# Archival memory — ratatoskr

_Entries moved out of persistent-memory.md to keep the active file scannable. Read this when researching historical decisions or revisiting past foot-guns. Append-only._

## Recent decisions (archived)

The 2026-05-20 → 2026-05-29 cluster: the original debug-TUI/web build era, before the 2026-06-14 Bifrost-provider second identity. Archived 2026-06-18 (one event; per-entry stamps omitted for the batch).

- `[2026-05-20]` Project name **Ratatoskr** (squirrel on Yggdrasil — runs up and down carrying messages). Earlier candidate Andvari demoted on the cursed-ring association.
- `[2026-05-20]` **Separate repo, separate dev team.** Operator's call; the in-tree-at-Worldtree/tools/ alternative was considered and rejected to dogfood the API boundary.
- `[2026-05-20]` **No Worldtree-source imports.** Spec-only dependency. Triple version-skew mitigation: spec-pin in pyproject.toml + recorded-SSE snapshot tests + conformance smoke. Initial pin: `55101e909abcd2219833266b6f905c5bc956e0f0` (Worldtree v0.19.0). See `docs/SPEC-PIN.md`.
- `[2026-05-20]` **Textual** (not rich+prompt_toolkit). Driver: debug observability is the primary purpose, and a multi-pane dashboard with persistent side panes + independent scrollback is structurally application-shell-shaped. Volva consulted via cross-frontier second-opinion and converged on the same call.
- `[2026-05-20]` **`httpx-sse`** for SSE consumption. The server emits composite `{turn_id}:{seq}` `id:` lines (Worldtree INV-014) load-bearing for SSE-resume; hand-rolled `data:`-only parsing (the skaldsong pattern) silently drops these. Ratatoskr becomes the reference Python SSE-resume implementation.
- `[2026-05-20]` **Persona-pane PII posture: label-don't-refuse.** `persona.log` is process-wide; pane title flips between `[Persona — PROCESS-WIDE]` and `[Persona — session <id>…]` based on whether log lines carry session_id. Refuse-against-non-local was considered and rejected as paternalistic.
- `[2026-05-20]` **Server-stdout pane: opt-in via `--server-log <path>`.** No auto-detection of well-known paths.
- `[2026-05-20]` **Two-stage Ctrl-C.** First cancels in-flight turn server-side; second exits app. Ctrl-D bound to immediate exit.
- `[2026-05-20]` **Single-session-per-launch + startup picker.** No in-app `/switch`. CLI flags `--session <id>` and `--new` for scripted use. Session identity always visible in Textual footer.
- `[2026-05-20]` **Markdown rendering default-on; `--raw` opt-out.** Don't pre-design `--no-stream-formatting` (Volva: add only if streaming-markdown rendering is empirically ugly).
- `[2026-05-20]` **Non-interactive `--send` mode.** Single SSE consumer module, two presenters (TUI + stdout). Keeps Ratatoskr honest as an API consumer; useful for CI / scripted probes.
- `[2026-05-20]` **First contract: `ratatoskr.sse_client`.** Bundles `stream_turn` + `reconnect_turn` + `cancel_turn` + private `_parse_sse_id` into one module — the SSE-resume flow is coupled (cancel needs `turn_id` from the SSE wire `id:`, reconnect re-uses the same parsed `SseId`), so they share a contract. Hard invariant INV-002 makes the composite `{turn_id}:{seq}` `id:` parsing load-bearing — closes the foot-gun the design-brief §3 names (hand-rolled `data:`-only parsing silently drops the `id:`).
- `[2026-05-21]` **Contract converted to issue-scoped (issue #1).** Frontmatter shape switched from module-scoped (`module:`/`purpose:`) to issue-scoped (`target_module:`/`scope:`/`prd:`) per CONTRACT-FORMAT §2.1.I. `prd:` block pins to issue body hash. **Known parser stale-ness**: `contract_parser.py --validate` ERRORs on issue-scoped frontmatter — CONTRACT-FORMAT §2.1.L H10, a documented Brokkr-side follow-up. Parser is a canonical sync, so we do NOT patch it locally. Treat parser ERROR-on-issue-scoped as expected until canonical bumps. (later retired — see 2026-06-15 canonical-sync entry.)
- `[2026-05-21]` **Default issue-tracker labels seeded** (17 total). Sleipnir gating, triage, type, resolution, Ratatoskr-specific area labels (sse-client, tui, cli, observability).
- `[2026-05-21]` **Volva paraphrase + code-review across all 4 issues — calibration consistent.** Paraphrase rounds flag 3-5 contract ambiguities per issue; code-review rounds flag 3-8 code-vs-contract drifts after TDD-passing implementation. The post-TDD code-review consistently catches three classes of gap the test-author's hypotheses don't cover: PRE-assertion boundary drift, exception-payload truncation / never-rendered-to-user observability misses, and "tested the state but not whether the user can see it" gaps.
- `[2026-05-21]` **Manual smoke is load-bearing — found a real defect tests couldn't.** First wire-level smoke against personal Worldtree (post-TDD, post-Volva-code-review on #4) revealed httpx's default 5s read timeout killed the SSE connection mid-stream during mimir's thinking phase (~30s LLM latency >> 5s read timeout). The unit/contract test infrastructure (respx-mocked SSE wire) doesn't model real LLM latency, so the gap was invisible at the test layer. Fix: caller-owned `httpx.AsyncClient` constructed with `timeout=httpx.Timeout(connect=10.0, read=None, write=10.0, pool=10.0)`; defense in depth: `sse_client.stream_turn` ERROR_ROUTING catches `httpx.ReadTimeout` → `SseConnectionDropped`. **Lesson: keep manual-smoke step in the per-issue cadence; mock-only validation is insufficient for streaming-against-real-server code.**
- `[2026-05-22]` **Issues #5/#6/#7 filed: per-user-agent support + TUI-startup-visibility + mid-stream-robustness.** Discovered during 2026-05-22 mimir TUI conversation: long completion crashed with `JSONDecodeError("Expecting value: line 1 column 1 (char 0)")` from `json.loads('')` on an empty-`data:` SSE frame (→ #7). Earlier same day, `ratatoskr --new --agent lofn` failed with 422 `end_user_id_required` → #5. #6 was a corollary observation (TUI alt-screen masks the diagnostic).
- `[2026-05-22]` **Issue #8 (startup agent picker) filed.** `GET /agents` exists in the vendored spec; returns `agent_id`/`name`/`description` + optional fields. `--agent` becomes conditionally optional. Composes naturally with issue #5.
- `[2026-05-22]` **Issue #7 implemented via TDD + Volva-code-reviewed.** First issue with zero drift findings from Volva code-review — TDD caught all runtime behavior. Hypothesis: the tighter the contract + smaller the code surface, the more Volva's role shifts from "catch behavioral drift" to "tighten observability + wording".
