v1.8.34 — CP_FLAG deploys what it says, validators check what the agent reads

CP_FLAG no longer skips files or misreports copies (#221). With CP_FLAG=-i, cp took its answer from the list deploy was working through, so a file could end up neither deployed nor recorded while deploy still exited 0; the prompt now reads your terminal. With -n, or a "no" to -i, an update printed [OVERWRITE] for a copy that did not happen. It now prints [KEPT], keeps the previous manifest hash so the next deploy still sees the difference, and the summary counts N kept by CP_FLAG. On coreutils 9.2 or later a declined or skipped copy no longer aborts the deploy; a copy that really fails still stops it.

The capabilities gate-safety check follows your configured path (#190). Both validators hardcoded .agentcortex/context/private/downstream-capabilities.yaml, so a gate-unsafe file at a retargeted downstream_capabilities.path passed while bootstrap loaded it. The path is now read with a fixed grammar that gives the same answer with or without PyYAML, and an unsupported form fails closed.

Test Gate Results has to contain results (#233). The AC-6 check only looked for the heading, which the Work Log template already contains, so a feature that reached handoff/ship with none there passed. It now needs a non-empty body that is not none.

kb-consult keeps the KB's routed order (#218). "Smallest approx_tokens first" is gone; approx_tokens only stops a consult. Measured on sonnet-5.5 (8 vs 8 sessions) the change made no difference; it removes an instruction that contradicted the KB's own routing.

The README says what is on after install (#121), in English and 繁體中文: a fresh install runs nothing until you enable the pre-commit hook and a CI job, the phase/evidence check runs locally because work logs are gitignored, and a new FAQ entry explains ⚡ ACX and the gate: block. The repo's own backlog now keeps completed rows in its archive (#230).

Downstream delta:

• Core files, updated on deploy: .agentcortex/bin/deploy.sh, .agentcortex/bin/validate.sh, .agentcortex/bin/validate.ps1, .agentcortex/tools/validate_downstream_capabilities.py, .agent/workflows/bootstrap.md, .agentcortex/docs/guides/connecting-a-knowledge-base.md, and the version banners in .agentcortex/docs/.
• You may see a new FAIL: a current-branch feature or architecture-change Work Log at handoff/ship whose Test Gate Results still reads none. Record the test command and its result there.
• If you set downstream_capabilities.path, the validators now check that file. A flow mapping, tab indent or repeated key in that section fails closed.
• With an empty CP_FLAG (the default), deploy behaves as before. Scaffold files are unchanged.