Implement closed-loop workspace follow-ups

apps/server/AGENTS.md

@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ All sources under `apps/server/src/`.
 - `GET /health` — health report (probes: event-store, llama-server, disk watermark)
 - `GET /stats` — metrics report (MetricsProjection)
 - `GET /metrics/tool-reliability` — per-model tool-call validity across the event log (`ToolReliabilityInspectionService`); groundwork for capability-aware routing
+- Optional `[git]` transport creates `run/<sessionId>` from a server-local checkout and pushes it at terminal state; clients review with ordinary Git and never supply a remote URL as `cwd`.
+- Repo-map L3 embeddings use bounded, recorded source descriptors (module/package, imports, leading purpose comment, symbols); raw file bodies are never embedded. Their versioned `repomap:v2` namespace forces a one-time re-embed when the semantic document format changes.
 
 ### WebSocket protocol (`/ws`)
 - **ServerMessage** (server → client): sealed hierarchy — `SessionMessage` (event-derived, carries `sequence` + `sessionSequence`) and `NonEventMessage` (control/infra). Variants include session lifecycle, approval requests, clarification requests, narration, proposed workflows, health/metrics pushes.

apps/server/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/apps/server/Main.kt

@@ -654,6 +654,11 @@ fun main() {
         taskArtifactResolver = taskArtifactResolver,
         taskSessionResolver = taskSessionResolver,
         gitCommitReader = gitCommitReader,
+        gitRunBranchTransport = if (correxConfig.git.enabled) {
+            com.correx.apps.server.git.GitRunBranchTransport(eventStore, correxConfig.git)
+        } else {
+            null
+        },
     )
     // Wire live config editing: persist to TOML, swap the holder, and rebuild config-derived
     // services. Built after the module so the rebuild hook can swap them in place.

apps/server/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/apps/server/ServerModule.kt

@@ -133,6 +133,9 @@ class ServerModule(
     // Reads recent commits for POST /tasks/sync-git (git-driven status). Null disables the repo read
     // (the endpoint then only acts on commits supplied in the request body).
     val gitCommitReader: com.correx.core.tasks.GitCommitReader? = null,
+    // Optional plain-Git transport for a server-owned checkout. It creates and pushes a per-run
+    // branch; null preserves the ordinary local-workspace lifecycle.
+    private val gitRunBranchTransport: com.correx.apps.server.git.GitRunBranchTransport? = null,
 ) {
     val approvalCoordinator: ApprovalCoordinator = approvalCoordinator ?: ApprovalCoordinator(
         orchestrator = orchestrator,
@@ -409,17 +412,25 @@ class ServerModule(
                     bindProjectProfile(sessionId)
                     bindAgentInstructions(sessionId)
                     runCatching {
-                        val result = orchestrator.run(sessionId, graph, sessionConfig)
-                        freestyleHandoff(sessionId, graph, result)
-                        // Distil this run's decisions into durable project memory on completion.
-                        projectMemory?.let { pm -> pm.persist(sessionId, pm.repoRoot()) }
-                        // Propose learned profile adaptations based on session journal (opt-in, never auto-applied).
-                        operatorProfile?.let { profile ->
-                            profileAdaptationService?.let { svc ->
-                                runCatching { svc.proposeAdaptation(sessionId, profile) }
-                                    .onFailure { log.warn("Profile adaptation failed: {}", it.message) }
+                        suspend fun runAndFinalize() {
+                            val result = orchestrator.run(sessionId, graph, sessionConfig)
+                            freestyleHandoff(sessionId, graph, result)
+                            // Distil this run's decisions into durable project memory on completion.
+                            projectMemory?.let { pm -> pm.persist(sessionId, pm.repoRoot()) }
+                            // Propose learned profile adaptations based on session journal (opt-in, never auto-applied).
+                            operatorProfile?.let { profile ->
+                                profileAdaptationService?.let { svc ->
+                                    runCatching { svc.proposeAdaptation(sessionId, profile) }
+                                        .onFailure { log.warn("Profile adaptation failed: {}", it.message) }
+                                }
                             }
                         }
+                        val workspaceRoot = sessionConfig.workspace?.workspaceRoot
+                        if (gitRunBranchTransport != null && workspaceRoot != null) {
+                            gitRunBranchTransport.onRunBranch(sessionId, workspaceRoot) { runAndFinalize() }
+                        } else {
+                            runAndFinalize()
+                        }
                     }.onFailure { ex -> recordUnhandledFailure(sessionId, graph, sessionConfig, ex) }
                     activeSessionJobs.remove(sessionId)
                 }

apps/server/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/apps/server/git/GitRunBranchTransport.kt

@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+package com.correx.apps.server.git
+
+import com.correx.core.config.GitConfig
+import com.correx.core.events.events.EventMetadata
+import com.correx.core.events.events.NewEvent
+import com.correx.core.events.events.RunBranchPushedEvent
+import com.correx.core.events.events.WorkflowCompletedEvent
+import com.correx.core.events.events.WorkflowFailedEvent
+import com.correx.core.events.stores.EventStore
+import com.correx.core.events.types.EventId
+import com.correx.core.events.types.SessionId
+import kotlinx.coroutines.Dispatchers
+import kotlinx.coroutines.sync.Mutex
+import kotlinx.coroutines.sync.withLock
+import kotlinx.coroutines.withContext
+import kotlinx.datetime.Clock
+import java.nio.file.Path
+import java.util.UUID
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit
+
+private const val GIT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS = 30L
+
+/**
+ * Plain-Git transport for a server-owned checkout. The mutex intentionally spans a whole run:
+ * checkout is process-global state, so parallel sessions cannot safely share one working tree.
+ */
+class GitRunBranchTransport(
+    private val eventStore: EventStore,
+    private val config: GitConfig,
+) {
+    private val checkoutLock = Mutex()
+
+    suspend fun <T> onRunBranch(
+        sessionId: SessionId,
+        workspaceRoot: Path,
+        block: suspend () -> T,
+    ): T = checkoutLock.withLock {
+        val prepared = prepare(sessionId, workspaceRoot)
+        try {
+            block()
+        } finally {
+            val terminalStage = eventStore.read(sessionId).lastOrNull { event ->
+                event.payload is WorkflowCompletedEvent || event.payload is WorkflowFailedEvent
+            }?.payload?.let { payload ->
+                when (payload) {
+                    is WorkflowCompletedEvent -> payload.terminalStageId.value
+                    is WorkflowFailedEvent -> payload.stageId.value
+                    else -> null
+                }
+            } ?: "unknown"
+            pushTerminalBranch(sessionId, workspaceRoot, prepared, terminalStage)
+        }
+    }
+
+    private suspend fun prepare(sessionId: SessionId, workspaceRoot: Path): PreparedBranch = withContext(Dispatchers.IO) {
+        val branch = "run/${sessionId.value}"
+        runGit(workspaceRoot, "fetch", config.remote, config.baseBranch)
+        val baseRef = "${config.remote}/${config.baseBranch}"
+        val baseSha = runGit(workspaceRoot, "rev-parse", baseRef).trim()
+        runGit(workspaceRoot, "checkout", "-B", branch, baseRef)
+        PreparedBranch(branch, baseSha)
+    }
+
+    private suspend fun pushTerminalBranch(
+        sessionId: SessionId,
+        workspaceRoot: Path,
+        prepared: PreparedBranch,
+        terminalStage: String,
+    ) =
+        withContext(Dispatchers.IO) {
+            runGit(workspaceRoot, "add", "-A")
+            if (runGitExitCode(workspaceRoot, "diff", "--cached", "--quiet") != 0) {
+                val args = mutableListOf("commit", "-m", "correx run ${sessionId.value} terminal $terminalStage")
+                if (config.author.isNotBlank()) args += "--author=${config.author}"
+                runGit(workspaceRoot, *args.toTypedArray())
+            }
+            val headSha = runGit(workspaceRoot, "rev-parse", "HEAD").trim()
+            runGit(workspaceRoot, "push", config.remote, "${prepared.branch}:${prepared.branch}")
+            eventStore.append(
+                NewEvent(
+                    metadata = EventMetadata(
+                        eventId = EventId(UUID.randomUUID().toString()),
+                        sessionId = sessionId,
+                        timestamp = Clock.System.now(),
+                        schemaVersion = 1,
+                        causationId = null,
+                        correlationId = null,
+                    ),
+                    payload = RunBranchPushedEvent(sessionId, prepared.branch, prepared.baseSha, headSha),
+                ),
+            )
+        }
+
+    private fun runGit(root: Path, vararg args: String): String {
+        val process = ProcessBuilder(listOf("git", "-C", root.toString()) + args)
+            .redirectErrorStream(true)
+            .start()
+        val output = process.inputStream.bufferedReader().use { it.readText() }
+        if (!process.waitFor(GIT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS, TimeUnit.SECONDS)) {
+            process.destroyForcibly()
+            error("git ${args.joinToString(" ")} timed out")
+        }
+        check(process.exitValue() == 0) { "git ${args.joinToString(" ")} failed: ${output.trim()}" }
+        return output
+    }
+
+    private fun runGitExitCode(root: Path, vararg args: String): Int {
+        val process = ProcessBuilder(listOf("git", "-C", root.toString()) + args)
+            .redirectErrorStream(true)
+            .start()
+        process.inputStream.bufferedReader().use { it.readText() }
+        if (!process.waitFor(GIT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS, TimeUnit.SECONDS)) {
+            process.destroyForcibly()
+            error("git ${args.joinToString(" ")} timed out")
+        }
+        return process.exitValue()
+    }
+
+    private data class PreparedBranch(val branch: String, val baseSha: String)
+}

apps/server/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/apps/server/memory/ArchitectContradictionChecker.kt

