# 0.5.5 Stabilization Workstreams Implementation Review

Review date: 2026-04-24  
Branch: `dev/wip-0.5.5`  
Scope: current branch implementation for the 0.5.5 stabilization workstreams (release spec through release gate and docs sync), including unstaged and untracked changes.

CodeRabbit status: CLI was installed successfully and agent auth completed as
GitHub user `cnkang`. The follow-up `coderabbit review --agent -c AGENTS.md`
run did not produce review findings because CodeRabbit returned a recoverable
rate-limit error:

```text
errorType: rate_limit
message: Rate limit exceeded
waitTime: 53 minutes and 34 seconds
policyGuidance: Your review has hit the rate limit. Your organization is not enrolled in usage-based pricing. Contact your admin to enable it, or try again in 53 minutes and 34 seconds.
```

Findings below are from local manual review and validation, not CodeRabbit output.

## Validation Performed

- `make release-gates-check`
- `bash tools/harness/audit_reason_codes.sh`
- `make test-nginx-unit-streaming`
- `make test-rust-streaming`
- Direct existence check for `tests/streaming/evidence/summary.json`
- Static review of the release spec through release gate workstream documents, changed docs, C tests, Rust tests, harness scripts, and known-difference metadata
- `coderabbit review --agent -c AGENTS.md` authentication/rate-limit check

## CodeRabbit Follow-Up Result

CodeRabbit raised 0 issues because no review completed. The CLI returned a
recoverable `rate_limit` error after authentication. Re-run
`coderabbit review --agent -c AGENTS.md` after the reported wait period, or
enable usage-based pricing for the organization if immediate review capacity is
required.

## Summary

The implementation has useful coverage for protocol, auth/cache, streaming unit tests, reason-code lifecycle auditing, and release documentation. However, several spec-completion claims are ahead of the actual repository state. The most important blockers are that the streaming parity evidence artifact is missing while the release gate workstream tasks mark it verified, and the 0.5.5 release checklist relies on release-gate targets that still validate 0.5.0 surfaces.

## Findings

### P1: Streaming parity evidence gate is marked complete but the required artifact is missing

Location:
- the release gate workstream tasks file, line 105
- the release gate workstream requirements file, line 63
- `docs/project/release-checklist-0-5-5.md:60`
- `docs/project/release-checklist-0-5-5.md:66`
- `docs/project/release-checklist-0-5-5.md:91`

Issue:
The release gate workstream task 12.8 is checked as complete and says the implementation verified that `tests/streaming/evidence/summary.json` exists, validates against `schema_version=1`, and has `pass=true`. The file does not exist in the current worktree.

Evidence:
`test -f tests/streaming/evidence/summary.json` returned missing. The release checklist separately records waiver `WAIVER-0.5.5-002` saying the artifact does not exist yet, which contradicts the checked task state.

Severity: High

Impact:
This violates the release spec's evidence-based completion policy, the streaming parity evidence output requirements, the release gate workstream go/no-go criteria, and AGENTS Rule 20. A release gate can appear complete even though the blocking artifact has not been generated or validated.

Recommendation:
Uncheck the completed release gate workstream evidence tasks until the artifact exists, or generate the evidence pack now. Add an automated gate that validates `tests/streaming/evidence/summary.json` schema and `pass=true`; do not rely on checklist text alone.

### P1: 0.5.5 release checklist uses release-gate commands that still validate 0.5.0

Location:
- `docs/project/release-checklist-0-5-5.md:23`
- `docs/project/release-checklist-0-5-5.md:38`
- `docs/project/release-checklist-0-5-5.md:39`
- `docs/project/release-checklist-0-5-5.md:40`
- `docs/project/test-matrix-0-5-5.md:61`
- `docs/project/test-matrix-0-5-5.md:73`
- `Makefile:187`
- `Makefile:194`
- `Makefile:300`
- `tools/release/gates/validate_release_gates.py:3`
- `tools/release/gates/validate_release_gates.py:42`
- `tools/release/gates/validate_release_gates.py:1097`
- `tools/release/gates/validate_naming.py:3`
- `tools/release/gates/validate_naming.py:129`

Issue:
The new 0.5.5 checklist and matrix list `make release-gates-check` and `make release-gates-check-strict` as 0.5.5 verification gates. Running `make release-gates-check` prints `0.5.0 Release Gate Validation Report` and validates 0.5.0 surfaces.

