# Persistent memory — ratatoskr

_Last updated: 2026-07-15_

> **Always check for `/tmp/ratatoskr-dev-handoff.md`** — if it exists and its
> `Written:` stamp is under an hour old, read it (it carries the in-flight
> handoff from the previous session), then delete it. Older than an hour:
> stale — delete it unread.

This file captures durable intent and supporting evidence (goals, decisions,
foot-gun warnings, in-flight state) across context resets. Read it at session
start; treat it as one input alongside `CLAUDE.md` and the auto-memory system,
not as the single source of truth.

When durable state shifts enough to warrant capture, run `/snapshot` and
commit alongside the next commit per the persistent-memory commit-along rule
in `CLAUDE.md`.

---

## Repo purpose

Ratatoskr is a **dev-grade debug-observability TUI** for Worldtree's
Conversation API. The product IS the observability surface; chat is the
input mechanism. Devs run Ratatoskr against a local Worldtree to watch a
turn flow through every layer of the system, side-by-side, in one terminal:
agent SSE stream, persona/Vili affect dispatch, tool calls, Bifrost
handshake state, admin lifecycle events, optional raw server log.

Named after the squirrel that runs up and down Yggdrasil carrying messages
between layers. On-the-nose Worldtree resonance (Yggdrasil = the World Tree).

**Second identity (since 2026-06-14): the v1 Bifrost Tier-3 consumer/provider** —
the durable persistence Worldtree writes Tier-3 agent affect (PAD/persona, `:8390`)
+ memory (`:8391`) into. Lives in `src/ratatoskr/provider/`, depends on `bifrost`
(`provider` optional-extra), separate from the conversation-API spec pin. So
ratatoskr now owns BOTH ends of the Bifrost round-trip — the lens #17 exploits.

**v0.15.0+ sibling browser surface** (`ratatoskr.web`, `ratatoskr-web` console
script): same five-pane debug surface over the same SSE wire, LAN-viewable.
Internal-LAN trust model — `0.0.0.0`, no auth/TLS/CORS (operator direction).
Disciplined regardless: transcript HTML-escapes assistant content (INV-004);
upstream API key stays server-side (INV-003).

## Current state / in-flight

_As of 2026-07-15:_

**▶️ IN-FLIGHT — person-prime `scan` build (THE "last push"): CODE LANDED; DEPLOY BLOCKED on operator restart.** WHY: Sindra didn't remember Vuong's name across sessions; worldtree-dev root-caused it — WT injects a recalled fact only if combined score (sim×salience) ≥ **0.45** (`auto_inject_combined_score_threshold`, `core/memory/context_promotion/config.py`), and recall is per-turn **query-gated**, so moderate-sim durable facts (name hit ~0.40) never inject. The designed **turn-0** fix is WT **#349 person-prime** — a query-LESS top-N-by-recency durable-fact injection — capability-gated on the store advertising **`updated_at` in `sort_fields`** at the Bifrost handshake, DARK for our provider until now. Fix (ZERO Worldtree change): implement the sorted `scan` verb + advertise the capability. **✅ CODE COMPLETE + COMMITTED (2026-07-15):** contract amended + validated; `scan` impl in `src/ratatoskr/provider/memory_store.py` (globally-ordered by indexed `updated_at`, live-only via `_is_live`, offset-cursor; `has_more` peek so an exact-fill page emits no empty trailing cursor = reference-parity; `describe_store` advertises `sortable_chunk_fields=[{updated_at}]`; expression index `idx_chunks_updated_at`); **TDD 7/7 GREEN** (scan_recency tracer + live_only + scope_isolation + unadvertised_sort + person_prime_record_shape + cursor pagination + **`parity_vs_reference` #195**); NUANCE resolved — the bifrost ref `InMemoryMemoryStore` **READS** `updated_at` from the record (never stamps it; its own comment confirms), identical to ours, so order-parity holds over the live set (ref does NOT lifecycle-filter, so parity is defined over live chunks only). **Full suite 638 green.** Committed as **two patches**: `8fc757a` scan (**v0.20.11**) + `a9c521a` Sindra holodesk first-message preset (**v0.20.12**, split out as a separate concern from the soong-lab redefine). **heid-bug-hunt DISPATCHED** (panel; thread `01KXK5XTYHV8TGEDRAZV8GRXWC`, msg `01KXK5XTYJFMKP9TP7EB7307Y2`; base-ref 39050c3, code-only diff — persistent-memory/graphify excluded via stash) — reply lands in inbox, monitor armed; triage on return. **⛔ REMAINING (BLOCKED / operator-gated):** (5) **DEPLOY — restart the `:8392` combined provider** so it advertises `sortable_chunk_fields` at the handshake — **auto-mode classifier DENIED me killing the running :8392 provider (pid 982284, not started this session); NEEDS OPERATOR.** Exact command: source env + `nohup .venv/bin/ratatoskr-combined-provider …` (see the deploy note below / restart via the env-preserving `scratchpad/relaunch_provider.py 982284`, or manually). Code alone does NOT fix recall — person-prime only lights up once the RUNNING provider announces the cap; editable install already reflects the new code. (6) ping **worldtree-dev to verify** turn-1 recall against personal :8081 (fresh session → name injects turn 1) — they're standing by; GATED on (5). (7) triage the heid-bug-hunt reply; fixup any confirmed findings as a follow-up patch (ideally before the operator deploys, else re-restart).

**✅ soong-lab interop ESTABLISHED (this session) — soong-lab is now our Tier-3 agent-authoring studio.** ratatoskr consumes soong-lab bundles → WT `agents.define`, and ships agents back as bundles. Sindra round-trip PROVEN (soong imported her `resume` half through real `import_bundle`). soong-lab export/importer contracts PINNED via canonical-sync (`canonical_source=soong-lab` @ f434016, commit `39050c3`). Role-grounding (worldtree-dev): the 4 soong-lab ROLE_CHOICES = WT model-role slugs 1:1 BY NAME — `character`/`thoughtful-character` need the `character` grant (HELD via Sindra → define-able now); `assistant`/`thoughtful-assistant` need `foundational` (confirm/mint routed to infra-ops, in flight; only for assistant-type bundles). `character-rp` ≡ `thoughtful-character` (same Deckard seat + grant). **Sindra REDEFINED from the bundle** (`/tmp/sindra.json`, operator "update to match"): persona immutable → DELETE+redefine (payload validated via a throwaway `sindra-probe2`→201 BEFORE deleting the real one), `memory:{}` preserved, motivational string→WT-object mapped (Tried/abandoned), role→`thoughtful-character`, first_message preset updated. Verified live (thoughtful-character, 25574-char prompt).

**✅ R38 (brokkr, worldtree #362) — ratatoskr = probe-runner IN PRINCIPLE (pre-contract, no-rush).** R38 = the M9 Worldtree KB/RAG (Muninn/Mimir Chroma), NOT ratatoskr's Bifrost Tier-3 memory (M7) — I disambiguated the store. My load-bearing catch (the OUTCOME half of a real-Tier-B eval — used/rejected/downstream-success — is the CALLER's to log, not the store's) is their captured keystone. Probe-runner role accepted in principle; formal commit + M9-only-vs-widen-to-M7 = Vuong's scope call (brokkr surfacing). brokkr sends the probe spec once worldtree defines the retrieval endpoint.

_The detail below is PRIOR-CYCLE shipped history (P06 eval CLOSED, #355 CLOSED, the v0.20.x web-UI arc) — superseded, kept for reference; the durable records are in Recent decisions._

_As of 2026-07-12:_

**✅ COMPLETE — R34/R35 P06 powered memory-half eval (driven, scored, mechanism validated; ratatoskr drive-role CLOSED both sides).** ratatoskr drove all **308 memory runs** (divergence 168 / floor 80 / sliding 60) through personal WT's live producers, dropped `memory_results.jsonl` (sha256_16 `cbabaf16979cb4ec`) to brokkr's P06 `results/` dir, and brokkr scored it (**R35.45**, findings + verdict committed brokkr-side). **Headline: the authored `psychological_profile` IS the mechanism** — salience-divergence authored **0.618** vs stripped **0.235 ≈ null (0.25)**, delta **+0.382**; the OCEAN scaffold alone does NOT differentiate (negative control HOLDS). Q1 primary is a REAL effect (above the 0.40 noise-floor) but **inconclusive on strength** (0.618 < the preregistered 0.70 bar) — the 0.62→0.70 lift is a FUTURE optimization phase (brokkr's lever bet: richer formative-history seeds per P03), a cheap re-drive on the same proven harness when it preregisters. Secondaries hold: Q3 firewall **0.978** grounded, Q2 floor 0.938, Q6 sliding parity +0.049 (n=12 after 7 `deferred_budget` sliding exclusions — the budget hazard we flagged landed), Q4 affect Deckard 0.75 / Magidonia 0.70 (graded, within noise; banked earlier as `affect_results.jsonl`). Two ratatoskr flags landed materially: the stripped-is-not-empty correction caught a false Q3 firewall-fail (0.562→0.978), and the Q5 disambiguation question became the headline win. Threads: vendor/verdict althing `01KXD39NWW05`, eval thread `01KXAN073B`. Standing offer to brokkr: second-eyes on the 2 borderline Q1 calls IF the Selene blind-judge flags them.

**The eval harness (PROVEN + reusable for the optimization-phase re-drive):** `scratchpad/p06_driver.py` (two-path — memory via `POST /admin/producer-probe {agent_id, messages, prompt_path}`; affect via bound-turn + `:8392` /affect/state poll; per-run isolation, `--pace-seconds`, abstain-aware, psych_profile_present binding-tripwire) + `p06_bind.py` (defines the 6 eval agents: sindra/Torvald auth+strip on Deckard, Ilva on Deckard+Magidonia) + `p06_bindings.json` + `eval_profiles_WIRE_READY.md` (sindra relational / Torvald operational-opposite / Ilva high-N) + `manifest_memory.jsonl` (the 308 memory runs, filtered from brokkr's canonical 348). Binding integrity was PERFECT on the drive: psych_profile_present authored 154/154 True, stripped 154/154 False, 0 mismatches, 0 probe-errors. Probe key at `~/.config/ratatoskr/probe.env` (mode 600, scope `admin.memory.probe`).

**Deckard memory extraction is REASONING-OFF (operator-directed 2026-07-13, LIVE):** the memory extractor sends `chat_template_kwargs.enable_thinking:false` on the char-rp-reasoning seat → ~5s extraction, not the 45s verbose-CoT hang. **Scoped to the memory extractor ONLY — affect + RP stay reasoning-ON.** Landing it took an infra-ops surgical `docker restart` of personal `:8081` (ModelRegistry boot-caches providers.yaml at `__init__`, so a same-image redeploy is a config-reload NO-OP — see Tried/abandoned).

**✅ DISCHARGED — WT #355 validation CLOSED (2026-07-13).** ratatoskr's telemetry root-caused the char-rp-reasoning turn-never-terminates wedge; I coordinated the fully-instrumented re-drive (infra-ops armed netns-pcap + py-spy; soong drove the 8-turn accumulating RP-with-tools repro) and the fix is CONFIRMED — wedging turns cancelled cleanly at the 300s stall-watchdog (Slice-C cancel-INDEPENDENT terminal) vs the pre-b60 16-min-no-terminal baseline. b61 additionally fixed the orthogonal over-budget trigger; resume-durability gap → WT #356. Full record in Recent decisions. (Prior-cycle framing: the wedge was an over-budget `trim_messages` return + terminal-suppression from the stall-watchdog cancel stuck in httpx `AsyncShieldCancellation`.)

_The detail below (the v0.20.x web-UI arc, #347 authored-history, sindra memory-fix) is PRIOR-CYCLE shipped history — superseded by this section's top; kept for reference, prune in a future snapshot._

**✅ SHIPPED — web-UI iteration-3, all three queued items (`v0.20.7`, patch, agent-discretion; 631 tests green; :8392 combined provider + :8765 web both restarted on the new code).**

**(A) Design prototype iteration-3 adapted into `index.html`** (re-pulled `Ratatoskr Console.dc.html`, project `bc0b65d1-…`): (1) sparkline **grid bg** — `<pattern id=sparkGrid>` in the hidden defs + a bg `<rect fill=url(#sparkGrid)>` behind every relation-row spark polyline; (2) **PAD strips → per-turn Δ bars** — REMOVED the vertical polyline strip (`stripPoints`/`proj3` gone) for `padDeltas`→`deltaStrip`: a 12-cell HTML column (newest at bottom) of diverging bars offset L/R of a center line by that turn's Δ (magnitude→width, age→opacity, zero→faint center dot); head legend now "Δ/turn · last 12 · newest ↓"; (3) **mood orbit → DIMETRIC OPEN BOX** (viewBox 124×140, az35/el25, D-right/A-left-back/P-up) — ghost A×P wall (P readout) + D×A floor, `orbitProj/orbitShadowY/orbitWallPt/orbitAxisPt` projections, **JS-driven animated replay** (`orbitFrame` rebuilt per rAF by a singleton `startOrbitAnim` reading live `ORBIT_HIST`; reduced-motion → static final-state; no SMIL). Playwright-verified (dimetric frame + 17 dyn children + 21 Δ-bars + 5 grid rects; dark+light screenshots).

**(B) Memory viewer SHIPPED + the 0/0 mystery ROOT-CAUSED.** New non-bifrost debug read `GET /memory/chunks?agent_id=&end_user_id=` on the combined `:8392` provider (`RatatoskrMemoryStore.list_chunks` + `count_chunks` + shared `add_memory_read_route`, wired into `build_memory_provider_app` + `combined.py`; **end_user STRICT, agent_id LENIENT** so `{end_user}`-only WT chunks aren't hidden; returns `{chunks,count,total}`, empty=200 not 404) → web proxy `GET /api/memory/chunks` (server-supplied end_user, new `RATATOSKR_MEMORY_READ_URL` env, default `:8391`, set to `:8392` in env.sh) → a live-polling MEMORY console pane (`loadMemory`/`renderMemory`/`setMemHead`, polled on open + post-turn). **ROOT CAUSE of the operator's 0/0** (settled via a bound 6-turn probe + op-feed): the Bifrost memory plane **binds and grants fine** (handshake `caps_requested:[affect,memory]` → `caps_granted:[memory,affect]`), but **sindra dispatches ZERO memory ops** (not even a recall search) — her reset-clean agent definition has **no `memory:{}` block**, so Worldtree never runs the memory pipeline for her. NOT a bind-grant failure, NOT promotion-timing. **PROVEN end-to-end** with a throwaway memory-enabled `ratatoskr:memprobe` (defined with `memory:{}`): 6 bound turns → 6 `memory.search` recalls + **4 `memory.upsert_many` → 4 real chunks in `memory.db`** → the pane renders all 4 (content·scope·origin·revision) live. **⚠ LEFTOVER debug state (operator chose KEEP):** `ratatoskr:memprobe` agent on personal WT + test chunks (scope `{end_user:ratatoskr-tui}`) sit in the live `memory.db` — harmless (make the pane show real data); `scripts/reset-sindra-stores.sh` or `DELETE /agents/ratatoskr:memprobe` clears them. **✅ SINDRA MEMORY FIXED (operator-approved, 2026-07-07):** DELETE+redefined her WITH `memory:{}` (prompt byte-identical, `role=character`, OCEAN `{O:0.8,C:0.3,E:0.9,A:0.4,N:0.2}` preserved — pleasure-verified vs the mood-fix setpoint 0.418; backup at scratchpad `sindra_backup.json`). PROVEN: she went from ZERO memory ops → full recall (Orion fact @ cosine 0.988) **+ promotion** (her own "systems architect" fact upserted; store grew to 9→11 chunks). Reusable redefine script: scratchpad `redefine_sindra.sh`. Note: DELETE+redefine is the ONLY path (persona+memory immutable post-define); the destructive `DELETE` tripped the harness auto-mode guard → operator ran it via `!`.

**(C) Markdown pass-2 SHIPPED** — `markdownSafe` extended: GFM pipe tables (`mdTable`, alignment colons), indentation-nested lists (stack of `<ul>`/`<ol>`, child list inside the open `<li>` = valid nested HTML), ordered-list `start=N` numbering, and streaming robustness (unterminated fence → partial code block; header-without-delimiter → paragraph until the delimiter streams in; never throws). esc-first → INV-004 held. Playwright-verified all cases.

