[McHersheys]

What changed?

Refs #14. Replace this draft's prefix-pair codec with a human-readable YAML block path tree at the existing verify move boundary. Every key is a quoted literal component, indentation is canonical, null explicitly marks an exact leaf, and an empty-key leaf handles file/directory-prefix cases. This is actual YAML text, not JSON renamed YAML.

The dependency-free reader accepts only that documented emitted subset, rejects malformed/duplicate/ambiguous trees, and checks the expanded array's byte length and SHA-256. Stored reviews, snapshots and freshness still use the original sorted unique literal paths. No wildcard semantics, dropped paths, changed notes, larger relay cap, parser dependency or new runtime limit.

Use the tree only when its complete wire object is smaller. Keep upstream's unassignedEngine() convention; no private engine number is assigned. Active prefix-pair code/docs/tests are replaced; ordinary Git history is retained. Public changes contain generic source, format documentation and synthetic tests only.

Requirement rows

H3, H16 and V8. Exact-path freshness (E8, currently draft) is preserved, not generalized. Future generation/reading and native recovery of older queued literal-array reviews are addressed. Durable queued records are not manually rewritten; already sealed pending sends retain their existing custody rules.

Focused verification

At da998f06ad7b6194b979b71b03c5bc146fbd9351, Node v24.21.0 in an admitted isolated development runtime:

• 6/6 public regressions PASS: actual YAML shape; literal punctuation/wildcards, Unicode and line breaks; file/directory-prefix cases; strict corruption/duplicate/shape refusal; smaller-only selection and caller immutability; actual AES-GCM seal/unseal; real Git capture, native SQLite replay/storage and covered-versus-unrelated freshness.
• A synthetic 1,420-path native sealed HTTP JSON request shrinks 199,532 -> 63,568 bytes, below the unchanged 100,000-byte cap. This is a corpus result, not a guarantee for every review.
• The YAML-shape regression fails for the intended format assertion against the prior draft source. A clean pre-fix upstream control independently reproduces the oversized native request and refuses the feature engine before cursor, receipt, refusal or verdict writes. These controls were not replayed after the escape-only Unicode follow-up: their ASCII corpus and engine fence are unchanged.
• An independent YAML1.2 safe parser restores all 13 paths in an actual emitted generic sample, including escaped YAML-sensitive Unicode. This is an external data-format check, not a product dependency.
• Changed-code syntax and whitespace checks passed. Owned fixture source/scratch was removed after process-residue checks. No live board or relay effects were exercised.

Narrow minimum-Node follow-up

At 16b41c5633c678e860bc2def3664fa980bf2b5a8, the three evidenced candidate/test seams are repaired:

• src/engine.js: one import binding per line; codec behavior is unchanged.
• test/team-engine.test.js: prepare a valid sender envelope, then inject the malformed receiver review. Sender and receiver validation remain strict.
• test/resources-lease-fixture.js: the historical negative control is below SUBMIT_ADMISSION_ENGINE, not current-writer-minus-one. Admission/grant guards and unassignedEngine() are unchanged.

Fresh focused qualification: PASS, Node v22.13.0 / npm10.9.2 in an admitted isolated development runtime. Unmodified upstream runner/timeouts:

• Exact help names come from the command declarations case: 1 pass.
• test/static-style.test.js: 2 pass, including its malformed-import control.
• test/team-engine.test.js: 6 pass, including malformed receiver reviews and actual released-engine replay.
• Exact a review waiting in the pool keeps its lease case: 3 TAP passes including its two nested admission/renewal controls.
• Total: 12 TAP tests pass, 0 fail/cancel/skip; all three changed files also pass node --check. Fixture source/scratch and process residue were removed and independently checked absent.

The original failed full gate and six passing YAML cases are reused as historical evidence, not replayed or relabelled as a new full-gate PASS. Codec, feature-engine leaf and YAML tests are unchanged. The original base-PASS/candidate-FAIL admission control is retained; only the repaired candidate's affected seam was run here. No live board/relay effects, browser campaign or release/deployment qualification.