- `[2026-05-23]` **Issue #6 (TUI startup error visibility) implemented via TDD + Volva-code-review (two rounds).** Restructures `run_tui` lifecycle: `_resolve_then_run` async helper opens AsyncClient, does pre-flight resolution, routes errors to stderr BEFORE alt-screen opens. Two Volva rounds confirmed multi-round value (round 2 found things round 1's amendments didn't anticipate; strictly test-precision, no behavioral drift).
- `[2026-05-23]` **Issue #5 (`--end-user-id`) implemented via TDD.** Three modules touched. `create_session(client, agent_id, *, end_user_id=None)`; CLI flag with non-empty validation; threading through `_amain` and `_resolve_then_run`.
- `[2026-05-23]` **Worldtree-dev consult landed authoritative consumer-API guidance** (althing thread `01KSBARG2B8M8C82H6AJGJWX1B`). Takeaways: `end_user_id` is a free-form partition key; no programmatic `requires_end_user_id` discovery; subject:{type,id} migration locked but not shipped; spec pin (v0.19.0) is 3 minor versions stale; send a User-Agent header; `agents.call:lofn` scope needed for lofn smoke; `GET /agents` requires no special scope.
- `[2026-05-23]` **v0.2.1 layout fix: dock-anchored TUI chrome so Input never moves.** Cause: auto-stacked vertical flow shifted Input when thinking-current toggled visibility. Fix: dock chrome to screen edges; transcript absorbs reflows internally via scroll viewport. **Operator-confirmed "a lot better" interactively. Pure UI fix; tests pass without modification. TUI-layout patches are "ship + operator verifies" — TTY is the load-bearing test surface; respx + Pilot mocks can't catch screen-relative positioning bugs.**
- `[2026-05-23]` **Issue #12 (presenter contract semantics amendment) implemented via TDD.** Thinking deltas render as ONE coalesced growing line (CLI) / one closed RichLog entry per run + live Static widget per-delta (TUI), not 50 lines per turn. Introduced stateful per-turn presenters: `CliPresenterState` + `TuiPresenterState`. Editorial promotion: load-bearing = Text/Done/Error/Cancelled (no prefix); demoted telemetry = WorkerPhase/Thinking/TextBoundary/ToolStart/ToolResult.
- `[2026-05-23]` **Forward direction: Ratatoskr will require `end_user_id` for EVERY access before too long.** Operator's call. Reasoning: even Tier 1 foundational agents that don't *require* `end_user_id` server-side currently fall back to a `_no_end_user` sentinel partition — effectively pollution. **Cross-frontier alignment (worldtree-dev ack, althing `01KSBD9FPMCWJMBXNNS4B3MYBS`):** the platform side agrees the fallback is a substrate accommodation, NOT a consumer model. Ratatoskr's forward posture pre-empts a future tightening. File a ratatoskr issue when scheduling the change (untracked by operator choice for now).
- `[2026-05-24]` **v0.9.0 live Markdown rendering in TUI transcript.** Replaces v0.8.2's drop-Markdown patch. Transcript switched from `RichLog` to `VerticalScroll`; each turn's response lives as a single `Static` widget whose Markdown content is updated as Text deltas arrive (no post-Done re-render, no double-print). `--raw` bypasses Markdown.
- `[2026-05-24]` **v0.10.0 debug-pane audit logging surface.** Every SSE event arrival lands as one debug-pane line (timestamp + sse_id + event-specific summary). Token-rate Text/Thinking deltas are aggregated into per-turn counters surfaced in a turn-summary line. Also: state-machine transitions, cancel POST lifecycle, app bootstrap, ctrl-c actions, wire-error exception class+body all logged.
- `[2026-05-25]` **Worldtree #204 / v0.28.0 integration (v0.11.0 → v0.13.0).** Three-bump arc for `affect_update` SSE event + `GET /agents/{id}/persona_state` endpoint. v0.11.0 wire layer (AffectUpdate dataclass + parse + Event-union member); v0.12.0 read-side client (`get_persona_state` + typed errors PersonaNotConfigured/AgentNotAvailable/AuthScopeDenied); v0.13.0 TUI surface (sticky `#persona-header` line + Ctrl+4 Persona TabPane; live updates on `AffectUpdate(status="current")`; on-mount hydration via the GET endpoint).
- `[2026-05-26]` **Worldtree #201 / v0.29.0 integration (v0.14.0).** New SSE event `awaiting_llm_first_token` heartbeat (default 5s interval) during the BuildingPrompt→CallingLLM gap. Top-level event, NOT a worker_phase extension (preserves INV-053 three-field stability). `AwaitingLlmFirstToken` dataclass + parse; TUI live transcript indicator ("awaiting first token · Ns") mounted on first heartbeat, updated in place, removed when the gap closes; turn-summary line gains `heartbeats=N`.
- `[2026-05-26]` **v0.14.1: CLI presenter forgot to update when wire-layer events were added.** AffectUpdate (v0.11.0) and AwaitingLlmFirstToken (v0.14.0) were added to the sse_client Event union and the TUI presenter, but `cli.py`'s `CliPresenterState.render` has its own isinstance check that wasn't widened. `ratatoskr --send` crashed AssertionError on any v0.28.0+/v0.29.0+ server. Patch shipped + a posture lesson: **always update BOTH presenters in lockstep when adding a wire-layer event** (the two presenters currently duplicate the isinstance tuple; refactor to a shared constant if a third wire-event lands).
- `[2026-05-26]` **v0.14.2: RichLog min_width=78 silently overrides wrap=True.** Right-column panes (1fr against left's 2fr) are narrower than 78 cells at typical terminal widths; the renderer forces content to 78 wide then horizontal-scrolls. Fix: `min_width=0` on all four right-column RichLog instances.
- `[2026-05-27]` **Issue #16 web companion shipped — v0.15.0.** Browser-based debug surface sibling to the TUI, reusing all wire-layer modules unchanged. New `ratatoskr.web` (Starlette app + lazy-import entrypoint + single-page vanilla HTML/CSS/JS UI), new console script `ratatoskr-web`, optional-deps group `[web]`. Nine HTTP endpoints; five-pane parity over the same SSE wire. Browser-native EventSource (GET stream + separate POST submit) — load-bearing Hulda correction from Heid panel; EventSource is GET-only. In-memory turn registry; browser-disconnect → upstream cancel; lifespan-shutdown drain with 5s budget. HTML-escaped transcript; upstream API key stays server-side. Default bind `0.0.0.0:8765` (LAN-trust model — operator direction; no auth, no TLS, no CORS).
- `[2026-05-27]` **Heid panel review on web-companion scope v1 (pre-implementation).** Caught the EventSource POST/GET error + 7 other load-bearing items BEFORE we cut code. Confirms a pattern: **for non-trivial scope with non-obvious wire-protocol details, run a Heid panel BEFORE implementation, not just after.** Cost ~5min latency; saved a mid-implementation rewrite.
