PRFlow v2.57.0 — fewer false REJECTs, a fix loop that fixes only real defects, and a new /prflow:help command

Publishes everything since v2.56.0 (internal versions 2.56.1 through 2.57.0).

Highlights

• Fewer false REJECTs. A checklist verifier answers INVALID when your code is right and only the generated claim is wrong. A counterexample counts only when a shipped caller or documented state can produce its input, an absolute claim that does not quote the change is dropped, and a failed item the fix loop declined no longer carries into the next pass. At an important or suggestion threshold, a below-Critical finding that only argues against a decided acceptance criterion gives APPROVE with notes. (#2138, #2118, #2084, #2148, #1793)
• Checklist verifiers no longer run shell commands. They read the supplied source snapshots and PR diff and report INCONCLUSIVE when a claim needs a command run or evidence they lack. Under /prflow:implement, such a criterion check no longer forces an extra shadow review; the acceptance-criteria gate, whose verifier can run commands, checks it later. (#2311, #2457)
• The fix loop changes code only for real defects. The fixer reads the cited source and the requirement behind a failed item before editing, and reviewers report what is wrong, not a ready-made fix. A converged REJECT iteration no longer pays another round for fixes that cannot change the verdict. (#2259, #2141, #2151)
• Faster, cheaper reviews. A verifier that skips its verdict file no longer holds the wave for nine minutes, the fix-delta check loads your review-and-fix extension itself (about 30 seconds per check for a 9–10 KB extension), local retry rounds stop idling (about 60 seconds each), and the loop reads a smaller review result. (#1797, #2119, #2269, #2474)
• /prflow:implement. A criterion about what prose says is checked by reading that text. The cleanup pass runs before the sweeps and tests, which now cover its edits. A run whose review you waived finishes with a workpad note, and a clean review no longer risks a false Blocked. (#2246, #2236, #2026, #1699)
• /prflow:spec does more of the deciding. "You decide" makes it research the question and re-ask with each option's pros and cons. Options list their failure modes, it asks when a word in your request means something else in your repository, and it can end with nothing filed when a reported bug is already gone. (#2301, #2262, #2302, #1951)
• New /prflow:help command. It checks your setup and a failed cloud run's log, then gives one verdict: setup problem with the fix, likely PRFlow bug, or undetermined. A likely bug gets a local report to share; it posts nothing. (#1668)

Workflow change in this span: the shipped workflows and the read-project-config action changed. A cloud /prflow:review over an hour now posts its verdict when a reviewer App is configured, a failed verdict post fails the job, and the weekly retrospective saves learnings to the telemetry branch instead of opening a state pull request; the installer stages the removal of tracked learnings files for you to commit (#1980, #1965, #1511). Cloud-tier users should update the prflow_version pin and re-run the installer fetched at v2.57.0 (DEVFLOW_REF=v2.57.0 bash devflow-install.sh --apply) in the same upgrade, and re-vendor any committed vendored copy; mixed versions get no compatibility path (#1884, #1656). Breaking for direct helper callers: efficiency-trace.sh refuses --correct-iter and --mode, normalize-verdicts.py needs --contract 2, review-dirty-tree.sh drops view-materialize, and stale-prose-lint.py and match-lint-adjudications.py are deleted (#2152, #2153, #2138, #1884).

Telemetry upgrade note: with prflow_review_and_fix.efficiency_telemetry_enabled false, runs now still send their run files (findings, checklists, prior comments) and cloud cost records to the telemetry branch, which anyone who can read the repository can read, and the next writable run copies leftover ones. Set telemetry.enabled to false to keep them off it. (#1808)

Verify this release

curl -sL https://github.com/The01Geek/prflow/archive/refs/tags/v2.57.0.tar.gz | tar xz
cd prflow-2.57.0
python3 .github/verify-release.py --candidate .

Full history: Release Notes