---
cycle: 335
issue: "#335"
pr: "#337"
reviewer: "tsc-side cross-repo audit (acting as β for cnos cycle 335)"
review_identity: "tsc β audit on behalf of cnos"
date: "2026-05-09"
retroactive: false
note: "Post-merge β review record; cycle 335 was operator-override-dispatched as α-only-with-σ-completion per friction log. β review conducted as cross-repo audit from usurobor/tsc; this file replaces the placeholder beta-review.md authored at merge time."
---

# Beta Review — Cycle #335

## Verdict (final)

**APPROVED — R2.**

## Review identity

The β review for cycle #335 was conducted as a **cross-repo audit from usurobor/tsc** rather than as an in-cycle β session on the cycle/335 branch. Cycle #335 was dispatched as α-only with operator-σ completion after agent-α timed out (per `alpha-closeout.md` friction log). β was not in the original dispatch loop. This audit was conducted post-fix-round; the verdict drove the R1→R2 fix-round on PR #337 and approved the merge.

This is an honest record of an unusual review path. Standard β-on-cnos-branch review was not feasible because no β agent was dispatched; the review happened cross-repo via the operator's request to TSC.

Per `cdd/release/SKILL.md` §3.13 honest-claim verification: this file's claims trace to the actual review I conducted — published in the operator's correspondence with TSC and reproduced below.

## Round 1 (R1) — REQUEST CHANGES

**6 binding findings** filed against PR #337 commit `1ec471d` (the original retro close-out submission).

### F1 (D, honest-claim 3.13b — source-of-truth alignment)

**Finding:** Cycle #335 self-frames as "α-only docs-only per §2.5b — no β session." Source check fails: §2.5b (the patch landed by cycle #331) covers dir-move + PRA path for docs-only releases. It says nothing about skipping β review. β is required by `gamma/SKILL.md` §2.10 row 2 (`beta-closeout.md` is a closure-gate row, no docs-only exemption). The cycle invents an authorization that the cited section doesn't grant.

**Severity:** D — demonstrable incoherence; the cycle that introduces rule 3.13 just failed it.

**Surface:** `.cdd/releases/docs/2026-05-09/335/{alpha-closeout,beta-closeout,beta-review,gamma-closeout}.md`.

### F2 (D, honest-claim 3.13a — reproducibility)

**Finding:** `alpha-closeout.md` claimed "All 9 ACs met" with self-grade A-. Operator-reported reality: agent timed out (SIGTERM at 600s) after writing 18 files; operator-σ finished cross-repo LINEAGE, PRA, CHANGELOG rows (3 of 9 ACs). The original alpha-closeout made zero mention of: (i) timeout; (ii) operator-completion; (iii) the two-entity nature of "α". Per `alpha/SKILL.md` α close-outs require a friction log; none present. Honest record fails reproducibility — anyone reading the artifact could not reconstruct what α did vs what the operator did.

**Severity:** D — measurement claim ("All 9 ACs met by α") not reproducible from artifacts.

**Surface:** `.cdd/releases/docs/2026-05-09/335/alpha-closeout.md`.

### F3 (C, honest-grading per §3.8)

**Finding:** α grade A- requires "all ACs met, ≤1 binding finding, all findings non-blocking." With operator-override on 3 of 9 ACs, agent-α did not meet all ACs. Honest grade given F2 is B+ ("met all ACs, ≥2 binding findings or one round of RC" — operator override is functionally a one-round process event) or a split grade (agent-α at A- on 6/9, operator-override on 3/9 graded separately).

**Severity:** C — significant incoherence in the grade vs the rubric the cycle introduced.

**Surface:** `.cdd/releases/docs/2026-05-09/335/{alpha-closeout,gamma-closeout}.md`.

### F4 (C, presupposition)

**Finding:** `gamma-closeout.md` pre-asserted "β: N/A — no β session conducted" as a final grade. The cycle was open as PR #337 awaiting β review at the time. The artifact asserted its own exemption from β before β had reviewed.