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ import com.correx.core.talkie.l3.L3Query
  * [ProjectMemoryService] under `turnId = "project:<repoRoot>"` (trailing-`:` delimiter). This is
  * the only decision-bearing L3 namespace that exists today, so [decisionNamespacePrefix] defaults
  * to `"project:"` — a `startsWith` prefix, matching the trailing-`:` delimiter convention used by
- * [L3RepoKnowledgeRetriever]'s `"repomap:<repoRoot>:"` filter. Hits are also constrained to PRIOR
+ * [L3RepoKnowledgeRetriever]'s versioned `"repomap:v2:<repoRoot>:"` filter. Hits are also constrained to PRIOR
  * sessions (`entry.sessionId != sessionId`) so the architect never flags its own in-flight run.
  */
 class ArchitectContradictionChecker(

apps/server/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/apps/server/memory/L3RepoKnowledgeRetriever.kt

@@ -35,8 +35,9 @@ class L3RepoKnowledgeRetriever(
     override suspend fun retrieve(sessionId: SessionId, query: String, k: Int): List<RepoKnowledgeHit> {
         val vector = embedder.embed(query)
         val candidates = l3MemoryStore.query(L3Query(vector = vector, k = k * RETRIEVAL_OVERSAMPLE_FACTOR))
-            // Trailing ':' so "/repo" does not also match "/repo2" turnIds (prefix collision).
-            .filter { it.entry.turnId.startsWith("repomap:$repoRoot:") }
+            // Versioned trailing delimiter keeps sibling repo roots isolated and stale semantic
+            // documents out after a repo-map descriptor format change.
+            .filter { it.entry.turnId.startsWith(repoMapEmbeddingPrefix(repoRoot)) }
         val (kept, dropped) = candidates.partition { it.score >= MIN_SIMILARITY_SCORE }
         if (dropped.isNotEmpty()) recordDropped(sessionId, query, dropped.map { it.toHit() })
         return kept.take(k).map { it.toHit() }

apps/server/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/apps/server/memory/ProjectMemoryService.kt

@@ -110,13 +110,13 @@ class ProjectMemoryService(
         stateKey: String?,
         entries: List<RepoMapEntry>,
     ) {
-        if (stateKey != null && l3MemoryStore.existsByTurnIdPrefix("repomap:$repoRoot:$stateKey")) {
+        val tag = repoMapEmbeddingTag(repoRoot, stateKey)
+        if (stateKey != null && l3MemoryStore.existsByTurnIdPrefix(tag)) {
             log.debug("repo-map already embedded for {}@{} — skipping L3 store", repoRoot, stateKey)
             return
         }
         // Trailing ':' delimiter so a repoRoot prefix can't collide with a longer sibling
         // (/repo vs /repo2) under the retriever's startsWith filter.
-        val tag = if (stateKey != null) "repomap:$repoRoot:$stateKey" else "repomap:$repoRoot:"
         // Docs are already surfaced via the "Docs available" catalog built straight from
         // RepoMapComputedEvent (SessionOrchestrator, 2026-07-07 doc-injection rework) — embedding
         // them into the same L3 namespace as code let generic textual similarity (e.g. "analyst",
@@ -126,7 +126,11 @@ class ProjectMemoryService(
         // rather than the repo-map floor that was fixed then).
         entries.filterNot { it.path.endsWith(".md", ignoreCase = true) }.forEach { entry ->
             runCatching {
-                val text = entry.path + if (entry.symbols.isEmpty()) "" else ": ${entry.symbols.joinToString(", ")}"
+                val text = buildString {
+                    append(entry.path)
+                    if (entry.descriptor.isNotBlank()) append(": ").append(entry.descriptor)
+                    if (entry.symbols.isNotEmpty()) append("; symbols: ").append(entry.symbols.joinToString(", "))
+                }
                 l3MemoryStore.store(
                     L3MemoryEntry(
                         id = UUID.randomUUID().toString(),

apps/server/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/apps/server/memory/RepoMapEmbeddingTags.kt

@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+package com.correx.apps.server.memory
+
+/**
+ * Version the serialized repo-map embedding namespace. A descriptor change alters the semantic
+ * document, so a new version deliberately ignores stale vectors and causes one re-embed per
+ * recorded workspace state. The recorded repo-map event remains backwards compatible.
+ */
+internal const val REPO_MAP_EMBEDDING_VERSION = "v2"
+
+internal fun repoMapEmbeddingPrefix(repoRoot: String): String =
+    "repomap:$REPO_MAP_EMBEDDING_VERSION:$repoRoot:"
+
+internal fun repoMapEmbeddingTag(repoRoot: String, stateKey: String?): String =
+    stateKey?.let { repoMapEmbeddingPrefix(repoRoot) + it } ?: repoMapEmbeddingPrefix(repoRoot)

apps/server/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/apps/server/memory/RepoMapIndexer.kt

@@ -20,7 +20,8 @@ interface RepoMapIndexerPort {
  * Walks a repo and produces a ranked file/symbol index. Reads the filesystem (a
  * nondeterministic environment observation) — the caller records the result as a
  * [com.correx.core.events.events.RepoMapComputedEvent] so replay reads recorded facts and
- * never re-scans (invariant #9). Paths + top-level symbol names only, never file bodies.
+ * never re-scans (invariant #9). Entries retain paths, top-level symbols, and a bounded,
+ * deterministic purpose descriptor; full file bodies are never stored in the repo map.
  *
  * Scoring is recency-based: the most-recently-modified source file scores 1.0, the oldest
  * ~0.0, linearly between. Recency is a cheap centrality proxy — files under active work rank
@@ -53,6 +54,7 @@ class RepoMapIndexer(
                     path = path.relativeTo(repoRoot).toString(),
                     score = (mtimes.getValue(path) - min).toDouble() / span,
                     symbols = extractSymbols(path),
+                    descriptor = sourceDescriptor(path),
                 )
             }
             .sortedByDescending { it.score }
@@ -104,6 +106,35 @@ class RepoMapIndexer(
         } ?: emptyList()
     }
 
+    /**
+     * A small semantic bridge between an intent ("context packing") and code whose class name
+     * alone lacks those words. Package/module identity, leading KDoc/comments, and imports are
+     * stable source facts; they are capped before the event and L3 embedding are recorded.
+     */
+    private fun sourceDescriptor(path: Path): String {
+        if (path.extension.equals("md", ignoreCase = true)) return docDescriptor(path).orEmpty()
+        val lines = runCatching { path.readText().lineSequence().take(DESCRIPTOR_SCAN_LINES).toList() }
+            .getOrDefault(emptyList())
+        if (lines.isEmpty()) return ""
+        val packageOrModule = lines.firstNotNullOfOrNull { line ->
+            PACKAGE_OR_MODULE.find(line.trim())?.groupValues?.get(1)
+        }
+        val imports = lines.asSequence()
+            .mapNotNull { IMPORT.find(it.trim())?.groupValues?.get(1) }
+            .take(MAX_DESCRIPTOR_IMPORTS)
+            .toList()
+        val comment = lines.asSequence()
+            .map { raw -> raw.trim() }
+            .filter(::isCommentLine)
+            .map { it.removePrefix("/**").removePrefix("*").removePrefix("//").removePrefix("#").trim() }
+            .firstOrNull { it.length >= MIN_COMMENT_CHARS }
+        return buildList {
+            packageOrModule?.let { add("module $it") }
+            if (imports.isNotEmpty()) add("uses ${imports.joinToString(", ")}")
+            comment?.let { add(it) }
+        }.joinToString("; ").truncateDescriptor()
+    }
+
     /**
      * One-line "what is this doc about" descriptor, preferred in order: YAML frontmatter
      * `description`/`summary`/`title`, then the first `# H1` heading, then the first prose line.
@@ -133,13 +164,21 @@ class RepoMapIndexer(
     private fun String.truncateDescriptor(): String =
         if (length <= MAX_DESCRIPTOR_CHARS) this else take(MAX_DESCRIPTOR_CHARS).trimEnd() + "…"
 
+    private fun isCommentLine(line: String): Boolean =
+        line.startsWith("/**") || line.startsWith("*") || line.startsWith("//") || line.startsWith("#")
+
     companion object {
         /** File extensions considered for indexing — reused by [WorkspaceStateProbe] for fingerprinting. */
         val INDEXED_EXTENSIONS: Set<String> get() = SYMBOL_PATTERNS.keys
 
         private const val MAX_SYMBOLS_PER_FILE = 40
         private const val MAX_DESCRIPTOR_CHARS = 120
+        private const val DESCRIPTOR_SCAN_LINES = 80
+        private const val MAX_DESCRIPTOR_IMPORTS = 6
+        private const val MIN_COMMENT_CHARS = 16
         private val FRONTMATTER_KEYS = listOf("description", "summary", "title")
+        private val PACKAGE_OR_MODULE = Regex("""(?:package|module|namespace)\s+([A-Za-z0-9_.$/-]+)""")
+        private val IMPORT = Regex("""(?:import|using)\s+([A-Za-z0-9_.$/*-]+)""")
 
