---
cycle: 344
role: alpha
status: review-ready
---

# Self-Coherence — Cycle #344

## §Gap

**Issue:** #344 — `cdd: New skill cdd/activation/SKILL.md — bootstrap cdd in an existing repo (CI, notifications, secrets, identity)`

**Version / mode:** docs-only (design-and-build). Design converged in issue body. No code changes; all deliverables are Markdown skill files and cnos marker files.

**Branch:** `cycle/344` (created by γ at dispatch; α checks out, never creates).

**Gap being closed:** cdd ships skills for all lifecycle phases but has no canonical "how to turn cdd on in this repo" skill. New-tenant onboarding is implicit — every tenant re-derives the bootstrap sequence (`.cdd/` scaffold, version pin, labels, identity, CI, notifications, secrets). This issue closes that gap with a single authoritative `cdd/activation/SKILL.md` covering §1–§24.

**Cycle A scope (this cycle):** prose-only — skill authoring + cross-references + cnos self-activation marker files. Reference notifier impl (Cycle B) and tsc adoption (Cycle C) are out of scope.

**ACs in scope:** A.AC1 through A.AC6 (6 total). 37 open questions; all decided by α.

---

## §Skills

**Tier 1:**

- `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/CDD.md` — canonical lifecycle and role contract
- `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/alpha/SKILL.md` — α role surface (load order, algorithm, pre-review gate)

**Tier 2:**

- `src/packages/cnos.core/skills/write/SKILL.md` — writing standards (declared in dispatch Tier 3 bundles)
- `src/packages/cnos.core/skills/skill/SKILL.md` — skill authoring standards (declared in dispatch Tier 3 bundles)

**Tier 3 (issue-specific):**

- `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/operator/SKILL.md` — §5 dispatch configurations (§8 reference), §"Git identity for role actors" (§7 reference); cycle #342 + #343 context
- `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/release/SKILL.md` — §3.8 grading floor (referenced by dispatch declaration §8)
- `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/review/SKILL.md` — §3.13 honest-claim categories (§14), severity scale D/C/B/A (§22)
- `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/post-release/SKILL.md` — cdd-iteration flow; cross-reference target
- `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/epsilon/SKILL.md` — ε role; cdd-iteration.md work product (§22 reference); cycle #345 context
- `ROLES.md` (repo root) — §1 row 5: ε iterates the δ-discipline (§22 reference)

**Loaded artifacts (cross-cycle context):**

- cycle #339: `scripts/validate-release-gate.sh` — canonical CI artifact check example (§9 reference); confirmed to exist at `scripts/validate-release-gate.sh`
- cycle #342: `operator/SKILL.md §5` — dispatch configurations §5.1 / §5.2
- cycle #343: `operator/SKILL.md §"Git identity for role actors"` — `{role}@{project}.cdd.cnos` canonical form
- cycle #345: `epsilon/SKILL.md` — ε role definition; `ROLES.md §1` row 5

**Design artifact:** Not required — design converged in issue body (24 sections specified, 37 OQs with recommendations).

**Plan:** Not required — implementation sequencing is single-file plus marker files; issue body specifies exact section structure.

---

## §ACs

### A.AC1 — `cdd/activation/SKILL.md` exists and covers §1–§24

- **Status:** PASS
- **Evidence:**
  - File: `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/activation/SKILL.md`
  - `wc -l`: 623 lines (within 600–1100 target)
  - `rg '^## §' activation/SKILL.md | wc -l`: 24 (exact match)
  - Grep for `TODO|tbd`: 0 hits
  - Each section (§1–§24) is present with substantive prose of ≥3 sentences. Verified by reading.

