# U6 released as v0.6.0 — benches, and the number that was two defects

_2026-09-22 · booth_

**The sixth of seven v1 units. Only U7 remains.** 444 → 607 tests. Tagged
`v0.6.0` (minor, operator-approved). **NOT PUSHED** — push is his call.

## What shipped

- **`booth/benches.py`** — stdlib-only AND sibling-free. `Bench`,
  `normalize_bench_url` (the identity), a lenient `read_benches` on the render
  path and a strict `_load_strict` on the write path, `mkstemp` + `fsync` +
  `os.replace` under an flock, and `order_benches` with a stated total order
  `(state rank, name casefolded, id)`.
- **`links.booth_target`** — ONE predicate for "is this a booth URL",
  host-agnostic, path-shaped, percent-decoding, control-character-rejecting,
  never raising. Three callers: the CLI refusal, the board's dead marker,
  `bench import`.
- **`booth link` refuses** a booth URL (naming `booth new --why`) and a
  credentialed one, writing nothing in either case.
- **The board marks dead rows** — 161 of 221 live. Removal stays the operator's
  two clicks through the bulk control that already existed. Nothing deletes.
- **`booth bench add|ls|state|rm|import`**. `--apply` REQUIRES the ids.

## The decision that shaped the unit, and it was measured

**The design doc's headline "69% rot" was two defects wearing one number**, and
splitting them is what made the unit the right size — see
[[2026-09-22-one-number-was-two-defects]]. 178 of 221 rows are booth
announcements (156 already dead) whose *cause* U5 had already closed; only 8 are
the bench re-post the registry fixes. A unit scoped off the unsplit number would
have built the registry, declared victory, and left 178 rows rotting.

**Identity is the FULL normalized URL, not the origin**, and that was measured
rather than chosen: origin identity merges eight distinct gitea repositories
into one row, three unrelated HuggingFace model cards into one, and the two LRPG
surfaces on `10.100.10.50:8321` — *the design doc's own example of two real
benches* — into one. It destroys more than it deduplicates.

**`booth link` is NOT deprecated**, against the design doc's plan. Roughly 14 of
the 35 distinct non-booth targets are reference bookmarks (repos, model cards,
docs) for which the board is the right and only home. Deprecating it would have
evicted a third of its live content. The IA doc is corrected.

## The gates

All four closed, and every one paid — see
[[2026-09-22-three-cold-panels-on-one-unit]]. Contract review
`01M35BWCJ806MT75NA630Y4WFH`, code review `01M35CK8YKEKMV7T15JXEF6A8N`, bug hunt
`01M35CRRK2RTVWWF1BN09AFQG3`, one consolidated reply sent to heid at
`01M35FY8QZTB9E5VR4WXDSBGEV`.

## Live evidence, unplanned

The sweeper ran mid-session: **23 booths → 19**, and dead board rows went
**156 → 161 in about fifteen minutes**. The defect compounding in real time
while the fix was being built — which is the argument for U6-before-U7 playing
out on its own.