         // Top-level declarations only — best-effort per language. Bodies/locals are never matched.
         val SYMBOL_PATTERNS: Map<String, Regex> = mapOf(

apps/server/src/test/kotlin/com/correx/apps/server/git/GitRunBranchTransportTest.kt

@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+package com.correx.apps.server.git
+
+import com.correx.core.config.GitConfig
+import com.correx.core.events.events.RunBranchPushedEvent
+import com.correx.core.events.types.SessionId
+import com.correx.infrastructure.persistence.InMemoryEventStore
+import kotlinx.coroutines.runBlocking
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test
+import java.nio.file.Files
+import java.nio.file.Path
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit
+import kotlin.io.path.writeText
+import kotlin.test.assertEquals
+import kotlin.test.assertTrue
+
+class GitRunBranchTransportTest {
+
+    @Test
+    fun `creates a run branch, pushes it, and records the pushed ref`(): Unit = runBlocking {
+        val root = Files.createTempDirectory("correx-git-transport")
+        val remote = Files.createTempDirectory("correx-git-remote")
+        git(root, "init", "-b", "main")
+        git(root, "config", "user.name", "Test User")
+        git(root, "config", "user.email", "test@example.test")
+        root.resolve("README.md").writeText("base\n")
+        git(root, "add", "README.md")
+        git(root, "commit", "-m", "base")
+        git(remote, "init", "--bare")
+        git(root, "remote", "add", "origin", remote.toString())
+        git(root, "push", "origin", "main")
+
+        val store = InMemoryEventStore()
+        val sessionId = SessionId("git-transport")
+        val transport = GitRunBranchTransport(
+            store,
+            GitConfig(enabled = true, remote = "origin", baseBranch = "main"),
+        )
+
+        transport.onRunBranch(sessionId, root) {
+            root.resolve("agent-output.txt").writeText("generated\n")
+        }
+
+        assertEquals("run/git-transport", git(root, "branch", "--show-current").trim())
+        assertTrue(git(root, "ls-remote", "--heads", "origin", "run/git-transport").isNotBlank())
+        val pushed = store.read(sessionId).single().payload as RunBranchPushedEvent
+        assertEquals("run/git-transport", pushed.branch)
+        assertTrue(pushed.baseSha.isNotBlank())
+        assertEquals(git(root, "rev-parse", "HEAD").trim(), pushed.headSha)
+    }
+
+    private fun git(root: Path, vararg args: String): String {
+        val process = ProcessBuilder(listOf("git", "-C", root.toString()) + args)
+            .redirectErrorStream(true)
+            .start()
+        val output = process.inputStream.bufferedReader().use { it.readText() }
+        check(process.waitFor(20, TimeUnit.SECONDS)) { "git ${args.joinToString(" ")} timed out" }
+        check(process.exitValue() == 0) { "git ${args.joinToString(" ")} failed: $output" }
+        return output
+    }
+}

apps/server/src/test/kotlin/com/correx/apps/server/memory/ArchitectContradictionCheckerTest.kt

@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ class ArchitectContradictionCheckerTest {
         val store = CannedL3MemoryStore(
             listOf(
                 // Above threshold but a repo-map entry, not a decision — must be excluded.
-                hit("Foo.kt: ClassA, funcB", score = 0.95f, turnId = "repomap:/repo:abc"),
+                hit("Foo.kt: ClassA, funcB", score = 0.95f, turnId = "repomap:v2:/repo:abc"),
             ),
         )
         val checker = ArchitectContradictionChecker(ContradictionOnesEmbedder(), store)

apps/server/src/test/kotlin/com/correx/apps/server/memory/L3RepoKnowledgeRetrieverTest.kt

@@ -19,8 +19,8 @@ class L3RepoKnowledgeRetrieverTest {
     @Test
     fun `retriever for a repoRoot does not match a sibling whose path it prefixes`(): Unit = runBlocking {
         val l3 = InMemoryL3MemoryStore()
-        l3.store(L3MemoryEntry("1", SessionId("s"), "repomap:/repo:git:h", "repo/A.kt: Foo", vec, 0L))
-        l3.store(L3MemoryEntry("2", SessionId("s"), "repomap:/repo2:git:h", "repo2/B.kt: Bar", vec, 0L))
+        l3.store(L3MemoryEntry("1", SessionId("s"), "repomap:v2:/repo:git:h", "repo/A.kt: Foo", vec, 0L))
+        l3.store(L3MemoryEntry("2", SessionId("s"), "repomap:v2:/repo2:git:h", "repo2/B.kt: Bar", vec, 0L))
 
         val hits = L3RepoKnowledgeRetriever(RetrieverConstantEmbedder(), l3, "/repo")
             .retrieve(SessionId("s"), "anything", 10)
@@ -31,8 +31,8 @@ class L3RepoKnowledgeRetrieverTest {
     @Test
     fun `retriever matches its own repoRoot entries with or without a stateKey suffix`(): Unit = runBlocking {
         val l3 = InMemoryL3MemoryStore()
-        l3.store(L3MemoryEntry("1", SessionId("s"), "repomap:/repo:git:h1", "repo/A.kt", vec, 0L))
-        l3.store(L3MemoryEntry("2", SessionId("s"), "repomap:/repo:", "repo/B.kt", vec, 0L))
+        l3.store(L3MemoryEntry("1", SessionId("s"), "repomap:v2:/repo:git:h1", "repo/A.kt", vec, 0L))
+        l3.store(L3MemoryEntry("2", SessionId("s"), "repomap:v2:/repo:", "repo/B.kt", vec, 0L))
 
         val hits = L3RepoKnowledgeRetriever(RetrieverConstantEmbedder(), l3, "/repo")
             .retrieve(SessionId("s"), "anything", 10)

apps/server/src/test/kotlin/com/correx/apps/server/memory/ProjectMemoryServiceReuseTest.kt

@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ class ProjectMemoryServiceReuseTest {
         svc.indexAndRecord(sessionId, "/repo")
 
         assertTrue(
-            l3.existsByTurnIdPrefix("repomap:/repo:git:hash1"),
+            l3.existsByTurnIdPrefix("repomap:v2:/repo:git:hash1"),
             "entries should be embedded with stateKey tag",
         )
     }
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ class ProjectMemoryServiceReuseTest {
         val embedder = ConstantEmbedderReuse()
 
         // Index /repo and /repo2 into the same shared L3 store with the same stateKey.
-        // The trailing-':' delimiter on the repomap: tag must keep their entries from bleeding
+        // The versioned trailing-':' delimiter on the repomap tag must keep their entries from bleeding
         // across roots: "/repo" must NOT match tags written for "/repo2".
         val repoEntries = listOf(RepoMapEntry(path = "src/Repo.kt", score = 1.0, symbols = listOf("RepoClass")))
         val repo2Entries = listOf(RepoMapEntry(path = "src/Repo2.kt", score = 1.0, symbols = listOf("Repo2Class")))
@@ -142,8 +142,8 @@ class ProjectMemoryServiceReuseTest {
             .indexAndRecord(SessionId("session-collide-repo2"), "/repo2")
 
         // existsByTurnIdPrefix with the delimiter must not match the other root.
-        assertTrue(l3.existsByTurnIdPrefix("repomap:/repo:"), "tag for /repo should exist")
-        assertTrue(l3.existsByTurnIdPrefix("repomap:/repo2:"), "tag for /repo2 should exist")
+        assertTrue(l3.existsByTurnIdPrefix("repomap:v2:/repo:"), "tag for /repo should exist")
+        assertTrue(l3.existsByTurnIdPrefix("repomap:v2:/repo2:"), "tag for /repo2 should exist")
 
         // The retriever scoped to /repo must return only /repo's entry, never /repo2's.
         val hits = L3RepoKnowledgeRetriever(embedder = embedder, l3MemoryStore = l3, repoRoot = "/repo")

apps/server/src/test/kotlin/com/correx/apps/server/memory/RepoMapIndexerTest.kt

@@ -41,6 +41,40 @@ class RepoMapIndexerTest {
         assertTrue(entries.first { it.path == "Old.kt" }.symbols.contains("Old"))
     }
 
+    @Test
+    fun `source descriptor retains package imports and leading purpose comment`(@TempDir root: Path) {
+        root.resolve("src").createDirectories()
+        root.resolve("src/Context.kt").writeText(
+            """
+            /** Builds the context packing pipeline for stage inference. */
+            package com.correx.context
+            import com.correx.events.EventStore
+            class DefaultContextPackBuilder
+            """.trimIndent(),
+        )
+
+        val entry = RepoMapIndexer().index(root).single()
+
+        assertTrue(entry.descriptor.contains("module com.correx.context"))
+        assertTrue(entry.descriptor.contains("EventStore"))
+        assertTrue(entry.descriptor.contains("context packing pipeline"))
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `source descriptor never uses a declaration as a purpose comment`(@TempDir root: Path) {
+        root.resolve("Plain.kt").writeText(
+            """
+            package com.correx.example
+            import com.correx.events.EventStore
+            class ALongEnoughDeclarationToHaveLookedLikeAComment
+            """.trimIndent(),
+        )
+
+        val entry = RepoMapIndexer().index(root).single()
+
+        assertFalse(entry.descriptor.contains("class ALongEnough"), entry.descriptor)
+    }
+
     @Test
     fun `extracts GDScript top-level symbols`(@TempDir root: Path) {
         root.resolve("player.gd").writeText(

core/config/AGENTS.md

@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@ CORREX kernel team. Config schema changes affect all consumers — coordinate wi
 - Config is read from disk; it is not event-sourced. Do not add event/state/reducer structures here.
 - `ConfigHolder` is the shared mutable reference injected into consumers. Never read the file directly in domain code — always go through `ConfigHolder`.
 - `CorrexConfigWriter` regenerates TOML from the in-memory model; round-tripping loses comments by design.
+- `[git]` is opt-in server transport configuration (`enabled`, `remote`, `base_branch`, optional `author`); it is off by default.
+- `ModelConfig.contextSize` defaults to 24,576 tokens; explicit `context_size` remains the operator override for smaller local-model windows.
 