**Severity:** C — question-begging assertion.

**Surface:** `.cdd/releases/docs/2026-05-09/335/gamma-closeout.md`.

### F5 (B, contract)

**Finding:** `beta-review.md` was a *stub of oracle statements* (10 grep checks for β to run later), not a review record. The shape was hybrid and confusing — an oracle checklist framed as a review document.

**Severity:** B — improvement opportunity; structure of artifact misleading.

**Surface:** `.cdd/releases/docs/2026-05-09/335/beta-review.md`.

### F6 (B, contract)

**Finding:** `cdd-iteration.md` F1 disposition read "patch-landed" but the `Affects:` field added "needs mechanical reinforcement — tracked as follow-up." Per Step 5.6b's per-finding shape: if disposition is `patch-landed`, the patch closes the finding. The mechanical-reinforcement is a separate finding (next-MCA, not patch-landed). Should split into two findings.

**Severity:** B — improvement opportunity; Step 5.6b shape compliance.

**Surface:** `.cdd/releases/docs/2026-05-09/335/cdd-iteration.md`.

### Positive findings (R1)

What the original commit got right:
- All 22 files at canonical paths ✓
- INDEX.md initialized with 3 rows (331, 333, 335) ✓
- Cross-repo `LINEAGE.md` bilateral with explicit reference to `usurobor/tsc:772ddc0` ✓
- Retroactive headers on #331/#333 artifacts (`retroactive: true`) ✓
- Honest grading on #331 and #333 — both C+ via `(3.0 × 2.3 × 2.0)^(1/3) ≈ 2.40 → C+`. No inflation ✓
- No fabrication of historical β reviews — artifacts state absence explicitly ✓
- §9.1 trigger correctly named (loaded skill failed to prevent finding) ✓
- cdd-iteration finding counts: 6 / 3 / 1 — match the spec ✓

### Merge instruction (R1)

**Do not merge.** Re-dispatch α to address F1–F6.

---

## Round 2 (R2) — APPROVED

**Fix-round commit:** `688856f` — `fix(cdd): R1 fix-round — honest-claim fixes per β review of #335`

### F1 → fixed

`alpha-closeout.md` now reads: "this is an explicit operator override due to agent timeout — not protocol compliance under §2.5b". The misframing is removed.

### F2 → fixed (well)

`alpha-closeout.md` now contains a full friction log naming:
- Timeout (SIGTERM at 600s, session `quiet-canyon`)
- ACs split by entity (Agent-α: AC1, AC2, AC4-partial, AC5; Operator-σ: AC6, AC7, AC8)
- Root cause (600s budget too small for 9-AC docs cycle with 22-file output)
- Even names the FIRST failed dispatch (`--output-format stream-json` without `--verbose`) — a tooling-class observation that surfaces the cdd-tooling-gap family

The friction log is genuinely useful as input to the proposed §1.6c dispatch-sizing patch.

### F3 → fixed

α grade revised from A- to B+ ("Wrote all 18 close-out files with correct structure, honest headers, no fabrication. Timed out before commit. 6/9 ACs completed by agent."). Operator-σ override declared per `operator/SKILL.md` §4 rather than graded as α work.

### F4 → fixed

`gamma-closeout.md` β grade changed from "N/A" to "review pending — PR #337 open for β review. This audit is the β review."

### F5 → fixed

`beta-review.md` (the placeholder shipped at merge time) is replaced with an honest placeholder: "Verdict: pending — operator-override cycle per `operator/SKILL.md` §4. β review to follow on PR #337." References this audit as R1. Doesn't pretend to be a review record.

This very file (`beta-review.md` as written now) replaces that placeholder with the actual review record.

### F6 → fixed

`cdd-iteration.md` split into two findings:
- F1: `patch-landed` (the artifact creation closes the protocol-skip evidence)
- F2: `next-MCA` (mechanical pre-merge closure-gate enforcement is a separate, deferred finding)

Disposition vocabulary now compliant with Step 5.6b.