- `[2026-05-27]` **Mid-session `system_prompt` mutation: REJECTED across the industry.** Operator-requested feature → Heid R13 panel (brokkr-claude + Eitri-Codex + Dvalin-Grok, strong convergence) ran a SOTA survey: NO surveyed mature system ships live PATCH-on-active-session for the system prompt (OpenAI Assistants/Responses, Anthropic Messages, Vertex AI, MCP, LangChain, LlamaIndex, Ollama, vLLM). The omission IS the answer; 12 additional threat vectors beyond ratatoskr's initial 7 surfaced (TOCTOU broader than BuildingPrompt window; KV/prefix cache contamination; supply-chain; Memory Control Flow Attacks >90% ASR on tested LangChain/LangGraph). Recommended alternative: client-side fork pattern (PATCH agent → mint new session → replay context). **Operator declined for ratatoskr** — debug TUI is wrong consumer; fork ergonomic belongs in a future production conversational shell. Thread closed cleanly (althing thread `01KSKD1GA3XBWR9RHGZCF9FE3Y`).
- `[2026-05-27]` **Artemis (Gemma4) reasoning-token gap was upstream, not ours.** Wire trace from ratatoskr showed zero `thinking` events for `artemis-31b-v1i`; infra-ops confirmed llama-swap emits 77 `reasoning_content` deltas at the OpenAI-compat layer (`--reasoning-format deepseek`). Gap was in Worldtree's `GemmaProvider`. Worldtree-dev shipped v0.29.13 (commit `4262430`) fixing two stacked bugs: (1) base `OpenAICompatProvider._extract_thinking_from_delta` returned `None` unconditionally so any model falling through to the generic class dropped reasoning; (2) catalog `family` lookup was dead code (read wrong YAML subsection). Confirmed in ratatoskr via re-smoke against Sindra. **Diagnostic pattern: when a wire-layer feature appears missing, get infra-ops to probe upstream-of-the-SSE-publisher first; ratatoskr's wire trace says what reaches us, infra-ops's probe says what reaches Worldtree.**
- `[2026-05-27]` **v0.15.1 (sessions): `get_persona_state` unwraps FastAPI `detail`-envelope.** Live smoke surfaced that real Worldtree returns persona-state errors as `{"detail": {"error_code": "..."}}` (FastAPI default), not flat. v0.12.0 tests mocked flat shape so the bug was invisible. **Lesson: test-side mock envelopes must match the REAL wire shape; live smoke is load-bearing for envelope-shape verification, not just happy paths.**
- `[2026-05-28]` **v0.16.0 web Heid code-review pass 1: load-bearing turn_id fix.** Cancel paths used browser-local `_TURN_COUNTER` ids (1, 2, 3…) instead of upstream Worldtree turn_id (e.g. 799) captured from the first SSE event. The `disconnect_triggers_cancel` test gap was the load-bearing miss. Also: server-configured `RATATOSKR_END_USER_ID` (browser can no longer impersonate partition); narrowed missing-extras `ImportError` catch (real first-party bugs propagate as tracebacks instead of masking as exit-12); per-turn lifespan-shutdown logging. Contract amended with a v0.16.0 block + INV-005/006 updated + 4 FN sketches corrected.
- `[2026-05-28]` **v0.16.1 web Heid code-review pass 2: minor tightening.** Stream-layer vocab coverage extended to all 11 Event types (AffectUpdate added to the vocab stream; dedicated `error_terminal_event` + `cancelled_terminal_event` tests since terminal events are mutually exclusive with done). Disconnect-cancel catch narrowed to swallow only `CancelAlreadyCompleted`/`CancelTurnNotFound` (the cooperative race); log unexpected `CancelFailed`/transport errors as structured stderr. **Heid review loop converged**: pass 1 = 7 findings (1 load-bearing); pass 2 = 2 minor (Gróa: zero findings, Hulda: 2). Pattern confirmed: diminishing returns within 2-3 passes; pass 3 would have been empty.
- `[2026-05-28]` **Sindra Tier 3 agent: FORM ASSUMPTION gate + new physical-form description.** Persistent agent state changes via `python -m ratatoskr.tier3 patch`: (1) model migrated from `qwen3.6-35-a3b-heretic` to `artemis-31b-v1i`; (2) added FORM ASSUMPTION section — when instructed to become another character she IS that character (identity/environment/psychology/parameters), believes the environment as fact, no Sindra/holo-deck/parameter references, sticky until explicit revert; (3) replaced the abstract "classically beautiful" default-form sketch with a specific anti-artifice physical description (5'8", golden-copper skin, asymmetric features, oversize dark-green knit, bare feet). System prompt file is at `/tmp/personal-worldtree-sindra_system_prompt.md` (transient; not committed to repo). (Superseded 2026-06-17: sindra DELETE+redefined to `thoughtful-character` role on v0.35.16.)
- `[2026-05-29]` **v0.17.0 frontend redesign — aurora telemetry instrument.** `/frontend-design` pass on the web companion: all-monospace technical-instrument aesthetic with the Australis dark palette + aurora-borealis accent band. Top command bar with live connection dot (idle/streaming/error states), inline persona summary with P/A/D micro-bars, animated awaiting-token, terminal-event status chips. **Live Markdown rendering in transcript + thinking panes** via a hand-rolled `markdownSafe()` (escape-first, whitelist subset of headings/bold/italic/inline-code/fenced/lists/quote/links; link-scheme whitelist; XSS-verified under a node harness). Thinking pane now has per-turn labeled dividers + a fresh MD-rendered block per turn. **Tools / Debug / Persona panes stay literal monospace** by deliberate choice — they carry structured audit lines + JSON, where MD would corrupt readability (underscores in tool names, JSON braces). Single-file vanilla HTML/CSS/JS, no build, no CDN, no node_modules.
- `[2026-05-29]` **Codex-first discipline pilot — Ratatoskr selected.** brokkr-smithy-dev pushed `AGENTS.md` (commit `bbeaa23`) and declared the `ratatoskr-codex` handle per `brokkr-smithy/docs/codex-first-discipline.md` v0.1 (brokkr-smithy commit `5dd061c`, tag `v0.5.3`). Per-dispatch opt-in model: default Sleipnir Claude-implementer path remains available; Codex used only when operator routes via `/codex-dispatch <N>`. Bootstrap handshake when operator spins up a codex session: codex sends `codex-online` → ratatoskr-dev replies with active branches + WIP state. Galdrabok was rejected as pilot (Codex authoring Claude skills is a category error); Skaldsong was the other candidate. (Still dormant as of 2026-06-18 — no codex session spun up.)