Native queued-review recovery increment

Candidate 356af3889a844b6451b4d7e6bb5e5141431a2123 is a direct fast-forward from 16b41c5633c678e860bc2def3664fa980bf2b5a8. It reuses the codec and completed checks above.

• sendQueued applies the existing smaller-only codec to the resolved, unacknowledged wire copy before sealing. The original move ID, actor, frozen/source/review bindings, logical intent, durable reverse captures and later queued moves are preserved. Native pull/rebuild/receipt reconciliation remains the recovery path; no queue amendment helper or replacement verdict is needed.
• Add three real Git/SQLite + AES-GCM loopback regressions: ordinary older-queue recovery; intervening remote record plus lost ACK without duplicate send; unreadable journal retaining queue/link/sealed-pending bytes. The unchanged send boundary fails the first two with the actual 100,000-byte request refusal. The repaired boundary passes all three, sending 1,421 exact synthetic paths in 63,698 HTTP JSON bytes and the later fact once.
• Reuse the prepared one-line release-comment privacy correction. Scanner, planted negative controls and workflow behavior are unchanged.

Fresh Node22.13.0 / npm10.9.2, isolated non-production runtime; unmodified upstream runner/timeouts:

Phase	Actual result
Recovery + privacy + static style + archive tests	9 pass, 0 fail/cancel/skip
Exact 10 originally missing-tag cases + 3 missing-make cases	13 pass, 0 fail/cancel/skip
Wall-clock budget / spec prechecks	Both exit0
Exact upstream engine136 reader + predecessor/candidate actual hosted HTTP ESM	3 pass; old executable reader refuses feature137 before any receipt/cursor/board write; assets declare136/137 and retain presentation reading
Trusted-base DCO check of complete public PR range	6 non-merge commits checked, PASS
Remaining original timing/admission/cleanup cases	2 pass, 17 fail, 1 cancelled, 0 skipped (20 native TAP tests; includes nested modes/aggregate)
Current sandboxed Chrome prerequisite	FAIL: no usable sandbox, SIGABRT before DevToolsActivePort

The source tested before publication was bb1adf674d17acc9b7c2e903e11d399c37f3be96; publication commit has the identical tree d0146958fca9878f8d7cfe6e2c74d95cd5ac3c19, integrated directly onto the existing public head with contributor sign-off. No source/test byte change between those identities. The preparatory native history remains in its original custody, not added to the public range.

All 13 missing-tag/make failures and the privacy finding now have actual passing follow-ups. The remaining targeted run passed the former expired-auth cleanup and GUI verification-admission cases, but still failed startup/query/local-first performance, concurrent admission (SQLite locked), gate-profile/short-slot/landing waits and parity timeout. No threshold, policy or gate exclusion was changed. These failures are retained, not declared environment-only. A same-envelope exact-base control reproduced startup median183.07ms>100ms, both concurrent-admission SQLite locks, the gate-profile assertion and the short-slot wait: 6 native TAP failures including the nested modes/aggregate. Their test files, runner, resources and gate sources are byte-identical to base; this does not attribute the untested remaining failures or waive any gate.

Still not a full-gate PASS. The original npm run gate FAIL remains unchanged. A broad rerun is held until a qualified sandboxed Chrome and real absolute-path lsof are available and the remaining native failures are addressed. The initial browser lookup adapter failed on a missing library path; correcting that task-private path exposed the actual sandbox refusal above. No --no-sandbox, capability/profile weakening, shared tool install or hosted CI compute was used. The commit's [skip ci] keeps this source-only publication from dispatching hosted workflows.

Executable CLI/device readers need the normally assigned landed feature engine. The relay keeps payloads opaque; browser ESM reads presentation snapshots and enforces exact engine equality, so its assets still need a coordinated release and actual browser qualification—not the Node codec imported into browser ESM. Maintainers must independently review, finish the minimum-Node gate in a qualified envelope, land/assign the feature engine, and qualify compatible CLI plus hosted assets/presentation before any native recovery. No live queue, runtime, credential, release or production effect was performed.

