feat: sync Ralph stories with Gitea issues

Give Nodes & coverage full width on overview with inference prices and live speed, and expose model pricing on /v1/models.

Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>

.agents/skills/ask-matt/SKILL.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 name: ask-matt
-description: Ask which skill or flow fits your situation. A router over the user-invoked skills in this repo.
+description: Ask which skill or flow fits your situation. A router over the skills in this repo.
 disable-model-invocation: true
 ---
 
@@ -8,26 +8,28 @@ disable-model-invocation: true
 
 You don't remember every skill, so ask.
 
-A **flow** is a path through the skills. Most paths run along one **main flow**, and two **on-ramps** merge onto it. Everything else is standalone.
+A **flow** is a path through the skills. Most paths run along one **main flow**, and two **on-ramps** merge onto it. Everything else is standalone, or a vocabulary layer that runs underneath.
 
 ## The main flow: idea → ship
 
 The route most work travels. You have an idea and want it built.
 
-1. **`/grill-with-docs`** — sharpen the idea by interview. Start here when you **have a codebase**: it's stateful, retaining what it learns in `CONTEXT.md` and ADRs. (No codebase? Use `/grill-me` — see Standalone.)
+1. **`/grill-with-docs`** — sharpen the idea by interview. Start here when you **have a codebase**: it's stateful, retaining what it learns in `CONTEXT.md` and ADRs. (No codebase? Use `/grill-me` — see Standalone. Both run the same `/grilling` primitive; `grill-with-docs` is the one that leaves a paper trail.)
 2. **Branch — can you settle every question in conversation?** If a question needs a runnable answer (state, business logic, a UI you have to see), detour through a prototype, bridged by **`/handoff`** in both directions (see Crossing sessions):
    - **`/handoff`** out, then open a fresh session against that file,
    - **`/prototype`** to answer the question with throwaway code,
    - **`/handoff`** back what you learned, and reference it from the original idea thread.
 3. **Branch — is this a multi-session build?**
-   - **Yes** → **`/to-prd`** (turn the thread into a PRD) → **`/to-issues`** (split the PRD into independently-grabbable issues). Because the issues are independent, **clear context between each one**: start a fresh session per issue and kick off **`/implement`** by passing it the PRD and the single issue to work on.
+   - **Yes** → **`/to-spec`** (turn the thread into a spec), then **`/to-tickets`** to split it into tracer-bullet tickets, each declaring its **blocking edges**. On a local tracker that's one file per ticket under `.scratch/<feature>/issues/`, worked blockers-first by hand; on a real tracker the edges become native blocking links, so any ticket whose blockers are done can be grabbed — kick off **`/implement`** per ticket, **clearing context between each one**.
    - **No** → **`/implement`** right here, in the same context window.
 
+   Either way, **`/implement`** builds each issue by driving **`/tdd`** internally — one red-green slice at a time — then closes out by running **`/code-review`**, a two-axis review (Standards + Spec) of the diff, before committing. Reach for **`/tdd`** on its own when you just want to build a concrete behaviour test-first without a full spec, and **`/code-review`** on its own whenever you want to review a branch or PR against a fixed point.
+
 ### Context hygiene
 
-Keep steps 1–3 in **one unbroken context window** — don't compact or clear until after `/to-issues` — so the grilling, PRD, and issues all build on the same thinking. Each `/implement` then starts fresh, working from the issue.
+Keep steps 1–3 in **one unbroken context window** — don't compact or clear until after `/to-tickets` — so the grilling, spec, and tickets all build on the same thinking. Each `/implement` then starts fresh, working from the ticket.
 
-The limit on this is the **[smart zone](https://www.aihero.dev/ai-coding-dictionary/smart-zone)**: the window (~120k tokens on state-of-the-art models) within which the model still reasons sharply. If a session approaches it before `/to-issues`, don't push on degraded — `/handoff` and continue in a fresh thread.
+The limit on this is the **[smart zone](https://www.aihero.dev/ai-coding-dictionary/smart-zone)**: the window (~120k tokens on state-of-the-art models) within which the model still reasons sharply. If a session approaches it before `/to-tickets`, don't push on degraded — `/handoff` and continue in a fresh thread.
 
 ## On-ramps
 
@@ -35,13 +37,26 @@ A starting situation that generates work, then merges onto the main flow.
 
 - **Bugs and requests piling up** → **`/triage`**. It moves issues through triage roles and produces agent-ready issues, which **`/implement`** later picks up.
 
-  Triage is only for issues **you didn't create** — bug reports, incoming feature requests, anything that arrives raw. Issues that `/to-issues` produced are already agent-ready, so **don't triage them**.
+  Triage is only for issues **you didn't create** — bug reports, incoming feature requests, anything that arrives raw. Tickets that `/to-tickets` produced are already agent-ready, so **don't triage them**.
+
+- **Something's broken** → **`/diagnosing-bugs`**. For the hard ones: the bug that resists a first glance, the intermittent flake, the regression that crept in between two known-good states. It refuses to theorise until it has a **tight feedback loop** — one command that already goes red on *this* bug — then fixes with a regression test. Its post-mortem hands off to **`/improve-codebase-architecture`** when the real finding is that there's no good seam to lock the bug down.
+
+- **A huge, foggy effort — a greenfield project or a huge feature build, too big for one session** → **`/wayfinder`**, the most cognitively demanding flow here. When the way from here to the destination isn't visible yet, it charts a **shared map** of **decision tickets** on the issue tracker and resolves them one at a time — producing **decisions, not deliverables** — until the fog is pushed back and the way is clear. Where **`/grill-with-docs`** sharpens an idea you can hold in one session, wayfinder is for the idea you can't — and it's slower and denser, so save it for exactly that, never a well-scoped feature.
+
+  When the map clears, **it hands off, it doesn't build**: merge onto the main flow at **`/to-spec`**, which collapses the map's linked decisions into a buildable plan, then `/to-tickets` and `/implement` as usual. Looping the map straight into `/implement` skips that collapse and throws the linked detail away — go straight to `/implement` only when the effort turned out genuinely small.
 
 ## Codebase health
 
 Not feature work — upkeep.
 
-- **`/improve-codebase-architecture`** — run whenever you have a spare moment to keep the codebase good for agents to operate in. It surfaces deepening opportunities; picking one _generates an idea_ you can take into the main flow at `/grill-with-docs`.
+- **`/improve-codebase-architecture`** — run whenever you have a spare moment to keep the codebase good for agents to operate in. It surfaces **deepening opportunities**; picking one _generates an idea_ you can take into the main flow at `/grill-with-docs`. It's the survey that finds the candidates; **`/codebase-design`** (below) is the bench you design the chosen one on.
+
+## Vocabulary underneath
+
+Two model-invoked references that run *beneath* the other skills — each the single source of truth for its vocabulary. Reach for them directly when the **words**, not the process, are the problem; or let the skills above pull them in.
+
+- **`/domain-modeling`** — sharpen the project's *domain* language: challenge a fuzzy term, resolve an overloaded word ("account" doing three jobs), record a hard-to-reverse decision as an ADR. It's the active discipline `/grill-with-docs` drives to keep `CONTEXT.md` a clean glossary.
+- **`/codebase-design`** — the deep-module vocabulary (module, interface, depth, seam, adapter, leverage, locality) for designing a module's *shape*: a lot of behaviour behind a small interface at a clean seam. `/tdd` and `/improve-codebase-architecture` both speak it.
 
 ## Crossing sessions
 
@@ -53,6 +68,8 @@ Not feature work — upkeep.
 Off the main flow entirely.
 
 - **`/grill-me`** — the same relentless interview as `/grill-with-docs`, but for when you have **no codebase**. Stateless: it saves nothing locally, builds no `CONTEXT.md`. Reach for it to sharpen any plan or design that doesn't live in a repo.
+- **`/prototype`** — a small, throwaway program that answers one design question: does this state model feel right, or what should this UI look like. Throwaway from day one — keep the answer, delete the code. It's the detour in step 2 of the main flow, but reach for it any time a design question is hard to settle on paper.
+- **`/research`** — delegate reading legwork to a **background agent**: it investigates a question against **primary sources**, then leaves a cited Markdown file in the repo. Keep working while it reads. The file it produces is something to take *into* the main flow at `/grill-with-docs` — research feeds the thinking, it doesn't replace it.
 - **`/teach`** — learn a concept over multiple sessions, using the current directory as a stateful workspace.
 - **`/writing-great-skills`** — reference for writing and editing skills well.
 

.agents/skills/ask-matt/agents/openai.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+interface:
+  display_name: "Ask Matt"
+  short_description: "Find the right skill or workflow"
+policy:
+  allow_implicit_invocation: false

.agents/skills/grilling/SKILL.md

@@ -1,10 +1,12 @@
 ---
 name: grilling
-description: Interview the user relentlessly about a plan or design. Use when the user wants to stress-test a plan before building, or uses any 'grill' trigger phrases.
+description: Grill the user relentlessly about a plan, decision, or idea. Use when the user wants to stress-test their thinking, or uses any 'grill' trigger phrases.
 ---
 
-Interview me relentlessly about every aspect of this plan until we reach a shared understanding. Walk down each branch of the design tree, resolving dependencies between decisions one-by-one. For each question, provide your recommended answer.
+Interview me relentlessly about every aspect of this until we reach a shared understanding. Walk down each branch of the decision tree, resolving dependencies between decisions one-by-one. For each question, provide your recommended answer.
 
 Ask the questions one at a time, waiting for feedback on each question before continuing. Asking multiple questions at once is bewildering.
 
-If a question can be answered by exploring the codebase, explore the codebase instead.
+If a *fact* can be found by exploring the environment (filesystem, tools, etc.), look it up rather than asking me. The *decisions*, though, are mine — put each one to me and wait for my answer.
+
+Do not act on it until I confirm we have reached a shared understanding.

.agents/skills/grilling/agents/openai.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+interface:
+  display_name: "Grilling"
+  short_description: "Stress-test thinking one question at a time"

.agents/skills/handoff/SKILL.md

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ Write a handoff document summarising the current conversation so a fresh agent c
 
 Include a "suggested skills" section in the document, which suggests skills that the agent should invoke.
 
-Do not duplicate content already captured in other artifacts (PRDs, plans, ADRs, issues, commits, diffs). Reference them by path or URL instead.
+Do not duplicate content already captured in other artifacts (specs, plans, ADRs, issues, commits, diffs). Reference them by path or URL instead.
 
 Redact any sensitive information, such as API keys, passwords, or personally identifiable information.
 

.agents/skills/handoff/agents/openai.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+interface:
+  display_name: "Handoff"
+  short_description: "Compact a conversation into a handoff"
+policy:
+  allow_implicit_invocation: false

.agents/skills/implement/SKILL.md

@@ -1,15 +1,15 @@
 ---
 name: implement
-description: "Implement a piece of work based on a PRD or set of issues."
+description: "Implement a piece of work based on a spec or set of tickets."
 disable-model-invocation: true
 ---
 
-Implement the work described by the user in the PRD or issues.
+Implement the work described by the user in the spec or tickets.
 
 Use /tdd where possible, at pre-agreed seams.
 
 Run typechecking regularly, single test files regularly, and the full test suite once at the end.
 
-Once done, use /review to review the work.
+Once done, use /code-review to review the work.
 
 Commit your work to the current branch.

.agents/skills/implement/agents/openai.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+interface:
+  display_name: "Implement"
+  short_description: "Build work from a spec or tickets"
+policy:
+  allow_implicit_invocation: false

.agents/skills/improve-codebase-architecture/SKILL.md

@@ -17,6 +17,11 @@ This command is _informed_ by the project's domain model and built on a shared d
 
 ### 1. Explore
 
+**Scope before you scan — YAGNI.** Deepening a module pays off by making future changes to it easier, so put extra weight on the parts of the codebase that have recently changed. Decide *where* to look before you look:
+
+- If the user named a direction — a module, a subsystem, a pain point — take it, and skip the inference below.
+- Otherwise, walk back a good stretch of the commit history (`git log --oneline`) to find the codebase's hot spots — the files and areas that keep coming up — and let those paths pull your attention first. If the changes are scattered with no clear hot spot, widen the net.
+
 Read the project's domain glossary (`CONTEXT.md`) and any ADRs in the area you're touching first.
 
 Then use the Agent tool with `subagent_type=Explore` to walk the codebase. Don't follow rigid heuristics — explore organically and note where you experience friction:
@@ -56,7 +61,7 @@ Do NOT propose interfaces yet. After the file is written, ask the user: "Which o
 
 ### 3. Grilling loop
 
-Once the user picks a candidate, run the `/grilling` skill to walk the design tree with them — constraints, dependencies, the shape of the deepened module, what sits behind the seam, what tests survive.
+Once the user picks a candidate, run the `/grilling` skill to walk the decision tree with them — constraints, dependencies, the shape of the deepened module, what sits behind the seam, what tests survive.
 
 Side effects happen inline as decisions crystallize — run the `/domain-modeling` skill to keep the domain model current as you go:
 

.agents/skills/improve-codebase-architecture/agents/openai.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+interface:
+  display_name: "Improve Codebase Architecture"
+  short_description: "Find and grill architecture improvements"
+policy:
+  allow_implicit_invocation: false

.agents/skills/prototype/LOGIC.md

@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ The right shape depends on the question:
 
 Pick whichever shape best fits the question being asked, *not* whichever is easiest to wire to a TUI. Keep it pure: no I/O, no terminal code, no `console.log` for control flow. The TUI imports it and calls into it; nothing flows the other direction.
 
-This is what makes the prototype useful past its own lifetime. When the question's been answered, the validated reducer / machine / function set can be lifted into the real module — the TUI shell gets deleted.
+This is what makes the prototype useful past its own lifetime: when the question's been answered, the validated reducer / machine / function set can be lifted into the real module on its own.
 
 ### 4. Build the smallest TUI that exposes the state
 
@@ -66,9 +66,9 @@ If the host project has no task runner, just put the command at the top of the p
 
 Give the user the run command. They'll drive it themselves; the interesting moments are when they say "wait, that shouldn't be possible" or "huh, I assumed X would be different" — those are the bugs in the _idea_, which is the whole point. If they want new actions added, add them. Prototypes evolve.
 
-### 7. Capture the answer
+### 7. Capture the answer and the prototype
 
-When the prototype has done its job, the answer to the question is the only thing worth keeping. If the user is around, ask what it taught them. If not, leave a `NOTES.md` next to the prototype so the answer can be filled in (or filled in by you, if you've watched the session) before the prototype gets deleted.
+Once the prototype has answered its question, capture the answer, then capture the prototype the way the [SKILL](SKILL.md) describes. The logic-specific mapping: the validated reducer / machine / function set lifts into the real module (the decision, absorbed); the TUI shell rides along to the throwaway branch that keeps the prototype as a primary source.
 
 ## Anti-patterns
 

.agents/skills/prototype/SKILL.md

@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 ---
 name: prototype
-description: Build a throwaway prototype to flesh out a design — a runnable terminal app for state/business-logic questions, or several radically different UI variations toggleable from one route.
+description: Build a throwaway prototype to answer a design question. Use when the user wants to sanity-check whether a state model or logic feels right, or explore what a UI should look like.
-disable-model-invocation: true
 ---
 
 # Prototype
@@ -22,10 +21,6 @@ The two branches produce very different artifacts — getting this wrong wastes
 1. **Throwaway from day one, and clearly marked as such.** Locate the prototype code close to where it will actually be used (next to the module or page it's prototyping for) so context is obvious — but name it so a casual reader can see it's a prototype, not production. For throwaway UI routes, obey whatever routing convention the project already uses; don't invent a new top-level structure.
 2. **One command to run.** Whatever the project's existing task runner supports — `pnpm <name>`, `python <path>`, `bun <path>`, etc. The user must be able to start it without thinking.
 3. **No persistence by default.** State lives in memory. Persistence is the thing the prototype is _checking_, not something it should depend on. If the question explicitly involves a database, hit a scratch DB or a local file with a clear "PROTOTYPE — wipe me" name.
-4. **Skip the polish.** No tests, no error handling beyond what makes the prototype _runnable_, no abstractions. The point is to learn something fast and then delete it.
+4. **Skip the polish.** No tests, no error handling beyond what makes the prototype _runnable_, no abstractions. The point is to learn something fast.
 5. **Surface the state.** After every action (logic) or on every variant switch (UI), print or render the full relevant state so the user can see what changed.
-6. **Delete or absorb when done.** When the prototype has answered its question, either delete it or fold the validated decision into the real code — don't leave it rotting in the repo.
+6. **Capture it when done.** Fold any validated decision into the real code, then capture the prototype itself as a **primary source**: commit it to a throwaway branch, out of main, and leave a context pointer to that branch on the implementation issue. Capture the answer too — the verdict and the question it settled — in the issue or a commit. The main branch keeps only the validated decision.
-
-## When done
-
-The _answer_ is the only thing worth keeping from a prototype. Capture it somewhere durable (commit message, ADR, issue, or a `NOTES.md` next to the prototype) along with the question it was answering. If the user is around, that capture is a quick conversation; if not, leave the placeholder so they (or you, on the next pass) can fill in the verdict before deleting the prototype.

.agents/skills/prototype/UI.md

@@ -97,12 +97,12 @@ Surface the URL (and the `?variant=` keys). The user will flip through whenever
 
 ### 6. Capture the answer and clean up
 
-Once a variant has won, write down which one and why (commit message, ADR, issue, or a `NOTES.md` next to the prototype if running AFK and the user hasn't responded yet). Then:
+Once a variant has won, capture the answer — which variant and why — then capture the prototype the way the [SKILL](SKILL.md) describes. Fold the winner into the real code and move the rest onto the throwaway branch, not into main:
 
-- **Sub-shape A** — delete the losing variants and the switcher; fold the winner into the existing page.
+- **Sub-shape A** — fold the winner into the existing page; drop the losing variants and the switcher from main.
-- **Sub-shape B** — promote the winning variant to a real route, delete the throwaway route and the switcher.
+- **Sub-shape B** — promote the winning variant to a real route; drop the throwaway route and the switcher from main.
 
-Don't leave variant components or the switcher lying around. They rot fast and confuse the next reader.
+The full set of variants is the primary source, so it lands on the throwaway branch, not the bin — variant components and the switcher left in the main branch rot fast and confuse the next reader.
 
 ## Anti-patterns
 

.agents/skills/prototype/agents/openai.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+interface:
+  display_name: "Prototype"
+  short_description: "Prototype to answer a design question"

.agents/skills/setup-matt-pocock-skills/SKILL.md

@@ -26,16 +26,18 @@ Look at the current repo to understand its starting state. Read whatever exists;
 - `docs/adr/` and any `src/*/docs/adr/` directories
 - `docs/agents/` — does this skill's prior output already exist?
 - `.scratch/` — sign that a local-markdown issue tracker convention is already in use
+- Is the `triage` skill installed? (a `triage` skill folder alongside this one, or `triage` in your available skills.) This decides whether Section B runs at all.
+- Monorepo signals — a `pnpm-workspace.yaml`, a `workspaces` field in `package.json`, or a populated `packages/*` with its own `src/`. Present only in a genuinely large multi-package repo; their absence means single-context, which is almost every repo.
 
 ### 2. Present findings and ask
 
-Summarise what's present and what's missing. Then walk the user through the three decisions **one at a time** — present a section, get the user's answer, then move to the next. Don't dump all three at once.
+Summarise what's present and what's missing. Then take the sections in order — one section, one answer, then the next.
 
-Assume the user does not know what these terms mean. Each section starts with a short explainer (what it is, why these skills need it, what changes if they pick differently). Then show the choices and the default.
+Lead each section with the recommended answer so the user can accept it in a word. Give a one-line explainer only when the choice genuinely branches; skip the section entirely when exploration already settled it (Section B when `triage` isn't installed, Section C when there's no monorepo).
 
 **Section A — Issue tracker.**
 
-> Explainer: The "issue tracker" is where issues live for this repo. Skills like `to-issues`, `triage`, `to-prd`, and `qa` read from and write to it — they need to know whether to call `gh issue create`, write a markdown file under `.scratch/`, or follow some other workflow you describe. Pick the place you actually track work for this repo.
+> Explainer: The "issue tracker" is where issues live for this repo. Skills like `to-tickets`, `triage`, `to-spec`, and `qa` read from and write to it — they need to know whether to call `gh issue create`, write a markdown file under `.scratch/`, or follow some other workflow you describe. Pick the place you actually track work for this repo.
 
 Default posture: these skills were designed for GitHub. If a `git remote` points at GitHub, propose that. If a `git remote` points at GitLab (`gitlab.com` or a self-hosted host), propose GitLab. Otherwise (or if the user prefers), offer:
 
@@ -44,41 +46,26 @@ Default posture: these skills were designed for GitHub. If a `git remote` points
 - **Local markdown** — issues live as files under `.scratch/<feature>/` in this repo (good for solo projects or repos without a remote)
 - **Other** (Jira, Linear, etc.) — ask the user to describe the workflow in one paragraph; the skill will record it as freeform prose
 
-If — and only if — the user picked **GitHub** or **GitLab**, ask one follow-up:
+Record the choice in `docs/agents/issue-tracker.md`. The GitHub and GitLab templates carry a "PRs as a request surface" flag, defaulted **off** — leave it off and don't raise it; a user who wants external PRs in the triage queue can flip the flag in the file later.
 
-> Explainer: Open-source repos often receive feature requests as pull requests, not just issues — a PR is an issue with attached code. If you turn this on, `/triage` pulls *external* PRs into the same queue and runs them through the same labels and states as issues (collaborators' in-flight PRs are left alone). Leave it off if PRs aren't a request surface for you.
+**Section B — Triage label vocabulary.** Skip this section entirely if the `triage` skill isn't installed (exploration told you) — an uninstalled skill needs no labels.
 
-- **PRs as a request surface** — yes / no (default: no). Record the answer in `docs/agents/issue-tracker.md`. For local-markdown and other trackers, skip this question — there are no PRs.
+If it is installed, ask exactly one question:
 
-**Section B — Triage label vocabulary.**
+> Do you want to keep the default triage labels? (recommended: **yes**)
 
-> Explainer: When the `triage` skill processes an incoming issue, it moves it through a state machine — needs evaluation, waiting on reporter, ready for an AFK agent to pick up, ready for a human, or won't fix. To do that, it needs to apply labels (or the equivalent in your issue tracker) that match strings *you've actually configured*. If your repo already uses different label names (e.g. `bug:triage` instead of `needs-triage`), map them here so the skill applies the right ones instead of creating duplicates.
+The defaults are the five canonical roles, each label string equal to its name: `needs-triage`, `needs-info`, `ready-for-agent`, `ready-for-human`, `wontfix`. On **yes**, write them as-is. Only if the user says no — usually because their tracker already uses other names (e.g. `bug:triage` for `needs-triage`) — collect the overrides so `triage` applies existing labels instead of creating duplicates.
 
-The five canonical roles:
+**Section C — Domain docs.** Default to **single-context** — one `CONTEXT.md` + `docs/adr/` at the repo root. This fits almost every repo; write it without asking.
 
-- `needs-triage` — maintainer needs to evaluate
+Offer **multi-context** — a root `CONTEXT-MAP.md` pointing to per-context `CONTEXT.md` files — only when exploration found monorepo signals. Then confirm which layout they want.
-- `needs-info` — waiting on reporter
-- `ready-for-agent` — fully specified, AFK-ready (an agent can pick it up with no human context)
-- `ready-for-human` — needs human implementation
-- `wontfix` — will not be actioned
-
-Default: each role's string equals its name. Ask the user if they want to override any. If their issue tracker has no existing labels, the defaults are fine.
-
-**Section C — Domain docs.**
-
-> Explainer: Some skills (`improve-codebase-architecture`, `diagnosing-bugs`, `tdd`) read a `CONTEXT.md` file to learn the project's domain language, and `docs/adr/` for past architectural decisions. They need to know whether the repo has one global context or multiple (e.g. a monorepo with separate frontend/backend contexts) so they look in the right place.
-
-Confirm the layout:
-
-- **Single-context** — one `CONTEXT.md` + `docs/adr/` at the repo root. Most repos are this.
-- **Multi-context** — `CONTEXT-MAP.md` at the root pointing to per-context `CONTEXT.md` files (typically a monorepo).
 
 ### 3. Confirm and edit
 
 Show the user a draft of:
 
 - The `## Agent skills` block to add to whichever of `CLAUDE.md` / `AGENTS.md` is being edited (see step 4 for selection rules)
-- The contents of `docs/agents/issue-tracker.md`, `docs/agents/triage-labels.md`, `docs/agents/domain.md`
+- The contents of `docs/agents/issue-tracker.md`, `docs/agents/domain.md`, and `docs/agents/triage-labels.md` (the last only when `triage` is installed)
 
 Let them edit before writing.
 
@@ -101,7 +88,7 @@ The block:
 
 ### Issue tracker
 
-[one-line summary of where issues are tracked, plus whether external PRs are a triage surface]. See `docs/agents/issue-tracker.md`.
+[one-line summary of where issues are tracked]. See `docs/agents/issue-tracker.md`.
 
 ### Triage labels
 
@@ -112,12 +99,14 @@ The block:
 [one-line summary of layout — "single-context" or "multi-context"]. See `docs/agents/domain.md`.
 ```
 
-Then write the three docs files using the seed templates in this skill folder as a starting point:
+Include the `### Triage labels` sub-block, and write `docs/agents/triage-labels.md`, only when `triage` is installed and Section B ran. When it isn't, both are omitted.
+
+Then write the docs files using the seed templates in this skill folder as a starting point:
 
 - [issue-tracker-github.md](./issue-tracker-github.md) — GitHub issue tracker
 - [issue-tracker-gitlab.md](./issue-tracker-gitlab.md) — GitLab issue tracker
 - [issue-tracker-local.md](./issue-tracker-local.md) — local-markdown issue tracker
-- [triage-labels.md](./triage-labels.md) — label mapping
+- [triage-labels.md](./triage-labels.md) — label mapping (only if `triage` is installed)
 - [domain.md](./domain.md) — domain doc consumer rules + layout
 
 For "other" issue trackers, write `docs/agents/issue-tracker.md` from scratch using the user's description.

.agents/skills/setup-matt-pocock-skills/agents/openai.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+interface:
+  display_name: "Setup Matt Pocock Skills"
+  short_description: "Configure a repo for the skills"
+policy:
+  allow_implicit_invocation: false

.agents/skills/setup-matt-pocock-skills/issue-tracker-github.md

@@ -32,3 +32,14 @@ Create a GitHub issue.
 ## When a skill says "fetch the relevant ticket"
 
 Run `gh issue view <number> --comments`.
+
+## Wayfinding operations
+
+Used by `/wayfinder`. The **map** is a single issue with **child** issues as tickets.
+
+- **Map**: a single issue labelled `wayfinder:map`, holding the Notes / Decisions-so-far / Fog body. `gh issue create --label wayfinder:map`.
+- **Child ticket**: an issue linked to the map as a GitHub sub-issue (`gh api` on the sub-issues endpoint). Where sub-issues aren't enabled, add the child to a task list in the map body and put `Part of #<map>` at the top of the child body. Labels: `wayfinder:<type>` (`research`/`prototype`/`grilling`/`task`). Once claimed, the ticket is assigned to the driving dev.
+- **Blocking**: GitHub's **native issue dependencies** — the canonical, UI-visible representation. Add an edge with `gh api --method POST repos/<owner>/<repo>/issues/<child>/dependencies/blocked_by -F issue_id=<blocker-db-id>`, where `<blocker-db-id>` is the blocker's numeric **database id** (`gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>/issues/<n> --jq .id`, _not_ the `#number` or `node_id`). GitHub reports `issue_dependencies_summary.blocked_by` (open blockers only — the live gate). Where dependencies aren't available, fall back to a `Blocked by: #<n>, #<n>` line at the top of the child body. A ticket is unblocked when every blocker is closed.
+- **Frontier query**: list the map's open children (`gh issue list --state open`, scoped to the map's sub-issues / task list), drop any with an open blocker (`issue_dependencies_summary.blocked_by > 0`, or an open issue in the `Blocked by` line) or an assignee; first in map order wins.
+- **Claim**: `gh issue edit <n> --add-assignee @me` — the session's first write.
+- **Resolve**: `gh issue comment <n> --body "<answer>"`, then `gh issue close <n>`, then append a context pointer (gist + link) to the map's Decisions-so-far.

.agents/skills/setup-matt-pocock-skills/issue-tracker-gitlab.md

@@ -33,3 +33,14 @@ Create a GitLab issue.
 ## When a skill says "fetch the relevant ticket"
 
 Run `glab issue view <number> --comments`.
+
+## Wayfinding operations
+
+Used by `/wayfinder`. The **map** is a single issue with **child** issues as tickets.
+
+- **Map**: a single issue labelled `wayfinder:map`, holding the Notes / Decisions-so-far / Fog body. `glab issue create --label wayfinder:map`. (On GitLab tiers with native epics, an epic may hold the map instead; a labelled issue works everywhere.)
+- **Child ticket**: an issue carrying `Part of #<map>` at the top of its description and labels `wayfinder:<type>` (`research`/`prototype`/`grilling`/`task`). Once claimed, the ticket is assigned to the driving dev.
+- **Blocking**: GitLab's **native blocking link** — the canonical, UI-visible representation. Add it with the `/blocked_by #<n>` quick action, posted as a note (`glab issue note <child> --message "/blocked_by #<blocker>"`). Native blocking links are a Premium/Ultimate feature; on the free tier (or where unavailable) fall back to a `Blocked by: #<n>, #<n>` line at the top of the description. A ticket is unblocked when every blocker is closed.
+- **Frontier query**: `glab issue list -F json` scoped to the map's children, drop any with an open blocker — a native `blocked_by` link to an open issue (`glab api projects/:id/issues/:iid/links`), or an open issue in the `Blocked by` line — or an assignee; first in map order wins.
+- **Claim**: `glab issue update <n> --assignee @me` — the session's first write.
+- **Resolve**: `glab issue note <n> --message "<answer>"`, then `glab issue close <n>`, then append a context pointer (gist + link) to the map's Decisions-so-far.

.agents/skills/setup-matt-pocock-skills/issue-tracker-local.md

@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 # Issue tracker: Local Markdown
 
-Issues and PRDs for this repo live as markdown files in `.scratch/`.
+Issues and specs (you may know a spec as a PRD) for this repo live as markdown files in `.scratch/`.
 
 ## Conventions
 
 - One feature per directory: `.scratch/<feature-slug>/`
-- The PRD is `.scratch/<feature-slug>/PRD.md`
+- The spec is `.scratch/<feature-slug>/spec.md`
-- Implementation issues are `.scratch/<feature-slug>/issues/<NN>-<slug>.md`, numbered from `01`
+- Implementation issues are one file per ticket at `.scratch/<feature-slug>/issues/<NN>-<slug>.md`, numbered from `01` — never a single combined tickets file
 - Triage state is recorded as a `Status:` line near the top of each issue file (see `triage-labels.md` for the role strings)
 - Comments and conversation history append to the bottom of the file under a `## Comments` heading
 
@@ -17,3 +17,14 @@ Create a new file under `.scratch/<feature-slug>/` (creating the directory if ne
 ## When a skill says "fetch the relevant ticket"
 
 Read the file at the referenced path. The user will normally pass the path or the issue number directly.
+
+## Wayfinding operations
+
+Used by `/wayfinder`. The **map** is a file with one **child** file per ticket.
+
+- **Map**: `.scratch/<effort>/map.md` — the Notes / Decisions-so-far / Fog body.
+- **Child ticket**: `.scratch/<effort>/issues/NN-<slug>.md`, numbered from `01`, with the question in the body. A `Type:` line records the ticket type (`research`/`prototype`/`grilling`/`task`); a `Status:` line records `claimed`/`resolved`.
+- **Blocking**: a `Blocked by: NN, NN` line near the top. A ticket is unblocked when every file it lists is `resolved`.
+- **Frontier**: scan `.scratch/<effort>/issues/` for files that are open, unblocked, and unclaimed; first by number wins.
+- **Claim**: set `Status: claimed` and save before any work.
+- **Resolve**: append the answer under an `## Answer` heading, set `Status: resolved`, then append a context pointer (gist + link) to the map's Decisions-so-far in `map.md`.

.agents/skills/setup-ts-deep-modules/SKILL.md

@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+---
+name: setup-ts-deep-modules
+description: Wire dependency-cruiser into a TypeScript repo so each package is a deep module — implementation hidden in subfolders, reachable only through its entry-point files. User-invoked.
+disable-model-invocation: true
+---
+
+# Setup TS Deep Modules
+
+Make every package in this repo a **deep module**: a lot of behaviour behind a small interface. A package's public surface is its **entry points** — the files at the package root — and everything in its subfolders is hidden. This skill installs [dependency-cruiser](https://github.com/sverweij/dependency-cruiser) and the rules that make the entry points the only way in, then proves the rules bite.
+
+For the vocabulary (deep module, interface, seam, depth), run the `/codebase-design` skill — use its language throughout.
+
+## The shape this enforces
+
+```
+src/packages/
+  <name>/
+    index.ts        ← an entry point (public). Import this from outside.
+    client.ts       ← another entry point. Packages may expose SEVERAL.
+    lib/            ← implementation: hidden from outside, free to import each other.
+    tests/          ← co-located tests + fixtures (a subfolder, so private).
+```
+
+The public surface is the package's **root files** — not one designated `index.ts`. By convention implementation lives in `lib/` and tests in `tests/`, giving every package the same two-folder shape. The rule itself is general, though: *anything* in *any* subfolder is private, so you never extend the config to add a folder.
+
+Four rules, all `error`:
+
+1. **Entry-point boundary** — code outside a package (app code or another package) may import only that package's entry points (its root files), never anything in its subfolders.
+2. **Intra-package freedom** — a package's own files import each other freely.
+3. **Tests through the entry points** — files under `<pkg>/tests/` may import any package's entry points and their own `tests/` fixtures, but never any package's subfolder internals (not even their own). Integration tests across packages are fine; deep imports are not.
+4. **No cycles** — no dependency cycles.
+
+**Entry points, not a barrel.** Because the public surface is *every* root file, a package can expose several small entry points (`index.ts`, `client.ts`, `server.ts`) instead of funnelling everything through one giant `index.ts`. Barrel files that re-export a whole subtree are discouraged — keep entry points small and hide implementation in subfolders.
+
+Layering (which packages may depend on which) is a *different* concern and is left as a commented stub in the config for this repo to fill in.
+
+## Steps
+
+### 1. Detect the environment
+
+- **Package manager** — `pnpm-lock.yaml` → pnpm, `yarn.lock` → yarn, `bun.lockb` → bun, else npm. Use it for every command below (`pnpm`/`yarn`/`npm run`/`bunx`).
+- **Packages root** — if `src/` exists use `src/packages`, else `packages`. Confirm the choice with the user if the repo already has a different obvious convention.
+- **Existing config** — check for a `.dependency-cruiser.*` file. If one exists, do **not** overwrite it: merge the four rules and the options in, and tell the user what you added.
+
+**Done when:** package manager, packages root, and existing-config status are all known.
+
+### 2. Install dependency-cruiser
+
+Install `dependency-cruiser` as a devDependency with the detected package manager.
+
+**Done when:** `dependency-cruiser` is in `devDependencies`.
+
+### 3. Write the config
+
+Copy [`dependency-cruiser.config.cjs`](./dependency-cruiser.config.cjs) to the repo root as `.dependency-cruiser.cjs`. Set `PACKAGES_ROOT` to the root detected in step 1. The rules are path-depth based and extension-agnostic, so nothing else needs adapting.
+
+**Done when:** `.dependency-cruiser.cjs` exists with the correct `PACKAGES_ROOT`, and the four forbidden rules are present.
+
+### 4. Wire it into the checks
+
+- Add a `lint:boundaries` script: `depcruise <packages-root>` (or `depcruise src`).
+- Fold it into the repo's umbrella check command — the one that already runs typecheck (e.g. a `check` / `ci` / `validate` script). Do **not** touch `tsconfig` or add path aliases.
+- If there is no umbrella script, add `lint:boundaries` and tell the user to include it in CI.
+
+**Done when:** `lint:boundaries` exists and runs as part of the same command as typecheck.
+
+### 5. Scaffold the example package
+
+Create a committed `<packages-root>/example/` as a copy-me template:
+
+- `index.ts` — an entry point. Export one function that delegates to an internal file (so the package is visibly *deep*, not a pass-through).
+- `lib/impl.ts` — an internal file in a **subfolder**, imported by `index.ts`, not reachable from outside.
+- `tests/example.test.ts` — imports **only** `../index` (an entry point), and asserts against the public function.
+
+Tell the user this is a starter template to copy or delete.
+
+**Done when:** the example package exists, exposes its behaviour through a root entry point, and hides `impl` in a subfolder.
+
+### 6. Prove the rules bite
+
+This is the completion criterion for the whole skill — a config that doesn't fail on a violation is worthless.
+
+1. Run `lint:boundaries`. It must **pass** on the clean example.
+2. Temporarily add a deep import to `tests/example.test.ts` (e.g. `import { thing } from "../lib/impl"`). Run `lint:boundaries` again — it must **fail** with `tests-through-entrypoints`.
+3. Revert the deep import. Run once more — it must **pass**.
+
+**Done when:** you have observed a pass, then a fail on the deep import, then a pass again. If step 2 does not fail, the rules are not wired correctly — fix before finishing.
+
+### 7. Document the convention
+
+Write a `README.md` **in the packages folder** (`<packages-root>/README.md`) — next to the packages it governs — covering: the `src/packages/<name>/` layout (entry points at the root, `lib/` for implementation, `tests/` for tests), "import only through a package's entry points (its root files)", and how to run `lint:boundaries`. **Discourage barrel files** explicitly — expose several small entry points instead of re-exporting a whole subtree through one index. Keep it to the copy-me snippet plus the four rules in one paragraph each.
+
+Then add a **context pointer** to it from the repo's agent-instructions file — `CLAUDE.md` if present, else `AGENTS.md` (create `AGENTS.md` if neither exists). One line is enough, e.g. `Packages are deep modules — see [src/packages/README.md](./src/packages/README.md) before adding or importing one.` This is what makes an agent discover the boundary rule instead of tripping over it.
+
+**Done when:** `<packages-root>/README.md` exists and discourages barrels, and the repo's `CLAUDE.md`/`AGENTS.md` links to it.
+
+## Notes
+
+- The config's `$1` back-references (dependency-cruiser's group matching) are what let a package reach its own internals while outsiders can't — don't flatten them into separate per-package rules.
+- Public vs private is decided by **depth**: a package's root files are entry points; anything in a subfolder is private. The conventional subfolders are `lib/` (implementation) and `tests/`, but the rule doesn't hardcode them — any subfolder is private, so a new folder never needs a config change. Adding an entry point is just adding a root file — no barrel.
+- Packages are **flat**: one tier of immediate children under the root. A package's internals may nest as deep as you like; a package may not contain another package.
+- Use `.cjs` (not `.js`) so the config's `module.exports` works even in `"type": "module"` repos.

.agents/skills/setup-ts-deep-modules/agents/openai.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+interface:
+  display_name: "Setup TS Deep Modules"
+  short_description: "Enforce deep TypeScript modules"
+policy:
+  allow_implicit_invocation: false

.agents/skills/setup-ts-deep-modules/dependency-cruiser.config.cjs

@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+// @ts-check
+// Deep-module enforcement for dependency-cruiser.
+//
+// Each package under the packages root is a DEEP MODULE: a lot of behaviour
+// behind a small interface. A package's PUBLIC SURFACE is its ENTRY POINTS —
+// the files at the package root. Implementation lives in SUBFOLDERS and is
+// private — by convention `lib/` for implementation and `tests/` for tests,
+// though any subfolder is private. A package may expose several small entry
+// points (index.ts, client.ts, server.ts, …) — prefer that over one giant
+// barrel index.
+//
+// The only thing you should ever need to edit here is PACKAGES_ROOT.
+
+/** Where packages live. One immediate child dir per package (flat, no nesting). */
+const PACKAGES_ROOT = "src/packages";
+
+// --- derived patterns (no need to edit) -------------------------------------
+const R = PACKAGES_ROOT;
+/**
+ * A package's private internals: anything nested inside a package subfolder.
+ * The package's root files are its entry points and are NOT matched here —
+ * they stay importable from outside.
+ */
+const PACKAGE_INTERNALS = `^${R}/[^/]+/[^/]+/`;
+
+/** @type {import('dependency-cruiser').IConfiguration} */
+module.exports = {
+  forbidden: [
+    {
+      name: "entrypoint-boundary-from-app",
+      comment:
+        "App/root code may import a package's entry points (its root files), but nothing inside its subfolders.",
+      severity: "error",
+      from: { pathNot: `^${R}/` }, // importer is NOT inside any package
+      to: { path: PACKAGE_INTERNALS },
+    },
+    {
+      name: "entrypoint-boundary-across-packages",
+      comment:
+        "A package's own files import each other freely, but may reach OTHER packages only through their entry points — never their internals.",
+      severity: "error",
+      // importer is inside a package ($1), but is not a test file
+      from: { path: `^${R}/([^/]+)/`, pathNot: `^${R}/[^/]+/tests/` },
+      to: {
+        path: PACKAGE_INTERNALS,
+        pathNot: `^${R}/$1/`, // same package → intra-package freedom
+      },
+    },
+    {
+      name: "tests-through-entrypoints",
+      comment:
+        "A package's tests exercise it through its entry points like everyone else: they may import any package's entry points and their own tests/ fixtures, but never any package's internals — not even their own.",
+      severity: "error",
+      from: { path: `^${R}/([^/]+)/tests/` }, // a test file, in package $1
+      to: {
+        path: PACKAGE_INTERNALS,
+        pathNot: `^${R}/$1/tests/`, // own tests/ fixtures → allowed
+      },
+    },
+    {
+      name: "tests-folder-is-private",
+      comment:
+        "A package's tests/ folder is reachable only from tests — nothing else may import fixtures.",
+      severity: "error",
+      from: { pathNot: `^${R}/[^/]+/tests/` }, // importer is not itself a test
+      to: { path: `^${R}/[^/]+/tests/` },
+    },
+    {
+      name: "no-circular",
+      comment: "No dependency cycles. Scope to `^${R}/` if you want to allow cycles outside packages.",
+      severity: "error",
+      from: {},
+      to: { circular: true },
+    },
+
+    // --- Layering (optional, off by default) ----------------------------------
+    // Interface-hiding controls HOW you import (through the entry points).
+    // Layering controls WHICH packages may depend on which. Add your own rules
+    // here, e.g.:
+    //
+    // {
+    //   name: "ui-may-not-depend-on-billing",
+    //   severity: "error",
+    //   from: { path: `^${R}/ui/` },
+    //   to:   { path: `^${R}/billing/` },
+    // },
+  ],
+  options: {
+    doNotFollow: { path: "node_modules" },
+    tsConfig: { fileName: "tsconfig.json" },
+    enhancedResolveOptions: {
+      extensions: [".ts", ".tsx", ".js", ".jsx", ".json"],
+    },
+  },
+};

.agents/skills/tdd/SKILL.md

@@ -5,104 +5,32 @@ description: Test-driven development. Use when the user wants to build features
 
 # Test-Driven Development
 
-## Philosophy
+TDD is the red → green loop. This skill is the reference that makes that loop produce tests worth keeping: what a good test is, where tests go, the anti-patterns, and the rules of the loop. Every section applies on every cycle — consult them before and during the loop, not after.
 
-**Core principle**: Tests should verify behavior through public interfaces, not implementation details. Code can change entirely; tests shouldn't.
+When exploring the codebase, read `CONTEXT.md` (if it exists) so test names and interface vocabulary match the project's domain language, and respect ADRs in the area you're touching.
 
-**Good tests** are integration-style: they exercise real code paths through public APIs. They describe _what_ the system does, not _how_ it does it. A good test reads like a specification - "user can checkout with valid cart" tells you exactly what capability exists. These tests survive refactors because they don't care about internal structure.
+## What a good test is
 
-**Bad tests** are coupled to implementation. They mock internal collaborators, test private methods, or verify through external means (like querying a database directly instead of using the interface). The warning sign: your test breaks when you refactor, but behavior hasn't changed. If you rename an internal function and tests fail, those tests were testing implementation, not behavior.
+Tests verify behavior through public interfaces, not implementation details. Code can change entirely; tests shouldn't. A good test reads like a specification — "user can checkout with valid cart" tells you exactly what capability exists — and survives refactors because it doesn't care about internal structure.
 
 See [tests.md](tests.md) for examples and [mocking.md](mocking.md) for mocking guidelines.
 
-## Anti-Pattern: Horizontal Slices
+## Seams — where tests go
 
-**DO NOT write all tests first, then all implementation.** This is "horizontal slicing" - treating RED as "write all tests" and GREEN as "write all code."
+A **seam** is the public boundary you test at: the interface where you observe behavior without reaching inside. Tests live at seams, never against internals.
 
-This produces **crap tests**:
+**Test only at pre-agreed seams.** Before writing any test, write down the seams under test and confirm them with the user. No test is written at an unconfirmed seam. You can't test everything — agreeing the seams up front is how testing effort lands on the critical paths and complex logic instead of every edge case.
 
-- Tests written in bulk test _imagined_ behavior, not _actual_ behavior
+Ask: "What's the public interface, and which seams should we test?"
-- You end up testing the _shape_ of things (data structures, function signatures) rather than user-facing behavior
-- Tests become insensitive to real changes - they pass when behavior breaks, fail when behavior is fine
-- You outrun your headlights, committing to test structure before understanding the implementation
 
-**Correct approach**: Vertical slices via tracer bullets. One test → one implementation → repeat. Each test responds to what you learned from the previous cycle. Because you just wrote the code, you know exactly what behavior matters and how to verify it.
+## Anti-patterns
 
-```
+- **Implementation-coupled** — mocks internal collaborators, tests private methods, or verifies through a side channel (querying the database instead of using the interface). The tell: the test breaks when you refactor but behavior hasn't changed.
-WRONG (horizontal):
+- **Tautological** — the assertion recomputes the expected value the way the code does (`expect(add(a, b)).toBe(a + b)`, a snapshot derived by hand the same way, a constant asserted equal to itself), so it passes by construction and can never disagree with the code. Expected values must come from an independent source of truth — a known-good literal, a worked example, the spec.
-  RED:   test1, test2, test3, test4, test5
+- **Horizontal slicing** — writing all tests first, then all implementation. Bulk tests verify _imagined_ behavior: you test the _shape_ of things rather than user-facing behavior, the tests go insensitive to real changes, and you commit to test structure before understanding the implementation. Work in **vertical slices** instead — one test → one implementation → repeat, each test a **tracer bullet** that responds to what the last cycle taught you.
-  GREEN: impl1, impl2, impl3, impl4, impl5
 
-RIGHT (vertical):
+## Rules of the loop
-  RED→GREEN: test1→impl1
-  RED→GREEN: test2→impl2
-  RED→GREEN: test3→impl3
-  ...
-```
 
-## Workflow
+- **Red before green.** Write the failing test first, then only enough code to pass it. Don't anticipate future tests or add speculative features.
-
+- **One slice at a time.** One seam, one test, one minimal implementation per cycle.
-### 1. Planning
+- **Refactoring is not part of the loop.** It belongs to the review stage (see the `code-review` skill), not the red → green implementation cycle.
-
-When exploring the codebase, read `CONTEXT.md` (if it exists) so that test names and interface vocabulary match the project's domain language, and respect ADRs in the area you're touching.
-
-Before writing any code:
-
-- [ ] Confirm with user what interface changes are needed
-- [ ] Confirm with user which behaviors to test (prioritize)
-- [ ] Identify opportunities for deep modules (small interface, deep implementation) — run the `/codebase-design` skill for the vocabulary and the testability checks
-- [ ] List the behaviors to test (not implementation steps)
-- [ ] Get user approval on the plan
-
-Ask: "What should the public interface look like? Which behaviors are most important to test?"
-
-**You can't test everything.** Confirm with the user exactly which behaviors matter most. Focus testing effort on critical paths and complex logic, not every possible edge case.
-
-### 2. Tracer Bullet
-
-Write ONE test that confirms ONE thing about the system:
-
-```
-RED:   Write test for first behavior → test fails
-GREEN: Write minimal code to pass → test passes
-```
-
-This is your tracer bullet - proves the path works end-to-end.
-
-### 3. Incremental Loop
-
-For each remaining behavior:
-
-```
-RED:   Write next test → fails
-GREEN: Minimal code to pass → passes
-```
-
-Rules:
-
-- One test at a time
-- Only enough code to pass current test
-- Don't anticipate future tests
-- Keep tests focused on observable behavior
-
-### 4. Refactor
-
-After all tests pass, look for [refactor candidates](refactoring.md):
-
-- [ ] Extract duplication
-- [ ] Deepen modules (move complexity behind simple interfaces)
-- [ ] Apply SOLID principles where natural
-- [ ] Consider what new code reveals about existing code
-- [ ] Run tests after each refactor step
-
-**Never refactor while RED.** Get to GREEN first.
-
-## Checklist Per Cycle
-
-```
-[ ] Test describes behavior, not implementation
-[ ] Test uses public interface only
-[ ] Test would survive internal refactor
-[ ] Code is minimal for this test
-[ ] No speculative features added
-```

.agents/skills/tdd/agents/openai.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+interface:
+  display_name: "TDD"
+  short_description: "Test-driven red-green-refactor"

.agents/skills/tdd/tests.md

@@ -59,3 +59,19 @@ test("createUser makes user retrievable", async () => {
   expect(retrieved.name).toBe("Alice");
 });
 ```
+
+**Tautological tests**: Expected value restates the implementation, so the test passes by construction.
+
+```typescript
+// BAD: Expected value is recomputed the way the code computes it
+test("calculateTotal sums line items", () => {
+  const items = [{ price: 10 }, { price: 5 }];
+  const expected = items.reduce((sum, i) => sum + i.price, 0);
+  expect(calculateTotal(items)).toBe(expected);
+});
+
+// GOOD: Expected value is an independent, known literal
+test("calculateTotal sums line items", () => {
+  expect(calculateTotal([{ price: 10 }, { price: 5 }])).toBe(15);
+});
+```

