## Post-Release Assessment — v3.42.0

**Release commit:** `ac15ff8`
**Tag:** `3.42.0`
**Cycle:** #180 / PR #204 — Retire beta package-system doc + CDD process patches
**Skill loaded:** `src/agent/skills/cdd/post-release/SKILL.md`
**Assessor role:** Reviewer (Sigma) — default releaser per CDD §1.4

### 1. Coherence Measurement

- **Baseline:** v3.41.0 — C_Σ A · α A · β A+ · γ A · L7
- **This release:** v3.42.0 — C_Σ A · α A · β A+ · γ A · L5
- **Delta:**
  - **α held A.** Doc retirement is a clean subtraction — 620 lines replaced with 18-line redirect. No structural novelty. The 4 cross-reference updates are mechanical.
  - **β held A+.** The beta doc was the last surface claiming Git-native transport. Removing it eliminates the authority conflict. The package system now tells one story across all live docs. The Go kernel rewrite (#192) scoping reinforces β by explicitly separating kernel (Go target) from content classes (language-agnostic, stays).
  - **γ held A.** Two CDD process patches landed as small-change direct-to-main: hub memory gate (Step 7) and branch cleanup (§2.6a). Both are MCA responses to observed failures — compaction gap and branch accumulation. The hub memory gate has pre-publish checks, making it mechanical. 1 review round on #204, 0 findings.
  - **Level L5.** Local correctness: doc retirement + process patches. No boundary move (that was v3.41.0's L7).
- **Coherence contract closed?** **Yes.** #180 ACs all met: AC1 (redirect stub), AC2 (alpha clarified), AC3 (no remaining Git-as-transport claims in live docs).

### 2. Encoding Lag

| Issue | Title | Type | Design | Impl | Lag |
|-------|-------|------|--------|------|-----|
| #192 | Runtime kernel rewrite: OCaml → Go | feature | scoped to 4-phase narrow kernel | not started | growing |
| #193 | `llm` step execution + binding substitution | feature | needs design | not started | growing (7 cycles) |
| #186 | Package restructuring | feature | design thread exists | not started | growing |
| #175 | CTB → orchestrator IR compiler | feature | CTB-v4.0.0-VISION.md | blocked on #193 | growing |
| #182 | Core refactor (umbrella) | feature | CORE-REFACTOR.md | Moves 1+2 complete, Move 3 done | low |
| #162 | Modular CLI commands | feature | Move 1 shipped | partial | low |
| #168 | L8 candidate tracking | process | observation | observation only | low |
| #154 | Thread event model P1 | feature | converged | not started | stale |
| #153 | Thread event model | feature | converged | not started | stale |
| #100 | Memory as first-class faculty | feature | partial | not started | stale |
| #94 | cn cdd: mechanize CDD invariants | feature | partial | not started | stale |

**MCI/MCA balance:** **Freeze MCI continues.** 4 issues at growing lag (#192, #193, #186, #175). #180 closed (was growing, now done). The freeze declared in v3.38.0 remains valid. Next MCA must be implementation.

### 3. Process Learning

**What went wrong:** Hub memory was not written after v3.41.0 post-release assessment. The next session (this one) lost cycle context at compaction. Root cause: the post-release skill had no gate requiring it.

**What went right:**
1. **MCA fix for compaction gap.** Identified the failure, patched the skill (Step 7 + pre-publish gate), committed in the same session. Not deferred.
2. **Branch cleanup executed.** 51 → 37 remote branches. Rule added to prevent re-accumulation.
3. **#180 was clean L5.** Single commit, 5 files, all 3 ACs met. Well-written issue → no clarification needed.
4. **#192 scoping emerged from review.** The operator's review of #204 naturally produced the narrow-kernel framing. Evidence-driven scoping, not speculative planning.

**Skill patches:** Two patches landed in this cycle:
- Post-release Step 7 (hub memory gate) — `29a4cbd`
- Release §2.6a (branch cleanup) — `f0e2657`
Both synced across `src/agent/skills/`, `packages/cnos.core/skills/`, and `docs/gamma/cdd/CDD.md`.