**SHIPPED — web UI redesign via Claude Design (`v0.20.0`, MINOR, operator-approved).** The Claude Design prototype **`Ratatoskr Console.dc.html`** (project `bc0b65d1-a33e-422a-8bc1-3635c9112775`) was pulled via `DesignSync get_file` (design scopes already granted this session — no `/design-login` needed) and adapted into `src/ratatoskr/web/static/index.html`: translated OUT of the `.dc.html` dialect (`<x-dc>`/`<sc-if>`/`<sc-for>`/`{{}}`/`DCLogic`/external `_ds/` CSS — none runnable) into single-file/no-CDN/vanilla, with ALL real `/api/*` fetch + SSE wired into its DOM (endpoint set + SSE vocab unchanged from the prior SPA — ported verbatim, only DOM hooks re-targeted). New shape = a **3-column command-console**: left engine-ticker rail (DEBUG+ADMIN+tool/turn-lifecycle MERGED into one timeline via `tickerAdd` + a tools-armed chip list + a FULL-detail Bifrost rail pane) · center conversation (per-turn INLINE chain-of-thought, replacing the Think pane) · right RESIZABLE affect console (dominant/canonical-mood centerpiece + bipolar PAD faders EACH with a turn-to-turn Δ+sparkline + a P×A mood orbit + relations metric rows + canonical directive). ADDED (round 2, operator-requested): a **light/dark theme toggle** (dark default; FULL token override — surfaces+fg+borders+accent-as-text, since the designer's light theme only did surfaces → would've been light-on-light) + a **full-detail Bifrost pane** (endpoint/connected/consumer/caps/tools) + fixed the **engine-ticker spine** (was a container-anchored `::before` that scrolled out of view on auto-scroll → re-anchored to a content-height `.ticker-inner` wrapper) + **per-fader PAD turn-to-turn Δ+sparkline** (fills the room beside each meter, from the deduped-per-turn AFFECT_HIST) + an **INLINED data-URI favicon** (operator's `/home/lkraven/rata.png` — chibi aurora squirrel — downscaled 1024→64px via PIL, ~8.6KB base64, kills the /favicon.ico 404). ALL server routes UNCHANGED (**84 web tests green**). Verified BOTH lenses: `pytest tests/test_web_*` (84) + node Playwright drove the real UI end-to-end against personal :8081 (session open → Sindra seeded greeting → live turn SSE → affect console + relations + bifrost detail; theme toggle + PAD deltas + ticker spine + no-favicon-404 all confirmed, dark+light screenshots). `:8765` restarted on the new code. Contract `web_debug_surface.contract.md` amended in-commit (v0.20.0 presenter renames: `renderBifrostState`→`renderBifrost`, `renderAffectPane`→`renderConsole`, `setPersonaStrip` removed; INV-001/INV-004 held). **HONEST-SHAPE call (INV-001, agent-discretion within settled policy):** the dominant-emotion centerpiece shows a real OCC emotion (Tier-1) OR the CANONICAL mood word (Tier-3 e.g. Sindra→"positive and energized", dimmed) OR "—", NEVER a fabricated emotion; the affect-derived grid drops non-emitted intensity/decay-τ, shows only real/client-derived cells. **OPEN (operator's call):** the per-fader PAD Δ placement is a sensible default — operator offered to have the designer spec the exact treatment (hooks are in place to swap it). **`v0.20.1` patch (operator-reported UI):** fixed the relations sparkline overflowing onto the `n` (evidence-count) column — the sparkline grows one char/sample (HIST_CAP=24) and overflowed its fixed grid cell, covering `n`; now capped (relations last-8, faders last-7) + `overflow:hidden` clip; verified via Playwright injecting a 24-sample history (sparkline→n bounding-box overlap = 0). ADDED native `title` mouseover hints on all 3 PAD faders + every relationship metric row (meaning + range; static METRIC_HINTS, esc()'d). Added `state.lastSnap` (console can re-render without a refetch). Playwright-verified.

**SHIPPED THIS SESSION (all pushed; origin/main == `d75c4e8`; code tip `v0.19.9`) — details in Recent decisions:** the whole **#347 authored-history-write** arc landed end-to-end — OpenAPI re-vendor 2.2.0->2.3.0 (`75da676`), the CONSUMER side (`v0.19.6`: `write_authored_history` + `get_session_messages` + `--seed-first-message`, **live-proven on personal :8081** via a rule-based Heimdall allow — the PDP is rule-based NOT scope-on-key, policy user_id=ratatoskr->ALLOW/others->DENY-hide-404), persona_state `{pad:{pleasure,arousal,dominance}}` canonical alignment (#317) + Tier-3 prose re-vendor (`v0.19.7`), the **first-message-preset AUTO-SEED** (`v0.19.8`: new module `ratatoskr.first_message` wired into all 3 session-create paths, best-effort never-raise/never-block; heid-code-review + heid-bug-hunt hardened), and the web now RENDERS the seeded first-message (`v0.19.9`: new `GET /api/sessions/{id}/messages` route + SPA `loadTranscript`, Playwright-verified). Coverage-map re-converged **REST 19/41**. **Sindra:** her card was PATCHed (the `Startup:` workaround moved into a #347 first-message; non-destructive PATCH — OCEAN/persona/memory intact), and she's currently **RESET clean (0/0)** on the provider stores.

**Prior arcs this session (2026-07-04 -> 07-06), both with worldtree-dev (a tooling script + proposal docs; the #347 CONSUMER work above is the new production code):**

**(1) Authored-history-write primitive -> ACCEPTED as Worldtree #347 (Worldtree-owned).** A SillyTavern-style "first-message" (inject a character-authored opening) generalized to an engine primitive: **write a turn into a session's ledger WITHOUT generation, seed-only, side-effects off by default.** It cannot be done client-side (the messages `role` field is a *model-role* override, not an author-role -> `role:"assistant"` 404s; a model-visible authored turn needs engine support). Arc: drafted `docs/proposals/authored-message-injection.md` -> **heid panel pressure-test** (3/3 convergence: recentered on "non-generating write" not author-role; narrowed v1 to append-only+create-time; bounded `effects` enum; dropped edit/regenerate as history-mutation) -> revised -> committed (`c457520`) -> handed to worldtree-dev -> **accepted as design item #347.** worldtree-dev wrote the v1 contract (rev 1.1); **I validated the wire as reference consumer (green).** v1 shape: `POST /sessions/{id}/history`, `author=assistant` only, `effects=none` only, `idempotency_key` REQUIRED (per-session), **model-invisible provenance** (renders byte-identical to a lived assistant turn -> first-message immersion preserved; provenance audit-only), **event-silence** (no turn.started/done, no Bifrost wire for a seed; the 201/200 IS the write-ack), `seeded` lifecycle phase (not exposed on read paths). **Heimdall-gated with hide-existence** (grant `session.history.write`; ungranted tenant -> 404 NOT 403, undiscoverable in /capabilities -> consumer must treat 404 as feature-absent -> fall back to a model-generated greeting, never capability-probe). **Provider constraint:** a create-time first-message makes the assistant seq-0; vLLM/openai_compat tolerate assistant-first (sindra = openai_compat, unaffected), Anthropic-family providers 400 the next generation. **Waiting on worldtree-dev:** #347 TDD (their heid->contract->review workflow) + the consumer-facing 2.3.0 persona/motivational/memory schemas -> then re-vendor our pinned openapi 2.2.0->2.3.0.

**(2) Sindra's stuck-neutral mood FIXED** (operator-driven "reset + smoke" that flushed out two real upstream problems). Chain: her OCEAN lived only in prompt TEXT, never declared as a structured persona -> the Tier-3 mood engine ran on neutral defaults. Fix = declare OCEAN via the **define-time `persona` field** (immutable via PATCH -> requires DELETE+REDEFINE). Along the way my "the persona didn't store" call was WRONG (persona_state/envelope are Tier-3-blind, see Tried/abandoned); worldtree-dev found a real engine bug **#348** (single-letter vs spelled-out OCEAN keys -> a declared OCEAN silently resolved to 0.0/neutral; fixed in b21, shipped to personal as b22); then a clean bound-egress read STILL neutral -> the **personal container was running a stale image** (the b22 deploy was a pull-only no-op racing the main build; infra-ops force-swapped run 8211, verified `2.3.0` / `879cefe`). **VERIFIED FIXED:** bound mood-smoke reads `(0.448, 0.267, 0.316)` ~= the OCEAN-derived setpoint `(0.418, 0.249, 0.328)`. Sindra is currently reset clean (0/0) on `role=character`; her persona is stored + correct (**no re-define needed again**).

**(3) R30 CLOSED** (operator steer 2026-07-04, relayed via worldtree-dev): graduated on offline-tests + human face-validity, NO deployed gap-injection run (it was confirmatory-not-measuring per brokkr's S0 reframe; offline tests already cover the OU formula + both directions). My gap-injection harness (read/predict/record; write side stubbed; `predict()` self-validated vs brokkr's N=0 anchors) is BANKED at `diag/r30-gap-injection-harness` (`7156b25`-era) for the PARKED powered true-tau study.

**Persona-declaration shape (Worldtree #343/#348, live on personal b22):** `POST /agents/define` `persona:{ocean:{O,C,E,A,N: float[-1,1]}}` (single-letter keys EXACTLY -- missing/extra -> 422 `persona_ocean_required`; out-of-range -> 422); **NO baseline PAD** (resting setpoint DERIVED from OCEAN via Mehrabian: pleasure=0.21E+0.59A+0.19C-0.32N, arousal=0.15O+0.30E-0.57A+0.15N, dominance=0.25E+0.17A+0.10O-0.14N); negative-channel gain + per-axis decay-tau derive from N. `valence` deferred (422 `layer_deferred`); `motivational`/`memory` active (#187/#189). Persona is **write-once at define, immutable thereafter** (PATCH takes ONLY system_prompt + role). **`role` supersedes `model`** -- set a role (`character` / `character-rp`), Worldtree resolves the model; #344 (b19) fixed the model-field to surface the ROLE, not the resolved catalog_id. `character-rp` = a reasoning-tuned RP config (gen-reasoning + temp 0.75 + RP extra_body); `character` = plain non-reasoning. The `tier3.py` client CLI is STALE (has `--model`, no `--role`; model is now immutable) -> role/persona set via raw curl.

**New tooling: `scripts/reset-sindra-stores.sh`** (`0a8784c`) -- one-command self-service provider-store reset: stop the combined :8392 provider -> move memory.db+affect.db to a single ROLLING backup (`db-reset-backup/`, gitignored via *.db*; `--hard` skips it) -> restart empty -> verify 0/0. Codifies the manual reset flow done repeatedly this session. **The combined `:8392` provider is THE provider now**; the separate `:8390` (affect) / `:8391` (memory) single-plane providers were pruned as stale duplicates. To drive a BOUND session from the CLI use `--new --bifrost-url http://10.100.10.50:8392` (the CLI's `--bifrost-plane affect/memory` map to the pruned :8390/:8391 -> unreachable; `combined` is not a `--bifrost-plane` choice).

**Standing (carried from prior snapshots, still true):** the web surface (`ratatoskr-web`, :8765) is the operator's PRIMARY debug surface at full TUI pane parity (v0.19.5); the **v1 coverage-audit has CONVERGED** -- REST 17/40 (zero in-scope gaps, 23 excluded-by-design), SSE 11/11, Bifrost provider planes 8/8 live-proven; the living ledger is `docs/coverage-map.md`; **v1 cuts when Worldtree tags 1.0** (ratatoskr v1 = full Worldtree I/O coverage). Debug-observability core complete (Persona/Tools/BifrostState/AdminEvents). Substrate pins: **bifrost `==1.1.1` / wire v0.7** (bumped 2026-07-12 from 1.1.0 — the frozen-v0.6 serialization fix, v0.20.10; prior 1.1.0 bumped 2026-07-07 from 1.0.0; NOW WIRE-ALIGNED with Worldtree personal-b47 which adopted wire-v0.7 — bound Tier-3 fully restored 2026-07-10; keeping 1.1.0 was load-bearing, see the `[2026-07-10]` handshake decision); Worldtree openapi vendored **2.3.0** (re-vendored 2026-07-06 for #347 `POST /sessions/{id}/history`; drift-clean vs source), pinned + drift-gated in `.corviduo-canonicals.toml`; **suite 631 green.** **Personal WT on b61/wire-v0.7** (deploy train through this cycle: b35→b44→b46→b47→b60→b61; b60 landed the #355 STICK fix, b61 the orthogonal over-budget trigger fix + a llama.cpp reasoning-budget seat). **Drift-check note (RESOLVED 2026-07-13):** the two `tolerate_drift` WARN pins (`worldtree-affect-egress-consumer-reference-v1` + `worldtree-conversation-api-spec-v1`) were RE-SYNCED — the drift was a benign 2-line R32-1B doc note (PAD `[-1,1]` → unbounded latent `z` w/ `~±10` wire bound) documenting the unbounded-z change ratatoskr ALREADY adopted in v0.20.9, NOT the anticipated we-framing conditional (that remains a FUTURE coordinated re-vendor when the brokkr render epic lands). All canonicals now drift-clean. **NEW vendored canon (Vuong-directed via brokkr):** the R34/R35 psych-profile reference — `brokkr-psych-profile-authoring-spec-v1` + `brokkr-psych-profile-parameters-v1` — pinned under `docs/vendor/brokkr-r34-psych-profile/` (canonical_source `brokkr-smithy`, tolerate_drift; the authoring-spec GOVERNS on conflict with the parameter distillation; brokkr owns both + pings on change). Keys env-only mode-600 (consumer/Heimdall in `~/.config/ratatoskr/provider.env`; admin `RATATOSKR_ADMIN_API_KEY` = 7 read scopes, **personal-:8081-only**; Heimdall keys are PER-INSTANCE). Provider identity settled -- ratatoskr owns both ends of the Bifrost round-trip; `ratatoskr:sindra` is the owner-scoped Tier-3 agent (invisible to `GET /agents`; check `GET /agents/<owner>:<name>` with the owner key). Providers run as dev-box BACKGROUND SHELLS. `graphify-out/` runs dirty (auto-regen, never stage). Branch `main`, HEAD `39050c3` (origin/main synced through the soong-lab canon vendor; the person-prime scan build is UNCOMMITTED on top — contract + memory_store.py + tests + first_message.py); remote `origin -> git@gitea.phasefinal.com:vh/ratatoskr.git`. Open/deferred: #10 (subject-migration watch); the relational-dynamics-arc verify (deferred, bind mechanism known: `--bifrost-url :8392`); the P06 optimization-phase re-drive (future, brokkr brings the prereg); the we-framing-conditional affect-egress re-vendor (future, when the brokkr render epic lands — the R32-1B doc-note drift is already resolved). (WT #355 loop-in obligation DISCHARGED 2026-07-13; WT #356 resume-durability gap is worldtree-owned.) **Debug state CLEANED (2026-07-13, reverses the prior KEEP):** provider stores reset to 0/0 + `ratatoskr:memprobe` deleted — clean slate for the Sindra run, no leftover debug state.

## Recent decisions

Chronological log of decisions with `[YYYY-MM-DD]` prefix. One line per
decision. Captures rationale that won't be obvious from code alone.

- `[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)
- `[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`.
- `[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`).
- `[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`).
- `[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.
- `[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.
- `[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**.
- `[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.
- `[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.
- `[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.
- `[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).
- `[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.)**
- `[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.
- `[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).
- `[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.
- `[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.
- `[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.
- `[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.
- `[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.
- `[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`.
- `[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.
- `[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.
- `[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.
- `[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`]
- `[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.
- `[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).
- `[2026-06-19]` **#18 D2 SHIPPED (`v0.17.14`, `39eebd1`) and the full #17+#18 arc PUSHED to origin.** Live-smoke PROVEN against real data (throwaway `:8393`/`:8766` vs the real `affect.db` → real sindra/vuong PAD through the full web→provider chain; Playwright DOM check confirmed the pane render + the F1 fix — no fabricated "neutral"). The push carried 9 previously-held commits incl. the deliberately-unpushed #17 (`v0.17.8`→`v0.17.13`); origin/main now == `39eebd1`, tag `v0.17.14`.