.agents/skills/to-spec/SKILL.md

@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+---
+name: to-spec
+description: Turn the current conversation into a spec and publish it to the project issue tracker — no interview, just synthesis of what you've already discussed.
+disable-model-invocation: true
+---
+
+This skill takes the current conversation context and codebase understanding and produces a spec (you may know this document as a PRD). Do NOT interview the user — just synthesize what you already know.
+
+The issue tracker and triage label vocabulary should have been provided to you — run `/setup-matt-pocock-skills` if not.
+
+## Process
+
+1. Explore the repo to understand the current state of the codebase, if you haven't already. Use the project's domain glossary vocabulary throughout the spec, and respect any ADRs in the area you're touching.
+
+2. Sketch out the seams at which you're going to test the feature. Existing seams should be preferred to new ones. Use the highest seam possible. If new seams are needed, propose them at the highest point you can. The fewer seams across the codebase, the better - the ideal number is one.
+
+Check with the user that these seams match their expectations.
+
+3. Write the spec using the template below, then publish it to the project issue tracker. Apply the `ready-for-agent` triage label - no need for additional triage.
+
+<spec-template>
+
+## Problem Statement
+
+The problem that the user is facing, from the user's perspective.
+
+## Solution
+
+The solution to the problem, from the user's perspective.
+
+## User Stories
+
+A LONG, numbered list of user stories. Each user story should be in the format of:
+
+1. As an <actor>, I want a <feature>, so that <benefit>
+
+<user-story-example>
+1. As a mobile bank customer, I want to see balance on my accounts, so that I can make better informed decisions about my spending
+</user-story-example>
+
+This list of user stories should be extremely extensive and cover all aspects of the feature.
+
+## Implementation Decisions
+
+A list of implementation decisions that were made. This can include:
+
+- The modules that will be built/modified
+- The interfaces of those modules that will be modified
+- Technical clarifications from the developer
+- Architectural decisions
+- Schema changes
+- API contracts
+- Specific interactions
+
+Do NOT include specific file paths or code snippets. They may end up being outdated very quickly.
+
+Exception: if a prototype produced a snippet that encodes a decision more precisely than prose can (state machine, reducer, schema, type shape), inline it within the relevant decision and note briefly that it came from a prototype. Trim to the decision-rich parts — not a working demo, just the important bits.
+
+## Testing Decisions
+
+A list of testing decisions that were made. Include:
+
+- A description of what makes a good test (only test external behavior, not implementation details)
+- Which modules will be tested
+- Prior art for the tests (i.e. similar types of tests in the codebase)
+
+## Out of Scope
+
+A description of the things that are out of scope for this spec.
+
+## Further Notes
+
+Any further notes about the feature.
+
+</spec-template>

.agents/skills/to-spec/agents/openai.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+interface:
+  display_name: "To Spec"
+  short_description: "Turn a conversation into a spec"
+policy:
+  allow_implicit_invocation: false

.agents/skills/to-tickets/SKILL.md

@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+---
+name: to-tickets
+description: Break a plan, spec, or the current conversation into a set of tracer-bullet tickets, each declaring its blocking edges, published to the configured tracker — edges as text in one file per ticket locally, or native blocking links on a real tracker.
+disable-model-invocation: true
+---
+
+# To Tickets
+
+Break a plan, spec, or conversation into a set of **tickets** — tracer-bullet vertical slices, each declaring the tickets that **block** it.
+
+The issue tracker and triage label vocabulary should have been provided to you — run `/setup-matt-pocock-skills` if not.
+
+## Process
+
+### 1. Gather context
+
+Work from whatever is already in the conversation context. If the user passes a reference (a spec path, an issue number or URL) as an argument, fetch it and read its full body and comments.
+
+### 2. Explore the codebase (optional)
+
+If you have not already explored the codebase, do so to understand the current state of the code. Ticket titles and descriptions should use the project's domain glossary vocabulary, and respect ADRs in the area you're touching.
+
+Look for opportunities to prefactor the code to make the implementation easier. "Make the change easy, then make the easy change."
+
+### 3. Draft vertical slices
+
+Break the work into **tracer bullet** tickets.
+
+<vertical-slice-rules>
+
+- Each slice cuts a narrow but COMPLETE path through every layer (schema, API, UI, tests) — vertical, NOT a horizontal slice of one layer
+- A completed slice is demoable or verifiable on its own
+- Each slice is sized to fit in a single fresh context window
+- Any prefactoring should be done first
+
+</vertical-slice-rules>
+
+Give each ticket its **blocking edges** — the other tickets that must complete before it can start. A ticket with no blockers can start immediately.
+
+**Wide refactors are the exception to vertical slicing.** A **wide refactor** is one mechanical change — rename a column, retype a shared symbol — whose **blast radius** fans across the whole codebase, so a single edit breaks thousands of call sites at once and no vertical slice can land green. Don't force it into a tracer bullet; sequence it as **expand–contract**. First expand: add the new form beside the old so nothing breaks. Then migrate the call sites over in batches sized by blast radius (per package, per directory), each batch its own ticket blocked by the expand, keeping CI green batch to batch because the old form still exists. Finally contract: delete the old form once no caller remains, in a ticket blocked by every migrate batch. When even the batches can't stay green alone, keep the sequence but let them share an integration branch that all block a final integrate-and-verify ticket — green is promised only there.
+
+### 4. Quiz the user
+
+Present the proposed breakdown as a numbered list. For each ticket, show:
+
+- **Title**: short descriptive name
+- **Blocked by**: which other tickets (if any) must complete first
+- **What it delivers**: the end-to-end behaviour this ticket makes work
+
+Ask the user:
+
+- Does the granularity feel right? (too coarse / too fine)
+- Are the blocking edges correct — does each ticket only depend on tickets that genuinely gate it?
+- Should any tickets be merged or split further?
+
+Iterate until the user approves the breakdown.
+
+### 5. Publish the tickets to the configured tracker
+
+Publish the approved tickets. **How** depends on the tracker `/setup-matt-pocock-skills` configured — the tickets are the same either way, only the shape of the blocking edges changes:
+
+- **Local files** → write one file per ticket under `.scratch/<feature-slug>/issues/<NN>-<slug>.md`, numbered from `01` in dependency order (blockers first). Each file's "Blocked by" lists the numbers/titles it depends on. Use the per-ticket file template below — one ticket per file, never a single combined file.
+- **A real issue tracker (GitHub, Linear, …)** → publish one issue per ticket in dependency order (blockers first) so each ticket's blocking edges can reference real identifiers. Use the platform's native blocking / sub-issue relationship where it has one; otherwise set each ticket's "Blocked by" to the blocking issues. Apply the `ready-for-agent` triage label unless instructed otherwise — the tickets are agent-grabbable by construction.
+
+Work the **frontier**: any ticket whose blockers are all done. For a purely linear chain that means top to bottom.
+
+Do NOT close or modify any parent issue.
+
+<local-ticket-template>
+
+# <NN> — <Ticket title>
+
+**What to build:** the end-to-end behaviour this ticket makes work, from the user's perspective — not a layer-by-layer implementation list.
+
+**Blocked by:** the numbers/titles of the tickets that gate this one, or "None — can start immediately".
+
+**Status:** ready-for-agent
+
+- [ ] Acceptance criterion 1
+- [ ] Acceptance criterion 2
+
+</local-ticket-template>
+
+<issue-template>
+
+## Parent
+
+A reference to the parent issue on the tracker (if the source was an existing issue, otherwise omit this section).
+
+## What to build
+
+The end-to-end behaviour this ticket makes work, from the user's perspective — not layer-by-layer implementation.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Criterion 1
+- [ ] Criterion 2
+
+## Blocked by
+
+- A reference to each blocking ticket, or "None — can start immediately".
+
+</issue-template>
+
+In either form, avoid specific file paths or code snippets — they go stale fast. Exception: if a prototype produced a snippet that encodes a decision more precisely than prose can (state machine, reducer, schema, type shape), inline it and note briefly that it came from a prototype. Trim to the decision-rich parts — not a working demo, just the important bits.
+
+Work the frontier one ticket at a time with `/implement`, clearing context between tickets.

.agents/skills/to-tickets/agents/openai.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+interface:
+  display_name: "To Tickets"
+  short_description: "Split a plan into tracer-bullet tickets"
+policy:
+  allow_implicit_invocation: false

.agents/skills/wayfinder/SKILL.md

@@ -1,9 +1,16 @@
 ---
 name: wayfinder
-description: Plan a huge chunk of work — more than one agent session can hold — as a shared map of investigation tickets on your issue tracker, and resolve them one at a time until the way to the goal is clear.
+description: Plan a huge chunk of work — more than one agent session can hold — as a shared map of decision tickets on your issue tracker, and resolve them one at a time until the way to the destination is clear.
+disable-model-invocation: true
 ---
 
-A loose idea has arrived — too big for one agent session, and wrapped in fog: the route from here to a plan isn't visible yet. This skill charts it as a **shared map** on the repo's issue tracker, then works its tickets one at a time. The map is domain-agnostic — engineering work, course content, whatever fits the shape.
+A loose idea has arrived — too big for one agent session, and wrapped in fog: the way from here to the **destination** isn't visible yet. Wayfinding is about finding that way, not charging at the destination. This skill charts the way as a **shared map** on the repo's issue tracker, then works its **decision tickets** — questions whose resolution is a decision, not slices of a build to execute — one at a time until the route is clear.
+
+The destination varies per effort, and naming it is the first act of charting — it shapes every ticket. It might be a spec to hand off and iterate on, a decision to lock before planning starts, or a change made in place like a data-structure migration. The map is domain-agnostic — engineering work, course content, whatever fits the shape.
+
+## Plan, don't do
+
+Wayfinder is **planning** by default: each ticket resolves a decision, and the map is done when the way is clear — nothing left to decide before someone goes and does the thing. The pull to just do the work is usually the signal you've reached the edge of the map and it's time to hand off. An effort can override this in its **Notes** — carrying execution into the map itself — but absent that, produce decisions, not deliverables.
 
 ## Refer by name
 
@@ -15,13 +22,17 @@ The map is a single issue on this repo's issue tracker, labelled `wayfinder:map`
 
 The map is an **index**, not a store. It lists the decisions made and points at the tickets that hold their detail; a decision lives in exactly one place — its ticket — so the map never restates it, only gists it and links.
 
-**Where the map, its child tickets, blocking, and frontier queries physically live is tracker-specific.** Consult `docs/agents/issue-tracker.md` (the "Wayfinding operations" section) for how _this_ repo expresses them. If that doc is absent, default to the local-markdown tracker.
+**Where the map, its child tickets, blocking, and frontier queries physically live is tracker-specific.** The issue tracker should have been provided to you — run `/setup-matt-pocock-skills` if not. Consult the tracker doc's "Wayfinding operations" section for how _this_ repo expresses them. If no tracker has been provided, default to the local-markdown tracker.
 
 ### The map body
 
 The whole map at low resolution, loaded once per session. Open tickets are **not** listed — they are open child issues, found by query.
 
 ```markdown
+## Destination
+
+<what reaching the end of this map looks like — the spec, decision, or change this effort is finding its way to. One or two lines; every session orients to it before choosing a ticket.>
+
 ## Notes
 
 <domain; skills every session should consult; standing preferences for this effort>
@@ -32,9 +43,13 @@ The whole map at low resolution, loaded once per session. Open tickets are **not
 
 - [<closed ticket title>](link) — <one-line gist of the answer>
 
-## Fog
+## Not yet specified
 
-<!-- see "Fog of war" for what belongs here -->
+<!-- see "Fog of war": in-scope fog you can't ticket yet; graduates as the frontier advances -->
+
+## Out of scope
+
+<!-- see "Out of scope": work ruled beyond the destination; closed, never graduates -->
 ```
 
 ### Tickets
@@ -57,36 +72,48 @@ The answer isn't part of the body — it's recorded on resolution (see [Work thr
 
 ## Ticket Types
 
-- **Research**: Reading documentation, third-party APIs, or local resources like knowledge bases. Creates a markdown summary as a linked asset. Use when knowledge outside the current working directory is required.
+Every ticket is either **HITL** — human in the loop, worked *with* a human who speaks for themselves — or **AFK**, driven by the agent alone. A HITL ticket only resolves through that live exchange; the agent never stands in for the human's side of it (a grilling agent that answers its own questions has broken this).
-- **Prototype**: Raise the fidelity of the discussion by making a cheap, rough, concrete artifact to react to — an outline, a rough take, a stub, or UI/logic code via the /prototype skill. Links the prototype as an asset. Use when "how should it look" or "how should it behave" is the key question.
+
-- **Grilling**: Conversation with the agent. Uses the /grilling and /domain-modeling skills. Asks one question at a time. The default case.
+- **Research** (AFK): Reading documentation, third-party APIs, or local resources like knowledge bases to surface a fact a decision waits on. Resolved by a `/research` **subagent**. Use when knowledge outside the current working directory is required.
-- **Task**: Literal manual work that must be done before the discussion can move forward — nothing to decide, prototype, or research. Moving data, signing up for a service, provisioning access. The agent automates it where it can; otherwise it hands the human a precise checklist. Resolved when the work is done; the answer records what was done and any resulting facts (credentials location, new URLs, row counts) later tickets depend on.
+- **Prototype** (HITL): Raise the fidelity of the discussion by making a cheap, rough, concrete artifact to react to — an outline, a rough take, a stub, or UI/logic code via the /prototype skill. Links the prototype as an asset. Use when "how should it look" or "how should it behave" is the key question.
+- **Grilling** (HITL): Conversation via the /grilling and /domain-modeling skills, one question at a time. The default case.
+- **Task** (HITL or AFK): Manual work that must happen before a *decision* can be made — nothing to decide, prototype, or research, but the discussion is blocked until it's done. Signing up for a service so its API can be judged, provisioning access, moving data so its shape can be seen. This is the one type that *does* rather than decides — and it earns its place by unblocking a decision, not by delivering the destination. The agent drives it alone where it can (AFK); otherwise it hands the human a precise checklist (HITL). Resolved when the work is done; the answer records what was done and any resulting facts (credentials location, new URLs, row counts) later tickets depend on.
 
 ## Fog of war
 
-The map is _deliberately_ incomplete: don't chart what you can't yet see. Beyond the tickets lies fog — the dim view of decisions and investigations you can tell are coming but can't yet pin down, because they hang on questions still open. Resolving a ticket clears the fog ahead of it, graduating whatever's now specifiable into fresh tickets — one at a time, until the way to the goal is clear and no tickets remain.
+The map is _deliberately_ incomplete: don't chart what you can't yet see. Beyond the live tickets lies the **fog of war** — the dim view of decisions and investigations you can tell are coming but can't yet pin down, because they hang on questions still open. Resolving a ticket clears the fog ahead of it, graduating whatever's now specifiable into fresh tickets — one at a time, until the way to the destination is clear and no tickets remain.
 
-The map's **Fog** section is where that dim view is written down: the suspected question, the area to revisit later, the risk you're deferring. Write as loosely or as fully as the view allows; it doubles as a signpost for collaborators reading where the effort is headed.
+The map's **Not yet specified** section is where that dim view is written down: the suspected question, the area to revisit later. It's the undiscovered frontier _toward_ the destination — everything here is in scope, just not sharp enough to ticket. Write as loosely or as fully as the view allows; it doubles as a signpost for collaborators reading where the effort is headed.
 
 **Fog or ticket?** The test is whether you can state the question precisely now — _not_ whether you can answer it now.
 
 - **Ticket when** the question is already sharp — even if it's blocked and you can't act on it yet.
-- **Fog when** you can't yet phrase it that sharply. Don't pre-slice fog into ticket-sized pieces: it's coarser than a ticket, and one patch may graduate into several tickets, or none, once the frontier reaches it.
+- **Not yet specified when** you can't yet phrase it that sharply. Don't pre-slice the fog into ticket-sized pieces: it's coarser than a ticket, and one patch may graduate into several tickets, or none, once the frontier reaches it.
 
-Fog excludes only what's already decided (that's Decisions so far) and what's already a ticket.
+**Not yet specified** excludes what's already decided (Decisions so far), what's already a live ticket, and what's out of scope (the next section).
+
+## Out of scope
+
+Fog only ever gathers _toward_ the destination. The destination fixes the scope, so work beyond it is **out of scope** — it isn't fog, and it doesn't belong in **Not yet specified**. It gets its own **Out of scope** section on the map: work you've consciously ruled out of _this_ effort. Scope, not sharpness, lands it here.
+
+Out-of-scope work never graduates — the frontier stops at the destination — so it returns only if the destination is redrawn, and then as a fresh effort, not a resumption.
+
+Ruling something out of scope is a scoping act, not a step on the route. When a ticket that already exists turns out to sit past the destination — mis-scoped in while charting, or exposed by a resolution — **close it** (a closed ticket is unambiguously off the frontier) and leave one line in the **Out of scope** section: the gist plus why it's out of scope, linking the closed ticket. It stays out of **Decisions so far**, which records the route actually walked — a scope boundary isn't a step on it.
 
 ## Invocation
 
-Two modes. Either way, **never resolve more than one ticket per session.**
+Two modes. Either way, **never resolve more than one ticket per session** — with the exception of research tickets.
 
 ### Chart the map
 
 User invokes with a loose idea.
 
-1. Run a `/grilling` and `/domain-modeling` session to surface the open decisions.
+1. **Name the destination.** Run a `/grilling` and `/domain-modeling` session to pin down what this map is finding its way to — the spec, decision, or change. The destination fixes the scope, so it's settled first.
-2. **Create the map** (label `wayfinder:map`): Notes filled in, Decisions-so-far empty, Fog sketched.
+2. **Map the frontier.** Grill again, **breadth-first** this time: fan out across the whole space rather than deep on any one thread, surfacing the open decisions and the first steps takeable now. **If this surfaces no fog** — the way to the destination is already clear, the whole journey small enough for one session — you don't need a map. Stop and ask the user how they'd like to proceed.
-3. **Create the tickets you can specify now** as child issues of the map — then wire blocking edges in a **second pass** (issues need ids before they can reference each other). Wiring sorts them into the frontier and the blocked; everything you can't yet specify stays in the Fog.
+3. **Create the map** (label `wayfinder:map`): Destination and Notes filled in, Decisions-so-far empty, the fog sketched into **Not yet specified**.
-4. Stop — charting the map is one session's work; do not also resolve tickets.
+4. **Create the tickets you can specify now** as child issues of the map — then wire blocking edges in a **second pass** (issues need ids before they can reference each other). Wiring sorts them into the frontier and the blocked; everything you can't yet specify stays in the fog — the **Not yet specified** section.
+5. **Fire the research subagents.** For each `research` ticket you just created, spin up a `/research` subagent to resolve it in parallel, capturing its findings on a throwaway `research/<name>` branch with a context pointer from the ticket.
+6. Stop — charting is one session's work; it hand-resolves nothing.
 
 ### Work through the map
 
@@ -96,6 +123,6 @@ User invokes with a map (URL or number). A ticket is **optional** — without on
 2. Choose the ticket. If the user named one, use it. Otherwise take the first frontier ticket in order. **Claim it**: assign it to yourself before any work.
 3. Resolve it — **zoom as needed**: fetch the full body of any related or closed ticket on demand; invoke the skills the `## Notes` block names. If in doubt, use `/grilling` and `/domain-modeling`.
 4. Record the resolution: post the answer as a **resolution comment**, **close** the issue, and **append a context pointer** to the map's Decisions-so-far.
-5. Add newly-surfaced tickets (create-then-wire); graduate any fog the answer has made specifiable, clearing each graduated patch from the Fog so it lives only as its new ticket. If the decision invalidates other parts of the map, update or delete those tickets.
+5. Add newly-surfaced tickets (create-then-wire); graduate any fog the answer has made specifiable, clearing each graduated patch from **Not yet specified** so it lives only as its new ticket. If the answer reveals a ticket — this one or another — sits beyond the destination, **rule it out of scope** rather than resolving it on the route. If the decision invalidates other parts of the map, update or delete those tickets.
 
 The user may run unblocked tickets in parallel, so expect other sessions to be editing the tracker concurrently.

.agents/skills/wayfinder/agents/openai.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+interface:
+  display_name: "Wayfinder"
+  short_description: "Map a large effort as decision tickets"
+policy:
+  allow_implicit_invocation: false

.agents/skills/writing-great-skills/GLOSSARY.md

@@ -158,6 +158,12 @@ _Failure mode._ Ending the current step before it is genuinely done, because the
 
 _Avoid_: premature closure, the rush, rushing, shortcutting
 
+### Negation
+
+_Failure mode._ Steering by prohibition — telling the agent what _not_ to do — which drags the forbidden behaviour into context and makes it _more_ available, not less. _Don't think of an elephant_, and the elephant is all there is; _never write verbose comments_, and verbosity is the pattern the agent has just read. The negation is a weak modifier the strongly-activated concept overruns, so the ban half-reads as an instruction to do the thing. Its **leading word** is the _elephant_: whatever a prohibition names into the frame. Cure: prompt the **positive** — describe the target behaviour ("write one-line comments") so the banned one is never spoken. A prohibition earns its place only as a hard guardrail on a behaviour you cannot phrase positively; even then, pair it with the positive target so attention lands on what to do.
+
+_Avoid_: ironic rebound, don't-prompting, the pink elephant
+
 ## Pruning
 
 Keeping a skill lean — each remedy paired with the failure it cures.

.agents/skills/writing-great-skills/SKILL.md

@@ -80,3 +80,4 @@ Use these to diagnose issues the user may be having with the skill.
 - **Sediment** — stale layers that settle because adding feels safe and removing feels risky. The default fate of any skill without a pruning discipline.
 - **Sprawl** — a skill simply too long, even when every line is live and unique. Hurts readability and maintainability and wastes tokens. The cure is the ladder: disclose **reference** behind pointers, and split by **branch** or sequence so each path carries only what it needs.
 - **No-op** — a line the model already obeys by default, so you pay load to say nothing. The test: does it change behaviour versus the default? A weak leading word (_be thorough_ when the agent is already thorough-ish) is a no-op; the fix is a stronger word (_relentless_), not a different technique.
+- **Negation** — steering by prohibition backfires: _don't think of an elephant_ names the elephant and makes it more available, not less. Prompt the **positive** — state the target behaviour so the banned one is never spoken; keep a prohibition only as a hard guardrail you can't phrase positively, and even then pair it with what to do instead.

.agents/skills/writing-great-skills/agents/openai.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+interface:
+  display_name: "Writing Great Skills"
+  short_description: "Principles for predictable skills"
+policy:
+  allow_implicit_invocation: false

.claude/memory/MEMORY.md

@@ -2,9 +2,9 @@
 
 - [Product selling points](product-selling-points.md) — key differentiators and landing page angles for neuron-tai
 - [User profile](user-profile.md) — who Dobromir is and how to work with him
-- [Project status](project-status.md) — 35/35 stories done; alpha hardening next
+- [Project status](project-status.md) — US-001…US-035 done; US-036…US-050 in docs/prd.json; alpha hardening + scratch features next
 - **Alpha hardening** — `.scratch/alpha-hardening/` (22 issues, ADRs 0016–0019, [README](../../.scratch/alpha-hardening/README.md), [handoff](../../.scratch/alpha-hardening/handoff.md))
 - [Alpha hardening navigation](alpha-hardening-navigation.md) — locked fraud/auth decisions, Bucket-1 order, handoff pointers
-- **Node capability admission** — `.scratch/node-capability-admission/` (P0 plan: generic doctor/real-forward validation, fail-closed readiness, tracker admission gate; [PRD](../../.scratch/node-capability-admission/PRD.md), [README](../../.scratch/node-capability-admission/README.md), ADR-0023)
+- **Node capability admission** — `.scratch/node-capability-admission/` (P0 plan; [ADR-0023](../../docs/adr/0023-model-agnostic-node-capability-admission.md), [ADR-0026](../../docs/adr/0026-node-assignment-ownership-and-managed-placement.md))
 - **Distributed relay performance** — relay `/rpc` requester sockets are persistent per Route Session and Activation Seam as of 2026-07-10; `request_id` remains unique per activation while `X-Meshnet-Session` remains stable for KV state. Next low-risk priorities: persistent direct/loopback HTTP, seam byte/latency telemetry, then trace-driven zstd tuning.
-- **Distributed GGUF direction** — benchmark-gated native runtime: compare controlled Transformers/safetensors and whole-model llama.cpp lanes before expensive work; ship only for measured speed or model-fit advantage. Public parallelism is contiguous Shards in an Inference Route; concurrency comes from per-node continuous batching across isolated Route Sessions, while tensor/expert collectives stay inside optional trusted composite providers. Native data plane uses versioned Protobuf over long-lived gRPC/HTTP2 seam streams, with existing relay carrying the same opaque frames when needed. llama.cpp/GGML remains the substrate behind a project-owned standalone worker and small pinned fork; vLLM is an optional complete managed provider and concept donor, not a fork. Nakshatra, `prima.cpp`, `llama-gguf`, LiGGUF and historical GPUStack are source/test donors only. Active plan: [README](../../.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/README.md), [architecture](../../.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/architecture.md), [PRD](../../.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/PRD.md), [Ralph backlog](../../.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/prd.json). Research: [landscape](../../docs/research/distributed-gguf-landscape.md), [GitHub follow-up](../../docs/research/distributed-gguf-github-followup.md), [vLLM](../../docs/research/vllm-distributed-gguf-assessment.md).
+- **Distributed GGUF direction** — benchmark-gated native runtime: compare controlled Transformers/safetensors and whole-model llama.cpp lanes before expensive work; ship only for measured speed or model-fit advantage. Public parallelism is contiguous Shards in an Inference Route; concurrency comes from per-node continuous batching across isolated Route Sessions, while tensor/expert collectives stay inside optional trusted composite providers. Native data plane uses versioned Protobuf over long-lived gRPC/HTTP2 seam streams, with existing relay carrying the same opaque frames when needed. llama.cpp/GGML remains the substrate behind a project-owned standalone worker and small pinned fork; vLLM is an optional complete managed provider and concept donor, not a fork. Nakshatra, `prima.cpp`, `llama-gguf`, LiGGUF and historical GPUStack are source/test donors only. Active plan: [README](../../.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/README.md), [architecture](../../.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/architecture.md), [PRD](../../.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/PRD.md), [Ralph backlog](../../.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/prd.json). ADR: [0024](../../docs/adr/0024-distributed-gguf-runtime.md). Research: [landscape](../../docs/research/distributed-gguf-landscape.md), [GitHub follow-up](../../docs/research/distributed-gguf-github-followup.md), [vLLM](../../docs/research/vllm-distributed-gguf-assessment.md).

