# KORA First Paper Submission-Candidate Status v0.1

Status date: 2026-05-13

## Purpose

This status note records the bundled manuscript synchronization and claim-to-evidence pass that produced manuscript v0.4 as a submission-candidate draft. It does not mark the paper as submission-ready.

## Manuscript v0.4

Manuscript v0.4 was created:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-manuscript-v0-4.md`

v0.4 is a submission-candidate draft, not a final submission package.

## Manuscript v0.5

Manuscript v0.5 was created:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-manuscript-v0-5.md`

v0.5 is a submission-candidate draft that mechanically inserts the prior figure, table, algorithm, and appendix artifact materials into the manuscript. It is not a final submission package.

## Manuscript v0.6

Manuscript v0.6 was created:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-manuscript-v0-6.md`

v0.6 applies the Word-first manuscript text review from `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-word-first-text-review-v0-1.md`. It tightens abstract draft-status language, clarifies KORA's execution-control positioning, explains the `model_candidate` path at the paper level, preserves the approved 100-task deterministic-heavy benchmark claim boundary, and replaces Figure 1 and Figure 2 content with placeholders. Figure rendering and final publication-quality figure rebuild remain out of scope for v0.6.

## Manuscript v0.6 Human Final-Edit Checklist

The manuscript v0.6 human final-edit checklist now exists:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-v0-6-human-final-edit-checklist.md`

The checklist prepares human review before any possible v0.7 manuscript pass. It covers title and abstract readiness, introduction clarity, execution-control category framing, terminology consistency, method/system clarity, benchmark wording and claim boundary, limitations/non-claims, citation readiness, figure-placeholder handling, submission blockers before v0.7, and items that must be resolved before Word/PDF/arXiv export. Figure rebuild and export work remain out of scope.

## Manuscript v0.7

Manuscript v0.7 was created:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-manuscript-v0-7.md`

v0.7 applies the manuscript v0.6 human final-edit checklist. It tightens the abstract, clarifies the problem framing, strengthens KORA's execution-control category language, improves the `model_candidate` and `model_required` explanation, narrows benchmark wording to simulated model-invocation evidence, keeps limitations and export blockers visible, and updates the artifact inventory to treat v0.7 as the current Word-first text draft. Figure 1 and Figure 2 remain text placeholders only. Figure rebuild, Word export, PDF export, arXiv source-package work, and generated artifact creation remain out of scope.

## Manuscript v0.7 Citation and Bibliography Readiness

The manuscript v0.7 citation and bibliography readiness review now exists:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-v0-7-citation-bibliography-readiness.md`

The review confirms that manuscript v0.7 citation markers match its references section and are covered by current preliminary BibTeX. It also records that full BibTeX remains incomplete, final citation style conversion is pending, unused preliminary records require a final scope decision, deferred and still-not-eligible records remain excluded, and final manuscript-to-final-BibTeX synchronization must be repeated before any Word/PDF/arXiv/export package work.

## Manuscript v0.7 Citation Cleanup Action Plan

The manuscript v0.7 citation cleanup action plan now exists:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-v0-7-citation-cleanup-action-plan.md`

The plan separates citation and bibliography cleanup into ready-to-apply actions, source-verification items, final-packaging deferrals, and records or claims that should not be added. It does not rewrite manuscript v0.7, add references, generate BibTeX, rebuild figures, generate export artifacts, or mark the paper as submission-ready.

## Manuscript v0.8

Manuscript v0.8 was created:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-manuscript-v0-8.md`

v0.8 applies only the ready-to-apply citation cleanup items from `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-v0-7-citation-cleanup-action-plan.md`. It preserves the aligned v0.7 cited record set, keeps optional preliminary records `[R14]`, `[R16]`, `[R21]`, and `[R24]` out of the manuscript, keeps deferred and still-not-eligible records excluded, preserves the approved benchmark claim boundary, and keeps Figure 1 and Figure 2 as text placeholders only. It does not apply source-verification items, final-packaging deferrals, do-not-add items, external reference additions, final citation style conversion, or bibliography finalization.

The v0.8 citation cleanup delta note now exists:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-v0-8-citation-cleanup-delta.md`

## Manuscript v0.8 Source Verification Packet

The manuscript v0.8 source-verification packet now exists:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-v0-8-source-verification-packet.md`

The packet separates items already resolved in v0.8, items needing source verification before inclusion, final-packaging/export deferrals, and still-not-eligible/do-not-add records. It does not modify manuscript v0.8, add references, generate BibTeX, rebuild figures, generate export artifacts, or mark the paper as submission-ready.

