# Loop Hardening Fresh-Context Review

ID: audit:20260510-loop-hardening-review
Type: Audit
Status: recorded
Created: 2026-05-10
Updated: 2026-05-10
Audited: 2026-05-11 06:41 UTC
Target: plan:20260510-core-loop-hardening

## Summary

Fresh-context review inspected the Core loop hardening diff, related Loom records, and verification evidence. Verdict: `clear`; no material findings were found within the reviewed protocol-hardening scope.

## Target

The target was the in-progress work under `plan:20260510-core-loop-hardening`, including Core doctrine changes for shaping, slicing, Ralph handoff, audit handoff, selected playbook alignment, public docs, and the current Loom records that support the work.

## Audit Scope And Lenses

Lenses:

- outer-loop shaping for vague and broad product work
- ticket and plan slicing quality
- Ralph packet-before-worker handoff
- audit/Ralph surface separation
- playbook composition over Core
- public doc consistency
- evidence and record truthfulness

Out of scope:

- Dota eval app implementation quality
- adapter-specific manifest validation beyond package smoke/pack checks
- proof that the changed wording will improve future live eval behavior

## Context And Evidence Reviewed

- Ralph packet: `packet:20260511T063844Z-loop-hardening-review` - bounded fresh-context review contract and returned worker output.
- `research:20260510-loom-loop-failure-analysis` - source analysis and recommendations.
- `evidence:20260510-opencode-session-loop-failures` - observed eval transcript and record facts.
- `plan:20260510-core-loop-hardening` - decomposition and current state.
- `ticket:20260510-shaping-slicing-doctrine` - shaping/slicing acceptance.
- `ticket:20260510-ralph-audit-handoff-doctrine` - packet/audit handoff acceptance.
- `ticket:20260510-playbook-doc-alignment` - playbook/doc alignment acceptance.
- `ticket:20260510-loop-hardening-verification` - verification acceptance.
- `evidence:20260510-loop-hardening-checks` - command evidence for smoke, pack, and diff checks.
- Current worktree diff for changed Core skills, selected Playbook skills, docs, and Loom records.

## Findings

None - no material findings within audited scope.

## Verdict

`clear`. The review found that Core now makes outer-loop shaping explicit for unclear product intent, ticket and plan guidance now include a practical single-closure-claim slicing test, Ralph and audit guidance now make `.loom/packets/ralph/` packets the worker handoff contract before launch, and selected playbooks and public docs reinforce Core rather than defining another protocol surface.

This verdict is bounded to instruction and record quality. It does not prove future agent behavior in a live eval.

## Required Follow-up

No required follow-up before closing the current hardening tickets, assuming final local diff checks remain clean after recording this audit and closure state.

Recommended future follow-up: rerun or add a live eval that exercises vague product shaping, ticket slicing, and packetized audit handoff.

## Residual Risk

- Instruction-following effectiveness remains behavioral until re-evaluated with a live agent run.
- The review did not inspect adapter-specific plugin validation beyond existing package smoke and pack checks.
- Some playbook route summaries remain compact, but nearby Core-dependency language constrains them inside Core loop semantics.

## Related Records

- `plan:20260510-core-loop-hardening` - consuming plan.
- `ticket:20260510-loop-hardening-verification` - verification ticket citing this audit.
- `packet:20260511T063844Z-loop-hardening-review` - fresh-context review packet.