.claude/memory/alpha-hardening-navigation.md

@@ -20,13 +20,13 @@ Active workstream (started 2026-07-04): alpha hardening of the money/trust path.
 
 **Launch-readiness grilling (2026-07-06):** Locked launch plan — devnet dev/test run now, then **real mainnet SOL/USDT** (not devnet, not a new public token) for the first cohort: friends (API clients) + hired VPS/VPC hosts (our own test infra, not third-party volunteers — stake-free, risk-free if something breaks, not a long-term topology). Pricing: clients are the only party spending real money; nodes only accumulate off-chain credit and get paid in batches (30min dev / 24h later) — a failed distribution leaves funds parked, not lost, so mainnet-vs-devnet mixups are lower-risk than initially assumed. TAI token: do NOT issue/list now — ADR-0002 already locks listing behind $50k volume + 25 nodes/15 wallets plus an unresolved securities-review gate; only a dormant mainnet mint (cheap, ~few $ SOL) for name/branding reservation is in scope, bundled with treasury-key work, not before it. Treasury custody: bare keypair file (current runbook 02) is not acceptable for real funds — plan is **free native SPL multisig** (`spl-token create-multisig`, no protocol fee unlike Squads' 0.5 SOL), 2-of-3 signers, at least one cold/offline, others one-per-hired-VPS-provider to avoid correlated compromise (not yet built — ops task, no issue filed). Stake/slash asymmetry (registry/slash is a local Python adapter per ADR-0007, not on-chain) accepted for now since hired hosts are our own infra and friends aren't node operators — revisit before opening to real third-party node operators. A mainnet-vs-devnet boot guardrail was proposed and explicitly declined by the owner given the safe-by-default money flow above.
 
-**Two new issues from this session, both `ready-for-agent`:**
+**Two new issues from this session:**
-- **21 — Honest-noise calibration corpus** (`.scratch/alpha-hardening/issues/21-honest-noise-calibration-corpus.md`) rescoped from "prod gate" to a **hard alpha-release blocker**. Confirmed by code read: `verify_activation_proofs()` (`packages/validator/meshnet_validator/audit.py:94-127`) returns bool only, no raw divergence value; fleet-dispatch exists but wrong shape (`server.py:2998-3104`, pinned routes + latency, not full-fleet + TOPLOC divergence); storage wrong shape (`registry_events` has no divergence/hardware columns). Three-part build: (1) surface raw TOPLOC distance from audit.py, (2) extend dispatch to hit every registered node with fixed prompt/seed, (3) new SQLite table keyed by node+GPU+dtype. Small-fleet exception granted (N = actual hired-VPS fleet size). Hired VPS hosts stay stake-free until this closes.
+- **21 — Honest-noise calibration corpus** — `Status: ready-for-human` (engineering done 2026-07-06; blocked on human fleet calibration run before mainnet launch).
-- **23 — Dynamic HF-benchmarked pricing** (`.scratch/alpha-hardening/issues/23-dynamic-hf-pricing.md`), high priority but not a release blocker. Pricing today is 100% static (`DEFAULT_PRICE_PER_1K_TOKENS = 0.02`, `billing.py:21`; `model_presets.json` has no per-model price). Target: 80% of cheapest comparable provider on `https://huggingface.co/inference/models` (per-provider-per-model marketplace, `?search=` query param works, no confirmed JSON API — plain scrape attempted first, escalate to headless browser only if the table isn't in raw HTML). Human-verified `hf_aliases` + `hf_verified_match_note` (params/quantization) per model, not auto-discovered matching. Reuses the `_settlement_loop` daemon-thread pattern for a daily refresh; falls back silently to the static default on any failure.
+- **23 — Dynamic HF-benchmarked pricing** — `Status: done` (see `23-dynamic-hf-pricing_completed.md`).
 
 Both are already migrated into `.scratch/alpha-hardening/prd.json` (AH-021 updated, AH-023 added) and the README index — ready for Ralph to pick up unattended.
 
-**Ralph note:** `scripts/ralph_progress.py` tracks `docs/prd.json` (35/35 done) and does NOT see `.scratch/alpha-hardening/issues/`. No ralph loop is running and no `.ralph-tui/` state exists. `.scratch/alpha-hardening/prd.json` now has 23 stories (AH-001…AH-023); point Ralph at that file for the alpha-hardening branch. Do NOT use `ralph auto --parallel` on server.py-touching issues — 21 and 23 both touch `server.py`/`billing.py`/`audit.py`; if run in the same Ralph pass, run them serially, not in parallel (merge-conflict risk, same lesson as 03/04 previously).
+**Ralph note:** `scripts/ralph_progress.py` tracks `docs/prd.json` (US-001…US-047; base 35/35 done, friends-test arc 36–47 open/in-progress). Alpha hardening uses `.scratch/alpha-hardening/prd.json` (AH-001…AH-023). Point Ralph at the prd.json for the branch you're running.
 
 **Why:** three audits agreed the alpha blockers are unauthenticated gossip (anyone can inject billing events), the free-credit faucet, and ephemeral bans.
 **How to apply:** work test-first per issue acceptance criteria; use `.venv`; `cryptography` belongs in node deps (wallet.py imports it — causes many of the 24 "failures" in a fresh env). See [[project-status]] and [[autonomous-work-style]].

.claude/memory/project-status.md

@@ -6,7 +6,18 @@ metadata:
   type: project
 ---
 
-# Project Status (2026-07-02)
+# Project Status (2026-07-13)
+
+## Selected-node model placement (2026-07-14)
+
+- Admin Model placement now opens a node selector for load and release; the control-plane accepts optional `node_id` and targets only that registry assignment. Multi-model serving remains supported through `ADD_SHARD` and `max_loaded_shards`.
+- Total node pool resource values are rendered from `/v1/network/map`'s `node.capacity` contract. Route selection remains assignment/capability/throughput/queue based; capacity is used for placement and falls back to tracker defaults only if a node truly omits it.
+
+## Distributed inference performance (2026-07-14)
+
+`DIP-001` is done in `.scratch/distributed-inference-performance/`: the deterministic two-node Route Session stub benchmark covers direct/relay plus cached/stateless prefill and decode. Its JSON and concise summary explicitly attribute model execution, activation encode/decode, compression, connection setup, relay queueing, local HTTP forwarding, and end-to-end seam latency. `PYTHONPATH=packages/node pytest -q tests/test_route_session_benchmark.py` passed (7); the fixture assertion checks output-token identity and connection attempts.
+
+> Doc reconciliation 2026-07-13: `docs/prd.json` tracks US-001…US-050 (048 memory budget, 049 mainnet pilot, 050 Qwen demand placement). ADRs 0025–0026 added (TAI phase B/C, assignment ownership).
 
 All 35 user stories in docs/prd.json are done (35/35), including the reward-system arc US-030…US-035 completed 2026-07-02:
 

.gitignore

@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ dist/
 !.env.testnet
 .rocm-local/*
 .pytest-tmp/*
+.cache/
 
 # Local tracker/node sqlite databases (never commit runtime state)
 *.sqlite

.ralph-tui/config.toml

@@ -1,12 +0,0 @@
-# Ralph TUI Configuration
-# Generated by setup wizard
-# See: ralph-tui config help
-
-configVersion = "2.1"
-tracker = "json"
-agent = "opencode"
-maxIterations = 0
-autoCommit = true
-
-[trackerOptions]
-[agentOptions]

.scratch/alpha-hardening/README.md

@@ -2,9 +2,9 @@
 
 Pre-release alpha audit + grilling (2026-07-04). Bucket 1 trust-boundary blockers + fraud arc: **done** (16/22 original issues). Bucket 2 (12-15, multi-tracker) and 17 (doc dedup) remain deferred/human-gated — not launch blockers.
 
-**Launch-readiness grilling (2026-07-06):** locked plan is devnet dev/test run now, then real mainnet SOL/USDT for the first cohort — friends (API clients) + hired VPS/VPC hosts (own test infra, not third-party volunteers, stake-free). No new public token; TAI stays dormant per ADR-0002's existing volume/legal gates. Two new issues came out of this session:
+**Launch-readiness grilling (2026-07-06):** locked plan is devnet dev/test run now, then real mainnet USDT for the first cohort — friends (API clients) + hired VPS/VPC hosts (own test infra, not third-party volunteers; no upfront stake, probation only). No new public token; TAI stays dormant per ADR-0002's existing volume/legal gates. Two new issues came out of this session:
 
-- **[21 — Honest-noise calibration corpus](./issues/21-honest-noise-calibration-corpus.md)** — rescoped from "prod gate" to a hard **alpha-release blocker**. `Status: ready-for-human` — engineering (audit.py raw divergence, tracker dispatch endpoint, SQLite corpus, p99 envelope) done 2026-07-06; blocked on a human running the calibration job against the real hired-VPS fleet before launch.
+- **[21 — Honest-noise calibration corpus](./issues/21-honest-noise-calibration-corpus.md)** — rescoped from "prod gate" to a hard **alpha-release blocker**. `Status: ready-for-human` — engineering (audit.py raw divergence, tracker dispatch endpoint, SQLite corpus, p99 envelope) done 2026-07-06; blocked on a human running the calibration job against the real hired-VPS fleet before launch. Runbook: [04-toploc-calibration-run](./runbooks/04-toploc-calibration-run.md).
 - **[23 — Dynamic HF-benchmarked pricing](./issues/23-dynamic-hf-pricing_completed.md)** — new, high priority but not a release blocker. `Status: done` — engineering complete 2026-07-06 (hf_pricing.py, opt-in daily refresh loop, GET /v1/pricing/hf/history); real `hf_aliases` curation per model is a follow-up human sign-off, not a completion blocker.
 
 Locked scope: one settlement tracker, open node join, devnet mock-USDT, reputation carries forward → fraud must be bounded. See [ADR-0016](../../docs/adr/0016-alpha-scope-and-known-limitations.md).
@@ -77,6 +77,7 @@ Locked scope: one settlement tracker, open node join, devnet mock-USDT, reputati
 | [17 Duplicate US-020 dedup](./issues/17-doc-duplicate-us020-dedup.md) |
 | [18 Operational runbooks](./issues/18-doc-operational-runbooks_completed.md) |
 | [19 Cryptography + test env](./issues/19-doc-cryptography-test-env_completed.md) |
+| [04 TOPLOC calibration run](./runbooks/04-toploc-calibration-run.md) (issue 21 ops) |
 | [22 MEMORY + project-status index](./issues/22-doc-memory-project-status_completed.md) (done) |
 | [21 Honest-noise calibration corpus](./issues/21-honest-noise-calibration-corpus.md) (ops; prod gate for audits) |
 

.scratch/alpha-hardening/handoff.md

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 
 ## 1. Mission / where we are
 
-neuron-tai is a volunteer-GPU, pipeline-parallel LLM inference network with a working routing layer and a **broken money/trust path**. Three independent audits agreed: unauthenticated gossip, free-credit faucet, double-pay risks, ephemeral bans, and node self-reported accounting undermine alpha release. The owner locked alpha scope (single settlement tracker, open node join, devnet mock-USDT, carried-forward reputation) and a fraud/verification design (TOPLOC adoption, adaptive audits, on-demand hop bisection, persisted graduated reputation, tracker-authoritative accounting). **Research and planning artifacts are complete** (ADRs 0016–0019, 22 issue files, README index). Next: implement Bucket 1 blockers test-first.
+neuron-tai is a volunteer-GPU, pipeline-parallel LLM inference network with a working routing layer. Pre-release audits found the money/trust path was not alpha-ready; **Bucket 1 alpha blockers are implemented** (see `.scratch/alpha-hardening/README.md`). Remaining launch gates: issue **21** (human calibration run), post-alpha Bucket 2 (12–15), and active scratch tracks (NCA, perf, distributed GGUF).
 
 ---
 
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ Point to artifacts — do not re-derive from this handoff.
 | Path | What it contains |
 |---|---|
 | `.scratch/alpha-hardening/README.md` | Issue/ADR index + implementation order |
-| `.scratch/alpha-hardening/issues/` | 22 work items (Buckets 1–3) |
+| `.scratch/alpha-hardening/issues/` | 25 work items (Buckets 1–3 + perf follow-ups) |
 | `.scratch/alpha-hardening/research-verifiable-inference.md` | SOTA research, layered alpha scheme (§8), build-vs-adopt (§9) |
 | `docs/adr/0016–0019` | Alpha scope, auth, fraud, multi-tracker design |
 | `docs/agents/issue-tracker.md` | Issue file conventions |

.scratch/alpha-hardening/issues/21-honest-noise-calibration-corpus.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 Status: ready-for-human
 
-**BLOCKS ALPHA RELEASE.** Scoped 2026-07-06 during alpha-launch-readiness grilling session — must complete before real-money (mainnet SOL/USDT) traffic goes live for the friends + hired-VPS-host launch. Loose/uncalibrated thresholds + manual admin slash-reversal are the stopgap only until this closes.
+**BLOCKS ALPHA RELEASE.** Scoped 2026-07-06 during alpha-launch-readiness grilling session — must complete before real-money mainnet USDT traffic goes live for the friends + hired-VPS-host launch. Loose/uncalibrated thresholds + manual admin slash-reversal are the stopgap only until this closes.
 
 **Engineering complete 2026-07-06; blocked on a human running it against the real hired-VPS fleet before launch.** The three code gaps below are closed and unit-tested (see Deliverables), but nothing in a dev session can stand in for actually dispatching the job at real hardware — that step, plus the threshold/FPR write-up that depends on its output, needs an operator with the live fleet. See the validator README's "Honest-noise calibration corpus" section for the operational how-to.
 
@@ -14,9 +14,9 @@ Per [ADR-0018 consequences](../../docs/adr/0018-fraud-detection-verification-and
 
 Research anchor: `.scratch/alpha-hardening/research-verifiable-inference.md` §8 layer 3 — "collect this first — run identical jobs across the current node fleet to measure the honest divergence envelope before setting thresholds."
 
-**Launch context (why this is buildable now, not a research project):** first-launch nodes are hired VPS/VPC hosts under our own direct control (test infrastructure we pay for, not third-party volunteers) — not a long-term topology, but risk-free for calibration purposes since there's no external party to dispute a bad reading. Friends are client-side users of the API in this phase, not node operators. Run the calibration pass against this small, fully-controlled fleet first; hired hosts stay stake-free until it's done, then move to real staking once thresholds derive from their own hardware.
+**Launch context (why this is buildable now, not a research project):** first-launch nodes are hired VPS/VPC hosts under our own direct control (test infrastructure we pay for, not third-party volunteers) — not a long-term topology, but risk-free for calibration purposes since there's no external party to dispute a bad reading. Friends are client-side users of the API in this phase, not node operators. Run the calibration pass against this small, fully-controlled fleet first; hired hosts stay on probation (no upfront stake) until it's done, then move to paid USDT serving once thresholds derive from their own hardware.
 
-**Current gap (confirmed 2026-07-06 by code read):** none of the three pieces below exist yet.
+**Current gap (historical — closed 2026-07-06):** the three engineering pieces below were missing when this issue was filed; all are now implemented and unit-tested. Remaining work is the human calibration run on the live hired-VPS fleet.
 
 1. `verify_activation_proofs()` (`packages/validator/meshnet_validator/audit.py:94-127`) returns a **plain bool** — no raw TOPLOC divergence/distance value is ever computed or surfaced. Every "done" fraud-detection issue (06–10) currently runs on a guessed threshold baked into that bool, not a calibrated one.
 2. Fleet dispatch exists but is the wrong shape: `_handle_benchmark_hop_penalty` / `_handle_benchmark_results` (`packages/tracker/meshnet_tracker/server.py:2998-3104`, from the old US-030 latency work) targets pinned 1–3-node *routes* and measures latency, not TOPLOC divergence across *every* registered node.
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ Research anchor: `.scratch/alpha-hardening/research-verifiable-inference.md` §8
 - [ ] Threshold constants in validator config derived from corpus, not guessed — mechanically ready (`envelope()` returns them) but depends on the real corpus above; not yet wired into `ToplocAuditConfig` as enforced thresholds (deliberately — enforcing unvalidated thresholds would be worse than today's guessed bool).
 - [ ] False-positive rate estimate documented at chosen thresholds — `envelope()` returns `estimated_false_positive_rate` (in-sample: fraction of the recorded corpus the recommended thresholds would themselves flag); needs the real corpus to be a meaningful number, and should be written up in the runbook once collected.
 - [x] README / runbook cross-link: **do not enable production audits** until this issue closes — `packages/validator/README.md` "TOPLOC audit contract" section, updated with the full operational how-to.
-- [x] Note in the runbook that this alpha corpus must be re-run once the fleet grows beyond the hired-VPS set (different hardware mix invalidates the envelope) — same README section.
+- [x] Note in the runbook that this alpha corpus must be re-run once the fleet grows beyond the hired-VPS set (different hardware mix invalidates the envelope) — same README section; [runbook 04](../runbooks/04-toploc-calibration-run.md).
 
 ## ADR links
 

.scratch/alpha-hardening/prd.json

@@ -440,12 +440,12 @@
         "Run relevant pytest tests; run the full suite when practical or document why not"
       ],
       "priority": 21,
-      "passes": true,
+      "passes": false,
-      "notes": "Source issue: .scratch/alpha-hardening/issues/21-honest-noise-calibration-corpus.md. BLOCKS ALPHA RELEASE (real-money friends+hired-VPS launch) — rescoped 2026-07-06, no longer a Ralph-skip.",
+      "notes": "Source issue: .scratch/alpha-hardening/issues/21-honest-noise-calibration-corpus.md. BLOCKS ALPHA RELEASE (real-money mainnet USDT). Operator runbook: .scratch/alpha-hardening/runbooks/04-toploc-calibration-run.md",
       "dependsOn": [
         "AH-006"
       ],
-      "completionNotes": "Engineering complete and unit-tested (validator audit.py detailed-verify aggregation, tracker calibration.py corpus store, calibration dispatch endpoints). Marked ready-for-human, not done: real corpus collection against the live hired-VPS fleet, and the threshold/FPR write-up that depends on its output, need a human operator — see .ralph-tui/progress.md and packages/validator/README.md."
+      "completionNotes": "Engineering complete and unit-tested. Remaining: human runs POST /v1/calibration/toploc/run on live hired-VPS fleet, records envelope/FPR, wires thresholds — see runbook 04 and packages/validator/README.md."
     },
     {
       "id": "AH-022",

.scratch/alpha-hardening/runbooks/04-toploc-calibration-run.md

@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+# Runbook 04 — Honest-noise TOPLOC calibration (issue 21)
+
+**Status:** engineering complete; **operator action required** before production audit thresholds.
+
+**Blocks:** enabling calibrated TOPLOC thresholds on a mainnet / friends-test fleet (issue 21, ADR-0018).
+
+## When to run
+
+- Before first real-money traffic with audit enforcement enabled.
+- Again whenever the fleet’s **hardware mix** changes materially (new GPU generation, CPU-only nodes added, precision/recipe change per model).
+
+Alpha exception: with a **small hired-VPS-only** fleet, `gate_status.ready` may mean “covers every node we operate today” (`--toploc-calibration-gate-min-hardware-profiles 1`).
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+- Tracker running with billing + registry + `--toploc-calibration-db PATH` (or default under tracker cwd).
+- At least one **solo-capable** node per hardware profile you want in the corpus (full model coverage — partial shards are skipped).
+- Admin or validator credentials (`Authorization` header or validator service token per ADR-0017).
+- Reference validator can replay the fixed calibration prompt (same model/seed as dispatch uses).
+
+## Steps
+
+1. **Register the fleet** — all nodes you intend to pay on mainnet should be up, admitted (NCA when enabled), and solo-serving the calibration model.
+
+2. **Dispatch the job** (admin/validator only):
+
+   ```bash
+   curl -X POST "https://<tracker>/v1/calibration/toploc/run" \
+     -H "Authorization: Bearer <admin-or-validator-token>" \
+     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+     -d '{}'
+   ```
+
+   Partial-shard nodes appear under `skipped_partial_shard_node_ids`. Per-node failures appear under `skipped` with reasons.
+
+3. **Wait for completion** — watch tracker logs and node consoles until every solo-capable node has a row in the corpus.
+
+4. **Fetch results**:
+
+   ```bash
+   curl "https://<tracker>/v1/calibration/toploc/results" \
+     -H "Authorization: Bearer <admin-or-validator-token>"
+   ```
+
+   Record:
+   - `envelope` — p99 metrics + 20% safety margin (recommended tolerances).
+   - `gate_status.ready` and `gate_status.hardware_profiles`.
+   - `estimated_false_positive_rate` (in-sample sanity check only).
+
+5. **Write up thresholds** — paste envelope values into operator notes / issue 21 comment. Do **not** wire into production `ToplocAuditConfig` until you have reviewed FPR on this fleet.
+
+6. **Mark issue 21 done** — when corpus covers the launch fleet and thresholds are documented.
+
+## Two-wallet / minimal pilot variant
+
+If your “fleet” is one node machine + one client:
+
+- Run calibration against the **node** profile only (one hardware row is enough for `gate_status` with min profiles = 1).
+- Client wallet is irrelevant to calibration — it never serves inference.
+
+## Do not
+
+- Enable stricter production audit thresholds before this completes.
+- Reuse a corpus collected on devnet/mock hardware for a different mainnet GPU mix without re-running.
+
+## References
+
+- Issue: `.scratch/alpha-hardening/issues/21-honest-noise-calibration-corpus.md`
+- Code: `packages/tracker/meshnet_tracker/calibration.py`, `POST /v1/calibration/toploc/run`
+- Validator: `packages/validator/README.md` — TOPLOC audit contract

.scratch/dashboard-test-runner/PRD.md

@@ -12,4 +12,10 @@ Provide an opt-in, admin-only tracker Dashboard Testing tab that dynamically dis
 - One active run.
 - Real inference stays separately environment-gated and excluded from default suites.
 
+## Operator workflow
+
+See [`docs/dev/dashboard-test-runner.md`](../../docs/dev/dashboard-test-runner.md)
+for launch configuration, default safe suites vs the gated real-inference suite,
+and required environment variables.
+
 See `prd.json` for executable Ralph user stories and acceptance criteria.

.scratch/dashboard-test-runner/prd.json

@@ -51,15 +51,16 @@
         "uv run pytest tests/test_dashboard.py tests/test_dynamic_routing.py -q passes."
       ],
       "priority": 3,
-      "passes": false,
+      "passes": true,
       "notes": "Do not reintroduce --enable-test-runner without implementing its CLI argument in US-001.",
       "dependsOn": [
         "US-001",
         "US-002"
-      ]
+      ],
+      "completionNotes": "Completed by agent"
     }
   ],
   "metadata": {
-    "updatedAt": "2026-07-11T17:02:30.520Z"
+    "updatedAt": "2026-07-12T01:58:06.286Z"
   }
 }

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/PRD.md

@@ -1,252 +1,714 @@
-# PRD: Performant Concurrent Distributed GGUF Runtime
+# PRD: Distributed GGUF Runtime
 
-## Overview
+> **Specification status:** planning artifacts only. No distributed GGUF runtime is implemented. DGR-017 cleanup is complete; no runtime implementation story has completion credit. `prd.json` is authoritative.
 
-Build one lean native GGUF execution path that lets an Inference Route combine consumer machines to serve models larger than any one node can hold. Reuse the existing Meshnet control plane and llama.cpp/GGML execution engine. Adopt gRPC/HTTP2 and Protocol Buffers for the native Shard worker data plane rather than inventing a transport.
+## Goal
 
-The program is benchmark-gated. GGUF is not assumed faster merely because it is quantized or uses a different file format. The first story compares the current Transformers/safetensors backend against whole-model llama.cpp on controlled model/hardware/quality lanes and locks a performance contract. Native distributed work proceeds only when GGUF provides a meaningful speed or fit benefit.
+Deliver benchmark-gated, concurrent, distributed GGUF inference across consumer machines through existing Meshnet control-plane behavior and a standalone native worker around upstream llama.cpp. The accepted target is DeepSeek V4 Flash, not the superseded legacy target.
 
-## Goals
+## Locked scope
 
-- Execute one GGUF model across independently addressable contiguous Shards.
+- Existing Meshnet Tracker routing, load balancing, billing, telemetry, relay, and provider semantics are backend-agnostic and are **not redesigned**. GGUF contributes exact compatibility, range/capacity, queue/load, seam-cost, health/reliability, and certification inputs only.
-- Retain Hot KV State locally for each Shard and isolate concurrent Route Sessions.
+- The data plane is a standalone project-owned C++ Shard worker with gRPC/Protobuf and a project-owned `ShardEngine` boundary.
-- Batch compatible decode steps across active sessions for aggregate throughput.
+- llama.cpp is fetched at one exact commit into an ignored workspace from an in-repo manifest, then a numbered minimal patch stack is applied. There is no submodule, vendored tree, or permanent-fork dependency.
-- Use consumer CPU, AMD, NVIDIA, Vulkan, Metal, and mixed routes only where a real certified forward passes.
+- llama.cpp owns DeepSeek V4 graphs, mHC, MoE, attention, hash routing, and kernels. Meshnet adds only range-ownership hooks, typed boundary/local-state adapters, worker integration, and parity/certification.
-- Beat the current distributed safetensors route under a controlled performance contract or enable a larger otherwise-unroutable model at useful measured speed.
+- Quantization and placement are dynamic recipe inputs. The 2–4 and 10+ stage layouts are certification scenarios, never product constants.
-- Keep the critical path to Meshnet plus a small pinned llama.cpp fork and standalone C++ worker.
+- Per-shard Hot KV and V4 CSA/HCA/SWA/indexer/compressor state remain local and keyed by route session/epoch. The WAN seam carries the typed mHC 4×4096 residual boundary, positions, token-ID sideband where required, and schema/cache expectations—not per-layer caches.
-- Produce narrow upstream collaboration material for llama.cpp without placing Meshnet networking or economics inside upstream.
+- Route changes use cache miss plus re-prefill/restart. There is no WAN KV or V4 auxiliary-cache migration.
+- CPU/CUDA/ROCm/Vulkan/Metal compile lanes are planned; only exact real-hardware-certified backend/model/recipe lanes may be advertised.
+- Alpha requires correctness and the pre-locked useful-speed gate. MTP is reserved and off for alpha; its ownership contract, implementation, and benchmark are required before beta.
 
-## Quality Gates
+## Target identities
 
-Every story must:
+- DeepSeek V4 official target SHA: `60d8d70770c6776ff598c94bb586a859a38244f1`.
+- llama.cpp V4 support lineage began at PR 24162 / merge `8c146a8366304c871efc26057cc90370ccf58dad`; DGR-027 later pins one exact validated current commit.
+- V4 scope: 43 main layers plus MTP; mHC 4×4096 boundary; 256 routed + 1 shared experts with six routed active; token IDs required for the first three hash-routed layers.
+- Exact split-GGUF artifacts are provisioned to mounted-drive storage with a complete hashed manifest and resumable verification; no model artifact may be placed under `/home`.
 
-- Run its targeted `pytest` tests.
+## Quality gates
-- Run `python -m compileall packages tests` for Python changes.
-- Run `git diff --check`.
-- Keep default tests deterministic, model-download-free, API-credit-free, and GPU-free.
-- Preserve existing Transformers/safetensors behavior unless the story explicitly changes a versioned compatibility contract.
 
-Stories touching the native worker must also:
+The canonical gate groups live in `prd.json`. Every story explicitly requires its applicable shared gates: deterministic targeted tests, Python compile checks where applicable, native CMake/CTest and exact patch verification where applicable, real artifact/hardware provenance for opt-in lanes, `git diff --check`, and a durable evidence handoff.
 
-- Build the pinned C++ target with CMake.
+## Milestones
-- Run focused C++/protocol tests through CTest or the documented equivalent.
-- Verify the llama.cpp patch stack applies cleanly to the exact pinned commit.
 
-Real-model/hardware stories must:
+- **M0 — Truth and contracts (DGR-017..DGR-020):** Reconciled legacy truth, canonical metadata, immutable gates, and a controlled whole-model baseline.
+- **M1 — Protocol and native substrate (DGR-021..DGR-033):** Versioned gRPC protocol, exact identities/artifacts, pinned upstream, reproducible builds, ShardEngine, and fake worker.
+- **M2 — Dense vertical proof (DGR-034..DGR-043):** Dense ranged execution, parity, local state, worker integration, and GGUF inputs to existing routing.
+- **M3 — DeepSeek V4 Flash alpha (DGR-044..DGR-054):** Pinned V4 adapter around upstream llama.cpp, real route certification, and pre-locked alpha decision with MTP off.
+- **M4 — Performance and beta hardening (DGR-055..DGR-067):** Batching, backpressure, recovery, scale certification, optimization, MTP, and hardware matrix.
+- **M5 — Release and maintenance (DGR-068..DGR-071):** Reproducible packages, upstream collaboration, beta decision, and sustainable recertification.
 
-- Require `MESHNET_ENABLE_REAL_INFERENCE_TESTS=1`.
+## User stories
-- Use the machine-specific mounted-drive model path and the certified runtime environment; never place model artifacts under `/home`.
-- Record exact model revision, artifact hash, runtime recipe, hardware, driver/backend, commands, raw JSON metrics, and output-quality result.
-- Label synthetic tests as unit coverage rather than distributed acceptance.
 
-Before a story is marked complete, run the full deterministic `pytest -q` suite or record the exact pre-existing unrelated failure with a clean-tree reproduction.
+### DGR-017: Reconcile and clean the superseded DGR backlog
 
-## User Stories
+**Milestone:** M0 · **Mode:** AFK · **State:** complete · **Depends on:** none
 
-### DGR-001: Lock the safetensors-versus-GGUF performance contract
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/017-reconcile-and-clean-the-superseded-dgr-backlog.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (none) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Audit implementation reality, void inherited completion credit, and clean misleading backlog/stub baggage while preserving attributable evidence and accepted research.
-**Description:** As a runtime engineer, I need a controlled baseline so that GGUF work proceeds from measured speed, memory, and quality rather than reputation.
 
-**Acceptance Criteria:**
+- [x] Compare the branch, old DGR-001..016 issue/pass states, evidence, and actual runtime sources; classify each output as reusable, reference-only, blocked, obsolete, or absent.
-- [ ] Benchmark the same model architecture/revision, machine, prompts, context lengths, output lengths, sampling policy, and concurrency across the current Transformers/safetensors recipe and whole-model llama.cpp recipes.
+- [x] Record an authoritative old-to-new disposition and provenance; explicitly give no completion credit to any new story and note absent implementation/evidence.
-- [ ] Separate correctness/quality lanes from quantized performance/fit lanes instead of claiming BF16 and Q4 are numerically equivalent.
+- [x] Remove or archive only artifacts the audit proves obsolete while preserving accepted ADRs, useful research, raw benchmark evidence, and attributable reusable work.
-- [ ] Report TTFT, prefill tok/s, decode tok/s, p50/p95 latency, aggregate throughput, RSS, VRAM, artifact size, failures, and output drift in machine-readable JSON.
+- [x] Protect ignored build workspaces, generated protobuf outputs, Ralph logs, and model artifacts from accidental commits, and document every retained legacy artifact.
-- [ ] Add concurrency levels 1 and 4 where memory permits.
+- [x] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
-- [ ] Write a versioned performance contract consumed by later release gates, including an explicit stop condition when llama.cpp/GGUF has no meaningful speed or fit benefit.
 
-### DGR-002: Adopt the versioned gRPC Shard protocol
+### DGR-018: Define canonical Ralph and Gitea metadata schema
-**Description:** As a node developer, I need a battle-proven streaming protocol so that Python and C++ Shards communicate without a custom socket protocol.
 
-**Acceptance Criteria:**
+**Milestone:** M0 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-017
-- [ ] Add a Protocol Buffers schema for capability, health, session stream, release, and cancellation operations.
-- [ ] Define one long-lived bidirectional gRPC stream per Route Session Activation Seam with deadlines, cancellation, flow control, and structured errors.
-- [ ] Define bounded chunking for prefill and a small decode fast path.
-- [ ] Carry schema version, request/work ID, Route Session ID, route epoch, artifact/recipe fingerprint, Shard range/effective start, phase, position, idempotency step, cache expectation, compression, and checksum.
-- [ ] Define a versioned named-tensor bundle with per-tensor name, shape, dtype, byte order, and payload fragments.
-- [ ] Add generated-schema round-trip and compatibility tests in Python and C++.
 
-### DGR-003: Define exact Artifact and runtime recipe identity
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/018-define-canonical-ralph-and-gitea-metadata-schema.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-017) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Make `prd.json` the validated source from which Markdown and Gitea issues can later be generated losslessly.
-**Description:** As the Tracker, I need exact compatibility identity so that only numerically and operationally compatible Shards form an Inference Route.
 
-**Acceptance Criteria:**
+- [ ] Define fields for stable ID/title, labels, milestone, type, `dependsOn`, derived `blocks`, triage, evidence class, and hardware/model/upstream flags.
-- [ ] Separate weight quantization, activation dtype, compute dtype, KV dtype/layout, tokenizer revision, architecture adapter, backend, and runtime version.
+- [ ] Validate that all stories start `passes: false`, use known dependencies, and have unique stable IDs.
-- [ ] Bind derivative or split artifacts to an exact source Model Artifact hash and Shard range.
+- [ ] Reject cycles, missing dependencies, mismatched generated `blocks`, duplicate titles/IDs, and generated artifacts claiming authority over `prd.json`.
-- [ ] Produce a stable compatibility fingerprint used by capability admission and the gRPC handshake.
+- [ ] Add deterministic model-free tests for parse, validation, and generation round trips.
-- [ ] Fail closed on mismatched artifact, tokenizer, architecture, range, boundary schema, activation recipe, or cache layout.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
-- [ ] Keep unsupported recipes registered-but-dark until a real distributed forward certifies them.
 
-### DGR-004: Create the reproducible pinned llama.cpp patch stack
+### DGR-019: Lock alpha and beta performance contracts
-**Description:** As a maintainer, I need a small auditable fork boundary so that upstream updates do not turn the runtime into an unmaintainable stitched codebase.
 
-**Acceptance Criteria:**
+**Milestone:** M0 · **Mode:** HITL · **Triage:** `ready-for-human` · **Depends on:** DGR-017
-- [ ] Pin one exact llama.cpp commit through a reproducible source dependency mechanism.
-- [ ] Store a numbered minimal patch stack separately from Meshnet networking code.
-- [ ] Add a build script that applies/checks patches and builds the standalone worker without manual source copying.
-- [ ] Record upstream file/ABI assumptions and fail clearly when the pin changes.
-- [ ] Preserve upstream license and attribution notices.
-- [ ] Add a clean rebuild smoke test that does not download a model.
 
-### DGR-005: Implement dense-Llama range-aware GGUF ownership
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/019-lock-alpha-and-beta-performance-contracts.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-017) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Freeze useful speed, correctness, memory-fit, and stop/go thresholds before implementation results are visible.
-**Description:** As a node, I need to map only my assigned dense-Llama Shard so that aggregate consumer memory can hold a model larger than one node.
 
-**Acceptance Criteria:**
+- [ ] Define controlled safetensors, whole-model GGUF, dense distributed GGUF, and V4 Flash distributed lanes with fixed prompts, context/output lengths, sampling, concurrency, hardware, and metrics.
-- [ ] Register and allocate only `blk.N.*` tensors in the assigned range.
+- [ ] Alpha requires correctness plus a human-approved useful-speed threshold; beta adds concurrency, long-context, failure, and sustained-throughput thresholds.
-- [ ] Load embeddings only for the head and final norm/LM head only for the tail, including tied embeddings.
+- [ ] Separate quantization/model-fit gains from runtime, transport, batching, and kernel gains.
-- [ ] Prefer range-aware mapping from one exact source GGUF; if derivative sub-GGUFs are used temporarily, verify source/slice hashes and avoid claiming final artifact semantics.
+- [ ] Treat quants and 2–4/10+ stage counts only as named certification scenarios; no product logic may hardcode them.
-- [ ] Report authoritative loaded range and endpoint ownership from the model, not operator CLI claims.
+- [ ] Lock thresholds and stop conditions in versioned machine-readable data before benchmark result ingestion.
-- [ ] Demonstrate mapped/resident memory scales with owned tensors rather than full model size.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
 
-### DGR-006: Implement architecture-defined boundary input/output
+### DGR-020: Run the controlled whole-model GGUF baseline
-**Description:** As a Shard, I need to consume and emit the correct transformer boundary state so that disjoint processes reproduce whole-model execution.
 
-**Acceptance Criteria:**
+**Milestone:** M0 · **Mode:** HITL · **Triage:** `ready-for-human` · **Depends on:** DGR-019
-- [ ] Head accepts token IDs and owns token embedding.
-- [ ] Middle/tail bypass token embedding and accept the named boundary bundle.
-- [ ] Non-tail emits the unnormalized architecture-defined residual/boundary before final norm/head and before tail-only row pruning.
-- [ ] Tail emits logits or token output through an explicit sampling contract.
-- [ ] Dense-Llama whole-model versus two-range prefill and greedy-decode parity passes the documented tolerance.
-- [ ] The adapter interface fails closed for uncertified architectures.
 
-### DGR-007: Add isolated concurrent local Hot KV State
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/020-run-the-controlled-whole-model-gguf-baseline.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-019) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Execute the locked safetensors and whole-model llama.cpp lanes before distributed implementation results can influence the decision.
-**Description:** As a client, I need concurrent Route Sessions to retain independent per-Shard cache so that one request cannot clear or corrupt another.
 