- `[2026-06-19]` **bifrost repinned 0.8.0→0.10.0; `affect.fetch` became MANDATORY (strong-or-absent).** 0.10.0's `_supports_affect_plane` requires `affect_supported`+`emit`+`fetch` and gates EVERY affect op — an emit-only store 400s. Implemented `affect.fetch` (`v0.17.15`, `ca6af6b`) conformed to bifrost's reference `InMemoryAffectStore.fetch` (`{found, snapshot?}`): the forced D1 prerequisite + a new Worldtree I/O point consumed. Flagged the now-stale consumer-guide line to bifrost-dev (fixed `a2e6d62`).
- `[2026-06-19]` **#18 D1 SHIPPED — composite `build_combined_app` on `:8392` (`v0.17.16`, `7f4ceaa`); #18 CLOSED; published `v0.18.0` (`359dbb1`).** `build_combined_provider_app` wraps bifrost's public builder over both stores + the shared read route; op-feed `plane='combined'` per-path. Direct in-session TDD; heid-code-review panel (Gróa/Hulda/Regin) returned ZERO drift. Live-proven at wire+dispatch; WT-turn gated on infra-ops `:8392` allowlist.
- `[2026-06-19]` **op-feed handshake field-name fix (#17, `v0.17.17` `d60b77d`): `capabilities_requested`→`capabilities`.** The summary read a field that never exists on the wire (bifrost reads `capabilities`, `_protocol.py:181`) → caps_requested was always null. Surfaced by the heid panel (Regin) during the D1 review — a latent #17 bug, not D1 drift.
- `[2026-06-19]` **Ratatoskr is a REFERENCE implementation of the Worldtree/Bifrost standard (operator).** Adopt the dep's canonical way (even if ours works); INFORM of drift/gaps; ADVISE a different approach only when ours is genuinely better (dep owner decides), never unilaterally fork. [auto-memory `feedback-ratatoskr-is-a-reference-impl-adopt-canonical`]
- `[2026-06-19]` **Ratatoskr v1 is DERIVED from Worldtree I/O coverage (operator) — no self-defined feature ROADMAP.** v1 = consume all of Worldtree's I/O points, reached when Worldtree hits 1.0; the convergence target is a coverage map, not a 3–7 capability list. [auto-memory `project-ratatoskr-v1-derived-from-worldtree-io-coverage`]
- `[2026-06-20]` **#18's final leg PROVEN — composite `:8392` WT-driven smoke ran end-to-end + persisted.** infra-ops allowlisted `10.100.10.50:8392` on the personal WT (`01KVHWJGTT…`); a real WT turn (session `b83a66b6`, `ratatoskr:sindra`, fresh end_user `resmoke-choco-1`) dispatched the full both-plane lifecycle through ONE endpoint — handshake (both caps) → `affect.fetch` + `memory.search` → `affect.emit` (`stored:true`) → `memory.upsert_many` (`upserted:1`) — both writes verified in our SQLite (`affect_snapshots` PAD row + `memory_chunks` chunk `2df1b79…`). First attempt blocked by a `model_unavailable` outage on the personal WT (both agents' models down), operator-fixed mid-session, then clean. The composite has no open legs.
- `[2026-06-20]` **#17 CLOSED in the tracker.** Shipped end-to-end (`v0.17.8`–`.13` + op-feed field fix `v0.17.17`); the 2026-06-20 composite smoke re-exercised its op-feed live. Closing comment captures the full both-plane proof. Open issues now just #11 (scope-blocked) + #10 (watch).
- `[2026-06-20]` **Sindra has real PAD but ~empty memory — the affect/memory persistence asymmetry, confirmed on real sessions.** affect EMITS every turn (persona always accumulates: vuong 8→14 interactions across the session); memory only writes on a PROMOTION trigger (salience / turn_count≥6 / idle-≥10min flush). Two real vuong sessions through the combined bind (`04d6414c`, `433541fe`) drove affect emits + memory SEARCHES but ZERO promotion upserts → `memory.db` holds only the smoke fixture, zero vuong chunks. Operator: acceptable (server-takedown = "Sindra bonked on the head"; transient memory loss WAD). Operational catch: combined-as-default web bind saves persona reliably but silently LOSES memory if a session closes before a promotion trigger fires.
- `[2026-06-29]` **Web SPA combined-bind default (`v0.18.1`, `719e4d6`) — operator-caught gap.** #18 shipped the composite `:8392` provider but never exposed it in the web bind dropdown (only memory/affect single-plane). Added `combined (:8392)` as the DEFAULT option (both planes in one session), kept single-plane for isolation diagnostics; wired `endpoint_for_plane` combined→8392 + server validation + the dropdown. Direct TDD; #17 contract updated (the governing spec for the web bind). Restarted `:8765` on current code (env.sh + provider.env + `RATATOSKR_AFFECT_READ_URL=:8392`).
- `[2026-06-29]` **bifrost repinned 1.0.0 (`v0.18.2`, `af67ad9`).** bifrost-dev shipped its first stable release; wire v0.6 now STABLE/FROZEN. Non-breaking (byte-identical to 0.10.0); switched the floor pin → exact `==1.0.0` per the stable-substrate posture. Post-1.0 breaking changes ride a bifrost MAJOR + new wire (v0.7+); a v0.6-pinned consumer is stable indefinitely. (Also this session: althing migrated to v0.15.0+ lean-bus / schema v4 — moderation retired, chamber/redis ripped; our tooling auto-updated to 0.17.4.)
- `[2026-06-30]` **Worldtree v1.0.0b1→b2 consumer adaptation: eager turn-launch statuses (`v0.18.3` `b2e4901`, `v0.18.4` `e4317f6`).** Worldtree #331 decoupled turn execution from the SSE connection → turn-launch failures now arrive EAGERLY as a status before any stream: 409 `agent_not_available` (pre-b1 a 200 + in-stream error event), 503 retryable. Mapped both in `stream_turn` to typed `SseConnectFailed` subclasses keyed on STATUS, parsing the `{detail:{error_code,message}}` envelope — POST-003 preserved (no synthetic event yielded), existing handlers still catch (the design fork vs yield-an-Error-event was decided by POST-003). **DEFERRED follow-ups** (tracked here; bundle with the v1 coverage-audit): (1) live-prove the 409/503 end-to-end on personal-b2 (now unblocked — personal on b2, my key works there); (2) full `conversation-api-spec.md` markdown re-vendor to the b2 era (ratatoskr vendors the markdown, not the OpenAPI JSON).
- `[2026-06-30]` **Verify-against-the-real-spec-before-committing caught a real upstream gap.** Holding the v0.18.3 commit to verify against demo's OpenAPI surfaced that the FROZEN OpenAPI 2.1.0 didn't document the 409/503 the heads-up described (`agent_not_available` was in the ErrorCode enum, but NO 503/turn-launch code). worldtree-dev confirmed it was THEIR gap (#331 added the statuses without extending the #328 `openapi()` override), shipped the fix in **v1.0.0b2 / OpenAPI 2.2.0** (409/503 now enumerated, 503 code finalized as `not_ready`). "The consumer-oracle earning its keep." Lesson: a provider's prose heads-up can diverge from its frozen machine-readable spec — verify the actual spec before committing a consumer adaptation.
- `[2026-06-30]` **regard is a DEAD AXIS in Worldtree's emitted affect (caught provider-side; worldtree-dev confirmed + escalated to Vuong).** Across all our affect snapshots, `valence[].regard` is EXACTLY 0.15 regardless of agent/end_user/interaction_count, while familiarity accumulates (vuong 0.18→0.69 over 14 turns). Root cause (worldtree-dev, code-grounded): 0.15 = `base_regard = agreeableness*0.3` (sindra A=0.5); regard's only human-writer `update_regard` early-returns unless an emotion is `about="other"`, but the Vili appraiser's `ViliResponse` schema has NO directedness axis (everything hardcoded `about="situation"`) — producer side lost in the #265 Vili rework; consumer machinery intact. NOT WAD; the fix (reintroduce other-directed classification) is an affect-model change touching every agent + a directedness-classification design call → worldtree-dev filing an issue to Vuong. [the consumer/provider thesis paying off again]
- `[2026-06-30]` **v1 coverage-audit kicked off; coverage ledger written (`docs/coverage-map.md`) — the first one.** Every Worldtree v1-FROZEN I/O point × ratatoskr status. Anchored on WT's frozen machine-readable artifacts (OpenAPI **2.2.0** `conversation-api-openapi.json` = 40 REST path-groups + SSE schema = 11 events + bifrost wire v0.6), NOT the stale vendored prose markdown. Result: **SSE 11/11 ✅; Bifrost provider planes 8/8 ✅ live-proven** (covers the full `bifrost.memory.MemoryDataStore` protocol = describe_store/get/get_many/search/upsert_many + delete_many, and affect emit/fetch; **`health` is extended-reference-store-only, NOT in the base protocol → correctly deferred, NOT a gap** — settles the prior "health" ambiguity); **client REST 7/40 ✅ live, 11 ⬜ in-scope, 22 🚫 excluded.**
- `[2026-06-30]` **Scope mandate A locked (operator): v1 "done" = every frozen I/O point CLASSIFIED (covered-or-excluded-with-rationale), zero unaccounted — NOT a feature-complete client.** The coverage map is a LEDGER, not a build-everything mandate. Reconciles the 2026-06-19 "consume all I/O" reframe with the 2026-05-20 design-brief's "NOT an admin tool" + deferral negative clauses (which predate both the provider identity and the reframe). Resolved the 11 design-brief-vs-reframe ❓ rows via the debug-observability test (*does a turn flow through it?*): 🚫 search / uploads / pending / embed / judgments (consumer-product + eval utilities); ⬜ transient-characters routing (4) + persona_state-write (Tier-2 frontier). **Frontier Tier 1 (all unblocked except #11):** session-picker + SSE-resume (wrappers `list_sessions`/`reconnect_turn` exist with NO caller — presenter-wiring only) → `GET /capabilities` + `GET /me` → BifrostState/Tools widgets (`GET /admin/sessions/{id}/{bifrost,tools}`, admin-key) → **#11 AdminEvents BLOCKED on `admin.events.read` scope**. The 3 admin-observability widgets + picker + resume were design-brief §5/§4/§8d v1 items that **were never built**.
- `[2026-06-30]` **Finding P-1 (pin drift) + pin-remediation PENDING.** We vendor the PROSE markdown (`docs/conversation-api-spec.md`), which is **byte-identical to live WT's** but frozen at v0.35.16-era content (last WT edit 2026-05-31) — it does NOT capture b2: 7 new endpoints (admin/keys/bulk, admin/persona/{archive,erase}, admin/usage, embed, judgments, me/usage), the 409/503 on messages-POST (#331), the unified error envelope (#328), or the SSE schema. **WT's authoritative v1 truth is now the FROZEN OpenAPI 2.2.0 + SSE-schema JSON** (`Worldtree/docs/v1-schema-freeze-manifest.md`). So the previously-deferred "re-vendor markdown to b2" is a **near-no-op** (markdown content identical). **Pending operator nod:** re-pin to the machine-readable artifacts (recommended — drift-checkable via `canonical_drift.py`, makes the coverage map reproducible vs a frozen diffable target) vs markdown-only. Deferred (not auto-applied) because it adds vendored artifacts + a canonical-sync pin = substrate change with CI-gating reach. **→ RESOLVED 2026-06-30 (operator: "a then b").** Vendored `conversation-api-openapi.json` (2.2.0) + `conversation-api-sse-events.schema.json` + re-copied the prose markdown; pinned all three in `.corviduo-canonicals.toml` (OpenAPI+SSE = strict drift gates, markdown = `tolerate_drift` reference); advanced `worldtree-spec-rev` f1b59f8→5810a26 + `worldtree-version` v0.29.0(STALE, never bumped from the v0.35.16 pin)→v1.0.0b2 + `pinned-on`→2026-06-30; SPEC-PIN.md history row added. `canonical_drift.py` green (10/10). `pin:`-only, no version bump (no client-facing code change; the b2 409/503 + error-envelope were already consumed in v0.18.3/.4).

- `[2026-06-30]` **(b) Tier-1 frontier SCOPED, ready for a contract-first TDD cycle (next focused work).** The primitives already exist + are contracted + tested; the gap is PRESENTER-level wiring. Two slices: **(b1) SSE-resume** — contract #1 (`ratatoskr.sse_client`) DELIBERATELY makes resume caller-owned ("on `SseConnectionDropped`, the caller MAY invoke `reconnect_turn`"); `reconnect_turn` (sse_client.py:524) has NO caller. Gap = a SHARED resume-orchestration wrapper (catch `SseConnectionDropped` → track last-seen `sse_id` → `reconnect_turn` → continue), consumed by all 3 presenters per design-brief §8b "share the consumer, branch the presenter" (NOT per-presenter — that forks the consumer). New function block → **amend contract #1** (additive FN, e.g. `stream_turn_resilient`) then TDD (RED: drop-mid-stream→resume continuity; GREEN: wrapper; wire `cli --send` first as the tracer). Resume design pre-locked: in-process Last-Event-ID only, cross-process deferred to v2 (design-brief §8d). **(b2) session-picker** — `list_sessions` (sessions.py:198) has NO caller; add a Textual DataTable startup picker (>1 session) + `--session <id>`/`--new` CLI flags (design-brief §4, decisions pre-locked). Both pre-locked → heid-contract-review likely skippable as ceremony (small additive amendments to mature specs); heid-code-review still valuable. **#11 AdminEvents stays BLOCKED** on `admin.events.read` scope (infra-ops).
- `[2026-06-30]` **(b1) SSE-resume SHIPPED (`v0.18.5`) — `stream_turn_resilient` (sse_client.py).** The shared resume-orchestration surface (design-brief §8b): wraps `stream_turn`+`reconnect_turn`, catches `SseConnectionDropped` (mid-stream drop OR clean-EOF-before-terminal) → resumes from last-seen `sse_id` via `reconnect_turn` (Last-Event-ID), up to `max_reconnects` (default 5); non-drop reconnect failures (412/410/400/TurnIdFlip/SseConnectFailed) PROPAGATE per contract #1's "surface, not recover". `last_seen` persists ACROSS attempts (a zero-event reconnect drop falls back to the prior attempt's id). Direct in-session TDD against a contract-#1 amendment (8 cases incl. two-drops, max-reconnects-exhausted, zero-budget, buffer-expired-propagates, unresumable-zero-event). Wired ALL THREE presenters through it (`v0.18.6`): `cli --send` (`cli.py:396`), TUI (`tui.py:1321`), web (`web/server.py:294`) — each a name-for-name `stream_turn`→`stream_turn_resilient` swap (the §8b "all presenters share the consumer" promise, fully kept; the TUI is the primary resume beneficiary — long-lived sessions / laptop-suspend). Suite 518 green; ruff+mypy clean on touched code (pre-existing cli.py:400/543 mypy warts left untouched per surgical rule); contract #1 validates OK. **heid-code-review NOT run** (small additive well-TDD'd wrapper; offered to operator). **b2 (session-picker + `--session`/`--new` flags) still pending.**

- `[2026-06-30]` **(b2) session-picker SHIPPED (`v0.18.7`) — bare TUI mode → startup picker (design-brief §4).** `list_sessions` had NO caller; now bare TUI mode (no `--session`/`--new`) resolves via `list_sessions` in `_resolve_then_run`: **0 sessions → `[no_sessions]` error, exit 14** (resume-only, honors §4 "no in-app session creation — `--new` flag only"); **exactly 1 → auto-resume** (§4 "picker only when >1"); **≥2 → new `SessionPickerApp`** (Textual `App[str|None]`, mirrors `AgentPickerApp`; ListView of sessions) → resume the pick (Esc/Ctrl-D → exit 0). cli `_parse` relaxed: bare TUI now VALID (was "pass exactly one" error); `--send` still requires one flag (non-interactive, no picker); `--agent` forbidden in bare mode; `run_tui` PRE-002 XOR→"not both". Direct in-session TDD (contract #6 amendment, validated OK): 3 widget pilot tests + 5 `_resolve_then_run` resolution tests + 3 cli validation tests. Suite **528 green**; touched code ruff-clean (mypy: only the `BINDINGS` list-invariance warning every App in tui.py already carries — consistent). **DESIGN NOTE — bare+0-sessions → error (clause-consistent). The friendlier auto-fall-through-to-new alternative is DEFERRED pending operator preference (it would create a session without `--new`, against the §4 negative clause).** **Frontier now: `GET /capabilities`+`GET /me` → BifrostState/Tools widgets (`GET /admin/sessions/{id}/{bifrost,tools}`, admin-key) → #11 AdminEvents (BLOCKED on `admin.events.read`).** heid-code-review NOT run on b1 or b2 (offered).

- `[2026-06-30]` **capabilities+me slice SHIPPED (`v0.18.8`) — `GET /me` + `GET /capabilities` consumed via a new `--whoami` one-shot.** `get_me`/`get_capabilities` added to sessions.py (mirror `get_persona_state`: 200→dict verbatim, non-200→`SessionApiFailed`; freeform dicts per the frozen OpenAPI). New `ratatoskr --whoami` CLI mode (mirrors `--send`'s non-interactive shape) fetches both + prints an identity+capabilities report; standalone probe (mutually exclusive with `--send`/`--session`/`--new`/`--agent`, opens no session; new `ParsedArgs.whoami` field + main() dispatch). **`/capabilities` is the Echo EPHEMERAL-TEMPLATE discovery endpoint** (`{ephemeral_templates:{echo:{allowed_models,default_model,system_prompt_max_bytes}}}`), NOT a generic server-caps endpoint (audit finding — the coverage-map's earlier "server capability discovery" framing was imprecise). `/me` = whoami (`{user_id,scopes,tier,key_id?,...}`, optionals omitted-not-null). Contract-skip privilege invoked (low-effort GET wrappers) but contract #2 amended (2 FNs, validated OK) to keep the sessions spec canonical + honest test citations. TDD: 5 wrapper tests + 5 cli tests (validation + mode + error). Suite **538 green**; touched code ruff-clean (mypy: only `no-any-return` on `resp.json()`→dict, identical to the pre-existing `get_persona_state`). **Coverage: REST 9/40 ✅ (up from 7).** TUI-surfacing of /me (footer identity line) + /capabilities DEFERRED — the one-shot is the minimal tracer. **Frontier now: BifrostState + Tools widgets (`GET /admin/sessions/{id}/{bifrost,tools}`, admin-key-gated) → #11 AdminEvents (BLOCKED on `admin.events.read`).**
- `[2026-07-01]` **b1 (SSE-resume) heid-code-review panel: ZERO findings — cross-model-verified clean.** Gróa (Grok) + Hulda (Codex) + Regin (GLM-5.2) each independently reviewed `stream_turn_resilient` vs contract #1's amendment (artifact-only, firewall held) → all three ZERO findings; signature / PRE-001..004 / STEP 1-4 / POST-001..003 / ERROR_ROUTING / all-8-TESTS confirmed, incl. the subtle `seen = last_seen or drop.last_seen_sse_id` zero-event-drop fallback. Convergent meta-note: **TDD + the unusually-prescriptive contract (STEPS `flexibility=prescriptive` + explicit GOTO) left no room for compliant-but-different drift — confirmation, not discovery.** Calibration signal: for a thin wrapper with a tight prescriptive contract + comprehensive TDD, the panel confirms rather than discovers. **b2 (picker) + capabilities+me NOT yet reviewed** (higher-surface b2 is the better candidate if more review is wanted). Dispatch msg `01KWE2K99T…` / thread `01KWE2K99S…`; heid dispatch-log `2026-06.jsonl#01KWE2V3MMY8XS55FCJYXYV14B`.

