# γ close-out — cycle #278

**Issue:** [#278](https://github.com/usurobor/cnos/issues/278) — Package the triadic writer as cnos.writer
**PR:** [#279](https://github.com/usurobor/cnos/pull/279) — `design(#278): WRITER-PACKAGE — design lock for cnos.writer`
**Branch:** `claude/cnos-issue-278-Xh37v`
**Cycle scope:** non-release, design-only (issue #278 P2; package authoring deferred per Non-Goal #1).
**Mode:** MCA — answer was in the system (four doctrine-cycle artifacts establish the writer pattern); package preserves contestability per IFA.
**Role:** γ
**γ session env:** Claude Code on the web (MCP available; `gh` not installed; `git` reachable through local proxy; `Monitor` available; unauthenticated `api.github.com` curl is rate-limited and is **not** the canonical CI-status surface — use MCP `pull_request_read` `get_check_runs` instead).

This file is γ's close-out per α's D10 (`.cdd/unreleased/{role}/{N}.md` for cdd-shape cycles). It accumulates γ's coordination + triage + cycle-iteration record for cycle #278.

---

## 1. Cycle summary

| | |
|---|---|
| Selection rule | Operator-explicit dispatch — γ was instructed to run cycle #278. Selection rules (CDD §3) not exercised by γ. |
| Selection inputs read | issue #278 body; CDD.md §γ-dispatch-prompt-format + §9.1 + §5.3a + §10.1; `alpha/SKILL.md`; `beta/SKILL.md`; the four doctrine cycle archives (CFA, EFA, JFA, IFA) at `docs/alpha/doctrine/`; `cnos.cdd` package structure; prior γ close-out at `.cdd/unreleased/gamma/268.md` as structural template. |
| Issue quality gate | PASS at dispatch — problem ≤ 5 lines; ACs numbered (AC1–AC3) and individually testable; Non-Goals explicit (4); priority recorded (P2 design-only). One latent quality gap surfaced as F1 in round 1 — `## Parallel dependency` paragraph named `LANGUAGE-SPEC.md` only by description; addressed in this cycle's MCA (see §3). |
| Dispatch | γ → α: project `cnos`, issue #278, Tier 3 skills `cnos.core/skills/skill`, `cnos.core/skills/write`. γ → β: project `cnos`, issue #278, β skill load order. Both prompts produced at dispatch time per `gamma/SKILL.md` §2.5; both carried an operating-environment note overriding the dispatch-intake polling loops and reachability preflight (paste-routed environment at dispatch). |
| Channel evolution | Three transitions in one cycle: paste-only at dispatch → PR/issue comments after the local-proxy git remote became reachable → git-only `.cdd/unreleased/{role}/{N}.md` from α-3 onward (operator directive + α's D10 codification). β-P1 records that the review/SKILL.md output format is channel-portable as written. |
| Branch | α/β/γ all worked on `claude/cnos-issue-278-Xh37v`. Single shared branch by D10 convention; no separate γ branch this cycle. |
| Work shape | Substantial design (MCA, L7-shaped if the package authoring cycle ships). One artifact (`docs/alpha/design/WRITER-PACKAGE.md`); 340 lines at α-4 lock. |
| Review rounds | 3 (target ≤2 missed). R1 RC + 4 findings (F1 D-blocker judgment, F2 B mechanical, F3 A mechanical, F4 informational). R2 APPROVED-with-required-fix + 1 finding (F5 B mechanical, authority misattribution). R3 APPROVED clean. **§9.1 trigger 1 fired.** |
| Skill miss | F1 D-blocker — `cdd/alpha/SKILL.md` §2.1 step 4 ("read every linked design / plan / invariant artifact") read literally as "linked load list," missing inline-prose constraints in the issue body. `cdd/issue/SKILL.md` §2.5 covered `## Related artifacts` linking but not parallel-dependency document linking. **§9.1 trigger 4 fired.** |
| Close-outs on branch | α at `.cdd/unreleased/alpha/278.md` (commit `f5af33e`). β at `.cdd/unreleased/beta/278.md` (commit `9b21b4c`). γ at `.cdd/unreleased/gamma/278.md` (this commit). All three under `.cdd/unreleased/` indefinitely — non-release cycle, no version directory promotion. |
| γ owns this cycle | dispatch-prompt drafting, channel-change routing observation, structural-risk verification (recursive / cold-author / soft-inheritance per the brief), close-out triage, §9.1 cycle iteration, immediate skill patches per §10.1, deferred-output filing (#280), this close-out. No PRA written (non-release cycle; γ-discretionary per β's note; assessment substance lives in this file's §§ 3–4). |