## Manuscript v0.8 Source Verification Decision Note

The manuscript v0.8 source-verification decision note now exists:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-v0-8-source-verification-decision-note.md`

The decision note classifies source-verification outcomes for v0.9 planning into records approved to remain in a working v0.9 draft from current repo evidence, records requiring manual/external verification before final bibliography approval or future inclusion, items deferred to final packaging/export, and records or claim areas that should stay excluded. It does not modify manuscript v0.8, add references, generate BibTeX, rebuild figures, generate export artifacts, or mark the paper as submission-ready.

## Manuscript v0.9

Manuscript v0.9 was created:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-manuscript-v0-9.md`

v0.9 applies only the v0.9 working-inclusion items from `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-v0-8-source-verification-decision-note.md`. It preserves the aligned v0.8 cited record set for working review, keeps optional preliminary records `[R14]`, `[R16]`, `[R21]`, and `[R24]` out of the manuscript, keeps deferred and still-not-eligible records excluded, preserves the approved benchmark claim boundary, and keeps Figure 1 and Figure 2 as text placeholders only. It does not apply manual/external-verification items, final-packaging/export deferrals, keep-excluded/do-not-add items, external reference additions, final citation style conversion, or bibliography finalization.

The v0.9 working draft delta note now exists:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-v0-9-working-delta.md`

## Manuscript v0.9 Figure Rebuild Specification

The manuscript v0.9 figure rebuild specification now exists:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-v0-9-figure-rebuild-specification.md`

The specification defines the later rebuild requirements for Figure 1 and Figure 2, including intended purpose, required visual structure, minimum labels, caption requirements, claim-boundary constraints, rendering constraints, and later Word/PDF readability requirements. It records that current Figure 1 and Figure 2 remain placeholders, prior Word figure arrows and diagram elements did not render reliably, no figures or export artifacts were generated, and final figures should be generated only in a later reviewed figure-finalization task.

## Manuscript v0.9 Draft Figure Assets

Draft Figure 1 and Figure 2 assets now exist for human visual review:

- `docs/assets/paper/kora-first-paper-figure-1-v0-9-draft.svg`
- `docs/assets/paper/kora-first-paper-figure-1-v0-9-draft.png`
- `docs/assets/paper/kora-first-paper-figure-2-v0-9-draft.svg`
- `docs/assets/paper/kora-first-paper-figure-2-v0-9-draft.png`

The draft figure note now exists:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-v0-9-figure-draft-note.md`

The draft assets follow the v0.9 figure rebuild specification and are not final publication figures. Current manuscript placeholders should not yet be treated as final publication layout. No Word, PDF, arXiv, archive, or manuscript export artifact was generated. Final manuscript integration and export review remain pending.

## Manuscript v0.9 Figure Asset Review Note

The manuscript v0.9 figure asset review note now exists:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-v0-9-figure-asset-review-note.md`

The review records that draft Figure 1 and Figure 2 match the manuscript purpose and merged rebuild specification, use readable simple-box and straight-connector structure, preserve visual non-claims, and are suitable for later human visual review and insertion testing. It also records that manuscript placeholders remain, final publication layout is not approved, and Word/PDF/arXiv/export work remains paused.

## Manuscript v0.10 Figure Reference Integration

The manuscript v0.10 working draft now exists:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-manuscript-v0-10.md`

The v0.10 figure integration delta now exists:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-v0-10-figure-integration-delta.md`

Manuscript v0.10 integrates reviewed draft Figure 1 and Figure 2 SVG/PNG asset references into the manuscript while keeping the assets as draft/reviewed, not final publication layout. Word/PDF/arXiv/export work remains paused, and final figure approval, final layout review, and export checks remain pending.

## Manuscript v0.10 Word-First Export Readiness Check

The manuscript v0.10 Word-first export readiness check now exists:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-v0-10-word-export-readiness-check.md`

The readiness check records that v0.10 can proceed to a later Word-first review-draft export task only if it is clearly labeled as a review draft. It does not generate Word, PDF, arXiv, archive, or export artifacts. It keeps bibliography finalization, source verification, final figure approval, final layout review, source-package hygiene, and final human approval pending.

