# ε cdd-iteration — cycle/401 (Phase 6 of cnos#366)

**Issue:** [cnos#401](https://github.com/usurobor/cnos/issues/401) — ε upscope; cadence rule resolved.
**Mode:** design-and-build; γ+α+β-collapsed-on-δ.
**Rounds:** R1 APPROVED (no fix-rounds).
**ACs:** 7/7 PASS.

## Findings

**None.**

`protocol_gap_count` for this cycle: **0**. No `cdd-skill-gap`, `cdd-protocol-gap`, `cdd-tooling-gap`, or `cdd-metric-gap` surfaced. Five β-review observations (Obs-1 through Obs-5) recorded in `beta-review.md`; all non-binding, all dispositioned in `gamma-closeout.md`.

## Self-reflective note

This cycle ships the rule "`cdd-iteration.md` required only when `protocol_gap_count > 0`". Under that new rule, this cycle itself (with `protocol_gap_count == 0`) would not be required to produce `cdd-iteration.md`. The file is written here as a **courtesy artifact** for two reasons:

1. **Operator closure-gate expectation continuity.** The δ contract's lifecycle step 7 ("cdd-iteration.md per closure-gate") was specified before this cycle's rule change shipped. Writing the file preserves the expected artifact set for the cycle's bookkeeping.
2. **Dogfooding the rule transition.** This is the last cycle to write an empty-findings `cdd-iteration.md` under the prior every-cycle convention. The act of writing it (and recording that it is no longer required) is itself the demonstration that the transition is well-formed.

Future cycles with `protocol_gap_count == 0` may simply omit the file; the receipt's `protocol_gap_count` field carries the no-gap signal unambiguously.

## Protocol-gap signals (across receipt-stream)

**None surfaced this cycle.** The cadence-rule resolution itself is a `cdd-protocol-gap` patch *landed in this cycle* — the four-way drift across epsilon, activation, gamma, post-release surfaces is closed by the same commit set that closes the cycle. No deferred MCA is needed for the cadence rule; no MCI was filed. The protocol-gap that motivated the cycle (#366 Phase 6 "four-way drift on cdd-iteration.md cadence") is resolved in this cycle's main delivery, not as an iteration-time finding.

## Non-findings worth recording

- **Home-choice decision was pre-converged.** RECEIPT-VALIDATION.md §Q3 (cycle #367) named `ROLES.md` as the chosen home with explicit rationale rejecting `cnos.core/doctrine/` and `cnos.protocol-iteration`. This cycle inherited that decision rather than re-litigating it. The δ-contract refusal condition "home choice has multiple defensible rationales and operator preference matters" did not fire because the design was already converged on main.
- **Cross-protocol verification clean.** cdr/epsilon (post-#395) cross-references the new generic surface without content loss; the six cdr-specific gap classes and the research-discipline operating point remain in the CDR instantiation as instantiation-specifics. The generic surface did not need revision to support cdr.
- **Schema-unchanged disposition.** Cycle #388 Phase 2.5's existing constraints (`protocol_gap_count: int & >=0`, `protocol_gap_refs: [...#ProtocolGapRef]`, `protocol_gap_count: len(protocol_gap_refs)`) satisfy AC4 oracle. No schema modification required.
- **Backward compatibility preserved.** Existing empty-findings `cdd-iteration.md` files (e.g. #347, #393, #394, #396) remain valid artifacts under the new rule. The new rule is "required when > 0", not "forbidden when == 0".

## Verdict

No ε action required beyond what is shipped in the cycle delivery. No protocol patch to defer. No follow-on Sub to spin. Phase 6 is complete; Phase 7 (CDD.md rewrite) is unblocked with a stable citable surface (ROLES.md §4b).
