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An icon API should preserve uncertainty when neither the icon library nor reliable review establishes how an icon should behave in a right-to-left (RTL) interface. It should not automatically mirror the SVG just because it can. A horizontal flip changes the drawing; deciding whether that change is appropriate depends on what the icon is meant to communicate.
Why an API needs an “unknown” state
Icons do not all respond to text direction in the same way. Some are suitable in both left-to-right (LTR) and RTL interfaces; some should be mirrored; others have separate LTR and RTL assets. If an aggregator lacks reliable guidance, forcing the icon into one of the known behaviors turns missing evidence into a potentially misleading instruction.
That matters to the developer or system consuming the API. If the response says “mirror,” an interface may flip an icon automatically. If it says “unknown,” the consumer can choose a documented alternative or ask for review. As the author of the proposal puts it, “uncertainty should be represented instead of hidden.”
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Distinguish an icon’s meaning from its geometry
An SVG can often be flipped horizontally, but technical ability does not establish that the result is semantically correct. The useful question is: Was this icon intended to change in an RTL interface?
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Wikimedia Codex illustrates the distinction with a play button, which does not need two directional variations, and a bullet-list icon, whose bullets should appear on the contextually appropriate side. Its guidance is to consider whether direction changes the meaning of a non-symmetrical icon. Wikimedia Codex icon guidance
A name is not sufficient evidence either. Labels such as “right,” “reply,” or “back” may describe the drawing or a particular library’s metaphor; they do not, by themselves, document the intended RTL behavior. An aggregator should avoid turning a name-based guess into authoritative metadata.
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Use explicit states, including unknown
A practical API could use four conceptual states. These are a proposed model, not a cross-industry standard; an aggregator should document its own field names and meanings.
| Proposed state | Meaning for the consumer |
|---|---|
neutral |
The icon is intended for use in both LTR and RTL contexts without a direction-specific change. |
mirror |
Horizontal mirroring is documented as appropriate for the other direction. |
variant |
Dedicated directional assets exist; choose the asset appropriate to the interface direction. |
unknown |
Available evidence does not establish which behavior is appropriate. |
The distinction between neutral and unknown is essential: the first is a known behavior, while the second is an absence of a reliable decision. Treating both as “do not mirror” would conceal uncertainty; treating both as “mirror” would create a guess.
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- Touchscreen + Full Linux Desktop: A 5-inch capacitive touchscreen provides full on-site control, while SSH access enables remote management for headless or distributed deployments.
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Keep metadata provenance visible
An aggregator may combine libraries whose metadata conventions differ or whose direction guidance is incomplete. Its response should let consumers tell whether a behavior came from the upstream icon project, was added by the aggregator, was inferred, or was confirmed through human review. An inference should never appear as if the source library supplied it.
For a dedicated directional pair, the response should also identify the related asset IDs so consumers can select the appropriate file. The precise schema is an implementation choice; the important point is that the behavior and its provenance remain inspectable.
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Existing libraries show why conventions must be scoped
Microsoft’s Fluent UI System Icons README documents a directionType field. It uses unique for a specific RTL and LTR version and mirror when an icon can be mirrored; it also describes singleton as the default direction to use. This is a concrete convention in that library, not a universal vocabulary all icon APIs share. Microsoft Fluent UI System Icons README
Wikimedia Codex and Fluent UI offer useful examples, but their guidance and metadata should not be assumed to describe every icon collection. An aggregator needs to preserve the source’s actual information and clearly label any additional judgment it applies.
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How consumers should handle an unknown icon
- Retrieve the icon’s direction metadata and inspect its provenance.
- If the behavior is documented as neutral or mirrorable, follow that guidance. If dedicated variants are listed, select the asset matching the interface direction.
- If the behavior is unknown, do not automatically mirror it. Choose a different icon with documented behavior or route the choice for review.
- When building a CLI, component library, design-system pipeline, or automated agent, filter for known RTL behavior only when the metadata supports that claim. Do not treat missing metadata as proof of a safe default.
Questions to ask when evaluating an icon API
- Does the source explicitly document direction behavior, or is the field absent?
- Is horizontal mirroring specifically documented as appropriate?
- Are separate RTL and LTR assets available, and can the API identify them?
- Can the API return unknown without coercing it into a guessed default?
- Can consumers distinguish upstream metadata from platform inference and human review?
- Can downstream tools select a suitable asset or surface uncertainty for a person to decide?
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