## 2. Close-out triage (CAP)

Every finding from α, β, and γ-side observations gets one disposition. Silence is not triage.

| # | Finding | Source | Type | Disposition | Artifact / commit |
|---|---------|--------|------|-------------|-------------------|
| T1 | β-P3 / α-P1 — `## Parallel dependency` paragraph as inline-prose constraint sits at a different discoverability class than enumerated `## Related artifacts` link constraints. α-1 read the issue's `## Related artifacts` block as the load list and missed `LANGUAGE-SPEC.md` named in inline prose; β round-1 D-blocker F1 was the consequence. Loaded skills (`alpha/SKILL.md` §2.1, `issue/SKILL.md` §2.5) covered the principle but their phrasing biased α-1's enumeration to linked entries only. | α + β | skill | **Immediate MCA — landed in this commit.** Patched `alpha/SKILL.md` §2.1 step 4 from "read every linked design / plan / invariant artifact" to enumerate inline-prose-named artifacts as well, with explicit verify-access-or-search-repo discipline. Added `issue/SKILL.md` §2.5.3 requiring parallel-dependency / constraint-spec references be linked with a path, not just described. Both patches carry the `*Derives from: #278 F1*` provenance line per the existing alpha-skill convention. | this commit, `alpha/SKILL.md` §2.1, `issue/SKILL.md` §2.5.3 |
| T2 | α-P2 — α-1 defaulted to CDD's PR-mediated review surface (`alpha/SKILL.md` §2.7) without contesting whether it was the right inheritance for this material. The doctrine cycles' established practice (LB11 of the design) was git-only; operator directive + α-3 D10/LB11 surfaced the divergence as a writer-package design property. Whether cdd-shape cycles formally adopt git-only as default is a CDD-process question this design does not close. | α + β | spec / process | **Project MCI — filed as #280.** Substantial CDD-process question requiring its own design cycle (touches `CDD.md` and three role skills). Three explicit ACs with both decision branches drafted in the issue body. Not a release blocker; not a #278 scope item. | [#280](https://github.com/usurobor/cnos/issues/280) |
| T3 | α-P3 — α-3's D10 wording cited `CDD.md §5.3a` as authorizing both `CLOSE-OUT.md` and the legacy `{N}.md` release form. β round-2 F5 identified that §5.3a only specifies `CLOSE-OUT.md`; the `{N}.md` form is real practice through 3.58.0 but its authority surface is precedent, not §5.3a. α-4 closed by separating the two attributions in the prose. | α | writer discipline | **Drop as labeled-pattern candidate; record as cycle property.** The general principle is covered by `cnos.core/skills/write/SKILL.md` §3.13 ("Keep authority explicit"); a labeled "dual-attribution" pattern is a refinement, not a cycle-blocking miss. N=1 occurrence; the design lock includes the corrected wording. If a second occurrence surfaces in a later cycle, file as project MCI then. | n/a |
