# α close-out — cycle/409 / cnos#409

**Cycle:** Sub 4 of cnos#403 — Migrate §Coordination surfaces + §Artifact contract to CDS.md (B-lite thin extract)
**Branch:** cycle/409
**Merge:** pending operator approval (β does NOT merge in this cycle per the issue body)

## Cycle summary (factual observations)

This cycle authored two new top-level sections into `src/packages/cnos.cds/skills/cds/CDS.md`:

1. **`## Coordination surfaces`** with four sub-headings (§Cycle-state evidence, §Polling primitives, §Mid-flight clarification, §Cross-repo proposals) ending in `### Operational realization` citing `harness/SKILL.md §5.4`, `harness/SKILL.md §5.1–§5.5`, `gamma/SKILL.md §2.5`, `cross-repo/SKILL.md §2.3`, `cross-repo/SKILL.md §2.1`.
2. **`## Artifact contract`** with nine sub-headings (§Terminology, §Bootstrap, §Ordered flow, §Manifest, §Location matrix, §Ownership matrix, §Trace format, §Supporting rules, §Frozen snapshot rule) ending in `### Operational realization` citing `release/SKILL.md §2.5a`, `release/SKILL.md §3.8`, `gamma/SKILL.md §2.10`, `gamma/SKILL.md §2.6–§2.9`, `alpha/SKILL.md §2.6`, `beta/SKILL.md`, `release-effector/SKILL.md`.

Both sections were inserted between `## Development lifecycle` (Sub 3) and `## Empirical anchor`. The section manifest (line 1) and version line were updated to reflect Sub 4 / cnos#409.

`docs/extraction-map.md` rows 3 (Coordination surfaces) and 4 (Artifact contract) had their Status field added inline naming the v0.1 migration target + the planned `.cdd/` → `.cds/` re-rooting deferral.

Diff stat: 2 files changed (CDS.md: +735 / -5; extraction-map.md: +2 / -0).

## Source-mining audit (factual)

Every rule statement in the new CDS.md sections was sourced from a specific pre-#402 CDD.md sub-section at `8f06a606^`. The mapping:

| New CDS section | Source (pre-#402 CDD.md at `8f06a606^`) |
|---|---|
| §Cycle-state evidence | §1.5 Tracking, lines 188–202 + the polling-surfaces enumeration at lines 230–242 |
| §Polling primitives | §1.5 Tracking, lines 220–290 (polling query forms; wake-up; reachability preflight; transition-only emission; baseline pull; git fetch reliability) |
| §Mid-flight clarification | §1.5 Tracking, lines 296–298 (issue-edit cache-bust paragraph + cnos#391 anchor mined from `gamma/SKILL.md §2.5` |
| §Cross-repo proposals | §1.5 Tracking, lines 204–222 (proposal lifecycle + STATUS vocabulary) + `cross-repo/SKILL.md §2.3` (transition graph + emitter rules + master/sub rule) |
| §Terminology | §5.0, lines 911–916 (verbatim move) |
| §Bootstrap | §5.1, lines 918–933 + γ scaffold check from `gamma/SKILL.md §2.5` Pre-dispatch gate |
| §Ordered flow | §5.2, lines 935–951 (13-stage list verbatim) |
| §Manifest | §5.3, lines 953–990 (manifest table; CDS-side concise re-cast) |
| §Location matrix | §5.3a, lines 992–1020 (table preserved verbatim with `.cdd/`/`.cds/` destination dual-naming added inline) |
| §Ownership matrix | §5.3b, lines 1022–1042 (table preserved verbatim) |
| §Trace format | §5.4, lines 1044–1076 (CDD Trace renamed to CDS Trace; format example verbatim) |
| §Supporting rules | §5.5, lines 1078–1087 (verbatim move with engineering-loss-function framing) |
| §Frozen snapshot rule | §5.6, lines 1089–1098 + extension naming the CCNF kernel scope-lift invariant |

The B-lite extract preserves the authority chain: CDS.md is the canonical home; the cdd-side operational realization stays in the cited skill files; no operational mechanics duplicated.

