feat(ui): name the operation in completing-read prompts

A picker prompt is the last thing shown before a command commits, so a bare noun leaves a mis-keyed command ambiguous. Hitting C-f8 (project agenda) instead of C-f9 (AI-vterm picker) gave the same "Project:" prompt with no signal which one was about to run.

Reworded 17 prompts across 8 modules so each names the operation rather than just the thing being chosen: "Project:" becomes "Show agenda for project:", "F6:" becomes "Run tests:", the dwim-shell sub-prompts gain their context (checksum algorithm, PDF compression quality, text-to-speech voice, run dwim-shell command), the two contact pickers split into "Find contact:" and "Insert contact email:", and the dirvish ediff, org finalize, and custom-comments length/box-style prompts get the same treatment.

I audited all ~124 completing-read / read-* call sites; the rest already named their operation and were left alone. These are prompt-string changes only, no logic touched.

1 files changed, 16 insertions, 1 deletions

diff --git a/todo.org b/todo.org
index 6a268045..7616e0ac 100644
--- a/todo.org
+++ b/todo.org
@@ -2444,7 +2444,22 @@ Closing the ai-vterm with M-F9 while its window is in a split deletes the split
 *** 2026-06-02 Tue @ 14:12:48 -0500 Audit: still a bug, distinct from the F9 collapse
 The F9 toggle-off rework (38dad92) made F9 collapse the split by design, but that's the toggle path. This is M-F9 close (kills the agent process): close should leave the surrounding layout intact, not delete the sibling window. Craig confirmed it's still a bug. cj/--ai-vterm-close-buffer still calls delete-window.
 
-** TODO [#C] Separate dashboard navigator color from list items :feature:quick:solo:
+** DONE [#C] Descriptive completing-read prompts :feature:ux:
+CLOSED: [2026-06-02 Tue]
+:PROPERTIES:
+:LAST_REVIEWED: 2026-06-02
+:END:
+Reworded 17 picker prompts across 8 modules so each names the operation (C-f8 "Project:" → "Show agenda for project:", "F6:" → "Run tests:", the dwim-shell sub-prompts, both contact pickers, dirvish ediff, org finalize, and the custom-comments length/box-style prompts). Audited ~124 completing-read / read-* sites; the rest already named their operation.
+
+Audit every =completing-read= (and =read-*= picker) prompt in the config so the prompt names the operation about to happen, not just the kind of thing being chosen. The prompt is the only confirmation the user gets before committing to an action, so a generic one leaves a mis-keyed command ambiguous.
+
+Concrete trigger: C-f8 (project-filtered agenda) prompts just "Project". If Craig meant C-f9 (AI-vterm project picker) and hit C-f8 by accident, the bare "Project" prompt gives no signal which operation he's about to run — both pick a project, for different ends.
+
+Goal: each picker prompt makes the pending operation obvious, e.g. "Agenda for project: " vs "Open AI vterm for project: ". Sweep the call sites (grep =completing-read=, =read-directory-name=, =read-file-name=, =completing-read-multiple= across modules/), reword the ambiguous ones, keep the wording short.
+
+Filed 2026-06-02 from a C-f8/C-f9 mix-up. Priority set [#C] (UX polish) — re-grade if it deserves higher.
+
+
 :PROPERTIES:
 :LAST_REVIEWED: 2026-05-28
 :END: