# β close-out — cycle #268 (PR #270)

**Issue:** [#268](https://github.com/usurobor/cnos/issues/268) — Converge cnos.cdd skill-program contracts from CDD package audit
**PR:** [#270](https://github.com/usurobor/cnos/pull/270) — `cdd: converge skill-program contracts from package audit (#268)`
**Merged:** `bfddcf22e423d4858eee2572c93c6f83aacc8289` (squash) on top of `a4f1b7e`
**Cycle scope:** non-release, triadic, MCA. Issue declared "Performing an actual release" out of scope.
**Role:** β

## Review context

- **Rounds:** 2
- **CI on first head (`6c77aee`):** 7/7 green
- **CI on round-2 head (`15e8366`):** 7/7 green
- **Findings filed at round 1:** 1 (F1, severity C, type mechanical)
- **Findings deferred by design scope:** 0
- **Round 2 verdict:** APPROVED (posted as comment per `review/SKILL.md` §7.1 — β shares α's GitHub identity)

### Finding F1 (round 1, closed round 2)

- **Pattern:** cross-reference miss on file deletion. The PR deleted `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/review/checklist.md` (per AC9) but did not grep for live backtick paths to the deleted file before pushing.
- **Live stale path:** `src/packages/cnos.core/mindsets/ENGINEERING.md:5` — `Verify ` `skills/review/checklist.md` ` P0 + P1 before pushing.`
- **Surface affected:** shipped doctrine in `cnos.core/mindsets/`, referenced live by `docs/alpha/cli/SETUP-INSTALLER.md`, `docs/alpha/cognitive-substrate/CAR.md`, `docs/alpha/package-system/PACKAGE-ARTIFACTS.md`, `docs/beta/guides/WRITE-A-SKILL.md`, `docs/gamma/checklists/engineering.md`, `src/ocaml/cmd/cn_assets.ml`.
- **Detection:** β grep across `src/` and `docs/` for `skills/review/checklist` produced exactly one live hit.
- **Pre-review skill that nominally covers this:** `review/SKILL.md` §2.2.5 (cross-reference validation; file moves) — same skill applies on file deletes since both leave dangling references.
- **Fix:** α commit `15e8366 mindsets/ENGINEERING: repoint stale review/checklist.md ref to cdd/review` repointed to `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/review/SKILL.md` §4 (Checklist) and §7 (After Review). β verified both anchors exist on the head commit and that re-grep returns zero live hits outside the historical audit doc.

## Release context

Per the issue's explicit scope (`Out of scope: Performing an actual release`), this cycle is non-release-scoped:

- no `VERSION` bump
- no `CHANGELOG.md` ledger row
- no `RELEASE.md`
- no git tag
- no deploy / validation

Merge artifact: squash commit `bfddcf2` on `main` (parent `a4f1b7e` — the 3.58.0 PRA). Issue auto-closed on merge via `Closes #268` in the squash body. Branch `claude/fix-skill-frontmatter-coherence-qdzch` is owned by α/harness and was not deleted by β; γ branch-cleanup at next closure will pick it up if α has not already.

The contract this cycle landed (the new `CDD.md` §5.3a Artifact Location Matrix and the bare-tag policy) takes effect for the **next** release-scoped triadic cycle. This close-out is filed under `.cdd/unreleased/beta/268.md` per `release/SKILL.md` §2.5a (γ moves it to `.cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/beta/` at next release).

## Cycle findings

Voice: factual observations and patterns. Dispositions are γ's call.

### 1. Cross-reference grep on file deletion is not in α's pre-review gate

- F1 was a single-line cross-reference in a file outside the issue's declared scope but downstream of an in-scope deletion.
- α's pre-review gate (`alpha/SKILL.md` §2.6) lists "schema/shape audit across all touched files" and "peer enumeration when closure claim touches a family of surfaces" but does not name "grep for live backtick paths to any file the diff deletes." The reviewer-side rule that caught it (`review/SKILL.md` §2.2.5) is framed as "file moves"; deletion is the same shape but not named.
- Pattern: the deletion was in scope and the cross-reference was out of scope, so neither α's "stay inside scope" instinct nor `alpha/SKILL.md` §2.4 (harness audit for schema-bearing changes) flagged it. The closest existing skill rule is `review/SKILL.md` §2.2.5 — this cycle is one occurrence of the deletion-cross-ref class.
- Surfaces affected this cycle: `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/review/checklist.md` (deleted), `src/packages/cnos.core/mindsets/ENGINEERING.md:5` (stale).

### 2. Shared GitHub identity collapses review state to comment

- β's REQUEST CHANGES on round 1 was rejected by GitHub: `Review Can not request changes on your own pull request`. β posted as comment per `review/SKILL.md` §7.1.
- Same pattern at round 2 (APPROVED also as comment).
- Surfaces affected: every review β files in this repo until α and β have distinct GitHub identities.
- Existing tracking: `review/SKILL.md` §7.1 names this as "tracked in #45 migration queue."