## α-side findings (factual; no dispositions — γ's job)

**Finding α1 — Ownership matrix `cdd-iteration.md` reference (informational).** The §Ownership matrix row for `cdd-iteration.md` carries "γ (with ε review)" in the Owner column. The pre-#402 CDD.md §5.3b had owner = γ only; the cdd-iteration.md role-distinction has since evolved (the artifact records ε's per-cycle protocol-iteration findings, and the cycle/401 cadence rule clarifies the ε role). The added "(with ε review)" annotation is an editorial extension consistent with §Field 5 (ε iteration cadence) above; it does not contradict any cdd-side rule. Worth surfacing for γ triage so Sub 6 (when CDD.md gets swept) can either retain this clarification or remove it; both are coherent.

**Finding α2 — §Bootstrap pre-dispatch gate as additive content (informational).** The §Bootstrap section added a "Pre-dispatch γ scaffold check (binding gate)" paragraph that the pre-#402 CDD.md §5.1 did not carry inline — the binding-gate content was mined from `gamma/SKILL.md §2.5` Pre-dispatch γ scaffold check section. This is a legitimate B-lite move: the canonical rule (γ MUST author scaffold before α dispatch) belongs in the canonical-home statement; the operational realization (the mechanical check, the failure-and-recovery procedure) stays in `gamma/SKILL.md`. Worth surfacing for γ triage in case Sub 5 (review surfaces) or Sub 6 wants to revisit whether this rule belongs in §Bootstrap or §Field 4 cadence.

**Finding α3 — §Mid-flight clarification empirical anchor depth (informational).** The §Mid-flight clarification empirical anchor cites cnos#391 and cnos#393 (rescue + δ-as-architect). The pre-#402 CDD.md cited only "Worked example: cycle #283". The new anchor depth reflects post-#402 empirical evidence (cnos#391 was the canonical wrong-shape-rescue case; cnos#393 codified the δ-as-architect role); this is a Sub-4-internal editorial decision, not a doctrinal change. Worth surfacing for γ triage in case the operator wants the anchor list normalised against Sub 7's empirical-anchor doc.

## Friction log

No friction during the cycle. The β-α-collapse-on-δ dispatch shape served well — γ scaffold provided complete source mining map; α executed the B-lite extract in one pass; β self-review verified all 10 ACs without finding any binding issue.

The Sub 3 (cnos#408) cycle established the structural precedent (insert two new top-level sections at the canonical insertion point; update section manifest; update extraction-map status). Sub 4 followed the same shape without modification. No skill gaps surfaced.

## Cycle-level engineering level

L7 (canonical doctrine authoring). The cycle's matter is software-engineering protocol overlay content; the failure mode it prevents (drift between CDS.md as canonical home and the cdd-side v0.1 operational overlay) is L7-class — protocol-level coherence.

## Observations and patterns

- The B-lite scope ruling works cleanly when the source content has a well-defined canonical-statement-vs-operational-realization split. For §Coordination surfaces and §Artifact contract, the pre-#402 CDD.md §1.5 + §5 provided exactly that split: rules at the top of each section, mechanics in the role/runtime skills cited at the bottom. The B-lite extract was a structurally clean move.
- The `### Operational realization` sub-heading at the end of each new section is now an established pattern (Sub 3 introduced it; Sub 4 follows). The pattern is the structural escape valve that keeps CDS.md's canonical statements lean while preserving every operational mechanic by reference. Sub 5 (review CLP + gate + closure + assessment + retro) and any future v1 role rewrite will inherit this pattern.
- The `.cdd/` → `.cds/` re-rooting being documented in two places (§Cycle-state evidence and §Location matrix) feels right — once in the polling-surfaces context, once in the artifact-paths context. Both surfaces use the same wording ("planned, not performed") so a Sub-6 sweep + the eventual re-rooting cycle can grep both surfaces uniformly.
