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Step 3 of milestone 409 "Response shapes". Step 2's reporting-back skill only helps if it fires, and only exists in the Claude Code plugin. - scribe_static_context.md and using-scribe (new reflex 11) say: report back in a shape the operator can read, placed from the `placement` block rather than memory, and point at the reporting-back skill. using-scribe also lists it among the sibling process-skills. - update_task returns a one-line `report_back` cue when a task is closed (done or cancelled). A tool response is the only surface every MCP client sees, at the moment the report is about to be written. - _INSTRUCTIONS takes no line: there is no budget without trading out a session-start reflex. The decision is recorded in server.py's comment block so it is not re-litigated blind. - Guards: test_instruction_surfaces_agree pins the reflex and the placement pointer on both plugin surfaces; a tool test pins the cue on closing statuses and its absence on every other update. Plugin version minted. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
361 lines
16 KiB
Python
361 lines
16 KiB
Python
"""The instruction surfaces must agree on how a rule reaches a session.
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WHY THIS EXISTS
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Rule #119 makes the instruction surfaces the SPECIFICATION for product
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behaviour — there is no other place the "load the operator's rules" obligation
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is written down, and no code path enforces it. So a surface that states it
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differently isn't a documentation slip; it is the product behaving differently.
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That happened (#2497). `_INSTRUCTIONS` said the SessionStart hook "is the
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bridge" for getting rules into a session, while the `using-scribe` skill said to
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pull them yourself and treat any push as a bonus. An agent weighting the first
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would reasonably skip the pull.
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#2198 is the case where that is wrong: every plugin hook was silently inert for
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an extended period, and nothing announced it. An agent trusting the push would
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have run with no binding rules and no signal — while those rules govern branch,
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commit, push and other hard-to-reverse actions.
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The asymmetry is the whole argument, and it is what these tests pin: asking
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when a rule had already arrived costs one redundant call; not asking when
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nothing arrived costs the operator's rules entirely.
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MILESTONE 394 SHARPENED IT RATHER THAN RETIRING IT. There is no longer a
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resident set to pull, so "no rule in front of me" went from a rare and
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suspicious state to the ordinary state of most turns. The instruction that
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used to be supplementary — go and ask — is now the only route a rule has, and
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the surfaces must additionally say what an EMPTY session means, or a session
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reads silence as permission on nearly every turn.
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WHAT THIS DOES NOT DO
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It cannot tell whether two surfaces contradict each other in prose generally —
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that needs a reader. It pins the instructions whose absence is known to be
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load-bearing, and the specific shape the #2497 defect took: naming the push
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without also stating how to ask.
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"""
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from __future__ import annotations
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import pathlib
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ROOT = pathlib.Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]
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# THE PULL IS NOW THE ASK (milestone 394). This was `list_always_on_rules`,
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# the call that fetched the resident set. There is no resident set and no such
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# call: a rule reaches a session by retrieval, and the only thing a session can
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# DO about a rule it has not been handed is go looking for one.
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#
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# So the two halves this file used to pin separately — "pull the resident set"
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# and "and retrieve the conditional ones too" — have collapsed into one
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# instruction, and it is the load-bearing one rather than the supplementary
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# one it used to be.
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ASK = 'content_type="rule"'
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# A surface must also say what an EMPTY session means, which is the half that
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# is newly dangerous. Under residency, "no rule in front of me" was rare and
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# suspicious. Under retrieval it is the ordinary state of most turns, so a
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# session that reads it as "there is no rule" is wrong on nearly every turn
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# rather than occasionally — the #3720 defect at session scale.
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#
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# Claim phrases, not a single word, for the reason BINDING_CLAIMS gives below:
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# a bare "matched" or "silence" appears in prose that is not making this claim
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# at all. A surface passes by asserting the distinction however it words it.
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ABSENCE_CLAIMS = (
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"nothing matched",
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"is not the same as \"there is no rule",
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"never \"there is no rule",
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"silence is not absence",
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"not evidence there is none",
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)
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# Surfaces a session loads before substantive work. Hand-written because
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# "is this a session-start surface?" is an editorial fact, not a derivable one —
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# but each entry is asserted to EXIST, so a move or rename fails loudly here
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# instead of quietly dropping that surface from the check.