-**Acceptance Criteria:**
+- [ ] Run the exact DGR-019 safetensors and whole-model llama.cpp benchmark lanes with locked prompts, lengths, sampling, concurrency, hardware, and artifact/runtime identities.
-- [ ] Map `(Route Session ID, route epoch)` to an isolated llama sequence or bounded context.
+- [ ] Record raw machine-readable correctness, TTFT, prefill/decode, throughput, latency, memory, artifact-size, failure, and quality-drift metrics without ingesting distributed implementation results.
-- [ ] Allocate KV only for owned layers.
+- [ ] Separate quantization/model-fit effects from runtime/kernel effects and preserve failed or unavailable lanes honestly.
-- [ ] Support prefill append, decode append, truncate, release, TTL/LRU eviction, and explicit cache-miss response.
+- [ ] Publish a threshold-based `go`, `optimize baseline`, or `stop` decision without changing the locked contract.
-- [ ] Reject stale epochs and incompatible cache recipes.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
-- [ ] At least four concurrent sessions on a small model complete without token or KV cross-talk.
-- [ ] Cancellation/release of one session leaves other sessions intact and memory returns to the configured budget.
 
-### DGR-008: Build the standalone C++ gRPC Shard worker
+### DGR-021: Define the versioned named-tensor stream envelope
-**Description:** As a node runtime, I need one supervised native process so that llama.cpp internals remain behind a stable project-owned protocol.
 
-**Acceptance Criteria:**
+**Milestone:** M1 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-018
-- [ ] Worker exposes capability, health, session stream, release, cancellation, and metrics services from DGR-002.
-- [ ] Worker loads one exact Artifact/recipe/Shard identity and refuses mismatched requests.
-- [ ] Streaming path enforces bounded messages, flow control, deadlines, idempotency, and independent session cancellation.
-- [ ] Worker does not expose raw llama.cpp RPC or arbitrary GGML graph execution.
-- [ ] Graceful shutdown releases sessions; crash behavior is bounded and observable.
-- [ ] Python integration tests run against a fake model mode without model downloads.
 
-### DGR-009: Integrate the native worker with Meshnet
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/021-define-the-versioned-named-tensor-stream-envelope.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-018) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Establish the backend-neutral protobuf envelope used by direct and relayed Shard activation traffic.
-**Description:** As the existing node service, I need a GGUF Shard backend adapter so that the Tracker, relay, billing, telemetry, and capability admission remain the sole control plane.
 
-**Acceptance Criteria:**
+- [ ] Define schema version, request/work ID, route session/epoch, shard range/effective start, phase, position, and idempotency step.
-- [ ] Implement the existing model-backend surface without changing Transformers behavior.
+- [ ] Define named tensors with shape, dtype, byte order, bounded fragments, compression identity, and checksum.
-- [ ] Registration carries exact validated GGUF recipe, Shard, backend and concurrency/KV capacity.
+- [ ] Reserve extensible fields for token-ID sidebands, architecture state, recurrent state, and MTP without claiming implementations.
-- [ ] Tracker forms only complete compatible routes and keeps uncertified recipes dark.
+- [ ] Add deterministic serialization, fragmentation, checksum, unknown-field, and size-limit tests.
-- [ ] Direct routes use gRPC streams; relayed routes carry the same versioned protobuf frames as opaque binary through the existing relay seam.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
-- [ ] Existing request/work IDs, cancellation, Generation Telemetry, billing, and per-node attribution remain correlated.
-- [ ] No vLLM, Nakshatra, prima.cpp, or custom-engine control plane becomes a core dependency.
 
-### DGR-010: Pass local real-model two-process acceptance
+### DGR-022: Define Shard lifecycle and structured status RPCs
-**Description:** As a release engineer, I need real local distributed parity before involving network variability.
 
-**Acceptance Criteria:**
+**Milestone:** M1 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-021
-- [ ] Two local worker processes open disjoint dense-Llama ranges from the certified Artifact.
-- [ ] Prefill and at least 32 greedy decode tokens match whole-model llama.cpp within the certified tolerance.
-- [ ] Each worker retains only its own tensors and Hot KV State.
-- [ ] Four concurrent Route Sessions pass isolation and cleanup checks.
-- [ ] Report TTFT, prefill/decode throughput, seam bytes/latency, worker RSS/VRAM, KV memory, batch size, and queue time.
-- [ ] Killing one worker produces a bounded structured failure rather than a deadlock.
 
-### DGR-011: Pass a real heterogeneous two-machine route
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/022-define-shard-lifecycle-and-structured-status-rpcs.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-021) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Complete the gRPC contract for worker capability, health, sessions, cancellation, release, and metrics.
-**Description:** As a consumer-hardware operator, I need two physical machines to execute one GGUF model so that the distributed claim is real.
 
-**Acceptance Criteria:**
+- [ ] Define capability, health, bidirectional session stream, cancellation, release, and metrics RPCs.
-- [ ] Tracker selects two physical nodes with disjoint Shards and one exact certified recipe/compatibility class.
+- [ ] Specify deadlines, cancellation propagation, bounded flow control, cache expectations/results, and structured error taxonomy.
-- [ ] Actual CPU/GPU execution occurs on both nodes; synthetic workers do not satisfy acceptance.
+- [ ] Specify TLS/auth hooks without moving Meshnet authentication or billing into the worker.
-- [ ] Prefill/decode, concurrent-session isolation, telemetry, cancellation, and cleanup pass over the real transport/relay path.
+- [ ] Add compatibility tests for supported versions and fail-closed tests for unsupported versions and malformed lifecycle transitions.
-- [ ] Exact hardware, network, backend, model hash, route, commands, and raw metrics are recorded.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
-- [ ] A model or recipe larger than one participating node's admitted memory is exercised when available.
-- [ ] Output drift is measured and incompatible mixed backends fail closed.
 
-### DGR-012: Implement continuous batching and bounded admission
+### DGR-023: Make Python and C++ protobuf generation reproducible
-**Description:** As a node operator, I need active sessions batched safely so that concurrency increases aggregate throughput rather than serializing every request.
 
-**Acceptance Criteria:**
+**Milestone:** M1 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-021
-- [ ] Node scheduler admits sessions against weight, KV, scratch, and queue budgets.
-- [ ] Compatible decode steps from multiple sessions form llama.cpp batches while preserving per-session positions and outputs.
-- [ ] Prefill does not starve decode; scheduling policy and bounds are explicit.
-- [ ] Backpressure prevents unbounded queued activations or KV growth.
-- [ ] Capability telemetry reports active sessions, queue depth, batch occupancy, KV pressure, prefill/decode rates, and rejected admissions.
-- [ ] Concurrency 1/2/4/8 benchmark identifies saturation and shows no cross-session corruption.
 
-### DGR-013: Harden failure, cancellation, and restart semantics
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/023-make-python-and-c-protobuf-generation-reproducible.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-021) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Generate identical Python/C++ protocol bindings without manual copying or checked-in build debris.
-**Description:** As a client, I need failures to be bounded and explicit so that distributed speed does not come with hanging or corrupted generations.
 
-**Acceptance Criteria:**
+- [ ] Pin protoc, gRPC, and plugin versions or declare a verified compatible range.
-- [ ] Deadlines and heartbeat/health loss terminate blocked stream operations.
+- [ ] Generate Python and C++ bindings into out-of-tree build/package locations through documented commands.
-- [ ] Cancellation propagates across every Shard and releases local KV and queued buffers.
+- [ ] Add Python↔C++ round-trip and descriptor compatibility tests.
-- [ ] Duplicate steps are idempotent; uncertain mutations are never replayed silently.
+- [ ] A clean checkout regenerates bindings deterministically or fails with an actionable toolchain error.
-- [ ] Alpha failover restarts from token zero on a newly compatible route rather than importing unverified KV.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
-- [ ] Worker death, stream reset, malformed bundle, stale epoch, and cache miss tests pass.
-- [ ] Billing/work records distinguish completed, cancelled, failed, and unverified work.
 
-### DGR-014: Enforce the GGUF-versus-safetensors release gate
+### DGR-024: Implement in-memory fake gRPC seam transport
-**Description:** As the product owner, I need an end-to-end comparison so that the native runtime ships only if it advances model access or performance.
 
-**Acceptance Criteria:**
+**Milestone:** M1 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-022, DGR-023
-- [ ] Run current distributed safetensors and distributed GGUF routes on the same certified model/hardware/network scenario where technically comparable.
-- [ ] Report quality, TTFT, prefill/decode throughput, aggregate concurrency throughput, p95 latency, seam cost, memory, KV pressure, failures, and cleanup.
-- [ ] Evaluate against the DGR-001 performance contract without changing thresholds after seeing results.
-- [ ] Ship recommendation is one of: promote GGUF, optimize a measured bottleneck with a new bounded task, or stop the native track.
-- [ ] Results clearly separate quantization gains from transport/runtime gains.
 
-### DGR-015: Add and certify a Qwen3/Qwen3-MoE adapter
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/024-implement-in-memory-fake-grpc-seam-transport.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-022, DGR-023) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Exercise the complete streaming protocol deterministically before a real model or worker exists.
-**Description:** As a client seeking top models, I need a separately certified MoE-capable architecture after the dense runtime proves stable.
 
-**Acceptance Criteria:**
+- [ ] Provide a fake bidirectional stream supporting prefill fragments, decode fast-path frames, release, cancel, and structured errors.
-- [ ] Implement explicit tensor ownership, router/top-k, expert/shared-expert, Q/K normalization, boundary bundle, and cache semantics for the selected Qwen3 family recipe.
+- [ ] Test flow-control blocking, deadlines, malformed fragments, checksum failure, duplicates, and stale epochs.
-- [ ] Do not reuse the dense-Llama adapter through unchecked name substitutions.
+- [ ] Verify direct and opaque-relay framing preserve identical protobuf bytes.
-- [ ] Whole-model versus distributed prefill/decode parity passes the architecture-specific tolerance.
+- [ ] Tests require no sockets outside localhost, model downloads, or native accelerator.
-- [ ] Expert memory ownership and communication are measured.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
-- [ ] Real consumer-hardware acceptance and capability admission pass before the recipe becomes routable.
 
-### DGR-016: Produce the upstream llama.cpp collaboration package
+### DGR-025: Define exact artifact and runtime recipe identity
-**Description:** As a maintainer, I need narrow upstreamable proposals so that our patch burden can shrink without asking llama.cpp to own Meshnet networking.
 
-**Acceptance Criteria:**
+**Milestone:** M1 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-018, DGR-021
-- [ ] Separate generic llama.cpp hooks from Meshnet protocol/control-plane code.
-- [ ] Prepare minimal reproducible examples and tests for range-aware loading, boundary input/output, and layer-filtered KV.
-- [ ] Compare the proposal with Nakshatra and prima.cpp evidence and explain why the API is generally useful.
-- [ ] Preserve one scoped commit/patch per concern against the exact upstream pin.
-- [ ] Produce an outreach document suitable for Georgi/llama.cpp maintainers; actual sending remains a human action.
 
-## Functional Requirements
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/025-define-exact-artifact-and-runtime-recipe-identity.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-018, DGR-021) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Ensure the tracker and worker only combine numerically and operationally compatible shards.
 
-1. The public distributed primitive is an ordered Inference Route of contiguous Shards.
+- [ ] Fingerprint source artifact SHA, tokenizer revision, architecture adapter/version, boundary schema, runtime pin/patch stack, backend, quant, activation/compute dtype, and KV/state layout.
-2. The native runtime uses llama.cpp/GGML; vLLM remains optional as a complete managed provider.
+- [ ] Bind each shard to an exact half-open range without hardcoding a topology or quant.
-3. Native worker communication uses gRPC/HTTP2 and Protocol Buffers with one stable stream per Route Session Activation Seam.
+- [ ] Fail closed on any artifact, adapter, boundary, cache, backend, or runtime mismatch.
-4. Artifact identity, runtime recipe, boundary schema, activation dtype and cache layout must match exactly before routing.
+- [ ] Unsupported recipes remain registered-but-dark until real-hardware evidence certifies them.
-5. Hot KV State remains local to the node serving the Shard.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
-6. Multiple Route Sessions must execute concurrently without shared-cache corruption.
-7. Nodes batch compatible active decode steps and enforce bounded admission/backpressure.
-8. Unsupported architectures and hardware recipes remain non-routable until real certification passes.
-9. Default tests never download models or require GPUs; real tests are explicit and preserve artifacts off `/home`.
-10. The release decision is based on measured performance, fit, quality, concurrency, and reliability relative to the safetensors baseline.
 
-## Non-Goals
+### DGR-026: Provision exact split-GGUF artifacts outside /home
 
-- Forking vLLM or importing its PagedAttention/Torch distributed runtime.
+**Milestone:** M1 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-025
-- Adopting Nakshatra, prima.cpp, llama-gguf, LiGGUF, or GPUStack as the control plane.
-- Public WAN tensor/expert parallel collectives.
-- QUIC, WebRTC, or a custom socket protocol.
-- Automatic KV migration or mid-generation route repair in the first release.
-- Speculative decoding or disaggregated prefill before the core release gate.
-- Supporting every GGUF architecture before dense Llama and Qwen3-family certification.
-- A marketing-scale model demo that bypasses parity, concurrency, admission, or performance gates.
 
-## Success Metrics
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/026-provision-exact-split-gguf-artifacts-outside-home.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-025) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Make exact split-GGUF inputs reproducibly available from mounted-drive storage without embedding a quantization or topology assumption in product code.
 
-- A real model larger than one admitted node can execute across consumer machines when suitable hardware/artifacts are available.
+- [ ] Create an exact manifest that binds the source artifact, tokenizer/revision, every split file name, size, range/role, and cryptographic hash.
-- Four or more concurrent sessions complete without cross-talk; hardware-specific saturation is measured.
+- [ ] Provide resumable, hash-verifying download/provision tooling targeting configured mounted-drive storage; refuse paths under `/home` and incomplete or mismatched splits.
-- Distributed GGUF passes the locked performance/fit contract against the existing safetensors route.
+- [ ] Keep quantization and split topology as manifest/recipe inputs with no hardcoded quant, node count, or range layout.
-- Worker and Tracker recover all resources after completion, cancellation, malformed input, and node failure.
+- [ ] Add deterministic model-download-free tests using tiny local split fixtures, including interrupted resume, missing split, hash mismatch, and `/home` rejection.
-- The critical runtime remains Meshnet plus one standalone worker and a small auditable llama.cpp patch stack.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
 
-## Open Questions
+### DGR-027: Add exact llama.cpp provenance manifest and fetch workspace
 
-- Exact benchmark model and quantization lanes are selected by DGR-001 from currently supported, legally redistributable artifacts.
+**Milestone:** M1 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-017
-- Final hardware-specific concurrency and useful-speed thresholds are locked by measured baselines rather than guessed globally.
+
-- Upstream llama.cpp acceptance is desirable but not a prerequisite for the first narrow pinned fork.
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/027-add-exact-llama-cpp-provenance-manifest-and-fetch-workspace.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-017) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Pin llama.cpp exactly through an in-repo manifest while fetching source only into an ignored build workspace.
+
+- [ ] Manifest records upstream URL, exact commit, expected source archive/tree hash, license, and retrieval method.
+- [ ] Fetch tooling verifies identity before use and refuses an unpinned branch/tag.
+- [ ] Source is fetched into an ignored build workspace; no submodule, vendored source tree, or permanent fork is introduced.
+- [ ] Offline reuse is supported only after the cached tree’s exact identity is verified.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-028: Implement numbered patch-stack apply and verification
+
+**Milestone:** M1 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-027
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/028-implement-numbered-patch-stack-apply-and-verification.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-027) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Maintain a minimal auditable llama.cpp delta with one numbered patch per concern.
+
+- [ ] Add deterministic apply/check/reverse verification against the exact manifest pin.
+- [ ] Separate range loading, boundary I/O, filtered state, and worker hooks into scoped patches.
+- [ ] Record upstream file/API assumptions and fail with the first incompatible patch when the pin changes.
+- [ ] Verify license/attribution and prove no Meshnet routing, billing, relay, or authentication code enters the patch stack.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-029: Create the native CMake skeleton and deterministic CPU lane
+
+**Milestone:** M1 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-027, DGR-028
+
+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.
+
+- [ ] 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.
+
+### DGR-030: Add accelerator build presets and native CI matrix
+
+**Milestone:** M1 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-029
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/030-add-accelerator-build-presets-and-native-ci-matrix.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-029) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Compile all required accelerator lanes reproducibly while keeping untested real-hardware capabilities registered-dark.
+
+- [ ] Add isolated out-of-tree presets for CUDA, ROCm, Vulkan, and Metal without changing the deterministic CPU default.
+- [ ] Add a native CI/build matrix that reports unavailable SDKs as explicit unavailable/skipped lanes rather than false success.
+- [ ] Compile each available lane and preserve exact compiler, SDK, upstream pin, patch-stack, and build-option evidence.
+- [ ] Keep every backend/model/recipe lane registered-dark until a separate real-hardware certification record exists.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-031: Introduce the project-owned `ShardEngine` interface
+
+**Milestone:** M1 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-021, DGR-025
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/031-introduce-the-project-owned-shardengine-interface.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-021, DGR-025) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Isolate worker/protocol code from llama.cpp internals behind a stable project-owned engine contract.
+
+- [ ] Define load, capabilities, prefill/decode, boundary/logits result, cancel, release, health, and metrics operations.
+- [ ] Use project-owned request/result/state types; expose no `ggml_tensor`, llama context, scheduler, or ABI-owned structure.
+- [ ] Reserve typed MTP and architecture auxiliary-state hooks without enabling them.
+- [ ] Add contract tests proving fake and future llama implementations obey identical lifecycle semantics.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-032: Implement deterministic fake `ShardEngine`
+
+**Milestone:** M1 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-031
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/032-implement-deterministic-fake-shardengine.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-031) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Provide an engine fixture that deterministically transforms typed boundary bundles and session state.
+
+- [ ] Support head, middle, tail, prefill, decode, cancellation, and release with deterministic outputs.
+- [ ] Model isolated session/epoch state and deterministic cache-miss/stale-epoch failures.
+- [ ] Support configurable delay, memory pressure, malformed output, and crash injection.
+- [ ] Contract tests distinguish fixture evidence from real-model certification.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-033: Build a standalone fake C++ gRPC Shard worker
+
+**Milestone:** M1 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-022, DGR-024, DGR-032
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/033-build-a-standalone-fake-c-grpc-shard-worker.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-022, DGR-024, DGR-032) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Prove the standalone worker process, stream, lifecycle, and supervision shape before llama.cpp integration.
+
+- [ ] A standalone C++ executable serves the complete lifecycle and stream RPC contract using the fake engine.
+- [ ] Python integration tests cover startup, health, capability, fragmented prefill, decode, release, cancellation, and graceful shutdown.
+- [ ] Bounded messages, deadlines, flow control, and independent session cancellation are enforced.
+- [ ] The worker exposes neither llama.cpp RPC nor arbitrary graph execution.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-034: Implement dense-Llama range-aware GGUF ownership
+
+**Milestone:** M2 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-028, DGR-029, DGR-031
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/034-implement-dense-llama-range-aware-gguf-ownership.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-028, DGR-029, DGR-031) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Load only the dense-Llama tensors owned by a shard range.
+
+- [ ] Load only `blk.N.*` tensors in the assigned range, embeddings only at the head, and norm/output or tied output only at the tail.
+- [ ] Derive authoritative range and endpoint ownership from the loaded engine state.
+- [ ] Reject invalid/gapped/out-of-model ranges and unexpected required tensors.
+- [ ] Real-model evidence shows mapped/resident memory scales with owned tensors rather than full artifact size.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-035: Implement dense architecture boundary input/output
+
+**Milestone:** M2 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-021, DGR-031, DGR-034
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/035-implement-dense-architecture-boundary-input-output.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-021, DGR-031, DGR-034) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Execute dense head/middle/tail ranges through an architecture-defined residual boundary.
+
+- [ ] Head accepts token IDs and owns embedding; middle/tail bypass embedding and accept a named boundary bundle.
+- [ ] Non-tail returns the unnormalized residual before final norm/head and before tail-only row pruning.
+- [ ] Tail returns logits or sampled-token output under an explicit contract.
+- [ ] Uncertified architectures and incompatible boundary schemas fail closed.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-036: Prove dense fixture and real-model range parity
+
+**Milestone:** M2 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-033, DGR-035
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/036-prove-dense-fixture-and-real-model-range-parity.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-033, DGR-035) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Prove the engine/protocol seam before adding session concurrency.
+
+- [ ] Model-free two-stage tests pass through two fake worker processes with disjoint ranges.
+- [ ] A small real dense GGUF passes whole-model versus two-range prefill parity.
+- [ ] At least 32 greedy decode tokens match the locked tolerance.
+- [ ] Evidence distinguishes deterministic fixture proof from opt-in real-model proof.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-037: Bind llama.cpp to the standalone worker
+
+**Milestone:** M2 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-022, DGR-023, DGR-031, DGR-034, DGR-035
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/037-bind-llama-cpp-to-the-standalone-worker.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-022, DGR-023, DGR-031, DGR-034, DGR-035) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Replace the fake engine with the pinned llama.cpp `ShardEngine` implementation without changing the public worker contract.
+
+- [ ] Worker loads exactly one artifact/recipe/range identity and rejects mismatched stream requests.
+- [ ] All execution passes through `ShardEngine`; llama.cpp implementation types remain private.
+- [ ] Health and metrics expose loaded identity, authoritative ownership, memory, and execution state.
+- [ ] Graceful shutdown releases model/session resources; injected process death is observable and bounded.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-038: Implement isolated shard-local Hot KV State
+
+**Milestone:** M2 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-037
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/038-implement-isolated-shard-local-hot-kv-state.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-037) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Map each route session and epoch to isolated state containing only locally owned layers.
+
+- [ ] Map `(route_session_id, route_epoch)` to an isolated llama sequence or bounded context.
+- [ ] Support prefill/decode append, truncate, release, TTL/LRU eviction, cache miss, and stale-epoch rejection.
+- [ ] Four concurrent sessions complete without token, KV, position, or cancellation cross-talk.
+- [ ] Release/eviction returns memory to the configured budget without affecting other sessions.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-039: Pass local two-process dense acceptance
+
+**Milestone:** M2 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-036, DGR-037, DGR-038
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/039-pass-local-two-process-dense-acceptance.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-036, DGR-037, DGR-038) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Establish the first real, independently executing distributed GGUF route on one host.
+
+- [ ] Two worker processes open disjoint dense ranges and both execute real prefill/decode work.
+- [ ] Whole-model parity, 32-token greedy decode, four-session isolation, cancellation, and cleanup pass.
+- [ ] Record TTFT, prefill/decode rates, seam bytes/latency, RSS/VRAM, KV, queue, and failure metrics.
+- [ ] Killing one worker returns a bounded structured failure rather than hanging.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-040: Add node-side native worker supervision
+
+**Milestone:** M2 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-033, DGR-037
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/040-add-node-side-native-worker-supervision.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-033, DGR-037) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Let the existing node service safely start, probe, stop, and restart the standalone worker.
+
+- [ ] Supervision owns process startup, readiness, log capture, graceful shutdown, and bounded forced termination.
+- [ ] Startup verifies worker binary, artifact identity, recipe, and range before registration.
+- [ ] Crashes or health loss make the capability unavailable without corrupting the Transformers backend.
+- [ ] Tests use the fake worker and deterministic crash injection.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-041: Register native Shard capabilities without redesigning Meshnet
+
+**Milestone:** M2 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-025, DGR-040
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/041-register-native-shard-capabilities-without-redesigning-meshnet.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-025, DGR-040) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Adapt native worker identity and capacity to existing backend-agnostic capability admission.
+
+- [ ] Registration carries exact recipe fingerprint, authoritative range, backend, memory/KV capacity, concurrency, and certification status.
+- [ ] Existing tracker, billing, routing, telemetry, and provider semantics remain backend-agnostic.
+- [ ] Uncertified backend/model/recipe combinations are visible but unroutable.
+- [ ] Existing Transformers registration and route tests remain unchanged in behavior.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-042: Carry native frames through direct and existing relay seams
+
+**Milestone:** M2 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-024, DGR-040
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/042-carry-native-frames-through-direct-and-existing-relay-seams.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-024, DGR-040) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Use direct gRPC where available and the existing relay as opaque protobuf transport without redesigning relay behavior.
+
+- [ ] Direct paths use the long-lived gRPC activation stream.
+- [ ] Relayed paths carry byte-identical versioned protobuf frames through the existing relay contract.
+- [ ] Request/work identity, cancellation, deadlines, telemetry, billing correlation, and per-node attribution survive both paths.
+- [ ] Fake-worker tests cover direct, relay, disconnect, cancellation, and bounded buffering.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-043: Expose GGUF compatibility and measured cost inputs to existing routing
+
+**Milestone:** M2 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-041
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/043-expose-gguf-compatibility-and-measured-cost-inputs-to-existing-routing.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-041) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Adapt exact GGUF recipe/range compatibility and measured capacity, queue, seam-cost, health, and reliability data into the existing backend-agnostic routing inputs without redesigning routing or load balancing.
+
+- [ ] Expose exact recipe, range coverage, capacity, queue/load, seam-cost, health, reliability, backend, and certification measurements through existing tracker input contracts.
+- [ ] Prove existing routing forms complete compatible coverage and excludes dark or mismatched candidates using its current backend-agnostic mechanisms.
+- [ ] Regression-test unchanged Transformers behavior and unchanged tracker routing, load-balancing, billing, relay, and provider semantics.
+- [ ] Regression-test that no quant, stage count, fixed split, architecture, backend sequence, or DeepSeek-specific policy is hardcoded.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-044: Pin the DeepSeek V4 Flash target contract
+
+**Milestone:** M3 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-019, DGR-025, DGR-026, DGR-027
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/044-pin-the-deepseek-v4-flash-target-contract.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-019, DGR-025, DGR-026, DGR-027) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Fix the alpha/beta model identity and upstream maturity assumptions before implementing the adapter.
+
+- [ ] Pin Hugging Face target SHA `60d8d70770c6776ff598c94bb586a859a38244f1`.
+- [ ] Record the selected GGUF provenance and exact source binding without assuming one quant.
+- [ ] Record that llama.cpp support began with PR 24162/commit `8c146a8` and remains maturing; the build manifest still pins one exact validated upstream commit.
+- [ ] Record 43 main layers plus MTP and all known architecture-specific state obligations.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-045: Inventory V4 GGUF tensors and layer ownership
+
+**Milestone:** M3 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-026, DGR-044
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/045-inventory-v4-gguf-tensors-and-layer-ownership.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-026, DGR-044) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Derive exact head, repeated-layer, tail, expert, auxiliary-state, and MTP ownership from the pinned artifact.
+
+- [ ] Produce a machine-readable inventory tied to the target SHA and exact GGUF artifact.
+- [ ] Classify embeddings, 43 main layers, final head, MTP, mHC, attention variants, indexer/compressor, and MoE tensors.
+- [ ] Validate half-open range ownership and fail on unclassified required tensors.
+- [ ] Inventory tooling works across quants without embedding quant names in architecture logic.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-046: Define the V4 typed architecture boundary schema
+
+**Milestone:** M3 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-021, DGR-045
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/046-define-the-v4-typed-architecture-boundary-schema.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-021, DGR-045) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Define the exact cross-stage V4 architecture boundary while keeping per-layer attention and auxiliary caches shard-local.
+
+- [ ] Define a versioned named bundle for the mHC 4×4096 residual boundary, positions, token-ID sideband where required, and schema/cache expectations.
+- [ ] Explicitly exclude per-layer CSA, HCA, SWA, indexer, compressor, KV, and MTP caches/state from the WAN boundary; those remain local to the owning shard and session/epoch.
+- [ ] Reserve typed MTP boundary fields but mark MTP execution unsupported and unroutable for alpha.
+- [ ] Fingerprint independently of quant/topology and fail closed on missing, incompatible, incorrectly shaped, or stale boundary/cache expectations.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-047: Adapt the upstream V4 mHC boundary for ranged ownership
+
+**Milestone:** M3 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-045, DGR-046
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/047-adapt-the-upstream-v4-mhc-boundary-for-ranged-ownership.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-045, DGR-046) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Add range-boundary adapters around upstream llama.cpp V4 mHC execution without reimplementing the V4 graph or kernels.
+
+- [ ] Represent and validate the upstream V4 4×4096 mHC boundary without flattening semantic axes.
+- [ ] Add only head/intermediate/tail range ownership and boundary conversion hooks around the pinned upstream llama.cpp graph.
+- [ ] Compare deterministic fixture vectors and single-process ranged outputs with upstream whole-model execution.
+- [ ] Document that llama.cpp owns V4 mHC graph/kernels and that quantized storage does not alter the logical boundary schema.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-048: Carry token-ID sideband through the first three hash-routed layers
+
+**Milestone:** M3 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-046, DGR-047
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/048-carry-token-id-sideband-through-the-first-three-hash-routed-layers.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-046, DGR-047) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Ensure any stage containing the first three hash-routed layers receives exact token identities.
+
+- [ ] Head emits token IDs in the typed sideband for boundaries that require them.
+- [ ] Intermediate stages preserve or consume the sideband according to their layer range.
+- [ ] Routes splitting before, within, and after the first three layers pass deterministic partition tests.
+- [ ] Missing or mismatched token IDs fail closed rather than silently selecting incorrect experts.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-049: Keep V4 attention and auxiliary state shard-local
+
+**Milestone:** M3 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-046, DGR-047
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/049-keep-v4-attention-and-auxiliary-state-shard-local.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-046, DGR-047) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Bind V4 CSA/HCA/SWA/indexer/compressor and KV state to the owning shard session/epoch rather than transferring caches over the WAN.
+
+- [ ] Map CSA, HCA, SWA, indexer, compressor, and KV ownership from the pinned upstream graph to each owned layer range.
+- [ ] Key all such caches/state by route session and epoch with bounded lifecycle, memory accounting, stale-epoch rejection, release, and eviction.
+- [ ] Prove cross-stage messages carry only the typed architecture boundary and cache expectations, never per-layer cache contents.
+- [ ] On route change or state loss, use explicit cache miss and re-prefill/restart; do not migrate V4 caches across workers.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-050: Validate upstream V4 MoE and hash-routing execution under ranged ownership
+
+**Milestone:** M3 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-045, DGR-047
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/050-validate-upstream-v4-moe-and-hash-routing-execution-under-ranged-ownership.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-045, DGR-047) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Validate the pinned upstream llama.cpp V4 MoE and hash-routing graph when layers are range-owned, without reimplementing routing or expert kernels in Meshnet.
+
+- [ ] Load range-owned tensors for 256 routed plus one shared expert and validate upstream execution activates six routed experts where specified.
+- [ ] Validate the first three upstream hash-routed layers receive exact token-ID sideband across splits before, within, and after them.
+- [ ] Compare upstream whole-model and ranged router/expert outputs, shared-expert contribution, and malformed sideband failures.
+- [ ] Document that llama.cpp owns V4 MoE, attention, hash routing, graph, and kernels; no expert-parallel WAN collective or Meshnet reimplementation is introduced.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-051: Assemble the DeepSeek V4 Flash `ShardEngine` adapter
+
+**Milestone:** M3 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-034, DGR-037, DGR-047, DGR-048, DGR-049, DGR-050
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/051-assemble-the-deepseek-v4-flash-shardengine-adapter.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-034, DGR-037, DGR-047, DGR-048, DGR-049, DGR-050) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Assemble range ownership hooks and boundary/local-state adapters around upstream llama.cpp V4 execution behind the stable ShardEngine interface.
+
+- [ ] Support valid head, middle, tail, and whole-model ranges over all 43 main layers using the pinned upstream llama.cpp V4 graph/kernels.
+- [ ] Integrate exact range ownership, mHC boundary, positions, required token-ID sideband, and shard-local session/epoch state adapters.
+- [ ] Report MTP reserved-but-not-executable for alpha and reject unsupported split points or cache expectations.
+- [ ] Include exact adapter/schema/runtime/artifact identity and valid split restrictions without reimplementing V4 MoE, attention, mHC, or hash routing.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-052: Pass local V4 whole-model versus ranged parity
+
+**Milestone:** M3 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-038, DGR-051
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/052-pass-local-v4-whole-model-versus-ranged-parity.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-038, DGR-051) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Prove V4 prefill and decode correctness locally before network certification.
+
+- [ ] Compare pinned whole-model llama.cpp with at least two valid ranged partitions.
+- [ ] Prefill intermediates and locked-length greedy decode pass architecture-specific tolerances.
+- [ ] Test splits around the first three hash-routed layers and at least one CSA/HCA/SWA/indexer/compressor transition.
+- [ ] Four concurrent sessions pass KV/state isolation and cleanup.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-053: Certify a real 2–4-stage V4 route
+
+**Milestone:** M3 · **Mode:** HITL · **Triage:** `ready-for-human` · **Depends on:** DGR-030, DGR-043, DGR-052
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/053-certify-a-real-2-4-stage-v4-route.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-030, DGR-043, DGR-052) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Prove real Tracker-selected V4 execution across physical machines before alpha.
+
+- [ ] Run one documented 2–4-stage certification scenario using exact compatible artifacts/recipes; the count and chosen quant are evidence inputs, not product constants.
+- [ ] Actual CPU/GPU work executes on every stage; fake workers do not satisfy acceptance.
+- [ ] Record parity, TTFT, prefill/decode speed, seam cost, memory, cache/state isolation, cancellation, and cleanup.
+- [ ] Tracker selection remains dynamic and rejects an injected incompatible backend/recipe.
+- [ ] Only the exact real-hardware lanes exercised become eligible for advertisement.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-054: Enforce the DeepSeek V4 Flash alpha gate
+
+**Milestone:** M3 · **Mode:** HITL · **Triage:** `ready-for-human` · **Depends on:** DGR-017, DGR-019, DGR-020, DGR-039, DGR-042, DGR-043, DGR-052, DGR-053
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/054-enforce-the-deepseek-v4-flash-alpha-gate.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-017, DGR-019, DGR-020, DGR-039, DGR-042, DGR-043, DGR-052, DGR-053) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Release alpha only when V4 is correct and clears the pre-locked useful-speed requirement.
+
+- [ ] Evaluate correctness, model fit, TTFT, prefill/decode speed, seam cost, memory, and failure rate against DGF-004 without changing thresholds.
+- [ ] Separate quant/model-fit gains from runtime/transport gains.
+- [ ] Decision is `alpha`, `optimize measured bottleneck`, or `stop`; failures cannot be relabeled as certification.
+- [ ] Alpha documentation states MTP is reserved but not implemented and identifies every dark hardware lane.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-055: Implement compatible continuous decode batching
+
+**Milestone:** M4 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-038, DGR-040, DGR-054
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/055-implement-compatible-continuous-decode-batching.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-038, DGR-040, DGR-054) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Batch compatible active sessions without violating route, recipe, position, or architecture state.
+
+- [ ] Batch only sessions with compatible engine, recipe, phase, boundary schema, and state layout.
+- [ ] Preserve per-session positions, sequence IDs, outputs, cancellation, and accounting.
+- [ ] Decode receives bounded service while prefill remains schedulable.
+- [ ] Deterministic 1/2/4/8 concurrency tests show no cross-session corruption.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-056: Enforce bounded admission, queues, and backpressure
+
+**Milestone:** M4 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-055
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/056-enforce-bounded-admission-queues-and-backpressure.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-055) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Prevent weight, KV, state, scratch, and stream buffers from exceeding admitted capacity.
+
+- [ ] Admission accounts separately for weights, KV/state, scratch, in-flight fragments, and queue slots.
+- [ ] Queue and stream limits produce structured retryable or terminal responses.
+- [ ] Prefill cannot starve decode and one route session cannot monopolize queue capacity.
+- [ ] Telemetry reports active sessions, queue depth/time, batch occupancy, memory pressure, and rejects.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-057: Benchmark batching saturation and fairness
+
+**Milestone:** M4 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-055, DGR-056
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/057-benchmark-batching-saturation-and-fairness.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-055, DGR-056) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Identify useful concurrency and saturation points without assuming one global batch size.
+
+- [ ] Run controlled concurrency 1/2/4/8 and record aggregate throughput, per-request p50/p95, TTFT, queue time, occupancy, and memory.
+- [ ] Measure dense and V4 lanes separately where hardware permits.
+- [ ] Verify bounded fairness and no prefill/decode starvation.
+- [ ] Produce machine-readable saturation recommendations consumed by capability reporting, not hardcoded constants.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-058: Harden worker and stream failure semantics
+
+**Milestone:** M4 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-040, DGR-042, DGR-056
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/058-harden-worker-and-stream-failure-semantics.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-040, DGR-042, DGR-056) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Ensure malformed input, process death, transport reset, and cancellation terminate cleanly.
+
+- [ ] Test worker death, stream reset, malformed bundle, checksum failure, deadline, cache miss, stale epoch, and partial fragment loss.
+- [ ] Cancellation propagates across all stages and releases KV/state, queue entries, and fragment buffers.
+- [ ] Duplicate steps are idempotent; uncertain mutations are never silently replayed.
+- [ ] Billing/work outcomes distinguish completed, cancelled, failed, and unverified work.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-059: Implement alpha-safe route recovery
+
+**Milestone:** M4 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-043, DGR-058
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/059-implement-alpha-safe-route-recovery.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-043, DGR-058) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Recover from route loss without importing or continuing unverified state.
+
+- [ ] On route loss or local-state cache miss, restart from token zero or re-prefill on a newly compatible route according to the locked alpha contract.
+- [ ] Never import KV, CSA, HCA, SWA, indexer, compressor, recurrent, or MTP cache/state across workers.
+- [ ] Keep exact same-route duplicate delivery idempotent while cross-route continuation fails closed.
+- [ ] Test direct/relay loss, cache miss, replacement selection, client cancellation, and billing reconciliation.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-060: Certify V4 long-context state correctness
+
+**Milestone:** M4 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-051, DGR-056, DGR-058
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/060-certify-v4-long-context-state-correctness.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-051, DGR-056, DGR-058) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Prove V4’s KV and auxiliary state remain correct and bounded at long contexts.
+
+- [ ] Exercise pre-locked context lengths covering multiple prefill chunks and sustained decode.
+- [ ] Validate KV plus CSA/HCA/SWA/indexer/compressor state positions across every stage.
+- [ ] Measure memory growth, fragment sizes, TTFT, decode degradation, cancellation latency, and cleanup.
+- [ ] Cache mismatch, truncation, and context-limit behavior fail deterministically.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-061: Certify existing routing with 10+ GGUF stage candidates
+
+**Milestone:** M4 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-043, DGR-057, DGR-058
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/061-certify-existing-routing-with-10-gguf-stage-candidates.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-043, DGR-057, DGR-058) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Certify that existing backend-agnostic routing consumes GGUF compatibility and measured-cost inputs for a 10+ candidate scenario without algorithm or policy redesign.
+
+- [ ] Generate deterministic pools with 10+ compatible GGUF stage candidates plus slower, overloaded, unhealthy, and incompatible alternatives.
+- [ ] Run the existing routing implementation unchanged and verify complete coverage, compatibility, acyclicity, and use of measured inputs.
+- [ ] Regression-test that no stage count, quant, fixed split, architecture, or backend sequence is encoded in production routing policy.
+- [ ] Verify existing route recomputation reacts to measured load/failure while tracker, load-balancing, billing, relay, and provider semantics remain unchanged.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-062: Certify a dynamic real 10+ stage V4 scenario
+
+**Milestone:** M4 · **Mode:** HITL · **Triage:** `ready-for-human` · **Depends on:** DGR-053, DGR-060, DGR-061
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/062-certify-a-dynamic-real-10-stage-v4-scenario.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-053, DGR-060, DGR-061) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Demonstrate that a large real route can be dynamically selected and usefully execute V4.
+
+- [ ] Run one real 10+-stage V4 certification scenario; stage count, quant, and split remain scenario metadata only.
+- [ ] Every selected stage proves real work, exact compatible identity, local state ownership, and bounded resources.
+- [ ] Record end-to-end and per-stage TTFT, prefill/decode, seam cost, queueing, memory, failures, and cleanup.
+- [ ] Inject at least one incompatible or degraded candidate and verify dynamic exclusion/reselection.
+- [ ] The scenario must meet its pre-locked usefulness threshold or remain failed evidence.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-063: Profile and optimize the critical seam
+
+**Milestone:** M4 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-057, DGR-061
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/063-profile-and-optimize-the-critical-seam.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-057, DGR-061) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Optimize only the measured dominant compute, serialization, copy, or transport bottleneck.
+
+- [ ] Profile worker compute, tensor conversion, copies, protobuf framing, compression, relay/direct transport, queueing, and synchronization.
+- [ ] Select one dominant bottleneck from evidence and lock its before/after benchmark.
+- [ ] Implement one bounded optimization without weakening correctness or protocol identity.
+- [ ] Report whether the optimization changes TTFT, prefill, decode, throughput, or memory and preserve raw data.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-064: Add negotiated activation compression
+
+**Milestone:** M4 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-060, DGR-063
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/064-add-negotiated-activation-compression.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-060, DGR-063) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Reduce V4 seam cost only when a certified compression recipe improves end-to-end performance acceptably.
+
+- [ ] Negotiate compression through recipe identity; unnegotiated or mismatched compression fails closed.
+- [ ] Preserve names, shapes, semantic axes, token-ID sideband, and checksums.
+- [ ] Measure quality drift, encode/decode cost, bytes, TTFT, and throughput against uncompressed boundaries.
+- [ ] Compression remains dark unless it meets pre-locked quality and speed thresholds.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-065: Define V4 MTP ownership and distributed state contract
+
+**Milestone:** M4 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-051, DGR-054, DGR-060
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/065-define-v4-mtp-ownership-and-distributed-state-contract.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-051, DGR-054, DGR-060) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Lock MTP tensor, execution, boundary, acceptance/rejection, and session-state ownership before implementation while keeping MTP disabled for alpha.
+
+- [ ] Derive exact MTP tensor and execution ownership from the pinned V4 target and upstream llama.cpp graph, distinguishing main-layer, tail, and MTP responsibilities.
+- [ ] Define typed MTP inputs/outputs plus accepted-token, rejection, rollback/truncation, position, cache, and session/epoch lifecycle semantics.
+- [ ] Specify which MTP state remains shard-local and which typed boundary values cross a seam; prohibit WAN migration of KV or V4 auxiliary caches.
+- [ ] Keep every MTP recipe disabled and unroutable for alpha, with fail-closed capability negotiation and deterministic contract fixtures.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-066: Implement and benchmark V4 MTP
+
+**Milestone:** M4 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-054, DGR-060, DGR-064, DGR-065
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/066-implement-and-benchmark-v4-mtp.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-054, DGR-060, DGR-064, DGR-065) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Implement the locked MTP contract around upstream llama.cpp before beta, without making MTP an alpha prerequisite.
+
+- [ ] Implement the exact DGR-065 MTP ownership and typed state contract against the pinned upstream V4 graph while preserving shard-local caches.
+- [ ] Pass whole-model versus ranged MTP correctness, accepted-token, rejection, rollback/truncation, and session-isolation tests.
+- [ ] Benchmark MTP-off versus MTP-on quality, accepted-token rate, TTFT, decode speed, seam bytes, and memory on the locked lane.
+- [ ] Distinguish implemented, certified, disabled, and unsupported MTP recipes in fail-closed capability advertisement.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-067: Certify the backend capability matrix
+
+**Milestone:** M4 · **Mode:** HITL · **Triage:** `ready-for-human` · **Depends on:** DGR-030, DGR-053, DGR-062, DGR-066
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/067-certify-the-backend-capability-matrix.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-030, DGR-053, DGR-062, DGR-066) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Publish only backend/model/recipe lanes proven on actual CPU, CUDA, ROCm, Vulkan, or Metal hardware.
+
+- [ ] Maintain independent build and certification status for CPU, CUDA, ROCm, Vulkan, and Metal.
+- [ ] Each advertised lane includes real hardware/driver/runtime/model evidence for parity, concurrency, cancellation, cleanup, and useful speed.
+- [ ] Build success alone never makes a lane routable; unavailable hardware remains explicitly dark.
+- [ ] Tracker admission consumes signed/versioned certification records rather than backend-name allowlists.
+- [ ] Mixed-backend routes require exact compatibility evidence and fail closed otherwise.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-068: Package reproducible native worker releases
+
+**Milestone:** M5 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-030, DGR-054, DGR-067
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/068-package-reproducible-native-worker-releases.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-030, DGR-054, DGR-067) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Produce installable worker packages that preserve exact source, patch, protocol, and certification identity.
+
+- [ ] Package worker binaries/configuration for supported host/backend combinations without bundling an unverified llama.cpp tree.
+- [ ] Embed protocol, engine, upstream pin, patch-stack, build-toolchain, and certification fingerprints.
+- [ ] Installation/startup refuses mismatched artifacts, runtime recipes, or unsupported hardware lanes.
+- [ ] Produce checksums, SBOM/license attribution, reproducible build instructions, and smoke tests.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-069: Prepare narrow upstream llama.cpp collaboration patches
+
+**Milestone:** M5 · **Mode:** HITL · **Triage:** `ready-for-human` · **Depends on:** DGR-028, DGR-035, DGR-038, DGR-051
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/069-prepare-narrow-upstream-llama-cpp-collaboration-patches.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-028, DGR-035, DGR-038, DGR-051) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Reduce long-term patch burden through generic upstreamable hooks without asking llama.cpp to own Meshnet.
+
+- [ ] Separate generic range loading, boundary I/O, and filtered state hooks from project worker/protocol code.
+- [ ] Provide one scoped patch, focused test, and minimal reproducer per concern against the exact upstream pin.
+- [ ] Compare the proposal with prior-art evidence and current upstream V4 support/maturity.
+- [ ] Prepare human-ready design/outreach text; actual issue/PR submission remains a human action.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-070: Enforce the DeepSeek V4 Flash beta gate
+
+**Milestone:** M5 · **Mode:** HITL · **Triage:** `ready-for-human` · **Depends on:** DGR-057, DGR-059, DGR-060, DGR-062, DGR-064, DGR-066, DGR-067, DGR-068
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/070-enforce-the-deepseek-v4-flash-beta-gate.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-057, DGR-059, DGR-060, DGR-062, DGR-064, DGR-066, DGR-067, DGR-068) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Promote beta only after concurrency, resilience, long-context, MTP, scale, packaging, and speed gates pass.
+
+- [ ] Evaluate all beta metrics against DGF-004 without changing thresholds after observing results.
+- [ ] Require V4 parity, batching/fairness, bounded backpressure, failure recovery, long-context correctness, MTP evidence, and dynamic 10+ stage evidence.
+- [ ] Publish the exact certified hardware/backend/recipe matrix; all other lanes remain dark.
+- [ ] Decision is `beta`, `targeted optimization`, or `stop/rollback`, with unresolved failures listed explicitly.
+- [ ] Applicable shared quality gates in `prd.json` pass, and the evidence handoff records exact commands/results, changed files, limitations, and dependency handoff.
+
+### DGR-071: Establish upstream pin, patch, and certification maintenance
+
+**Milestone:** M5 · **Mode:** AFK · **Triage:** `ready-for-agent` · **Depends on:** DGR-069, DGR-070
+
+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.
+
+- [ ] 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.
+
+## Non-goals
+
+- Replacing or redesigning Tracker routing/load-balancing, billing, relay, or provider policy.
+- Reimplementing DeepSeek V4 architecture graphs or kernels in Meshnet.
+- Hardcoding a quant, stage count, node count, split, architecture, or backend sequence.
+- WAN migration of KV or V4 auxiliary caches.
+- Advertising a compile-only or fixture-only hardware lane.
+- Making MTP an alpha dependency.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md