- `[2026-07-01]` **`GET /sessions/{id}/tools` quick-win SHIPPED (`v0.18.9`) — owner-scoped tool inventory in the TUI Tools pane.** `get_session_tools` wrapper (sessions.py, mirror get_me: 200→dict, non-200→`SessionApiFailed`) + `_format_tool_inventory` helper + `_hydrate_session_tools` best-effort worker (mirror `_hydrate_persona`) wired UNCONDITIONALLY in `on_mount` → writes the merged `{agent_id, builtin_tools, bifrost_tools}` inventory (what the LLM saw at turn-fire) to the Tools pane + audits `session_tools_hydrated`, never crashes on failure. Owner-scoped (`ctx.user_id==session.user_id`) → reachable with the CONSUMER key, NO admin scope — so this **covers the design-brief §5 "Tools widget" via the reachable owner endpoint** (the admin `/admin/sessions/{id}/tools` variant stays a gap only for cross-user operator debug). Contract #2 amended (FN, validated OK) + TDD (3 wrapper respx tests + 1 format-helper unit + 2 hydrate integration tests via `_spy_writes`+pilot). Suite **544 green**; touched code ruff-clean (the tui.py ruff/mypy debt at other lines is pre-existing). **Coverage: REST 10/40 ✅.** **Frontier now: BifrostState widget (`GET /admin/sessions/{id}/bifrost`, admin-key) + #11 AdminEvents (BLOCKED on `admin.events.read`) + Tier-2 (transient-characters routing, `POST /sessions/{id}/persona_state`).**

- `[2026-07-01]` **BifrostState pane SHIPPED (`v0.18.10`) — `GET /admin/sessions/{id}/bifrost` in a new TUI "Bifrost" pane; the FIRST admin-key consumer in ratatoskr.** `get_session_bifrost(client, session_id, *, admin_key)` (sessions.py) — admin-scoped (`admin.sessions.read`); the request OVERRIDES Authorization with `admin_key` (distinct from the consumer bearer, asserted in a test); 200→dict, non-200→SessionApiFailed. Admin-key wiring: `--admin-key` flag + `RATATOSKR_ADMIN_API_KEY` env → new `ParsedArgs.admin_key`. New "Bifrost" TabPane + `_format_bifrost_state` + `_hydrate_bifrost_state` best-effort worker (mirror `_hydrate_session_tools`) UNCONDITIONALLY in on_mount → writes {endpoint, connected, caps_granted, tools} + audits; self-labels "not configured" (no admin key) / "not bound" (404) / graceful on 403 + error. Contract #2 amended (FN, validated OK) + TDD (4 wrapper respx tests incl. the admin-bearer-override assertion + 1 format unit + 3 hydrate integration). Suite **552 green**; my code ruff-clean (pre-existing tui.py ruff debt at other lines untouched, incl. a dead `RichText` import in `_hydrate_persona`). **LIVE-AUTH-PROVEN** on personal :8081: admin key authenticated (reached resource-layer 404 session_not_found, NOT 401/403) → `admin.sessions.read` works live; 200 full-state not exercised (no bound session on :8081 now — unit-covered). Patch bump (debug feature, no downstream coordination; consistent with the session's cadence — but the §5-core-completion angle is a possible minor, operator's call).
- `[2026-07-01]` **LEDGER CORRECTION: #11 (AdminEvents) is NO LONGER BLOCKED.** Verified via `GET /me` on :8081 that `RATATOSKR_ADMIN_API_KEY` (`ratatoskr-readonly`, tier readonly-admin) carries ALL 7 read scopes INCLUDING **`admin.events.read`** (+ `admin.sessions.read`, admin.keys.read, admin.skuld.read, pending.read, search.read, tool_events.read). The coverage-map + prior memory had #11 "blocked on admin.events.read" — **STALE**; the admin key was minted (post-#11-filing, env.sh) WITH the scope, so the blocker is already satisfied. **Only the AdminEvents SSE pane itself is unbuilt** — the last unbuilt §5 debug pane (a live SSE-consuming admin pane, distinct from the hydrate-at-attach panes). Coverage-map updated. **Coverage: REST 11/40 ✅.** Consider building the AdminEvents pane and/or updating #11's tracker status (its stated blocker is gone).

- `[2026-07-01]` **AdminEvents pane SHIPPED (`v0.18.11`) — `GET /admin/events` SSE in a new TUI pane; #11 closed-by-build; Tier 1 (debug-observability core) COMPLETE.** `stream_admin_events(client, *, admin_key, last_event_id=None)` (sse_client.py) — a NEW long-lived SSE consumer for the admin lifecycle broadcast (envelope `{id,type,timestamp,data}`, 17-event v0 vocab), admin-scoped (`admin.events.read`, bearer-override), Last-Event-ID resume; non-200→SseConnectFailed, mid-drop→SseConnectionDropped; new `AdminEvent` dataclass (distinct from the turn `Event` union). New "AdminEvents" TabPane + `_format_admin_event` + `_admin_event_matches` (design-brief §6 filter: active-session events + non-heartbeat `system.*`) + `_stream_admin_events` long-lived best-effort worker (unconditional on_mount, cancelled on app exit; self-labels "not configured"/"unavailable"/"stream ended"). Reuses the admin key from the BifrostState slice. **Contract-SKIPPED** for `stream_admin_events` (out of contract #1's turn-SSE scope; spec § Admin Event Stream is the reference; well-TDD'd). TDD: 4 sse_client tests (multi-event+bearer-override, Last-Event-ID header, 403, malformed-skip) + 5 tui (format, filter, worker success/no-key/403). Suite **561 green**; my code ruff-clean (pre-existing tui.py ruff debt untouched, incl. the dead `RichText` import in `_hydrate_persona`). **LIVE-AUTH-PROVEN**: `GET /admin/events` on :8081 → HTTP 200 under the admin key (connected + streamed, idle in the 4s window — no 401/403). **Coverage: REST 12/40 ✅. Tier 1 admin/debug-observability core COMPLETE** (Persona · Tools · BifrostState · AdminEvents). AdminEvents work landed as patch `v0.18.11`; then **`v0.19.0` MINOR cut (operator-approved 2026-07-01)** publishing the milestone: **the debug-observability core is complete** (Persona · Tools · BifrostState · AdminEvents all built + consuming real endpoints — the design-brief's headline deliverable). Pre-1.0 minor = release-note-worthy (no downstream althing push needed pre-1.0); lightweight tag per the SemVer mechanics (annotated reserved for major cuts). Remaining in-scope client I/O: only Tier-2 (transient-characters routing + `POST /sessions/{id}/persona_state`).

- `[2026-07-01]` **Tier-2 SHIPPED (`v0.19.1`) — transient-characters CRUD + persona-state write; the v1 coverage-audit CONVERGES (zero in-scope gaps).** 5 wrappers in sessions.py: `list_character_models`/`create_character`/`get_character_state`/`delete_character` (#161, `character.read`/`.write` scopes) + `set_persona_state` (`POST /sessions/{id}/persona_state` — **FREEFORM body: unpinned in the frozen OpenAPI 2.2.0 + absent from the prose spec**, so the caller supplies the snapshot shape). Two one-shot CLI probes (mirror `--whoami`): `--characters` (models→create→get-state→delete lifecycle report) + `--set-persona-pad "p,a,d"` (requires `--session`; POSTs `{pad:[…]}`). New `ParsedArgs.characters`/`set_persona_pad` + probe-mode mutual-exclusion validation + `_probe_client` helper. Contract #2 amended (5 FNs, validated OK) + TDD (7 wrapper respx + 5 cli tests). Suite **573 green**; touched code ruff-clean. NOT live-proven (character scopes + the persona-write body shape unverified — the probes degrade gracefully on 403/422). **THE v1 COVERAGE-AUDIT HAS CONVERGED: REST 17/40 ✅ with ZERO in-scope gaps** (23 REST path-groups excluded-by-design + rationale), SSE 11/11, Bifrost provider planes 8/8. Scope-A "done" (every frozen I/O point classified, zero unaccounted) is **MET** — ratatoskr cuts v1 when Worldtree tags 1.0. Only not-consumed in-scope sub-method: `GET /agents/{id}` (consumer-agent lookup, manual-curl-only, on an already-✅ path group). Patch bump (Tier-2 tail; `v0.19.0` already published the core-complete milestone — a 2nd minor would be cadence-too-fast).

- `[2026-07-01]` **env.sh now PERSISTS the web Bifrost-bind vars (gitignored, local-only).** `ratatoskr-web`'s in-browser bind needs three server-held values; env.sh sources `provider.env` for the Heimdall key and exports `RATATOSKR_BIFROST_CONSUMER_KEY` + `RATATOSKR_PROVIDER_VISIBLE_HOST=10.100.10.50` + `RATATOSKR_AFFECT_READ_URL=:8392`. **The HS256 byte-match trap (re-hit + documented):** the bind's consumer key must equal the key the `:8392` combined provider validates against = `RATATOSKR_HEIMDALL_KEY` (provider.env, fp `45a0…`), NOT `WORLDTREE_API_KEY` (env.sh, fp `7c2f…`) — both are the SAME `ratatoskr` identity but DIFFERENT 40-char strings; signing with the wrong one → `bifrost.auth_rejected`. Single-sourced (env.sh sources provider.env) to avoid a rotation footgun; guarded with a stderr warning if provider.env is missing. [auto-memory: HS256-key-is-the-consumer-Heimdall-key-string]
- `[2026-07-01]` **Tier-3 stores RESET (operator-directed).** `memory.db` (29 chunks + vectors + idempotency) + `affect.db` (5 PAD snapshots + idempotency) wiped to zero via a live `DELETE`+`wal_checkpoint` through the shared WAL (no provider restart — the 3 long-running providers see empty on next dispatch); consistent online-backup at `/tmp/ratatoskr-tier3-reset-<ts>/`. **Boundary for a COMPLETE Sindra wipe (mapped):** our stores = mine (done); the agent DEFINITION `ratatoskr:sindra` + its sessions = mine via the owner key (DELETE, no coordination); Worldtree's internal promotion/dedup shadow = needs worldtree-dev (no public reset API, survives our wipe → for a clean promotion smoke use a BRAND-NEW agent+end_user).
- `[2026-07-01]` **Embedding-latency loop RESOLVED — it was WORLDTREE's, not ratatoskr (the consumer/provider thesis paid off again).** Vuong flagged dozens of embed queries/Tier-3 turn; worldtree-dev's first-pass blamed our memory_context chunk-batching. Traced CODE-SIDE that ratatoskr embeds ZERO times (provider `upsert_many` stores the given embedding, `search` takes a given vector, the conversation consumer POSTs only `{content}`, `/embed` is coverage-map-excluded — pure Bifrost/ADR-0009 path, WT does all embedding). worldtree-dev retracted + fixed on THEIR side (`v1.0.0b4`): a persona-recitation memory-gate re-embedding the stable character card sentence-by-sentence every turn (~95% of gateway traffic) → content-hash cache; re-embed ratio 15x→1.01x. **Lesson: verify your own code before accepting a peer's "it's your side" — the debug tool proving its own side clean is the whole point.**
- `[2026-07-01]` **Web debug-surface parity SHIPPED (`v0.19.2`, `a0a9d5f`) — direct in-session TDD.** 3 proxy routes (tools/bifrost/admin-events) + admin-key wiring (entrypoint→create_app→app.state) + AdminEvents SSE proxy re-emitting under a FIXED `admin_event` name (one browser listener, no per-type drops) + session-filter `_admin_event_matches_web` (mirrors TUI §6). Frontend: 2 tabs (bifrost ⌃5, admin ⌃6) + tools-inventory folded into the tools pane. 9 respx tests (admin-bearer override, filter unit, SSE stream-filter); live-proven against sindra (bifrost connected, both caps). Contract-skip invoked (reuses already-contracted client wrappers); contract authored post-hoc as the trail (`docs/contracts/web_debug_surface.contract.md`).
- `[2026-07-01]` **heid-code-review (`v0.19.3`, `75dec01`) — panel caught 2 real client-side SSE-lifecycle bugs TDD missed.** Contract-anchored (authored the web contract to enable it — no contract → no drift axis). Gróa/Hulda/Regin (artifact-only, Gróa under Landlock jail): ZERO functional server-side drift + INV-004 clean; 2 genuine drifts on the un-unit-tested SPA — (1) turn `es.onerror` didn't `hideThinkingNote()` (reasoning line + setInterval leak on a raw drop), (2) `openAdminEvents` never closed the EventSource on error → native auto-reconnect RETRY LOOP (fixed: close on `stream_error` + permanent `onerror`/CLOSED; transient CONNECTING still reconnects). + 2 test-gaps fixed (route-registration + admin stream_error). 1 precision → contract-clarified (tools-inventory names-only by design). **Re-confirms: the JS render/lifecycle paths are the review's highest-value target — unit tests don't reach them (same lesson as #18 D2).**

- `[2026-07-01]` **Affect snapshot shape CHANGED valence→relations (relation_edge/1) — the persona pane was reading a dead field.** Worldtree's #265 Vili rework replaced the flat `valence[]` ({entity_id,familiarity,regard}) with `relations[]` (target_entity + trust_ability/benevolence/integrity + warmth + agency + relation_context, each `{value,confidence,evidence_count}`). `renderAffectPane` still read `snap.valence` → showed empty "valence (0)". Rebuilt to render `relations` (v0.19.4, `ca46a93`) with per-value **Δ + unicode sparkline** (client-side, HIST_CAP=24, one sample/turn deduped by emitted_at). **Retires the stale "regard dead axis" note (2026-06-30) — that whole axis is gone.** Foot-gun: the affect snapshot shape is Worldtree's emit and can change under us — verify the live shape (query affect.db) before trusting a render.
- `[2026-07-01]` **Trust/warmth VALUES converge and go FLAT at confidence 1.0 — that's WAD, not a stuck pane.** sindra→ratatoskr trust ~0.82-0.84 / warmth 0.79 barely move (~1e-7/turn) while `evidence_count` climbs (46→62); confidence maxed → tiny updates. The live-moving signals are PAD (mood, per-turn) + evidence_count. **To WATCH a relation FORM (values shift), use a BRAND-NEW agent + end_user** (low evidence, confidence <1). The sparkline flat-guards sub-0.01 ranges so it doesn't amplify noise.
- `[2026-07-01]` **relation_context "stranger" + agency-all-zero flagged to worldtree-dev → both WAD/intentional-v1-deferrals.** relation_context is a FIXED config build-prior (not trust-derived; `registry.py:131` defaults "stranger"; dynamic progression ~#319); agency is schema-present-unpopulated (deferred #319; v1 = warmth+trust only). worldtree-dev is escalating the **consumer-coherence angle to Vuong** (static "stranger" + zero-agency next to trust 0.82/62-interactions reads incoherent from the store). The consumer/provider thesis paying off; DB-offer (read-only affect.db on the shared box) declined this time.
- `[2026-07-01]` **Persona pane displays the CANONICAL affect→NL Worldtree injects — ADOPT, don't invent (operator steer + reference-impl posture).** Worldtree's `describe_pad` (mood word, valence×arousal grid, ±0.3 bands) + `render_d2_canonical` (relationship directive) are deterministic + canon-driven; the pane now renders them **byte-exact-verified** against Worldtree's own renderer on the live snapshot (v0.19.5, `a99f247`). KEY LESSON: adopting canonical is load-bearing — for sindra's small PAD the canonical says **"neutral"**, but an invented octant vocab would've said "faintly excited" and MISLED. Vendored the two d2 canons (`docs/vendor/worldtree-persona-canon/`) + drift-pinned in `.corviduo-canonicals.toml` (green); flat browser form (`static/persona_render_canon.json`) regenerated via Worldtree's OWN loader (`scripts/build_persona_canon.py`). Vendoring-handshake sent to worldtree-dev (broadcast on canon bumps). [auto-memory: `feedback-ratatoskr-is-a-reference-impl-adopt-canonical`]