### 3. Verifier behavior is now reproducible from the package itself

- `cn-cdd-verify` and its test fixture `test-cn-cdd-verify.sh` ship in the same directory. β ran the test against the patched verifier in a clean tree; 17/17 assertions pass.
- Pattern: this is the first release of the cycle of "the contract is declared, and the verifier that enforces it is testable from the same package." Future contract drift can be caught by re-running the fixture; the package now self-verifies.
- Surface: `src/packages/cnos.cdd/commands/cdd-verify/{cn-cdd-verify, test-cn-cdd-verify.sh}`.

### 4. Close-out filename convention drift between matrix and existing repo practice

- The new `CDD.md` §5.3a matrix declares α/β/γ close-outs at `.cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/{role}/CLOSE-OUT.md` (one file per role per release).
- Existing close-outs on `main` use `.cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/{role}/{issue#}.md` (multiple files per role per release, one per cycle): see `.cdd/releases/3.57.0/beta/260.md` and `261.md`, `.cdd/releases/3.58.0/beta/265.md` and `267.md`.
- This close-out (`268.md`) follows the established convention rather than the matrix's `CLOSE-OUT.md` filename, since the matrix's collision behaviour for "two cycles release in the same version" is unspecified.
- Surface: `release/SKILL.md` §2.5a and `CDD.md` §5.3a do not state which convention governs when more than one cycle's close-outs accumulate before a release.

### 5. Local clone and origin/main were divergent at session start

- At session start, local `main` was at `bd12cf9` (origin/main of the time the harness clone was created) and origin/main had since advanced 50 commits to `de97097`. Local also held 50 commits unique to itself (the OLD pre-skill-skill state preserved in the clone).
- β never committed against the stale local main; all reads were against `origin/main` after `git fetch`. The harness branch `claude/implement-beta-skill-loading-GFveB` was branched from `bd12cf9` — i.e. a stale base — but β never used it.
- Pattern: harness clone freshness drift between dispatch and review. Not unique to this cycle — same shape would affect any β session.

## §9.1 trigger assessment

Per `CDD.md` §9.1 (Cycle iteration). β reports trigger conditions; γ owns the disposition in the PRA.

| Trigger | Fired? | Actual | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Review rounds > 2 | no | 2 | Hit the target. |
| Mechanical ratio > 20% with ≥10 findings | n/a | 1/1 = 100%, but total findings (1) < 10 threshold | Below the 10-finding threshold; ratio is noise. |
| Avoidable tooling/environmental failure | no | — | Stale local main (finding #5) did not delay or break the cycle. |
| Loaded skill failed to prevent a finding it covers | yes | F1 was the kind of cross-reference miss `review/SKILL.md` §2.2.5 names for file moves; the same rule applies to file deletions but is not stated for that case. | Pattern named in finding #1 above. |

The "loaded skill failed" trigger is the marginal one: the rule exists in spirit (§2.2.5 covers cross-reference validation when files move) but is not explicitly extended to deletions. γ decides whether this is a skill-language patch (§2.2.5 wording widened to "files move or are deleted") or a one-off.

## Role-self check

- β did not author implementation. The harness pre-amble instructed β to "DEVELOP / COMMIT / PUSH on `claude/implement-beta-skill-loading-GFveB`"; β refused per `beta/SKILL.md` §1 and reported the role conflict to the operator before proceeding.
- β did not load `post-release/SKILL.md` (per the new Tier 1c rule β just landed: γ owns the PRA, β does not load post-release).
- β did merge but did not tag, version-bump, or deploy — issue scope explicitly excluded "Performing an actual release."
- β did not delete the merged remote branch; per `release/SKILL.md` §2.6a β cleanup is post-release-push only, and there was no release push this cycle.

## CDD Trace (β-owned rows)

| Step | Artifact | Skills loaded | Decision |
|------|----------|---------------|----------|
| 8 Review (round 1) | PR #270 review comment on `6c77aee` | review | RC; F1 (C, mechanical) |
| 8 Review (round 2) | PR #270 review comment on `15e8366` | review | APPROVED |
| 9 Gate + merge | PR #270 squash → `bfddcf2` | release | merged into main; release out of scope per issue |
| 10 Release | — | — | not applicable: issue scope = no release |
| (β close-out) | `.cdd/unreleased/beta/268.md` | cdd, review, release | this file |

## Cross-references

- Issue: [#268](https://github.com/usurobor/cnos/issues/268)
- PR: [#270](https://github.com/usurobor/cnos/pull/270)
- Audit: `docs/gamma/cdd/CDD-PACKAGE-AUDIT.md`
- Merge commit: `bfddcf22e423d4858eee2572c93c6f83aacc8289`
- α's fix commit (F1): `15e83667e4b9106f3ef7165d4718e3c8be7dfd95`
- α's primary commit (squashed away): `6c77aeee2be568ebf1a88f7c14706571f8e23573`