@@ -1,309 +1,57 @@
-# Ralph execution context: Performant Concurrent Distributed GGUF Runtime
+# Ralph context: Distributed GGUF Runtime
 
-Status: authoritative context for every fresh Ralph iteration
+> **Specification status:** planning artifacts only. No distributed GGUF runtime is implemented. DGR-017 cleanup is complete; no runtime implementation story has completion credit. `prd.json` is authoritative.
-Last updated: 2026-07-13
 
-## Mandatory startup sequence
+## Mandatory startup for every fresh story
 
-Before changing code, every Ralph agent must:
+1. Read this file and authoritative `prd.json` completely.
+2. Read the generated source issue named in the selected story description.
+3. Read every dependency evidence README; legacy DGR-001..016 evidence is provenance only.
+4. Read `docs/adr/0024-distributed-gguf-runtime.md`, root `CONTEXT.md`, `.claude/memory/MEMORY.md`, and relevant live source/tests.
+5. Inspect `git status`; preserve unrelated work. Never infer implementation from planning text or old pass states.
+6. If blocked or oversized, keep `passes: false` and write an honest `BLOCKED.md`/`DECOMPOSITION.md`; never weaken criteria or fabricate evidence.
 
-1. Read this file completely.
+## Locked scope
-2. Read the selected issue under `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/`.
-3. Read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/ADR-0020-distributed-gguf-runtime.md` and the relevant part of `architecture.md`.
-4. Read `.claude/memory/MEMORY.md` and root `CONTEXT.md` for current project vocabulary and constraints.
-5. Inspect the current implementation and tests; do not assume historical scratch text describes live code.
-6. Read the evidence/handoff directories for every declared dependency.
-7. Inspect `git status` and preserve all pre-existing working-tree changes.
 
-A fresh Ralph iteration has no conversational memory. These files are the context contract.
+- Existing Meshnet Tracker routing, load balancing, billing, telemetry, relay, and provider semantics are backend-agnostic and are **not redesigned**. GGUF contributes exact compatibility, range/capacity, queue/load, seam-cost, health/reliability, and certification inputs only.
+- The data plane is a standalone project-owned C++ Shard worker with gRPC/Protobuf and a project-owned `ShardEngine` boundary.
+- llama.cpp is fetched at one exact commit into an ignored workspace from an in-repo manifest, then a numbered minimal patch stack is applied. There is no submodule, vendored tree, or permanent-fork dependency.
+- llama.cpp owns DeepSeek V4 graphs, mHC, MoE, attention, hash routing, and kernels. Meshnet adds only range-ownership hooks, typed boundary/local-state adapters, worker integration, and parity/certification.
+- Quantization and placement are dynamic recipe inputs. The 2–4 and 10+ stage layouts are certification scenarios, never product constants.
+- Per-shard Hot KV and V4 CSA/HCA/SWA/indexer/compressor state remain local and keyed by route session/epoch. The WAN seam carries the typed mHC 4×4096 residual boundary, positions, token-ID sideband where required, and schema/cache expectations—not per-layer caches.
+- Route changes use cache miss plus re-prefill/restart. There is no WAN KV or V4 auxiliary-cache migration.
+- CPU/CUDA/ROCm/Vulkan/Metal compile lanes are planned; only exact real-hardware-certified backend/model/recipe lanes may be advertised.
+- Alpha requires correctness and the pre-locked useful-speed gate. MTP is reserved and off for alpha; its ownership contract, implementation, and benchmark are required before beta.
 
-## Story sizing and interruption rule
+## Target identities
 
-Each story is intended to fit one focused Ralph context. Before implementation, estimate whether every acceptance criterion can be completed and verified in the current iteration.
+- DeepSeek V4 official target SHA: `60d8d70770c6776ff598c94bb586a859a38244f1`.
+- llama.cpp V4 support lineage began at PR 24162 / merge `8c146a8366304c871efc26057cc90370ccf58dad`; DGR-027 later pins one exact validated current commit.
+- V4 scope: 43 main layers plus MTP; mHC 4×4096 boundary; 256 routed + 1 shared experts with six routed active; token IDs required for the first three hash-routed layers.
+- Exact split-GGUF artifacts are provisioned to mounted-drive storage with a complete hashed manifest and resumable verification; no model artifact may be placed under `/home`.
 
-If the story is too large, an external dependency is unavailable, or the context/provider limit prevents completion:
+## Control/data-plane contract
 
-- Do not weaken criteria.
+Meshnet continues to own registration, coverage, existing route selection/load balancing, route epochs/sessions, direct/relay behavior, capability admission, cancellation, telemetry, billing, validation, and attribution. The GGUF adapter exposes measured inputs to those existing mechanisms. Direct seams use long-lived gRPC streams; relay seams carry byte-identical protobuf frames opaquely.
-- Do not mark the issue done or set `passes: true`.
-- Avoid leaving an unverified cross-cutting partial implementation when a smaller safe spike is possible.
-- Write `evidence/<TASK-ID>/DECOMPOSITION.md` or `BLOCKED.md` with the exact blocker, current verified state, proposed child stories, dependency graph and rollback/continuation instructions.
-- Stop for supervised review.
 
-If interrupted after code changes, record every changed file, command result and unresolved invariant so the next fresh loop can verify rather than guess.
+The project-owned `ShardEngine` hides llama.cpp internals. A worker loads one exact artifact/recipe/range identity. Default tests use fake/tiny fixtures. Real runs are opt-in, preserve raw metrics, and never download models under `/home`.
 
-## Product objective
+## Gitea issue synchronization
 
-Build performant, concurrent distributed inference that combines consumer machines to serve top open models that exceed one node's RAM/VRAM.
+Gitea is a projection of `prd.json`, never a competing source of truth. Before and after every supervised Ralph run, invoke:
 
-A distributed demo is not success. The product must provide:
+```bash
-
+python3 scripts/ralph_gitea_sync.py sync
-- Useful measured prefill and decode speed.
-- Multiple concurrent Route Sessions.
-- No KV/token cross-talk.
-- Bounded memory, queues, cancellation and failures.
-- Real execution on every participating node.
-- A model-fit or performance advantage over the current Transformers/safetensors route.
-
-## Critical-path architecture
-
-```text
-Existing Meshnet control plane
-        |
-Versioned Protobuf over gRPC/HTTP2
-        |
-Project-owned standalone C++ Shard worker
-        |
-Small exact-commit llama.cpp patch stack
 ```
 
-Meshnet remains the only control plane and owns:
+For a complete Ralph invocation with automatic state reconciliation, use:
 
-- Tracker registration, Coverage Map, route selection and route epochs.
+```bash
-- Route Sessions and Activation Seams.
+scripts/ralph-gitea-run.sh ralph-tui run --prd .scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/prd.json --agent claude --model sonnet --iterations 1 --no-tui --no-setup --direct-merge --no-sandbox
-- Direct/relay routing.
-- Capability admission.
-- Cancellation, Generation Telemetry and backpressure.
-- Billing, validation and per-node work attribution.
-
-Do not introduce another scheduler/control plane from vLLM, Nakshatra, prima.cpp, llama-gguf, GPUStack or another project.
-
-## Runtime decisions that are not open
-
-1. Public-network Shards are contiguous transformer layer ranges.
-2. llama.cpp/GGML is the native GGUF execution substrate.
-3. The project owns a small standalone worker and a narrow pinned llama.cpp patch stack.
-4. The native Shard protocol is Protocol Buffers over gRPC/HTTP2.
-5. One long-lived bidirectional stream serves one Route Session Activation Seam.
-6. The public activation boundary is a versioned named-tensor bundle.
-7. Hot KV State remains local to the node serving the Shard.
-8. `(Route Session ID, route epoch)` maps to an isolated llama sequence or bounded context.
-9. Concurrency uses continuous batching of compatible active sessions inside each node.
-10. Transformers/safetensors remains the correctness and performance baseline.
-11. vLLM may be an optional complete managed provider and concept donor; it is not forked into public Shards.
-12. Tensor/expert collectives are deferred to a trusted composite provider, not public WAN routes.
-13. Unsupported architectures/backends remain registered-but-dark until real certification passes.
-14. Alpha failure retries from token zero; unverified KV is never migrated silently.
-15. Model artifacts must remain on mounted-drive storage and never under `/home`.
-
-Changing one of these requires an explicit ADR update and human review, not an incidental story implementation.
-
-## Performance discipline
-
-GGUF performance is a hypothesis. Never write “GGUF is faster” without measurements.
-
-DGR-001 locks controlled benchmark lanes and thresholds. DGR-014 enforces the final distributed comparison.
-
-Always distinguish:
-
-- Weight quantization from activation/compute/KV dtype.
-- Runtime/kernel gains from quantization/model-fit gains.
-- Single-request latency from aggregate concurrency throughput.
-- Synthetic unit coverage from real distributed acceptance.
-
-Required metrics where applicable:
-
-```text
-TTFT
-prefill tokens/sec
-decode tokens/sec
-aggregate throughput
-p50/p95 latency
-seam bytes and latency
-queue and batch occupancy
-RSS and VRAM
-KV pressure
-output-quality drift
-failures and cleanup
 ```
 
-Do not weaken or move performance thresholds after seeing implementation results.
+The sync creates/reconciles one Gitea issue per `DGR-*` story, creates missing labels/milestones, closes issues whose `passes` is true, marks the selected next eligible story `status:in-progress`, and marks blocked stories `status:blocked`. `gitea-issues.json` is a derived mapping only.
 
-## Transport discipline
+## Evidence and completion
 
-Do not invent a raw TCP protocol, new WebSocket protocol, QUIC layer or bespoke binary control format.
+Each story writes `/run/media/popov/d/DEV/repos/d-popov.com/AI/.claude/worktrees/distributed-gguf-runtime/.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/evidence/<DGR-ID>/README.md` with exact files, commands/results, limitations, identities, and dependent-story handoff. Only `prd.json` may record `passes`; DGR-017 and DGR-018 are complete and DGR-019 onward remain false. Generated Markdown and Gitea issues cannot override it. One scoped commit per story is expected during future execution.
-
-The `.proto` schema is the semantic contract. Direct transport uses gRPC. Existing relay infrastructure may carry the same serialized protobuf frames as opaque binary.
-
-Protocol requirements:
-
-- Schema/version negotiation.
-- Request/work ID.
-- Route Session ID and route epoch.
-- Exact Model Artifact/runtime recipe fingerprint.
-- Shard range and effective overlap-safe start.
-- Prefill/decode/release/cancel phases.
-- Position/token range and idempotency step.
-- Named tensors with shape, dtype, byte order and bounded fragments.
-- Compression/checksum.
-- Cache expectation/result.
-- Deadlines, cancellation, flow control and structured status.
-
-Avoid per-token channel creation and unbounded unary payloads. Generated code and build tooling must be reproducible; do not require manual copying.
-
-## Native runtime discipline
-
-Reuse llama.cpp for GGUF, mmap, kernels, architecture graphs, tokenizer, KV, sequences and heterogeneous backends.
-
-The project patch stack is limited to:
-
-- Range-aware tensor registration/loading.
-- Endpoint-specific embedding/final head ownership.
-- Architecture-defined intermediate input/output.
-- Intermediate output before final norm/head.
-- Layer-filtered KV and session mapping.
-
-Do not place Meshnet routing, transport, billing or authentication inside llama.cpp. Keep patches numbered, scoped, pinned and upstreamable.
-
-Dense Llama-family is first. Qwen3/Qwen3-MoE is a separate adapter after the dense release gate. Do not generalize through unchecked tensor-name substitutions.
-
-## Existing code seams to inspect first
-
-- `packages/node/meshnet_node/model_backend.py` — backend abstraction.
-- `packages/node/meshnet_node/torch_server.py` — reference ranged execution and session behavior.
-- `packages/node/meshnet_node/activation_compression.py` — current activation framing/compression.
-- `packages/node/meshnet_node/route_session_benchmark.py` — existing benchmark infrastructure.
-- `packages/tracker/meshnet_tracker/server.py` — registration, route and proxy behavior.
-- `packages/tracker/meshnet_tracker/capability.py` — fail-closed capability admission.
-- `tests/test_real_model_backend.py` — real backend coverage.
-- `tests/test_tracker_routing.py` — route/session behavior.
-- `tests/test_tracker_capability_admission.py` — recipe admission.
-- `tests/test_route_session_benchmark.py` and `tests/test_manual_route_benchmark.py` — benchmark patterns.
-- `docs/adr/0008-binary-activation-wire-format.md` — existing wire compatibility.
-- `docs/adr/0012-start-layer-overlapping-shards.md` — effective start semantics.
-- `docs/adr/0022-sharded-per-node-kv-cache.md` — Hot KV State contract.
-- `docs/adr/0023-model-agnostic-node-capability-admission.md` — certification/admission.
-
-Do not edit generated `build/`, `__pycache__`, egg-info, Ralph logs or unrelated scratch features.
-
-## Planned source layout
-
-Use these paths unless current code inspection proves a better project-consistent location. If changed, document the reason in task evidence.
-
-```text
-packages/node/native/
-  proto/shard_runtime.proto
-  cmake/
-  llama/
-    UPSTREAM_COMMIT
-    patches/
-  gguf_worker/
-  tests/
-
-packages/node/meshnet_node/
-  native_protocol/
-  gguf_backend.py
-  runtime_recipe.py
-
-.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/evidence/<TASK-ID>/
-  README.md
-  commands.txt
-  results.json or other machine-readable evidence
-```
-
-Generated protobuf/C++ build outputs belong in build directories unless packaging explicitly requires checked-in generated Python modules. The story must document the generation command and version.
-
-## Story output map
-
-| Story | Required durable outputs |
-|---|---|
-| DGR-001 | benchmark harness/tests; `evidence/DGR-001/performance-contract.json`; raw/summary benchmark evidence |
-| DGR-002 | `packages/node/native/proto/shard_runtime.proto`; reproducible Python/C++ generation/build wiring; protocol round-trip/compatibility tests; `evidence/DGR-002/` |
-| DGR-003 | exact runtime-recipe/fingerprint implementation and admission tests; `evidence/DGR-003/` |
-| DGR-004 | exact upstream pin, numbered patch series, reproducible fetch/apply/build smoke; `evidence/DGR-004/` |
-| DGR-005 | dense-Llama range ownership loader and memory evidence; `evidence/DGR-005/` |
-| DGR-006 | architecture boundary adapter/parity tests and results; `evidence/DGR-006/` |
-| DGR-007 | concurrent session/KV manager, isolation/cleanup tests; `evidence/DGR-007/` |
-| DGR-008 | standalone C++ gRPC worker, fake-model integration tests, lifecycle evidence; `evidence/DGR-008/` |
-| DGR-009 | Meshnet backend/registration/relay integration and tests; `evidence/DGR-009/` |
-| DGR-010 | real local two-process commands, raw metrics and parity report; `evidence/DGR-010/` |
-| DGR-011 | two-machine configuration, commands, hardware/network manifest and raw results; `evidence/DGR-011/` |
-| DGR-012 | continuous scheduler/admission implementation and 1/2/4/8 concurrency report; `evidence/DGR-012/` |
-| DGR-013 | failure/cancel/restart test matrix and resource-cleanup evidence; `evidence/DGR-013/` |
-| DGR-014 | immutable final comparison against DGR-001 thresholds and ship/stop recommendation; `evidence/DGR-014/` |
-| DGR-015 | Qwen3-family adapter, architecture-specific parity/admission/performance evidence; `evidence/DGR-015/` |
-| DGR-016 | narrow upstream patches/tests, design note and human-ready outreach package; `evidence/DGR-016/` |
-
-## Dependency handoff rule
-
-For every dependency listed by Ralph:
-
-1. Confirm its `passes` state in `prd.json`.
-2. Read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/evidence/<DEPENDENCY-ID>/README.md`.
-3. Verify referenced source paths and commands still exist.
-4. Do not repeat completed work unless verification exposes a concrete defect.
-5. If dependency evidence is missing or contradictory, stop and repair the dependency instead of guessing.
-
-## Testing and hardware rules
-
-Default tests must be deterministic, GPU-free, model-download-free and API-credit-free.
-
-Real model tests require:
-
-```text
-MESHNET_ENABLE_REAL_INFERENCE_TESTS=1
-```
-
-On this machine:
-
-- Use `.venv-rocm` for real Radeon 8060S ROCm execution.
-- The default Python 3.14 `.venv` is unsuitable for real ROCm inference.
-- Resolve model storage through the machine-specific `.env.<hostname>` configuration.
-- Never download model artifacts under `/home`.
-- Real acceptance must exercise actual Tracker-routed CPU/GPU computation; synthetic workers are only unit tests.
-
-Record exact:
-
-- Model/revision and Artifact hash.
-- Quantization and runtime recipe.
-- Host/hardware/backend/driver.
-- Commands and environment names without secrets.
-- Raw output and metrics.
-- Whether the evidence is synthetic, local-real, or multi-machine-real.
-
-## Worktree and commit discipline
-
-This repository may contain pre-existing changes from research or another feature.
-
-- Inspect `git status` before editing.
-- Never reset, checkout over, stash, delete or reformat unrelated changes.
-- Stage only files belonging to the selected story.
-- Exclude `.ralph-tui`, iteration logs, caches, generated builds, FUSE artifacts and unrelated scratch work.
-- Keep one scoped commit per completed story when the supervising loop requests commits.
-- Do not modify `passes` for another story.
-
-## Mandatory finish/handoff sequence
-
-Before emitting `<promise>COMPLETE</promise>`:
-
-1. Verify every acceptance criterion with real command output or file evidence.
-2. Run story-specific gates and repository quality gates.
-3. Write `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/evidence/<TASK-ID>/README.md` containing:
-   - Summary of changes.
-   - Exact files changed.
-   - Commands run and their real results.
-   - Performance/correctness evidence.
-   - Known limitations and deferred work.
-   - Compatibility or migration notes.
-   - Clear handoff for dependent stories.
-4. Save machine-readable evidence beside it when the story produces metrics or schemas.
-5. Update the source issue status to `done` only after all gates pass.
-6. Preserve failures honestly. Never fabricate model, benchmark, test or hardware output.
-
-## Authoritative references
-
-Active decisions:
-
-- `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/README.md`
-- `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/implementation-strategy.md`
-- `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/architecture.md`
-- `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/ADR-0020-distributed-gguf-runtime.md`
-- `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/PRD.md`
-- `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/prd.json`
-
-Source research:
-
-- `docs/research/distributed-gguf-landscape.md`
-- `docs/research/distributed-gguf-github-followup.md`
-- `docs/research/vllm-distributed-gguf-assessment.md`
-
-If historical notes conflict with these files, the active decisions above win.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/README.md

@@ -1,46 +1,32 @@
-# Performant concurrent distributed GGUF runtime
+# Distributed GGUF Runtime planning workspace
 
-Status: active benchmark-gated implementation program.
+> **Specification status:** planning artifacts only. No distributed GGUF runtime is implemented. DGR-017 cleanup is complete; no runtime implementation story has completion credit. `prd.json` is authoritative.
 
-## Objective
 
-Serve top open models across consumer machines with useful performance and concurrent Route Sessions while keeping the runtime lean.
+## Locked scope
 
-## Critical path
+- Existing Meshnet Tracker routing, load balancing, billing, telemetry, relay, and provider semantics are backend-agnostic and are **not redesigned**. GGUF contributes exact compatibility, range/capacity, queue/load, seam-cost, health/reliability, and certification inputs only.
+- The data plane is a standalone project-owned C++ Shard worker with gRPC/Protobuf and a project-owned `ShardEngine` boundary.
+- llama.cpp is fetched at one exact commit into an ignored workspace from an in-repo manifest, then a numbered minimal patch stack is applied. There is no submodule, vendored tree, or permanent-fork dependency.
+- llama.cpp owns DeepSeek V4 graphs, mHC, MoE, attention, hash routing, and kernels. Meshnet adds only range-ownership hooks, typed boundary/local-state adapters, worker integration, and parity/certification.
+- Quantization and placement are dynamic recipe inputs. The 2–4 and 10+ stage layouts are certification scenarios, never product constants.
+- Per-shard Hot KV and V4 CSA/HCA/SWA/indexer/compressor state remain local and keyed by route session/epoch. The WAN seam carries the typed mHC 4×4096 residual boundary, positions, token-ID sideband where required, and schema/cache expectations—not per-layer caches.
+- Route changes use cache miss plus re-prefill/restart. There is no WAN KV or V4 auxiliary-cache migration.
+- CPU/CUDA/ROCm/Vulkan/Metal compile lanes are planned; only exact real-hardware-certified backend/model/recipe lanes may be advertised.
+- Alpha requires correctness and the pre-locked useful-speed gate. MTP is reserved and off for alpha; its ownership contract, implementation, and benchmark are required before beta.
 
-```text
+## Target identities
-Meshnet control plane
-  -> versioned gRPC/Protobuf Shard protocol
-  -> project-owned standalone C++ worker
-  -> small pinned llama.cpp patch stack
-```
 
-Transformers/safetensors remains the correctness baseline. vLLM remains an optional complete managed provider and a design donor; it is not forked into the public mesh.
+- DeepSeek V4 official target SHA: `60d8d70770c6776ff598c94bb586a859a38244f1`.
+- llama.cpp V4 support lineage began at PR 24162 / merge `8c146a8366304c871efc26057cc90370ccf58dad`; DGR-027 later pins one exact validated current commit.
+- V4 scope: 43 main layers plus MTP; mHC 4×4096 boundary; 256 routed + 1 shared experts with six routed active; token IDs required for the first three hash-routed layers.
+- Exact split-GGUF artifacts are provisioned to mounted-drive storage with a complete hashed manifest and resumable verification; no model artifact may be placed under `/home`.
 
-## Planning artifacts
+## Navigation
 
-- **[Mandatory Ralph context](RALPH-CONTEXT.md)** — read first in every fresh iteration
+- [`prd.json`](prd.json) — sole authoritative 55-story backlog, DGR-017..071.
-- [Task evidence contract](evidence/README.md)
+- [`PRD.md`](PRD.md) — human-readable projection of goals, gates, and all stories.
-- [Implementation strategy](implementation-strategy.md)
+- [`RALPH-CONTEXT.md`](RALPH-CONTEXT.md) — mandatory fresh-session context.
-- [Current architecture](architecture.md)
+- [`architecture.md`](architecture.md), [`implementation-strategy.md`](implementation-strategy.md), [`milestones.md`](milestones.md) — design and execution sequence.
-- [PRD](PRD.md)
+- [`issues/`](issues/) — generated story specs; files 01..16 are retained legacy artifacts pending DGR-017.
-- [Ralph backlog](prd.json)
+- [`evidence/`](evidence/) — provenance and future per-story handoffs.
-- [ADR-0020](ADR-0020-distributed-gguf-runtime.md)
-- [Milestones](milestones.md)
-- [Issues](issues/)
-- [Distributed GGUF research](../../docs/research/distributed-gguf-landscape.md)
-- [GitHub follow-up](../../docs/research/distributed-gguf-github-followup.md)
-- [vLLM assessment](../../docs/research/vllm-distributed-gguf-assessment.md)
-
-## Ralph execution
-
-Use supervised one-story iterations for this high-risk runtime:
-
-```bash
-ralph-tui run \
-  --prd .scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/prd.json \
-  --agent claude --model opus \
-  --iterations 1 --no-tui --no-setup --verify
-```
-
-Inspect the diff, run the story gates, and commit one verified story before the next iteration. Real-model stories require the explicit environment gate and mounted-drive model storage.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/architecture.md

@@ -1,259 +1,45 @@
-# Performant Concurrent Distributed GGUF Architecture
+# Distributed GGUF Runtime architecture
 
-Status: current target architecture
+> **Specification status:** planning artifacts only. No distributed GGUF runtime is implemented. DGR-017 cleanup is complete; no runtime implementation story has completion credit. `prd.json` is authoritative.
-Last updated: 2026-07-13
 
-## Product invariant
 
-The system exists to serve high-quality models that exceed one consumer node's memory while retaining useful interactive speed and aggregate concurrency. A feature that only produces a distributed demo but is slower, globally serialized, or impossible to operate on consumer hardware is not complete.
+## Locked scope
 
-## Existing control plane
+- Existing Meshnet Tracker routing, load balancing, billing, telemetry, relay, and provider semantics are backend-agnostic and are **not redesigned**. GGUF contributes exact compatibility, range/capacity, queue/load, seam-cost, health/reliability, and certification inputs only.
+- The data plane is a standalone project-owned C++ Shard worker with gRPC/Protobuf and a project-owned `ShardEngine` boundary.
+- llama.cpp is fetched at one exact commit into an ignored workspace from an in-repo manifest, then a numbered minimal patch stack is applied. There is no submodule, vendored tree, or permanent-fork dependency.
+- llama.cpp owns DeepSeek V4 graphs, mHC, MoE, attention, hash routing, and kernels. Meshnet adds only range-ownership hooks, typed boundary/local-state adapters, worker integration, and parity/certification.
+- Quantization and placement are dynamic recipe inputs. The 2–4 and 10+ stage layouts are certification scenarios, never product constants.
+- Per-shard Hot KV and V4 CSA/HCA/SWA/indexer/compressor state remain local and keyed by route session/epoch. The WAN seam carries the typed mHC 4×4096 residual boundary, positions, token-ID sideband where required, and schema/cache expectations—not per-layer caches.
+- Route changes use cache miss plus re-prefill/restart. There is no WAN KV or V4 auxiliary-cache migration.
+- CPU/CUDA/ROCm/Vulkan/Metal compile lanes are planned; only exact real-hardware-certified backend/model/recipe lanes may be advertised.
+- Alpha requires correctness and the pre-locked useful-speed gate. MTP is reserved and off for alpha; its ownership contract, implementation, and benchmark are required before beta.
 
-Meshnet remains the only public control plane:
+## Target identities
 
-- Tracker registration, Coverage Map, route scoring and assignment.
+- DeepSeek V4 official target SHA: `60d8d70770c6776ff598c94bb586a859a38244f1`.
-- Contiguous Shards and overlap-safe effective starts.
+- llama.cpp V4 support lineage began at PR 24162 / merge `8c146a8366304c871efc26057cc90370ccf58dad`; DGR-027 later pins one exact validated current commit.
-- Stable Route Sessions and route epochs.
+- V4 scope: 43 main layers plus MTP; mHC 4×4096 boundary; 256 routed + 1 shared experts with six routed active; token IDs required for the first three hash-routed layers.
-- Local per-Shard Hot KV State in the reference backend.
+- Exact split-GGUF artifacts are provisioned to mounted-drive storage with a complete hashed manifest and resumable verification; no model artifact may be placed under `/home`.
-- Direct/relay transport, cancellation and backpressure.
-- Generation Telemetry, billing, validation and per-node attribution.
-- Model-agnostic capability admission.
 
-No external engine replaces these responsibilities.
+## Topology
-
-## Runtime topology
 
 ```text
-OpenAI-compatible client
+existing Meshnet Tracker/control plane
-        |
+  -> existing backend-agnostic route/load-balancing decision
-Gateway / Tracker Node
+  -> direct gRPC or existing opaque relay
-        |
+  -> project-owned standalone C++ Shard worker
-ordered Inference Route
+  -> project-owned ShardEngine
-        |
+  -> pinned upstream llama.cpp + numbered range/boundary/state hook patches
-        +-- head Shard: tokenizer/embedding + early layers
+  -> GGUF mmap, upstream V4 graph/kernels, local per-shard state
-        |       local weights and Hot KV State
-        |
-        +-- middle Shard(s): architecture boundary + owned layers
-        |       local weights and Hot KV State
-        |
-        +-- tail Shard: final layers + norm/head/sampling
-                local weights and Hot KV State
 ```
 
-Weights never move in the per-request hot path. Every node opens and verifies its local Model Artifact before becoming routable.
+A route is ordered contiguous half-open ranges. Head owns token embedding; tail owns final norm/head/sampling. Compatibility fingerprints bind source/split hashes, tokenizer, architecture adapter, typed boundary, runtime pin/patches, backend, quant, activation/compute/KV layout, range, and certification.
 
