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+# Phase 19: WAV Tag Writer - Context
+
+**Gathered:** 2026-03-18
+**Status:** Ready for planning
+
+<domain>
+## Phase Boundary
+
+Extend the existing tag writing pipeline so WAV files get the same metadata and cover art editing experience as MP3/FLAC. Pure backend — the single-track and batch edit UI is already built (Phases 17-18). This phase adds a `writeWavTags()` function, wires it into the format detection switch, and tests round-trip correctness via ID3v2-in-RIFF.
+
+</domain>
+
+<decisions>
+## Implementation Decisions
+
+### RIFF chunk preservation
+- Preserve ALL non-ID3v2 chunks byte-for-byte when rewriting the WAV file (fmt, data, LIST INFO, bext, cue, smpl, iXML, and any unknown/proprietary chunks)
+- Existing RIFF LIST INFO chunks are kept as-is, even if they contain stale metadata after an ID3v2 edit — our reader already prefers ID3v2, so stale INFO won't affect display
+- Existing ID3v2 chunks in the WAV are replaced entirely — open with bogem/id3v2, apply changes, write fresh tag (same pattern as MP3 writer)
+- ID3v2 chunk placed at end of file (after all other chunks) — most common convention, simplest implementation
+
+### Cover art constraints
+- No size limit on embedded cover art — accept whatever the user provides, consistent with MP3/FLAC behavior
+- JPEG and PNG only, detected by magic bytes via existing `detectMIME()` function — same as MP3
+- Clearing cover art removes the APIC frame only; the ID3v2 chunk is kept even if only text frames remain
+- Read and merge existing ID3v2 tags from WAV before applying changes — preserves unknown frames (lyrics, custom tags) added by other tools
+
+### Error messaging
+- User-facing errors are friendly: "Could not write tags to [filename]: file appears to be damaged" — hide technical details
+- Technical error details (chunk offsets, sizes, parse failures) logged via slog for debugging
+- Permission-aware messages: distinguish "file is read-only", "file is in use", and generic "write failed"
+- Batch error handling identical to MP3/FLAC — use existing BatchFailure struct, no WAV-specific categorization
+
+### WAV variant handling
+- Reject RF64/BW64 files (magic bytes 'RF64' instead of 'RIFF') with clear error: "RF64 files are not yet supported"
+- Accept BWF (Broadcast Wave) — it's standard RIFF with a bext chunk, which we preserve
+- Accept multi-channel WAV — standard RIFF with WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE in fmt chunk, which we preserve
+- Lenient read, strict write: accept minor spec violations on input (missing padding bytes, incorrect RIFF size), write spec-compliant output (correct padding, correct sizes)
+- Warn (slog) above 500MB file size, same as FLAC writer threshold — proceed anyway
+- Reject writes that would push output past 4GB (RIFF 32-bit size limit) with clear error: "File too large for WAV format (>4GB). No changes were made." Atomic write ensures original is untouched.
+
+### Claude's Discretion
+- RIFF parser implementation approach (custom vs. library)
+- Chunk ordering for non-ID3v2 chunks (preserve original order or normalize)
+- Exact padding byte handling for odd-length chunks
+- Test fixture file construction approach
+- Whether to use `album_artist` field mapping via TPE2 (match MP3 writer) or TPE1 variant
+
+</decisions>
+
+<specifics>
+## Specific Ideas
+
+- Follow existing MP3 writer pattern closely: read tag → apply changes → atomic write with audio data copy
+- Use same `bogem/id3v2/v2` library for the ID3v2 portion — the tag format is identical to MP3's ID3v2, just wrapped in a RIFF chunk
+- Test pattern should mirror `mp3_test.go` and `flac_test.go`: text fields round-trip, cover art round-trip, clear cover art, partial update, atomic safety
+- STATE.md warning: "WAV RIFF chunks must start at even byte offsets — odd-length chunks need a padding byte" — this is already known
+
+</specifics>
+
+<deferred>
+## Deferred Ideas
+
+- RF64/BW64 support — future phase (FMT-02 in REQUIREMENTS.md)
+- RIFF INFO dual-write alongside ID3v2 — explicitly deferred (FMT-03 in REQUIREMENTS.md)
+- BWF bext chunk writing — out of scope (preserve only, not write)
+
+</deferred>
+
+---
+
+*Phase: 19-wav-tag-writer*
+*Context gathered: 2026-03-18*