# α — Cycle #278 (PR #279)

**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 Non-Goal #1: package authoring deferred until design lock).
**Mode:** MCA — answer is in the system (four doctrine cycle artifacts establish the writer pattern); package is the lighter closure that preserves contestability per IFA.
**Active skills:** `cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/design`, `cnos.core/skills/skill`, `cnos.core/skills/write` (Tier 3 per dispatch).
**Role:** α

This file is α's per-cycle sync surface per the design's D10 (git-only triad communication, `.cdd/unreleased/{role}/{N}.md` for CDD-shape cycles). It accumulates round-by-round review history and becomes α's close-out at cycle end.

---

## Cycle history

### α-1 — initial draft

**Commit:** `766680b4bd553dee28b15b6ea41f769d11a37360`
**Artifact:** `docs/alpha/design/WRITER-PACKAGE.md` (313 lines)
**Source load:** read CFA / EFA / JFA / IFA cycle logs and critiques; doctrine README; cnos.cdd structure (`cn.package.json`, loader SKILL.md, CDD.md, role/lifecycle directories); `cnos.core/skills/skill/SKILL.md`; `cnos.core/skills/write/SKILL.md`; design lifecycle skill. **Did not** read `docs/alpha/ctb/LANGUAGE-SPEC.md` despite the issue's `## Parallel dependency` paragraph requiring reconciliation. This was the round-1 miss.

**AC mapping at α-1:**
- AC1 — §5.1–§5.4 with chosen path / alternative considered / structural reasoning ×4 = 12 components.
- AC2 — §6 D1–D9 with reasoning + explicit "No divergence" subsection.
- AC3 — §7 LB1–LB10 with citations spanning all four cycles.

### β round-1 — REQUEST CHANGES

**Posted:** issue #278 comment [4329482133](https://github.com/usurobor/cnos/issues/278#issuecomment-4329482133) (operator routed via GitHub before D10 was established).
**CI on `766680b`:** 7/7 check runs success per β report.

| # | Severity | Type | Finding |
|---|----------|------|---------|
| F1 | D | judgment | Parallel-dependency reconciliation with `docs/alpha/ctb/LANGUAGE-SPEC.md` is missing. The proposed `SKILL.md` frontmatter (line 199) is intermediate between LANGUAGE-SPEC §2 prescriptive and the older minimal shape — exactly the silent divergence the issue's reconcile-or-name rule prevents. |
| F2 | B | mechanical | CDD Trace row 7a stale: claimed "CI/branch-rebased rows do not apply" but by PR-open time the env had a remote, CI ran 7/7 green, and the branch is rebased on current main. |
| F3 | A | mechanical | Heading capitalization: `## Divergences from cnos.cdd Structure` (capital S) vs issue body `Divergences from cnos.cdd structure` (lowercase). |
| F4 | — | informational | LB7 / §5.1 §-notation imprecise: cited as `§"Cold-Author Drift"` but the actual artifact has it as a labeled bullet under §"IFA-Specific Risks Evaluated". |

### α-2 — round-1 fixes

**Commit:** `b4bcafa1300a239fc4ac4d445df2597cfb0e6652`
**Artifact:** `docs/alpha/design/WRITER-PACKAGE.md` (325 lines, +12 over α-1).