## What Was Synchronized

- Manuscript citations were compared against preliminary BibTeX v0.1.
- Manuscript v0.3 cited `[R02]`, which remains still-not-eligible and absent from preliminary BibTeX.
- Manuscript v0.4 removes `[R02]` from background-only text and the preliminary references section.
- Manuscript v0.4 now cites only records currently present in preliminary BibTeX.
- Preliminary BibTeX still has 16 entries.
- Unused preliminary BibTeX entries remain `[R14]`, `[R16]`, `[R21]`, and `[R24]`.

## Claim Wording

The bounded claim is preserved:

> KORA reduced model invocations by 80% in a reproducible deterministic-heavy benchmark workload.

No production, API-cost, energy, broad superiority, formal approval, or submission-readiness claim was added.

## Remaining Required Blockers

- Full BibTeX remains incomplete.
- `[R02]`, `[R15]`, `[R19]`, `[R20]`, `[R22]`, and `[R23]` remain still-not-eligible.
- `[R17]` and `[R18]` remain deferred.
- Final citation style conversion and final bibliography formatting remain pending.
- Final manuscript-to-final-BibTeX synchronization remains pending.
- Final claim-to-evidence audit must be repeated after any future manuscript or bibliography changes.
- Final figures and tables are not locked.
- Final export package is not prepared.
- Clean reproduction transcript and artifact package review remain pending.
- Final human review remains pending.

## User Approval Still Needed

- Target venue or target package format.
- Whether `[R17]` and `[R18]` should be included or excluded once venue direction is known.
- Whether benchmark-methodology records `[R19]` through `[R24]` should be integrated into the manuscript methodology section.
- Whether optional workload, latency, API-cost, production-traffic, or energy work stays out of the first submission scope.

## Target Venue, Export, and Package Decisions

The first target package direction is arXiv-style technical report / preprint. Endorsement has been obtained and is not a current blocker. arXiv category compatibility, license, export format, and final human approval remain pending. No conference, workshop, or journal target has been selected.

## arXiv-Style Package Draft

The arXiv-style package draft docs now exist:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-arxiv-metadata-checklist-v0-1.md`
- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-arxiv-bibliography-scope-v0-1.md`
- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-arxiv-style-package-readiness-v0-1.md`
- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-future-venue-scan-v0-1.md`

These files record the supplied author metadata, endorsement status, conservative bibliography scope, original systems/evaluation framing, and future venue-scan placeholder. They do not submit to arXiv, select an arXiv category, select a conference/workshop/journal, or mark the paper as submission-ready.

## Figure, Table, and Algorithm Asset Pass

The figure/table/algorithm asset pass now exists:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-figure-table-algorithm-plan-v0-1.md`
- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-figure-table-algorithm-drafts-v0-1.md`

These files inventory existing visual assets, draft paper-ready text diagrams, benchmark tables, an evidence-boundary table, deterministic-first routing pseudocode, and an appendix artifact inventory table. Manuscript v0.4 was not edited in this pass; final insertion, numbering, layout, and export treatment require human review.

## Manuscript Asset Insertion Pass

Manuscript v0.5 now inserts:

- Figure 1: KORA execution-control architecture.
- Figure 2: direct baseline vs KORA-controlled benchmark flow.
- Table 1: deterministic-heavy benchmark result summary.
- Table 2: evidence boundary and non-claim table.
- Algorithm 1: deterministic-first routing pseudocode.
- Appendix Table A1: artifact and reproducibility inventory.

The inserted assets remain draft Markdown/Mermaid/text assets. Final rendering, numbering, layout, and export treatment remain pending.

## v0.5 Render and Export Readiness Pass

The v0.5 render/export readiness report and text-only export manifest now exist:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-v0-5-render-export-readiness-v0-1.md`
- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-arxiv-export-package-manifest-v0-1.md`

No dedicated paper export pipeline was found. No PDF, rendered figure, binary export, or raw benchmark artifact was generated or committed. The manuscript remains suitable for repository Markdown review, but final arXiv-compatible export requires a chosen export route and figure rendering/conversion.

## arXiv Export Route Dry Run

The export-route dry run and recommendation now exist:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-arxiv-export-route-dry-run-v0-1.md`
- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-arxiv-export-route-recommendation-v0-1.md`

Pandoc-generated LaTeX and HTML outputs were tested under `/tmp/kora-paper-export-dry-run` only. No PDF was generated because a LaTeX engine is not installed locally. No generated outputs or binary figures were committed. The recommended route is a Pandoc-to-LaTeX starting export followed by manual cleanup for Mermaid diagrams, wide tables, and bibliography formatting.

