README.md

@@ -14,6 +14,10 @@ python3 mainline.py --poetry             # literary consciousness mode
 python3 mainline.py -p                   # same
 python3 mainline.py --firehose           # dense rapid-fire headline mode
 python3 mainline.py --refresh            # force re-fetch (bypass cache)
+python3 mainline.py --no-font-picker     # skip interactive font picker
+python3 mainline.py --font-file path.otf # use a specific font file
+python3 mainline.py --font-dir ~/fonts   # scan a different font folder
+python3 mainline.py --font-index 1       # select face index within a collection
 ```
 
 First run bootstraps a local `.mainline_venv/` and installs deps (`feedparser`, `Pillow`, `sounddevice`, `numpy`). Subsequent runs start immediately, loading from cache.
@@ -29,8 +33,10 @@ All constants live in `engine/config.py`:
 | `HEADLINE_LIMIT` | `1000` | Total headlines per session |
 | `FEED_TIMEOUT` | `10` | Per-feed HTTP timeout (seconds) |
 | `MIC_THRESHOLD_DB` | `50` | dB floor above which glitches spike |
-| `FONT_DIR` | `fonts/` | Folder scanned for `.otf`, `.ttf`, `.ttc` files used by the font picker |
-| `FONT_PATH` | first supported font in `fonts/` | Active display font file selected at startup |
+| `FONT_DIR` | `fonts/` | Folder scanned for `.otf`, `.ttf`, `.ttc` files |
+| `FONT_PATH` | first file in `FONT_DIR` | Active display font (overridden by picker or `--font-file`) |
+| `FONT_INDEX` | `0` | Face index within a font collection file |
+| `FONT_PICKER` | `True` | Show interactive font picker at boot (`--no-font-picker` to skip) |
 | `FONT_SZ` | `60` | Font render size (affects block density) |
 | `RENDER_H` | `8` | Terminal rows per headline line |
 | `SSAA` | `4` | Super-sampling factor (render at 4× then downsample) |
@@ -42,15 +48,24 @@ All constants live in `engine/config.py`:
 | `NTFY_POLL_INTERVAL` | `15` | Seconds between ntfy polls |
 | `MESSAGE_DISPLAY_SECS` | `30` | How long an ntfy message holds the screen |
 
-**Font:** Put your `.otf`, `.ttf`, or `.ttc` files in `fonts/`. Startup opens the font picker from that folder and applies your selected font before streaming.
+---
+
+## Fonts
+
+A `fonts/` directory is bundled with demo faces (AlphatronDemo, CSBishopDrawn, CyberformDemo, KATA, Microbots, Neoform, Pixel Sparta, Robocops, Xeonic, and others). On startup, an interactive picker lists all discovered faces with a live half-block preview rendered at your configured size.
+
+Navigation: `↑`/`↓` or `j`/`k` to move, `Enter` or `q` to select. The selected face persists for that session.
+
+To add your own fonts, drop `.otf`, `.ttf`, or `.ttc` files into `fonts/` (or point `--font-dir` at any other folder). Font collections (`.ttc`, multi-face `.otf`) are enumerated face-by-face.
 
 ---
 
 ## How it works
 
+- On launch, the font picker scans `fonts/` and presents a live-rendered TUI for face selection; `--no-font-picker` skips directly to stream
 - Feeds are fetched and filtered on startup (sports and vapid content stripped); results are cached to `.mainline_cache_news.json` / `.mainline_cache_poetry.json` for fast restarts
 - Headlines are rasterized via Pillow with 4× SSAA into half-block characters (`▀▄█ `) at the configured font size
-- A left-to-right ANSI gradient colors each character: white-hot leading edge trails off to near-black; the gradient sweeps continuously across the full scroll canvas
+- The ticker uses a sweeping white-hot → deep green gradient; ntfy messages use a complementary white-hot → magenta/maroon gradient to distinguish them visually
 - Subject-region detection runs a regex pass on each headline; matches trigger a Google Translate call and font swap to the appropriate script (CJK, Arabic, Devanagari, etc.) using macOS system fonts
 - The mic stream runs in a background thread, feeding RMS dB into the glitch probability calculation each frame
 - The viewport scrolls through a virtual canvas of pre-rendered blocks; fade zones at top and bottom dissolve characters probabilistically
@@ -75,7 +90,7 @@ engine/
   ntfy.py         NtfyPoller — standalone, zero internal deps
   mic.py          MicMonitor — standalone, graceful fallback
   scroll.py       stream() frame loop + message rendering
-  app.py          main(), boot sequence, signal handler
+  app.py          main(), font picker TUI, boot sequence, signal handler
 ```
 
 `ntfy.py` and `mic.py` have zero internal dependencies and can be imported by any other visualizer.
@@ -139,4 +154,4 @@ msg = poller.get_active_message()  # returns (title, body, timestamp) or None
 
 ---
 
-*macOS only (system font paths hardcoded). Python 3.9+.*
+*macOS only (script/system font paths for translation are hardcoded). Primary display font is user-selectable via the bundled `fonts/` picker. Python 3.9+.*