| Finding | Disposition | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| F1 | **Closed.** Added new section §"Parallel Dependency: CTB Language Spec Reconciliation" (between §"Constraints" and §"Challenged Assumption") naming `docs/alpha/ctb/LANGUAGE-SPEC.md` v0.1 (draft-normative, 2026-04-26) by path/version/date. Position: **alignment with §2 prescriptive signature surface, no divergence asserted.** Structural reason: writer claims peer status with `cnos.cdd` (which is fully realized per LANGUAGE-SPEC §12.1–§12.2), so writer SKILL.md frontmatter targets the same fully-realized surface, not the older minimal shape. Updated §"Proposal" SKILL.md and α/SKILL.md bullets to declare the full §2 signature surface explicitly (`name`, `description`, `artifact_class`, `kata_surface`, `governing_question`, `triggers`, `scope`, `visibility`, `inputs`, `outputs`, `requires`, `calls` / `calls_dynamic`). | §"Parallel Dependency: CTB Language Spec Reconciliation" + §"Proposal" SKILL.md / α/SKILL.md bullets |
| F2 | **Closed.** Row 7a rewritten with observed state at observation time: branch rebased onto current `origin/main` (HEAD `42084b8`); α-1 HEAD `766680b` (CI 7/7 success per β); α-2 HEAD = PR head SHA at re-request; CI re-validated on α-2 HEAD before re-request per alpha skill §2.6 transient-rows. Form is truthful through every commit on this branch without SHA-chasing amendments. | §"CDD Trace" row 7a |
| F3 | **Closed.** `## Divergences from cnos.cdd Structure` → `## Divergences from cnos.cdd structure`. | §6 heading line 111 |
| F4 | **Closed.** Both Cold-Author Drift citations (§5.1 + LB7) tightened from `§"Cold-Author Drift"` to `§"IFA-Specific Risks Evaluated" → "Cold-Author Drift: Caught and repaired" bullet`. | §5.1 + LB7 citation lines |

**Re-audit (alpha skill §3.4 + §2.6 row 9):**
- AC1 still 12 components — `grep -cE "^\*\*(Chosen path|Alternative considered|Structural reasoning):\*\*"` → 12.
- AC2 heading lowercase-matches issue body verbatim.
- AC3 LB1–LB10 citations unchanged except F4 §-notation tightening; all four cycles still cited.

**β reply:** posted as issue #278 comment [4329521488](https://github.com/usurobor/cnos/issues/278#issuecomment-4329521488). This was α's last GitHub-channel reply; subsequent communication is git-only per α-3.

### α-3 — D10 + LB11 + cycle-log enactment (this commit)

**Trigger:** operator instruction to use git-only triad communication as a design property, with per-cycle subdir / per-role file as the sync convention.

**Disposition:**
- Added **D10** to §"Divergences from cnos.cdd structure": triad-internal communication is git-only by design, with concrete forms for CDD-shape cycles (`.cdd/unreleased/{role}/{N}.md` mid-cycle → `.cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/{role}/...` at release per CDD.md §5.3a) and writer-shape cycles (doctrine-folder convention: `<essay>-cycle-log.md`, `<essay>-critiques.md`, etc.). Reasoning grounded in (a) inheritance (LB9), (b) soft-inheritance prevention (LB6), (c) inspectability (LANGUAGE-SPEC §9.4), (d) effect-boundary cleanliness (LANGUAGE-SPEC §9.2).
- Added **LB11** to §"Load-Bearing Constraints": doctrine cycles practiced git-committed files, not platform comments — the practice is inherited, not invented. Citations to `docs/alpha/doctrine/README.md` §"Cycle artifacts" + every existing cycle-log / critiques / external-observations file.
- Added **§"Communication surface" cross-cutting principle** to §"Proposal" naming this as a package-level aspect (LANGUAGE-SPEC §7).
- Updated §"Acceptance Criteria" AC2 / AC3 references from D1–D9 / LB1–LB10 to D1–D10 / LB1–LB11.
- **Created this file** at `.cdd/unreleased/alpha/278.md`, demonstrating the principle by eating its own cooking (this cycle's α-side communication is now git-only, accumulating in this file).

**Forward gate:** α stops posting to issue/PR comments for the rest of this cycle. β reads next-round disposition through git diff. β's verdict for round 2 is expected at `.cdd/unreleased/beta/278.md`.

**Re-audit:** AC1 still 12 components (D10/LB11 additions don't touch §5.1–§5.4); AC2 heading lowercase, D1–D10 enumerated, "No divergence" subsection present; AC3 LB1–LB11 with citations spanning four cycles (LB11 cites doctrine README + every per-cycle artifact file in the four-cycle archive).

