---
cycle: 364
issue: "https://github.com/usurobor/cnos/issues/364"
date: "2026-05-15"
mode: docs-only
manifest:
  planned:
    - Gap
    - Skills
    - ACs
    - Self-check
    - Debt
    - CDD-Trace
    - Review-readiness
  completed:
    - Gap
    - Skills
    - ACs
    - Self-check
    - Debt
    - CDD-Trace
    - Review-readiness
---

# α Self-Coherence — #364

α writes this file section-by-section per `alpha/SKILL.md §2.5` (incremental write discipline). γ scaffold-time content below seeds Gap/Skills/ACs framing; α fills the evidence and trace as work lands.

## §Gap

**Issue:** #364 — Articulate CDD coherence-cell refactor doctrine. Mode: docs-only. Work shape: substantial CDD cycle.

**What exists:** CDD has a canonical lifecycle spec in `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/CDD.md`, a generic α/β/γ/δ/ε ladder in `ROLES.md`, role-local skills (γ, operator, alpha, beta, epsilon, activation), and an artifact-presence checker in `cn-cdd-verify`.

**What is expected:** A draft refactor doctrine document `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/COHERENCE-CELL.md` that captures the recursive coherence-cell model: `contract → α/β/γ cell → receipt → validator → δ boundary → accepted receipt as next-scope matter`.

**Where they diverge:** The coherence-cell model is implicit in design discussion and scattered across role / operator / verifier / foundational-coherence surfaces. Today's `operator/SKILL.md` fuses δ boundary policy with dispatch, polling, git identity, release execution, CI recovery, branch cleanup, timeout recovery — membrane/substrate fusion. Today's `gamma/SKILL.md` carries cell-closure coordination plus runtime supervision idioms. The doctrine doc names and falsifies those fusions before implementation refactors begin.

**Peer enumeration (per `gamma/SKILL.md §2.2a`, applied as α as well):**

```bash
test ! -f src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/COHERENCE-CELL.md   # passes — file absent
rg -l "COHERENCE-CELL|coherence cell" src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/  # no matches
```

The gap is real and additive; no existing surface partially closes it.

## §Skills

**Tier 1 (always):**
- `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/CDD.md` — canonical CDD lifecycle and role contract (remains authoritative; this doc does not supersede it)
- `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/alpha/SKILL.md` — α role surface

**Tier 2 (always-applicable engineering):**
- markdown authoring (eng default)
- `src/packages/cnos.core/skills/write/SKILL.md` — written artifact authoring

**Tier 3 (issue-specific):**
- `src/packages/cnos.core/skills/design/SKILL.md` — keep policy above detail; avoid surface smearing; distinguish role doctrine from runtime substrate; avoid premature canonicalization; one source of truth per fact; degraded paths must be visible (`§3.9` informs override-as-degraded-boundary-action language).

**β role skill is NOT loaded by α** (per `alpha/SKILL.md` load order).

## §ACs

All 17 ACs verified against head `b632fc3` of `cycle/364`. Oracle commands defined in #364 run as specified; output captured below.

