# α self-coherence — Cycle 418

**Cycle:** [cnos#418](https://github.com/usurobor/cnos/issues/418) — Sub 4 of [cnos#404](https://github.com/usurobor/cnos/issues/404).
**Branch:** `cycle/418` from `origin/main @ 0bbd312b`.
**Mode:** γ+α+β collapsed on δ; docs-only / package migration.
**Date:** 2026-05-22.

## Summary

Sub 4 of the cnos#404 handoff/coordination extraction wave is α-complete. Two parallel surfaces — the mid-flight γ→in-flight-α rescue mechanism (anchored at cnos#391) and the `.cdd/unreleased/{N}/` artifact-channel wire-format invariants — moved into new canonical homes at `cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/mid-flight/SKILL.md` (348 lines) and `cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/artifact-channel/SKILL.md` (361 lines). Both surfaces share consumers (cdd/alpha, cdd/beta, cdd/gamma, dispatch/SKILL.md, CDS.md) and HANDOFF.md update; collapsing them into one cycle saved the close-out overhead of two parallel cycles while keeping the per-mechanism cohesion (split skills, not unified).

The split decision (Q3 ruling): mid-flight is asynchronous γ-to-in-flight-α; artifact-channel is sequential α→β→γ. Different rates of fire, different protocols. Combined file would conflate two mechanisms with different load-bearing structure.

The cnos.cds boundary decision (Q5 ruling): cnos.cds keeps the v0.1 operational realizations (the `gh issue edit` + `commit` + `push` shell sequence γ runs at clarification time; the per-artifact contract Location matrix / Ownership matrix / Ordered flow) as the CDS-specific cycle-lifecycle home; cnos.handoff owns the wire-format invariants (file path, authoring role, reader role, cache-bust function, resumption protocol for mid-flight; channel-directory pattern, per-role write ownership pattern, sequential rule, frozen-snapshot rule, release-time directory move for artifact-channel). cnos.cds gets two pointer paragraphs acknowledging the wire-format canonical home.

## Deliverables landed

| ID | Deliverable | Location | Lines | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | New mid-flight sub-skill | `src/packages/cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/mid-flight/SKILL.md` | 348 | landed |
| D2 | New artifact-channel sub-skill | `src/packages/cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/artifact-channel/SKILL.md` | 361 | landed |
| D3 | HANDOFF.md two-row edit (mid-flight + artifact-channel → Landed) | `src/packages/cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/HANDOFF.md` | — | landed |
| D4 | extraction-map.md §4 + §5 + §8 marked migrated | `src/packages/cnos.handoff/docs/extraction-map.md` | — | landed |
| D5 | Cross-reference repair (cross-repo §2.10 + dispatch SKILL.md + cdd consumers) | cdd: alpha, beta, gamma; handoff: cross-repo, dispatch, SKILL.md loader, README | — | landed |
| D5b | CDS.md pointer paragraphs (Mid-flight clarification + Artifact contract) | `src/packages/cnos.cds/skills/cds/CDS.md` | +24 lines (two ≤ 12-line pointers) | landed |
| D6 | (skipped — CDD.md kernel byte-identical) | `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/CDD.md` | 0 | n/a — artifact-channel discoverability runs through CDS.md pointer list at CDD.md §"Software-specific realization → cnos.cds" line 130, which already cites CDS.md §"Artifact contract"; CDS.md now appends a pointer to artifact-channel/SKILL.md, completing the indirect cite chain. No kernel edit needed. |

## AC matrix — α witness (all 11 ACs PASS)

### AC1: required files exist ✓

```
$ test -f src/packages/cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/mid-flight/SKILL.md       # OK
$ test -f src/packages/cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/artifact-channel/SKILL.md # OK
```

### AC2: ≥ 5 mid-flight keyword hits; line count 100–350 ✓

```
$ wc -l src/packages/cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/mid-flight/SKILL.md
348
$ grep -c -E "gamma-clarification|cache-bust|rescue|re-pin|in-flight" \
    src/packages/cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/mid-flight/SKILL.md
99
```

348 ∈ [100, 350]; 99 ≥ 5; PASS.

### AC3: ≥ 7 artifact-channel keyword hits; line count 150–400 ✓

```
$ wc -l src/packages/cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/artifact-channel/SKILL.md
361
$ grep -c -E "unreleased|sequential|per-role|frozen.snapshot|cycle.directory|release.time|channel" \
    src/packages/cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/artifact-channel/SKILL.md
100
```

361 ∈ [150, 400]; 100 ≥ 7; PASS.

### AC4: HANDOFF.md "mid-flight" + "artifact-channel" rows under Landed ✓

Both rows present under `### Landed (v0.1)` (lines 35–36); the `### Forthcoming` section now lists only the Sub 5 receipt-stream row. PASS.