---

## Findings (α-side observations, voice: factual)

### Pattern P1 — α-1 missed the issue body's `## Parallel dependency` paragraph

α-1 read the issue body but did not surface the parallel-dependency paragraph as a load-bearing constraint on source-load discovery. The α algorithm in `CDD.md` §1.4 step 5 says "read the issue fully" but does not name an explicit substep for "enumerate every external reference the issue body cites and verify access to each before drafting." The issue's `## Related artifacts` block listed the five doctrine artifacts I read; the `## Parallel dependency` paragraph named LANGUAGE-SPEC.md indirectly (without a path) — it required additional grep / inspection to find the file. β caught it; α-1 did not.

**Surfaces affected:** alpha skill §2.1 (dispatch intake) names "read every linked design / plan / invariant artifact" but a parallel-dependency paragraph that names the artifact only by description (not by path) sits at the boundary of "linked." This is one occurrence of the class.

**Pattern matches:** IFA's named failure mode `cold-author evidence refusal` (LB7 of this design) — α treated the parallel reference as low-priority because the issue body did not explicitly link it, then drafted without the evidence. The very failure mode the design's LB7 names was instantiated by α's intake. The doctrine inherited the constraint; α-1's intake did not surface it. Round 1 was the test; α-1 failed.

### Pattern P2 — α-1 used GitHub PR/issue surfaces as the natural communication channel by default

α-1 created PR #279 and posted disposition comments because that's what `alpha/SKILL.md` §2.7 names as the default flow ("create the PR" + "reply to β's review comments on the PR"). The doctrine cycles use git-only communication as their established practice (LB11 of this design), but this fact was not surfaced as a divergence in α-1's draft until the operator named it as the design point of the package. The α skill currently encodes CDD's PR-mediated review surface; the writer package needs a different default.

**Pattern matches:** soft inheritance (LB6 of this design) — α-1 treated CDD's PR-mediated convention as the universal default and silently inherited it without contesting whether it was the right inheritance for the writer's material. Operator's explicit naming of D10 was the third surface that made the silent inheritance visible.

---

## Cycle iteration (CDD §9.1) — preliminary

**Triggers fired:** "loaded skill failed to prevent a finding" — F1 was the kind of issue-body-engagement miss the design skill's pre-submission checklist (`design/SKILL.md` §3.3) does not enumerate as a required intake step. The α skill's §2.1 dispatch intake also did not catch it.

**Root cause:** alpha intake currently underspecifies the engagement-with-issue-body discipline. The issue's `## Related artifacts` is treated as "the load list," but a `## Parallel dependency` paragraph that names a constraint without a path sits outside the load list and needs explicit attention.

**Skill impact:** `alpha/SKILL.md` §2.1 (dispatch intake) and `cdd/issue/SKILL.md` (issue quality) both touch this class. Voice-only observation; γ owns triage.

**MCA candidate:** strengthen alpha §2.1 with an enumerate-and-grep substep for any "parallel dependency" / "related artifacts" / "depends on" paragraph that names a file without linking it. Also clarify writer-package authoring conventions to default-to git-only triad communication once the writer package exists.

---

## Status at α-3

- Design at `docs/alpha/design/WRITER-PACKAGE.md`: 325 → 340 lines after α-3 D10/LB11 additions.
- ACs: AC1 12 components (still), AC2 D1–D10 + No-divergence (new D10), AC3 LB1–LB11 (new LB11).
- CI on α-3 HEAD `000a051`: 7/7 success (verified post-push).
- Communication surface: git-only from this point. β round-2 verdict expected at `.cdd/unreleased/beta/278.md`.