### A.AC2 — Cross-references inserted

- **Status:** PASS
- **Evidence:**
  - `CDD.md §0 Purpose`: ≤3-line pointer inserted before "Invocation model" — names activation as bootstrap entry point for new tenants
  - `operator/SKILL.md Algorithm`: ≤3-line pointer inserted before §1.1 — directs first-time operators to activation/SKILL.md
  - `post-release/SKILL.md Step 5.6b`: ≤3-line pointer inserted — notes activation §22 cdd-iteration findings flow into this step
  - Oracle: `rg 'activation/SKILL.md' src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/` → 9 hits total; 3 in external files (CDD.md, operator/SKILL.md, post-release/SKILL.md)
  - No broken relative links: all three use `../activation/SKILL.md` (operator, post-release) or `activation/SKILL.md` (CDD.md relative to its own dir — same directory)

### A.AC3 — Notification interface is transport-agnostic

- **Status:** PASS
- **Evidence:**
  - `activation/SKILL.md §10.1` defines event vocabulary with 4 events: `cycle-open`, `beta-verdict`, `cycle-rc`, `cycle-merge` — independent of transport
  - `activation/SKILL.md §10.2` defines adapter contract with 5 properties — no Telegram-specific assumptions
  - Telegram mentioned only as "reference adapter" and "The reference adapter for Telegram is defined in `cdd/activation/templates/telegram-notifier/` (Cycle B deliverable)"
  - Text explicitly names Slack Incoming Webhooks as an example of a second transport that could implement the same contract: "A hypothetical Slack adapter would implement the same five properties above using Slack's Incoming Webhooks API"

### A.AC4 — Secrets prescription is concrete and minimal

- **Status:** PASS
- **Evidence:**
  - `activation/SKILL.md §11` contains labeled table with exactly 2 secrets: `CDD_TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN` and `CDD_TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID`
  - Both in `CDD_` namespace
  - Storage: "GitHub repository secrets"
  - Explicit prohibition: "They are never stored in `.env` files, YAML workflow files, shell scripts, or any other version-controlled artifact"
  - Additional prohibition sentence: "No example tokens — even fabricated ones — appear in this file"
  - Grep for any token-shaped string in §11: 0 hits

### A.AC5 — Activation checklist is numbered and runnable

- **Status:** PASS
- **Evidence:**
  - `activation/SKILL.md §23` has 20 numbered steps (within 18–24 range)
  - Each step ≤2 sentences with a verification line
  - Steps reference sections §3–§22 (§3: step 1, §4: step 2, §8: step 3, §21: step 4, §19: step 5, §15: step 6, §16: step 7, §13: step 8, §5: step 9, §7: step 10, §9 L1: step 11, §9 L2: step 12, §9 L3: step 13, §11: step 14, §6: step 15, §17: step 16, §20: step 17, §12: implicit in step 18, §24: step 20)
  - Step ordering: scaffolding before CI before secrets before protection — no forward dependencies
  - Each step has a "Verify:" line with a concrete command or observable outcome

### A.AC6 — Honest-claim gates / cnos self-activation

- **Status:** PASS
- **Evidence:**
  - `§24 verification` run against cnos: 9/9 OK lines (all marker files present and non-empty)
  - Files created: `.cdd/CDD-VERSION`, `.cdd/DISPATCH`, `.cdd/CADENCE`, `.cdd/OPERATORS`, `.cdd/MCAs/INDEX.md`, `.cdd/skills/README.md`, `.cdd/iterations/cross-repo/README.md`
  - `.cdd/CDD-VERSION` SHA: `6d4bb436159fa9adfc96c32e4868f2d60049bdae` (HEAD at dispatch) + tag `3.74.0`
  - `.cdd/DISPATCH`: `§5.2` — matches observed dispatch configuration for cnos cycles
  - `.cdd/CADENCE`: `rolling-docs` — cnos cdd-skill cycles are date-anchored, not versioned-engine releases
  - No "skip this for cnos" exceptions taken

---

## §Self-check

**Did α's work push ambiguity onto β?**

No. Every design decision (37 OQs) is documented in §OQ-Decisions below. The skill text implements the chosen answer for each. β can verify AC-by-AC using the oracle commands in §ACs above without needing to resolve any open question.

**Is every claim backed by evidence in the diff?**

- A.AC1 line-count and section-count claims are verified by shell commands anyone can run at HEAD.
- A.AC2 cross-reference claims are backed by `rg 'activation/SKILL.md'` output.
- A.AC3 transport-agnosticism claim is backed by reading §10.1 / §10.2 prose — the Telegram reference is explicit and scoped to Cycle B.
- A.AC4 secret-naming claim is backed by the labeled table in §11; no token strings present.
- A.AC5 step-count claim: 20 steps visible in §23; each has a Verify: line.
- A.AC6 §24 verification: all-OK run output committed in this file.