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SESSION_START_SURFACES = (
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ROOT / "src" / "scribe" / "mcp" / "server.py",
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ROOT / "plugin" / "hooks" / "scribe_static_context.md",
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ROOT / "plugin" / "skills" / "using-scribe" / "SKILL.md",
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)
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def _all_surfaces() -> list[tuple[str, str]]:
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"""(label, text) for every file a SESSION loads as instructions.
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Deliberately not every markdown file under plugin/: `README.md` describes
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the push channel to the operator installing the plugin, and telling a human
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what the hook does is not the same act as telling an agent it need not pull.
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The boundary is "does a session read this", which is skills (loaded by
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description match), the hook-injected static context, and the MCP server's
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own instructions.
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"""
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found = [(str(p.relative_to(ROOT)), p.read_text())
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for p in (ROOT / "plugin" / "skills").rglob("SKILL.md")]
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found += [(str(p.relative_to(ROOT)), p.read_text())
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for p in (ROOT / "plugin" / "hooks").glob("*.md")]
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server = ROOT / "src" / "scribe" / "mcp" / "server.py"
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found.append((str(server.relative_to(ROOT)), server.read_text()))
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return found
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def test_every_session_start_surface_states_the_ask():
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"""Retrieval is the only delivery, so asking is the only recourse."""
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missing = []
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for path in SESSION_START_SURFACES:
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assert path.exists(), (
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f"{path.relative_to(ROOT)} is gone — it was one of the surfaces "
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f"carrying the rules instruction. If it moved, update "
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f"SESSION_START_SURFACES; if it was retired, check the instruction "
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f"still lives somewhere a fresh session reads."
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)
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if ASK not in path.read_text():
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missing.append(str(path.relative_to(ROOT)))
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assert not missing, (
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f"these surfaces never tell the agent how to ask for a rule "
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f"({ASK}): {missing}. Nothing is pushed and nothing is resident, so a "
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f"surface that omits this leaves a session with no way to reach a rule "
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f"it was not handed — bound by nothing (#2198, #2497, milestone 394)."
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)
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def test_every_session_start_surface_says_an_empty_session_is_not_an_empty_rulebook():
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"""The half that got dangerous when residency went away.
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Under the old model a session opened holding every applicable rule, so
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"nothing is in front of me" was a rare state and a suspicious one. Under
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retrieval it is the NORMAL state of most turns. A surface that describes
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where rules come from, without also saying what their absence means, leaves
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a session reading silence as permission — on nearly every turn rather than
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occasionally.
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That is #3720's defect ("absence reads as non-existence") moved from a
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readout to the session itself, and this milestone is what makes every
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session start in the absent state.
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"""
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missing = []
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for path in SESSION_START_SURFACES:
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text = path.read_text().lower()
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if not any(c.lower() in text for c in ABSENCE_CLAIMS):
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missing.append(str(path.relative_to(ROOT)))
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assert not missing, (
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f"these surfaces say how a rule arrives but never what it means when "
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f"none does: {missing}. 'No rule arrived' means 'nothing matched', "
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f"never 'there is no rule' — and only one of those has been checked. "
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f"Say it however you like; one of {ABSENCE_CLAIMS} is what this looks "
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f"for."
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)
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def _instructions_text() -> str:
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"""The _INSTRUCTIONS literal from server.py, as the client would see it."""
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import re
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src = (ROOT / "src" / "scribe" / "mcp" / "server.py").read_text()
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match = re.search(r'_INSTRUCTIONS = """(.*?)"""', src, re.S)
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assert match, "server.py no longer defines _INSTRUCTIONS as a triple-quoted literal"
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return match.group(1).strip()
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# Claude Code injects only the first ~2,048 characters of an MCP server's
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# instructions and silently cuts the rest mid-word (#2562: observed live —
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# the previous 20k-char version delivered ~10% of itself, and none of the
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# Systems tagging guidance ever reached a session). 2,000 leaves margin.