- `[2026-06-14]` **Ratatoskr becomes the v1 Bifrost Tier-3 consumer.** A second identity beyond the debug TUI: the durable persistence Worldtree writes Tier-3 agent affect (persona) + memory into. Pin `bifrost>=0.6.1` in a `provider` optional-extra (gitea PyPI index, auth via `~/.netrc`; 0.6.0 was yanked for a circular import). Implement bifrost's OWN `MemoryDataStore`/affect Protocols (NOT worldtree-memory's); `describe_store` is SYNC; affect is conduit-opaque. New module `src/ratatoskr/provider/`. Authoritative how-to: `~/development/bifrost/docs/implementing-a-consumer.md`. (commits `1a73d77` pin, `d90a58d` affect store v0.17.1, `bcdcd71` serve entrypoint v0.17.2)
  _Archived 2026-07-17._

- `[2026-06-14]` **Backend = SQLite + sqlite-vec; affect-first then memory; separate DB per plane** (operator-chosen). Affect = blind conduit (reads only `agent_id`+`end_user_id`); memory = structural index (reads vector/scope/id/origin to serve search). Conformance for both = #195 parity vs bifrost's `InMemory*Store` through the real `dispatch_*_call`.
  _Archived 2026-07-17._

- `[2026-06-14]` **The affect contract's idempotency model was WRONG; real-lib TDD caught it.** First draft modeled same-idempotency-key-different-payload as an LWW overwrite; bifrost actually raises a CONFLICT (`AffectIdempotencyConflict`), actor-scoped. The artifact-only `/heid-contract-review` STRUCTURALLY cannot catch this class (it never sees bifrost's source) — TDD against the shipped library is the gate; the executable reference store + #195 parity are the backstop. Filed the guide §6 gap to bifrost-dev, who fixed it (bifrost `c0d0a11`).
  _Archived 2026-07-17._

- `[2026-06-15]` **Memory v1 = the bifrost BASIC plane only** (search/get/upsert/delete + describe_store/health) per worldtree-dev re-scope (#294) — the only surface Tier-3's live path touches; gated verbs (edges/scan/atomic_supersede/mark/patch/maintenance) deferred + advertised-unsupported. Worldtree v0.35.3 already requests+maps it — no Worldtree-side blocker. Memory contract committed v1.0 (`eebab46`) → v1.1 Heid-reviewed (`1f94e5f`).
  _Archived 2026-07-17._

- `[2026-06-15]` **Providers run as dev-box BACKGROUND SHELLS, not infra-ops/systemd** (operator call — it's a dev box). `ratatoskr-provider` (affect) + `ratatoskr-memory-provider` as background processes; no productionization track.
  _Archived 2026-07-17._


The 2026-06-14 → 2026-06-18 cluster: the Bifrost-provider second-identity build era (#17/#18 self-drive+observe, #295/#296 cold-recall diagnosis, agent_self lattice). Archived 2026-07-18.

`[2026-06-15]` **Affect plane shipped (v0.17.2) + LIVE-PROVEN end-to-end against real Worldtree v0.35.2.** Personal handshake 200 + `affect.emit` 200 from `10.250.50.152` → durable row persisted (opacity held). HS256 key = the consumer's Heimdall API-key STRING utf-8-encoded (NOT base64/raw — the tripwire); cross-subnet route + `BIFROST_CLIENT_ALLOWED_HOSTS` allowlist all held (infra-ops-owned). worldtree-dev confirmed ADR-0009 holding as designed.

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-16]` **#295 cold-recall miss root-caused — UPSTREAM, scope-axis asymmetry.** A self-driven bound cold-recall probe captured the inbound pair via the observe log: Worldtree's recall filter carries `{end_user, agent_self}`; our chunks were `{end_user}`-only; AND-matching dropped everything on `agent_self` → 0 hits. Our store + search are SOUND; fix is Worldtree-side. F2 (question-promotion) → **#296**; F1 (recall-miss) → **#297**.

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-16]` **agent_self → make it CANONICAL (operator decided A).** bifrost's reference lattice was `{end_user, group, tenant}` only (agent_self → `invalid_filter` 400); Worldtree emits agent_self (#248). Operator chose canonical-not-re-expressed; worldtree-dev filed the lattice-addition with bifrost-dev. Implication: our store's permissive axis-acceptance becomes CORRECT once bifrost adds agent_self.

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-16]` **Self-drive auth identity: bound session-create uses the CONSUMER Heimdall key as bearer, NOT `WORLDTREE_API_KEY`.** Worldtree signs the Bifrost handshake JWT with the session-create bearer (canary key → handshake 401; consumer key → 200). Two keys, two identities. Proven by hand; documented in `docs/bifrost-self-test.md`; load-bearing for #17's Bind half.

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-16]` **Issue #17 v1 scope locked (operator 1A/2A): single-plane bind + dispatch-layer op-feed.** `BifrostBindingRequest` is one `endpoint_url` (one plane per session); composite-both-planes endpoint PARKED (→ now #18). Observe = structured op-feed at the DISPATCH layer (bifrost passes ctx to upsert_many but NOT search/get/delete — `memory.py:244`), session-level correlation; turn-correlated pane UI PARKED. Contract `docs/contracts/issues/17.contract.md` written + `/heid`-reviewed.

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-16]` **agent_self lattice SHIPPED both sides → our axis-validation gap CLOSED (v0.17.5).** bifrost 0.7.0 / wire v0.5 adds agent_self to `{end_user,group,tenant,agent_self}` (#10, driven by our foot-gun flag); Worldtree pinned 0.7.0 (v0.35.11). We DID add `_validate_scope_filter` (4-axis) to match the reference (purely additive; out-of-lattice → InvalidFilter).

