v0.2.6.0 — Executable Phase Specs, Strict Validators, and Sidecar-Custody Release Evidence

What's in v0.2.6.0

Executable phase specs

skills/templates/phase-goal.txt is now a full executable spec with all required structural fields — Phase N/TOTAL, Task, Type, Run root, Baseline ref, Owner/source, Audit object, Auditing operation, Terminal object state, Mandatory commands, Acceptance criteria, Evidence required, Depends on, Why, Work, IMPLEMENTAUDIT_PHASE_VERIFY, AGENTS_UPDATE_DECISION, CONTINUITY_DECISION, and IMPLEMENTAUDIT_PHASE_DONE. Placeholder-only acceptance criteria are now a validation failure.

Strict validators

• validate-phase.sh: 19 failure-mode checks, up from placeholder-only. Wired into Stage 5 dispatch-prep and the per-phase execution loop.
• check-forbidden-terms.sh: generic caller-supplied forbidden-term gate; the runtime-provided term is never embedded in source. Used at every release gate.
• phase-validation.test.sh: 20/20 (1 positive + 19 failure modes).

Concrete protocol loop

skills/templates/PROTOCOL.md now contains:

• 16-step per-phase execution loop (read STATE.md → validate spec → Smoke A → execute → mandatory commands → acceptance criteria → cleanliness check → Smoke B → IMPLEMENTAUDIT_PHASE_VERIFY → AGENTS_UPDATE_DECISION → CONTINUITY_DECISION → IMPLEMENTAUDIT_PHASE_DONE)
• Exact 3-strike failure recovery ladder: FAILURE_PROBE → FAILURE_ESCALATE → FAILURE_HANDOFF
• 3-round final audit protocol with coverage math and trust-prior > 30% warning
• Mid-run interruption handling: IMPLEMENTAUDIT_PAUSE, 4-option menu (Resume / Revise spec / Skip phase / Stop)
• Ordering rules: AUDIT_COMPLETE must precede IMPLEMENTAUDIT_RUN_COMPLETE

Sidecar-custody release evidence

• Graphify 0.8.35 used for project terrain orientation. Output is orientation evidence, not proof. Graphify outputs are excluded from tracked source and the .skill package.
• ActiveGraph 1.0.5.post2 used for live release-gate custody. 11 live events recorded with custody_mode: live_release_gate.
• Historical backfill: 26 events covering v0.2.4.5, v0.2.5.0, and v0.2.6.0 phases 1–14 are marked custody_mode: historical_backfill with source, backfilled_at, original_event_time, and evidence_boundary fields. Backfill is transcript-derived evidence, not live gate passage. ActiveGraph custody is chain-of-custody evidence only, not correctness proof.

Package boundary

The .skill asset contains only runtime skill payload and plugin metadata. Repo docs, tests, fixtures, release scripts, audit ledgers, run roots, and sidecar stores are excluded. A 23-entry package boundary manifest with 14 proven-excluded categories is recorded in docs/audits/v0.2.6.0-final-runtime-and-package-boundary-audit.md.

Asset compression: A ZIP compression bug has been fixed. All 23 entries are now ZIP_DEFLATED. Asset size: 59,551 bytes (was 154,750 bytes). Compression regression is caught automatically by tests/release-asset.test.sh on every run.

Capability ledger entries

• SIDECAR-OPTIONAL-V0260: Graphify and ActiveGraph sidecar dogfood PASS — real install, real project terrain/custody evidence, real boundary enforcement. Absence remains non-blocking.
• HISTORICAL-BACKFILL-V0260: ActiveGraph historical backfill gate PASS — 26 events, all custody_mode: historical_backfill.

Test results

Suite	Result
phase-validation.test.sh	20/20
continuity.test.sh	25/25
sidecars.test.sh	24/24
release-asset.test.sh (incl. compression check)	ok
release-asset-install.test.sh	ok
capability-ledger.test.sh	ok
verify-package.sh	ok

Post-release documentation repair (32b9642)

Commit 32b9642 closes post-release documentation Andons. The .skill asset and checksum are unchanged; no new version is declared.

• execution-spine.mmd — adds PhasedRun subgraph documenting the v0.2.6.0 phased execution runtime: run-root claim → Stage 6 plan review → Stage 6.5 preflight smoke → Stage 7 handoff → validate-phase.sh → 16-step phase loop → 3-strike failure recovery → final audit + audit-fix rounds → AUDIT_COMPLETE.
• invocation-modes.mmd — updates the Synthesis artifacts node to show the namespaced run-root structure (ROADMAP · STATE · THINKING · PROTOCOL · sidecars · phases/phase-N.md).
• README.md — updates run-root prose to reference .IMPLEMENTAUDIT/runs/<task-slug>-<id>/phases/ with legacy-compat note; adds explicit .skill archive boundary statement; updates project milestone and plugin manifest version to v0.2.6.0.
• v0.2.6.0-final-runtime-and-package-boundary-audit.md — corrects proof matrix summary counts: native-owner-covered 15 → 18; covered-with-stronger-implementaudit-boundary 9 → 7.

Checksums

sha256  f37f6356b3a342510512e57c3f2785b6be4ea044a5b312d59d40d8ce4eade947  IMPLEMENTAUDIT.skill

This is a checksum manifest only. It is not a signature, attestation, SBOM, license, marketplace verification, or universal host support claim.