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INSTRUCTIONS_BUDGET = 2000
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def test_instructions_fit_the_fold():
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text = _instructions_text()
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assert len(text) <= INSTRUCTIONS_BUDGET, (
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f"_INSTRUCTIONS is {len(text)} chars; the client injects only ~2,048 "
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f"and silently cuts the rest (#2562). This block is a MAP — move the "
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f"detail to the tool's docstring (delivered at reach-for time), the "
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f"plugin static context (always delivered), or a skill; see the "
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f"comment above _INSTRUCTIONS."
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)
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def test_floor_states_the_systems_reflex():
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"""Write-time tagging guidance must live on the surface that always arrives.
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#2562's behavioral finding: with the guidance only in tool descriptions,
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sessions filed records untagged. The static context is the delivery floor,
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so the tag-as-you-write reflex has to be stated there.
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"""
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floor = (ROOT / "plugin" / "hooks" / "scribe_static_context.md").read_text()
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for needle in ("system_ids", "create_system"):
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assert needle in floor, (
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f"plugin/hooks/scribe_static_context.md no longer mentions "
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f"{needle} — the Systems tagging reflex must be stated on the "
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f"floor, not only in tool descriptions (#2562)."
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)
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def test_floor_names_the_snippet_recording_triggers():
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"""The floor must state the pattern-library recording model, by name.
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#2664's behavioral finding: recording guidance as a trailing clause of the
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reuse bullet converted zero times outside snippet-minded sessions. The
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2026-08-16 ruling (decision #2686) then replaced the reactive model
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entirely: every shape is recorded at FIRST build — no "will it recur?"
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judgment — and second-copy consolidation is only the backstop. The floor
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is the delivery surface for that reflex, so all three elements must stay
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stated: the tool, the first-build trigger, and the backstop.
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"""
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floor = (ROOT / "plugin" / "hooks" / "scribe_static_context.md").read_text()
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for needle in ("create_snippet", "first build", "second copy"):
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assert needle in floor, (
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f"plugin/hooks/scribe_static_context.md no longer states the "
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f"snippet-recording model ({needle!r}) — record-every-shape-at-"
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f"first-build with second-copy consolidation as the backstop must "
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f"be stated on the floor (#2664, decision #2686)."
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)
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# Topics displaced from _INSTRUCTIONS when it was cut to fit the fold. Each
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# must remain stated on at least one DELIVERED surface: a tool docstring
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# (arrives with the tool schema), the plugin static context (always arrives),
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# or a bundled skill (arrives on trigger match). Keyed by a phrase distinctive
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# enough that its disappearance means the guidance is gone, not reworded —
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# update the phrase alongside a deliberate rewording.
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DISPLACED_TOPICS = {
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"supersedes": "supersedes",
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"trash is recoverable": "deleted_batch_id",
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"duplicate gate": "duplicate",
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"systems tag-as-you-write": "system_ids",
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"reference note vs dev-log": "reference note",
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"work-logs over body rewrites": "add_task_log",
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"rule homes / altitude": "create_project_rule",
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"rules vs other entities": "standing instruction",
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"shared records are suggestions": "shared",
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"processes run verbatim": "verbatim",
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"snippet reuse reflex": "when_to_use",
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"compaction at seams": "compact",
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"plans are milestones": "start_planning",
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"scope to the entered project": "cross-project",
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"project bootstrap needs confirmation": "never guessing a project",
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}
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def test_displaced_topics_live_on_a_delivered_surface():
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corpus = ""
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for p in (ROOT / "src" / "scribe" / "mcp" / "tools").glob("*.py"):
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corpus += p.read_text()
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corpus += (ROOT / "plugin" / "hooks" / "scribe_static_context.md").read_text()
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for p in (ROOT / "plugin" / "skills").rglob("SKILL.md"):
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corpus += p.read_text()
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corpus = corpus.lower()
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missing = [
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f"{topic} (phrase: {phrase!r})"
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for topic, phrase in DISPLACED_TOPICS.items()
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if phrase.lower() not in corpus
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]
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assert not missing, (
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f"guidance displaced from _INSTRUCTIONS has fallen off every delivered "
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f"surface (tool docstrings / static context / skills): {missing}. It "
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f"was cut from _INSTRUCTIONS deliberately (#2562) on the premise it "
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f"lives elsewhere — restore it somewhere that delivers."
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)
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def test_no_surface_names_the_push_without_stating_the_ask():
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"""The exact shape #2497 took.