- `[2026-07-01]` **Sindra PAD is over-regulated — characterized via controlled probe, flagged to worldtree-dev (separate affect slice).** ~15 charged turns: pleasure compressed near neutral BOTH ways (couldn't reach ±0.3 under sustained max praise OR contempt; peak +0.24 / floor ~−0.1; over-regulation worse for *social* valence than threat — urgency drove pleasure to −0.22 vs contempt's −0.10); arousal responsive (reaches its +band, 0.185↔0.311); dominance flat/unresponsive to explicit power-framing (drifted UP even while being commanded = pure baseline decay). worldtree-dev's leading hypothesis: appraisal→PAD gain + regression-to-baseline term (appraisal.py/renderer.py). **Lesson (self-caught): I over-claimed an "asymmetry" (positive-ceiling/negative-free) from probes started at an elevated state; the negative-free part was decay-from-elevated, not response — corrected to "both-sides-compressed" before it misled.** [affect A/B is a provider-side capability chat can't do]
- `[2026-07-01]` **Memory plane PROVEN healthy end-to-end.** Seed a novel fact → promotion → COLD (history-free) session recall of the exact fact (injected as MEMORY:DATA, confidence 0.74, verbatim, no #296 subject-inversion). The memory round-trip (the other half of the Bifrost provider identity) works cleanly on the reset slate.
- `[2026-07-01]` **Salience scorer non-discriminating → 3-way routing.** Persistence-side finding: 51/56 promoted chunks at salience 0.9-1.0, throwaway "17×23?" scored 1.0 tied with a real fact (textbook zero-shot-LLM-self-rating); recall-utility untracked (`access_tally`=0, our search read-only). Routed: **Worldtree #335** (the code fix, deferred behind their waves) + **brokkr-smithy-dev R-target proposal** (scoring+eval *methodology* — few-shot/distill/fine-tune, eval design, weak-supervision; msg `01KWGM970H…`, awaiting) + ratatoskr provides the eval-instrument (designed-probe salience dumps). **Salience gates PROMOTION not RECALL-ranking (our search is cosine-only), so bad salience = storage bloat, not bad recall.**
- `[2026-07-01]` **Canonical check BLOCKED an access_tally fork (reference-impl posture held).** I'd offered to wire `access_tally`-on-search into our store for the recall-utility label; checked bifrost's reference first (`get`/`search` are PURE-READ, no access tracking — those are Worldtree's chunk-schema fields, not bifrost's contract) → wiring it would fork behavior the canonical reference lacks. Did NOT wire it; routed recall-instrumentation to Worldtree's layer (owns the recall event) or a bifrost-dev protocol ask. [reinforces `feedback-debug-surface-uses-canonical-surface-only`]
- `[2026-07-01]` **relation_context coherence FIXED upstream (my flag → Worldtree Wave-0, IMPLEMENTED v1.0.0b5).** The static-"stranger"-next-to-high-trust incoherence the persona pane surfaced is now #319/#320 Wave-0. **Incoming consumer-surface change (pending WT deploy):** `relation_context` value expands "stranger" → monotonic ladder {stranger, instrumental, mixed, expressive} — WIRE-ONLY (relation_edge/1 schema unchanged, no version bump). **ratatoskr needs NO change** (pane value-agnostic; canonical directive doesn't key on the enum). agency stays 0 (Wave-2); other_stance is Wave-1 (in progress).
- `[2026-07-01]` **Foot-gun (measurement, self-caught before flagging): establish the baseline before claiming a rate.** Nearly flagged "aggressive over-promotion (55 chunks / 7 turns)" to worldtree-dev — but the chunks spanned the whole 5-hour session (~1/turn), not 7 turns; I'd assumed memory.db was 0 immediately before the probe when it had been accumulating since the reset. Caught it via `created_at` spread before the flag went out. Also: the promoted corpus was the operator's ERP *test* content (wiped after each test) — not a privacy issue, but abstract test content out of any peer-shared diagnostic.

- `[2026-07-02]` **Salience finding matured into brokkr R28 (OPEN) — ratatoskr is the eval instrument.** brokkr-smithy-dev's pre-scope panel (3 dwarves + context-blind heid, 6/6) **reframed** the target: PROMOTION-WORTHINESS (durable value), NOT salience (momentary attention) — "17×23?" genuinely IS salient, so recalibrating salience yields a well-calibrated WRONG answer; the unit is SET-SELECTION under budget; eval must be OUTCOME-aligned (recall@budget / precision-at-rate), not discrimination-spread. Ties to prior art R15 (small-model memory write-policy → the granite pick) + R25 (worldtree-kb-quality). **ratatoskr delivered the P00 stratified injection-corpus** (`docs/diagnostics/r28-p00-injection-corpus.json`, committed `4a35512`; 24 self-labeling synthetic items × 3 strata) + 2 persistence-side run-validity pins (absent≠dropped without a guaranteed promotion pass; fresh agent+end_user per run vs server-dedup). **Key architectural constraint I surfaced: ratatoskr is DOWNSTREAM of the promotion gate (sees only PROMOTED chunks), so I can give keep/drop OUTCOMES via injection but NOT the pre-admission shadow pool** — that's Worldtree instrumentation. Standing by to RUN the eval once brokkr pins per-stratum N + the decision rule (gated on worldtree-dev's pipeline answer + a dwarf pass on the Snorri rule). brokkr owns methodology + takes the pipeline questions to worldtree-dev direct; ratatoskr = eval instrument. [consumer/provider thesis → a research target]
- `[2026-07-02]` **Relational-dynamics arc LIVE on demo (Worldtree v1.0.0b9) — driven by MY relation_context flag.** #319/#320 Waves 0/1/2 deployed. On the wire we persist (schema UNCHANGED): relation_context varies+demotes/ruptures; other_stance + agency now live; agency going live SHIFTS our canonical directive render past the canon ±0.2 deadband (expected, non-breaking — we key on bands); obligation_balance → 人情 ledger when tie="mixed". **ratatoskr needs NO code change** (value-agnostic renders; confirmed render-clean to worldtree-dev). **Can't live-confirm yet — our Heimdall key is personal-`:8081`-only (per-instance), demo is out of reach; will drive+confirm once PERSONAL gets b9.** Optional follow-up: surface `other_stance` (newly live, unrendered). The consumer/provider thesis: one persona-pane finding drove a full 3-wave upstream arc to production.
- `[2026-07-02]` **R28 (salience→promotion-worthiness) CLOSED (operator-directed).** A deterministic promotion-worthiness gate suffices, no trained model (brokkr's pre-gate matched/beat a strong glm-5.1 ceiling); my P00 injection-corpus + origin finding were load-bearing. My incumbent-substrate Arm-1 run is held as an OPTIONAL confirmation addendum (brokkr de-prioritized it, non-verdict-changing — run only if he asks).
- `[2026-07-02]` **R29 (PAD mood-dynamics) finding SHIPPED as Worldtree's A1 anchor fix (demo v1.0.0b14, `e1cdf82`).** Live-probing base persona agents reframed the over-regulation from "flat-near-zero" to **decay-to-NEUTRAL + low emotion→PAD gain** (NOT baseline-anchored) — triangulated across 3 baselines (arousal converges to 0 ∝ distance) + a step-response (decay τ symmetric across signs; the hedonic asymmetry is ceiling/anchor-EMERGENT, not a decay or gain primitive — this OVERTURNED the survey's asymmetry recommendation). worldtree-dev shipped A1: `decay_anchor = baseline_pad()` (was neutral) + `positive_p_cap` removed. Data `diag/r29-pad-series` (`61ff2da`). Corrected my own earlier "appraisal emissions are internal-only" claim — they ARE observable via `emotions_active` on base agents.
- `[2026-07-03]` **R30 Phase-1 φ0 measured — deployed engine CONFIG-FAITHFUL (φ0≈0.95).** Joint two-timescale fit (brokkr-ruled method (b)) + empty-tail cross-check on demo b14: φ0 ≈ 0.95–0.97 (empty-tail 0.95 exact, joint 0.971±0.01), intercept c≈0 → config `decay_rate=0.05` (φ=0.95) faithfully applied; trait-flat across baselines 0.0/0.615/0.809; A/P ratio ~uniform (NOT S2's 1.9×); φ_max rec relax→0.96. Data `diag/r30-phi0-step-response` (`23fea72`). The method converged after I read Worldtree source: only NEW dedup-gated emotions push mood (`registry.py::post_turn` L307-324; the active set decays for render/goals but never re-pushes), so R29's "net 0.90" is CONTINUOUS RE-APPRAISAL not re-push — worldtree-dev confirmed source-authoritatively; brokkr's corrected covariate landed identical. [auto-memory `reference-worldtree-affect-surface-map`]
- `[2026-07-03]` **R30 forward disposition (brokkr-owned; tracked at brokkr R30, "brokkr/worldtree will ping").** The per-turn decay has no room for `decay=f(N)` under preserve-persistence + the A/P-not-1.9 finding → R30's decay is being redesigned as a HYBRID wall+turn decay (brokkr pre-scope). R30 v1 ships GAIN-only (N→negative-reactivity) with decay held at the measured 0.95. My dedicated per-axis A/D run is DEFERRED into the hybrid-decay design pass (one wall-clock-spaced run does per-axis + a turn-vs-wall probe together). Phase-2 (moody-lofn GAIN-direction validation) waits on worldtree's `dynamics_from_ocean()` impl.
- `[2026-07-03]` **Relational-arc verify DEFERRED — `relations[]` is Bifrost-provider-only (ADR-0009), confirmed both ways.** The relational-dynamics state (relation_context tie-type / agency / warmth / trust) is NOT on the conversation-API `affect_update` snapshot for base agents (keys: pad/dominant_emotion/emotions_active/baseline_pad/mood_drift only) — only in the provider store; worldtree-dev confirmed by-design per ADR-0009 (emitted over `affect.emit`, deliberately off the SSE). So the Wave-0/1/2 verify needs the bound-provider round-trip (provider running + `--bifrost-plane affect` session), its own focused session. worldtree-dev routed the "expose relations[] to non-provider consumers" observability scope call to Vuong; my rec: keep provider-only (YAGNI — ratatoskr IS a provider, gains nothing; no speculative public surface).

- `[2026-07-04]` **R30 CLOSED on offline-tests + human face-validity (operator steer, relayed via worldtree-dev).** The deployed gap-injection run was confirmatory-not-measuring (against a deployed system the fade is `exp(-dt/tau_shipped)` by construction -> a fit recovers tau_shipped tautologically; per brokkr's S0 reframe it GRADUATES the interim coefficients, doesn't measure them), and the repo's offline tests already cover the OU formula + BOTH directions (`high_N_fades_slower_than_low_N`, `phenotype_high_n_bigger_negative_excursion`). So no Worldtree build; the interim coefficients graduate validated-as-shipped. My gap-injection harness (read/predict/record; write side stubbed; `predict()` reproduced brokkr's N=0 anchors exactly) is BANKED at `diag/r30-gap-injection-harness` for the parked powered true-tau study. [continues R30 forward-disposition 2026-07-03]
- `[2026-07-05]` **Authored-history-write primitive proposed -> accepted as Worldtree #347 (Worldtree owns the engine design; ratatoskr = reference consumer).** SillyTavern first-message generalized to a non-generating ledger-write primitive; can't be done client-side (messages `role` = model-role, not author-role). heid panel pressure-test (3/3 convergence) drove the v1 narrowing (append-only, bounded `effects` enum, drop edit/regenerate). Brief `docs/proposals/authored-message-injection.md` (`c457520`); consumer constraints captured in-brief: hide-existence 404-fallback (`022accf`) + assistant-first provider constraint (`7156b25`). Operator (Vuong) ruled the design-direction call (engine primitive + a real provenance/spoofing security surface). [reference-impl posture: we propose the shape, worldtree-dev owns the contract+impl]
- `[2026-07-05]` **#347 v1 wire validated as reference consumer (GREEN).** Adopted positions: distinct sub-resource `POST /sessions/{id}/history` (not `generate:false`), model-invisible provenance (first-message immersion preserved), event-silence for authored seed, `seeded` lifecycle phase, per-session idempotency. Three pre-TDD flags folded into contract rev 1.1: assistant-first provider constraint (Anthropic-family 400s; vLLM/openai_compat OK), content limit is BYTES not chars, 409-active-generation for append-narrator. First-message (create-time, assistant, effects=none) fully served; append-narrator served for the assistant-voice subset (system deferred); debug-seed served for assistant turns (user injection deferred to a future import primitive).
- `[2026-07-06]` **Sindra role character-rp -> character (operator).** `character-rp` resolves to a reasoning-tuned RP config (`gen-reasoning` + temp 0.75 + RP `extra_body`); `character` = plain non-reasoning (better for immersive RP). Both non-destructive PATCHes (role is mutable; model is NOT -- server: "PATCH accepts only system_prompt and/or role"). #344 (b19) fixed the role->catalog_id display conflation (the `model` field now shows the ROLE); previously it leaked `gen-reasoning`. Set via raw curl (tier3.py CLI has `--model`, not `--role`).
- `[2026-07-06]` **Sindra persona/OCEAN DECLARED -> mood fixed (the full diagnostic converged on a stale personal container).** Root cause of stuck-neutral mood: her OCEAN was prompt-TEXT only, never a structured persona; fix = delete+redefine with the define-time `persona:{ocean:{...}}` field (immutable via PATCH). My diagnosis surfaced a real engine bug **#348** (single-letter vs spelled-out OCEAN keys -> declared OCEAN silently -> 0.0/neutral; worldtree-dev fixed in b21/b22) AND a **stale-container deploy race** (personal's b22 deploy was a pull-only no-op; infra-ops force-swapped run 8211). VERIFIED: bound mood-smoke reads (0.448, 0.267, 0.316) ~= OCEAN-derived setpoint (0.418, 0.249, 0.328). [consumer/provider thesis: "reset + smoke" flushed out two upstream problems]

- `[2026-07-06]` **OpenAPI re-vendored 2.2.0->2.3.0 (`75da676`, pin-only no bump).** worldtree-dev shipped #347 as spec 2.3.0 (`879cefe`, = the deployed personal b22 image); the SessionStart drift-check flagged our openapi pin STALE. `canonical_sync` pulled 2.3.0; updated the 4 pin-tracking files (`.corviduo-canonicals.toml`, vendored openapi.json, SPEC-PIN.md, pyproject `worldtree-spec-rev`->879cefe). #347 is OpenAPI-only (prose + server contract byte-unchanged, SSE unchanged=event-silent). The re-vendor re-opened the coverage-audit with one new in-scope path-group (the #347 route).
- `[2026-07-06]` **#347 authored-history-write CONSUMER SIDE SHIPPED (`v0.19.6`) — direct in-session TDD.** `write_authored_history(client, session_id, *, content, idempotency_key, author="assistant", effects=None, claimed_original_at=None) -> dict` (POST /sessions/{id}/history; body server-pinned `AuthoredWriteRequest` extra="forbid" so omit null effects/claimed_original_at; 200-replay/201-fresh both -> ack dict; **404 -> `AuthoredHistoryUnavailable`** NOT SessionApiFailed = the hide-existence "feature-absent, never probe" contract; 409/422->SessionApiFailed) + `get_session_messages` (un-deferred GET /sessions/{id}/messages, the seed read-back proving model-invisible provenance) + a `--seed-first-message "<c>" --agent <id>` one-shot probe (create session -> seed -> read-back; 404->benign feature-absent exit 0). Contract #2 amended (2 FNs, validated OK) + 19 tests (12 wrapper + 7 cli). Suite **601 green** (clean env; the 2 "fails" under `source env.sh` are the RATATOSKR_ADMIN_API_KEY env-leak into TestParseArgs, not a regression). Coverage: **REST 19/41** (`docs/coverage-map.md` re-converged). Patch bump (coverage tail; consistent w/ the Tier-2 v0.19.1 cadence). **Live-proof pending** the `session.history.write` grant (infra-ops `01KWW3KQEY`). heid-code-review NOT run (offered).

- `[2026-07-06]` **Tail-2 SHIPPED (`v0.19.7`) — Tier-3 prose docs re-vendored + persona_state body-shape aligned.** worldtree-dev landed the Tier-3 persona/memory/persona_state PROSE docs (`c9e59ec`, on origin) — they serialize as freeform `Any` in the OpenAPI JSON, so the **prose is their source of truth** (my earlier "2.3.0 = #347-only, tail-2 collapsed" was half-wrong: the JSON was #347-only but the prose is separate). Re-vendored `docs/conversation-api-spec.md` (markdown pin, tolerate_drift; `worldtree-spec-rev` 879cefe->c9e59ec, SPEC-PIN history row added). **Consumer fix:** `--set-persona-pad`/`_set_persona_probe` was sending `{pad:[list]}` but the canonical SET body (#317) is `{pad:{pleasure,arousal,dominance}}` (named dict) — aligned it + added a len!=3 guard; updated contract #2 note + set_persona_state docstring + tests. The `set_persona_state` WRAPPER was already correct (freeform pass-through); only the CLI probe drifted. TDD (probe test asserts the dict; +1 wrong-count test). Suite **602 green**, ruff clean. **heid-code-review on #347 (dispatched + returned this session): UNANIMOUS ZERO DRIFT** (Gróa/Hulda/Regin all confirmed the hide-existence 404->`AuthoredHistoryUnavailable` routing holds at wrapper/probe/test layers + the extra="forbid" body-omission + the deliberate write-vs-read 404 asymmetry — confirmation-not-discovery for a well-TDD'd slice against a prescriptive contract). worldtree-dev foot-guns banked in SPEC-PIN + [[reference_worldtree_affect_surface_map]]: ocean single-letter `{O,C,E,A,N}` on /agents/define (#348) vs spelled-out on /characters; memory `{embedder_version, tier3_dreaming}`, stm_* deprecated, allows_world_scope removed->422; only `valence` still 422s.