### β round-2 — APPROVED with one B-level fix (F5)

**Verdict file:** `.cdd/unreleased/beta/278.md` (commit `a71a0f9`, β's first git-channel verdict — D10 in effect).
**Heads reviewed:** `b4bcafa` (α-2) and `000a051` (α-3).
**CI on `000a051`:** 7/7 success per β verification.

| # | Severity | Type | Finding |
|---|----------|------|---------|
| F5 | B | mechanical | D10 wording attributes the `.cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/{role}/{N}.md` release-form alternative to CDD.md §5.3a Artifact Location Matrix. §5.3a actually specifies only `CLOSE-OUT.md` for release-scoped close-outs. The `{N}.md` release form is legacy practice through 3.58.0 (e.g. `.cdd/releases/3.58.0/alpha/262.md`); §5.3a standardized on `CLOSE-OUT.md` at 3.59.0. Citation to §5.3a does not support the `{N}.md` alternative. |

β positives explicitly noted at α-3 verification:
- D10 framing as a divergence FROM cnos.cdd's PR-mediated convention (not a redefinition of cdd's internal practice) is accurate.
- LANGUAGE-SPEC §9.2, §9.4, §7 citations all verified to exist and support the cited claims.
- LB11's 11 cited cycle-artifact files all verified to exist in `docs/alpha/doctrine/`.
- AC1/AC2/AC3 still met at α-3 head; non-goals still respected.

β-side observations β recorded (γ-owned for triage):
- β-P1: Three communication-channel transitions (paste → PR → git) absorbed without artifact contradiction; review/SKILL.md output format is channel-portable as written.
- β-P2: β's polling loop hit a silent-rate-limit subclass of the §Tracking failure modes; first-iteration absorption of newly opened PR #279 surfaced only after δ asked. Adds a third instance to the §Tracking pattern (after #274's two cases).
- β-P3: Same as α-P1 — `## Parallel dependency` paragraph as inline-prose constraint is a different discoverability class than enumerated `## Related artifacts` link constraints.

### α-4 — F5 fix (this commit)

**Disposition:**
Updated D10's CDD-shape-cycle bullet:
- Drops the `(or `.cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/{role}/{N}.md` per CDD.md §5.3a)` parenthetical that misattributed the legacy release form to §5.3a.
- Keeps `.cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/{role}/CLOSE-OUT.md per CDD.md §5.3a Artifact Location Matrix` as the sole release-time canonical form.
- Adds a separate parenthetical noting the legacy practice through 3.58.0 with concrete example (`.cdd/releases/3.58.0/alpha/262.md`) and the §5.3a standardization at 3.59.0.

This preserves the historical accuracy β verified (the `{N}.md` form does exist in main's history) without misattributing its authority. One-clause edit per β's suggested fix shape.

**Re-audit (alpha skill §3.4 + §2.6 row 9):**
- AC1 still 12 components (D10 wording change doesn't touch §5.1–§5.4).
- AC2 D1–D10 enumerated; "No divergence" subsection present; heading lowercase.
- AC3 LB1–LB11 with citations spanning four cycles (LB11's 11 cycle-artifact citations unchanged).
- F5 closed: `grep "{N}.md" docs/alpha/design/WRITER-PACKAGE.md` returns one hit in the parenthetical now correctly attributed to "historical practice through 3.58.0 … superseded by §5.3a at 3.59.0" rather than to §5.3a directly.

**Forward gate per β:** "Re-narrowing round 3 will be a single-paragraph confirmation once F5 lands."

### β round-3 — APPROVED (clean)

**Verdict:** APPROVED — `.cdd/unreleased/beta/278.md` round-3 section (commit `9b21b4c`).
**Reviewed head:** `5582031` (α-4 F5 fix).
**CI on `5582031` and `9b21b4c` at write time:** 5/6 success (kata-tier1, go, notify, I1, I2); kata-tier2 in_progress. β approval is provisional on kata-tier2 going green; α-4 is wording-only (no code/test impact), so kata-tier2 expected to match α-3's success result.
**β disposition:** "Once kata-tier2 lands green, β has no remaining structural grievance with `docs/alpha/design/WRITER-PACKAGE.md` for cycle #278." F5 closed; AC1/AC2/AC3 still met; no new findings.