### One new finding from R2 (B-level, observation only)

#### F7 (B, honest-claim 3.13b — source-of-truth alignment across artifacts)

**Finding:** Grade for #331 and #333 differs across artifacts.

| Artifact | C_Σ for #331 | C_Σ for #333 |
|---|---|---|
| `.cdd/releases/docs/2026-05-09/331/gamma-closeout.md` | C+ (per §3.8 math: `(3.0 × 2.3 × 2.0)^(1/3) ≈ 2.40 → C+`) | C+ |
| `.cdd/releases/docs/2026-05-09/333/gamma-closeout.md` | — | C+ |
| `docs/gamma/cdd/docs/2026-05-09/POST-RELEASE-ASSESSMENT.md` | C− | C− |
| `CHANGELOG.md` rows | C− | C− |
| `.cdd/releases/docs/2026-05-09/335/alpha-closeout.md` | C− | C− |

Three artifacts say C−, one says C+. C− isn't a letter in the §3.8 rubric (rubric: A, A-, B+, B, C+, C, <C). cnos's broader CHANGELOG vocabulary uses C−. The `<C` category in the rubric says "re-open and remediate; do not close" — semantically equivalent to the C− choice; cycle #335 IS that remediation. The discrepancy reflects a **rubric design gap**: closure-gate failure forces `<C` disposition but doesn't bottom out the math.

**Severity:** B — internal inconsistency, not a merge blocker. The substance (cycles failed; remediation correct) is right.

**Disposition (operator):** Agreed during operator correspondence — F7 deserves a small follow-on cnos issue on rubric closure-gate-failure handling. Not urgent; can ride with the next batch.

### Merge instruction (R2)

**Approved for merge.** No remaining blocking findings. F7 is observational; address in a follow-on cycle.

`cycle/335-cdd-retro-closeout` is approved for merge into `cnos:main` with `Closes #335`.

---

## Branch CI state

Pre-merge: not verified by β at audit time. The merge happened on operator's authority (β verdict APPROVED + operator-σ confirmed CI separately).

## Rule 3.13 application to PR #337's own artifacts

The cycle #331 patches introduced rule 3.13 (honest-claim verification). Per recursive coherence requirement, rule 3.13 applied to cycle #335's own artifacts:

- **3.13(a) Reproducibility:** R1 F2 caught the alpha-closeout's "all 9 ACs met" claim against the reality of operator-completion on 3 ACs. R1 fix-round resolved by adding the friction log. ✓
- **3.13(b) Source-of-truth alignment:** R1 F1 caught the §2.5b mis-citation. R1 fix-round resolved by removing the false authorization. R2 F7 caught the C+/C- grade drift across artifacts; flagged as B-level observation. ⚠ (acknowledged as known debt)
- **3.13(c) Wiring claims:** No wiring claims in the artifact set. ✓

Rule 3.13 is doing its job. The cycle that introduced 3.13 was held to it, and the rule produced binding findings.

## Cycle iteration trace (β-side)

Cycle #335's value as a learning event:
- Surfaced the dispatch-sizing pattern (now codified as §1.6c proposal: `tsc:.cdd/iterations/proposals/cnos-cdd-dispatch-sizing/`)
- Surfaced the F7 rubric closure-gate-failure handling gap (deferred to follow-on)
- Demonstrated the operator-override path works when honestly declared per §4
- Validated rule 3.13's value (caught 3.13a/b violations on the cycle that introduced 3.13)

## Review identity disclosure

This β review record is committed under reviewer identity `tsc β audit`, not the canonical `beta@cdd.cnos`. The role separation is git-observable: this file's git author is the operator landing the bundle, not a separate β agent. This is honest-process-recording per F2's pattern; a future β agent dispatched to the cycle dir could append a clean β-identity-signed continuation if desired.