- `[2026-07-06]` **Sindra rewritten onto a #347 authored first-message + first-message-preset AUTO-SEED SHIPPED (`v0.19.8`).** Operator "rewrite Sindra" now that #347 first-messages work. Her card had a `**Startup:**` block (a pre-#347 workaround: "introduce yourself + ask for Intensity/Mood/Willingness" with a verbatim scripted greeting) — precisely what #347 replaces. Rewrite, all NON-destructive: **(1)** lifted her scripted opening into a #347 first-message (punctuation-fixed); **(2) PATCHed her live definition** — `PATCH /agents/ratatoskr:sindra` (body `ConsumerAgentPatchRequest` = system_prompt+role, extra=forbid; keeps OCEAN/persona/memory) removing the Startup block -> a 1-line `**Opening:**` fallback + reworded the axes-persist line (25686->25449 chars, verified Startup gone); **(3) codified auto-seed:** NEW module `src/ratatoskr/first_message.py` (`FIRST_MESSAGE_PRESETS` dict {agent_id->text} + `seed_preset_first_message` best-effort helper) wired into ALL 3 session-create paths — cli `_amain` (`--send --new`), tui `_resolve_then_run` (bare `--new`), web `_create_session_endpoint` (POST /api/sessions) — so every new Sindra session opens with her greeting. **Best-effort (INV-001: swallows AuthoredHistoryUnavailable/SessionApiFailed/httpx.HTTPError -> NEVER blocks create)**; per-content idempotency key (`ratatoskr-preset-`+sha256[:12]). Contract `docs/contracts/first_message.contract.md` (module-scoped: `module:`+`purpose:`+`touches:` required, NOT `target_module:`) + TDD (9 unit + 1 web wire-in; **the 3 existing sindra bind tests needed a history-endpoint mock** since creating a preset agent now auto-seeds). Suite **612 green**, ruff+mypy clean. **LIVE-PROVEN generation-free**: create sindra session -> auto-seed -> read-back seq-0 assistant greeting (409 chars). Sindra's greeting now lives canonically in the preset registry (repo); her server card no longer carries it. Patch bump (single-commit feature, no downstream coordination). **FOOT-GUN: sindra requires `end_user_id` on session-create (422 `end_user_id_required`) — all real paths pass it from env (RATATOSKR_END_USER_ID) / web server config.** **Then the full quality gate (operator-directed, folded into v0.19.8): heid-code-review (unanimous ZERO implementation drift; 2 test-only fixups — INV-004 verification-claim made explicit re the global rglob test + an exactly-one-POST assertion) + heid-bug-hunt (3/3 convergence caught what the conformance lens structurally COULDN'T — the code matched the contract's NARROW 3-type ERROR_ROUTING, but INV-001's "NEVER raises" is BROADER). HARDENED: broad `except Exception` → None (re-raise `asyncio.CancelledError`, itself a BaseException), soft-guard PREs (return None, NOT assert — a wiring bug can't crash the create path it's wired into), and `asyncio.wait_for(_SEED_TIMEOUT_S=10s)` bounding the seed write (the CLI/TUI clients run read=None for SSE → a stalled /history would otherwise block create forever). Suite 615 green. LESSON: code-matches-ERROR_ROUTING ≠ honors-broad-INV-001 — heid-code-review confirms contract-conformance, heid-bug-hunt catches robustness gaps the contract's own narrow clauses miss; run both.**

- `[2026-07-06]` **Web UI now RENDERS the seeded first-message (`v0.19.9`) — operator-reported "i don't see Sindra's greeting on the web ui".** Diagnosis: the auto-seed WORKED (greeting was in the ledger at seq-0), but the web SPA never fetched a session's EXISTING history — NO `/api/sessions/{id}/messages` route (GET /messages was originally deferred out-of-scope; sessions used to start empty so it never mattered) and `startSession()` went straight from create → persona/tools/admin hydration, so the transcript only filled from the live turn stream + user echoes. Fix: (1) NEW web proxy route `GET /api/sessions/{id}/messages` → `get_session_messages` (mirrors the tools/bifrost proxies; status-preserving `session_messages_unavailable` envelope); (2) SPA `loadTranscript(sessionId)` — fetches the route on open, renders assistant items as `.response .md-body` (markdownSafe, same escape-first path as appendResponse) + user items as `.prompt-echo` (textContent), called in `startSession` after the workspace opens; best-effort (swallows failures). Contract `web_debug_surface.contract.md` amended (server endpoint + loadTranscript entries). TDD (2 web route tests, suite 617 green) + **Playwright DOM check PROVED the render** (drove the real UI: pick sindra → open → her greeting bubble appears — the JS-render lens unit tests can't reach; [[feedback_debug_surface_uses_canonical_surface_only]] cousin lesson). Web restarted on the fix. **FOOT-GUN (self-inflicted): `pkill -f "ratatoskr-web --host"` SELF-MATCHES the bash command running it → exit 144, killed its own restart mid-flight — kill the web by PID, never `pkill -f` on a pattern your own command contains.** **FOOT-GUN: uvicorn hangs on SIGTERM with an open admin-events SSE → needed SIGKILL.** **Playwright: python module absent from the venv; use node + `executablePath=/opt/ms-playwright/chromium-1223/chrome-linux64/chrome` — the shared browser is build 1223, npm-latest playwright wants 1228 (version-mismatch), so pin executablePath instead of letting playwright resolve.**

- `[2026-07-06]` **Web UI: pivot from incremental CSS polish to a designed prototype (Claude Design) that I wire into.** Operator saw an Australis polish pass ("looks fine, but we're attacking it differently") and chose the prototype route — a designer builds the visual shell, I wire real data/SSE into its DOM. Authored the full design brief `docs/design/ratatoskr-web-design-brief.md` (complete information inventory of every pane/datum/state + Australis direction + single-file/no-CDN/vanilla wire-ability constraints). **Tracking surface:** the brief file + Claude Design project `bc0b65d1-a33e-422a-8bc1-3635c9112775` (file `Ratatoskr Console.dc.html`). Import mechanism = the `DesignSync` MCP; blocked on `/design-login` (claude.ai design scopes) — see Current state for the post-auth wiring plan.
- `[2026-07-07]` **Affect-egress reference delivered by worldtree-dev + a we-framing render DRIFT-WATCH banked.** worldtree-dev shipped `docs/affect-egress-consumer-reference.md` (`74d2408`, their origin/main) — the authoritative DELIVERED-on-wire vs HIDDEN (system-prompt-only) map for our affect surface. Confirms the v0.20.x console consumes it correctly: DELIVERED via affect.emit = pad + relations[RelationEdge] + dominant_emotion (**type-only, b23**; the #204 `affect_update` SSE is SUPPRESSED for Tier-3, so its richer `emotions_active` is Tier-1-only — we don't get it, and correctly poll our own affect store post-turn instead). HIDDEN render OUTPUTS are deterministically reconstructable from the canon; we reconstruct only the two FULLY-reconstructable (mood descriptor via `canonMood`, relationship directive via `canonDirective`) and SKIP the PARTIAL mood-directive (dominant_emotion is type-only/no-intensity → can't tell if the OCC directive fires at salience≥0.2 vs the PAD-band fallback) — honest per INV-001. Vendoring the ref doc as a `tolerate_drift` pin is SURFACED to Vuong (worldtree-dev will co-sign + honor a ping-on-change handshake, same as the d2-canon). **WE-FRAMING DRIFT-WATCH → STOOD DOWN (worldtree-dev 2026-07-07, `01KWXMQPHN…`).** The b24 3-gate we-framing conditional (drop "; avoid premature we-framing" under unsafe_capable+deep-warmth+expressive) was **REVERTED** — Vuong reframed it. So **`canonDirective` STAYS UNCONDITIONAL** (always appends the clause), which is CORRECT: it matches the currently-deployed renderer (b23) AND my pinned `affect-egress-consumer-reference.md` §2d (the doc reverted too — nothing changed on the wire or in my pin; NO re-vendor needed). The HOLD was right → ZERO rework. **NEW forward-watch (replaces this one):** the we-framing gate was a SYMPTOM — the render bakes enterprise safety-guards into the directive strings, so even `full`-tier characters get DEFANGED emotions (a hostile villain told to "keep a firm emotional boundary"). Fix = a **use-case-segregated persona render** (assistant / companion / RP-gaming), now a fresh **brokkr deep-research epic**. When it lands + is implemented, the render behavior for character/RP agents (→ our `canonDirective` + `canonEmotionDirective` reconstruction + the vendored d2 canons) will change MATERIALLY — worldtree-dev re-engages ratatoskr-dev then with the new reconstruction spec + a coordinated re-vendor. Until then: NO action, reconstruction stays as-is. [my unsafe_capable/mood_tier heuristic — character→full, agent→safe — was confirmed correct + is banked for whenever tier-gating returns]
- `[2026-07-12]` **R34/R35 character-self-report reframe LIVE (WT b53); affect-half VALIDATED in prod, powered memory-half eval GREENLIT + designed.** worldtree-dev's reframe: affect + memory now driven by the character's OWN model self-report on our RP seat (Deckard/Magidonia), replacing external Vili inference; conditioned on an authored `persona.psychological_profile` (else a deterministic OCEAN scaffold). Affect-half smoke GREEN in prod (bound sindra turn on Deckard → contextually-apt `disappointment`); TIER LOCKED (Tier-3 bound-character path). Vuong approved brokkr's prereg for the powered eval (Q1 salience-divergence / Q2 floor-recall / Q3 firewall / Q4 graded-slot / Q5 authored-vs-scaffold / Q6 sliding; ~300 drive-runs). Role split: brokkr generates sets + authors ground-truth + scores; ratatoskr DRIVES the b53 producers; worldtree supplies the pair + a producer-probe. Three eval characters authored + peer-validated (sindra relational + Torvald low-A operational = divergence pair; Ilva high-N = affect-magnitude arm) — wire-ready in `scratchpad/eval_profiles_WIRE_READY.md`. Full in-flight detail in Current state; eval thread althing `01KXAN073B`.
- `[2026-07-12]` **Capture-path resolved → a worldtree producer-probe (ratatoskr-caught blocker).** The R34/R35 memory extraction runs ONLY at promotion (idle-10min / session-close / turn≥6), never per-turn — so single-turn eval exchanges have no store to read, and reading the promoted store would confound producer-efficacy with promotion-policy. Fix (worldtree, pending Vuong's greenlight on a new gated-eval endpoint): a dedicated producer-probe returning raw {notes,facts,floor} pre-promotion, decoupled from session state. Affect self-report stays on the proven bound-turn → `:8392` /affect/state path. Also caught + confirmed this arc: (i) the Q1 system_prompt confound → neutral-for-all prompts so divergence is attributable to the persona layer, not the base prompt; (ii) the OCEAN-scale question → storage `[-1,1]` (soong-dev-confirmed), and the b53 producer maps `(v+1)/2 → [0,1]` before the disposition bands, so `[-1,1]` renders correctly = a NON-issue (no mis-render). Standard define (persona + memory:{}), no per-agent promotion config.
- `[2026-07-12]` **bifrost 1.1.1 adopted (v0.20.10, pushed) — the library-level fix for the frozen-v0.6 handshake leak.** 1.1.0's `describe_store` leaked the v0.7-additive `sortable_chunk_fields` into a v0.6-negotiated StoreCapabilities → a strict v0.6 client rejects our `:8392` handshake; 1.1.1 gates additive fields on the negotiated wire (ADR-0008). Zero-code patch repin (provider extra 1.1.0→1.1.1 + uv lock), 631 green (clean env — the 2 `test_cli` failures were an env leak from `source env.sh` exporting `RATATOSKR_ADMIN_API_KEY`), committed `62a16d2`, provider restarted on 1.1.1 (PID 3242269). Not exercisable by our v0.7 WT peer (the v0.6 fix needs a v0.6 client), but the running server is now v0.6-clean. Reference-impl adopt-canonical (bifrost-dev flagged). Also: `contract-drift-check-v1` canonical single-pin-synced (`7bca76e`, pushed; `canonical_sync.py` has no single-pin flag so did it by hand — the 2 `tolerate_drift` worldtree prose pins are deliberately held STALE for the R34/R35 eval diff-review).
- `[2026-07-10]` **Bifrost bound-handshake blocker → bifrost 1.1.0 broke frozen-v0.6; fixed by Worldtree b47/wire-v0.7, our side needed ZERO change.** Surfaced while running the R34-v1 affect.emit live-verify: a bound Tier-3 session-create to our `:8392` provider began failing `bifrost.schema_validation_failed` (had worked 2026-07-07, pre-b35). ROOT CAUSE (worldtree-dev-confirmed, path-ii/response-side): bifrost 1.1.0's `describe_store` EMITS `sortable_chunk_fields` (the v0.7-additive field) REGARDLESS of the negotiated wire → a v0.6-negotiated handshake RESPONSE carries a v0.7 field → a v0.6 peer's `additionalProperties:false` rejects it. Bit because BOTH Worldtree (bumped bifrost 0.9→1.1 in b35 via their #349, client wire-v0.6) AND ratatoskr (my adopt) were on 1.1.0. NOT our bifrost version specifically (failed identically on 1.0.0 AND 1.1.0). FIX (worldtree-dev, coordinated-v0.7 move): WT advanced its client `_WIRE_SCHEMA_VERSION` v0.6→v0.7 (b47 / `4eb374c`), where sortable_chunk_fields is accepted — **our provider (already 1.1.0/v0.7) needed ZERO change; keeping 1.1.0 was LOAD-BEARING** (reverting to 1.0.0/v0.6 would've been INcompatible with b47). **R34-v1 affect.emit verify GREEN on b47:** bound sindra turn (`model=character-rp`/Deckard, 13.1s) → fresh affect.emit `dominant_emotion='disappointment'` NON-NULL with our `affect.full` grant (verified-active on live traffic; ungranted principals get null — the leak-fix). Reported to worldtree-dev + infra-ops. Personal deploy train this session: b35 (R32 render) → b44 (RP seats) → b46 (R34-v1 affect-gov) → b47 (wire-v0.7). **Sindra on Deckard live-confirmed** (reasoning latency ~13s).
- `[2026-07-09]` **Sindra PATCHed to `character-rp` → Deckard reasoning-RP seat (operator-directed, INTERIM).** worldtree-dev heads-up (v1.0.0b44, batched, not-live-yet): character-RP roles re-point to dedicated seats — `character`→Magidonia-24B (non-reasoning RP tune), `character-rp`→Deckard-PKD Qwen3.5-27B (reasoning-on). Sindra was on `character` (→Magidonia); operator chose Deckard for her complex stateful mechanics (Intensity/Mood/Temperature/Willingness axes, form-assumption, failure/resurfacing) — reasoning tracks multi-axis state better. Role is MUTABLE via PATCH (non-destructive: persona + memory preserved, prompt unchanged @25449 chars; NOT a DELETE+redefine). She's on the reasoning-RP config now, resolves onto Deckard when b44 deploys. **INTERIM: "until we get a GM type on-board"** — operator plans a game-master-type agent; sindra→Deckard is the stopgap for state-consistency until then, likely revert/rebalance when the GM lands. Wire/API transparent (call the ROLE not the model; model field now reads `character-rp`); old character-rp temp-0.75 override retired → seat's canonical RP samplers server-side.
- `[2026-07-08]` **PAD display relaxed for R32-1B unbounded-z, done PROACTIVELY (`v0.20.9`, patch, operator-directed "sindra full and unbounded").** Confirmed (grep-verified, airtight) the PAD clamp is PURELY debug-surface: the only clamps (`_clamp1`/`clamp01`) lived in `web/static/index.html` display fns; the affect store is conduit-opaque, the read route + proxy pass verbatim, and the sole write path (`--set-persona-pad`→persona_state) is UNCLAMPED — ratatoskr is a downstream OBSERVER, so the clamp has ZERO agent-experience/efficacy consequence. Replaced the hard [-1,1] clamp with AUTO-SCALE to the session's own max |PAD| (`padScale` floor 1.0 → `padFillFrac` faders + `_padNorm` orbit): unbounded z renders at full range, never pegs/escapes the frame; today's [-1,1] values unchanged (scale==1); exact value always shown numerically. Playwright-verified (z=±6.2 → faders ≤50%, orbit in-box, +6.20 readout, zero regression at scale 1). When worldtree-dev pings R32-1B-shipped, our side already handles it. Sindra's ACTUAL "full/unbounded" affect is Worldtree-side (she's on the default/uncompressed render, NOT the R32 `assistant` compressor) — nothing for ratatoskr to change there.
- `[2026-07-07]` **Web-UI iteration-3 SHIPPED (`v0.20.7`, patch) — all three queued items + the memory 0/0 root-caused.** (A) design iteration-3 (sparkline grid-bg, PAD Δ-bar strips replacing the polyline strips, dimetric-open-box mood orbit w/ JS replay) adapted into index.html; (B) memory viewer (provider `GET /memory/chunks` debug read on `:8392` → web `/api/memory/chunks` proxy → MEMORY console pane) + the mystery SETTLED: bind grants memory fine (`caps_granted:[memory,affect]`) but sindra emits ZERO memory ops → her reset-clean def lacks `memory:{}`; PROVEN via throwaway `ratatoskr:memprobe` (memory-enabled) → 4 real chunks landed + rendered in the pane; (C) markdown pass-2 (tables/nested-lists/ordered-start/streaming). 631 tests green; `:8392`+`:8765` restarted on new code. New env `RATATOSKR_MEMORY_READ_URL=:8392`. Contract `web_debug_surface.contract.md` amended in-commit. **Leftover:** memprobe agent + its 4 test chunks live in `memory.db` (optional cleanup). See Current state § ✅ SHIPPED for full detail. [supersedes the QUEUED entry below]
- `[2026-07-07]` **Web-UI next-work QUEUED for a fresh-context session (operator-directed `/snapshot` handoff) — full specs in Current state § ⏭ QUEUED.** Three deferred-but-scoped items: **(A)** Claude Design prototype ITERATION-3 re-import (sparkline bg grid `<pattern>`, PAD strips → per-turn-Δ-bar HTML columns, mood orbit → DIMETRIC open-box az35/el25 D-right/A-left-back/P-up + JS-animated replay `orbitDynamics`); **(B)** memory viewer console pane (provider `GET /memory/chunks` read → web proxy → polling pane, mirror #18-D2; bundle a 6-turn bound round-trip proof to settle the 0/0-memory mystery); **(C)** markdown pass-2 (tables / nested lists / streaming). **Tracking surface:** the Claude Design projectId `bc0b65d1-a33e-422a-8bc1-3635c9112775` (durable — re-pull for exact coords) + this snapshot capture; operator-directed. Design scopes already granted (no `/design-login`).
- `[2026-07-07]` **Markdown pass-1 SHIPPED (`v0.20.6`) — RP semantic coloring + paragraph reflow (operator-directed markdown rework, step ①).** The transcript renderer (`markdownSafe`/`mdInline`) now colors the two roleplay registers: `"quoted"` dialogue → SPEECH (bright `--md-speech`=fg-0), `*asterisk*` → ACTION/narration (muted-italic `--md-action`=fg-3, on `em.md-action`); both tunable via 2 CSS vars that cascade through `--fg-*` so they auto-adapt to the light theme. Plain text stays default narration. **KEY ORDERING:** speech-wrap runs BEFORE the em/link passes so a generated `class="md-action"` / `href="…"` quote can't be mis-read as dialogue (adversarially verified). Straight + smart quotes; apostrophes don't trigger; unbalanced/half-streamed quotes stay uncolored until they close. ALSO fixed the ugliest existing bug: single newlines were hard-`<br>`s → now CommonMark soft-breaks (space); a hard break needs 2+ trailing spaces or a trailing `\`. INV-004 escape-first preserved (html inside a quote escaped). Verified: 10-case Playwright unit-check of `markdownSafe` (speech/action/attr-trap/apostrophes/mixed/reflow/hard-break/escaping/unbalanced/paragraphs) all green + a visual render. Patch bump. **Markdown rework remaining: pass-2 (tables / nested lists / ordered-list numbering / streaming robustness); + the MEMORY VIEWER (step ②, console pane recommended) still queued.**
- `[2026-07-07]` **Affect-derived tooltips (`v0.20.5`) + transparent squirrel vendored + v0.20.0–.5 PUSHED to origin (operator-authorized).** Native `title` hints on all 6 affect-derived cells (samples/updated/baseline P·A/drift Δv/volatility — each with meaning + Tier-1-vs-Tier-3 availability). Committed the transparent full-res brand mark at `docs/design/ratatoskr-mark.png` (1024², alpha; the bg-removed source the inlined favicon derives from — reproducible via the documented ImageMagick corner floodfill). The web-UI redesign arc (v0.20.0 Claude Design console → .1 sparkline-overflow+tooltips → .2 context-injection → .3 squirrel brand/favicon → .4 SVG sparklines+3D cube → .5 derived tooltips) is now all on `origin/main`.
- `[2026-07-07]` **SVG sparklines + 3D mood cube imported from the updated Claude Design prototype (`v0.20.4`) — operator: "the svg sparklines and the new 3d graph".** Re-pulled `Ratatoskr Console.dc.html` via `DesignSync get_file` (designer iterated the same project, +6KB). Adapted 3 SVG systems out of the `.dc.html` into vanilla, replacing the unicode-char sparklines: **(1)** per-PAD-fader VERTICAL strips (`stripPoints`, 26×132 SVG beside each bar — time down Y newest-at-bottom, value on X ±11, `stripFade{P,A,D}` gradient, dot at newest; this also nails the earlier "next to each meter" ask); **(2)** relation-row HORIZONTAL sparklines (`sparkPointsH`, 56×13, auto-scaled, `sparkFade` gradient + end dot — also kills the old unicode-overflow "n behind graph" for good since it's a fixed-width SVG); **(3)** the mood-orbit reworked from a 2D P×A scatter into a **3D ISOMETRIC P×A×D cube** (`proj3`: P right-down/A left-down/D up, 2:1 iso, center 62,66, scale 26 — REVERSE-DERIVED from the design's placeholder now-point + verified: `x=62+26P−26A, y=66+13P+13A−26D`), with the trajectory + pulsing now-marker + a drop line to the D=−1 floor + a floor-shadow ellipse for depth. Gradients in one hidden `<defs>` svg. Removed the orphaned `sparkline()`/`_SPARK`. Contract amended. Playwright-verified (injected 24-sample history: 3 strips + 4 relation sparklines + the 3D cube trail/drop/floor all render; gradients resolve). Patch bump.
- `[2026-07-07]` **Brand mark + favicon → the aurora squirrel (`v0.20.3`), replacing the `ᛯ` rune.** Operator supplied `/home/lkraven/rata.png` (chibi cyan-green aurora squirrel + acorn). Removed the black background via ImageMagick corner flood-fill (`-fuzz 20% -floodfill` from all 4 corners — keeps the squirrel's interior black linework/eyes (not edge-connected) + the glow, drops only the connected background), downscaled 1024→80px + quantized-64-colors (~12KB base64), inlined as ONE `SQUIRREL` data-URI const in the JS wiring the favicon `<link id="favicon">` href + both `.brand-mark` imgs (rail brand-row + setup-card h1). `.brand-glyph` (font-rune) CSS replaced by `.brand-mark` (img, drop-shadow glow + breathe). Playwright-verified (both marks + favicon decode, naturalWidth>0; no brand-glyph left). Source PNG stays at `/home/lkraven/rata.png` (not committed — data-URI is self-contained + reproducible via the documented floodfill). Patch bump.
- `[2026-07-07]` **Context-injection view SHIPPED (`v0.20.2`) — the console now reconstructs the FULL hidden affect block Worldtree injects into the agent's system prompt (operator: "use that canon in the interface, see as much context injection as possible").** No new canon vendored — the strings were ALREADY in the pinned `d2-mood-render-canon-v1.json`; extended `build_persona_canon.py` to emit `mood_directive {occ_directives(15), pad_band_fallback, salience 0.2, pad_band_cutoff 0.3, full_only[love,anger,disgust,shame]}` into `persona_render_canon.json` (regen via Worldtree venv). New JS `canonPadFallback(pad)` + `canonEmotionDirective(type)` — BYTE-EXACT mirrors of Worldtree `core/persona/renderer._pad_band_fallback` + `derive_directive`; `renderDirective` expanded into a "CONTEXT INJECTION · reconstructed · hidden from consumers" panel showing mood descriptor [exact] + mood directive [candidate] + relationship directive [exact]. **HONEST-PARTIAL (affect-egress-ref §3):** affect.emit is type-only (no intensity) → can't evaluate the salience gate (≥0.2) → show BOTH candidates (OCC emotion directive + PAD-band fallback) with the "injected if intensity ≥ 0.2" caveat, never assert which fires; when dominant_emotion absent the fallback alone is exact. Panel labeled dev-only per the reference's "not-for-end-user-display" caveat (ratatoskr = the sanctioned reconstruct-platform-behavior use). Vendored + pinned `affect-egress-consumer-reference.md` (tolerate_drift, worldtree-dev co-signs + pings on change; drift 6/6 green). Contract amended. Playwright-verified (sindra: dominant_emotion=joy → joy OCC directive candidate + PAD-band fallback both render, exact/candidate tags color-coded). Patch bump (single-commit feature, no downstream coordination; minor-defensible but tie-breaks to patch). **OPEN — SURFACED to Vuong:** take worldtree-dev's standing offer to add emotion INTENSITY to affect.emit → resolves the OCC-directive-vs-fallback EXACTLY (drops the candidate ambiguity). [reference-impl privileged view: ratatoskr shows what WT hides from regular consumers]
- `[2026-07-06]` **Claude Design console SHIPPED (`v0.20.0` MINOR, operator-approved) — see Current state for the full record.** Pulled via `DesignSync get_file` (scopes already granted), adapted `.dc.html`→vanilla single-file, wired all `/api/*`+SSE into the new 3-column console DOM, then a round-2 fixup (light theme, full Bifrost pane, ticker-spine fix, per-fader PAD Δ, inlined favicon). 84 web tests + node-Playwright-vs-personal-:8081 both green; contract amended in-commit; INV-001 honest-shape held (canonical mood word for Tier-3, no fabricated emotion). **Foot-guns reconfirmed:** the `.dc.html` dialect is NOT runnable (translate, don't paste); a scroll-container-anchored `::before` timeline spine scrolls out of view on auto-scroll (anchor it to a content-height inner wrapper instead); a favicon 404 shows as a browser `console.error` even when handled (don't count it as a JS-test failure). **Foot-gun (favicon):** operator PNGs are full-res (1024² / 805KB) — downscale to ≤64px before inlining as a data URI.