## Local Export Tooling Plan

The local export tooling setup guide, dry-build command plan, and source-package hygiene checklist now exist:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-local-export-tooling-setup-v0-1.md`
- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-arxiv-dry-build-command-plan-v0-1.md`
- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-arxiv-source-package-hygiene-v0-1.md`

No system packages were installed automatically. A full `/tmp` dry build was not attempted because the required LaTeX/PDF and Mermaid rendering tools are still missing locally.

## Installed-Tools Dry Build

The installed-tools dry-build result now exists:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-arxiv-dry-build-result-v0-1.md`

The `/tmp` dry build generated rendered Mermaid figure PDFs, LaTeX source, and a PDF using Mermaid CLI with a local browser path and Tectonic. Generated outputs stayed under `/tmp` and were not committed. Final layout cleanup, bibliography integration, source-package hygiene, and human review remain pending.

## Dry Build Output Review

The dry-build output review now exists:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-arxiv-dry-build-output-review-v0-1.md`

The review confirms the `/tmp` output inventory, cleaned source-package folder, and remaining blockers. No generated binaries or source-package files were committed.

## Word Draft and Figure Redesign Pass

The Word-first review route is now active, and PDF/arXiv source-package generation is paused. The Word draft review and figure redesign notes now exist:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-word-draft-review-v0-1.md`
- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-figure-redesign-note-v0-1.md`

Local-only Word drafts and redesigned Figure 1/Figure 2 PNG/SVG assets were generated outside the public repository. No generated DOCX, PDF, PNG, SVG, source package, or local working Markdown was committed.

## Word Figure Placeholder Pass

The image-inserted Word draft is superseded for review because human review found that inserted figure arrows and diagram elements did not render reliably. Word-first manuscript text review now continues with placeholders:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-word-placeholder-review-v0-1.md`

Figure 1 and Figure 2 are placeholders only. Current figure rendering should not be treated as publication-ready. Final publication-quality figures must be rebuilt separately after manuscript-body review is complete and the body text is stable. No generated DOCX, PDF, image, source package, binary output, or local working Markdown was committed.

## Word-First Text Review

The Word-first manuscript text review note now exists:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-word-first-text-review-v0-1.md`

The review covers abstract clarity, introduction/problem framing, KORA execution-control positioning, benchmark/evidence claim safety, method/system explanation clarity, related work and citation readiness, limitations/non-claims, submission blockers, and recommended next edits before final figure rebuild. Figure quality is out of scope for this text review because Figure 1 and Figure 2 remain placeholders only.

## Submission Package Packet

The venue-neutral submission package readiness packet now exists:

- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-submission-package-readiness-v0-1.md`
- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-final-human-review-packet-v0-1.md`
- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-reproduction-transcript-checklist-v0-1.md`
- `docs/paper/kora-first-paper-artifact-package-inventory-v0-1.md`

These files organize package blockers, human review decisions, reproduction transcript expectations, and artifact inventory. They do not select a venue, finalize an export package, or mark the paper as submission-ready.

## Status

The manuscript has advanced to v0.10 Word-first working draft status. Full BibTeX remains incomplete, Word-first human review is still the active route, and final visual review, final figure approval, layout cleanup, bibliography formatting, source-package hygiene, and human review remain pending. v0.10 integrates reviewed draft Figure 1 and Figure 2 asset references while keeping the assets marked as draft/reviewed and not final publication layout. It preserves the v0.9 citation scope and keeps manual/external verification, final-packaging/export deferrals, keep-excluded/do-not-add records, final citation style conversion, bibliography finalization, and final export work out of scope. The v0.7 citation and bibliography readiness review, v0.7 citation cleanup action plan, v0.8 citation cleanup delta, v0.8 source-verification packet, v0.8 source-verification decision note, v0.9 working delta, v0.9 figure rebuild specification, v0.9 draft figure assets, v0.9 figure asset review note, v0.10 figure integration delta, and v0.10 Word-first export readiness check are complete, but final bibliography scope, final citation style conversion, source verification execution, final manuscript-to-final-BibTeX synchronization, final figure approval, figure insertion review, and export checks remain pending. PDF/arXiv export remains paused until manuscript text, final figures, and bibliography/export package blockers are resolved. The paper remains not submission-ready.