 ## Verification
 

core/config/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/core/config/ConfigLoader.kt

@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ object ConfigLoader {
     private const val DEFAULT_CONVERSATION_KEEP_LAST = 6
     private const val DEFAULT_RETRIEVAL_K = 5
     private const val DEFAULT_TOKEN_BUDGET = 4096
-    private const val DEFAULT_MODEL_CONTEXT_SIZE = 8192
+    private const val DEFAULT_MODEL_CONTEXT_SIZE = 24_576
     private const val DEFAULT_PROJECT_MEMORY_K = 5
     private const val DEFAULT_PROJECT_MAX_DEPTH = 4
     private const val DEFAULT_PROJECT_INJECT_TOP_K = 30
@@ -735,6 +735,14 @@ object ConfigLoader {
             repeatPenalty = samplingSection["repeat_penalty"]?.let { asDouble(it) },
         )
 
+        val gitSection = sections["git"] ?: emptyMap()
+        val git = GitConfig(
+            enabled = asBoolean(gitSection["enabled"], false),
+            remote = asString(gitSection["remote"], "origin"),
+            baseBranch = asString(gitSection["base_branch"], "main"),
+            author = asString(gitSection["author"], ""),
+        )
+
         return CorrexConfig(
             server = server,
             tui = tui,
@@ -749,6 +757,7 @@ object ConfigLoader {
             personalization = personalization,
             orchestration = orchestration,
             sampling = sampling,
+            git = git,
         )
     }
 

core/config/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/core/config/CorrexConfig.kt

@@ -18,6 +18,21 @@ data class CorrexConfig(
     val orchestration: OrchestrationKnobs = OrchestrationKnobs(),
     val sampling: SamplingConfig = SamplingConfig(),
     val health: HealthConfig = HealthConfig(),
+    val git: GitConfig = GitConfig(),
+)
+
+/**
+ * Optional transport for a server-owned checkout. Each run executes on a `run/<sessionId>` branch
+ * based on [baseBranch] and pushes that branch on terminal completion; the working directory stays
+ * a real local path, never a remote URL or mounted client filesystem.
+ */
+@Serializable
+data class GitConfig(
+    val enabled: Boolean = false,
+    val remote: String = "origin",
+    val baseBranch: String = "main",
+    /** Optional Git author value, for example `Correx <correx@example.invalid>`. */
+    val author: String = "",
 )
 
 /**
@@ -283,7 +298,8 @@ data class L3Config(
 data class ModelConfig(
     val id: String,
     val modelPath: String,
-    val contextSize: Int = 8192,
+    /** Default window for implementation stages; leave headroom above their 24K prompt budget. */
+    val contextSize: Int = 24_576,
     val params: Map<String, String> = emptyMap(),
     val capabilities: Map<String, Double> = emptyMap(),
 )

core/config/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/core/config/CorrexConfigWriter.kt

@@ -109,6 +109,12 @@ object CorrexConfigWriter {
         cfg.sampling.minP?.let { b.kv("min_p", it) }
         cfg.sampling.repeatPenalty?.let { b.kv("repeat_penalty", it) }
 
+        b.section("git")
+        b.kv("enabled", cfg.git.enabled)
+        b.kv("remote", str(cfg.git.remote))
+        b.kv("base_branch", str(cfg.git.baseBranch))
+        b.kv("author", str(cfg.git.author))
+
         b.section("personalization")
         b.kv("enabled", cfg.personalization.enabled)
         b.kv("learn", cfg.personalization.learn)

core/config/src/test/kotlin/com/correx/core/config/ConfigLoaderTest.kt

@@ -434,7 +434,7 @@ class ConfigLoaderTest {
         assertEquals(1, result.models.size)
         assertEquals("local-model", result.models[0].id)
         assertEquals("/models/local.gguf", result.models[0].modelPath)
-        assertEquals(8192, result.models[0].contextSize)
+        assertEquals(24_576, result.models[0].contextSize)
     }
 
     @Test

core/config/src/test/kotlin/com/correx/core/config/CorrexConfigWriterTest.kt

@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ class CorrexConfigWriterTest {
             ),
             personalization = PersonalizationConfig(enabled = true, learn = true),
             project = ProjectConfig(enabled = true, root = "/repo", memoryK = 8, maxDepth = 6, injectTopK = 40),
+            git = GitConfig(enabled = true, remote = "gitea", baseBranch = "develop", author = "Correx <bot@example.test>"),
             modelsSettings = ModelsSettings(defaultModel = "m1", host = "0.0.0.0", port = 10001),
             orchestration = OrchestrationKnobs(stageTimeoutMs = 90_000, journalCompactionTokenThreshold = 12_000),
             providers = listOf(

core/events/AGENTS.md

@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@ CORREX kernel team. This is the most cross-cutting module in the codebase — ch
 - **SILENT FAILURE TRAP**: After adding any `EventPayload` subclass, immediately add it to `Serialization.kt` `eventModule` block. Run `./gradlew check` to verify. Tests may pass without it but runtime replay will fail silently.
 - `AnyMapSerializer` — custom serializer for `Map<String, Any?>`; use it for dynamic payloads, don't roll another.
 - Event classes are `@Serializable data class` with no mutable state. No methods beyond data accessors.
+- `RunBranchPushedEvent` records an optional server Git transport push only after it succeeds; its branch/base/head SHAs are observations, not values replay recalculates.
+- `RepoMapEntry.descriptor` is a bounded source-purpose observation recorded with the repo map and used when constructing semantic L3 embeddings.
 - Do not add domain logic to events. They are records, not actors.
 - `EgressAllowlistProjection` — special projection kept in this module because it is used by both `core:toolintent` and `core:events` consumers; it is a shared cross-cutting projection.
 

core/events/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/core/events/events/ContractGateEvents.kt

@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ data class ContractAssertionResult(
     /** Evaluator that produced the verdict: FS / TEXT / COMPILER / AST. */
     val evaluator: String,
     val passed: Boolean,
+    /** True when this assertion is intentionally deferred to another authoritative gate. */
+    val skipped: Boolean = false,
     /** Concrete reason the assertion failed (or a confirmation when it passed). Kept bounded. */
     val evidence: String,
 )

core/events/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/core/events/events/OrchestrationEvents.kt

@@ -36,6 +36,19 @@ data class WorkflowFailedEvent(
     val retryExhausted: Boolean,
 ) : EventPayload
 
+/**
+ * Observation recorded only after the optional server Git transport has pushed a terminal run
+ * branch. This keeps the reviewable branch reference replayable without re-running Git.
+ */
+@Serializable
+@SerialName("RunBranchPushed")
+data class RunBranchPushedEvent(
+    val sessionId: SessionId,
+    val branch: String,
+    val baseSha: String,
+    val headSha: String,
+) : EventPayload
+
 /**
  * Records that the operator approved access to a specific path OUTSIDE the workspace root
  * (a `file_read`/`list_dir` target). The intent plane raises PROMPT_USER for any out-of-workspace

core/events/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/core/events/events/RepoMapEvents.kt

@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ data class RepoMapEntry(
     val path: String,
     val score: Double,
     val symbols: List<String> = emptyList(),
+    /** Bounded deterministic source-purpose text used for semantic repo retrieval. */
+    val descriptor: String = "",
 )
 
 /**

core/events/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/core/events/serialization/Serialization.kt

@@ -89,6 +89,7 @@ import com.correx.core.events.events.WorkflowCompletedEvent
 import com.correx.core.events.events.WorkflowFailedEvent
 import com.correx.core.events.events.WorkflowProposedEvent
 import com.correx.core.events.events.WorkflowStartedEvent
+import com.correx.core.events.events.RunBranchPushedEvent
 import com.correx.core.events.events.TaskCreatedEvent
 import com.correx.core.events.events.TaskClaimedEvent
 import com.correx.core.events.events.TaskReleasedEvent
@@ -151,6 +152,7 @@ val eventModule = SerializersModule {
         subclass(OrchestrationResumedEvent::class)
         subclass(OrchestrationPausedEvent::class)
         subclass(WorkflowStartedEvent::class)
+        subclass(RunBranchPushedEvent::class)
         subclass(WorkflowFailedEvent::class)
         subclass(WorkflowCompletedEvent::class)
         subclass(RetryAttemptedEvent::class)

core/kernel/AGENTS.md

@@ -20,6 +20,9 @@ CORREX kernel team. This is the integration point for all other `core/` modules.
 - `SubagentRunner` / `InSessionSubagentRunner` — runs sub-agent invocations within an active session.
 - `StaticAnalysisRunner` / `ProcessStaticAnalysisRunner` — runs static analysis tools and records results as events.
 - `StageCheckpointReconciler` — reconciles checkpoint state across stage transitions.
+- Capability-gated failures first retry in place when the stage holds the required tool; an unchanged-fingerprint gate-budget exhaustion routes to the recovery/intent-holder stage when one is available, so capability possession alone cannot cause a frozen owner loop to fail the workflow.
+- Three repeated `REFERENCE_EXISTS` blocks for the same build prerequisite within one stage become a `workspace_precondition` gate failure, which is eligible for file-write recovery rather than remaining disconnected tool-call noise.
+- Every stage receives a small curated operating-guidance system entry: verify observed state, create required project setup, and resolve necessary scope edges without re-deliberating.
 - `JournalCompactionService` — triggers journal compaction and emits `JournalCompactedEvent`.
 - `OrchestratorEngines` / `OrchestratorRepositories` — dependency bundles for wiring.
 - `WorkspaceContext` / `WorkspaceToolRegistryProvider` — workspace-scoped tool registry provisioning.