| AC | Status | Evidence (grep hits against COHERENCE-CELL.md unless noted) |
|----|--------|---------|
| AC1 | PASS | `Status: Draft refactor doctrine` line present; `Does-Not-Own` clause names `CDD.md` and includes "does not replace", "does not supersede" |
| AC2 | PASS | All five greps match: roles/functions (3+), runtime substrate (3+), validation boundary (3+), release boundary (3+), separation language ("must not be fused into one skill", "separate surfaces", "not one skill") all present |
| AC3 | PASS | contract (42), cell (51), receipt (68), evidence graph (3), validation verdict (2), V(...) expression (9), α produce (6), β review/discriminat (18), γ close (8); full recursion equation present in `## Recursion Equation` |
| AC4 | PASS | `not ζ`/`not zeta` (2), predicate/capability (9), δ invoke (6), trust not γ (1), `contract + evidence + valid receipt` (2) |
| AC5 | PASS | override (12), "not validity / degraded boundary action / must be receipted" (3) |
| AC6 | PASS | cn-cdd-verify (7), artifact-presence/completeness (2), receipt-valid/contract-receipt/evidence-graph (34), self-coherence.md (2), beta-review.md (4), gamma-closeout.md (3) |
| AC7 | PASS | positive: `schema: cnos.cdd.receipt.example` (1), all six receipt sections present (contract/production/review/closure/validation/boundary), illustrative/example/sketch (4), not normative / schema deferred (3); **NEGATIVE: zero hits for `schema: cnos.cdd.receipt.v1`** — v1 is NOT pinned |
| AC8 | PASS | `α≠β is not bureaucracy` (1), contagion firebreak (2), β is the cell's immune discrimination (2), without independent β review (1), degraded matter / immunologically compromised (4) |
| AC9 | PASS | `alpha_actor != beta_actor` (1), alpha_commit_authors / beta_review_authors (2), β verdict/finding disposition (3), reviewed artifact refs (1), verdict precedes merge (3); validator framed as rejection of counterfeit, not proof of semantic independence |
| AC10 | PASS | membrane/boundary policy (6), transport (7), effector/irreversible/release/deploy/tag/external commit/spend/money (28), harness/platform driver/substrate (22), **exclusion polarity** "must not contain runtime substrate / outside δ role doctrine" (2), runtime mechanics names (16), **belong below δ / belong harness / belong platform driver** (4) |
| AC11 | PASS | managerial residue/supervision (5), monitor/supervise/oversee/manage (5), `artifact, receipt, or boundary decision` (2), observe/discriminate/route/validate/close/transport/release/repair-dispatch (64); sweep rule block present |
| AC12 | PASS | ε/epsilon (19), protocol evolution / receipt stream / protocol gap (9), `not metabolism / not ordinary in-cell / outside the cell` (5) |
| AC13 | PASS | protocol_gap_count (5), protocol_gap_refs (5), cdd-iteration.md (3), `required only when protocol_gap_count > 0` (2) |
| AC14 | PASS | landing order / deferred roadmap / future work (2), receipt.cue / contract.cue (5), refactor cn-cdd-verify (2), split δ / boundary complex (3), shrink γ (6), move ε (1); all six landing-order items listed under `## Practical Landing Order`, all marked deferred |
| AC15 | PASS | `src/packages/cnos.cdd/README.md` carries pointer line "**`cdd/COHERENCE-CELL.md`** — Draft refactor doctrine..." in the `/skills/ — The Method` section |
| AC16 | PASS | `git diff --name-only origin/main...HEAD` returns exactly 4 files: COHERENCE-CELL.md, README.md, gamma-scaffold.md (.cdd/unreleased/364/), self-coherence.md (.cdd/unreleased/364/). Required surfaces present. Forbidden-surfaces grep returns zero hits |
| AC17 | PASS | `## Open Questions` section header present (1); all five questions seeded — V firing (1), capability vs command (4), ε relocation (5), override receipting (7), closeouts as evidence (4). None resolved; section header reads "**not resolved** here. They are seeded for next-cycle inheritance" |

## §Self-check

- **Did α push any ambiguity onto β?** No structural ambiguity remains. All 17 ACs map to grep-checkable text in the artifact. The validator-position section explicitly names what `V` is (predicate/capability) and what it is not (ζ-as-agent). The δ section explicitly names the substrate exclusion polarity. The Open Questions are explicitly labelled as inheritance.
- **Every claim backed by structural prediction or explicit "illustrative / not normative" label?** Yes. The receipt sketch is labelled "illustrative; not normative" three ways (comment, prose label, deferred schema note). The biological metaphor is explicitly disclaimed as expository, with the AC2 invariant section stating that the structural prediction is what is checked. The landing order is explicitly labelled "deferred roadmap" with each item marked deferred.
- **Did the doc resolve any of the five Open Questions?** No. The Open Questions section opens with "They are **not resolved** here. They are seeded for next-cycle inheritance." Each question is stated as a tension with options enumerated; none is closed.
- **Did the doc pin `cnos.cdd.receipt.v1`?** No. The schema name is `cnos.cdd.receipt.example`. AC7 negative oracle returns 0 hits for `schema: cnos.cdd.receipt.v1`.
- **Did the diff touch any forbidden surface?** No. AC16 oracle output confirms diff contains exactly: COHERENCE-CELL.md (new), README.md (modified for pointer), gamma-scaffold.md and self-coherence.md (in `.cdd/unreleased/364/` evidence path, explicitly allowed). Zero forbidden-surface hits.

## §Debt

- **CUE schemas (`receipt.cue`, `contract.cue`)** — explicitly deferred to a follow-up issue per AC14 / Practical Landing Order item 2. The illustrative sketch uses a placeholder schema name; the real schema lands later.
- **`cn-cdd-verify` receipt-validation implementation** — deferred per AC14 / item 3. Current checker remains artifact-presence; the validator design is documented but not implemented.
- **δ/operator skill split** — deferred per AC14 / item 4. `operator/SKILL.md` continues to fuse boundary policy with runtime substrate; the refactor is named but not performed.
- **γ skill shrink** — deferred per AC14 / item 5. `gamma/SKILL.md` continues to carry runtime supervision idioms; the refactor is named but not performed.
- **ε relocation** — deferred per AC14 / item 6 and AC17 / Q3. Whether ε relocates to `ROLES.md`, `cnos.core`, or a new protocol-iteration package is an Open Question.
- **The five Open Questions** — by design, not closed in this cycle. They are inheritance for the next cycle. Recording them here makes the unresolved-design-space part of the debt ledger.

