocks, which live inside surfaces.
• A surface is not a large card. A card never becomes the environment itself.
• Card rendering is runtime-specific, but the card abstraction is platform-neutral.

Related:

• object
• block
• surface (distinct)
• panel (distinct)
• window (distinct; future)