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Mentioning the SessionStart hook is fine and often useful. Mentioning it
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*instead of* the pull is the defect: it reads as "this is handled", and the
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surface that says so is the one an agent has least reason to doubt.
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"""
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offenders = [
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label for label, text in _all_surfaces()
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if "SessionStart" in text and ASK not in text
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]
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assert not offenders, (
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f"these surfaces describe the SessionStart push but never state how to "
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f"ask: {offenders}. The push is a delivery optimisation, not the "
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f"bridge — it can be absent without saying so, and since milestone 394 "
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f"it carries no rules at all. Name it if it helps, but say how to ask "
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f"({ASK}) regardless."
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)
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# ── force: a surface that says rules bind must say what does not ────────
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#
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# Added with the preference kind (milestone 399). Before it, "rules bind" was
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# the whole truth and every surface said so flatly. It is now half of one, and
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# the half that is missing is the dangerous half to omit: a session reading
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# only "rules bind" and then receiving a preference has been told, by the most
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# authoritative surface it has, to treat it as binding.
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#
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# That failure is silent in both directions. Treating a preference as a rule
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# produces a session that refuses to proceed over something the operator only
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# preferred; and it removes the reason preferences exist, which is that they
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# can be brought up to date rather than obeyed.
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#
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# Same bargain as every test in this file: STRUCTURE, not wording. A surface
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# passes by mentioning the other kind at all, so the prose stays free.
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#
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# PINNED ON THE CLAIM, NOT THE WORD "bind". A bare substring also matches
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# `bind_repo`, `list_repo_bindings` and the DNS-rebinding comment in
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# server.py — so it would one day fail a skill that mentions repo binding and
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# has nothing to do with force, which is rule 167's named failure: a guard
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# raising a false alarm about the very thing it protects. These phrases are
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# the ones that actually assert bindingness to a reader.
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BINDING_CLAIMS = (
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"rules bind",
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"binding rules",
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"rules are binding",
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"treat every one as binding",
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)
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OTHER_KIND = "preference"
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def test_a_surface_claiming_rules_bind_also_names_what_does_not():
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offenders = [
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label for label, text in _all_surfaces()
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if any(c in text.lower() for c in BINDING_CLAIMS)
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and OTHER_KIND not in text.lower()
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]
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assert not offenders, (
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f"these surfaces tell a session that rules bind and never mention "
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f"preferences: {offenders}. A preference arrives through the same arms "
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f"and renders in the same line shape, so a surface that describes only "
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f"the binding kind is read as covering both — and the session treats "
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f"'how the operator likes this done' as something it may not proceed "
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f"past. Name the other kind, however briefly."
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)
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# ── Reporting back (milestone 409 step 3) ──────────────────────────────
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#
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# The reporting-back skill carries the shapes, but a skill only helps if it
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# fires. The reflex that sends a session to it lives on the two plugin
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# surfaces a session always reads; the in-band cue on update_task is the half
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# that reaches clients with no plugin at all. _INSTRUCTIONS took no line, on
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# purpose — server.py's comment block records why.
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REPORT_REFLEX = "report back in a shape the operator can read"
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REPORT_SURFACES = (
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ROOT / "plugin" / "hooks" / "scribe_static_context.md",
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ROOT / "plugin" / "skills" / "using-scribe" / "SKILL.md",
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)
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def test_the_reporting_reflex_reaches_every_plugin_surface():
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missing = []
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for path in REPORT_SURFACES:
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text = " ".join(path.read_text().split()).lower()
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if REPORT_REFLEX not in text or "reporting-back" not in text:
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missing.append(str(path.relative_to(ROOT)))
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assert not missing, (
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f"these surfaces no longer send a session to the reporting-back skill "
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f"({REPORT_REFLEX!r} plus the skill's name): {missing}. Without the "
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f"reflex the skill loads only when its description happens to match."
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)
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def test_the_reporting_reflex_takes_placement_from_the_record():
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"""The failure milestone 409 began from: a placement reconstructed from
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memory reads exactly like a real one when it is wrong."""
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for path in REPORT_SURFACES:
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text = " ".join(path.read_text().split())
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assert "`placement`" in text, f"{path.relative_to(ROOT)} no longer points at the placement block"
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