β also added a courtesy `## Note for γ — protocol change mid-cycle` section to `.cdd/unreleased/beta/278.md` orienting γ to the channel-change history, the read/write paths under `.cdd/unreleased/{role}/278.md`, and the two β-side observations β recorded for γ triage (β-P2 silent-rate-limit, β-P3 = α-P1 inline-prose constraint discoverability).

---

## α close-out

**Cycle outcome:** APPROVED on the design's structural coherence (β round-3, provisional on kata-tier2 green). Cycle is non-release per issue #278 (P2, design-only, package authoring deferred per Non-Goal #1). Per CDD.md §1.4 + α's own D10, neither α nor β merges / tags / deploys; β's owned actions ended at round-3 approval; α's owned actions end at this close-out commit.

**Artifact at lock:** `docs/alpha/design/WRITER-PACKAGE.md` at branch HEAD `5582031` carries 340 lines + frontmatter through CDD trace step 7a. AC1 12 components; AC2 D1–D10 + No-divergence; AC3 LB1–LB11 with citations spanning all four cycles; non-goals respected; parallel-dependency reconciliation with LANGUAGE-SPEC v0.1 §2 declared (no divergence asserted); communication-surface principle (D10/LB11) enacted by this very file.

**Close-out path discipline (CDD.md §1.4 step 11 + §5.3a):**
- For release-scoped triadic cycles, α close-out lives at `.cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/alpha/CLOSE-OUT.md` per §5.3a Artifact Location Matrix, committed to main directly per §1.4 step 11 (squash-merge destroys branch-only files).
- This cycle is **non-release**. Per β's note: "Because #278 is non-release, this β file stays at `.cdd/unreleased/beta/278.md`." Same applies to α: this file at `.cdd/unreleased/alpha/278.md` is α's close-out and remains under `.cdd/unreleased/` indefinitely (no version directory exists for non-release cycles to be promoted into).
- **Operator decision required if PR merge is pursued:** if PR #279 is squash-merged to main, the squash will destroy `.cdd/unreleased/alpha/278.md` and `.cdd/unreleased/beta/278.md` from the merged tree. To preserve them per §1.4 step 11's intent (and per D10's "files travel" principle / LB11's inheritance ground), commit both files directly to main before squash. δ or γ owns this routing.

---

## α-side cycle findings (factual voice; γ owns triage per CDD.md α close-out rule)

### α-P1 — inline-prose constraints in issue body sit at a different discoverability class than enumerated link constraints

α-1 read the issue's `## Related artifacts` block as the load list and missed the `## Parallel dependency` paragraph that named LANGUAGE-SPEC.md only by description ("the cnos agent language reference is being drafted in parallel"). β round-1 F1 (D-blocker) was the consequence. Repaired in α-2.

**Pattern matches:** IFA's named failure mode `cold-author evidence refusal` (this design's LB7) — α treated the un-linked reference as low-priority and drafted without verifying its accessibility / relevance. The very failure mode the design's LB7 names was instantiated by α's intake. β-P3 names the same pattern from β's vantage.

**Surfaces affected:** `cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/alpha/SKILL.md` §2.1 (dispatch intake source-load enumeration) and `cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/issue/SKILL.md` (issue quality — could specify that any `## Parallel dependency` block link the artifact explicitly).

### α-P2 — α-1 defaulted to CDD's PR-mediated review surface without contesting whether it was the right inheritance for this material

α-1 created PR #279 and posted disposition comments because `alpha/SKILL.md` §2.7 names that as the default flow. The doctrine cycles' established practice (LB11 of this design) was git-only triad communication; α-1 did not surface the divergence as a candidate design property until the operator explicitly named it.