| T4 | β-P2 — β's transition-only `Monitor` poll on `api.github.com` returned 403s silently (unauthenticated egress IP rate limit) and absorbed PR #279's open event. Adds a third instance to the §Tracking failure-mode pattern (after #274's two cases). | β | env / skill-application | **Drop as §Tracking authoring gap; record as cycle property + skill-application miss.** The canonical CI-status / PR-state surface in this environment is `mcp__github__*` (authenticated) and `git fetch` (local proxy reachable), not unauthenticated `api.github.com` curl. β reached for the wrong polling channel; the skill text already implies "use MCP/git" via the §Tracking query×environment table patched in cycle #268 (T2). The right correction is skill-application discipline at intake, not a §Tracking authoring patch. γ verified this by example: the post-cycle CI-status check used `mcp__github__pull_request_read get_check_runs` and returned 7/7 success cleanly. | covered by §Tracking from cycle #268; n/a |
| T5 | β-P1 — paste → PR-channel → git-channel transition mid-cycle was absorbed without artifact contradiction. `review/SKILL.md` output format is channel-portable as written. | β | positive observation | **Drop as finding; record as cycle property.** Confirms that the verdict-shape part of the review skill is decoupled from the channel-specific guidance in §7.1, which held under three channel changes in one cycle. | n/a |
| T6 | γ-side independent verification of the three structural risks the dispatch brief named: recursive risk (don't let the cycle's own behavior become evidence for the design's claims), cold-author drift (α claims unavailability when reachable), soft-inheritance (partial answers like "package now, sort of"). | γ | structural | **Drop as findings; record as cycle property.** Recursive risk: clean — D10/LB11 cite four prior cycles + LANGUAGE-SPEC, not #278's behavior; α-3's `.cdd/unreleased/alpha/278.md` enacts D10, it is not evidence for D10. Cold-author drift: instantiated as F1 (α-1 missed `LANGUAGE-SPEC.md` named in inline prose, the very class LB7 names) and **repaired through normal review** — failure mode hit, β did its job, α-2 closed. The risk surfaced and was caught, which is the design discipline working as named. Soft-inheritance: clean — each AC1 question (§5.1–§5.4) has a committed chosen path with structural reason; β verified 12 components present at every round; no hedged "package now, sort of" or "write skill mostly stays" language. | n/a |
| T7 | Role separation across three review rounds. | γ | structural | **Drop as finding; record as cycle property.** α produced; β judged. β suggested fix-shape for F5 ("drop the parenthetical alternative and keep only `CLOSE-OUT.md`, or keep the parenthetical with a different attribution") — this is review-as-judgment with shape guidance, not prose proposal. α-4 picked one of β's two options and wrote the wording in α's voice. No prose-proposal drift; no argue-back drift. The dyad held under a substantive design addition (D10/LB11 in α-3) that was triggered by operator directive rather than a β finding — γ-shape work entered the cycle through operator + α coordination, not through γ-as-rewriter. | n/a |

## 3. CDD §9.1 cycle iteration

### Triggers fired

- [x] **review rounds > 2 (actual: 3).** R1 RC + 4 findings; R2 APPROVED-with-required-fix + 1 finding; R3 APPROVED clean. β explicitly framed R3 as "re-narrowing"; §9.1 does not distinguish narrowing rounds from full review rounds, so the trigger fires by literal count.
- [ ] mechanical ratio > 20% with ≥10 findings — actual: 4/5 = 80%, but N=5 ≪ 10-finding floor. Below the floor; ratio is noise.
- [ ] avoidable tooling/environmental failure — none. The channel changes (paste → PR → git) were absorbed without artifact contradiction; β-P2 (silent rate-limit) was a skill-application miss handled within the cycle, not a tooling delay.
- [x] **loaded skill failed to prevent a finding.** F1 (D, judgment): `cdd/alpha/SKILL.md` §2.1 step 4 phrased its source-load enumeration as "linked" artifacts, biasing α-1's intake away from inline-prose constraints; `cdd/issue/SKILL.md` §2.5 covered linked-design and linked-issue references but not parallel-dependency / constraint-spec references. The miss surfaced as F1 (D-blocker) in round 1; both skills are patched as immediate output (T1) per §10.1.

### Friction log

The cycle's friction was concentrated in two places:

1. **α-1 intake.** α-1 read `## Related artifacts` as the load list and missed the `## Parallel dependency` paragraph naming `LANGUAGE-SPEC.md` only by description. F1 D-blocker in round 1; α-2 closed it with a new §"Parallel Dependency: CTB Language Spec Reconciliation" section. The very failure mode the design's LB7 names (cold-author evidence refusal) was instantiated by α-1's own intake — repaired through normal review, but the failure mode landed.
2. **α-3 D10 authority misattribution.** α-3 cited `CDD.md §5.3a` as authorizing both `CLOSE-OUT.md` and the legacy `{N}.md` release form. β round-2 F5 (B-finding) identified that §5.3a authorizes only the former. α-4 closed in one surgical commit by separating the two attributions.

The channel-evolution friction (paste → PR → git) ran cleanly in the sense that no artifact contradiction emerged; β's verdict surfaces accumulated correspondingly with no rewriting. But α-1's default to PR-mediated review (α-P2) was an instance of soft inheritance that the operator surfaced explicitly and that the design then promoted to D10/LB11. The cycle did succeed in eating its own cooking on this point: α-3 enacted git-only by creating `.cdd/unreleased/alpha/278.md`, and the rest of the cycle ran on that channel.

### Root cause

- **F1 / α-P1 / β-P3:** **skill gap.** Alpha-intake source-load enumeration treats `## Related artifacts` as the load list and does not enumerate inline-prose constraint paragraphs as a discoverability class. Issue/SKILL.md §2.5 covers linking design and related issues but not parallel-dependency references. Both are patched as immediate output.
- **F5 / α-P3:** **writer-discipline N=1.** Authority misattribution caught in review and repaired in one commit; the general principle "keep authority explicit" is covered by `write/SKILL.md` §3.13 already. Not promoted to a labeled pattern this cycle.
- **α-P2 / D10 cross-cycle:** **CDD-process question.** Whether cdd-shape cycles default to git-only mid-cycle communication is open and substantive; filed as #280.

### Skill impact

| Skill | What should have caught it | Patched? |
|---|---|---|
| `cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/alpha/SKILL.md` §2.1 step 4 | "read every linked design / plan / invariant artifact" — read literally as "linked load list" only; α-1 missed inline-prose constraints | **yes** — patched in this commit (T1). New text enumerates inline-prose references explicitly with verify-access discipline; carries `*Derives from: #278 F1*` provenance. |
| `cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/issue/SKILL.md` §2.5 | covered linking design / plan / related issues; did not require parallel-dependency / constraint-spec references be linked with a path | **yes** — patched in this commit (T1). New §2.5.3 requires explicit linking; carries `*Derives from: #278 F1*` provenance. |
| `cnos.core/skills/write/SKILL.md` §3.13 | "Keep authority explicit" covered the general principle for α-P3; no labeled "dual-attribution" pattern | **no** — N=1 this cycle; observed only. Promote to labeled pattern if recurrence surfaces. |
| `cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/CDD.md` §Tracking | covers query×environment table for polling (patched in cycle #268 T2); does not explicitly demote unauthenticated public-API curl as an option in environments where MCP is reachable | **no** — β-P2 is a skill-application miss against existing guidance, not an authoring gap. The right correction is "in MCP-reachable environments, MCP is the canonical channel" — already implicit. |

### MCA

System changes shipped this cycle (mechanisms, not promises):

- **MCA-1: `alpha/SKILL.md` §2.1 step 4 patched.** Enumeration discipline now explicitly covers inline-prose-named artifacts with verify-access-or-search-repo discipline. Future α intakes loading the patched skill inherit the rule. The F1 failure class is closed at the role-skill level, not just for #278.
- **MCA-2: `issue/SKILL.md` §2.5.3 added.** Issue authoring discipline now explicitly requires parallel-dependency / constraint-spec references be linked with a path, not just described. Future issue authors loading the patched skill inherit the rule. The discoverability gap that produced F1 is closed at the issue-quality level too — both surfaces of the failure mode are now hardened.
- **MCA-3 (substantive design):** `docs/alpha/design/WRITER-PACKAGE.md` itself locked. Once the package authoring cycle ships (separate cycle per #278 Non-Goal #1), future writer-shaped cycles inherit α/β/γ role separation, cycle-log + critiques + external-observations artifact shapes, and LB1–LB11 inherited failure modes as cited constraints rather than reconstruction-each-time evidence. The recursive risk the brief named was avoided cleanly: D10/LB11 derive from prior-cycle artifacts and LANGUAGE-SPEC, not from cycle #278's own enactment of them.

"Won't repeat" without a mechanism is not an MCA; the three above are the mechanisms.

### Cycle level

**L6** — design produced; L7 leverage ships only when the package authoring cycle lands.

- **L5 (local correctness):** **not met at cycle level.** F1 (D-blocker, judgment-bearing source-load gap) reached review. α-1 produced a draft that did not engage `LANGUAGE-SPEC.md`; β caught it in round 1. The design at α-4 head is locally correct (citations resolve, frontmatter shape consistent with LANGUAGE-SPEC §2 prescriptive surface), but the cycle execution missed L5 once.
- **L6 (system-safe execution):** met on the merged head. Cross-surface coherence across the design, the four cycle-archive evidence base, LANGUAGE-SPEC, and `cnos.cdd` peer reference all align. D10/LB11 add the communication-surface aspect cleanly without breaking existing cdd-shape conventions (β-P1 confirmed: review/SKILL.md output format channel-portable across three channel changes).
- **L7 (system-shaping leverage):** earned at the design level by D10 + LB11 + the package outline itself. The shipped diff (the design lock) is L7-shaped — it eliminates the "future writer-shaped cycle reconstructs the role pattern from cycle archives" friction class for any cycle that loads the eventual `cnos.writer/skills/writer/`. **But the cycle execution missed L5 once (F1)**, so the cycle caps at L6 per §9.1's lowest-miss rule. Diff-level L7 leverage is real and lands now; cycle-level L7 cap is reserved for a cycle that ships L7-shaped work *without* L5 misses. The two MCA skill patches landed this cycle (MCA-1, MCA-2) are themselves small L7-shaped mechanisms that close the F1 failure class at the role-skill level.

Cycle-level recorded as **L6** for the cycle ledger.

## 4. Independent γ process-gap check (CDD step 12)

This step applies even when no §9.1 trigger fires; here it doubles down on the loaded-skill-miss already named (T1) and adds γ-side observations the role-specific surfaces could not have produced from inside their own boundaries.

### 4.1. Recurring friction

- **Inline-prose-as-load-list discoverability.** This is N=1 in cnos to date (cycle #278 F1), but the failure mode (`cold-author evidence refusal`) is one of two cross-cycle inherited failure modes IFA names, and is therefore a recurring class as far as IFA's evidence base is concerned. The MCA-1/MCA-2 patches close the class at both the role-skill (alpha intake) and the artifact-quality (issue authoring) surfaces. If a third surface emerges in a later cycle (e.g. β review surfaces missing inline-prose constraints in α's draft), that would be the trigger to add a labeled β check; one cycle's evidence is too narrow to design that third surface now.
- **Soft inheritance of CDD's PR-mediated default into a writer-shaped material.** α-P2 / D10 cross-cycle. The doctrine cycles practiced git-only triad communication (LB11) but α-1 inherited CDD's PR-mediated default silently. The package now carries D10 as a divergence; the open question (whether CDD itself should adopt git-only) is filed as #280. **One observation, three role surfaces:** α surfaced it as a self-finding (α-P2), β surfaced it as a cross-cycle implication for γ triage, γ surfaces it here as a deferred decision. Three independent surfaces converging on the same observation is N=3 evidence at the artifact level, even though cycle-count is N=1.