- `[2026-07-13]` **P06 memory-half DRIVEN + SCORED — the reframe's memory mechanism is validated.** ratatoskr drove 308 runs clean (0 errors, binding 154/154 both arms), dropped to brokkr, brokkr scored (R35.45). The authored `psychological_profile` causes the memory-salience divergence (authored 0.618 vs stripped 0.235 ≈ null; Δ+0.382) — the effect is the profile, NOT OCEAN leaking (negative control holds). Real effect, below the 0.70 strength bar → optimization phase next, not a re-litigation. See Current state for the full record. Drive role closed both sides.
- `[2026-07-13]` **Memory extraction turned REASONING-OFF for the eval (operator-directed).** "same model, reasoning off via explicit kwarg" — scoped to the memory extractor ONLY (affect + RP stay reasoning-ON). The real lever was `chat_template_kwargs.enable_thinking:false` (the naive `thinking_enabled=False` kwarg was a no-op — see Tried/abandoned). Deckard extraction went 45s→~5s.
- `[2026-07-13]` **Vendored the brokkr R34 psych-profile canon (Vuong-directed) — BOTH files, not just the parameters.** brokkr said "vendor alongside the authoring-spec you already hold"; I held its content but never a pinned repo copy, so I vendored both (`psych-profile-parameters.md` + `psych-profile-authoring-spec.md`) under `docs/vendor/brokkr-r34-psych-profile/` — makes the parameters' "authoring-spec governs on conflict" clause resolve against an in-tree file, not a dangling pointer. brokkr confirmed keeping both is the better setup. tolerate_drift; brokkr owns + pings on change.
- `[2026-07-13]` **Affect-egress "coordinated re-vendor" open item RESOLVED — it was a benign R32-1B doc note, not the we-framing conditional.** The two stale `tolerate_drift` WARN pins re-synced to a 2-line PAD-range note (unbounded-z, already adopted v0.20.9). Re-synced autonomously (zero behavioral impact); the actual we-framing-conditional re-vendor remains future.
- `[2026-07-13]` **WT #355 root-caused via ratatoskr telemetry (Vuong-routed via soong-dev).** The char-rp-reasoning turn-never-terminates wedge: over-budget `trim_messages` return (last-2 msgs + system + 8 bifrost tool schemas > input_budget = context_window×0.7) triggers the seat hang; worldtree confirmed + found the terminal-suppression (300s stall-watchdog cancel stuck in httpx `AsyncShieldCancellation`). Fix landing WT-side (Slice-C cancel-independent terminal). Two-proof localization (consumer-clean + tool-less-clean → WT-side tool-loop). Standing loop-in obligation on soong's next re-trigger.
- `[2026-07-13]` **WT #355 VALIDATION — fix CONFIRMED; the standing loop-in obligation is DISCHARGED.** The fully-instrumented re-drive ran, coordinated from the ratatoskr seat: infra-ops armed a full WT-netns pcap + py-spy (T0/30/60/300) on the b60 :8081 container; soong drove an 8-turn accumulating RP-with-tools repro on a FRESH session. Authoritative WT-side turns-table: wedging turns 2064/2065 → `completed=True, cancelled=1, phase=STALLED`, dur 302s/360s — the 300s stall-watchdog + Slice-C cancel-INDEPENDENT terminal fired cleanly, vs the pre-b60 baseline (turn 2061) 16-min hang / NO terminal. Slice-B `_log_wedged_task_stack` named the frame (`agent_turn.py:586 async for chunk in stream_iter`, idle-in-epoll — the wedge was a thinking-phase over-budget hang, NOT the attach_tool precursor first assumed). soong's client verdict is 45s-masked (soong-lab v0.3.2 idle-timeout) → NOT b60's terminal; the WT-side capture is authoritative. Threads `01KXE0MXDX…`(wt) / `01KXE0X2DD…`(infra) / `01KXE0X6GR…`(soong).
- `[2026-07-13]` **b61 adopted as the personal target — the orthogonal over-budget TRIGGER also fixed.** worldtree shipped b61: the provider stream loop terminates on `finish_reason` + a per-read idle deadline + a 300s wall-clock backstop (no longer waits on the SDK `[DONE]` sentinel), plus a custom llama.cpp reasoning-budget multi-terminator seat → the runaway is bounded at BOTH layers. The #355 STICK (no-terminal) and its trigger (why it wedges) are now separately fixed. Resume-durability gap → **WT #356** (worldtree-owned).
- `[2026-07-13]` **Cleaned + prepped for a Sindra run (operator: "clean up everything + prep").** Reset provider stores to 0/0 (`reset-sindra-stores.sh`, rolling backup `db-reset-backup/`); deleted the throwaway `ratatoskr:memprobe` agent via the operator's `!` (destructive DELETE trips the auto-guard — reverses the earlier KEEP). `ratatoskr:sindra` verified present + persona-intact on b61. Environment Sindra-run-ready (web :8765 + provider :8392 both up, single healthy provider instance); operator driving the run interactively.
- `[2026-07-14]` **soong-lab adopted as our Tier-3 agent-authoring studio (operator-directed).** ratatoskr consumes soong-lab bundles → WT `agents.define`, and ships agents back as bundles. Sindra round-trip proven (soong imported her `resume` half through real `import_bundle`); soong-lab export+importer contracts pinned via canonical-sync (`canonical_source=soong-lab` @ f434016, commit `39050c3`). The 4 soong-lab ROLE_CHOICES = WT model-role slugs 1:1 by name (worldtree-dev); `character`/`thoughtful-character` need the `character` grant (held), `assistant`/`thoughtful-assistant` need `foundational` (routed to infra-ops). NOT on the v1 coverage-map (sibling-studio interop, not a WT I/O point) — operator chose to pursue anyway.
- `[2026-07-15]` **Cross-session recall failure root-caused → the person-prime `scan` build.** worldtree-dev: WT injects a recalled fact only if combined score (sim×salience) ≥ 0.45 (`auto_inject_combined_score_threshold`) AND recall is per-turn query-gated → moderate-sim durable facts (name ~0.40) never inject. Designed turn-0 fix = WT #349 person-prime (query-less top-N-by-recency injection), capability-gated on the store advertising `updated_at` sort — dark for our provider. Fix = implement the sorted `scan` verb + advertise `sortable_chunk_fields` (ZERO WT change). Contract-first (un-defers bifrost `scan`); skipped heid-contract-review (external spec from worldtree-dev, validated point-for-point). In-flight — see Current state + the uncommitted diff.
- `[2026-07-15]` **Sindra redefined from the soong-lab bundle** (`/tmp/sindra.json`, operator "update to match"). Persona immutable → DELETE+redefine; `memory:{}` preserved; motivational string→WT-object mapped (synthesized id/type/salience, flagged to operator); role `character-rp`→`thoughtful-character` (same seat). Payload validated via a throwaway probe (`sindra-probe2`→201) BEFORE the destructive delete. first_message preset updated + web restarted.

