# β review — Cycle 421

**Cycle:** [cnos#421](https://github.com/usurobor/cnos/issues/421) — Track A1 of [cnos#405](https://github.com/usurobor/cnos/issues/405)
**Branch:** `cycle/421`
**Reviewer:** β (collapsed γ+α+β on δ)
**Verdict:** **APPROVE**
**Round:** 1

## Summary

The α survey doc and the design directory README satisfy all 11 ACs from [cnos#421](https://github.com/usurobor/cnos/issues/421) mechanically and substantively. Five decisions are pinned with rationale; six dispatch-brief paragraphs are refined; ten deferred questions are routed to named Tracks. No implementation surfaces touched; no kernel changes; no handoff edits.

## Mechanical AC verification

See [`self-coherence.md`](self-coherence.md) for the full 11-AC mechanical pass-set. All AC1–AC11 PASS. β's verification of those checks is by re-execution at review time — re-running the same grep / wc / git-diff commands produces the same outputs.

## Implementation-contract verification (Rule 7)

The cycle's implementation contract (from `gamma-scaffold.md`):

| Axis | Pinned value | Diff conforms? |
|---|---|---|
| Language | Markdown | ✓ Only `.md` files added |
| CLI integration target | None | ✓ No CLI edits |
| Package scoping | `docs/gamma/design/{ccnf-o-track-a1-survey.md, README.md}` + cycle-close artifacts in `.cdd/unreleased/421/` | ✓ Exactly those paths |
| Existing-binary disposition | N/A | ✓ |
| Runtime dependencies | None | ✓ No runtime additions |
| JSON/wire contract | N/A — Track A2+ types wire formats | ✓ No schemas, no wire-format changes |
| Backward compat | Hard rules; no src/packages diff, no schemas diff, no CCNF kernel diff, no cnos.handoff diff | ✓ All four ✓ per AC8 / AC9 / AC11 |

**All 7 axes conform to the diff.** No `implementation-contract` severity-D findings.

## Substantive review

### Section-by-section quality check

**§0 Frame.** Correctly distinguishes "what this survey does NOT do" from "what it DOES do". The seven-section spine matches the dispatch brief verbatim.

**§1 Name pick.** Pinning rationale carries three independent reads (consumer-naming convention; `-X` slot reservation; autonomy-level mapping). The binding rule ("All Track A2–A6 and Track B1 dispatch-brief templates … use CCNF-O as canonical") closes the decision cleanly. No ambiguity downstream.

**§2 Surface inventory matrix.** 20 rows is over-spec relative to the 15-row floor. Three-way verdict (U / H / R) refines the simple binary the dispatch brief asked for — and the refinement is load-bearing: rows 4 / 5 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 are "handoff-resident wire format CCNF-O may type without owning", which is exactly the post-#404 reality. The aggregate-count line (12 U / 7 H / 1 split) makes the inventory's shape mnemonic. The "surfaces explicitly NOT enumerated" footnote forecloses scope-creep.

**§3 Higher-level form classification.** All six forms classified Universal in shape; SubstantialCycle's per-realization artifact-set fill is the only split. The §3.5 CoherenceMeasuredCell entry correctly names itself as the "bridge primitive between Track A and Track B" and disambiguates `α_CDD` vs `α_TSC` per #405 §4.1. §3.6 AutonomousLoop ties to L6-autonomy from #405 §1.

**§4 TSC integration v0.1 scope.** Headline declaration ("Track B1 can dispatch in parallel with Track A2") is up front. "Why parallel design is safe" enumerates the non-overlap of A2's and B1's v0.1 files. Three concrete touchpoints identified (CoherenceMeasuredCell, receipt-stream / aggregator, IssueProposal pipeline). Track B1 dependencies on Track A enumerated and confirmed-met as of this cycle. Out-of-v0.1-scope items forecloses Track B4 / B5 work bleed.

**§5 Package location.** Three options enumerated; (a) and (c) rejected with rationale; (b) pinned. Package name `cnos.ccnf-o` derived from §1's name pin + the existing peer-package convention. Package shape sketch is forward-looking — explicitly marked "Track A2 authors; not this cycle" so it does not pre-bind. Coherence-controller location explicitly deferred to Track B4.

**§6 Sub-issue queue (refined).** Six paragraphs, one per Track (A2 / A3 / A4 / A5 / A6 / B1). Each paragraph names: what schemas to type / wire / verify; what the dispatch brief will pin; what the gate is. Cross-references to #405 §13 + handoff sub-skill canonical homes are dense and accurate.

**§7 Open questions deferred.** Ten questions, each routed to a named Track. Q3 (realization-fill mechanism for `#CycleCloseout`) and Q4 (`#Finding.Class` open-enum CUE syntax) are the load-bearing forward-design questions Track A4 will need to resolve; Q9 (whether to type handoff wire formats v0.1 vs v0.2) correctly defers to a v0.2 wave.

### Citation accuracy spot-checks

- `cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/dispatch/SKILL.md §2.3` for the 7-axis implementation-contract schema — **verified** (lines 168–184 of dispatch/SKILL.md).
- `cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/receipt-stream/SKILL.md §1` for the per-finding shape — **verified** (lines 78–100).
- `cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/dispatch/SKILL.md §2.1` for the 6-element envelope — **verified** (lines 129–155).
- #405 §3 compiler-chain table, §9 higher-level forms, §13 candidate surfaces, §14 + §14b sub-issue lists, §15 package location options — **verified** against issue body.
- `docs/gamma/essays/DECREASING-INCOHERENCE.md §"Per-shipment artifact contract"` — **verified** (referenced in §4 of survey).
- `docs/alpha/essays/FOUNDATIONS.md §3.4` (cnos as practice layer) — **verified**.

No broken citations; no overclaims; no smuggled doctrine.

## Potential findings (Tier 3)

None of severity ≥ A surface. The cycle is clean.

Two minor process observations (not findings):

- **Survey lives in `docs/gamma/design/` (new dir) rather than `docs/gamma/essays/`.** This is correct per the dispatch brief's "agent's judgment" clause. The survey is decision-class, not position-paper-class; categorizing it as `design/` reserves `essays/` for the long-form vision documents. The new `docs/gamma/design/README.md` carries the Document Map row per AC10.
- **The 20-surface matrix exceeds the 15-row floor by 33%.** This is feature, not bug — the matrix needed to be exhaustive to give downstream Tracks something to dispatch against without re-doing the survey work. Track A2's dispatch brief can cite a specific row number without ambiguity.

## Coherence with prior cycles

- **#404 wave (cycle/415 → cycle/420):** the surface inventory matrix's row #4/#5/#10/#11/#12/#13 explicitly mark these as `cnos.handoff`-resident — confirming the handoff extraction's boundary holds and CCNF-O sits cleanly above it.
- **#403 wave (cycle/411 / `378a54f0`):** the cnos.cds / cnos.cdr realization-binding rule the wave established is preserved in §2 row #9 (closeout chain) and §3.2 (SubstantialCycle) — realizations bind, CCNF-O types abstract slots.
- **#393 (δ-as-architect codification):** the dispatch-prompt + implementation-contract surfaces (§2 rows #4 / #5) carry forward the codification cycle's pins; Track A2's dispatch brief paragraph names them as the highest-priority type-lift target.

## Verdict

**APPROVE — Round 1.**

Cycle is ready for merge. Operator action on close: merge `cycle/421` to `main` with `--no-ff` and `Closes #421`.