-## Primary execution substrate
+## V4 boundary and state
 
-```text
+The inter-stage boundary is semantic and versioned: mHC 4×4096 residual, positions, token IDs only where the first three hash-routed layers require them, and cache/schema expectations. CSA/HCA/SWA/indexer/compressor/KV state belongs to upstream layer execution on the owning worker and is isolated by `(route_session_id, route_epoch)`. On loss, return cache miss and re-prefill/restart. Never serialize those caches into the WAN bundle.
-project-owned C++ Shard worker
-        |
-small exact-commit llama.cpp patch stack
-        |
-GGUF mmap, quantized kernels, architecture graphs,
-KV/sequence operations, CPU/CUDA/HIP/Vulkan/Metal backends
-```
 
-The patch stack adds only the missing local execution seam:
+## Concurrency, failure, and admission
 
-1. Range-aware tensor registration/loading.
+Compatible sessions may be continuously batched within a worker while retaining isolated positions/state. Admission bounds weights, local state/KV, scratch, fragments, and queues. Uncertain cross-route mutation is not replayed. Registration can show an uncertified lane, but existing admission keeps it unroutable until signed/versioned real-hardware evidence exists.
-2. Endpoint-specific embedding and final head ownership.
-3. Architecture-defined intermediate input.
-4. Architecture-defined pre-tail boundary output.
-5. Layer-filtered KV and external session mapping.
-
-The worker owns protocol translation and process lifecycle. llama.cpp never receives Tracker, relay, billing or volunteer-network code.
-
-## Shard data plane
-
-Use Protocol Buffers and gRPC over HTTP/2.
-
-### Service shape
-
-- Unary capability and health.
-- Bidirectional Route Session stream.
-- Explicit release and cancellation.
-- Metrics suitable for capability admission and route scoring.
-
-### Session stream
-
-One long-lived stream represents one Route Session Activation Seam. It amortizes connection setup and inherits HTTP/2 flow control. Every message carries enough identity to reject stale or incompatible work.
-
-```text
-schema version
-request/work id
-Route Session id
-route epoch
-Model Artifact hash
-runtime recipe fingerprint
-Shard begin/end and effective start
-prefill/decode/release/cancel phase
-position and token range
-idempotency step id
-cache expectation/result
-named tensor bundle
-compression/checksum
-```
-
-Prefill tensors are split into bounded ordered frames. Decode messages carry one-step architecture boundary bundles and remain small.
-
-Direct nodes use gRPC. Nodes requiring the existing relay carry the same protobuf frames as opaque binary through the relay session. This preserves one semantic protocol instead of maintaining separate direct and relay payload contracts.
-
-## Architecture boundary
-
-The public boundary is a versioned named-tensor bundle:
-
-```text
-bundle schema/version
-architecture adapter and boundary point
-named tensors
-per-tensor shape, dtype and byte order
-payload fragments
-compression/checksum
-```
-
-Dense Llama may use one residual tensor. Other adapters may require more. vLLM's Llama and Qwen3-MoE PP paths demonstrate a boundary with both `hidden_states` and `residual`; therefore the generic protocol must not assume one anonymous tensor.
-
-Only the head owns token embedding. Only the tail owns final normalization, LM head and sampling. Middle Shards exchange the architecture-defined pre-tail boundary, not final normalized embeddings.
-
-## Hot KV State and concurrency
-
-```text
-(Route Session id, route epoch)
-       -> local llama sequence or bounded context
-       -> KV for owned layers only
-       -> lease, memory accounting and lifecycle
-```
-
-Required operations:
-
-- Prefill append.
-- Decode append.
-- Truncate after rejected speculative positions if later enabled.
-- Explicit release.
-- TTL/LRU eviction.
-- Cache-miss response.
-- Stale-epoch rejection.
-
-A node must not clear global KV on a new stream or serialize all requests behind one logical serving sequence.
-
-## Continuous batching
-
-Autoregressive dependencies remain sequential inside one Route Session. Aggregate throughput comes from batching compatible decode steps across active sessions:
-
-```text
-time 0: session A token 1 + session B token 8 + session C token 3
-          -> one llama batch for this Shard
-
-time 1: next ready positions from active sessions
-          -> next llama batch
-```
-
-The node scheduler:
-
-- Admits work against weight, KV, scratch and queue budgets.
-- Keeps per-session token positions and outputs separate.
-- Prevents long prefill from starving decode.
-- Applies bounded backpressure.
-- Reports active sessions, queue depth, batch occupancy, KV pressure and throughput.
-
-The initial deterministic gate is four concurrent sessions on a small model without cross-talk. Hardware-specific limits are measured and advertised through capability admission.
-
-## Parallelism boundaries
-
-| Mechanism | First-runtime use |
-|---|---|
-| Layer/pipeline parallelism | Public Inference Route across contiguous Shards |
-| Continuous batching | Inside every node across active Route Sessions |
-| Data parallelism | Multiple complete routes for independent requests |
-| Tensor parallelism | Deferred to a trusted composite node/managed cluster |
-| Expert parallelism | Deferred to a trusted composite node/managed cluster |
-| Disaggregated prefill | Deferred until core route performance passes |
-| Speculative decoding | Deferred optimization |
-
-Public WAN tensor/expert collectives are rejected for the first runtime because their per-layer communication and static rank assumptions conflict with heterogeneous volunteer nodes.
-
-## Optional providers
-
-### Transformers/safetensors
-
-Remains:
-
-- Correctness/reference backend.
-- Fallback for unsupported architectures.
-- Baseline for performance and output quality.
-
-### vLLM
-
-May run unmodified as a complete model or managed TP/PP/EP cluster represented as one logical provider. Its internal ranks are not independently routed or rewarded.
-
-Borrow only concepts such as named bundles, continuous batching, typed compatibility fingerprints, explicit transfer lifecycle and load telemetry.
-
-### Whole-model llama.cpp
-
-Provides a local proxy backend, correctness oracle and performance baseline. It is not the native distributed milestone.
-
-## Artifact and recipe compatibility
-
-A routable recipe identifies separately:
-
-- Source Model Artifact hash and optional derivative/slice hash.
-- Architecture and adapter version.
-- Tokenizer revision and vocabulary.
-- Weight quantization.
-- Activation interchange dtype/schema.
-- Backend compute dtype and backend implementation.
-- KV dtype/layout.
-- RoPE/context parameters.
-- llama.cpp commit and project patch version.
-- Shard range and endpoint ownership.
-
-Compatibility fails closed. Similar quantization labels or model names are not enough.
-
-## Admission and failure
-
-A recipe becomes routable only after a real local and distributed forward passes. Synthetic tests remain unit coverage.
-
-Alpha failure behavior:
-
-- Deadline or node loss cancels the Route Session.
-- Every node releases KV and queued buffers.
-- Uncertain mutations are not replayed silently.
-- Retry starts from token zero on a newly compatible route.
-- No cross-node KV import is trusted until a later signed/compatible snapshot protocol exists.
-
-## Performance release contract
-
-Before native development proceeds, compare the current Transformers/safetensors backend with whole-model llama.cpp under controlled model/hardware/quality lanes.
-
-Final release compares distributed GGUF with distributed safetensors using thresholds locked before seeing final results.
-
-Required measurements:
-
-- TTFT.
-- Prefill and decode tokens/sec.
-- Aggregate concurrency throughput.
-- p50/p95 latency.
-- Seam bytes and latency.
-- Queue/batch occupancy.
-- RSS, VRAM and KV pressure.
-- Output-quality drift.
-- Cancellation/failure cleanup.
-
-The GGUF path ships only if it is faster at acceptable quality or enables a larger otherwise-unroutable model at useful measured speed.
-
-## Implementation sequence
-
-1. Lock benchmark/performance contract.
-2. Define gRPC/protobuf and exact recipe identity.
-3. Pin llama.cpp and create the minimal patch stack.
-4. Implement dense-Llama range loading and boundary parity.
-5. Implement concurrent local KV.
-6. Build and integrate the standalone worker.
-7. Pass local two-process real-model acceptance.
-8. Pass real heterogeneous two-machine acceptance.
-9. Add continuous batching and failure hardening.
-10. Enforce the GGUF-versus-safetensors release gate.
-11. Add Qwen3/Qwen3-MoE as a separately certified adapter.
-12. Prepare narrow upstream collaboration patches/tests.
-
-See [the Ralph backlog](prd.json) and [implementation strategy](implementation-strategy.md).

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/decision-framework.md

@@ -1,270 +1,40 @@
-# Distributed GGUF Decision Framework
+# Distributed GGUF Runtime decision framework
-
+
-> **Superseded for active implementation decisions.** The grill was resolved on 2026-07-13. Use [implementation-strategy.md](implementation-strategy.md), [architecture.md](architecture.md), [ADR-0020](ADR-0020-distributed-gguf-runtime.md), and [prd.json](prd.json). This file remains as historical decision rationale.
+> **Specification status:** planning artifacts only. No distributed GGUF runtime is implemented. DGR-017 cleanup is complete; no runtime implementation story has completion credit. `prd.json` is authoritative.
-
+
-This framework is for grilling open decisions. It keeps decisions tied to project vocabulary and implementation gates instead of vague "distributed inference" language.
+## Decision order
-
+
-## Core Vocabulary
+1. DGR-019 locks comparable lanes and thresholds before results.
-
+2. DGR-020 runs safetensors and whole-model llama.cpp only, then returns `go`, `optimize baseline`, or `stop`.
-Use the existing domain terms this way:
+3. Dense and V4 work must prove parity, independent per-stage execution, local-state isolation, bounded failure, and measured resources.
-
+4. DGR-054 returns `alpha`, `optimize measured bottleneck`, or `stop`; MTP is explicitly off.
-- **Shard**: contiguous transformer layer range. This is the compute, routing, cache, and reward unit.
+5. Post-alpha optimizations must be selected from profiles, not assumptions.
-- **Shard Swarm**: storage/download group for artifacts needed by a shard.
+6. DGR-070 returns `beta`, `targeted optimization`, or `stop/rollback`, and requires MTP and the exact certified hardware/recipe matrix.
-- **Inference Route**: ordered node sequence that covers all layers for one request.
+
-- **Route Session**: one active request bound to one inference route and stable session id.
+## Interpretation rules
-- **Hot KV State**: live per-shard cache held by the route node during a route session.
+
-- **Prefix Snapshot**: persisted route-session state used for reuse or failover, not the hot decode path.
+- Quant/model-fit gains are separate from runtime/kernel/transport gains.
-- **Artifact Manifest**: canonical mapping from model artifacts to semantic model parts and runtime support.
+- Fixture, real-model, real-hardware, and release evidence are never interchangeable.
-- **Generation Telemetry**: realtime progress for a route session, including phase and tokens/sec, independent of whether token deltas are streamed.
+- 2–4 and 10+ stages are certification scenarios only.
-
+- Existing routing policy is certified, not redesigned.
-## The Five Planes
+- Build success is not hardware certification; dark lanes remain unroutable.
-
+- Route loss uses cache miss and re-prefill/restart, never WAN cache migration.
-### 1. Control Plane
+
-
+## Locked scope
-Owner: Tracker.
+
-
+- Existing Meshnet Tracker routing, load balancing, billing, telemetry, relay, and provider semantics are backend-agnostic and are **not redesigned**. GGUF contributes exact compatibility, range/capacity, queue/load, seam-cost, health/reliability, and certification inputs only.
-Responsibilities:
+- The data plane is a standalone project-owned C++ Shard worker with gRPC/Protobuf and a project-owned `ShardEngine` boundary.
-
+- llama.cpp is fetched at one exact commit into an ignored workspace from an in-repo manifest, then a numbered minimal patch stack is applied. There is no submodule, vendored tree, or permanent-fork dependency.
-- node registry
+- llama.cpp owns DeepSeek V4 graphs, mHC, MoE, attention, hash routing, and kernels. Meshnet adds only range-ownership hooks, typed boundary/local-state adapters, worker integration, and parity/certification.
-- coverage map
+- Quantization and placement are dynamic recipe inputs. The 2–4 and 10+ stage layouts are certification scenarios, never product constants.
-- route selection
+- Per-shard Hot KV and V4 CSA/HCA/SWA/indexer/compressor state remain local and keyed by route session/epoch. The WAN seam carries the typed mHC 4×4096 residual boundary, positions, token-ID sideband where required, and schema/cache expectations—not per-layer caches.
-- rebalance directives
+- Route changes use cache miss plus re-prefill/restart. There is no WAN KV or V4 auxiliary-cache migration.
-- route-session creation
+- CPU/CUDA/ROCm/Vulkan/Metal compile lanes are planned; only exact real-hardware-certified backend/model/recipe lanes may be advertised.
-- health and telemetry
+- Alpha requires correctness and the pre-locked useful-speed gate. MTP is reserved and off for alpha; its ownership contract, implementation, and benchmark are required before beta.
-- client-visible Generation Telemetry
+
-- billing/audit records
+## Target identities
-
+
-Must not do:
+- DeepSeek V4 official target SHA: `60d8d70770c6776ff598c94bb586a859a38244f1`.
-
+- llama.cpp V4 support lineage began at PR 24162 / merge `8c146a8366304c871efc26057cc90370ccf58dad`; DGR-027 later pins one exact validated current commit.
-- serve hot KV during every token
+- V4 scope: 43 main layers plus MTP; mHC 4×4096 boundary; 256 routed + 1 shared experts with six routed active; token IDs required for the first three hash-routed layers.
-- become the only place model artifacts can be fetched
+- Exact split-GGUF artifacts are provisioned to mounted-drive storage with a complete hashed manifest and resumable verification; no model artifact may be placed under `/home`.
-
-### 2. Artifact Plane
-
-Owner: Shard Swarms, local node storage, optional CDN/bootstrap mirrors.
-
-Responsibilities:
-
-- GGUF/safetensors/tokenizer download
-- content-addressed verification
-- local artifact inventory
-- artifact-to-layer mapping
-- cache eviction
-
-Must not do:
-
-- define execution order by file split alone
-- imply that a downloaded file chunk equals a Shard
-
-### 3. Execution Plane
-
-Owner: active Inference Route.
-
-Responsibilities:
-
-- chunked prefill
-- one-step decode
-- hidden-state transfer across activation seams
-- start-layer handling for overlapping shards
-- backpressure
-
-Must not do:
-
-- resend full context activations during decode
-- require cross-node tensor parallel all-reduce for public v1
-
-### 4. Session State Plane
-
-Owner: route nodes for hot KV; cache servers only for snapshots.
-
-Responsibilities:
-
-- per-shard local KV ownership
-- cache allocation and eviction
-- cache ABI compatibility
-- session close/release
-- optional prefix snapshots
-
-Must not do:
-
-- centralize hot KV in a remote service
-- let a replacement node continue from incompatible state
-
-### 5. Economics And Trust Plane
-
-Owner: tracker plus settlement/validation components.
-
-Responsibilities:
-
-- distinguish storage/seeding work from inference work
-- account for prefill and decode separately
-- record route participation
-- sample validation events
-- slash proven fraud
-
-Must not do:
-
-- pay a node for merely holding files as if it generated tokens
-- hide public-swarm privacy limits from clients
-
-## Hard Invariants
-
-These are the framework rules unless we deliberately write a new ADR:
-
-1. Public-network Shards are contiguous layer ranges.
-2. Hot KV State is local to the node serving that Shard in that Route Session.
-3. Artifact distribution and route execution are separate systems.
-4. Decode seam payload must be `O(hidden_size)`.
-5. Prefill may be `O(sequence_length * hidden_size)`, but only in bounded chunks.
-6. The tracker chooses routes; nodes do not negotiate route topology peer-to-peer.
-7. Model/backend-specific cache internals stay behind backend capability reports.
-8. PyTorch remains the correctness/reference backend while llama.cpp/GGUF becomes the performance backend.
-9. Streaming responses are preferred when feasible; Generation Telemetry is always required.
-
-## Resolved Gates
-
-### Gate 1: Public Shard Semantics
-
-Decision: public-network Shards are contiguous transformer layer ranges. Tensor-parallel or ring-style execution is allowed only inside one trusted node, one colocated pod, or a future composite node abstraction.
-
-Rationale:
-
-- Layer ranges match the existing `Shard`, `Coverage Map`, `Inference Route`, billing, and fraud vocabulary.
-- Public volunteer nodes should not require cross-node all-reduce or tight per-layer synchronization in v1.
-- Existing projects such as prima.cpp and Distributed Llama can still inform local-cluster/backend execution without becoming the public routing primitive.
-
-Consequences:
-
-- Artifact Manifests must map files/tensors to semantic layer ranges.
-- Route selection remains ordered layer coverage.
-- Rewards can be attributed to layer-range work.
-- Hot KV State is naturally owned by the node serving that layer range for the Route Session.
-
-### Gate 2: Hot KV Strategy
-
-Decision: v1 rejects centralized hot KV. Hot KV State is local to the node serving the relevant Shard in the active Route Session. Cache servers may store Prefix Snapshots for reuse, retry, or failover, but they are not in the per-token decode path.
-
-Rationale:
-
-- Decode is the tight loop; adding remote cache I/O there makes latency and bandwidth worse at the worst point.
-- Local KV naturally follows layer-range Shard ownership.
-- Centralized hot KV increases privacy exposure and creates consistency problems.
-- Prefix Snapshots preserve the useful part of central storage without making it mandatory for every generated token.
-
-Consequences:
-
-- Route Session must be sticky.
-- Failover is limited in alpha unless a compatible Prefix Snapshot exists.
-- Cache servers are optimization infrastructure, not required runtime infrastructure.
-- Route repair requires compatible model revision, layer range, backend cache ABI, and snapshot position.
-
-### Gate 3: First Runtime Proof
-
-Decision: prove distributed Route Session and Hot KV State semantics in the existing PyTorch route before modifying llama.cpp/GGUF.
-
-Rationale:
-
-- PyTorch exposes model internals and cache objects more directly, so it is the fastest way to validate the distributed protocol.
-- The current distributed PyTorch route already has the right high-level shape but disables cache and recomputes full prompts.
-- Fixing that path gives us a reference implementation for correctness tests, telemetry, session lifecycle, and wire protocol behavior.
-- llama.cpp/GGUF should receive a clear target ABI rather than becoming both the protocol experiment and the performance backend at once.
-
-Consequences:
-
-- Issue 02 precedes issue 05.
-- llama.cpp collaboration has a concrete target ABI.
-- The PyTorch route remains the architecture-coverage/reference backend even after GGUF becomes the preferred performance path.
-- The first success metric is eliminating full-prompt recompute in distributed decode.
-
-### Gate 3A: Client Feedback During Latency
-
-Decision: streaming responses are preferred when feasible, and realtime Generation Telemetry is required regardless of streaming support.
-
-Rationale:
-
-- The product optimizes for access to large capable models, so some latency is acceptable.
-- Users still need confidence that the route is alive and roughly how fast it is generating.
-- Streaming token deltas give the best user experience when the backend exposes them cleanly.
-- Tokens/sec remains useful during prefill, queueing, and any backend that cannot stream token deltas.
-
-Consequences:
-
-- The gateway should stream token deltas through an OpenAI-compatible response when possible.
-- The gateway must expose progress through SSE, WebSocket, or polling.
-- The final answer can be delivered after completion only as a fallback.
-- Telemetry must include route phase, generated token count, and rolling tokens/sec.
-- Non-streaming clients still need realtime telemetry.
-
-### Gate 4: llama.cpp Collaboration Shape
-
-Decision: target upstreamable `libllama`/ggml hooks instead of planning around a permanent fork.
-
-Rationale:
-
-- llama.cpp changes quickly across model support, quantization, kernels, and hardware backends.
-- A permanent fork would become expensive to maintain and would lag upstream improvements.
-- A short-lived prototype branch is acceptable if it proves the API and makes upstream collaboration concrete.
-- Keeping tracker/routing logic outside llama.cpp makes the upstream ask smaller and cleaner.
-
-Consequences:
-
-- Need a minimal reproducible localhost demo before asking upstream to carry the design.
-- Need to separate "what llama.cpp should expose" from "what our tracker does".
-- Desired upstream surface is layer-range execution, hidden-state boundary I/O, partial loading/introspection, and per-session KV ownership.
-- If upstream rejects the shape, we revisit whether to carry a narrow adapter fork or keep GGUF distributed execution as experimental.
-
-### Gate 5: First Model Target
-
-Decision: use a two-tier model target. Use a small, boring, llama.cpp-supported GGUF model for the first protocol smoke test. Use `deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4-Flash` as the first serious large-model target. Keep GLM-5.2 and Ornith as later support audits.
-
-Rationale:
-
-- The first protocol proof should isolate route/session/KV bugs from model-architecture bugs.
-- DeepSeek-V4-Flash is a strong first serious target because it is much smaller than 1.6T-class models while still being large enough to validate the product thesis.
-- DeepSeek-V4-Flash still has architecture-specific risks, so it should not be the first smoke test.
-- GLM-5.2 and Ornith remain valuable targets, but they add DSA/MLA/hybrid attention uncertainty.
-
-Consequences:
-
-- 128K cache accounting can be modeled now.
-- The first "real" target-model audit is DeepSeek-V4-Flash support in PyTorch, vLLM/SGLang, and any available GGUF/llama.cpp quantization path.
-- Production support waits for backend capability reports and exact cache ABI support.
-
-### Gate 6: Failure Semantics
-
-Decision: alpha fails Route Sessions on route-node loss instead of attempting automatic route repair.
-
-Rationale:
-
-- Route repair requires compatible Prefix Snapshots, cache ABI checks, replacement-node selection, billing correction, and client stream/error recovery.
-- Local Hot KV State means a replacement node cannot continue unless it has compatible state at the same position.
-- Fail-fast keeps the first implementation correct while the session/KV protocol is still being proven.
-
-Consequences:
-
-- Better observability and explicit errors are required.
-- Snapshotting becomes a later feature, not a blocker for first inference.
-- Generation Telemetry must report the last known phase and failure reason.
-- Client or gateway retry starts a new Route Session from scratch.
-
-### Gate 7: Transport
-
-Decision: keep binary HTTP for v1 activation transfer instead of jumping immediately to QUIC, WebRTC, or a custom transport.
-
-Rationale:
-
-- ADR-0008 already defines binary activation bodies with HTTP headers.
-- HTTP keeps the first implementation debuggable with the existing server stack and tooling.
-- The core risk is route/session/KV correctness, not transport optimization.
-- QUIC/WebRTC can be introduced later behind the same activation protocol once semantics are proven.
-
-Consequences:
-
-- Focus benchmark work on payload shape, chunking, and cache behavior first.
-- QUIC/WebRTC can be introduced as an optimization behind the same activation protocol.
-- v1 implementation can reuse the current HTTP routing, relay, and observability infrastructure.
-- Transport abstraction should be kept narrow enough that HTTP can be replaced later without changing backend cache semantics.
-
-## Grilling Progress
-
-Gates 1, 2, 3, 3A, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are resolved. The remaining work is to convert the resolved framework into implementation-ready issue briefs and prototype milestones.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/evidence/DGR-002/README.md

@@ -1,242 +0,0 @@
-# DGR-002 — Adopt the versioned gRPC Shard protocol
-
-Status: **done**. Every acceptance criterion is met with real command output.
-Evidence class: **synthetic/unit** — this story defines a schema and proves both
-languages agree on it. No model, GPU, network peer or benchmark is involved, and
-none is claimed.
-
-## 1. Summary
-
-`packages/node/native/proto/shard_runtime.proto` is now the semantic contract for
-the native Shard data plane: Protocol Buffers over gRPC/HTTP2 (ADR-0020). Python
-and C++ both generate from it, and a shared committed conformance vector proves
-they encode it identically — byte for byte.
-
-Design decisions worth carrying forward:
-
-- **Everything gRPC gives you is *also* in the schema.** Deadline, cancellation,
-  identity and flow control are carried as fields, not left to HTTP/2 metadata,
-  because the existing relay carries these frames as **opaque binary**. A relayed
-  frame has no HTTP/2 context to inherit a deadline or a channel identity from.
-  If it is not in the schema, it does not survive the relay.
-- **Cancellation is both in-band and out-of-band.** `CancelSignal` rides the
-  stream; `Cancel` is also a unary RPC. A cancel that can only travel down a
-  stream that flow control has wedged is not a cancel.
-- **Checksums cover the uncompressed payload.** Compression is a per-hop
-  transport decision (reusing the existing `activation_compression` policies), so
-  a checksum over the compressed frame would be invalidated by a hop that merely
-  chose differently.
-- **Application-level flow-control credits, not just HTTP/2 windows.** HTTP/2
-  bounds *bytes in flight*; it does not bound how much *work* a worker has queued,
-  and a relayed frame gets no window at all. Credits bound queue occupancy and KV
-  pressure, and negotiation takes the strictest bound of either peer so a sender
-  cannot talk a worker into unbounded queues.
-
-## 2. Files changed
-
-New:
-
-| Path | What |
-|---|---|
-| `packages/node/native/proto/shard_runtime.proto` | The schema (sha256 `9e211660…`, see `protocol.json`) |
-| `packages/node/native/CMakeLists.txt` | C++ generation + build wiring + ctest |
-| `packages/node/native/tests/test_shard_protocol_conformance.cpp` | C++ conformance test |
-| `packages/node/native/testdata/*.binpb` | Committed cross-language vectors |
-| `packages/node/native/README.md` | How to regenerate and build |
-| `packages/node/meshnet_node/native_protocol/__init__.py` | Public Python surface |
-| `packages/node/meshnet_node/native_protocol/codec.py` | Bundle encode/decode, fragmentation, CRC32C, chunking, FC negotiation |
-| `packages/node/meshnet_node/native_protocol/conformance.py` | Canonical vectors shared by both languages |
-| `packages/node/meshnet_node/native_protocol/generated/` | Generated Python stubs (committed) |
-| `scripts/generate_native_protocol.py` | Python generation, with `--check` |
-| `scripts/generate_protocol_goldens.py` | Vector generation, with `--check` |
-| `scripts/bootstrap_native_toolchain.sh` | Builds protobuf C++ from source |
-| `tests/test_native_shard_protocol.py` | 45 Python tests |
-
-Modified:
-
-- `packages/node/pyproject.toml` — added runtime floors `grpcio>=1.82.1` and
-  `protobuf>=7.35.0`, matching the committed generated-code requirements; new
-  `proto` extra pinning `grpcio-tools==1.82.1`.
-- `packages/node/meshnet_node/activation_compression.py` — optional bounded zstd
-  output for untrusted protocol frames; existing callers remain compatible.
-- `packages/node/meshnet_node/native_protocol/__init__.py` — exports negotiated
-  bound constants and whole-session-message validation.
-
-The canonical PRD marks only DGR-002 passed. `git status` before this story was clean.
-
-## 3. Commands and real results
-
-See `commands.txt` for the exact ordered list. Results:
-
-```
-python scripts/generate_native_protocol.py --check    -> generated stubs are up to date
-python scripts/generate_protocol_goldens.py --check   -> conformance vectors are up to date
-
-cmake -S packages/node/native -B build/native -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/tmp/pbsrc/install
-  -- gRPC C++ not found: building message types only (sufficient for the conformance test)
-cmake --build build/native -j                         -> Built target shard_protocol_conformance
-ctest --test-dir build/native --output-on-failure     -> 1/1 Test #1: shard_protocol_conformance ... Passed
-                                                          100% tests passed out of 1
-
-cmp build/native/cpp_roundtrip.binpb \
-    packages/node/native/testdata/session_request_golden.binpb   -> identical (exit 0)
-
-pytest -q tests/test_native_shard_protocol.py         -> 45 passed
-pytest -q tests/test_native_shard_protocol.py \
-  tests/test_activation_compression.py                -> 51 passed
-pytest -q  (final full suite)                         -> 728 passed, 12 skipped
-pytest -q tests/test_tracker_routing.py::test_tracker_dashboard_can_cancel_inflight_proxy
-  (after an earlier flaky full-suite failure)          -> 1 passed, 1 passed, 1 passed
-clean minimum-runtime import + codec smoke test        -> passed
-  grpcio==1.82.1, protobuf==7.35.0
-compileall -q packages tests                          -> OK (exit 0)
-git diff --check                                      -> clean (exit 0)
-```
-
-The C++ lane was rebuilt from scratch by Ralph (`rm -rf build/native`) using only
-the documented commands, and reproduced the same result. During controller
-review the user explicitly chose not to repeat the destructive build-directory
-cleanup, so the independent controller relied on the recorded CMake/CTest run
-while reproducing every Python/generation/full-suite gate.
-
-### Controller review corrections
-
-Independent controller review found and fixed two classes of issue before
-integration:
-
-1. Generated stubs required gRPC 1.82.1 and Protobuf 7.35.0, while the initial
-   package metadata allowed much older runtimes that could fail at import time.
-2. Flow-control bounds were described but not enforced by the reference decoder.
-   Tensor declarations, shape rank/dimensions, fragment/tensor counts, fragments,
-   wire bodies, whole bundles, complete session messages (including envelope
-   overhead), and zstd window/output expansion are now fail-closed against the
-   negotiated/default bounds. Unspecified bundle versions, compression and
-   checksums are rejected rather than interpreted as valid data.
-3. Negotiated initial credits could exceed `max_inflight_chunks`; credits are now
-   capped by the settled in-flight limit.
-
-Controller results: protocol tests `45 passed`; protocol plus shared compression
-tests `51 passed`; final full suite `728 passed, 12 skipped`. A clean environment
-at the declared minimum gRPC/Protobuf runtime versions imported both generated
-stub modules and round-tripped the codec. Generation checks, `compileall`, static
-secret scan, and `git diff --check` all passed.
-
-### Full-suite note — a pre-existing flaky test
-
-`tests/test_tracker_routing.py::test_tracker_dashboard_can_cancel_inflight_proxy`
-is **flaky on a clean tree, independent of this story**. Reproduction, run
-*before any DGR-002 file existed* (working tree clean, `git status` empty):
-
-```
-pytest -q                                       -> 1 failed, 682 passed, 12 skipped
-  FAILED tests/test_tracker_routing.py::test_tracker_dashboard_can_cancel_inflight_proxy
-
-# same test, three consecutive isolated runs on the same clean tree:
-pytest -q tests/test_tracker_routing.py::test_tracker_dashboard_can_cancel_inflight_proxy
-  -> 1 passed in 1.76s
-  -> 1 failed in 4.39s
-  -> 1 passed in 1.10s
-```
-
-It is a timing race in proxy cancellation (a 3-second in-flight generation raced
-against the cancel assertion), not a deterministic failure, and it touches no code
-this story changes. One controller full-suite run reported exactly that one failure
-(`1 failed, 719 passed, 12 skipped`); three immediate isolated retries all passed
-in 1.11 seconds, and the final exact-code full suite was green (`728 passed,
-12 skipped`). It is flagged for whoever owns the tracker cancel path and is **not**
-fixed here, since silently touching another story's code is out of scope.
-
-## 4. Acceptance criteria
-
-| Criterion | Where it is proven |
-|---|---|
-| Schema for capability, health, session stream, release, cancellation | `shard_runtime.proto` `service ShardRuntime`; `test_service_exposes_capability_health_session_release_and_cancel` |
-| One long-lived bidi stream per Activation Seam, with deadlines, cancellation, flow control, structured errors | `rpc Session (stream) returns (stream)`; `test_session_is_one_long_lived_bidirectional_stream`; `Envelope.deadline_unix_nanos`, `CancelSignal` + unary `Cancel`, `FlowControl`, `ShardError` |
-| Bounded chunking for prefill; small decode fast path | `ChunkInfo` + `plan_prefill_chunks` (128-token bound, ADR-0008); `DecodeStep`; `test_prefill_is_split_into_bounded_token_aligned_chunks`, `test_decode_fast_path_is_much_smaller_than_a_full_envelope_chunk` |
-| Envelope carries schema version, work id, session id, epoch, fingerprint, range/effective start, phase, position, idempotency step, cache expectation, compression, checksum | `Envelope` + `NamedTensor`; `test_envelope_carries_every_field_the_protocol_promises` asserts against the **descriptor**, so deleting a field from the `.proto` fails the test |
-| Versioned named-tensor bundle: name, shape, dtype, byte order, fragments | `TensorBundle`/`NamedTensor`/`TensorFragment`; `test_named_tensor_bundle_is_versioned_and_fully_described`, `test_bundle_round_trips_multiple_named_tensors` |
-| Round-trip + compatibility tests in Python and C++ | 45 Python tests; C++ `ctest` 1/1; cross-language byte equality |
-| Targeted pytest passes | 45 passed |
-| `compileall packages tests` | exit 0 |
-| `git diff --check` | exit 0 |
-| Default tests deterministic, download-free, credit-free, GPU-free | Pure in-memory protobuf; no model, no network, no GPU |
-| Full deterministic pytest passes, or pre-existing failure recorded | Final exact-code run: 728 passed, 12 skipped; earlier sole flaky failure documented with clean-tree reproduction and 3/3 passing retries |
-
-## 5. How the cross-language claim is actually earned
-
-Two codecs that each round-trip their own output prove only that each is
-self-consistent. Instead:
-
-1. Python builds the canonical `SessionRequest` and commits its bytes.
-2. The C++ test parses **those** bytes, asserts every field, recomputes the CRC32C
-   **from the polynomial in independent C++ code**, reassembles the multi-fragment
-   tensor, and re-serializes to `cpp_roundtrip.binpb`.
-3. `test_cpp_and_python_agree_byte_for_byte` asserts that file equals the golden.
-
-Compatibility is tested in both languages: an unknown field from a newer peer
-survives a parse/serialize hop (a Shard forwards activations — silently stripping
-fields would corrupt a route it is merely a waypoint on), and a sparse message
-from an older peer parses to proto3 defaults.
-
-## 6. Limitations and deferred work
-
-- **gRPC C++ was not built or linked.** The C++ lane verifies the *schema* (message
-  types), not a running gRPC C++ server, because this machine has no gRPC C++ stack
-  and building it is a large dependency the conformance test does not need.
-  `CMakeLists.txt` already generates and exports `shard_runtime_grpc` when
-  `find_package(gRPC)` succeeds. **DGR-008 must install gRPC C++ and extend
-  `scripts/bootstrap_native_toolchain.sh`.**
-- **No wire is exercised.** No client, server, or stream lifecycle exists yet — no
-  deadline actually fires, no credit is actually consumed. This story defines and
-  proves the contract; DGR-008/DGR-009 implement it.
-- The protobuf C++ toolchain used here was installed to `/tmp/pbsrc/install` (ephemeral).
-  `scripts/bootstrap_native_toolchain.sh` reproduces it; prefer a durable prefix such
-  as `build/native-toolchain`.
-- `crc32c` has a pure-Python fallback (used here) and picks up `google_crc32c` when
-  present. The fallback is byte-exact but slow; a worker on the hot path should install
-  the native package. Not a correctness limitation.
-- Compression on the wire is zstd-or-none only, matching the existing seam.
-
-## 7. Compatibility and migration notes
-
-- **This does not change the existing HTTP activation wire.** `X-Meshnet-Wire` stays
-  at `2` and the legacy `/forward` path is untouched. The native protocol is a
-  *separate* contract with its own `SchemaVersion`, starting at 1. Nothing in this
-  story is on any live request path — it is additive.
-- Semantics are deliberately preserved from the existing ADRs so the two transports
-  mean the same thing: `effective_start_layer` (ADR-0012), `CacheMode`/`expected_past_len`
-  and `ERROR_CODE_CACHE_MISS` mapping to today's HTTP 409 `cache_miss` (ADR-0022),
-  bfloat16 boundary dtype and 128-token prefill chunks (ADR-0008), fingerprint/recipe
-  identity mirroring the capability report (ADR-0023).
-- `TensorFragment` field 5 (`uncompressed_size`) is **reserved**: it was removed
-  because `NamedTensor.total_bytes` is the single source of truth. Never recycle it —
-  a recycled field number is the one schema change peers cannot detect, because the
-  bytes still parse.
-- Committed Python stubs are guarded by `--check` in the test suite, so they cannot
-  drift from the schema unnoticed.
-
-## 8. Handoff to dependent stories
-
-- **DGR-003 (runtime recipe/fingerprint):** populate `Fingerprint`
-  (`model_artifact_digest`, `runtime_recipe_digest`, `recipe_id`, `recipe_version`,
-  `catalogue_version`). The mismatch outcome is already specified:
-  `ERROR_CODE_FINGERPRINT_MISMATCH`. Do not invent a second identity struct.
-- **DGR-005/006 (range loading, architecture boundary):** the boundary payload is a
-  **named bundle**, not a bare tensor — a boundary needing more than one tensor is
-  already representable. Execute `[effective_start_layer, end_layer)`, never from
-  `start_layer`.
-- **DGR-007 (concurrent sessions/KV):** isolate on `(route_session_id, route_epoch)`.
-  `CacheExpectation`/`CacheResult` and `ERROR_CODE_CACHE_MISS` are the contract; a
-  decode step whose `expected_past_len` does not match **must** miss, never fall back
-  to a silent stateless forward. `idempotency_step` means a retried step is
-  acknowledged (`Ack.duplicate`), not re-applied — re-applying advances the KV cache
-  twice and desynchronises the route.
-- **DGR-008 (C++ worker):** link `shard_runtime_grpc` from `CMakeLists.txt`; you must
-  first install gRPC C++ (see limitations). Honour `FlowControl` credits and the
-  `max_chunk_bytes` bound. Use `packages/node/meshnet_node/native_protocol/codec.py`
-  as the reference for fragment reassembly and checksum validation.
-- **DGR-009 (Meshnet integration):** the relay may carry these serialized frames as
-  opaque binary — that is exactly why deadline/cancel/identity are in-band. Do not add
-  a second control plane.
-- **Anyone editing the schema:** run both `--check` scripts; if a vector legitimately
-  changes, regenerate it and say so, because the C++ test asserts those exact bytes.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/evidence/DGR-002/commands.txt