### 4.2. Underspecified gates

- **γ-side dispatch operating-environment note.** This cycle's dispatch prompts carried a custom operating-environment note (no shell, no gh, no remote) overriding the dispatch-intake polling loops and reachability preflight. That worked at dispatch but the channel changed twice mid-cycle. `gamma/SKILL.md` §2.5 (dispatch) does not currently include "name the channel-change protocol α and β should follow if the operator changes channel mid-cycle." This cycle handled it cleanly because operator surfaced D10 before α and β diverged on routing; future cycles may not be that lucky. **Decision:** observe one more cycle before patching — N=1 is too narrow to design the right channel-change protocol; this cycle's evidence is captured here for the next cycle to inspect.
- **β-side polling-channel choice.** β-P2 observation suggests `CDD.md §Tracking` could be tightened to say "in any environment where MCP/git is reachable, prefer those channels over unauthenticated public-API curl, even when curl is technically available." But this is a refinement on already-patched §Tracking text (cycle #268 T2), not a new authoring gap. Not promoted to MCA this cycle.

### 4.3. Skill that should have caught something but didn't

Already enumerated in §3 (T1: alpha/SKILL.md §2.1 step 4 + issue/SKILL.md §2.5). No additional skill miss surfaced beyond those.

### 4.4. Coordination burden suggesting a mechanical path

The doctrine cycles' practice (committed cycle-log + critiques + external-observations files in essay folders) and cdd's practice (`.cdd/unreleased/{role}/{N}.md` files mid-cycle, `CLOSE-OUT.md` at release per §5.3a) both already mechanize the artifact surface. The package this cycle designs adds one more layer (`cnos.writer/skills/writer/{cycle-log,critiques,external-observations}/SKILL.md` lifecycle sub-skills) and notes a future `writer-verify` command as a deferred mechanical surface (design §"Process Cost" / §"Known Debt"). **No additional mechanization opportunity surfaces this cycle that is not already named in the design's automation-boundary section.**

### 4.5. Process-gap disposition

- Patches landed: T1 → MCA-1 (alpha/SKILL.md §2.1) + MCA-2 (issue/SKILL.md §2.5.3).
- Project MCI filed: #280 (T2 / D10 cross-cycle).
- Sharpening candidate deferred: γ dispatch channel-change protocol (4.2 first bullet); observation-bound, N=1 too narrow.
- Skill-application discipline noted: β-P2 polling-channel choice; already covered by §Tracking.

No closure-blocking process gap.