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-16]` **Repinned bifrost 0.7.0→0.8.0 + reimplemented memory `search` to the v0.6 scope split (operator-directed).** `scope_filter` → `scope_all` (AND) + `scope_any` (OR/union over a list of conjunctive scopes), bifrost #11 — the canonical resolution of the #295/#297 silent-zero. The reference now does OR via `scope_any` (a NEW field — additive split, not a flip of AND). Store / contract (v1.2) / tests at parity with the v0.6 reference; provider bounced onto 0.8.0 with a wiped DB. Shipped v0.17.6 (`96d61a4`). **(SUPERSEDED the earlier "do NOT flip `_scope_matches` to OR" note.)**

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-17]` **Worldtree spec pin bumped v0.29.0→v0.35.16 (`562001a`→`f1b59f8`); cold recall closed on the WIRE.** Worldtree shipped #297 (client-side per-scope-value union recall) + #298/#299 (adopt the bifrost v0.6 `scope_any`/`scope_all` wire) — emits `scope_any` on recall, pairing with our v0.17.6 provider. Re-vendored the spec; diff-reviewed the 285-commit catch-up — no client-breaking changes. `pin:`-only commit, no bump.

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-17]` **End-to-end cold-recall proof RAN — our stack proven, #296 isolated.** Against personal WT v0.35.16 with restored `ratatoskr:sindra`: #297/#298 union recall, write path, and cold read ALL proven. Lone gap = upstream #296 extraction quality (the WIRE closed; fact-recall was #296-blocked).

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-17]` **DELETE+redefine `ratatoskr:sindra` (operator-authorized; pre-v1 debug surface).** She SURVIVED the rebuild but was STALE (dead model + no memory block); memory is immutable post-define, so DELETE+redefine was the only path. v0.35.16 define takes **`role`** (capability), NOT `model`: `role:"character"` → first-healthy bind `mistral-small-4`; `memory:{}` trips the promotion gate (GET does NOT echo `memory_config`). Our `tier3.py` define is Phase-2.0-stale — untracked modernization follow-up.

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-17]` **Promotion = 4-trigger hybrid (worldtree-dev, code-grounded):** salience (regex, 90s rate-limit) / `turn_count≥6` / context_pressure / **idle `≥10min` (unconditional on quality)**; per-turn `plan_promotion_run` for consumer_defined. **DELETE does NOT drain/promote** (delete-is-delete, #276) — idle `≥10min` is the deterministic flush.

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-18]` **#296 Stages 1+2 closed.** Stage 1 (v0.35.19, recallability admission gate) validated live for normal turns; bisect localized the residual to verbose-persona VOLUME crowd-out. Stage 2 (v0.36.0, MERGED at worldtree-codex) = user-only one-call-per-turn extraction, the STRUCTURAL fix; hard-linguistic layer → Worldtree #305 (we handed over a live-validated eval fixture PAIR). Full-coverage re-smoke: verbose `sindra-probe` promoted the fact cleanly + cold-recalled @ 0.694 under v0.36.0.

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-18]` **#17 implemented end-to-end via direct in-session TDD** (6 patch bumps `v0.17.8`→`v0.17.13`, suite 470 green). Slice order: bind primitive → op-feed → CLI → TUI → web(server) → web(UI). Tests drive the REAL bifrost dispatch via minted JWTs (`bifrost.core.dispatch_jwt.mint_dispatch_jwt`) — the "test against the shipped lib" posture, not hand-mocked envelopes. Op-feed reads `session_id` off the dispatch JWT `sub` claim (the contract open-q, resolved YES at the ASGI layer where the JWT is always present — `bifrost.reference_server._dispatch_auth.DispatchContext.session_id = payload["sub"]`). bifrost wire facts captured in-code: memory envelope `{operation, args}`→`memory_result(**payload)`={success,...}; verbs bare (search/upsert_many/get/get_many/delete_many); affect `{operation:"affect.emit"}`→`{success,stored}`; error envelope `{code, message}`; scopes `memory:read|write`.

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-18]` **#17 live-smoke PROVEN — the whole thesis validated.** A self-driven bound CLI session showed, from the PROVIDER side, exactly which memory ops a turn produced (2 recall searches, exact bound session_id, real union-recall scopes). Negative (canary→auth_rejected) NOT live-constructible (Tier-1 agents aren't memory-bindable; a wrong key for an owner-scoped agent fails at agent-auth before the handshake) — covered by the unit test + prior hand-proof.

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-18]` **Fixed a pre-existing test-isolation bug exposed by the #17 CLI tests** (`0bebad7`): `test_no_textual_import` did a live `importlib.reload(ratatoskr.cli)` that mutated the shared module in place, breaking class identity (`isinstance`/`pytest.raises`) for every test ordered after it. The real check is the static source-grep; the reload was vestigial → removed. Lesson: never `importlib.reload` a shared module in a test without restoring it.

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-18]` **#18 filed (composite endpoint + PAD read-endpoint) — DEFERRED, tracked at Gitea #18.** Two pieces: (1) a composite Bifrost facade (new port e.g. `:8392`) fronting BOTH `:8390`+`:8391` advertising both caps at handshake → one session binds both planes (un-parks the #17 open-q; bifrost reference_server already mounts both planes in one app → thin combined builder; needs per-plane failure-status + the op-feed deriving plane PER-REQUEST from the path instead of its fixed `plane` param). (2) a non-bifrost PAD read-endpoint on the affect provider (recommended over web-reads-`affect.db`-directly) → web persona pane renders PAD/valence from OUR `:8390` store. **Composite half APPROVED by operator ("A is correct"); contract-first next.** **Persona-telemetry diagnosis (verified):** affect bind persists PAD (vuong: pleasure +0.146, familiarity 0.18→0.59 over 8 turns) but the pane reads Tier-3-404 `persona_state` AND Tier-3 emits ZERO `affect_update` SSE (wire-verified) — both WT sources dead, so #18's PAD-display half is the only path. `affect.fetch` over bifrost is RESERVED/blocked but irrelevant (we own the store). Proposed: fast-track the PAD-display half now (awaiting operator go), keep composite contract-first.

