<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
# DGR-071: Establish upstream pin, patch, and certification maintenance

- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
- **Milestone:** `M5`
- **Dependencies:** `DGR-069`, `DGR-070`
- **Blocks (derived):** None
- **Labels:** `area:maintenance`, `area:upstream`, `area:certification`, `type:operations`, `priority:p2`, `ready-for-agent`
- **Evidence class:** `release`
- **Hardware:** `optional`
- **Model:** `deepseek-v4-flash`
- **Upstream:** `yes`

## Objective / description

Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/071-establish-upstream-pin-patch-and-certification-maintenance.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-069, DGR-070) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Keep beta reproducible and detect upstream/model/hardware drift before it reaches routable nodes.

## Acceptance criteria

- [ ] Add a documented update procedure for llama.cpp pin, numbered patches, protocol/engine versions, V4 target revision, and certification records.
- [ ] A candidate pin update must apply/build/test in isolation and cannot replace the production pin automatically.
- [ ] Any changed graph, tensor inventory, boundary, cache/state layout, backend behavior, or performance invalidates affected certification.
- [ ] Add scheduled model-free checks plus opt-in real-hardware recertification instructions and rollback procedure.
- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.

## Shared quality gates

- Targeted deterministic tests pass; Python changes also pass `python -m compileall packages tests`.
- `git diff --check` passes.
- Default tests are model-download-free, API-credit-free, and GPU-free.
- Evidence README records exact changed files, commands/results, limitations, and dependency handoff; no fabricated evidence or inherited completion credit.
- Native changes pass focused out-of-tree CMake build and CTest; patch changes verify clean apply/check/reverse against the exact llama.cpp pin.
- Runs are opt-in and record exact artifact/split hashes, runtime/upstream pin, backend/driver, hardware, network, commands, and raw metrics. Model artifacts use configured mounted-drive storage and never `/home`.
- Preserve existing Transformers behavior and backend-agnostic Tracker routing/load balancing/billing/relay semantics unless an explicit versioned contract says otherwise. One scoped story commit is expected during execution, but this specification-materialization change is not committed.

## Evidence handoff

Write and verify `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/evidence/DGR-071/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.