### AC5: ≥ 3 cdd consumers citing new canonical paths ✓

```
$ grep -l "cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/mid-flight\|cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/artifact-channel" \
    src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/alpha/SKILL.md \
    src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/beta/SKILL.md \
    src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/gamma/SKILL.md | wc -l
3
```

3 files cite; PASS.

### AC6: cnos.cdr untouched ✓

```
$ git diff --stat origin/main..HEAD -- src/packages/cnos.cdr/
(no output)
```

0 lines changed; PASS. (Consistent with Subs 2 / 3 verification — cdr has no canonical mid-flight or artifact-channel cites.)

### AC7: cross-repo §2.10 cites mid-flight as canonical for issue-edit cache-bust ✓

```
$ grep -c "mid-flight/SKILL.md" \
    src/packages/cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/cross-repo/SKILL.md
1
```

§2.10 now carries a new "Issue-edit cache-bust on post-filing refinement" edge-case entry citing `mid-flight/SKILL.md` as the canonical wire-format home. PASS.

### AC8: dispatch/SKILL.md drops "pending Sub 4" / "Sub 4 (forthcoming)" ✓

```
$ grep -c "pending Sub 4\|Sub 4 of cnos#404 (forthcoming)" \
    src/packages/cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/dispatch/SKILL.md
0
```

All five Sub-4-as-forthcoming references in dispatch (scope non-goals, §"Implementation contract" obligation, §2.4 spec-staleness, §3.3 mid-flight, §"Related documents" rows, §"Non-goals" rows, empirical-anchors row for cnos#391) re-pointed to cite Sub 4 / cnos#418 as landed. PASS.

### AC9: CDD.md kernel byte-identical; ≤ 5 lines insertion total ✓

```
$ git diff origin/main..HEAD -- src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/CDD.md | wc -l
0
```

Zero CDD.md edits — D6 not needed. Artifact-channel discoverability runs through CDD.md §"Software-specific realization → cnos.cds" line 130 → CDS.md §"Artifact contract" → (new pointer paragraph) → `cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/artifact-channel/SKILL.md`. Indirect cite chain complete; no kernel edit required. PASS.

### AC10: no schemas/handoff, no schemas/ccnf-o, no runtime / cdd-verify / release.sh changes ✓

```
$ test ! -d schemas/handoff             # absent ✓
$ test ! -d schemas/ccnf-o              # absent ✓
$ git diff --stat origin/main..HEAD -- \
    src/packages/cnos.cdd/commands/cdd-verify/ src/go/ scripts/release.sh
(no output)
```

No CCNF-O / new schemas / cdd-verify / runtime / release.sh changes; PASS.

### AC11: rescue mechanism + artifact-file names preserved verbatim ✓

```
$ grep -c -E \
    "self-coherence\.md|alpha-closeout\.md|beta-review\.md|beta-closeout\.md|\
gamma-closeout\.md|gamma-scaffold\.md|cdd-iteration\.md|gamma-clarification\.md" \
    src/packages/cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/mid-flight/SKILL.md \
    src/packages/cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/artifact-channel/SKILL.md
mid-flight/SKILL.md:    47
artifact-channel/SKILL.md: 34
```

All artifact filenames present in both skills verbatim; rescue mechanism (γ-authored `gamma-clarification.md` write to `.cdd/unreleased/{N}/` with cycle-branch SHA as wake-up signal) preserved per §2.1–§2.4 of mid-flight/SKILL.md. PASS.

## Implementation-contract conformance (β Rule 7 self-check)

Per the implementation contract pinned in the dispatch:

| Axis | Pinned value | Diff conforms? |
|---|---|---|
| Language | Markdown | ✓ — all touched files are .md |
| CLI integration target | None | ✓ — no CLI changes |
| Package scoping | Two new files at `cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/{mid-flight,artifact-channel}/SKILL.md`; HANDOFF.md update; extraction-map update; cross-ref updates in `cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/{cross-repo,dispatch,SKILL.md,README.md}` + `cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/{alpha,beta,gamma}/SKILL.md` + `cnos.cds/skills/cds/CDS.md` | ✓ — diff stays within the named paths; cdr untouched; commands/ untouched; src/go untouched |
| Existing-binary disposition | N/A | ✓ — no binaries |
| Runtime dependencies | None | ✓ — no deps |
| JSON/wire contract | N/A | ✓ — no wire change |
| Backward compat | Empirical mechanisms preserved verbatim; cite-points repaired | ✓ — file path, authoring role, reader role, cache-bust function, channel-directory pattern, per-role write ownership, sequential rule, frozen-snapshot rule all preserved from empirical practice |

## Resumption

Self-coherence complete. β can review on this artifact path; γ can close the cycle once β APPROVE-s.
