orc-pack v1.12.0

[1.12.0] - 2026-10-06

Summary. Orc now uses Fable 5.1 where it still beats Opus 5.5: the ui-implementer runs on Fable for the design brief and first build of a structural UI task, such as a new screen or UI feature, because Fable's open-ended visual design is stronger. Everything else stays on Opus 5.5, which matches or beats Fable on coding at well under half the cost. Round three of a fix loop still runs on Fable, and a round-three fix that weakens a test is now a Blocker. Orc also records what every dispatch costs in a token ledger and reports the run's total, and it skips the verifier in every mode when a review returns only Nits. This release also trims repeated text across the pack, so each agent loads fewer tokens with no rule removed, and fixes several bugs: fallow could report a crash as a pass, dependency-vetter's audit failed without a lockfile, impact miscounted lines, and the suppression rules contradicted each other.

Changed areas.

• skills/orc/SKILL.md, Model selection and 5. Run the task loop — new Fable rule: ui-implementer gets model: fable for the brief and first build of a structural task; its fix rounds stay on Opus 5.5. Round three keeps Fable, and a round-three fix that weakens, skips, or deletes a test or assertion is a Blocker. In efficiency mode, structural UI stays on Opus 5.5. The per-agent tier list is replaced by one line naming the non-Opus agents, because each agent's frontmatter holds its model and effort. Refresh.
• skills/orc/SKILL.md, new Token ledger section and 9. Report — orc appends one tab-separated line per dispatch (date, run, task, size, agent, model, role, tokens, findings raised, findings confirmed) to .git/orc/token-ledger.tsv, found with git rev-parse --git-path, so it is never committed and persists across runs. The report gains a Cost line: the run's subagent tokens, dispatch count, three costliest agents, and the ledger path. Refresh.
• skills/orc/SKILL.md, 5. Run the task loop — the verifier is skipped in every mode, not only efficiency mode, when a panel returns no findings or only Nits with none tagged Cleanup candidate; those Nits go in the commit body marked unverified. A cleanup audit is always verified. The efficiency-mode question no longer lists this as a trade-off. Refresh.
• skills/orc/SKILL.md, other sections — shorter Waiting on subagents, Discoveries, and What orc does NOT do (rules stated elsewhere removed, no rule lost). Ready and the Standards table now allow a suppression only as code.md allows it. Refresh.
• skills/orc/references/builder-contract.md — step 10 defers to code.md's "Suppressions are a last resort" rule instead of banning every suppression; skipped tests, deleted assertions, and --no-verify stay banned. Shorter Standards list and step 8. Refresh; no pack: marker.
• agents/fallow.md — captures the exit code and stderr instead of discarding them; a new ERROR status covers any exit other than 0 or 1 or output that isn't JSON, so a crash is never a PASS. Defines PASS, WARN (dead code, duplication, complexity), and FAIL (a circular dependency). Anything that parses its report must accept ERROR and the new Exit code line. Refresh.
• agents/dependency-vetter.md — vets the exact version the caller names, resolving latest, another tag, or a range to a concrete version first. Creates the vet directory before entering it, and builds a lockfile (npm install --package-lock-only --ignore-scripts, then npm ci --ignore-scripts) so npm audit works. Refresh.
• agents/impact.md — counts with git diff -w --numstat (one diff against HEAD for uncommitted work, plus untracked files), so whitespace-only changes and binary files drop out and per-file counts are exact. Refresh.
• agents/security-reviewer.md — the output format gains the Pre-existing section its rules already asked for. Refresh.
• agents/test-coverage-reviewer.md — description now covers every change to logic that can regress. Refresh.
• skills/orc/references/standards/ui.md and agents/ui-reviewer.md — 768 px stays a design target; the reviewer renders 390 px and 1440 px and checks the tablet width by reading the code. Refresh.
• skills/newissue/SKILL.md — writes the issue body to a file and files it with --body-file, never a heredoc; the self-check now comes before filing. Refresh.
• skills/update-orc/SKILL.md — also finds a global install under ~/.claude/ when the project has none; fetches the kit before building the update map. Refresh.
• Token trims, no rule removed — agents/{implementer,ui-implementer,api-implementer,data-implementer,architecture-reviewer,design-reviewer,verifier,typecheck,next-issue-finder,docs-writer,skill-vetter,orc-updater}.md, skills/orc/references/{design-brief.md,standards/code.md,standards/comments.md,standards/data.md}, and every framework and platform playbook. Builders now point to the standards they load instead of restating them. design-brief.md gains a Reversibility bullet in its Data section. Refresh all.
• INSTALL.md, UPDATE.md, README.md, CLAUDE.md, docs/model-tiers.md (new) — install table uses one row for all agents and lists every kit file that isn't copied; stale statements fixed; the model-tier evidence moved from CLAUDE.md to docs/model-tiers.md. Kit docs only; don't copy docs/.
• Every skill and agent file — pack: marker moved to orc-pack@1.12.0.

Update steps. Refresh every skill, agent, and reference file listed above and move every pack: marker to orc-pack@1.12.0. No new or removed files in the install. Fable 5.1 must be available on the account for the structural UI move; on an account without it, those dispatches may fail, so remove the structural UI rule from Model selection there. If the install has local edits to fallow.md, keep the new exit-code capture. An install coming from 1.10.x or earlier also applies [1.11.0] and every entry in between.

Breaking changes. None removed. Orc runs now write .git/orc/token-ledger.tsv in the repo they work in, and the report gains a Cost line. Structural UI tasks now cost more per build (Fable 5.1 is priced above Opus 5.5). The fallow report can now say Status: ERROR.

Files to read. skills/orc/SKILL.md (Token ledger, Model selection, Efficiency mode, 5. Run the task loop, 7. Ready, 9. Report), skills/orc/references/builder-contract.md (Build mode step 10), agents/fallow.md, agents/dependency-vetter.md, agents/impact.md, and docs/model-tiers.md in the kit for the reasoning.

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