@@ -1,45 +0,0 @@
-# DGR-002 — exact commands, in order. Run from the repository root.
-# Interpreter: <repo>/.venv/bin/python (CPython 3.14.6). Deterministic, GPU-free,
-# no model download, no API credits.
-
-# --- toolchain (this machine had no protoc, no cmake, no protobuf C++ headers)
-.venv/bin/python -m pip install grpcio-tools==1.82.1 grpcio==1.82.1 cmake==4.4.0
-scripts/bootstrap_native_toolchain.sh /tmp/pbsrc/install   # protobuf C++ 33.1 + abseil 20250814.1
-
-# --- schema generation (Python stubs; committed)
-.venv/bin/python scripts/generate_native_protocol.py
-.venv/bin/python scripts/generate_native_protocol.py --check     # -> "generated stubs are up to date"
-
-# --- cross-language conformance vectors (committed)
-.venv/bin/python scripts/generate_protocol_goldens.py
-.venv/bin/python scripts/generate_protocol_goldens.py --check    # -> "conformance vectors are up to date"
-
-# --- C++ generation, build and conformance test
-cmake -S packages/node/native -B build/native -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/tmp/pbsrc/install
-cmake --build build/native -j"$(nproc)"
-ctest --test-dir build/native --output-on-failure                # -> 1/1 Passed
-cmp build/native/cpp_roundtrip.binpb packages/node/native/testdata/session_request_golden.binpb
-
-# --- Python tests
-.venv/bin/python -m pytest -q tests/test_native_shard_protocol.py   # -> 29 passed
-.venv/bin/python -m pytest -q                                        # full suite
-
-# --- repository gates
-.venv/bin/python -m compileall -q packages tests
-git diff --check
-
-# --- independent controller review after Ralph
-PYTHONPATH=packages/node .venv/bin/python -m pytest -q tests/test_native_shard_protocol.py
-# -> 45 passed
-PYTHONPATH=packages/node .venv/bin/python -m pytest -q \
-  tests/test_native_shard_protocol.py tests/test_activation_compression.py
-# -> 51 passed
-PYTHONPATH=packages/node .venv/bin/python -m pytest -q
-# -> final exact-code run: 728 passed, 12 skipped
-for i in 1 2 3; do PYTHONPATH=packages/node .venv/bin/python -m pytest -q \
-  tests/test_tracker_routing.py::test_tracker_dashboard_can_cancel_inflight_proxy; done
-# -> 1 passed, 1 passed, 1 passed
-# clean minimum-runtime venv: protobuf==7.35.0 grpcio==1.82.1
-# generated pb2 + pb2_grpc imports and one-byte codec round trip -> passed
-# The user chose to rely on Ralph's recorded successful C++ CMake/CTest run
-# rather than repeat deletion of an isolated generated build directory.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/evidence/DGR-002/protocol.json

@@ -1,95 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "schema_version": "SCHEMA_VERSION_1",
-  "bundle_version": 1,
-  "proto_path": "packages/node/native/proto/shard_runtime.proto",
-  "proto_sha256": "9e211660b3fcefc88bcdf3851c3571088c00349aacb5adc5ef45083c83d0cce2",
-  "protoc": "grpc_tools 1.82.1 (python) / protobuf 33.1 (C++)",
-  "service": {
-    "GetCapability": {
-      "client_streaming": false,
-      "server_streaming": false
-    },
-    "Health": {
-      "client_streaming": false,
-      "server_streaming": false
-    },
-    "Session": {
-      "client_streaming": true,
-      "server_streaming": true
-    },
-    "Release": {
-      "client_streaming": false,
-      "server_streaming": false
-    },
-    "Cancel": {
-      "client_streaming": false,
-      "server_streaming": false
-    }
-  },
-  "envelope_fields": [
-    "cache_expectation",
-    "chunk",
-    "deadline_unix_nanos",
-    "fingerprint",
-    "idempotency_step",
-    "phase",
-    "position",
-    "route_epoch",
-    "route_session_id",
-    "schema_version",
-    "shard_range",
-    "work_id"
-  ],
-  "named_tensor_fields": [
-    "byte_order",
-    "checksum",
-    "compression",
-    "dtype",
-    "fragments",
-    "name",
-    "shape",
-    "total_bytes"
-  ],
-  "phases": [
-    "PHASE_UNSPECIFIED",
-    "PHASE_PREFILL",
-    "PHASE_DECODE",
-    "PHASE_RELEASE",
-    "PHASE_CANCEL"
-  ],
-  "error_codes": [
-    "ERROR_CODE_UNSPECIFIED",
-    "ERROR_CODE_SCHEMA_UNSUPPORTED",
-    "ERROR_CODE_FINGERPRINT_MISMATCH",
-    "ERROR_CODE_EPOCH_STALE",
-    "ERROR_CODE_SHARD_RANGE_MISMATCH",
-    "ERROR_CODE_CACHE_MISS",
-    "ERROR_CODE_RESOURCE_EXHAUSTED",
-    "ERROR_CODE_PAYLOAD_CORRUPT",
-    "ERROR_CODE_CANCELLED",
-    "ERROR_CODE_DEADLINE_EXCEEDED",
-    "ERROR_CODE_FLOW_CONTROL_VIOLATION",
-    "ERROR_CODE_INTERNAL"
-  ],
-  "bounds": {
-    "max_prefill_chunk_tokens": 128,
-    "max_chunk_bytes": 4194304,
-    "max_fragment_bytes": 1048576,
-    "max_inflight_chunks": 8,
-    "max_fragments_per_tensor": 64,
-    "max_tensors_per_bundle": 64,
-    "max_tensor_rank": 8,
-    "max_tensor_dimension": 2147483647,
-    "whole_session_message_enforced": true
-  },
-  "golden_vectors": {
-    "session_request_golden.binpb": "c2c3df8a717ddeae7bd99624d2c7f34c09a518988de990237fe313b75cff0817",
-    "capability_report_golden.binpb": "71ac5f150775f398515b43a63596a5cbe8d2ad607e7e4de56bd44fbe7987080c"
-  },
-  "verification": {
-    "python_protocol_tests": "45 passed",
-    "python_protocol_and_compression_tests": "51 passed",
-    "full_suite": "728 passed, 12 skipped",
-    "minimum_runtime": "grpcio 1.82.1 / protobuf 7.35.0 passed import and codec smoke"
-  }
-}

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/evidence/DGR-017/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+# DGR-017 evidence — superseded backlog cleanup
+
+**Completed:** 2026-07-16
+**Branch:** `ralph/distributed-gguf-runtime`
+**Planning checkpoint before cleanup:** `81b1fa6`
+**Authority:** `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/prd.json`
+
+## Outcome
+
+The old DGR-001…016 completion claims and active artifacts were reconciled against the live branch. No old pass state transferred to the new implementation roadmap.
+
+The active `packages/` and `tests/` trees were restored exactly to `origin/master`. The branch therefore no longer exposes a nominal GGUF startup path backed by unimplemented transport methods, a protobuf-only native scaffold, or isolated synthetic scheduler/cache/failure modules as if they were a working distributed GGUF runtime.
+
+## Classification and disposition
+
+### Retained
+
+- Accepted ADRs and repository research, including `docs/research/colibri-implementation-audit.md`.
+- The authoritative 55-story roadmap `DGR-017…071` and its generated issue specifications.
+- The real public-relay smoke benchmark, moved with provenance to `legacy-public-relay-smoke-benchmark.json`.
+- Git history containing the complete superseded implementation/reference work.
+
+### Removed from the active tree
+
+- Legacy issue specifications DGR-001…016 and their stale/blocked/synthetic evidence directories.
+- The nonfunctional `gguf_backend` startup path whose gRPC execution methods raised not-implemented errors.
+- Synthetic/reference-only boundary, Hot KV, scheduler, failure, recipe, ownership, and native-protocol modules that were not a real llama.cpp Shard runtime.
+- The protobuf round-trip-only native scaffold, placeholder llama.cpp patch, generated bindings/build workspace, and associated tests.
+- Tracker/admission/source modifications coupled to that superseded scaffold.
+
+### Confirmed absent and still required
+
+- Real standalone C++ gRPC Shard worker.
+- Exact pinned llama.cpp manifest and verified patch stack.
+- Range-aware GGUF tensor ownership and real ranged execution.
+- Real Shard-local llama.cpp KV/V4 auxiliary state.
+- DeepSeek V4 boundary adapter and ranged parity.
+- Real multi-machine DeepSeek V4 alpha or beta acceptance.
+
+These remain `passes: false` in DGR-018…071.
+
+## Before-cleanup baseline
+
+Command:
+
+```bash
+.venv-rocm/bin/python -m pytest -q \
+  tests/test_performance_contract.py tests/test_native_shard_protocol.py \
+  tests/test_gguf_ownership.py tests/test_boundary_adapter.py \
+  tests/test_hot_kv_state.py tests/test_gguf_backend.py \
+  tests/test_batch_scheduler.py tests/test_failure_semantics.py \
+  tests/test_llama_worker_build.py tests/test_node_admission.py \
+  tests/test_node_capability.py tests/test_tracker_capability_admission.py
+```
+
+Result:
+
+```text
+216 passed, 2 skipped, 1 failed, 1 warning
+```
+
+The failure was a synthetic capability-test helper `KeyError: 'compatibility_fingerprint'`. The warning was a pre-existing heartbeat-thread `SystemExit` warning.
+
+## Cleanup verification
+
+### Source equality
+
+Command:
+
+```bash
+git diff --quiet origin/master -- packages tests
+```
+
+Result:
+
+```text
+packages_tests_match_origin_master=yes
+```
+
+The staged cleanup removes approximately 15.3k obsolete source/test/evidence lines from the active branch.
+
+### Cleanup-relevant regression suite
+
+Command:
+
+```bash
+.venv-rocm/bin/python -m pytest -q \
+  tests/test_node_admission.py tests/test_node_capability.py \
+  tests/test_tracker_capability_admission.py \
+  tests/test_kv_cache_distributed.py tests/test_real_distributed_inference.py
+```
+
+Result:
+
+```text
+119 passed, 2 skipped, 1 warning in 15.90s
+```
+
+The warning is the same pre-existing heartbeat-thread `SystemExit` warning.
+
+### Known `origin/master` limitations
+
+The wider routing run produced `210 passed, 2 skipped, 4 failed, 1 warning`. Each failure reproduced individually while `packages/` and `tests/` matched `origin/master` exactly:
+
+- `test_tracker_models_endpoint_lists_registered_hf_repo_and_short_name_alias`
+- `test_torch_node_applies_tracker_load_shard_directive`
+- `test_shard_heal_cycle_surviving_node_covers_dead_peers_gap`
+- `test_a_node_with_an_unusable_precision_covers_no_layers`
+
+They are recorded as pre-existing baseline defects and were not repaired or hidden by this cleanup story.
+
+## Dependency handoff
+
+DGR-018 and later stories must start from the cleaned upstream-equivalent runtime tree. Reuse concepts from superseded commits only by explicitly porting the smallest verified slice under the new story’s contracts, tests, and evidence gates. Git history is provenance, not completion evidence.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/evidence/DGR-017/legacy-public-relay-smoke-benchmark.json

@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+{
+  "schema_version": 1,
+  "executed_at_utc": "2026-07-15T10:41:14Z",
+  "test_kind": "public-relay-single-node-streaming-smoke-benchmark",
+  "target": {
+    "public_chat_endpoint": "https://meshnet.2.d-popov.com/v1/chat/completions",
+    "relay_url": "wss://meshnet.2.d-popov.com/ws",
+    "model": "qwen2.5-0.5b-instruct",
+    "quantization": "bfloat16"
+  },
+  "recovery": {
+    "problem": "The local node's capability proof had expired and its port-7000 HTTP server had wedged with CLOSE-WAIT sockets.",
+    "action": "Gracefully restarted the local public-tracker meshnet-node process on port 7000.",
+    "startup_validation": {
+      "device": "cuda",
+      "capability_proof_ms": 336,
+      "node_id": "7j77FsPY-b32476219492",
+      "relay_addr": "wss://meshnet.2.d-popov.com/rpc/7j77FsPY1evV8tuf-7000"
+    }
+  },
+  "tracker_admission_after_recovery": {
+    "node_id": "7j77FsPY-b32476219492",
+    "alive": true,
+    "status": "ready",
+    "capability_state": "admitted",
+    "routable": true,
+    "route_hops": 1
+  },
+  "client_measurements": {
+    "warmup": {
+      "http_status": 200,
+      "ttft_ms": 420.8,
+      "elapsed_ms": 610.23,
+      "response_text": "MeshNet Relay Benchmark Passed"
+    },
+    "runs": [
+      {
+        "run": 1,
+        "ttft_ms": 376.04,
+        "elapsed_ms": 458.65,
+        "response_text": "relay benchmark pass"
+      },
+      {
+        "run": 2,
+        "ttft_ms": 258.33,
+        "elapsed_ms": 336.71,
+        "response_text": "relay benchmark pass"
+      },
+      {
+        "run": 3,
+        "ttft_ms": 288.26,
+        "elapsed_ms": 363.2,
+        "response_text": "relay benchmark pass"
+      }
+    ],
+    "p50_ttft_ms": 288.26,
+    "p50_elapsed_ms": 363.2
+  },
+  "tracker_relay_evidence": [
+    {
+      "status": 200,
+      "relay": true,
+      "node_id": "7j77FsPY-b32476219492",
+      "tokens": 11,
+      "elapsed_seconds": 0.1686,
+      "tokens_per_sec": 65.2541
+    },
+    {
+      "status": 200,
+      "relay": true,
+      "node_id": "7j77FsPY-b32476219492",
+      "tokens": 11,
+      "elapsed_seconds": 0.1891,
+      "tokens_per_sec": 58.1799
+    }
+  ],
+  "scope_and_remaining_work": {
+    "validated": "Public HTTPS chat endpoint routed a streaming request through the tracker relay to the local CUDA node and completed with HTTP 200.",
+    "not_validated": "Two-node shard routing was not run because the remote node 5gMLrmyB-88f5cba044d0 still had an expired capability proof and was not routable.",
+    "next_gate": "Refresh the remote node capability proof, then load a multi-node-compatible assignment and repeat the benchmark through the public tracker relay."
+  },
+  "reproduction": "Use a valid bearer API key with the public /v1/chat/completions endpoint and stream a short qwen2.5-0.5b-instruct request. Do not connect directly to private node HTTP endpoints; the tracker relay is the required path."
+}

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/evidence/DGR-018/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,204 @@
+# DGR-018 evidence — canonical Ralph and Gitea metadata schema
+
+**Completed:** 2026-07-16
+**Branch:** `ralph/distributed-gguf-runtime`
+**Authority:** `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/prd.json`
+**Dependency:** DGR-017 (`evidence/DGR-017/README.md`) — cleaned backlog reconciled to `origin/master`; no old pass state transferred.
+
+## Objective
+
+Make `prd.json` the validated source from which Markdown (and, later, Gitea) issues
+can be generated losslessly, per
+`.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/018-define-canonical-ralph-and-gitea-metadata-schema.md`.
+
+## Pre-existing state found (not caused by this story)
+
+Before any change in this session, `git status` showed `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/prd.json`
+already modified in the working tree relative to `HEAD` (commit `369b207`), with no corresponding
+progress-log entry. Diffing against `HEAD` showed the working copy had **dropped** prd.json's
+top-level `sourceOfTruth`, `qualityGates`, `metadataSchema`, `milestones`, and `supersededStories`
+objects, while `userStories` itself was byte-identical to `HEAD`. This looked like an abandoned,
+uncommitted partial edit from a prior session, not intentional current work — those fields are
+exactly the schema/quality-gate/audit-provenance content this story depends on, and their loss
+wasn't explained by any acceptance criterion. They were restored (see "Changes" below) rather than
+silently accepted or discarded, per the instruction to investigate unexplained working-tree state
+before building on top of it.
+
+## Changes
+
+### `scripts/ralph_prd_schema.py` (new)
+
+Single module providing:
+
+- **Parse:** `load_prd(path)` — JSON load with clear `PrdValidationError`s for missing file /
+  invalid JSON / non-object document.
+- **Canonical schema registry:** `STORY_FIELDS` (name → required/type), `EXECUTION_MODES`,
+  `EVIDENCE_CLASSES`, `HARDWARE_FLAGS`, `UPSTREAM_FLAGS`, `TRIAGE_VALUES`. Covers every field named
+  in the acceptance criteria: stable `id`/`title`, `labels`, `milestone`, derived `type`
+  (`derive_type`), `dependsOn`, derived `blocks`, `triage`, `evidenceClass`, and
+  `hardware`/`model`/`upstream` flags.
+- **Structural validation:** `validate_schema(data)` — required fields, types, enum membership,
+  ID convention, `type:`/`priority:` label cardinality, non-empty `acceptanceCriteria`.
+- **Semantic validation:** `validate_semantics(data)` — unique IDs, unique titles, `dependsOn`
+  resolves to known stories (no self-dependency), dependency graph is acyclic (with a reported
+  cycle path on failure), `blocks` matches the dependency graph exactly (sorted set equality, not
+  superset), and `evidencePath` matches the per-story convention.
+- **Fresh vs. in-progress backlog:** `validate_fresh_backlog(data)` additionally requires every
+  story to start `passes: false` (for a backlog that hasn't started execution yet);
+  `validate_backlog(data)` is the composed check for a real, in-flight backlog where some stories
+  have legitimately completed.
+- **Self-consistency check:** `validate_metadata_schema_consistency(data)` — when prd.json declares
+  its own `metadataSchema`/`qualityGates` (as this one now does), verifies that self-documentation
+  hasn't drifted from what the validator actually enforces (enum sets, required/optional field
+  lists, presence of `qualityGates` and `generatedArtifactDisclaimer`). This is a no-op for minimal
+  fixture PRDs that don't carry that documentation.
+- **Generation (one-directional, prd.json → artifact):** `render_issue_markdown(story, data)`
+  renders the exact Markdown convention already used by
+  `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/*.md`, sourcing the "Shared quality gates" bullets from
+  `data["qualityGates"]` and the leading disclaimer from
+  `data["metadataSchema"]["generatedArtifactDisclaimer"]` (falling back to a module default only
+  when `data` omits them) — not from a duplicated Python string literal.
+  `to_gitea_issue_payload(story, data)` wraps the same body into a Gitea create-issue-shaped payload
+  (`title`, `body`, `labels`, `milestone`).
+- **Authority guard:** `check_generated_markdown_authority(text, disclaimer=...)` rejects generated
+  Markdown that's missing the disclaimer or that contains a conflicting authority claim (e.g. "this
+  file is authoritative"). There is deliberately no Markdown → prd.json parser, so a generated
+  artifact structurally cannot feed `passes` (or anything else) back into the authoritative source.
+- CLI: `python scripts/ralph_prd_schema.py validate <prd.json> [--fresh]` and
+  `... render <prd.json> <STORY-ID>`.
+
+### `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/prd.json`
+
+- Restored the top-level `sourceOfTruth`, `qualityGates`, `milestones`, and `supersededStories`
+  objects to their `HEAD` content (see "Pre-existing state" above); `userStories` was already
+  identical to `HEAD` and is unchanged in content.
+- Extended `metadataSchema` (previously incomplete for this story's own acceptance criteria) with:
+  `requiredStoryFields` now also lists `notes` and `blocks` (present on all 55 stories); new
+  `optionalStoryFields: ["completionNotes"]`; new `hardwareValues`/`upstreamValues` enums (`model`
+  is documented as an open convention, not a closed enum, since quantization/model targets are
+  dynamic recipe inputs per `RALPH-CONTEXT.md`); new `typeDerivation` and `labelConventions`
+  (reserved prefixes, cardinality); new `generatedArtifactDisclaimer` (the exact string generated
+  artifacts must start with); extended `dependencyRules`/`authorityRule` prose to match what the
+  validator enforces.
+- Reworded `sourceOfTruth`'s stale "All stories are unimplemented ... passes=false" clause, which
+  was no longer accurate once DGR-017 completed.
+- Marked `DGR-018.passes = true` with `completionNotes` recording this story's outcome.
+
+### `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/018-define-canonical-ralph-and-gitea-metadata-schema.md`
+
+Regenerated via `render_issue_markdown` to reflect `passes: true` (checked acceptance criteria,
+"completed" status line, "Verified evidence" handoff line) — matching the same convention DGR-017's
+issue file already used for a completed story.
+
+### `tests/test_ralph_prd_schema.py` (new)
+
+108 deterministic, model-download-free, GPU-free tests:
+
+- **Parse** (4 tests): real backlog parses to 55 stories; missing file, invalid JSON, and
+  non-object documents raise `PrdValidationError`.
+- **Structural/semantic validation against the real backlog** (7 tests): passes `validate_schema`,
+  `validate_semantics`, and the composed `validate_backlog`; unique IDs/titles; all `dependsOn`
+  resolve; `blocks` matches the derived dependency graph for all 55 stories; no cycle; every
+  `passes: true` story carries `completionNotes` and an existing evidence README (a durable
+  invariant, not a hardcoded list of which stories have completed — that list will keep growing).
+- **Structural/semantic failure-mode fixtures** (13 tests): missing required field, bad enum, wrong
+  type, empty `acceptanceCriteria`, multiple `type:` labels, duplicate ID, duplicate title, unknown
+  dependency, self-dependency, dependency cycle, mismatched `blocks`, bad `evidencePath`.
+- **Fresh-backlog invariant** (3 tests): accepts all-`false`, rejects a premature `passes: true`,
+  and confirms `validate_backlog` (the in-progress variant) permits completed stories.
+- **prd.json-as-source-of-truth for boilerplate** (9 tests): `qualityGates`/`metadataSchema`
+  self-consistency checks (no-op without them, catches a drifted enum, catches a missing
+  `qualityGates`), `quality_gate_bullets` flattening order, `authority_disclaimer` precedence and
+  fallback, and 3 tests asserting the real backlog's declared schema matches the code, its 7
+  quality-gate bullets are intact, and its disclaimer matches the module default.
+- **`derive_type`** (4 tests): label-derived type, release-gate synthetic type for HITL gate
+  stories, `None` when absent, and confirmation that the real backlog's two release-gate stories
+  (`DGR-054`, `DGR-070`) derive `release-gate`.
+- **Markdown generation round trips** (55 parametrized + 6 tests): `render_issue_markdown` for
+  every story `DGR-017`..`DGR-071` is byte-for-byte identical to the corresponding file already in
+  `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/`; determinism; leading disclaimer; `Blocks (derived)`
+  rendering (`None` vs. listed); checkbox reflects `passes`; filename convention.
+- **Authority-claim rejection** (4 tests): accepts real generated text, rejects a missing
+  disclaimer, rejects an overriding claim, and confirms every committed issue file in
+  `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/` passes the check.
+- **Gitea payload generation** (3 tests): payload shape, body carries no information beyond what's
+  in prd.json, and every real story's payload is well-formed and authority-clean.
+
+## Commands and results
+
+```bash
+python3 -m pytest -q tests/test_ralph_prd_schema.py
+```
+```text
+108 passed in 0.16s
+```
+
+```bash
+python3 -m compileall -q packages tests
+```
+Exit code 0, no output (all files compile).
+
+```bash
+git diff --check
+```
+Exit code 0 (no whitespace errors).
+
+```bash
+python3 scripts/ralph_prd_schema.py validate .scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/prd.json
+```
+```text
+OK: 55 stories validated.
+```
+
+```bash
+python3 scripts/ralph_prd_schema.py validate .scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/prd.json --fresh
+```
+```text
+ERROR: DGR-017: fresh backlog requires passes=false, got True
+ERROR: DGR-018: fresh backlog requires passes=false, got True
+2 validation error(s).
+```
+Expected: `--fresh` is the invariant for a backlog that hasn't started execution; this backlog has
+legitimately completed two stories, so it correctly fails that stricter check while passing the
+plain (in-progress) `validate` command above.
+
+### Baseline: full repository suite (ad hoc `python3`, not a project venv)
+
+```bash
+python3 -m pytest -q
+```
+```text
+20 failed, 776 passed, 13 skipped, 2 warnings in 244.17s (0:04:04)
+```
+None of the failures touch `scripts/ralph_prd_schema.py` or `tests/test_ralph_prd_schema.py`
+(neither file existed before this story; this story adds no changes to `packages/`). Four of the
+20 failures reproduce exactly the pre-existing baseline defects DGR-017's evidence already recorded
+(`test_tracker_models_endpoint_lists_registered_hf_repo_and_short_name_alias`,
+`test_torch_node_applies_tracker_load_shard_directive`,
+`test_shard_heal_cycle_surviving_node_covers_dead_peers_gap`,
+`test_a_node_with_an_unusable_precision_covers_no_layers`). The remaining 16 (activation
+compression, dynamic routing, gossip/relay, manual route benchmark, openai gateway, TOPLoC
+calibration dispatch, tracker control plane) include a `ModuleNotFoundError: langchain` failure,
+indicating this ad hoc `python3` lacks the project's `dev` extras (`langchain-openai`, etc.) rather
+than a real regression; this environment has no project virtualenv (e.g. no `.venv-rocm`) to run
+against instead. Not investigated further as out of scope for this story.
+
+## Limitations
+
+- No real Gitea instance or API integration exists; `to_gitea_issue_payload` defines the payload
+  shape (title/body/labels/milestone) only. Creating issues against a live Gitea server is future
+  work, not claimed here.
+- `model` is intentionally validated as an open string, not a closed enum, per
+  `RALPH-CONTEXT.md`'s "Quantization and placement are dynamic recipe inputs" constraint; the schema
+  documents (`metadataSchema.modelConvention`) but does not restrict its value set.
+- Validation and generation were exercised only against this feature's `prd.json`
+  (`.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/prd.json`); `docs/prd.json` and other `.scratch/*/prd.json`
+  files in this repo use a materially different (simpler) shape and are out of scope.
+
+## Dependency handoff
+
+DGR-021 and DGR-025 (this story's derived `blocks`) may treat `prd.json`'s `metadataSchema`,
+`qualityGates`, and this validator/generator as stable. Any future field addition to a story shape
+must extend `STORY_FIELDS` in `scripts/ralph_prd_schema.py` and the corresponding
+`metadataSchema.requiredStoryFields`/`optionalStoryFields` in `prd.json` together —
+`validate_metadata_schema_consistency` fails closed if they drift apart.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/evidence/README.md

@@ -1,15 +1,15 @@
-# Ralph task evidence
+# Distributed GGUF Runtime evidence
 
-Each completed story creates `evidence/<TASK-ID>/README.md`. Fresh dependent iterations must read it before coding.
+> **Specification status:** planning artifacts only. No distributed GGUF runtime is implemented. DGR-017 cleanup is complete; no runtime implementation story has completion credit. `prd.json` is authoritative.
 
-Required README sections:
+## Authority and classes
 
-1. Summary and acceptance decision.
+Evidence supports but never overrides `prd.json`. Valid classes are `model-free`, `fixture`, `real-model`, `real-hardware`, and `release`; lower classes cannot satisfy higher-class acceptance. Legacy DGR-001..016 directories remain unchanged for DGR-017 provenance audit and confer no completion credit.
-2. Exact files changed.
-3. Commands run and real exit/results.
-4. Correctness, performance and hardware evidence classification.
-5. Known limitations and deferred work.
-6. Compatibility/migration notes.
-7. Explicit handoff for each dependent story.
 
-Store raw machine-readable metrics, manifests and protocol artifacts beside the README. Never store secrets, model weights, build outputs or Ralph iteration logs here.
+## Future story layout
+
+Each DGR-017..071 story writes `evidence/<ID>/README.md` with summary, exact changed files, exact commands and real outputs, limitations, compatibility/migration notes, and dependent-story handoff. Machine-readable contracts, manifests, metrics, and raw logs live beside it. Never fabricate output.
+
+Real runs record exact model SHA and all split hashes, tokenizer, quant/recipe, llama.cpp pin+patch identity, backend/driver/toolchain, host/hardware/network, commands/environment (without secrets), raw parity/performance/resource results, and evidence class. Models live on configured mounted-drive storage, never `/home`.
+
+Routing certification records prove only the exact exercised backend/model/recipe lane. Compile-only, fixture, failed, or unavailable lanes remain registered-dark. V4 cache/state evidence must show KV and CSA/HCA/SWA/indexer/compressor data remain shard-local/session-keyed; route recovery evidence must show cache miss plus re-prefill/restart, not migration.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/gitea-issues.json

@@ -0,0 +1,335 @@
+{
+  "repository": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai",
+  "stories": {
+    "DGR-017": {
+      "number": 1,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/1",
+      "state": "closed",
+      "status": "completed"
+    },
+    "DGR-018": {
+      "number": 2,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/2",
+      "state": "closed",
+      "status": "completed"
+    },
+    "DGR-019": {
+      "number": 3,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/3",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "ready"
+    },
+    "DGR-020": {
+      "number": 4,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/4",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-021": {
+      "number": 5,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/5",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "in-progress"
+    },
+    "DGR-022": {
+      "number": 6,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/6",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-023": {
+      "number": 7,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/7",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-024": {
+      "number": 8,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/8",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-025": {
+      "number": 9,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/9",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-026": {
+      "number": 10,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/10",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-027": {
+      "number": 11,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/11",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "ready"
+    },
+    "DGR-028": {
+      "number": 12,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/12",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-029": {
+      "number": 13,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/13",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-030": {
+      "number": 14,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/14",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-031": {
+      "number": 15,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/15",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-032": {
+      "number": 16,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/16",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-033": {
+      "number": 17,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/17",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-034": {
+      "number": 18,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/18",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-035": {
+      "number": 19,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/19",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-036": {
+      "number": 20,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/20",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-037": {
+      "number": 21,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/21",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-038": {
+      "number": 22,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/22",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-039": {
+      "number": 23,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/23",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-040": {
+      "number": 24,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/24",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-041": {
+      "number": 25,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/25",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-042": {
+      "number": 26,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/26",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-043": {
+      "number": 27,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/27",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-044": {
+      "number": 28,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/28",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-045": {
+      "number": 29,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/29",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-046": {
+      "number": 30,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/30",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-047": {
+      "number": 31,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/31",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-048": {
+      "number": 32,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/32",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-049": {
+      "number": 33,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/33",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-050": {
+      "number": 34,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/34",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-051": {
+      "number": 35,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/35",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-052": {
+      "number": 36,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/36",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-053": {
+      "number": 37,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/37",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-054": {
+      "number": 38,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/38",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-055": {
+      "number": 39,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/39",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-056": {
+      "number": 40,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/40",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-057": {
+      "number": 41,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/41",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-058": {
+      "number": 42,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/42",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-059": {
+      "number": 43,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/43",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-060": {
+      "number": 44,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/44",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-061": {
+      "number": 45,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/45",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-062": {
+      "number": 46,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/46",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-063": {
+      "number": 47,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/47",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-064": {
+      "number": 48,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/48",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-065": {
+      "number": 49,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/49",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-066": {
+      "number": 50,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/50",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-067": {
+      "number": 51,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/51",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-068": {
+      "number": 52,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/52",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-069": {
+      "number": 53,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/53",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-070": {
+      "number": 54,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/54",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    },
+    "DGR-071": {
+      "number": 55,
+      "url": "https://git.d-popov.com/popov/neuron-tai/issues/55",
+      "state": "open",
+      "status": "blocked"
+    }
+  }
+}

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/implementation-strategy.md

@@ -1,241 +1,40 @@
-# Focused implementation strategy: performant concurrent distributed inference
+# Distributed GGUF Runtime implementation strategy
 
-Status: Accepted planning direction
+> **Specification status:** planning artifacts only. No distributed GGUF runtime is implemented. DGR-017 cleanup is complete; no runtime implementation story has completion credit. `prd.json` is authoritative.
-Last updated: 2026-07-13
 
-## Product objective
+## Execution model
 
-Enable clients to run top open models that do not fit on one consumer machine by combining independently owned model Shards into performant, concurrent Inference Routes.
+Execute one numerically ordered, dependency-ready story per fresh Ralph context. Read `RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue, and dependency evidence first; use TDD/fixture-first verification; finish with exact evidence. `prd.json` is the only state authority.
 
-The project is not trying to reproduce every vLLM feature or support every inference engine. It is optimizing for:
+## Sequence
 
-1. Models larger than one node's RAM/VRAM.
+1. **M0 DGR-017..020:** reconcile legacy reality, lock metadata/performance contracts, and run the independent whole-model baseline.
-2. Useful interactive decode speed on consumer CPU, AMD, NVIDIA, Vulkan, and mixed routes where certified.
+2. **M1 DGR-021..033:** protocol/lifecycle/codegen, exact identities and split artifacts, pinned upstream/patches, CPU then accelerator builds, `ShardEngine`, fixtures, fake worker.
-3. Multiple concurrent Route Sessions without cache corruption or global serialization.
+3. **M2 DGR-034..043:** dense ranged ownership/boundary/parity/local state, worker integration, supervision/direct-relay, and measured GGUF inputs to unchanged routing.
-4. A lean runtime with one control plane and one primary GGUF engine.
+4. **M3 DGR-044..054:** pin/inventory V4, adapt upstream boundary/local state/MoE/hash execution, pass parity and real 2–4 scenario, then enforce alpha with MTP off.
-5. Measured improvement over the existing Transformers/safetensors implementation.
+5. **M4 DGR-055..067:** batching/backpressure/failure/recovery/long-context, existing-routing 10+ certification, real scale, measured optimization/compression, MTP contract+implementation, hardware certification.
+6. **M5 DGR-068..071:** packages, human upstream collaboration, beta gate (including MTP), and pin/patch/certification maintenance.
 
-## Current reality
+## Guardrails
 
-The existing project already owns the differentiating distributed control plane:
 
-- Tracker-selected contiguous Shards.
+## Locked scope
-- Stable Route Sessions.
-- Local per-Shard Hot KV State in the Transformers reference backend.
-- Binary Activation Seams.
-- Relay/direct routing, cancellation, telemetry, billing, and capability admission.
-- Persistent relay and direct transport optimizations.
 
-The missing production path is a native GGUF execution worker that can load and execute only an assigned layer range while retaining local Hot KV State for concurrent Route Sessions.
+- Existing Meshnet Tracker routing, load balancing, billing, telemetry, relay, and provider semantics are backend-agnostic and are **not redesigned**. GGUF contributes exact compatibility, range/capacity, queue/load, seam-cost, health/reliability, and certification inputs only.
+- The data plane is a standalone project-owned C++ Shard worker with gRPC/Protobuf and a project-owned `ShardEngine` boundary.
+- llama.cpp is fetched at one exact commit into an ignored workspace from an in-repo manifest, then a numbered minimal patch stack is applied. There is no submodule, vendored tree, or permanent-fork dependency.
+- llama.cpp owns DeepSeek V4 graphs, mHC, MoE, attention, hash routing, and kernels. Meshnet adds only range-ownership hooks, typed boundary/local-state adapters, worker integration, and parity/certification.
+- Quantization and placement are dynamic recipe inputs. The 2–4 and 10+ stage layouts are certification scenarios, never product constants.
+- Per-shard Hot KV and V4 CSA/HCA/SWA/indexer/compressor state remain local and keyed by route session/epoch. The WAN seam carries the typed mHC 4×4096 residual boundary, positions, token-ID sideband where required, and schema/cache expectations—not per-layer caches.
+- Route changes use cache miss plus re-prefill/restart. There is no WAN KV or V4 auxiliary-cache migration.
+- CPU/CUDA/ROCm/Vulkan/Metal compile lanes are planned; only exact real-hardware-certified backend/model/recipe lanes may be advertised.
+- Alpha requires correctness and the pre-locked useful-speed gate. MTP is reserved and off for alpha; its ownership contract, implementation, and benchmark are required before beta.
 
-Whole-model llama.cpp, vLLM, and existing Transformers serving remain baselines or optional route kinds. They are not substitutes for native distributed Shards.
+## Target identities
 
-## Performance hypothesis—not an assumption
+- DeepSeek V4 official target SHA: `60d8d70770c6776ff598c94bb586a859a38244f1`.
+- llama.cpp V4 support lineage began at PR 24162 / merge `8c146a8366304c871efc26057cc90370ccf58dad`; DGR-027 later pins one exact validated current commit.
+- V4 scope: 43 main layers plus MTP; mHC 4×4096 boundary; 256 routed + 1 shared experts with six routed active; token IDs required for the first three hash-routed layers.
+- Exact split-GGUF artifacts are provisioned to mounted-drive storage with a complete hashed manifest and resumable verification; no model artifact may be placed under `/home`.
 