## 5. Deferred outputs

| # | Output | Issue / location | Owner | First AC | Notes |
|---|--------|------------------|-------|----------|-------|
| D1 | Author the `cnos.writer` package per the locked design | issue not yet filed; the design itself (`docs/alpha/design/WRITER-PACKAGE.md`) is the spec. Per #278 Non-Goal #1, package authoring is deferred to a subsequent cycle. | next α (assignment pending operator selection) | AC1: `src/packages/cnos.writer/cn.package.json` exists; `skills/writer/SKILL.md` declares full LANGUAGE-SPEC §2 signature surface; load order matches design §"Proposal" | P2 / direct follow-on. Filing the authoring issue is operator's call (γ does not file it autonomously this cycle to keep dispatch decision with operator). The design at HEAD `5582031` carries every authoring constraint. |
| D2 | Decide whether cdd-shape triad-internal communication formally adopts git-only as default | [#280](https://github.com/usurobor/cnos/issues/280) | next γ (decision) → next α (implementation if "yes") | AC1 in #280: a decision is recorded in `CDD.md` on whether cdd-shape cycles default to git-only mid-cycle communication | P2 / CDD-process. Filed this cycle as the project MCI for T2. Touches `CDD.md` and three role skills if "yes" decision. |
| D3 | γ dispatch channel-change protocol — pre-flight on what α and β do if operator changes channel mid-cycle | not filed (observation-bound) | γ (next cycle observation) | TBD pending second occurrence | Sharpening candidate from §4.2 first bullet; N=1 too narrow this cycle. The cleanest signal would be a second cycle exhibiting either a smooth channel change or a contradiction; either is informative. |
| D4 | Promote `cnos.core/skills/inherit/` (or equivalent) standalone skill encoding inheritance discipline (`soft inheritance`, `cold-author evidence refusal`) | not filed (per WRITER-PACKAGE.md §5.3 reasoning) | TBD | TBD pending first non-writer cycle exhibiting either failure mode | Design §5.3 explicitly defers per IFA's partial-inheritance rule: promotion when a non-writer cycle demonstrates the same failure modes. This cycle exhibited cold-author evidence refusal at α-1 intake (F1) — but #278 is a writer-shape cycle (its own design), so it does not satisfy the "non-writer" trigger. The design's deferral discipline holds. |
| D5 | `writer-verify` command for the `cnos.writer` package (mechanical artifact-presence checks) | not filed | next α of writer-package authoring cycle (or later) | TBD | Design §"Process Cost" + §"Known Debt" defer this. Optional; the writer's correctness is judgment-bearing per design §"Automation Boundary". |
| D6 | Move `.cdd/unreleased/{alpha,beta,gamma}/278.md` close-outs to a release-form path | not applicable | n/a | n/a | #278 is **non-release**. Per α's close-out: there is no version directory for non-release cycles to be promoted into; the close-outs stay under `.cdd/unreleased/` indefinitely. **Operator decision if PR #279 is squash-merged:** the squash will destroy `.cdd/unreleased/{role}/278.md` files from the merged tree. To preserve them per §1.4 step 11's "commit close-outs to main directly" intent, commit all three files directly to main before squash. δ owns this routing. |

## 6. Hub memory evidence

cnos does not maintain an external hub-memory repository (per 3.57.0 PRA + 3.60.0 PRA convention: "No external hub-memory repository exists for this project"). The in-repo close-out files serve as the daily-reflection / adhoc-thread analogs:

- **Daily reflection analog:** this file (`.cdd/unreleased/gamma/278.md`) — committed in this commit. Captures cycle scoring (L6), MCI freeze status (continues — non-release cycle does not change the freeze state), what's next (#280 plus operator-discretionary writer-package authoring).
- **Adhoc thread updates:** this cycle advances three threads:
  1. **The writer agent's package home.** The four-essay doctrine sequence (CFA → EFA → JFA → IFA) plus this cycle's design lock turns "the triadic writer pattern" from cycle-archive evidence into a packaged-but-not-yet-authored target. The thread advances from "evidence exists" to "target named, design locked, authoring deferred." Future cycles starting from `cnos.writer` (once authored) inherit role separation, lifecycle artifacts, and LB1–LB11 inherited failure modes as cited constraints.
  2. **CDD-shape cycle communication-surface coherence.** D10 of the writer design names `.cdd/unreleased/{role}/{N}.md` as cdd's already-practiced canonical surface, but cdd's role skills still default to PR-mediated review. This cycle made the divergence visible (α-P2 surfaced it as soft inheritance; β cross-cycle implications named it as an open question; #280 files the decision). Whether cdd adopts git-only is the thread's next milestone.
  3. **Inheritance-discipline encoding scope.** IFA established `soft inheritance` and `cold-author evidence refusal` as cross-cycle inherited failure modes. This cycle's design §5.3 explicitly defers promoting them into a standalone `cnos.core/skills/inherit/` until a non-writer cycle exhibits them — preserving IFA's partial-inheritance rule. The thread sits in observation state pending that trigger.
- **MCI freeze status:** unchanged. Non-release cycles do not change the freeze state per CDD §3.5; the lag table will be re-evaluated at the next release-scoped cycle's PRA.
- **Next move (committed concretely):** see §7.

