<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
# DGR-029: Create the native CMake skeleton and deterministic CPU lane

- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
- **Milestone:** `M1`
- **Dependencies:** `DGR-027`, `DGR-028`
- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-030`, `DGR-034`
- **Labels:** `area:build`, `type:toolchain`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
- **Evidence class:** `model-free`
- **Hardware:** `none`
- **Model:** `generic`
- **Upstream:** `yes`

## Objective / description

Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/029-create-the-native-cmake-skeleton-and-deterministic-cpu-lane.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-027, DGR-028) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Establish an out-of-tree standalone native build with a deterministic CPU lane before accelerator matrix work.

## Acceptance criteria

- [ ] Create the standalone native CMake target/skeleton and isolated out-of-tree configure/build preset for CPU.
- [ ] Build and run a deterministic model-free CPU smoke/CTest lane from a clean checkout with actionable toolchain failures.
- [ ] Keep fetched upstream sources, generated bindings, and all build outputs ignored and out of tree.
- [ ] Ensure build success alone does not advertise any backend/model/recipe capability.
- [ ] 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-029/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.