Severity: High

Impact:
The release gate workstream requires go/no-go criteria to reference commands that exist and produce the expected output. These commands do exist, but they validate the wrong release. This can create false-positive release readiness for the release gate workstream and hide 0.5.5-specific evidence/checklist failures.

Recommendation:
Either add 0.5.5-aware release-gate validators and Make targets, or change the 0.5.5 checklist to classify the current targets as legacy/non-authoritative. The strict target should cover the 0.5.5 stabilization workstreams and the streaming parity evidence artifact before the release gate workstream tasks are marked complete.

### P2: Known-difference registry still contains global suppressors without fixture scoping or justification

Location:
- `tests/streaming/known-differences.toml:19`
- `tests/streaming/known-differences.toml:30`
- `tests/streaming/known-differences.toml:41`
- `tests/streaming/known-differences.toml:197`

Issue:
Several known-difference entries rely only on `diff_contains` and do not include `fixture_contains` or an explicit reviewed global-suppressor justification. Task 20.12.4 is checked complete, but the registry still has unscoped entries.

Severity: Medium

Impact:
This violates the semantic fidelity workstream Requirement 12.4 and AGENTS Rule 14. Global suppressors can mask unrelated future streaming parity regressions.

Recommendation:
Scope each entry to specific fixtures using `fixture_contains`, or add a structured, reviewed justification field and update parser/tests to enforce it. In particular, reassess `DIFF-PARITY-POSTCOMMIT-TABLE-ERROR`; it has `drift_type = "fallback"` and no fixture scope, while the registry header says fallback-only capabilities should be handled by explicit fallback assertions.

### P2: Streaming auth/cache tests do not exercise the production streaming integration point

Location:
- `components/nginx-module/tests/unit/auth_cache_control_test.c:430`
- `components/nginx-module/tests/unit/auth_cache_control_test.c:437`
- `components/nginx-module/tests/unit/auth_cache_control_test.c:446`
- `components/nginx-module/tests/unit/auth_cache_control_test.c:478`
- `components/nginx-module/tests/unit/auth_cache_control_test.c:481`
- `components/nginx-module/src/ngx_http_markdown_streaming_impl.h:696`

Issue:
The production change adds auth cache-control handling inside `ngx_http_markdown_streaming_update_headers()`, but the new test only calls the local helper `adjust_cache_control_for_auth()` twice and compares the helper against itself for full-buffer and streaming parity.

Severity: Medium

Impact:
If the production streaming call were removed or moved to the wrong phase, these tests would still pass. This falls short of the auth/cache safety workstream task 11.5-11.8 and AGENTS Rule 14, which require side-effect tests to go through code that mirrors or exercises the production branch.

Recommendation:
Add a focused streaming header-update test that constructs a minimal authenticated request/header state and invokes the actual streaming header update path, or extract a shared production helper used by both full-buffer and streaming update functions and test the integration call sites separately.

### P2: Release checklist pre-populates future-dated waivers and "verified" changelog claims before gates are actually complete

Location:
- `CHANGELOG.md:8`
- `CHANGELOG.md:32`
- `CHANGELOG.md:34`
- `CHANGELOG.md:36`
- `docs/project/release-checklist-0-5-5.md:113`
- `docs/project/release-checklist-0-5-5.md:114`
- `docs/project/release-checklist-0-5-5.md:136`

Issue:
The current date is 2026-04-24, but the changelog and waiver table use 2026-04-25 and describe several checks as verified. At least one waiver says a required artifact is missing, while the matching spec task is checked complete.

Severity: Medium

Impact:
This weakens the release audit trail and makes it hard to distinguish planned release content from verified evidence.

Recommendation:
Use an `Unreleased` heading or today's actual verification date until gates complete. Replace placeholder waiver approvers/dates with real approval records only when a release owner approves them. Keep known blockers in a "blocked/pending" section instead of marking verification tasks complete.

## Positive Observations

- `bash tools/harness/audit_reason_codes.sh` passed for 24 reason codes and provides useful lifecycle coverage for the operator diagnostics workstream.
- `make test-nginx-unit-streaming` passed.
- `make test-rust-streaming` passed; two expensive streaming parity tests remain ignored, which is expected only if they are explicitly run before closing the spec items that depend on them.

## Recommended Fix Order

1. Fix the 0.5.5 release-gate validator mismatch, because it affects multiple checklist gates.
2. Generate and validate the streaming parity evidence artifact, or revert task/checklist claims to pending.
3. Scope or justify all known-difference suppressors.
4. Add production-path streaming auth/cache integration tests.
5. Clean up future-dated release notes and waiver records so the audit trail matches verified state.