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-18]` **#18 SPLIT; Deliverable 1 (composite) routed to bifrost — Option C (operator).** D2 (PAD read-endpoint, our-side only) fast-tracked; D1 (composite `:8392` endpoint) routed to bifrost-dev to add a PUBLIC `build_combined_app` rather than hand-roll one from bifrost privates — because ratatoskr is a debug surface that must exercise the CANONICAL surface ("don't go off the reservation"). The Heid framing-panel had unanimously recommended hand-rolling (Option B) — DISCARDED as wrong-grounded (the panel lacked the canonical-surface principle; their own finding that B reaches external/underscore-private names actually vindicated C). bifrost-dev confirmed: clean additive minor (~`v0.9.0`), design locked (advertise-by-store-PRESENCE handshake — no health probe; per-route call-time isolation within a shared ASGI process), slotted after WT #289. [principle → auto-memory `feedback-debug-surface-uses-canonical-surface-only`]

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-18]` **FR-1 RESOLVED — the composite premise was unverified, now wire-proven: single-endpoint, caps-routed.** The Heid panel's sharpest catch (Regin): "advertise both caps → Worldtree dispatches both planes to one endpoint" was an ASSUMPTION about WT dispatch, stated as fact. worldtree-dev verified IN CODE: one `BifrostClient` per session (single `_endpoint_url`), handshake `capabilities_granted` parsed INDEPENDENTLY into memory+affect sets, both stores attach off the SAME endpoint iff their cap was granted (`service.py:2597/2703-2713/2745-2751`, `bifrost_client.py ~357-369`; tests `test_tier3_bifrost_{memory,affect}_routing.py`). So D1 is **bifrost-only, ZERO Worldtree change** — #18's "no WT change needed" assumption was correct.

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-18]` **#18 D2 implemented via direct in-session TDD (suite 470→482).** Provider read route `GET /affect/state/{agent_id}` added via `app.add_route` (NOT an outer `Mount` — keeps `/bifrost/*` top-level so the existing route test + the op-feed path-check stay valid); web `GET /api/affect/{agent_id}` proxy (server-supplied `end_user_id`, colon-id `quote()`'d, `RATATOSKR_AFFECT_READ_URL`); pane renders the affect-emit shape honestly. Contract `docs/contracts/issues/18.contract.md` (D2-scoped; D1 deferred). **heid-code-review panel (Gróa 5 / Hulda 3 / Regin 0): 1 real INV-001 drift + 4 test-gaps, all fixed.** No contract amendments (code was wrong, contract was right).

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-17]` **#296 triage sent to worldtree-dev** (`01KVBBH0…`): extraction SUBJECT-INVERSION (promotes assistant prose, drops the user's fact) + META-DESCRIPTION-not-content; verbose-persona aggravator. WAD-vs-bug resolved to BUG (extraction quality), not idle-gating.

_Archived 2026-07-19._

`[2026-06-18]` **Tier-3 memory PROVEN end-to-end live** — `ratatoskr:terse-probe` recalled a seeded user fact in a COLD history-free session (scope_any → 1 hit @ cosine 0.6994). Closes the opening "how far from Tier-3 memory" question for normal agents.

_Archived 2026-07-19._

## Tried and abandoned (archived)

The 2026-05-20 → 2026-05-28 cluster: original-build-era foot-guns. Archived 2026-06-18.