core/kernel/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/core/kernel/orchestration/DefaultSessionOrchestrator.kt

@@ -69,8 +69,15 @@ internal val GATE_REQUIRED_CAPABILITY: Map<String, String> = mapOf(
     "execution" to "file_write",
     "contract" to "file_write",
     "static_analysis" to "file_write",
+    "workspace_precondition" to "file_write",
 )
 
+internal const val CURATED_STAGE_OPERATING_GUIDANCE = """## Operating guidance
+Verify the current workspace before declaring completion. Read before modifying existing files.
+When the authoritative intent plainly requires project setup, creating its manifest, configuration,
+or entry file is in scope; do not spend turns re-deciding that settled boundary. Re-observe facts
+instead of assuming them, and use the exact gate/tool feedback to make the smallest effective fix."""
+
 // Deterministic failure category from the gate id (no LLM — keeps routing off the untrusted path).
 internal fun ticketCategory(gate: String): String = when (gate) {
     "plan_compile" -> "planning"

core/kernel/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/core/kernel/orchestration/DefaultSessionOrchestratorRecovery.kt

@@ -44,8 +44,9 @@ internal suspend fun DefaultSessionOrchestrator.retryStageOrFail(
  * capability — bounded by the stage's own [RECOVERY_ROUTE_BUDGET].
  *
  * Returns a [StepResult] when it took over the failure (routed, or budget-exhausted terminal),
- * or null to fall through to the normal per-gate retry path. Null in every backward-compatible
- * case: gate not capability-gated, stage already has the capability, or no recovery stage exists.
+ * or null to fall through to the normal per-gate retry path. A stage that already holds the
+ * capability retries in place first; its unchanged-fingerprint retry exhaustion is separately
+ * routed from the step loop, because capability possession does not prove the owner can apply it.
  */
 
 internal suspend fun DefaultSessionOrchestrator.maybeRouteToRecovery(
@@ -56,7 +57,7 @@ internal suspend fun DefaultSessionOrchestrator.maybeRouteToRecovery(
 ): StepResult? {
     val requiredCapability = GATE_REQUIRED_CAPABILITY[failure.gate] ?: return null
     val stageTools = ctx.graph.stages[stageId]?.allowedTools ?: emptySet()
-    if (requiredCapability in stageTools) return null // stage has agency — retry in place is valid
+    if (requiredCapability in stageTools) return null // retry in place before no-progress exhaustion
     return routeToRecovery(ctx, stageId, failure.gate, requiredCapability, failure.reason, state)
 }
 

core/kernel/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/core/kernel/orchestration/DefaultSessionOrchestratorStep.kt

@@ -269,6 +269,20 @@ internal suspend fun DefaultSessionOrchestrator.enterStage(
                 when (gateDecision) {
                     RetryDecision.Retry -> Unit // retry — loop and re-execute
                     RetryDecision.Exhausted -> {
+                        // A stage may hold the nominal capability yet repeatedly fail to apply it
+                        // (scope paralysis / frozen ReAct loop). Exhaustion is only returned for an
+                        // unchanged fingerprint, so hand that no-progress dead-end to the
+                        // intent-holder rather than declaring the workflow failed in place.
+                        GATE_REQUIRED_CAPABILITY[result.gate]?.let { capability ->
+                            routeToRecovery(
+                                ctx,
+                                stageId,
+                                result.gate,
+                                capability,
+                                result.reason,
+                                refreshedState,
+                            )?.let { return it }
+                        }
                         decideGateExhaustion(
                             ctx, stageId, result.gate, result.reason, refreshedState,
                         )?.let { return it }

core/kernel/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/core/kernel/orchestration/SessionOrchestratorExecution.kt

@@ -81,6 +81,17 @@ internal suspend fun SessionOrchestrator.executeStage(
                 ),
             )
         } ?: emptyList()
+    val operatingGuidance = listOf(
+        ContextEntry(
+            id = ContextEntryId(UUID.randomUUID().toString()),
+            layer = ContextLayer.L0,
+            content = CURATED_STAGE_OPERATING_GUIDANCE,
+            sourceType = "operatingGuidance",
+            sourceId = "curated-v1",
+            tokenEstimate = estimateTokens(CURATED_STAGE_OPERATING_GUIDANCE),
+            role = EntryRole.SYSTEM,
+        ),
+    )
     // A stage re-entered to repair a gate failure has its own (often generative/"scaffold") prompt
     // SUPPRESSED: that mandate is what drove it to overwrite real files with stubs on re-entry. The
     // recovery-ticket entry (buildRecoveryTicketEntry) is the sole mandate here — it already carries
@@ -239,7 +250,7 @@ internal suspend fun SessionOrchestrator.executeStage(
         ?.let { buildRemainingDeltaEntry(contractFailureItems(it)) }
         ?.let { listOf(it) } ?: emptyList()
     var accumulatedEntries = stampBuckets(
-        systemPrompt + intentEntries + profileEntries + projectProfileEntries + agentInstructionsEntries +
+        systemPrompt + operatingGuidance + intentEntries + profileEntries + projectProfileEntries + agentInstructionsEntries +
             journalEntries + repoMapEntries + claimedTaskEntries +
             needsEntries + schemaEntries + vocabularyEntries + promptEntries + steeringEntries +
             clarificationEntries + retryFeedbackEntries + recoveryTicketEntries + remainingDeltaEntries,
@@ -390,6 +401,9 @@ internal suspend fun SessionOrchestrator.executeStage(
             inferenceResult.response.toolCalls, stageConfig, effectives,
             approvalModeFor(session.state.boundProfile?.approvalMode),
             inferenceResult.response.reasoning)
+        repeatedBuildCriticalReferenceBlock(sessionId, stageId)?.let { reason ->
+            return StageExecutionResult.Failure(reason, retryable = true, gate = "workspace_precondition")
+        }
         val fatalEntry = toolEntries.firstOrNull { it.content.startsWith("FATAL:") }
         if (fatalEntry != null) {
             emitProcessResultEvents(sessionId, stageId, stageConfig)

core/kernel/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/core/kernel/orchestration/SessionOrchestratorGates.kt

@@ -258,6 +258,7 @@ internal suspend fun SessionOrchestrator.evaluateStageContract(
             layer = a.layer.name,
             evaluator = a.evaluator.name,
             passed = v.passed,
+            skipped = v.skipped,
             evidence = v.evidence.takeLast(CONTRACT_EVIDENCE_CAP),
         )
     }

core/kernel/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/core/kernel/orchestration/SessionOrchestratorPreconditions.kt

@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+package com.correx.core.kernel.orchestration
+
+import com.correx.core.events.events.ToolCallAssessedEvent
+import com.correx.core.events.events.ToolInvocationRequestedEvent
+import com.correx.core.events.risk.RiskAction
+import com.correx.core.events.types.SessionId
+import com.correx.core.events.types.StageId
+
+/**
+ * Repeated attempts to read a missing build prerequisite are no longer mere ReAct noise. Once the
+ * same build-critical path has been durably blocked three times in one stage, return a retryable
+ * gate failure so the normal recovery ladder can bootstrap it (or request a different owner).
+ */
+internal fun SessionOrchestrator.repeatedBuildCriticalReferenceBlock(
+    sessionId: SessionId,
+    stageId: StageId,
+): String? {
+    val events = eventStore.read(sessionId)
+    val requests = events
+        .mapNotNull { it.payload as? ToolInvocationRequestedEvent }
+        .filter { it.stageId == stageId }
+        .associateBy { it.invocationId }
+    val paths = events
+        .mapNotNull { it.payload as? ToolCallAssessedEvent }
+        .filter { it.stageId == stageId && it.disposition == RiskAction.BLOCK }
+        .filter { event -> event.issues.any { it.code == REFERENCE_EXISTS_CODE } }
+        .mapNotNull { event -> requests[event.invocationId]?.request?.parameters?.get("path") as? String }
+        .filter(::isBuildCriticalPath)
+    val repeated = paths.groupingBy { it }.eachCount().entries
+        .firstOrNull { it.value >= REFERENCE_EXISTS_REPEAT_LIMIT }
+        ?: return null
+    return "stage ${stageId.value} repeatedly referenced missing build prerequisite '${repeated.key}' " +
+        "(${repeated.value} blocked attempts). Create or repair the project setup before continuing."
+}
+
+private fun isBuildCriticalPath(path: String): Boolean {
+    val name = path.substringAfterLast('/').lowercase()
+    return name in BUILD_PREREQUISITE_FILENAMES
+}
+
+private const val REFERENCE_EXISTS_REPEAT_LIMIT = 3
+private val BUILD_PREREQUISITE_FILENAMES = setOf(
+    "package.json", "tsconfig.json", "vite.config.ts", "build.gradle", "build.gradle.kts", "pom.xml",
+)

core/transitions/AGENTS.md

@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ CORREX kernel team.
 - `DefaultTransitionResolver` is stateless per call — it reads `EvaluationContext`, not persisted state.
 - Stage events are recorded by `DefaultStageExecutionEventMapper`; the mapper must emit events for every outcome (success, failure, skip).
 - `WorkflowGraph` is built from config/TOML at session start; it is immutable during a session.
+- `StageConfig.autoBuildGate` is a compiler-set request for a runtime build gate; it is used on write-declaring freestyle stages only when no explicit build expectation exists.
 - Cycle detection (`CycleExtractor`) runs during graph validation (`core:validation`), not at runtime.
 