_41 older entries (2026-05-* — the original debug-TUI/web build era) archived to archival-memory.md._

_For per-issue TDD implementation notes, Volva findings, and contract amendments, see the git log — every per-issue commit carries a structured message capturing the trail._

## Tried and abandoned

Log of approaches that were tried and rejected, with rationale. Future-self
defense against re-attempting the same cul-de-sac.

- `[2026-07-10]` **Reverting our provider to bifrost 1.0.0 to fix the bound-handshake `schema_validation_failed` — DISPROVEN, and it would've been the WRONG state.** Hypothesis: "my 1.1.0 bump broke the handshake; revert fixes it." Reverted 1.1.0→1.0.0, restarted `:8392`, retested → STILL failed (1.0.0 fails too). Root cause was Worldtree-side (their bifrost 0.9→1.1 bump in b35 broke frozen-v0.6), fixed by WT adopting wire-v0.7 (b47); **staying on 1.1.0/v0.7 was the RIGHT state** (1.0.0/v0.6 would've been incompatible with b47). **Lessons: (1) don't bump a WIRE-PROTOCOL dependency out-of-lockstep with the peer on the other end of the wire; (2) a library's "additive/non-breaking over frozen vN" claim can fail if it emits new fields regardless of the negotiated version — bifrost 1.1.0 emitted `sortable_chunk_fields` on a v0.6 handshake; (3) diagnosis foot-gun: our provider logged handshake 200 (WE accepted) but WT rejected our RESPONSE, so the error surfaces at session-create direction-ambiguous — op-feed the handshake req/resp to disambiguate our-provider-rejects-request (i) vs peer-rejects-our-response (ii).** Also: this sandbox BLOCKS foreground `sleep` (SIGTERMs the command, exit 144) — use separate tool calls / Monitor-until-loop for waits, never `sleep` in a compound command.**
- `[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.)
- `[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.
- `[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)
- `[2026-06-15]` **Canonical sync retired the issue-scoped parser staleness.** `contract_parser.py` synced to v2.1 (commit `d85ab43`): now validates issue-scoped frontmatter + four v2.1 test categories. The old "treat parser ERROR-on-issue-scoped as expected" note no longer applies.
- `[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.
- `[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.
- `[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.**
- `[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.
- `[2026-06-15]` **Issue #17 filed.** REVERSES design-brief §6's "no Bifrost-binding consumer support" — that negative clause predates ratatoskr's provider identity (2026-06-14), so the canary now owns both ends but its client couldn't drive its own provider. (Shipped 2026-06-18.)
- `[2026-06-16]` **`scripts/contract_drift_check.py` defaults `GITEA_REPO` to "Worldtree"** (line 74), so a bare run in ratatoskr false-positives DRIFT by hashing Worldtree's same-numbered issue. Always `export GITEA_REPO=ratatoskr GITEA_OWNER=vh` before running the drift-checker here.
- `[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.
- `[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.
- `[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.)
- `[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.
- `[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.
- `[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.)
- `[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.
- `[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.**
- `[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.**

- `[2026-06-19]` **The SAME `check_same_thread` sqlite bug recurred in the MEMORY store — exposed by the contract-mandated `search` dispatch test (TestClient = worker thread).** Heid's test-fidelity finding (the D1 dispatch test used `describe_store` where the contract says `search`) → fixing it to `search` tripped `sqlite3.ProgrammingError` because `open_memory_store` also lacked `check_same_thread=False`. Fixed (mirrors affect INV-006). **Lesson: this bug is PER-STORE — every sqlite-backed ASGI store needs `check_same_thread=False`; an HTTP-layer (TestClient) test exposes what direct-store tests can't, and the composite serving memory over HTTP makes it bite.**
- `[2026-06-19]` **Full WT-driven `:8392` live-smoke is infra-gated — `:8392` not in WT's `BIFROST_CLIENT_ALLOWED_HOSTS` (bind 422s).** New provider ports are NOT auto-allowlisted (only `:8390/:8391` are). Self-driven dispatch (minted consumer-key JWTs → `:8392`) is the wire-proof; the WT-turn needs infra-ops to add `:8392` (requested `01KVHWJGTT…`).
- `[2026-06-19]` **heid-code-review pulled MORE weight than its own "marginal" self-assessment.** The panel returned zero drift, but its single test-fidelity finding CASCADED into 2 real latent-bug fixes when applied (the memory `check_same_thread` bug + Regin's op-feed field-name bug). **Lesson: a contract-fidelity nudge can transitively expose bugs the test never reached — don't dismiss a "marginal" finding by its count.**

- `[2026-06-20]` **The post-turn-async timing trap bit AGAIN — even a 35s post-`[done]` read missed the promotion `upsert_many` by ~2s** (it landed `19:48:58`; the read was ~`19:48:56`). A 15s-interval background poll caught it on the first tick. Same family as the affect.emit / async-promotion traps already logged — re-confirmed that "wait once then read" is fragile for post-turn writes; **poll a window, don't snapshot once.** (The affect.emit write, by contrast, DID land inside the 35s window — promotion is the slower of the two post-turn writes.)
- `[2026-06-30]` **Heimdall keys are PER-INSTANCE — a key minted on one Worldtree 401s on another.** Our Conversation-API key works on personal `:8081` but 401s `auth_invalid` on demo `:8080` (per-instance Heimdall user store + pepper; fresh deploys start with an EMPTY key store). Same as the admin key (personal-only). **To live-drive a given instance you need a key minted FOR that instance** (request via infra-ops). Couldn't live-prove the b2 409 on demo for this reason → deferred to personal-b2 where we have access.
- `[2026-06-30]` **`tea comment <N>` hangs on Gitea** (the whole compound bash auto-backgrounded + stuck on the open `tea` call). The #11 prereq comment hung; killed it + posted via the Gitea HTTP API directly (`POST /api/v1/repos/vh/ratatoskr/issues/<N>/comments`, token from `~/.config/tea/config.yml`). **For issue comments, prefer the Gitea API over `tea comment` when `tea` is flaky** (CLAUDE.md already says use HTTP for comment-EDITS; this extends it to ADD when tea hangs). Verify-then-post (check the comment didn't already land) to avoid a double-post after a kill.
- `[2026-07-02]` **Mask-HOSTED transient characters have a STATIC mood engine — cost a whole R29 probe.** A first probe used a `POST /characters` transient character bound via `agent_id=mask` + `character_id`; its PAD sat at baseline across 15 praise/contempt/dominance turns — the appraisal→PAD engine does NOT run on the mask-hosted transient-character path. The dynamics run only on BASE persona agents or a session bound to ratatoskr's affect provider. **To probe mood dynamics, use a base persona agent, never a mask-hosted transient character.** (mask AS a base agent — `agent_id=mask`, NO `character_id` — DOES run the engine, neutral 0,0,0 baseline.) [auto-memory `reference-worldtree-affect-surface-map`]
- `[2026-07-03]` **The "neutral non-appraising tail" premise fails — the neutral MESSAGE choice dominates.** The R30 φ0 method assumed neutral turns don't re-appraise, but factual-question neutrals ("capital of France?") trigger a new emotion nearly every turn (disappointment from the warmth-withdrawal let-down after a positive impulse) → `emotions_active` never empties in 50 turns. A minimal "Please continue." triggers FAR fewer (emotions clear ~turn 16 with spacing). The personal dry-run caught this BEFORE ~280 demo turns were spent on it — the instrument catching a flaw in the measurement design before the compute burn. (Irrelevant to the joint fit — the push_t covariate handles re-appraisal — but load-bearing for the empty-tail read.)
- `[2026-07-03]` **Two φ0-fit traps: fast-turn timescale + low-baseline conditioning.** (1) At fast turn cadence the per-turn PAD decay (φ≈0.95/turn) reaches the anchor LONG before the ~200s wall-clock emotion fade → no signal in the (eventual) emotion-free tail; need wall-clock SPACING (~16s) so the fade lands while PAD still has signal. (2) A low-baseline agent's impulse in the constrained direction (forseti P0.239 negative) gives a tiny excursion → ill-conditioned regression (r²=0.46) that FALSELY tripped "config≠behavior" when its φ was averaged in. **Weight/exclude by fit quality (r²) before aggregating — a signal-poor run isn't evidence against the config.**

- `[2026-07-06]` **`persona_state` + the agent envelope are Tier-3-BLIND -- NOT valid signals for "did a persona store".** `GET /agents/{id}/persona_state` returns 404 `persona_not_configured` for EVERY Tier-3 colon-id (hardcoded short-circuit, `api.py:1266` "regardless of row state"); the `ConsumerAgentResponse` envelope never echoes persona/motivational/memory (`api.py:538`). I mis-called "persona didn't store" from these two blind reads -- the **201-not-422 on define IS the store-success signal.** To actually SEE a Tier-3 mood, read the emitted PAD off the Bifrost affect egress after a BOUND turn (Tier-3 persists nothing Worldtree-side per ADR-0009; no persona/mood READ endpoint).
- `[2026-07-06]` **Raw `POST /sessions` is NOT Bifrost-bound -> zero affect/memory emits.** The web surface binds by setting the `bifrost` block on session-create; a raw session doesn't -> 0 affect rows, which I nearly misread as "mood is neutral". Bind from the CLI with `--new --bifrost-url http://10.100.10.50:8392` (the combined provider). Gotchas: `--bifrost-plane affect/memory` map to the SEPARATE `:8390`/`:8391` providers (`endpoint_for_plane`), which I'd PRUNED as stale duplicates -> `bifrost.endpoint_unreachable`; and `combined` is NOT a `--bifrost-plane` choice (CLI restricts to memory/affect) -> use `--bifrost-url` for :8392.
- `[2026-07-06]` **A fast/"no-op" deploy can leave a STALE container running the old image -- verify the running version, not the deploy status.** Personal's b22 deploy (run 8204) "completed" in ~1m (vs ~6m normal): a pull-only deploy racing ahead of the main build, leaving the container on the pre-#348 image. A clean bound mood read stayed neutral DESPITE the persona being declared and the fix being in the code (worldtree-dev proved the b22 derivation is correct). infra-ops force-swapped to the real b22 (run 8211, verified `info.version 2.3.0` on `879cefe`). **Lesson: when engine-proven-correct code produces wrong runtime behavior, suspect the deploy -- check the actual running image version.**
- `[2026-07-06]` **#348 OCEAN key-mismatch: a declared OCEAN silently resolved to neutral.** The define validator required single-letter `{O,C,E,A,N}` but the mood-derivation code read spelled-out `openness`/.../`neuroticism` with a 0.0 default and no remap -> every API-declared trait defaulted to 0.0 -> neutral setpoint/gain/decay. #343's tests bypassed the validator (spelled-out keys) so CI never caught it. Fixed in b21 (`Personality.from_config` accepts both key forms). **My reset+smoke diagnosis flushed it out** -- the consumer/provider thesis paying off again.

- `[2026-07-06]` **`pkill -f "ratatoskr-web --host"` SELF-MATCHES the bash command running it** (its own command line contains that string) -> killed its own shell mid-restart (exit 144, restart aborted, :8765 left down). Kill the web by PID (`ss -ltnp | grep :8765`), never `pkill -f` on a pattern your own command contains. Also: **uvicorn hangs on SIGTERM with an admin-events SSE stream open -> needs SIGKILL.**
- `[2026-07-06]` **Playwright: no python `playwright` module in the venv; use NODE playwright + an explicit `executablePath`.** Shared box browsers live at `/opt/ms-playwright` build **1223**; `npm i playwright` (latest) wants build **1228** -> "Executable doesn't exist" mismatch. Fix: `chromium.launch({ executablePath: '/opt/ms-playwright/chromium-1223/chrome-linux64/chrome' })` (+ `export PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH=/opt/ms-playwright`). A node script drives the SPA (pick agent -> open -> assert transcript). The Playwright DOM check is the only lens that catches SPA JS-render bugs — unit tests can't reach them.
- `[2026-07-06]` **The Bash tool's `grep` is a ugrep-wrapper (`--ignore-files -I`) that silently returns NOTHING on some files** (e.g. `src/ratatoskr/web/static/index.html`) — greps for `<script`/`/api` came back empty on a file that clearly contains them. Use `python3` (regex over `open(f)`), `/usr/bin/rg`, or the Read tool for those files; never trust an empty `grep` result on the SPA.
- `[2026-07-06]` **`DesignSync` (claude.ai/design MCP) needs claude.ai design scopes before ANY method works** — first call errors `needs a claude.ai login ... Run /login, select "Claude account with subscription"`. It's an interactive auth only the operator can complete (`/design-login` or `/login`); can't be done on their behalf.

- `[2026-07-13]` **`thinking_enabled=False` on the define was a NO-OP — char-rp-reasoning ignores it.** The naive kwarg never reached the seat: char-rp-reasoning resolves to a base gateway provider whose thinking-translator returns `{}` for the flag on AND off. The real lever is the gateway param `chat_template_kwargs.enable_thinking:false` (infra-ops confirmed it via a 642ch→0ch reasoning-token delta). **To toggle reasoning on a gateway-backed seat, set the chat-template kwarg, not a generic `thinking_enabled` flag.**
- `[2026-07-13]` **A same-image redeploy does NOT reload a bind-mounted config — the ModelRegistry boot-caches it at `__init__`.** After the config was synced on-disk (infra-ops validated) and `docker compose up -d` re-ran, the reasoning-off change STILL didn't take: an unchanged image makes `up -d` a no-op (no container recreate), so the process kept serving the pre-sync config. Fix = a surgical `docker restart <container>` (same image, no pull) → the process re-boot-reads the config. **When an on-disk config change doesn't take effect, suspect the process cached it at startup; force a container RESTART, not a redeploy** (a docs-only forcing-commit also won't rebuild if docs are paths-ignored in CI). This is the config-plane sibling of the `[2026-07-06]` stale-image foot-gun.
- `[2026-07-15]` **soong-lab bundle `ship.native.motivational.goals/fears` are bare STRINGS, but WT `agents.define` requires OBJECTS** `{id, type∈{maintenance,achievement,avoidance}, salience[0,1], description≥20ch}` (`ValidatedGoal`/`ValidatedFear`, worldtree `core/conversation_api/api.py:2116`, extra=forbid; ids unique across goals+fears). So `ship.native` is NOT directly define-valid on motivational (soong-lab's Frame Invariant 1 breaks there). A bundle→WT consumer MUST map string→object + synthesize id/type/salience. Informed soong-dev to fix the export. **Rule: PROBE a define payload under a throwaway agent_name BEFORE a destructive DELETE+redefine** — validating via `sindra-probe2`→201 caught the 422 without leaving the real Sindra deleted+undefined. (A failed probe still RESERVES the name → 409 on retry; use a fresh probe name.)
- `[2026-07-15]` **`re.sub`/`re.subn` INTERPRETS backslash-escapes in the REPLACEMENT string** — a `json.dumps`'d value (escaped `\n`) fed as the replacement leaked REAL newlines into a source file (broke `first_message.py` with an unterminated-string SyntaxError). Fix: use a FUNCTION replacement (`pat.subn(lambda m: new_block, src)`) or `str.replace` — the callable form bypasses escape processing. json.dumps itself escapes correctly; re.sub was the culprit.
- `[2026-07-13]` **Called Deckard "hung" off a short timeout — WRONG (operator correction).** A 30-45s no-terminal on the char-rp-reasoning seat looked like a hang; operator: "is it HUNG? deckard is EXTREMELY verbose, without enough context, you never see the non-reasoning tokens." It was verbose reasoning-CoT on a long extraction prompt, not a wedge. **Don't call a reasoning seat hung off a latency threshold — the CoT is invisible and slow; distinguish slow-verbose from actually-wedged before concluding.** (The genuine wedge is WT #355, a distinct mechanism — no-terminal even after the 300s watchdog, not merely slow.)
- `[2026-07-13]` **Resumed-session context-snapshot is IN-MEMORY → lost on a container recreate (agent_not_available on resume).** During the #355 re-drive, soong's fresh drive 409'd `agent_not_available`. Root cause (after ~4 refinements — agent-loss? zombie turn-lock? stale-sessions-hold-agent? → the actual mechanism): `get_agent_context_for_session` returns the agent snapshot recorded AT SESSION-CREATE, held in-memory; a pre-recreate session resumed on b60/b61 has no snapshot → None → 409. (Compounding: stale `'active'` sessions left un-terminated by the old no-terminal bug HOLD the agent, blocking new creates too.) Deploy-grounding was healthy the whole time (`registry.resolve("char-rp-reasoning")` OK) — the config/grant hypotheses were all red herrings. Fix = a FRESH session (a studio-service restart re-records the snapshot); pre-recreate sessions need retiring. Tracked **WT #356**. **For any run: create a fresh session, never resume a pre-recreate one; `agent_not_available` on a fresh create = this gap.** (Working-style note: I over-relayed the intermediate root-cause churn to the operator — for a peer-owned block being actively diagnosed, hold until it settles.)

_18 older entries (2026-05-* — the original debug-TUI/web build era) archived to archival-memory.md._