- `[2026-05-20]` **rich + prompt_toolkit framework choice.** Volva flagged that §1 and §5 pulled in opposite directions: a real side-panel observability surface would silently become a widget framework reimplementation. Operator's debug-observability reframe sealed the flip to Textual. Don't re-attempt rich+pt unless the scope shrinks to transcript-first REPL.
- `[2026-05-20]` **In-tree at Worldtree/tools/ratatoskr/.** Earlier draft committed to in-tree-with-import-direction-smoke-test. Rejected at operator-routing — separate dev team forces separate repo.
- `[2026-05-20]` **New `/persona/log` SSE endpoint on Worldtree.** Considered as alternative to file-tailing `persona.log`. Rejected — contract amendment + Vor round + AFK dispatch loop is weeks for a debug feature file-tail handles in a day. Trigger follow-up if a Worldtree-on-server / TUI-on-laptop debug case appears.
- `[2026-05-20]` **Cross-process Last-Event-ID resume.** Considered — would require persisting per-session Last-Event-ID. Deferred to v2; v1 ships "reconnect, not resume-across-process."
- `[2026-05-21]` **RichLog widget with `markup=True`.** Default impulse, but Rich interprets `[xxx]` spans as style markup and silently strips them. Every labeled stderr-style line — `[cancel_failed]`, `[done]`, `[error]`, `[busy]`, `[worker_phase]` — would render as just the content after the bracketed label. Fix: `markup=False`. Don't flip back without renaming every labeled-line format away from `[bracket]` notation.
- `[2026-05-21]` **Querying `self.query_one("#transcript", RichLog)` from inside a Textual `run_worker` coroutine.** Initially failed with `NoMatches`. Reactive fix was widening worker signature to take `log` as parameter — Volva flagged as contract drift; reverted. Real fix was test-side: `await pilot.pause()` between `inp.action_submit()` and the polling loop so the handler finishes dispatching. Don't widen worker signatures to dodge test timing.
- `[2026-05-21]` **TUI session-identity rendering via `self.sub_title` + `self.hint` plain attributes.** Stored state but never rendered to a visible widget. Tests asserted attributes (passed); Volva code-review flagged the gap. Fix: dedicated `Static(id="identity")` + `Static(id="hint")` widgets in compose; `_set_hint()` helper mirrors state → widget. **Calibration evidence for the "TDD catches state, code-review catches whether the user can see it" pattern.**
- `[2026-05-23]` **Using the cross-model review agent's name directly in composed prose.** The peer review agent's name (the althing handle starting with "V-o-l-v-a") is one letter from a body-part term. Anthropic's content classifier does fuzzy matching and intermittently blocks responses mid-stream when the name appears in composed prose sentences. Mitigation: use role descriptions ("the cross-model reviewer," "the paraphrase peer") in prose rather than the name; quote content via tool output.
- `[2026-05-22]` **`json.loads(sse.data)` unguarded against empty data.** `_iter_events` unconditionally called `json.loads` on every dispatched `ServerSentEvent`. When `httpx_sse` surfaced a frame with `id:` present but `data:` empty, `json.loads('')` raised `JSONDecodeError` → app crash. Fix: `if sse.data == '': continue` BEFORE `_parse_sse_id`. Don't reintroduce unconditional `json.loads(sse.data)`.
- `[2026-05-23]` **Diagnostic shorthand: "2-events-then-silence" = Worldtree-side LLM-call wedge, not ratatoskr.** If a mimir `--send` smoke shows exactly two stderr events — `. create_session: ...` followed by `. worker_phase: phase=BuildingPrompt ...` — and then nothing for >60s, the root cause is upstream of ratatoskr. Worldtree's `service.py:2560` gates the `CallingLLM` event on the engine yielding its first LLM-provider chunk; if that connection is wedged at TCP level, the `async for` never iterates. Worldtree's 300s `_start_stall_timer` cancel-check is INSIDE the engine-event loop and so bypassed. **Don't bisect ratatoskr code when this shape appears** — diagnose the LLM-provider state at Worldtree's host. Restarting the Worldtree service clears wedged llama-swap connections. 10.250.50.152 hosts 3 instances (`:8080`/`:8081`/`:8082`) each with own DB + key namespace; our key is valid only on `:8081`.
- `[2026-05-23]` **Phantom "per-Tier-1-agent scope add" pattern.** Issue #5's lofn 422 was initially mis-diagnosed as needing `agents.call:lofn` added. Routed to infra-ops via althing per credential-brokerage rule; infra-ops discovered no public scope-mutation endpoint, brokered to worldtree-dev. Worldtree-dev clarified: **Tier 1 foundational agents** are covered by a blanket `agent.call:*` (singular) baseline. There is no per-agent grant for Tier 1. **Tier 3 consumer-defined agents** use the plural `agents.call:<owner>:<agent>` shape registered via `POST /agents/define`. The notations differ by one letter. **The actual lofn fix was issue #5's `--end-user-id` flag** — always a request-body validation, not an auth-scope gate. Don't ping infra-ops for "per-Tier-1-agent scope adds."
- `[2026-05-24]` **v0.8.x double-print: streamed Text + post-Done Markdown re-render.** Initial v0.6.0 design wrote each Text delta inline (with `· ` prefix) then re-rendered the full response as a Markdown Renderable on Done. Visually the response appeared twice. v0.8.2 dropped the post-Done Markdown body (interim regression). v0.9.0 fixed it properly with live Markdown rendering during stream (single Static widget holding a Markdown Renderable, updated in place). Don't reintroduce post-Done re-render unless you also remove the live-Markdown widget.
- `[2026-05-26]` **Textual `RichLog(wrap=True)` insufficient on narrow widgets.** The default `min_width=78` overrides wrap on shrink — `max(renderable_width, min_width)` forces 78-cell rendering then horizontal-scrolls. Always set `min_width=0` on RichLog instances in a narrow column. Re-check on any future RichLog construction.
- `[2026-05-26]` **Wire-layer event added without updating BOTH presenters.** v0.11.0 (AffectUpdate) and v0.14.0 (AwaitingLlmFirstToken) widened the sse_client Event union + TUI presenter's isinstance tuple, but missed cli.py's identical-shape tuple. `--send` mode then crashed on any persona-enabled or slow-first-token turn. Patch fix in v0.14.1. **Rule: when adding a wire-layer event, grep for `isinstance(event, (` across the repo** — currently TUI and CLI presenters both carry duplicate hardcoded tuples. Refactor to a shared `_EVENT_VOCAB` constant if a third wire-event lands.
- `[2026-05-27]` **EventSource is GET-only — scope v1's POST stream endpoint would have broken.** Web companion's first scope had `POST /api/turns/{sid}/stream` for the SSE proxy. Browser-native `EventSource` only supports GET. Hulda caught it in Heid panel review BEFORE we cut code. Pattern: `POST /api/turns/{sid}` registers the turn locally + returns turn_id; `GET /api/turns/{sid}/stream?turn_id=N` streams via EventSource; cancel is a separate POST. **Load-bearing reason to Heid-panel non-trivial wire-protocol designs BEFORE implementation, not just after.**
- `[2026-05-27]` **`get_persona_state` mocked flat error envelope; real Worldtree wraps in `detail`.** v0.12.0 tests used `{"error_code": "auth_scope_denied"}` but real wire (FastAPI default) returns `{"detail": {"error_code": "auth_scope_denied", "message": "…"}}`. The parser only checked top-level so the typed exception was never raised; calls fell through to `SessionApiFailed(403)`, which the web persona endpoint surfaced as HTTP 500. v0.15.1 patches both shapes. **Lesson: test-side mock envelopes must match the REAL wire shape; live smoke is load-bearing for envelope-shape verification, not just happy paths.**
- `[2026-05-27]` **Mid-session `system_prompt` mutation: universal omission across surveyed mature systems.** brokkr-smithy R13 panel (3-arm, strong convergence) confirmed: no surveyed system ships live PATCH-on-active-session (OpenAI Assistants/Responses, Anthropic Messages, Vertex AI, MCP, LangChain, LlamaIndex, Ollama, vLLM). The omission IS the answer. 12 additional threat vectors beyond ratatoskr's initial 7. **Don't re-propose this for ratatoskr;** if a future production conversational shell wants iterative-prompt-tuning ergonomics, the consensus shape is fork-via-client (PATCH agent → new session → replay context).
- `[2026-05-28]` **Browser-local turn_id used for upstream cancel URL — old cancel tests ENCODED the bug.** Web companion v0.15.x cancel paths posted to `/sessions/{sid}/turns/{LOCAL_ID}/cancel`. Tests mocked the local-id URL so they encoded the bug rather than detecting it. Hulda caught it in Heid pass 1. Fix in v0.16.0: capture upstream_turn_id from the first SSE event's `sse_id.turn_id`; all cancel paths use it; cancel before first event is `{"cancelled": false, "reason": "not_started"}`. **Rule: when designing cancel/match paths against an external service, test fixtures must mock what would actually be hit upstream — mocking your own derived id encodes the bug instead of catching it.**

The 2026-06-14 → 2026-06-18 cluster (foot-guns from the same era). Archived 2026-07-18.

`[2026-06-14]` **Artifact-only contract review can't validate against a dependency's ACTUAL behavior.** `/heid-contract-review` sees only the contract, never the external library (bifrost) — so "the consumer under-built against bifrost's real semantics" is invisible to it by construction (the affect idempotency model shipped wrong because of this). Real-lib TDD against the shipped library + the executable reference store + the #195 parity test are the gate. Don't treat a clean contract review as evidence the code matches the dependency.

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-15]` **"Sindra hasn't been registered" was an under-verified inference — WRONG.** Concluded it from grepping ratatoskr's CODE (`sindra` absent from `src/`), but Tier-3 registration is SERVER-SIDE (`POST /agents/define`) — a code grep structurally can't see it. **Rule: to check whether a Tier-3 agent exists, query the Worldtree instance, never the consumer repo's code.** (Extended 2026-06-17: even `GET /agents` can't see consumer agents; only `GET /agents/<owner>:<name>` with the owner key does.)