 ## Verification

core/transitions/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/core/transitions/graph/StageConfig.kt

@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ data class StageConfig(
     // correctness FAIL can block retryably until the review-block budget is spent. Default off.
     val semanticReview: Boolean = false,
     // Deterministic build-gate floor (staged-verification §Gate 4). Set by the compiler on the plan's
-    // terminal stage when no stage declares an explicit [buildExpectation]. The LLM planner emits every
+    // write-declaring plan stage when no stage declares an explicit [buildExpectation]. The LLM planner emits every
     // file-writing stage as the generic `file_written` kind (never a typed code kind) and rarely sets
     // build_expectation, so a plan that scaffolds real code would otherwise never hit an execution gate.
     // When this is set and NONE is declared, runExecutionGate promotes to a PROJECT build ONLY IF the

docs/AGENTS.md

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ Maintained alongside the features they describe. Any agent shipping a significan
 
 - `architecture/` — stable, high-level architectural docs (context layers, event model, replay model, security boundaries).
 - `decisions/` — ADRs (adr-NNNN-*.md). Append-only. Never delete or retroactively alter a decided ADR; write a superseding one instead.
-- `qa/` — QA run plans (QA-*.md). Each maps to a shipped feature. `TEMPLATE.md` is the canonical shape. `ENV.md` describes the required live environment. `README.md` explains the QA process.
+- `qa/` — QA run plans (QA-*.md). Each maps to a shipped feature or an explicitly pending controlled audition. `TEMPLATE.md` is the canonical shape. `ENV.md` describes the required live environment. `README.md` explains the QA process.
 - `specs/` — feature specs by date-slug. Inputs for planned or in-flight work.
 - `schemas/` — canonical JSON schemas for structured outputs (analysis, brief_echo, design, execution_plan, impl_plan). Shared across the router and validator.
 - `epics/`, `modules/`, `diagrams/`, `design/`, `reviews/`, `visual/` — supporting reference material.

docs/qa/QA-stage-prompt-audition.md

@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+# QA Plan: Stage prompt audition
+
+**Status:** DRAFT
+**Run date / operator:** Not run — requires a fixed local model and seed.
+**BACKLOG item:** Vikunja #169
+
+## Preconditions
+
+- [ ] Record the model id, model checksum, `context_size`, and sampling config.
+- [ ] Use one fixed workspace fixture and deterministic seed per variant.
+- [ ] Run `scripts/prompt-audit.sh` and retain its Markdown output with the run artifacts.
+
+## Acceptance gate
+
+> A curated prompt variant is adopted only if it improves gate pass rate or wasted tool rounds without increasing context truncation on the same model and task fixture.
+
+## Checks
+
+| # | Action | Expected observable evidence | Result |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| 1 | Run baseline, trimmed, curated-rules, and scope-reworded variants. | Session event logs identify every stage inference and terminal workflow outcome. | Not run |
+| 2 | Compare gate pass rate, rejected/wasted tool rounds, retries, token budget use, and truncation. | Per-variant result table derived from events; same fixture and seed. | Not run |
+| 3 | Select the smallest improving variant. | A committed finding names the selected variant and evidence; otherwise no prompt expansion lands. | Not run |
+
+## Current static audit finding
+
+The runtime currently has two stage-facing sources: workflow prompt files and the compact `CURATED_STAGE_OPERATING_GUIDANCE` L0 system entry. Retry feedback remains event-derived and only the latest failure is injected. The static inventory is reproducible with `scripts/prompt-audit.sh`; no performance claim is made until the controlled run above is recorded.
+
+## Out of scope
+
+- A live benchmark result; this repository has no fixed model artifact or benchmark fixture checked in.
+- Replacing deterministic gates with prompt text.

docs/specs/2026-07-15-capability-accretion.md

@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+# Capability accretion
+
+Make run N+1 better through deterministic, replay-safe facts mined from validated prior runs—not model training or mutable hidden memory.
+
+Promote a validated failure-to-fix pair by a reusable class key: gate, evaluator/toolchain kind, and normalized failure fingerprint. Store a reference to the validated fix artifact/diff and the evidence that it passed.
+
+1. Extend the concept rails to retain `classKey`, `fixRef`, confidence, and contradiction state.
+2. Deliver high-confidence facts deterministically at plan compilation (contract/gate tightening) or as a bounded stage instruction. L3 remains an instance-recall fallback.
+3. Mine positive patterns separately: successful plan shapes, resolved commands, and useful retrievals.
+4. Revoke or decay facts when later recorded evidence contradicts them.
+
+Every promotion and delivery is event-derived and recorded; replay never re-mines live state.

docs/specs/2026-07-15-closed-loop-workspace.md

@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+# Closed-loop workspace
+
+## Invariant
+
+After every code-producing stage, the workspace has a recorded verification observation. A passing observation is the only state the next implementation stage may treat as known-good; replay reads the event rather than re-running a command.
+
+## Seams
+
+1. Before locking a plan, ground declared writes, referenced paths, and build prerequisites against the workspace/index. Unknown or absent prerequisites return the plan to the architect.
+2. For each write-declaring stage, run the appropriate static/build command and record its result. Failures retry or route through recovery before downstream work continues.
+3. Repeated hard precondition observations (for example `REFERENCE_EXISTS`) become a stage failure or bootstrap/clarification decision rather than independent rejected tool calls.
+
+## Delivery order
+
+- Per-write-stage build gates and truthful deferred contract verdicts (#162).
+- Consume repeated build-critical `REFERENCE_EXISTS` blocks (#163): three blocks for one manifest/config path now create a recovery-eligible precondition failure.
+- Ground plan prerequisites before plan lock; then use the verified observation as the next-stage planning baseline.
+- Preserve recovery escalation for failures that still cannot reach a verified increment (#165).

docs/specs/2026-07-15-stage-prompt-audit.md

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+# Stage prompt audit and audition
+
+## Audit
+
+Inventory each system-role/context block, its origin, token estimate, and outcome evidence. Remove redundant or stale text before adding rules. Inspect retry feedback separately: only the latest failure belongs in the prompt.
+
+## Candidate additions
+
+- Project build manifests, configs, and entry files are normal in-scope setup when required by the authoritative intent.
+- Resolve a necessary scope edge from the authoritative intent; do not spend turns re-deciding it.
+- Read/observe before writing and verify before declaring completion.
+
+## Audition harness
+
+Run a fixed task and seed through baseline, trimmed, curated-rules, and reworded-scope variants. Record completion, gate pass rate, rejected/wasted tool rounds, retries, token budget use, and context truncation. Choose the smallest variant that improves the 12B results; structural gates remain preferred where a deterministic mechanism exists.

examples/AGENTS.md

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ Each TOML file in `workflows/` is a valid workflow loadable by the server. Keep
 
 - Add a new workflow example when a major new workflow type ships.
 - Prompts referenced by TOML files go in `workflows/prompts/`.
+- Freestyle architect prompts specify stage constraints, boundaries, and verification goals; they do not prescribe an exact resulting file list when the authoritative intent leaves implementation details open.
 - Do not add configs/plugins/stages stubs speculatively — populate when there is real content.
 
 ## Verification

examples/workflows/prompts/architect_freestyle.md

@@ -81,6 +81,10 @@ Emit a JSON object that validates against the `execution_plan` schema:
     decompose tasks here — task creation is out of scope for the plan.
 - Keep stages small and single-responsibility. Prefer more stages over large monolithic
   prompts.
+- Write stage prompts as constraints and verification goals, not a pre-scripted list of exact
+  resulting files or their full contents. State the responsibility, boundaries, existing APIs or
+  references to honor, acceptance checks, and what must not change; let the implementer inspect the
+  actual workspace and choose the smallest fitting file edits.
 - **Declare `touches` to fence a stage to its area.** When a stage's job belongs to one part of
   the tree (a frontend/client stage → `["frontend/**"]`; a stage that edits only the API layer →
   `["apps/server/**"]`), list those globs in `touches`. Every concrete path the stage `writes`

infrastructure/inference/AGENTS.md

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ Adapter for LLM inference backends. Implements `core:inference` interfaces. No d
 - All LLM responses are proposals — they must be validated by the core before affecting state (invariant #7). Adapters return raw responses; they do not validate.
 - Network calls to inference backends are environment observations; results must be recorded as events by callers if replay must reproduce them (invariant #9).
 - Model lifecycle (spawn/own the llama-server process) lives in `llama_cpp/`; the autonomous scheduler is intentionally unbuilt (see root CLAUDE.md).
+- Model descriptors default to a 24,576-token context window, matching the implementation-stage budget; operators may lower `[[models]].context_size` for constrained hardware.
 - `openai_compat/` is fully remote (no local process/GPU). It speaks `POST {baseUrl}/chat/completions` with `Authorization: Bearer`; `baseUrl` must include the version segment (e.g. `/v1`). It has no `/tokenize`, so it uses a heuristic tokenizer, and no GBNF — JSON artifacts rely on the core's validate-after-retry. Server dispatch keys `[[providers]] type = "nim" | "openai"`; the key comes from `api_key` or `api_key_env`.
 