## 7. Next move

**Operator-discretionary candidates** (γ does not select on operator's behalf for non-release cycles):

1. **D1 — author `cnos.writer` per the locked design.** Direct follow-on; design at `docs/alpha/design/WRITER-PACKAGE.md` is the spec. New issue, new α dispatch. Owner: next α. First AC: package directory exists with full LANGUAGE-SPEC §2 frontmatter on `skills/writer/SKILL.md`.
2. **D2 — resolve #280** (cdd-shape git-only default). CDD-process question; touches `CDD.md` and three role skills. Owner: next γ to decide, then next α to implement if "yes."
3. **Other unreleased issues not visible to this γ session.** Operator may direct γ toward higher-priority work surfaced from the lag table at next release-scoped cycle's PRA, or from issues filed since this session began.

**Closure evidence (CDD §10):**

- **Immediate outputs executed:**
  - ✅ MCA-1: `cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/alpha/SKILL.md` §2.1 step 4 patched (this commit).
  - ✅ MCA-2: `cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/issue/SKILL.md` §2.5.3 added (this commit).
  - ✅ T2 deferred output filed: [#280](https://github.com/usurobor/cnos/issues/280).
  - ✅ This γ close-out committed (this commit).
- **Deferred outputs committed:** see §5 above (D1 operator-discretionary; D2 #280; D3 observation-bound; D4 IFA-trigger-bound; D5 optional; D6 δ-routing-bound on potential merge).
- **Hub memory:** this in-repo close-out serves as the daily-reflection analog. No external hub repo exists.
- **Branch cleanup:** n/a this cycle. Branch `claude/cnos-issue-278-Xh37v` remains live until δ decides on #279's disposition (merge, delete, leave open). γ does not delete or push-force this branch.

## 8. γ-side mechanical executions

This commit:

- `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/alpha/SKILL.md` §2.1 step 4 — **MCA-1 patch.** Inline-prose-named-artifact enumeration with verify-access-or-search-repo discipline; provenance line `*Derives from: #278 F1*`.
- `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/issue/SKILL.md` §2.5 — **MCA-2 patch.** Added §2.5.3 requiring parallel-dependency / constraint-spec references be linked with a path; provenance line `*Derives from: #278 F1*`.
- `.cdd/unreleased/gamma/278.md` — **this γ close-out.**

External actions:

- [#280](https://github.com/usurobor/cnos/issues/280) filed via `mcp__github__issue_write` (project MCI for D10 cross-cycle question; T2).

Verifications performed:

- **CI on PR #279 head `f5af33e`:** 7/7 success via `mcp__github__pull_request_read get_check_runs` (kata-tier1, kata-tier2, go, "Package/source drift (I1)", "Protocol contract schema sync (I2)", notify ×2). β round-3's provisional approval is now unprovisional.
- **Branch state:** `claude/cnos-issue-278-Xh37v` rebased onto current `origin/main` (verified by α-2 via §2.6 transient-row protocol; γ reading the same head).
- **Role separation:** held across three rounds (T7).
- **Three brief-named structural risks:** verified clean / repaired-through-review / clean (T6).
- **Source/packaged-copy sync:** `find` confirmed only one copy of each patched skill in `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/`; rule 3.10 satisfied trivially.
- **Cycle iteration §9.1:** triggers 1 and 4 fired; this file's §3 is the required iteration record. Per §9.1's gate ("If the trigger fires and the cycle iteration section is absent, the cycle cannot close"), this file's presence is the closure gate.

γ identity for this commit: `gamma@cdd.cnos`.

---

**γ closure declaration.** Cycle #278 is closed. Design at `docs/alpha/design/WRITER-PACKAGE.md` is locked at α-4 head `5582031`; β round-3 approved clean; CI 7/7 green on `f5af33e`; α and β close-outs at `.cdd/unreleased/{alpha,beta}/278.md`; this γ close-out at `.cdd/unreleased/gamma/278.md`; MCA-1 and MCA-2 skill patches landed; project MCI #280 filed for the cdd-shape git-only-default decision.

α stops at `f5af33e`. β stops at `9b21b4c`. γ stops at this commit. δ owns any disposition of PR #279 from here.