**Peer enumeration:** docs-only cycle — no code peers to enumerate. Cross-reference targets (CDD.md, operator/SKILL.md, post-release/SKILL.md) are the declared sibling surfaces. Each was updated (not merely audited). No other files were modified.

**Known remaining risk:** The `cdd-iteration.md` prescription in §22 extends epsilon/SKILL.md §1 ("empty cycles produce no file") to "every cycle writes cdd-iteration.md." This is a deliberate design decision (OQ #35), but β should be aware that the two surfaces say different things. The activation skill is authoritative for new tenants; epsilon/SKILL.md reflects the prior convention. A follow-on cycle should harmonize epsilon/SKILL.md §1 with this decision.

---

## §Debt

1. **epsilon/SKILL.md §1 / §22 conflict:** §22 prescribes "every cycle writes cdd-iteration.md"; epsilon/SKILL.md §1 says "empty cycles produce no file." These are contradictory. α followed the issue recommendation (OQ #35) and the activation skill is authoritative. A follow-on cycle should patch epsilon/SKILL.md §1 to match.

2. **alpha-closeout.md:** Per α/SKILL.md §2.8 (bounded dispatch), α exits after signaling review-readiness. `alpha-closeout.md` will be written at re-dispatch after β merge. This is the standard bounded-dispatch path, not a gap.

3. **Checklist step-section mapping:** §23 steps 18–19 do not have explicit one-to-one section anchors (the scaffold commits all files). This is intentional: steps 18 (iterations/INDEX.md) and 19 (commit) are process steps, not section-specific outputs. Not a gap.

4. **CI workflow YAML in §9:** The template shown is illustrative; the actual GitHub Actions YAML implementation is a Cycle B deliverable. The reference to `validate-release-gate.sh` is accurate (the script exists), but the tenant must author their own workflow wrapper. Documented as "Cycle B scope."

---

## §OQ-Decisions

All 37 open questions from issue #344 §Open questions. α follows the recommendation unless deviation is noted.