 ## Work Guidance

infrastructure/inference/commons/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/infrastructure/inference/commons/ModelDescriptor.kt

@@ -10,6 +10,6 @@ data class ModelDescriptor(
     val modelPath: String,
     val residencyMode: ResidencyMode,
     val idleTimeoutMs: Long = 60_000L,
-    val contextSize: Int = 8192,
+    val contextSize: Int = 24_576,
     val capabilities: Set<CapabilityScore> = emptySet(),
 )

infrastructure/tools/AGENTS.md

@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ Adapter for `core:tools`. Depends on `core:tools`, `core:events`, `core:approval
 - `ToolConfig` is the only configuration surface; pass via `InfrastructureModule.createToolExecutor()`.
 - `buildTools()` extension on `ToolConfig` assembles the full tool list; add new tools there, not in the registry directly.
 - Filesystem mutation is split by intent: `file_write` only writes (`{path, content}`), `file_edit` edits, and `file_delete` only deletes (`{path}`) — deletion is a separately-named capability so a model can never delete by getting a write-mode parameter wrong. `file_delete` shares `file_write`'s path jail and `fileWrite.enabled` toggle and carries `ToolCapability.FILE_WRITE`.
+- `list_dir` is shallow by default, but collapses a non-symlink single-child directory chain (bounded depth) to the first branch point and explains that expansion in its output; recursive listings retain normal tree traversal.
 
 ## Work Guidance
 

infrastructure/tools/filesystem/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/infrastructure/tools/filesystem/ListDirTool.kt

@@ -127,6 +127,33 @@ class ListDirTool(
     }
 
     private fun walk(root: Path, recursive: Boolean, request: ToolRequest): ToolResult {
+        var listedRoot = root
+        var listing = collect(listedRoot, recursive)
+        val descended = ArrayList<String>()
+        // Do not follow symlinks: a symlink chain can point back to an ancestor outside the walk's
+        // normal cycle protections. A real directory chain is capped as a second guard against a
+        // pathological generated tree.
+        while (!recursive && descended.size < MAX_AUTO_DESCENT_DEPTH) {
+            val only = listing.entries.singleOrNull() ?: break
+            val child = listedRoot.resolve(only.removeSuffix("/"))
+            if (!only.endsWith('/') || Files.isSymbolicLink(child) || !Files.isDirectory(child)) break
+            descended += only.removeSuffix("/")
+            listedRoot = child
+            listing = collect(listedRoot, recursive = false)
+        }
+        return ToolResult.Success(
+            request.invocationId,
+            output = render(listedRoot, listing.entries, listing.truncated, listing.ignoredCount, descended),
+        )
+    }
+
+    private data class Listing(
+        val entries: List<String>,
+        val truncated: Boolean,
+        val ignoredCount: Int,
+    )
+
+    private fun collect(root: Path, recursive: Boolean): Listing {
         val matcher = GitignoreMatcher(workingDir ?: root, root)
         // The caller explicitly targeted `root` — if a rule already covers it (e.g. an entire
         // subtree gitignored as scaffold output), don't let that same rule keep pruning everything
@@ -166,7 +193,7 @@ class ListDirTool(
             override fun visitFileFailed(file: Path, exc: java.io.IOException) = FileVisitResult.CONTINUE
         })
         out.sort()
-        return ToolResult.Success(request.invocationId, output = render(root, out, truncated, ignoredCount))
+        return Listing(out, truncated, ignoredCount)
     }
 
     /**
@@ -176,8 +203,17 @@ class ListDirTool(
      * gitignore-pruning are surfaced here too, so a shorter-than-expected listing isn't mistaken for
      * the real tree.
      */
-    private fun render(root: Path, entries: List<String>, truncated: Boolean, ignoredCount: Int): String {
+    private fun render(
+        root: Path,
+        entries: List<String>,
+        truncated: Boolean,
+        ignoredCount: Int,
+        descended: List<String>,
+    ): String {
         val notes = buildList {
+            if (descended.isNotEmpty()) {
+                add("auto-descended ${descended.joinToString(" → ")} (single child at each level); listing shown is $root")
+            }
             if (truncated) add("truncated at $MAX_ENTRIES entries; narrow the path or list a sub-directory")
             if (ignoredCount > 0) {
                 add("$ignoredCount ${if (ignoredCount == 1) "entry" else "entries"} hidden by .gitignore")
@@ -240,6 +276,7 @@ class ListDirTool(
 
     private companion object {
         const val MAX_ENTRIES = 400
+        const val MAX_AUTO_DESCENT_DEPTH = 32
         const val MAX_SIMILAR_SUGGESTIONS = 3
         const val SIMILAR_NAME_MIN_COMMON_PREFIX = 2
         const val SIMILAR_NAME_MAX_LEVENSHTEIN = 3

infrastructure/tools/filesystem/src/test/kotlin/com/correx/infrastructure/tools/filesystem/ListDirToolTest.kt

@@ -49,9 +49,10 @@ class ListDirToolTest {
     fun `default is shallow — a bare list_dir does not descend`(): Unit = runBlocking {
         // Regression: a recursive default buried top-level answers ("does frontend/ exist?") under a
         // 400-entry alphabetical flood and drove models to re-issue the same list_dir 2-3x. A bare
-        // call (no recursive param) must now list only immediate children.
+        // call (no recursive param) must not descend a directory that already has a meaningful choice.
         val root = Files.createTempDirectory("listdir")
         Files.createDirectories(root.resolve("src/deep")).also { Files.writeString(it.resolve("f.ts"), "f") }
+        Files.writeString(root.resolve("README.md"), "root file")
         val tool = ListDirTool(allowedPaths = setOf(root), workingDir = root)
         val out = (tool.execute(request()) as ToolResult.Success).output
         assertTrue(out.contains("src/"), out)
@@ -75,9 +76,26 @@ class ListDirToolTest {
     fun `non-recursive lists only immediate children`(): Unit = runBlocking {
         val root = Files.createTempDirectory("listdir")
         Files.createDirectories(root.resolve("src/deep")).also { Files.writeString(it.resolve("f.ts"), "f") }
+        Files.writeString(root.resolve("README.md"), "root file")
         val tool = ListDirTool(allowedPaths = setOf(root), workingDir = root)
         val out = (tool.execute(request(recursive = false)) as ToolResult.Success).output
         assertTrue(out.contains("src/"), out)
         assertFalse(out.contains("deep"), out)
     }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `non-recursive listing auto-descends a single-child directory chain`(): Unit = runBlocking {
+        val root = Files.createTempDirectory("listdir")
+        Files.createDirectories(root.resolve("core/kernel/src/main"))
+        Files.writeString(root.resolve("core/kernel/src/main/App.kt"), "class App")
+        Files.createDirectories(root.resolve("core/kernel/src/main/resources"))
+
+        val tool = ListDirTool(allowedPaths = setOf(root), workingDir = root)
+        val out = (tool.execute(request(recursive = false)) as ToolResult.Success).output
+
+        assertTrue(out.contains("<path>${root.resolve("core/kernel/src/main")}</path>"), out)
+        assertTrue(out.contains("App.kt"), out)
+        assertTrue(out.contains("resources/"), out)
+        assertTrue(out.contains("auto-descended core → kernel → src → main"), out)
+    }
 }

infrastructure/workflow/AGENTS.md

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ Adapter for `core:transitions` and `core:inference` workflow interfaces. Depends
 - `ExecutionPlanCompiler` converts the parsed `ExecutionPlanModel` into a runnable plan for `core:transitions`; compilation is deterministic given the same input model.
 - `PlanLinter` enforces structural rules (e.g. unreachable stages are rejected); linting failures throw `WorkflowValidationException`.
 - `PlanDerivedManifest` exposes the write manifest derived from a plan.
+- For a plan with no explicit build expectation, `ExecutionPlanCompiler` marks every write-declaring stage for the runtime auto build gate; plans with no declared writes are not represented as compiler-verified.
 