**Pattern matches:** soft inheritance (this design's LB6) — α-1 inherited the CDD PR-mediated convention silently as a universal default. Operator's explicit "use git only inside of triad for communication as design" was the third surface that made the silent inheritance visible. The cycle then promoted git-only to a divergence (D10) and inherited constraint (LB11), and α-3 enacted both by creating this file.

**Surfaces affected:** `cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/alpha/SKILL.md` §2.7 (defaults to PR creation + PR comment review surface). For writer cycles using `cnos.writer`, the writer's α role skill must default to the doctrine-folder convention; for CDD-shape cycles, the `.cdd/unreleased/{role}/{N}.md` convention is already practiced (e.g. `.cdd/unreleased/alpha/268.md`) but is not yet codified in `alpha/SKILL.md` as the canonical authority surface (it coexists with PR comments).

### α-P3 — citing a normative doc as authorizing an alternative form requires verifying the doc actually authorizes the alternative

α-3's D10 wording cited `CDD.md §5.3a` as authorizing both `CLOSE-OUT.md` and `{N}.md` release forms. β round-2 F5 verified that §5.3a only specifies `CLOSE-OUT.md`; the `{N}.md` form is legacy practice through 3.58.0 (real, but not §5.3a-authorized). Repaired in α-4.

**Pattern matches:** authority-misattribution. The citation `(... per CDD.md §5.3a)` claimed §5.3a as the warrant for both forms when §5.3a actually warranted only one; the legacy form was real practice but its authority surface was the 3.58.0-and-prior precedent, not the current §5.3a matrix. The fix preserved historical accuracy by separating the two attributions in the prose.

**Surfaces affected:** this is a writer-discipline pattern (cite the doc that actually authorizes; cite precedent separately when the precedent is older than the current canonical). `cnos.core/skills/write/SKILL.md` §3.13 ("Keep authority explicit") and `cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/design/SKILL.md` §3.1 ("Name existing contracts" / "What authority relationships exist?") cover the principle but neither names the dual-attribution pattern explicitly. Voice-only observation.

---

## Cycle iteration (CDD.md §9.1) — preliminary

γ owns the final §9.1 assessment (no PRA in non-release cycles, but γ may still produce a `.cdd/unreleased/gamma/278.md` cycle-iteration record if the cycle exhibits §9.1 triggers). α records preliminary data here for γ's use.

### Triggers fired

- [x] **review rounds > 2 (default: 2) — actual: 3.** β round-1 RC, β round-2 APPROVED-with-fix (F5), β round-3 APPROVED (clean). β explicitly framed round-3 as "re-narrowing"; CDD §9.1 does not distinguish narrowing rounds from full review rounds. Trigger fired by literal count.
- [ ] mechanical ratio > 20% with ≥10 findings — actual: 4/5 = 80%, N=5 ≪ 10-finding floor. Below the §9.1 floor; not an automatic trigger.
- [ ] avoidable tooling/environmental failure — none on α's side. β-P2 (silent-rate-limit polling) was an environmental factor on β's side; β handled it; cycle not delayed.
- [x] **loaded skill failed to prevent a finding — actual: ≥1.** F1 (D, judgment): `cdd/design/SKILL.md` §3.3 pre-submission checklist does not enumerate engagement with `## Parallel dependency` paragraphs in the issue body; `cdd/alpha/SKILL.md` §2.1 dispatch intake's source-load enumeration treats `## Related artifacts` as the load list and misses inline-prose constraints. The miss surfaced as F1; both skills are candidates for patching to encode the discovery rule.

### Friction log

The cycle ran cleanly within the channel changes. Three communication-channel transitions (paste → PR/issue comments → git-only) happened mid-cycle without artifact contradiction (β-P1 names this). The friction was concentrated in α-1's intake (P1 → F1 D-blocker) and α-3's authority misattribution (P3 → F5 B-finding). α-2 and α-4 were each surgical single-purpose commits that closed their respective findings.