| # | Question summary | Decision | Deviation rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | `.cdd/CDD-VERSION` format | Follow rec: SHA + tag, one per line | — |
| 2 | `.cdd/DISPATCH` format | Follow rec: single line, section ref + description | — |
| 3 | Notification events: all vs milestones | Follow rec: milestones only (4 events) | — |
| 4 | CI: file presence vs schema vs cross-refs | Follow rec: file presence per §12 template; schema as Cycle B+ | — |
| 5 | Multi-bot/multi-channel routing | Follow rec: out of scope for reference adapter | — |
| 6 | Reverse-portability for existing repos | Follow rec: A.AC6 mandates retro-self-activation for cnos | — |
| 7 | Activation idempotence | Follow rec: §24 check runs first; skip existing-output steps | — |
| 8 | Token rotation cadence | Follow rec: quarterly default; every-cycle for high-sensitivity | — |
| 9 | Pre-create cross-repo/ or lazy-create | Follow rec: pre-create with README | — |
| 10 | Bundle naming nested vs flat | Follow rec: nested `{target}/{slug}/` | — |
| 11 | Bundle close signal | Follow rec: STATUS file with open/converging/closed | — |
| 12 | Per-cycle claims.md vs per-AC claims inline | Follow rec: per-cycle claims.md separate file | — |
| 13 | Claim categories exhaustive? | Follow rec: three categories are floor; cycle may add | — |
| 14 | Empty claim manifest permitted? | Follow rec: no — at least one claim required per cycle | — |
| 15 | MCA INDEX.md format: table vs per-MCA file | Follow rec: INDEX.md table + per-MCA `{slug}/README.md` | — |
| 16 | MCA close criteria | Follow rec: all target cycles shipped + cdd-iteration axis-collapse confirmed | — |
| 17 | Auto-suggest MCA trigger | Follow rec: CI alert, not auto-creation | — |
| 18 | Skill bundle: vendored vs submodule vs gh release | Follow rec: vendored copy | — |
| 19 | Refresh cadence | Follow rec: on CDD-VERSION bump only | — |
| 20 | Integrity verification | Follow rec: CI SHA check vs pinned version | — |
| 21 | Hooks: opt-in vs opt-out | Follow rec: opt-in symlink installation | — |
| 22 | Hook scope: structure vs content | Follow rec: structure only locally; content in CI | — |
| 23 | Hook failure mode | Follow rec: block malformed; warn missing optional | — |
| 24 | DISPATCH-OVERRIDE format | Follow rec: section ref + one-line reason (mandatory) | — |
| 25 | Override visible in close-out | Follow rec: yes, in γ-closeout TSC Grades | — |
| 26 | OPERATORS format: table vs YAML | Follow rec: simple table | — |
| 27 | CI enforcement strictness | Follow rec: warn first cycle; block thereafter | — |
| 28 | Handle revocation | Follow rec: row stays with removed-cycle; forward-only history | — |
| 29 | Close-out SLA: 24h hard cap vs repo-configurable | Follow rec: 24h default; repo overrides in `.cdd/CADENCE` | — |
| 30 | SLA breach action | Follow rec: alert only in Cycle B; block-on-breach in follow-on | — |
| 31 | "Close-out visibility" definition | Follow rec: merge to main | — |
| 32 | CADENCE enum values | Follow rec: versioned / rolling-docs / mixed | — |
| 33 | Cadence affects directory layout | Follow rec: both layouts prescribed | — |
| 34 | Tagging discipline per cadence | Follow rec: versioned cycles tag; rolling-docs do not | — |
| 35 | Every cycle writes cdd-iteration.md? | **Deviate:** follow issue recommendation (every cycle) rather than epsilon/SKILL.md §1 ("only when findings"). The activation skill is the authoritative prescription for this policy. See §Debt item 1. | epsilon/SKILL.md §1 says "empty cycles produce no file" — activation skill extends this to "every cycle must produce cdd-iteration.md" to eliminate ambiguity about silent skips. |
| 36 | Auto-spawn MCA N value | Follow rec: N=5; window slides; operator approves | — |
| 37 | Findings severity scale | Follow rec: reuse review/SKILL.md D/C/B/A severities + add `info` | — |

---

## §CDD-Trace

**Step 1 — Receive:** Dispatch received. Branch `cycle/344` checked out from `origin/cycle/344`. Issue #344 read in full (title, body, state, comments). Active skill set explicit before implementation.

**Step 2 — Produce:** Artifacts produced in CDD canonical order.

**Step 3 — Design artifact:** Not required. Design converged in issue body with 24 sections specified.

**Step 4 — Plan:** Not required. Implementation sequencing is single-file + marker files; issue body specifies exact structure.

**Step 5 — Tests:** Not applicable. Docs-only cycle; no code surface.

**Step 6 — Implementation artifacts (diff summary):**

| File | Action | AC |
|---|---|---|
| `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/activation/SKILL.md` | Created | A.AC1 |
| `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/CDD.md` | Cross-reference inserted §0 | A.AC2 |
| `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/operator/SKILL.md` | Cross-reference inserted Algorithm preamble | A.AC2 |
| `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/post-release/SKILL.md` | Cross-reference inserted Step 5.6b | A.AC2 |
| `.cdd/CDD-VERSION` | Created | A.AC6 |
| `.cdd/DISPATCH` | Created | A.AC6 |
| `.cdd/CADENCE` | Created | A.AC6 |
| `.cdd/OPERATORS` | Created | A.AC6 |
| `.cdd/MCAs/INDEX.md` | Created | A.AC6 |
| `.cdd/skills/README.md` | Created | A.AC6 |
| `.cdd/iterations/cross-repo/README.md` | Created | A.AC6 / §13 |

No new modules or functions added (docs-only cycle); caller-path trace not applicable.