 ## Work Guidance
 

infrastructure/workflow/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/infrastructure/workflow/ExecutionPlanCompiler.kt

@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ private const val RECOVERY_PROMPT =
 // round, evicting the file_read results the model just gathered, so it re-reads forever and never
 // accumulates enough to write. Match the static execution baseline. (gemma ctx is 32768, so this
 // leaves ample headroom for completion.)
-private const val DEFAULT_STAGE_TOKEN_BUDGET = 16384
+private const val DEFAULT_STAGE_TOKEN_BUDGET = 24576
 
 // A compiled freestyle stage must also lift its inference completion cap off StageConfig's 2048
 // default, or the model is truncated (finishReason=length) mid-artifact — and a degenerating local
@@ -114,8 +114,11 @@ class ExecutionPlanCompiler(
         // ACTUALLY builds is decided at run time (SessionOrchestrator.runExecutionGate) from the real
         // FileWritten manifest — the plan's declared kinds don't reveal code-ness, but the written
         // paths do — so a docs-only plan is left alone and a code plan is always gated.
-        val autoGateStageId: String? =
-            if (declaredExpectations.values.all { it == BuildExpectation.NONE }) terminalStageId(plan) else null
+        val autoGateStages: Set<String> = if (declaredExpectations.values.all { it == BuildExpectation.NONE }) {
+            plan.stages.filter { it.writes.any { path -> path.isNotBlank() } }.map { it.id }.toSet()
+        } else {
+            emptySet()
+        }
 
         val stageMap = plan.stages.associate { s ->
             // `produces` is the unique slot name referenced by needs/edges; `kind` selects the
@@ -149,7 +152,7 @@ class ExecutionPlanCompiler(
                 expectedFiles = s.writes.map { it.trim() }.filter { it.isNotEmpty() && !isGlob(it) },
                 touches = s.touches.map { it.trim() }.filter { it.isNotEmpty() },
                 buildExpectation = declaredExpectations.getValue(s.id),
-                autoBuildGate = s.id == autoGateStageId,
+                autoBuildGate = s.id in autoGateStages,
                 semanticReview = s.semanticReview,
                 tokenBudget = DEFAULT_STAGE_TOKEN_BUDGET,
                 generationConfig = defaultStageGeneration,

infrastructure/workflow/src/test/kotlin/com/correx/infrastructure/workflow/ExecutionPlanCompilerTest.kt

@@ -470,9 +470,9 @@ class ExecutionPlanCompilerTest {
           "goal": "scaffold a react app",
           "stages": [
             { "id": "entry", "prompt": "write main.tsx", "produces": "app_entry", "kind": "react_entry",
-              "needs": [], "tools": ["file_write"] },
+              "needs": [], "tools": ["file_write"], "writes": ["src/main.tsx"] },
             { "id": "views", "prompt": "write components", "produces": "app_views", "kind": "react_component",
-              "needs": ["app_entry"], "tools": ["file_write"] }
+              "needs": ["app_entry"], "tools": ["file_write"], "writes": ["src/App.tsx"] }
           ],
           "edges": [
             { "from": "entry", "to": "views", "condition": { "type": "always_true" } },
@@ -482,12 +482,12 @@ class ExecutionPlanCompilerTest {
     """.trimIndent()
 
     @Test
-    fun `terminal stage of an ungated plan is flagged for an auto build gate`() {
+    fun `every write-declaring stage of an ungated plan is flagged for an auto build gate`() {
         val graph = codeCompiler.compile(codePlanNoGate, "wf")
         val views = graph.stages[StageId("views")]!!
         assertTrue(
             views.autoBuildGate,
-            "terminal stage of an ungated plan must be flagged for an auto build gate",
+            "a write-declaring stage of an ungated plan must be flagged for an auto build gate",
         )
         assertEquals(
             com.correx.core.transitions.graph.BuildExpectation.NONE,
@@ -496,8 +496,8 @@ class ExecutionPlanCompilerTest {
                 "code module was actually written",
         )
         assertTrue(
-            !graph.stages[StageId("entry")]!!.autoBuildGate,
-            "intermediate stages are not flagged — the gate runs when the project is whole, not per-stage",
+            graph.stages[StageId("entry")]!!.autoBuildGate,
+            "implementation stages must not defer compiler coverage to a terminal verifier",
         )
     }
 
@@ -531,15 +531,15 @@ class ExecutionPlanCompilerTest {
     }
 
     @Test
-    fun `exactly the terminal stage of an ungated plan is auto-flagged`() {
-        // The compiler flags the terminal stage regardless of the produced kinds — code-ness is a
-        // run-time decision (SessionOrchestrator reads the FileWritten manifest), so a non-code plan
-        // is flagged too but the runtime build gate then skips it.
+    fun `plan without declared writes has no auto build gate`() {
+        // A plan with no write declarations cannot promise compiler coverage. Runtime still
+        // inspects actual files for an opted-in gate, but the compiler must not pretend this
+        // documentation-shaped plan has implementation-stage verification.
         val graph = compiler.compile(validPlan, "wf")
         assertEquals(
-            1,
+            0,
             graph.stages.values.count { it.autoBuildGate },
-            "exactly the single terminal stage of an ungated plan is flagged for the auto build gate",
+            "only write-declaring stages receive an auto build gate",
         )
     }
 }

scripts/prompt-audit.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# Inventory the stage-facing prompt surfaces before changing prompt policy. This is intentionally
+# static: it is safe to run without a model, server, event store, or workspace mutation.
+set -eu
+
+root=${1:-.}
+cd "$root"
+
+printf '%s\n\n' '# Stage prompt inventory'
+printf '%s\n' '| Surface | Source | Lines | Approx. tokens |'
+printf '%s\n' '|---|---|---:|---:|'
+
+find examples/workflows/prompts -type f -name '*.md' -print 2>/dev/null | sort | while IFS= read -r file; do
+    lines=$(wc -l < "$file" | tr -d ' ')
+    chars=$(wc -c < "$file" | tr -d ' ')
+    printf '| workflow prompt | `%s` | %s | %s |\n' "$file" "$lines" "$((chars / 4))"
+done
+
+printf '| curated system guidance | `%s` | %s | %s |\n' \
+    'core/kernel/.../DefaultSessionOrchestrator.kt' \
+    "$(awk '/CURATED_STAGE_OPERATING_GUIDANCE =/{on=1} on{n++} /"""$/{if(on){print n; exit}}' core/kernel/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/core/kernel/orchestration/DefaultSessionOrchestrator.kt)" \
+    "$(awk '/CURATED_STAGE_OPERATING_GUIDANCE =/{on=1} on{c+=length($0)+1} /"""$/{if(on){print int(c/4); exit}}' core/kernel/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/core/kernel/orchestration/DefaultSessionOrchestrator.kt)"
+
+printf '\n## Candidates for review\n\n'
+rg -n -i '(^|[^[:alnum:]_])(must|always|never|required|exactly)([^[:alnum:]_]|$)' \
+    examples/workflows/prompts core/kernel/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/core/kernel/orchestration/DefaultSessionOrchestrator.kt \
+    2>/dev/null || true

testing/integration/src/test/kotlin/RecoveryRoutingTest.kt

@@ -398,6 +398,27 @@ class RecoveryRoutingTest {
         start = StageId("impl"),
     )
 
+    // impl owns file_write but repeatedly produces the same static-analysis failure. Capability
+    // possession alone is not progress: after the per-gate retry budget is spent, this must still
+    // reach the recovery/intent-holder stage instead of terminating impl in place.
+    private fun capableButStuckGraph(): WorkflowGraph = WorkflowGraph(
+        id = "capable-but-stuck-test",
+        stages = mapOf(
+            StageId("impl") to StageConfig(
+                allowedTools = setOf("file_write"),
+                staticAnalysis = listOf("typecheck"),
+            ),
+            StageId("recovery") to StageConfig(
+                allowedTools = setOf("shell", "file_write"),
+                metadata = mapOf("role" to "recovery"),
+            ),
+        ),
+        transitions = setOf(
+            TransitionEdge(TransitionId("t-impl"), StageId("impl"), StageId("done"), condition = { true }),
+        ),
+        start = StageId("impl"),
+    )
+
     /** Builds an orchestrator whose only writing stage is `impl` (via file_write) and whose `verify`
      *  static gate fails with [staticOutput] — so route-to-owner can resolve `impl` as the file author. */
     private fun buildMultiToolOrchestrator(
@@ -520,6 +541,33 @@ class RecoveryRoutingTest {
         assertTrue(tickets.take(firstEscalatedIdx).none { it.escalated }, "owner routes come before escalation")
     }
 
+    @Test
+    fun `capable stage with unchanged failure exhausts to the recovery arbiter`(): Unit = runBlocking {
+        val (orchestrator, eventStore) = buildMultiToolOrchestrator(
+            staticOutput = "App.tsx: TS2322 type mismatch",
+        )
+        val sessionId = SessionId("capable-but-stuck")
+        val config = OrchestrationConfig(
+            retryPolicy = RetryPolicy(
+                maxAttempts = 10,
+                backoffMs = 0,
+                perGateMaxAttempts = mapOf("static_analysis" to 1),
+            ),
+        )
+
+        val result = orchestrator.run(sessionId, capableButStuckGraph(), config)
+
+        assertTrue(result is WorkflowResult.Failed, "the bounded repair ladder must still terminate")
+        val tickets = eventStore.read(sessionId).mapNotNull { it.payload as? FailureTicketOpenedEvent }
+        assertEquals(RECOVERY_ROUTE_BUDGET_TEST, tickets.size)
+        tickets.forEach {
+            assertEquals("impl", it.stageId.value)
+            assertEquals("recovery", it.routeTo.value)
+            assertEquals("static_analysis", it.gate)
+            assertTrue(it.escalated, "a self-owned failure must escalate directly to the intent-holder")
+        }
+    }
+
     // impl carries a generative "scaffold" mandate as its own prompt. On the FORWARD visit it applies;
     // when the ticket routes impl back to repair its own file, that mandate must be suppressed (else it
     // re-scaffolds and stubs the real file). Same topology as ownerGraph otherwise.