Why draft / remaining gates

Minimum-supported Node gate attempted: FAIL at da998f06ad7b6194b979b71b03c5bc146fbd9351 with Node v22.13.0 / npm10.9.2: npm run gate exited1. Native summary: 2,574 pass, 154 fail, 1 cancelled and 167 skipped (2,896 total). Wall-clock/spec stages and all six YAML regressions passed within that same run. The three candidate/test seams are repaired and focused-qualified above; the remaining original failures are tracked by the newer partial results above, not a new full-gate run. The review-handoff comment records the exact failures and smallest remedies; no full-gate PASS is claimed.

The historical failure classes are retained in the original report. Their current disposition is recorded above: public refs, make, privacy and two formerly failing native cases have passing follow-ups; Chrome/lsof and the other named native failures still hold readiness. No waiver or full-gate PASS is claimed.

Not qualified: hosted browser runtime or mixed-version release/deployment qualification. Maintainer/second-verifier review of the relay/verification seam remains required.

Landing must assign the feature engine normally and release CLI plus hosted reader assets together. Older CLI engines stop before receipt/cursor changes; the current hosted browser's exact-engine check also stops, so this is not transparent mixed-version compatibility. The hosted /relay/engine.js derives its version from the package. Browser code consumes presentation snapshots rather than executable review args: do not import this Node-only codec into served browser ESM.

• Commits signed off with the existing contributor identity.
• Full upstream gate PASS on the minimum supported Node version (attempted; FAIL).
• Maintainer/second-verifier review and coordinated reader-release qualification.
• Any CLA agreement requested by the project's bot remains for the contributor; this revision does not accept new legal terms automatically.

[McHersheys]

Minimum-supported Node gate at da998f0 with Node22.13.0 / npm10.9.2: FAIL, exit1. Native summary: 2,574 pass, 154 fail, 1 cancelled, 167 skipped (2,896 total). Wall-clock/spec stages passed; all six YAML regressions passed within this same full run. Draft retained.

Smallest source/test remedies:

• src/engine.js:50: one import binding per line (help/static-style failures).
• test/team-engine.test.js:136: malformed path arrays now fail during preparation, before receiver-negative assertions. Prepare a valid envelope, then inject the malformed review for receiver checks; retain strict validation.
• test/resources-lease-fixture.js:240: writer-minus-one now equals the admission feature's engine, so is not a pre-feature negative control. Pin below SUBMIT_ADMISSION_ENGINE; keep unassignedEngine(). This exact case passed base 6231e10 and failed this head with identical test blobs; no full baseline run.

Other blockers remain: the fixture lacked Chrome, make, lsof and release-tag refs; the privacy guard flags unchanged upstream .github/workflows/release.yml:10; latency/SQLite/cleanup failures remain unattributed. No checks were waived. Full-green and coordinated CLI/hosted-reader release qualification remain outstanding.

[McHersheys]

Pushed focused repairs in 16b41c5633c678e860bc2def3664fa980bf2b5a8:

• Multiline engine import layout.
• Receiver-negative reviews are injected after valid sender preparation; strict validation is unchanged.
• Historical admission negative uses the feature-introduction floor, not writer-minus-one; no engine assignment or guard relaxation.

Node v22.13.0 / npm10.9.2: 12 TAP tests PASS, 0 fail/cancel/skip, including nested lease controls: exact help/static-import case (1), static-style suite (2), sealed-review suite (6), exact queued-lease case (3). Three changed-file syntax checks also pass. Upstream runner/timeouts unchanged; owned fixture and descendants cleaned and absence read back.

The original full gate remains FAIL (2,574 pass / 154 fail / 1 cancelled / 167 skipped). It was not rerun; the six passing YAML cases and original base/candidate control are retained, not replayed. Missing browser/make/lsof, omitted release-tag fixture refs, unchanged upstream privacy finding and unattributed timing/SQLite/cleanup failures remain unresolved.

PR stays draft. No maintainer acceptance, coordinated reader release, mixed-version/deployment qualification, merge or CLA action is claimed. The PR body now distinguishes the fresh focused result from historical evidence.