**Active skill re-evaluation:** No review findings on #204. The pre-review gate (§2.5b) was adequate for docs-only work.

**CDD improvement disposition:** Two patches landed (see above). Both are correctives for observed failures: (a) compaction gap = missing gate, (b) branch accumulation = missing cleanup step. No further patch needed.

### 4. Review Quality

**PRs this cycle:** 1 (#204)
**Avg review rounds:** 1.0 (within ≤1 target for docs PRs)
**Superseded PRs:** 0
**Finding breakdown:** 0 mechanical / 0 judgment / 0 total
**Mechanical ratio:** N/A (0/0)
**Action:** none

### 4a. CDD Self-Coherence

- **CDD α:** 4/4 — All required artifacts present: CDD trace in PR, post-release assessment (this file), CHANGELOG row, RELEASE.md.
- **CDD β:** 4/4 — Doc retirement matches issue ACs. CHANGELOG row matches assessment scoring. Skill patches synced across all 3 surfaces.
- **CDD γ:** 4/4 — 1 review round (at target). 0 findings. 0 superseded PRs. Immediate outputs executed. Two process patches landed same-session.
- **Weakest axis:** none below 4
- **Action:** none

### 5. Production Verification

**Scenario:** No reader of the cnos docs should encounter a Git-native transport claim for the package system.

**Before this release:** `docs/beta/architecture/PACKAGE-SYSTEM.md` (620 lines) described Git as the canonical package transport. `OPERATOR.md` linked to it. Alpha doc referenced it as "system-level design."

**After this release:** Beta doc is an 18-line redirect. `OPERATOR.md` links to alpha. Alpha self-references updated. `grep -ri "git.native.*package\|package.*git.*transport" docs/ --include="*.md"` returns only historical gamma snapshots and the CORE-REFACTOR.md issue reference.

**How to verify:**
1. `wc -l docs/beta/architecture/PACKAGE-SYSTEM.md` → 18 lines
2. `grep "alpha/package-system" OPERATOR.md` → points to alpha
3. `grep -ri "git.native" docs/alpha/ docs/beta/ --include="*.md"` → only the retired doc's redirect text

**Result:** Pass (verified locally).

### 6. CDD Closeout

| Step | Artifact | Skills loaded | Decision |
|------|----------|---------------|----------|
| 11 Observe | this assessment + PR #204 review (R1 APPROVED, 0 findings) | post-release | Cycle coherent. Doc authority conflict eliminated. |
| 12 Assess | this file | post-release | C_Σ A · α A · β A+ · γ A · L5. MCI freeze continues (4 growing). |
| 12a Patch | Step 7 hub memory (`29a4cbd`) + §2.6a branch cleanup (`f0e2657`) | post-release, release | Two skill patches landed same-session. |
| 13 Close | this assessment + next-MCA commitment | post-release | Cycle closed. |

### 7. Next Move

**Next MCA:** #192 — Go kernel rewrite, Phase 1: package/index/lockfile/restore
**Owner:** sigma
**Branch:** pending creation
**First AC:** AC1 — Go binary handles `cn deps restore` end-to-end
**MCI frozen until shipped?** Yes — freeze continues from v3.38.0 (4 growing lag items).
**Rationale:** #192 Phase 1 is the highest-leverage MCA. It proves the Go kernel approach on the most self-contained subsystem (package restore has clear inputs/outputs, no runtime entanglement). Success here validates the narrow-kernel strategy before touching command dispatch or runtime contract.

**Closure evidence (CDD §10):**
- Immediate outputs executed: yes
  - This POST-RELEASE-ASSESSMENT.md
  - CHANGELOG TSC row (v3.42.0)
  - Skill patches: Step 7 (`29a4cbd`), §2.6a (`f0e2657`)
  - Branch cleanup: 13 merged branches deleted
- Deferred outputs committed: yes
  - #192 Phase 1 (Go kernel — next MCA)
  - #193 `llm` step execution (growing, 7 cycles)
  - #186 package restructuring (growing)
  - #175 CTB compiler (growing, blocked on #193)

### 8. Hub Memory

- **Daily reflection:** pending — will write after this assessment commits
- **Adhoc thread(s) updated:** pending — will update go-kernel-rewrite thread with Phase 1 kickoff