No undeclared debt. No load-bearing skills were missed during authoring. The α-side work is structurally complete.

## §CDD-Trace

CDD canonical artifact order (`CDD.md §5.2`) for this docs-only cycle:

1. **Design artifact** — marked "not required separately" (the doctrine doc IS the design artifact; this cycle's matter is the design).
2. **Coherence contract** — this `self-coherence.md` §Gap.
3. **Plan** — marked "not required separately" (single new doc + README pointer; sequencing is trivial: write doc section-by-section, then update README, then run AC oracle).
4. **Tests** — N/A for docs-only; AC oracles are the structural tests (each AC has rg/grep oracle defined in #364).
5. **Code** — N/A.
6. **Docs** — `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/COHERENCE-CELL.md` (primary), `src/packages/cnos.cdd/README.md` (pointer).
7. **Self-coherence** — this file, populated incrementally.
8. **Pre-review gate** — verified before review-readiness signal.

**Artifact enumeration (per `alpha/SKILL.md §2.6 row 11`):** every file in `git diff --name-only origin/main...HEAD` mapped to its purpose in this cycle:

| Path | Diff op | Purpose | Mentioned in |
|------|---------|---------|--------------|
| `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/COHERENCE-CELL.md` | A | Primary α artifact — draft refactor doctrine | §Gap, §ACs (AC1–AC14, AC17) |
| `src/packages/cnos.cdd/README.md` | M | Package source-map pointer to doctrine doc | §ACs AC15 |
| `.cdd/unreleased/364/gamma-scaffold.md` | A | γ scaffold (gap, mode, ACs reference, acceptance posture) | §CDD-Trace step 6 (this section) |
| `.cdd/unreleased/364/self-coherence.md` | A | This file — α evidence record + review-ready signal | §CDD-Trace step 7 (this section) |

All four files are accounted for. No diff file is unmentioned. AC16 surface containment confirms forbidden surfaces are absent.

## §Review-readiness

### Round 1 — review-ready

- **Base SHA:** `d412a1e9` (origin/main at cycle creation; verified current as of this commit via `git rev-parse origin/main` returning the same SHA)
- **Implementation SHA:** `b632fc3` (α's last implementation commit before this review-readiness commit)
- **Branch CI:** N/A — this is a docs-only cycle; no CI gates apply to markdown-only changes. Recorded explicitly per `alpha/SKILL.md §2.6 row 10`.
- **Pre-review gate (rows 1–13 of `alpha/SKILL.md §2.6`):**
  - Row 1 (branch rebased): `origin/cycle/364` was created from `origin/main` `d412a1e9` at cycle start; `git rev-parse origin/main` confirms main has not advanced. No rebase needed.
  - Row 2 (CDD Trace step 7): this file carries the CDD Trace through review-readiness.
  - Row 3 (tests present or N/A): N/A explicit — docs-only cycle; AC oracles defined in #364 serve as structural tests.
  - Row 4 (every AC has evidence): see §ACs table — all 17 ACs PASS with grep evidence captured.
  - Row 5 (known debt explicit): see §Debt — all deferred items named with AC/landing-order refs.
  - Row 6 (schema/shape audit): N/A — no schemas changed; the only "schema" reference in the artifact is an explicitly illustrative receipt sketch.
  - Row 7 (peer enumeration): performed at scaffold time (no existing COHERENCE-CELL.md or related doctrine doc to consolidate with) and again before review-readiness (no sibling doctrine files in `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/` carry the same model). Verified absent via `rg -l "COHERENCE-CELL|coherence cell" src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/`.
  - Row 8 (harness audit): N/A — no schema-bearing contracts changed.
  - Row 9 (polyglot re-audit): N/A — markdown only.
  - Row 10 (branch CI green): N/A explicit — docs-only.
  - Row 11 (artifact enumeration matches diff): see table in §CDD-Trace — all four diff files accounted for.
  - Row 12 (caller-path trace for new modules): N/A — no new code modules.
  - Row 13 (test assertion count from runner output): N/A — no test runner.
- **β posture for review:** β reads `COHERENCE-CELL.md` against the 17 ACs in #364, runs each AC's oracle grep, and decides RC or APPROVED. β reads `README.md` for AC15. β reads this `self-coherence.md` as the α-side evidence record. β reads `gamma-scaffold.md` for γ-side framing.
- **Review readiness:** ready for β on branch HEAD (`origin/cycle/364`).