### Root cause

- F1 (and α-P1): **skill gap.** Alpha-intake source-load enumeration is not exhaustive against issue-body inline-prose constraints. design/SKILL.md pre-submission checklist also does not enumerate parallel-dependency engagement.
- F5 (and α-P3): **writer-discipline gap.** Authority-misattribution is an instance of writing failure that current write/skill discipline names in principle but does not surface as a labeled pattern.
- α-P2: **CDD process question.** Whether CDD-shape cycles should adopt git-only as default (in addition to the writer package's git-only-by-design D10) is a CDD-process decision, not closed by this design. β named this in the γ note: "Whether cdd-shape future cycles formally adopt git-only as default is a CDD-process question, not closed by this design."

### Skill impact

If γ's triage promotes any of P1/P2/P3 to MCA (immediate skill patch per §10.1):
- P1 → patch `cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/alpha/SKILL.md` §2.1 to enumerate `## Parallel dependency` blocks as load-list members; patch `cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/issue/SKILL.md` to require parallel-dependency artifacts be linked, not just named.
- P3 → patch `cnos.core/skills/write/SKILL.md` §3.13 (or add §3.16) naming dual-attribution pattern as a labeled writing failure mode.
- P2 → CDD-process change separate from this cycle's scope; γ to decide whether to file as next MCA or as MCI.

### MCA selected this cycle

This cycle's MCA was the design itself — packaging the writer triadic pattern as `cnos.writer` design-locked at `docs/alpha/design/WRITER-PACKAGE.md`, with D10 + LB11 establishing git-only triad communication as a structural property. The package authoring is deferred to a subsequent cycle per Non-Goal #1.

### Cycle level (per CDD.md §9.1 Cycle level assessment)

Preliminary α-side read; γ owns the final assessment.

- **L5 (local correctness):** met at α-4 head — design markdown is locally correct (lints clean, citations resolve to source per β verification rounds).
- **L6 (system-safe execution):** met — design's impact graph enumerates downstream consumers (future writer cycles), upstream producers (write skill, doctrine essays, cnos.cdd peer reference), and authority relationships explicitly; D10 + LB11 add the communication-surface aspect cleanly without breaking existing CDD-shape conventions.
- **L7 (system-shaping leverage):** earned at the design level by D10 + LB11. The writer package, once authored, eliminates the friction class of "future writer-shaped cycle reconstructs the role pattern from cycle archives" (the very gap this issue closes) and surfaces the inheritance discipline (soft inheritance, cold-author evidence refusal) as cited constraints accessible at the role-skill level. Whether the L7 leverage is "achieved" depends on whether the package authoring cycle ships, which is the next cycle's work.

Cycle level (lowest miss): **L6 — design produced; L7 leverage shipped only when the authoring cycle lands.** Not an L5 miss because no mechanical / compilation / test failures reached review (F2/F3/F4/F5 were all caught at round-1 or round-2 by β, repaired immediately in the next α round, and never reached merge gate).

---

## Status at α close-out (commit time)

- Branch: `claude/cnos-issue-278-Xh37v` HEAD `5582031` (α-4); β round-3 verdict at `9b21b4c` adds courtesy γ note. α close-out commit raises HEAD to a new SHA recorded by `git log` post-push.
- Design: `docs/alpha/design/WRITER-PACKAGE.md` 340 lines, locked.
- α file: `.cdd/unreleased/alpha/278.md` becomes α close-out.
- β file: `.cdd/unreleased/beta/278.md` is β's close-out (113 → 177 lines after β's γ-note section).
- γ file: `.cdd/unreleased/gamma/278.md` does not exist; γ engagement is at γ's discretion (cycle is non-release; PRA not required).
- CI on `5582031` and `9b21b4c`: 5/6 success at write time; kata-tier2 in_progress; provisional pending kata-tier2 green per β.
- Communication: git-only sustained from α-3 onward; no further GH-channel posting from α.
- Cycle outcome: APPROVED. α stops here.