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-15]` **"byte-equal" round-trip slip propagated affect→memory via copy-paste.** The affect contract's byte-identical→semantic fix reappeared in the memory contract's INV-001 (sibling copy). Only an INDEPENDENT `/heid-contract-review` of the memory contract re-caught it. **Paraphrase every sibling contract fresh — don't amortize one review across a family; copies carry the parent's slips.** (also a feedback auto-memory)

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-15]` **Memory plane TDD'd + shipped** (commit `cd12951`, v0.17.3). Impl decisions worth keeping: vec0 `distance_metric=cosine` at table creation (`score = 1 − distance`); `search` over-fetches ALL candidates by cosine then scope-filters in Python so `top_k` counts IN-SCOPE hits; idempotency_id = reference 4-tuple `("default",verb,_ctx_actor(ctx),key)` pipe-joined as the SQLite PK, digest = sha256 canonical-JSON; `_ctx_actor` = `job_id|jwt_sub|session_id`. heid-code-review returned zero true drift; optimistic-lock semantics pinned to the reference via an `expected_revisions` parity test.

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-15]` **Memory provider LIVE-PROVEN against personal v0.35.3; recall-injection is upstream.** worldtree-dev's Tier-3 promotion recipe: memory-call fires from Tier-3 PROMOTION, gated at `service.py:2623` on `ctx.kind=="consumer_defined"` AND `ctx.memory_config is not None` (agent DEFINED WITH a `memory` block, dim 1024) AND handshake-granted memory caps AND `embedding_dim==1024`. Binding = `POST /sessions BifrostBindingRequest{endpoint_url}`, handshake `caps=["affect","memory"]`, **`binding.scope` null** (per-op scopes auto-minted). A `BIFROST_CLIENT_ALLOWED_HOSTS` allowlist gates the endpoint (infra-ops added `:8391`). HTTP + HS256 both work in dev.

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-15]` **Diagnostic: our recall-search is SOUND — the cross-session recall gap is UPSTREAM, and it caught an upstream bug.** Embedded the recall query via gateway `qwen3-embedding` + searched our live store directly → the fact recalls at cosine 0.60, correctly ranked. So the cold-session recall failure is Worldtree's recall-assembly/injection, NOT our search. ALSO found a latent UPSTREAM bug: a recall QUESTION got promoted as a durable chunk and ranked #1. **This is exactly #17's thesis — ratatoskr-as-provider caught an upstream bug invisible from the chat side.**

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-15]` **"Wire 200 ≠ recall works" — prove recall efficacy at the model's answer in a COLD (history-free) session, not on the wire.** A `search`/memory-call returns 200 whether or not its results are injected, and same-session "recall" can be plain session history. Don't call cross-session recall proven from a clean wire.

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-16]` **My #295 coupling hypothesis (the promoted question crowds out the fact at small top_k) was REFUTED** — worldtree-dev's recall over-fetches `top_k=128`, so the question can't crowd the fact out at search level. The real cause was the scope-axis asymmetry. Lesson: offer provider-side hypotheses, let the upstream owner check them against their code.

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-16]` **#17 contract drifted from its own design in two spots, caught only by `/heid-contract-review` (not same-author paraphrase):** the `OpEvent` dataclass omitted the `turn_id` INV-005 promised; a `session_id` comment contradicted the dispatch-layer design. Cross-model paraphrase is load-bearing for catching an author's own contract-vs-intent drift.

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-16]` **"No promotion" was checked TOO EARLY — Tier-3 promotion is ASYNC (lands AFTER the SSE turn-end).** Don't trust an immediate post-turn fixture snapshot to judge promotion; it lands after the turn completes. (The reason #17's contract pins a post-turn grace window + fixture before/after assertion.)

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-17]` **"sindra is GONE" (infra-ops, from `GET /agents` + admin token) was a FALSE NEGATIVE.** Consumer-defined Tier-3 agents are OWNER-SCOPED (separate `consumer_agents` table) — invisible to the foundational `GET /agents` roster even with an admin token. To check, `GET /agents/<owner>:<name>` with the OWNER key.

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-17]` **"Promotion didn't fire → #296" was PREMATURE — twice over.** (1) Polled the op-feed only ~2min, but the upsert landed at ~4min — promotion is async + multi-trigger; watch a longer window. (2) It DID fire; the real bug is extraction QUALITY, not non-firing. "No upsert while a session is live and `<10min` idle" is WAD.

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-18]` **Wiping our `:8391` store does NOT reset Worldtree's promotion-side dedup** — a same-agent re-smoke returned `reason_code=noop_duplicate` / `candidate_count=0`: the extractor NEVER RE-RAN, dedup short-circuited against an earlier promotion. **For a clean promotion smoke, use a BRAND-NEW agent + end_user (never-used names).** (Also: `llm_calls_used=0` is NOT the "did the extractor run" tell — `noop_duplicate` is.)

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-18]` **`affect.emit` is POST-TURN ASYNC — checking the op-feed immediately after a turn MISSES it.** The Tier-3 affect appraise→emit→rehydrate loop runs AFTER the SSE `[done]`; the emit lands in our `:8390` store seconds later (op-feed grep right after `[done]` showed only the handshake; the `emit stored:true` appeared on a later read). Same family as the async-promotion timing trap. Watch a few-second window post-turn before concluding "no affect emitted." Also wire-verified the same turn: Tier-3 sindra emits ZERO `affect_update` SSE (the persona-strip SSE path never populates for consumer agents) — see the #18 PAD-display decision.

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-18]` **Rationalized away a KNOWN contract-invariant deviation during TDD — only the cross-model code-review caught it.** #18 D2's `loadAffect` called `setPersonaStrip(snap)`, which renders `dominant_emotion || "neutral"`; the affect snapshot has no `dominant_emotion`, so it fabricated a "neutral" emotion — violating the very INV-001 ("no synthesized Tier-1 fields") I had WRITTEN. I knew the strip did this and talked myself into it as acceptable. Neither the design panel nor TDD caught it (unit tests don't exercise the JS render); the post-implementation `/heid-code-review` did (Gróa + Hulda both). **Lesson: a known deviation from a contract invariant is drift even when you've rationalized it — flag it, don't argue yourself past it; the post-implementation cross-model review is the backstop for author-rationalized drift, distinct from the design-stage panel.**

_Archived 2026-07-18._

`[2026-06-18]` **Latent SQLite thread-safety bug in the affect store, surfaced ONLY by the new HTTP read route.** `open_affect_store` created the connection without `check_same_thread=False`; the bifrost emit path never tripped it (uvicorn's loop ran on the connection's creating thread), but the `TestClient`-driven read route runs handlers off a worker thread → `sqlite3.ProgrammingError`. Fix: `check_same_thread=False` (safe — the event loop serializes access) + explicit `PRAGMA busy_timeout=5000` (don't rely on sqlite3's `timeout=5.0` default). **Lesson: a sqlite-backed ASGI app needs `check_same_thread=False`; the HTTP-layer test exposed what the direct-store-method tests structurally couldn't.**

_Archived 2026-07-18._