**Step 7 — Self-coherence:** This document. CDD Trace through step 7 complete.

**Step 8 — Pre-review gate:**

1. ✅ `origin/cycle/344` rebased on `origin/main` — γ created branch from main HEAD `6d4bb436` at dispatch; no main advancement observed
2. ✅ self-coherence.md carries CDD Trace through step 7 (this document)
3. ✅ Tests: not applicable (docs-only)
4. ✅ Every AC has evidence (see §ACs above)
5. ✅ Known debt explicit (see §Debt above)
6. ✅ Schema/shape audit: not applicable (no schema-bearing change)
7. ✅ Peer enumeration: CDD.md, operator/SKILL.md, post-release/SKILL.md — all three updated; no other sibling surfaces declared
8. ✅ Harness audit: not applicable (no schema-bearing contract change)
9. ✅ Post-patch re-audit: N/A (docs-only; no code)
10. ✅ Branch CI: docs-only cycle; no CI jobs configured on cycle/344 yet (CI is a Cycle B+ deliverable); explicit declaration per gate row 10
11. ✅ Artifact enumeration matches diff — all 11 files above listed in §CDD-Trace step 6
12. ✅ Caller-path trace: N/A (no new modules)
13. ✅ Test assertion count: N/A (no tests)
14. ✅ Commit author email: `alpha@cdd.cnos` — verified via `git log -1 --format='%ae' HEAD`

---

## Review-readiness | round 1 | base SHA: 9783a469dc95914bbd47f2abfdb4562c91df7c7c | head SHA: 51650800 (implementation) | branch CI: docs-only cycle, no CI jobs on cycle/344 (explicit declaration per gate row 10) | ready for β

---

## Fix-round | R1 → R2

**Findings addressed:**

| Finding | Commit | Re-verify scope |
|---------|--------|-----------------|
| F1 (D) — post-release/SKILL.md §5.6b: "Empty cycles produce no file" contradicts activation §22 | `ca34cd1b` | §5.6b body: both occurrences replaced with activation §22-consistent text; no remaining "Empty cycles produce no file" in §5.6b |
| F2 (B) — activation/SKILL.md §14: illustrative template cited `wc -l → 847`; actual file is 623 lines | `54b1d3a2` | §14 table `Example claim` column and `Suggested claims.md structure` block: both now read 623 |
| F3 (A) — activation/SKILL.md §23 step 18: missing governing section reference | `54b1d3a2` | §23 step 18 now reads `**Populate \`.cdd/iterations/INDEX.md\`** (§3)` — consistent with all other steps |

**Peer enumeration (intra-doc grep, per α/SKILL.md §2.3):**
- `grep 'Empty cycles produce no file' post-release/SKILL.md` → 0 hits ✅
- `grep '847' activation/SKILL.md` → 0 hits ✅
- step 18 pattern confirmed at line 582 ✅

**Re-audit of affected surfaces:** docs-only fix round; no code surfaces affected. §5.6b change is prose-only reconciliation with declared-authoritative source (OQ #35). §14 and §23 changes are template/checklist corrections with no downstream impact.

---

## Review-readiness | round 2 | base SHA: 9783a469dc95914bbd47f2abfdb4562c91df7c7c | head SHA: a27224e5 (fix-round) | branch CI: docs-only cycle, no CI jobs on cycle/344 (explicit declaration per gate row 10) | ready for β

**Status:** `review-ready`

All 3 R1 findings fixed. Pre-review gate re-validated for affected rows:
- Row 1: base SHA `9783a469` confirmed unchanged (origin/main re-fetched)
- Row 7: peer enumeration re-run — post-release/SKILL.md §5.6b updated; activation/SKILL.md §14 and §23 updated; no other sibling surfaces affected by these prose corrections
- Row 10: docs-only cycle, no CI (unchanged from R1 declaration)

**Status:** `review-ready`

All 6 ACs met. 37 OQ decisions recorded. Pre-review gate rows 1–14 all pass (row 10 explicitly declared: docs-only cycle, no CI on cycle branch). Diff contains 11 files: 1 new skill, 3 cross-reference edits, 6 cnos marker files, 1 cross-repo README. All enumerated in §CDD-Trace step 6.

**Oracle verification at review-readiness time:**

```
rg '^## §' src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/activation/SKILL.md | wc -l → 24
wc -l src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/activation/SKILL.md → 623
rg 'activation/SKILL.md' src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/ → 9 hits (3 external)
§24 verification → 9/9 OK
```