-GGUF itself is a format. Performance comes from llama.cpp/GGML's quantized kernels, memory layout, mmap, backend scheduling, and reduced working set.
+DGR-020 cannot use distributed results. DGR-054 does not depend on MTP. DGR-070 depends on DGR-066. Compile support and scenario success never imply general routability.
-
-Quantized GGUF may be faster or may merely fit a larger model. Comparisons against safetensors must report both speed and quality because BF16 safetensors and Q4/Q8 GGUF are not numerically equivalent.
-
-Before expensive native work, establish controlled lanes:
-
-- Same model architecture and upstream revision.
-- Same machine, prompt set, context, output length, sampling policy, and concurrency.
-- Transformers/safetensors BF16 or the current production recipe.
-- llama.cpp GGUF F16/BF16 or Q8 correctness lane where available.
-- Q4_K_M or selected production quantization performance/fit lane.
-- TTFT, prefill tok/s, decode tok/s, p50/p95 latency, RSS, VRAM, artifact size, energy where available, and output-quality drift.
-
-The program proceeds only if llama.cpp/GGUF provides at least one meaningful advantage recorded in a machine-readable performance contract:
-
-- Better decode or aggregate throughput at acceptable quality; or
-- Materially lower memory that makes the target model routable while preserving useful throughput.
-
-## Parallelism we will use
-
-### Public Inference Route: layer/pipeline parallelism
-
-Each node independently executes one contiguous Shard. Activations cross seams; weights and Hot KV State remain local.
-
-This is the only public cross-machine model-parallel primitive in the first runtime.
-
-### Per-node continuous batching
-
-Autoregressive tokens remain sequential within one generation. Throughput comes from batching decode steps from multiple active Route Sessions inside each node using llama.cpp batches and sequence IDs or bounded context pools.
-
-This is essential. A worker that globally serializes sessions is not production-ready.
-
-### Multiple complete routes: data parallelism
-
-The Tracker may select multiple complete routes for independent requests. This increases network throughput and availability without requiring collectives between routes.
-
-### Trusted composite node: optional tensor/expert parallelism
-
-Tensor parallelism and expert parallelism require frequent collectives and tight compatibility. They may be used later inside one operator-controlled composite node or managed cluster exposed as one logical provider. They are not public WAN routing primitives.
-
-### Deferred mechanisms
-
-- Disaggregated prefill and KV transfer.
-- Speculative decoding.
-- Cross-route prefix snapshots.
-- Route repair with KV migration.
-- Public tensor/expert parallel collectives.
-
-They remain out of the critical path until the native layer route passes performance and concurrency gates.
-
-## Reuse decisions
-
-### llama.cpp/GGML: primary runtime substrate
-
-Reuse:
-
-- GGUF parsing and mmap.
-- Quantized kernels.
-- CPU, CUDA, HIP/ROCm, Vulkan, Metal, and other supported backends.
-- Tokenizer and model architecture implementations.
-- KV and sequence operations.
-- Backend scheduler and graph execution.
-
-Maintain a small exact-commit fork only for the missing local seam:
-
-- Range-aware tensor ownership/loading.
-- Architecture-defined boundary input/output.
-- Intermediate boundary output without tail normalization.
-- Layer-filtered KV and sequence mapping.
-
-Keep networking, Tracker logic, billing, and public protocol outside llama.cpp. Upstream generic hooks where possible.
-
-### vLLM: concepts and optional managed backend
-
-Use unmodified vLLM only as:
-
-- A whole-model node backend.
-- A managed TP/PP/EP cluster represented as one logical provider.
-- A performance/correctness baseline.
-
-Adapt concepts, not runtime code:
-
-- Named intermediate tensor bundles.
-- Continuous batching and request-owner maps.
-- Versioned KV-transfer compatibility fingerprints.
-- Explicit send/receive/abort/failure lifecycle.
-- Load telemetry and unbiased route selection.
-
-Do not fork vLLM for public Shards and do not transplant PagedAttention, Torch process groups, or GGUF-plugin kernels into the llama.cpp worker.
-
-### Nakshatra, prima.cpp, llama-gguf, LiGGUF, GPUStack
-
-Use as source and test donors only:
-
-- Nakshatra: partial-GGUF patches, daemon concepts, replay cases.
-- prima.cpp: selected tensor ownership and local-layer KV evidence.
-- llama-gguf: small protocol and integration-test patterns.
-- LiGGUF: Q8 activation transport and tensor-reduction reference.
-- historical GPUStack: resource preflight and role-oriented placement.
-
-Do not adopt or fork their repositories wholesale.
-
-## Battle-proven transport decision
-
-Use gRPC over HTTP/2 with Protocol Buffers for the native C++ Shard worker protocol.
-
-Why:
-
-- Mature Python and C++ implementations.
-- Bidirectional streaming.
-- HTTP/2 flow control and connection reuse.
-- Deadlines, cancellation, status codes, TLS, authentication interceptors, and generated schemas.
-- Avoids inventing a socket protocol.
-
-Scope boundary:
-
-- OpenAI-compatible client/Gateway APIs remain HTTP/SSE.
-- Tracker/control APIs remain existing project interfaces.
-- One long-lived bidirectional gRPC stream serves one Route Session Activation Seam.
-- Existing relay/WebSocket infrastructure may carry the same versioned protobuf frames as opaque binary when direct gRPC reachability is unavailable.
-- Large prefill tensors are chunked into bounded frames; decode bundles stay small.
-- No QUIC/WebRTC/custom transport in this milestone.
-
-The public boundary uses a versioned named-tensor bundle rather than one anonymous tensor because architecture boundaries can require more than `hidden_states`.
-
-Minimum identity:
-
-```text
-schema version
-request/work id
-Route Session id and route epoch
-Model Artifact and runtime recipe fingerprint
-Shard range and effective start
-phase: prefill/decode/release/cancel
-position/token range
-named tensors with shape/dtype/byte order
-compression and checksum
-idempotency step id
-cache expectation/result
-```
-
-## Concurrency model
-
-A native worker must not use one global serving sequence or one lock around all model execution.
-
-Required ownership:
-
-```text
-(Route Session id, route epoch)
-    -> local sequence/context
-    -> Shard-local Hot KV State
-    -> bounded lease and memory accounting
-```
-
-The node scheduler:
-
-- Admits sessions against model memory and KV budget.
-- Forms compatible decode batches from active sessions.
-- Preserves per-session position and route order.
-- Applies bounded queues and backpressure.
-- Cancels/releases independently.
-- Reports queue, batch, KV, prefill, decode, and seam telemetry.
-
-Initial deterministic gate: at least four concurrent sessions on a small certified model with no token/KV cross-talk. Final concurrency targets are hardware/recipe-specific and recorded by capability admission rather than hardcoded globally.
-
-## Stage gates
-
-### Gate A: performance hypothesis
-
-Controlled safetensors-versus-GGUF benchmark produces a signed/reproducible report and locks thresholds. Stop native work if there is no meaningful speed or fit benefit.
-
-### Gate B: local range parity
-
-Two local processes own disjoint GGUF ranges and match whole-model llama.cpp within the certified numerical tolerance for prefill and greedy decode.
-
-### Gate C: concurrent KV
-
-Multiple Route Sessions prefill/decode concurrently with isolated local KV, bounded memory, cancellation, and release.
-
-### Gate D: real distributed route
-
-Two physical machines execute one model that uses both Shards. Synthetic activation tests do not satisfy this gate.
-
-### Gate E: consumer-hardware performance
-
-On certified consumer hardware, the GGUF route beats the current distributed safetensors route under the locked performance contract or enables a larger otherwise-unroutable model at useful measured speed.
-
-### Gate F: architecture expansion
-
-Only after dense Llama-family gates pass, add an explicit Qwen3/Qwen3-MoE adapter and certify it independently.
-
-## Scope discipline
-
-The following do not block the first production candidate:
-
-- New cryptocurrency/economics work.
-- New artifact P2P protocol.
-- QUIC or WebRTC.
-- vLLM fork.
-- Whole-repository Nakshatra/prima adoption.
-- Every GGUF architecture.
-- Automatic route repair.
-- Prefix snapshot migration.
-- Speculative decoding.
-- A large-model marketing demo before small-model parity and concurrency pass.
-
-Every optimization must preserve output contract, session isolation, cancellation, resource cleanup, capability admission, and per-node attribution.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/01-lock-the-safetensors-versus-gguf-performance-contract.md

@@ -1,59 +0,0 @@
-# 01 — Lock the safetensors-versus-GGUF performance contract
-
-Status: ready-for-agent
-
-## Mandatory fresh-session context
-
-- Read [RALPH-CONTEXT.md](../RALPH-CONTEXT.md) completely before changing code.
-- This issue is `DGR-001` in [prd.json](../prd.json).
-- Read the evidence README for every dependency listed below.
-- Inspect current code and `git status`; historical text and previous agent claims are not evidence.
-
-## Description
-
-As a runtime engineer, I need a controlled baseline so that GGUF work proceeds from measured speed, memory, and quality rather than reputation.
-
-## Expected durable outputs
-
-- Benchmark harness and deterministic tests
-- evidence/DGR-001/performance-contract.json
-- Raw and summarized safetensors/GGUF benchmark evidence
-
-## Acceptance criteria
-
-- [ ] Benchmark the same model architecture/revision, machine, prompts, context lengths, output lengths, sampling policy, and concurrency across the current Transformers/safetensors recipe and whole-model llama.cpp recipes.
-- [ ] Separate correctness/quality lanes from quantized performance/fit lanes instead of claiming BF16 and Q4 are numerically equivalent.
-- [ ] Report TTFT, prefill tok/s, decode tok/s, p50/p95 latency, aggregate throughput, RSS, VRAM, artifact size, failures, and output drift in machine-readable JSON.
-- [ ] Add concurrency levels 1 and 4 where memory permits.
-- [ ] Write a versioned performance contract consumed by later release gates, including an explicit stop condition when llama.cpp/GGUF has no meaningful speed or fit benefit.
-- [ ] Targeted pytest tests pass
-- [ ] python -m compileall packages tests passes for Python changes
-- [ ] git diff --check passes
-- [ ] Default tests remain deterministic, model-download-free, API-credit-free, and GPU-free
-- [ ] Full deterministic pytest -q passes, or the exact pre-existing unrelated failure is recorded with a clean-tree reproduction
-- [ ] Real-model execution is opt-in through MESHNET_ENABLE_REAL_INFERENCE_TESTS=1 and records exact artifact/runtime/hardware evidence
-- [ ] Model artifacts remain on the configured mounted-drive storage and never under /home
-- [ ] Read .scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md and this story issue completely before changing code
-- [ ] Read and verify every dependency evidence README before relying on dependency behavior
-- [ ] Preserve all pre-existing working-tree changes and stage only files belonging to this story
-- [ ] Write .scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/evidence/DGR-001/README.md with files changed, exact commands and real results, limitations, compatibility notes, and dependent-story handoff
-- [ ] Update only this story issue to Status: done after every acceptance criterion and quality gate passes
-
-## Dependency handoff
-
-- None. This story may start immediately.
-
-## Finish contract
-
-- Create the task evidence directory and durable handoff required above.
-- Preserve real failures and blockers; never fabricate benchmark, model, test or hardware output.
-- Change this issue to `Status: done` only after all criteria pass.
-- Emit `<promise>COMPLETE</promise>` only after the evidence handoff exists.
-
-## References
-
-- [Ralph execution context](../RALPH-CONTEXT.md)
-- [PRD](../PRD.md)
-- [Implementation strategy](../implementation-strategy.md)
-- [Current architecture](../architecture.md)
-- [Architecture decision](../ADR-0020-distributed-gguf-runtime.md)

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/017-reconcile-and-clean-the-superseded-dgr-backlog.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-017: Reconcile and clean the superseded DGR backlog
+
+- **Status / triage:** completed; `passes: true`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M0`
+- **Dependencies:** None
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-018`, `DGR-019`, `DGR-027`, `DGR-054`
+- **Labels:** `area:provenance`, `area:cleanup`, `type:audit`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `model-free`
+- **Hardware:** `none`
+- **Model:** `generic`
+- **Upstream:** `no`
+
+## Objective / description
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/017-reconcile-and-clean-the-superseded-dgr-backlog.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (none) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Audit implementation reality, void inherited completion credit, and clean misleading backlog/stub baggage while preserving attributable evidence and accepted research.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [x] Compare the branch, old DGR-001..016 issue/pass states, evidence, and actual runtime sources; classify each output as reusable, reference-only, blocked, obsolete, or absent.
+- [x] Record an authoritative old-to-new disposition and provenance; explicitly give no completion credit to any new story and note absent implementation/evidence.
+- [x] Remove or archive only artifacts the audit proves obsolete while preserving accepted ADRs, useful research, raw benchmark evidence, and attributable reusable work.
+- [x] Protect ignored build workspaces, generated protobuf outputs, Ralph logs, and model artifacts from accidental commits, and document every retained legacy artifact.
+- [x] 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
+
+Verified evidence: `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/evidence/DGR-017/README.md`. Legacy evidence remains provenance only and grants no implementation completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/018-define-canonical-ralph-and-gitea-metadata-schema.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-018: Define canonical Ralph and Gitea metadata schema
+
+- **Status / triage:** completed; `passes: true`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M0`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-017`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-021`, `DGR-025`
+- **Labels:** `area:planning`, `area:gitea`, `type:infrastructure`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `model-free`
+- **Hardware:** `none`
+- **Model:** `generic`
+- **Upstream:** `no`
+
+## Objective / description
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/018-define-canonical-ralph-and-gitea-metadata-schema.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-017) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Make `prd.json` the validated source from which Markdown and Gitea issues can later be generated losslessly.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [x] Define fields for stable ID/title, labels, milestone, type, `dependsOn`, derived `blocks`, triage, evidence class, and hardware/model/upstream flags.
+- [x] Validate that all stories start `passes: false`, use known dependencies, and have unique stable IDs.
+- [x] Reject cycles, missing dependencies, mismatched generated `blocks`, duplicate titles/IDs, and generated artifacts claiming authority over `prd.json`.
+- [x] Add deterministic model-free tests for parse, validation, and generation round trips.
+- [x] 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
+
+Verified evidence: `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/evidence/DGR-018/README.md`. Legacy evidence remains provenance only and grants no implementation completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/019-lock-alpha-and-beta-performance-contracts.md

@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-019: Lock alpha and beta performance contracts
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-human`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `HITL`
+- **Milestone:** `M0`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-017`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-020`, `DGR-044`, `DGR-054`
+- **Labels:** `area:performance`, `type:contract`, `priority:p0`, `gate:hitl`, `ready-for-human`
+- **Evidence class:** `release`
+- **Hardware:** `required`
+- **Model:** `generic+deepseek-v4`
+- **Upstream:** `no`
+
+## Objective / description
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/019-lock-alpha-and-beta-performance-contracts.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-017) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Freeze useful speed, correctness, memory-fit, and stop/go thresholds before implementation results are visible.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Define controlled safetensors, whole-model GGUF, dense distributed GGUF, and V4 Flash distributed lanes with fixed prompts, context/output lengths, sampling, concurrency, hardware, and metrics.
+- [ ] Alpha requires correctness plus a human-approved useful-speed threshold; beta adds concurrency, long-context, failure, and sustained-throughput thresholds.
+- [ ] Separate quantization/model-fit gains from runtime, transport, batching, and kernel gains.
+- [ ] Treat quants and 2–4/10+ stage counts only as named certification scenarios; no product logic may hardcode them.
+- [ ] Lock thresholds and stop conditions in versioned machine-readable data before benchmark result ingestion.
+- [ ] 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-019/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/02-adopt-the-versioned-grpc-shard-protocol.md

@@ -1,59 +0,0 @@
-# 02 — Adopt the versioned gRPC Shard protocol
-
-Status: done
-
-## Mandatory fresh-session context
-
-- Read [RALPH-CONTEXT.md](../RALPH-CONTEXT.md) completely before changing code.
-- This issue is `DGR-002` in [prd.json](../prd.json).
-- Read the evidence README for every dependency listed below.
-- Inspect current code and `git status`; historical text and previous agent claims are not evidence.
-
-## Description
-
-As a node developer, I need a battle-proven streaming protocol so that Python and C++ Shards communicate without a custom socket protocol.
-
-## Expected durable outputs
-
-- packages/node/native/proto/shard_runtime.proto
-- Reproducible Python/C++ schema generation and build wiring
-- Protocol round-trip and compatibility tests
-- evidence/DGR-002/README.md
-
-## Acceptance criteria
-
-- [x] Add a Protocol Buffers schema for capability, health, session stream, release, and cancellation operations.
-- [x] Define one long-lived bidirectional gRPC stream per Route Session Activation Seam with deadlines, cancellation, flow control, and structured errors.
-- [x] Define bounded chunking for prefill and a small decode fast path.
-- [x] Carry schema version, request/work ID, Route Session ID, route epoch, artifact/recipe fingerprint, Shard range/effective start, phase, position, idempotency step, cache expectation, compression, and checksum.
-- [x] Define a versioned named-tensor bundle with per-tensor name, shape, dtype, byte order, and payload fragments.
-- [x] Add generated-schema round-trip and compatibility tests in Python and C++.
-- [x] Targeted pytest tests pass
-- [x] python -m compileall packages tests passes for Python changes
-- [x] git diff --check passes
-- [x] Default tests remain deterministic, model-download-free, API-credit-free, and GPU-free
-- [x] Full deterministic pytest -q passes, or the exact pre-existing unrelated failure is recorded with a clean-tree reproduction
-- [x] Read .scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md and this story issue completely before changing code
-- [x] Read and verify every dependency evidence README before relying on dependency behavior
-- [x] Preserve all pre-existing working-tree changes and stage only files belonging to this story
-- [x] Write .scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/evidence/DGR-002/README.md with files changed, exact commands and real results, limitations, compatibility notes, and dependent-story handoff
-- [x] Update only this story issue to Status: done after every acceptance criterion and quality gate passes
-
-## Dependency handoff
-
-- None. This story may start immediately.
-
-## Finish contract
-
-- Create the task evidence directory and durable handoff required above.
-- Preserve real failures and blockers; never fabricate benchmark, model, test or hardware output.
-- Change this issue to `Status: done` only after all criteria pass.
-- Emit `<promise>COMPLETE</promise>` only after the evidence handoff exists.
-
-## References
-
-- [Ralph execution context](../RALPH-CONTEXT.md)
-- [PRD](../PRD.md)
-- [Implementation strategy](../implementation-strategy.md)
-- [Current architecture](../architecture.md)
-- [Architecture decision](../ADR-0020-distributed-gguf-runtime.md)

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/020-run-the-controlled-whole-model-gguf-baseline.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-020: Run the controlled whole-model GGUF baseline
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-human`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `HITL`
+- **Milestone:** `M0`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-019`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-054`
+- **Labels:** `area:performance`, `type:benchmark`, `priority:p0`, `gate:hitl`, `ready-for-human`
+- **Evidence class:** `real-hardware`
+- **Hardware:** `required`
+- **Model:** `generic`
+- **Upstream:** `no`
+
+## Objective / description
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/020-run-the-controlled-whole-model-gguf-baseline.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-019) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Execute the locked safetensors and whole-model llama.cpp lanes before distributed implementation results can influence the decision.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Run the exact DGR-019 safetensors and whole-model llama.cpp benchmark lanes with locked prompts, lengths, sampling, concurrency, hardware, and artifact/runtime identities.
+- [ ] Record raw machine-readable correctness, TTFT, prefill/decode, throughput, latency, memory, artifact-size, failure, and quality-drift metrics without ingesting distributed implementation results.
+- [ ] Separate quantization/model-fit effects from runtime/kernel effects and preserve failed or unavailable lanes honestly.
+- [ ] Publish a threshold-based `go`, `optimize baseline`, or `stop` decision without changing the locked contract.
+- [ ] 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-020/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/021-define-the-versioned-named-tensor-stream-envelope.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-021: Define the versioned named-tensor stream envelope
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M1`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-018`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-022`, `DGR-023`, `DGR-025`, `DGR-031`, `DGR-035`, `DGR-046`
+- **Labels:** `area:protocol`, `type:infrastructure`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `model-free`
+- **Hardware:** `none`
+- **Model:** `generic`
+- **Upstream:** `no`
+
+## Objective / description
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/021-define-the-versioned-named-tensor-stream-envelope.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-018) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Establish the backend-neutral protobuf envelope used by direct and relayed Shard activation traffic.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Define schema version, request/work ID, route session/epoch, shard range/effective start, phase, position, and idempotency step.
+- [ ] Define named tensors with shape, dtype, byte order, bounded fragments, compression identity, and checksum.
+- [ ] Reserve extensible fields for token-ID sidebands, architecture state, recurrent state, and MTP without claiming implementations.
+- [ ] Add deterministic serialization, fragmentation, checksum, unknown-field, and size-limit tests.
+- [ ] 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-021/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/022-define-shard-lifecycle-and-structured-status-rpcs.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-022: Define Shard lifecycle and structured status RPCs
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M1`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-021`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-024`, `DGR-033`, `DGR-037`
+- **Labels:** `area:protocol`, `area:lifecycle`, `type:infrastructure`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `model-free`
+- **Hardware:** `none`
+- **Model:** `generic`
+- **Upstream:** `no`
+
+## Objective / description
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/022-define-shard-lifecycle-and-structured-status-rpcs.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-021) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Complete the gRPC contract for worker capability, health, sessions, cancellation, release, and metrics.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Define capability, health, bidirectional session stream, cancellation, release, and metrics RPCs.
+- [ ] Specify deadlines, cancellation propagation, bounded flow control, cache expectations/results, and structured error taxonomy.
+- [ ] Specify TLS/auth hooks without moving Meshnet authentication or billing into the worker.
+- [ ] Add compatibility tests for supported versions and fail-closed tests for unsupported versions and malformed lifecycle transitions.
+- [ ] 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-022/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/023-make-python-and-c-protobuf-generation-reproducible.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-023: Make Python and C++ protobuf generation reproducible
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M1`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-021`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-024`, `DGR-037`
+- **Labels:** `area:protocol`, `area:build`, `type:tooling`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `model-free`
+- **Hardware:** `none`
+- **Model:** `generic`
+- **Upstream:** `no`
+
+## Objective / description
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/023-make-python-and-c-protobuf-generation-reproducible.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-021) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Generate identical Python/C++ protocol bindings without manual copying or checked-in build debris.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Pin protoc, gRPC, and plugin versions or declare a verified compatible range.
+- [ ] Generate Python and C++ bindings into out-of-tree build/package locations through documented commands.
+- [ ] Add Python↔C++ round-trip and descriptor compatibility tests.
+- [ ] A clean checkout regenerates bindings deterministically or fails with an actionable toolchain error.
+- [ ] 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-023/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/024-implement-in-memory-fake-grpc-seam-transport.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-024: Implement in-memory fake gRPC seam transport
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M1`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-022`, `DGR-023`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-033`, `DGR-042`
+- **Labels:** `area:protocol`, `area:testing`, `type:vertical-slice`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `fixture`
+- **Hardware:** `none`
+- **Model:** `fake`
+- **Upstream:** `no`
+
+## Objective / description
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/024-implement-in-memory-fake-grpc-seam-transport.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-022, DGR-023) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Exercise the complete streaming protocol deterministically before a real model or worker exists.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Provide a fake bidirectional stream supporting prefill fragments, decode fast-path frames, release, cancel, and structured errors.
+- [ ] Test flow-control blocking, deadlines, malformed fragments, checksum failure, duplicates, and stale epochs.
+- [ ] Verify direct and opaque-relay framing preserve identical protobuf bytes.
+- [ ] Tests require no sockets outside localhost, model downloads, or native accelerator.
+- [ ] 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-024/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/025-define-exact-artifact-and-runtime-recipe-identity.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-025: Define exact artifact and runtime recipe identity
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M1`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-018`, `DGR-021`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-026`, `DGR-031`, `DGR-041`, `DGR-044`
+- **Labels:** `area:identity`, `area:admission`, `type:domain`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `model-free`
+- **Hardware:** `none`
+- **Model:** `generic`
+- **Upstream:** `no`
+
+## Objective / description
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/025-define-exact-artifact-and-runtime-recipe-identity.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-018, DGR-021) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Ensure the tracker and worker only combine numerically and operationally compatible shards.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Fingerprint source artifact SHA, tokenizer revision, architecture adapter/version, boundary schema, runtime pin/patch stack, backend, quant, activation/compute dtype, and KV/state layout.
+- [ ] Bind each shard to an exact half-open range without hardcoding a topology or quant.
+- [ ] Fail closed on any artifact, adapter, boundary, cache, backend, or runtime mismatch.
+- [ ] Unsupported recipes remain registered-but-dark until real-hardware evidence certifies them.
+- [ ] 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-025/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/026-provision-exact-split-gguf-artifacts-outside-home.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-026: Provision exact split-GGUF artifacts outside /home
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M1`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-025`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-044`, `DGR-045`
+- **Labels:** `area:artifacts`, `area:provenance`, `type:tooling`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `fixture`
+- **Hardware:** `none`
+- **Model:** `generic`
+- **Upstream:** `no`
+
+## Objective / description
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/026-provision-exact-split-gguf-artifacts-outside-home.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-025) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Make exact split-GGUF inputs reproducibly available from mounted-drive storage without embedding a quantization or topology assumption in product code.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Create an exact manifest that binds the source artifact, tokenizer/revision, every split file name, size, range/role, and cryptographic hash.
+- [ ] Provide resumable, hash-verifying download/provision tooling targeting configured mounted-drive storage; refuse paths under `/home` and incomplete or mismatched splits.
+- [ ] Keep quantization and split topology as manifest/recipe inputs with no hardcoded quant, node count, or range layout.
+- [ ] Add deterministic model-download-free tests using tiny local split fixtures, including interrupted resume, missing split, hash mismatch, and `/home` rejection.
+- [ ] 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-026/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/027-add-exact-llama-cpp-provenance-manifest-and-fetch-workspace.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-027: Add exact llama.cpp provenance manifest and fetch workspace
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M1`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-017`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-028`, `DGR-029`, `DGR-044`
+- **Labels:** `area:upstream`, `area:build`, `type:provenance`, `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/027-add-exact-llama-cpp-provenance-manifest-and-fetch-workspace.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-017) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Pin llama.cpp exactly through an in-repo manifest while fetching source only into an ignored build workspace.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Manifest records upstream URL, exact commit, expected source archive/tree hash, license, and retrieval method.
+- [ ] Fetch tooling verifies identity before use and refuses an unpinned branch/tag.
+- [ ] Source is fetched into an ignored build workspace; no submodule, vendored source tree, or permanent fork is introduced.
+- [ ] Offline reuse is supported only after the cached tree’s exact identity is verified.
+- [ ] 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-027/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/028-implement-numbered-patch-stack-apply-and-verification.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-028: Implement numbered patch-stack apply and verification
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M1`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-027`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-029`, `DGR-034`, `DGR-069`
+- **Labels:** `area:upstream`, `area:patches`, `type:tooling`, `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/028-implement-numbered-patch-stack-apply-and-verification.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-027) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Maintain a minimal auditable llama.cpp delta with one numbered patch per concern.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Add deterministic apply/check/reverse verification against the exact manifest pin.
+- [ ] Separate range loading, boundary I/O, filtered state, and worker hooks into scoped patches.
+- [ ] Record upstream file/API assumptions and fail with the first incompatible patch when the pin changes.
+- [ ] Verify license/attribution and prove no Meshnet routing, billing, relay, or authentication code enters the patch stack.
+- [ ] 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-028/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/029-create-the-native-cmake-skeleton-and-deterministic-cpu-lane.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- 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.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/03-define-exact-artifact-and-runtime-recipe-identity.md

@@ -1,57 +0,0 @@
-# 03 — Define exact Artifact and runtime recipe identity
-
-Status: ready-for-agent
-
-## Mandatory fresh-session context
-
-- Read [RALPH-CONTEXT.md](../RALPH-CONTEXT.md) completely before changing code.
-- This issue is `DGR-003` in [prd.json](../prd.json).
-- Read the evidence README for every dependency listed below.
-- Inspect current code and `git status`; historical text and previous agent claims are not evidence.
-
-## Description
-
-As the Tracker, I need exact compatibility identity so that only numerically and operationally compatible Shards form an Inference Route.
-
-## Expected durable outputs
-
-- Exact runtime recipe/fingerprint implementation
-- Tracker/node fail-closed admission tests
-- evidence/DGR-003/README.md
-
-## Acceptance criteria
-
-- [ ] Separate weight quantization, activation dtype, compute dtype, KV dtype/layout, tokenizer revision, architecture adapter, backend, and runtime version.
-- [ ] Bind derivative or split artifacts to an exact source Model Artifact hash and Shard range.
-- [ ] Produce a stable compatibility fingerprint used by capability admission and the gRPC handshake.
-- [ ] Fail closed on mismatched artifact, tokenizer, architecture, range, boundary schema, activation recipe, or cache layout.
-- [ ] Keep unsupported recipes registered-but-dark until a real distributed forward certifies them.
-- [ ] Targeted pytest tests pass
-- [ ] python -m compileall packages tests passes for Python changes
-- [ ] git diff --check passes
-- [ ] Default tests remain deterministic, model-download-free, API-credit-free, and GPU-free
-- [ ] Full deterministic pytest -q passes, or the exact pre-existing unrelated failure is recorded with a clean-tree reproduction
-- [ ] Read .scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md and this story issue completely before changing code
-- [ ] Read and verify every dependency evidence README before relying on dependency behavior
-- [ ] Preserve all pre-existing working-tree changes and stage only files belonging to this story
-- [ ] Write .scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/evidence/DGR-003/README.md with files changed, exact commands and real results, limitations, compatibility notes, and dependent-story handoff
-- [ ] Update only this story issue to Status: done after every acceptance criterion and quality gate passes
-
-## Dependency handoff
-
-- `DGR-002` must have `passes: true`; read `../evidence/DGR-002/README.md` and verify its referenced files/commands.
-
-## Finish contract
-
-- Create the task evidence directory and durable handoff required above.
-- Preserve real failures and blockers; never fabricate benchmark, model, test or hardware output.
-- Change this issue to `Status: done` only after all criteria pass.
-- Emit `<promise>COMPLETE</promise>` only after the evidence handoff exists.
-
-## References
-
-- [Ralph execution context](../RALPH-CONTEXT.md)
-- [PRD](../PRD.md)
-- [Implementation strategy](../implementation-strategy.md)
-- [Current architecture](../architecture.md)
-- [Architecture decision](../ADR-0020-distributed-gguf-runtime.md)

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/030-add-accelerator-build-presets-and-native-ci-matrix.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-030: Add accelerator build presets and native CI matrix
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M1`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-029`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-053`, `DGR-067`, `DGR-068`
+- **Labels:** `area:build`, `area:hardware`, `type:toolchain`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `model-free`
+- **Hardware:** `optional`
+- **Model:** `generic`
+- **Upstream:** `yes`
+
+## Objective / description
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/030-add-accelerator-build-presets-and-native-ci-matrix.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-029) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Compile all required accelerator lanes reproducibly while keeping untested real-hardware capabilities registered-dark.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Add isolated out-of-tree presets for CUDA, ROCm, Vulkan, and Metal without changing the deterministic CPU default.
+- [ ] Add a native CI/build matrix that reports unavailable SDKs as explicit unavailable/skipped lanes rather than false success.
+- [ ] Compile each available lane and preserve exact compiler, SDK, upstream pin, patch-stack, and build-option evidence.
+- [ ] Keep every backend/model/recipe lane registered-dark until a separate real-hardware certification record exists.
+- [ ] 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-030/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/031-introduce-the-project-owned-shardengine-interface.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-031: Introduce the project-owned `ShardEngine` interface
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M1`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-021`, `DGR-025`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-032`, `DGR-034`, `DGR-035`, `DGR-037`
+- **Labels:** `area:engine`, `type:architecture`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `model-free`
+- **Hardware:** `none`
+- **Model:** `generic`
+- **Upstream:** `no`
+
+## Objective / description
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/031-introduce-the-project-owned-shardengine-interface.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-021, DGR-025) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Isolate worker/protocol code from llama.cpp internals behind a stable project-owned engine contract.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Define load, capabilities, prefill/decode, boundary/logits result, cancel, release, health, and metrics operations.
+- [ ] Use project-owned request/result/state types; expose no `ggml_tensor`, llama context, scheduler, or ABI-owned structure.
+- [ ] Reserve typed MTP and architecture auxiliary-state hooks without enabling them.
+- [ ] Add contract tests proving fake and future llama implementations obey identical lifecycle semantics.
+- [ ] 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-031/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/032-implement-deterministic-fake-shardengine.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-032: Implement deterministic fake `ShardEngine`
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M1`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-031`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-033`
+- **Labels:** `area:engine`, `area:testing`, `type:fixture`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `fixture`
+- **Hardware:** `none`
+- **Model:** `fake`
+- **Upstream:** `no`
+
+## Objective / description
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/032-implement-deterministic-fake-shardengine.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-031) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Provide an engine fixture that deterministically transforms typed boundary bundles and session state.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Support head, middle, tail, prefill, decode, cancellation, and release with deterministic outputs.
+- [ ] Model isolated session/epoch state and deterministic cache-miss/stale-epoch failures.
+- [ ] Support configurable delay, memory pressure, malformed output, and crash injection.
+- [ ] Contract tests distinguish fixture evidence from real-model certification.
+- [ ] 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-032/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/033-build-a-standalone-fake-c-grpc-shard-worker.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-033: Build a standalone fake C++ gRPC Shard worker
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M1`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-022`, `DGR-024`, `DGR-032`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-036`, `DGR-040`
+- **Labels:** `area:worker`, `area:grpc`, `type:vertical-slice`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `fixture`
+- **Hardware:** `none`
+- **Model:** `fake`
+- **Upstream:** `no`
+
+## Objective / description
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/033-build-a-standalone-fake-c-grpc-shard-worker.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-022, DGR-024, DGR-032) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Prove the standalone worker process, stream, lifecycle, and supervision shape before llama.cpp integration.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] A standalone C++ executable serves the complete lifecycle and stream RPC contract using the fake engine.
+- [ ] Python integration tests cover startup, health, capability, fragmented prefill, decode, release, cancellation, and graceful shutdown.
+- [ ] Bounded messages, deadlines, flow control, and independent session cancellation are enforced.
+- [ ] The worker exposes neither llama.cpp RPC nor arbitrary graph execution.
+- [ ] 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-033/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/034-implement-dense-llama-range-aware-gguf-ownership.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-034: Implement dense-Llama range-aware GGUF ownership
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M2`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-028`, `DGR-029`, `DGR-031`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-035`, `DGR-037`, `DGR-051`
+- **Labels:** `area:llama`, `area:weights`, `type:runtime`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `real-model`
+- **Hardware:** `optional`
+- **Model:** `dense-llama`
+- **Upstream:** `yes`
+
+## Objective / description
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/034-implement-dense-llama-range-aware-gguf-ownership.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-028, DGR-029, DGR-031) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Load only the dense-Llama tensors owned by a shard range.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Load only `blk.N.*` tensors in the assigned range, embeddings only at the head, and norm/output or tied output only at the tail.
+- [ ] Derive authoritative range and endpoint ownership from the loaded engine state.
+- [ ] Reject invalid/gapped/out-of-model ranges and unexpected required tensors.
+- [ ] Real-model evidence shows mapped/resident memory scales with owned tensors rather than full artifact size.
+- [ ] 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-034/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/035-implement-dense-architecture-boundary-input-output.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-035: Implement dense architecture boundary input/output
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M2`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-021`, `DGR-031`, `DGR-034`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-036`, `DGR-037`, `DGR-069`
+- **Labels:** `area:llama`, `area:boundary`, `type:runtime`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `real-model`
+- **Hardware:** `optional`
+- **Model:** `dense-llama`
+- **Upstream:** `yes`
+
+## Objective / description
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/035-implement-dense-architecture-boundary-input-output.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-021, DGR-031, DGR-034) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Execute dense head/middle/tail ranges through an architecture-defined residual boundary.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Head accepts token IDs and owns embedding; middle/tail bypass embedding and accept a named boundary bundle.
+- [ ] Non-tail returns the unnormalized residual before final norm/head and before tail-only row pruning.
+- [ ] Tail returns logits or sampled-token output under an explicit contract.
+- [ ] Uncertified architectures and incompatible boundary schemas fail closed.
+- [ ] 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-035/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/036-prove-dense-fixture-and-real-model-range-parity.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-036: Prove dense fixture and real-model range parity
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M2`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-033`, `DGR-035`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-039`
+- **Labels:** `area:parity`, `area:testing`, `type:certification`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `real-model`
+- **Hardware:** `optional`
+- **Model:** `dense-llama`
+- **Upstream:** `yes`
+
+## Objective / description
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/036-prove-dense-fixture-and-real-model-range-parity.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-033, DGR-035) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Prove the engine/protocol seam before adding session concurrency.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Model-free two-stage tests pass through two fake worker processes with disjoint ranges.
+- [ ] A small real dense GGUF passes whole-model versus two-range prefill parity.
+- [ ] At least 32 greedy decode tokens match the locked tolerance.
+- [ ] Evidence distinguishes deterministic fixture proof from opt-in real-model proof.
+- [ ] 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-036/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/037-bind-llama-cpp-to-the-standalone-worker.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-037: Bind llama.cpp to the standalone worker
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M2`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-022`, `DGR-023`, `DGR-031`, `DGR-034`, `DGR-035`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-038`, `DGR-039`, `DGR-040`, `DGR-051`
+- **Labels:** `area:worker`, `area:llama`, `type:vertical-slice`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `real-model`
+- **Hardware:** `optional`
+- **Model:** `dense-llama`
+- **Upstream:** `yes`
+
+## Objective / description
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/037-bind-llama-cpp-to-the-standalone-worker.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-022, DGR-023, DGR-031, DGR-034, DGR-035) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Replace the fake engine with the pinned llama.cpp `ShardEngine` implementation without changing the public worker contract.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Worker loads exactly one artifact/recipe/range identity and rejects mismatched stream requests.
+- [ ] All execution passes through `ShardEngine`; llama.cpp implementation types remain private.
+- [ ] Health and metrics expose loaded identity, authoritative ownership, memory, and execution state.
+- [ ] Graceful shutdown releases model/session resources; injected process death is observable and bounded.
+- [ ] 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-037/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/038-implement-isolated-shard-local-hot-kv-state.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-038: Implement isolated shard-local Hot KV State
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M2`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-037`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-039`, `DGR-052`, `DGR-055`, `DGR-069`
+- **Labels:** `area:kv-cache`, `area:concurrency`, `type:runtime`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `real-model`
+- **Hardware:** `optional`
+- **Model:** `dense-llama`
+- **Upstream:** `yes`
+
+## Objective / description
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/038-implement-isolated-shard-local-hot-kv-state.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-037) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Map each route session and epoch to isolated state containing only locally owned layers.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Map `(route_session_id, route_epoch)` to an isolated llama sequence or bounded context.
+- [ ] Support prefill/decode append, truncate, release, TTL/LRU eviction, cache miss, and stale-epoch rejection.
+- [ ] Four concurrent sessions complete without token, KV, position, or cancellation cross-talk.
+- [ ] Release/eviction returns memory to the configured budget without affecting other sessions.
+- [ ] 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-038/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/039-pass-local-two-process-dense-acceptance.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-039: Pass local two-process dense acceptance
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M2`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-036`, `DGR-037`, `DGR-038`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-054`
+- **Labels:** `area:integration`, `area:parity`, `type:certification`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `real-model`
+- **Hardware:** `optional`
+- **Model:** `dense-llama`
+- **Upstream:** `yes`
+
+## Objective / description
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/039-pass-local-two-process-dense-acceptance.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-036, DGR-037, DGR-038) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Establish the first real, independently executing distributed GGUF route on one host.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Two worker processes open disjoint dense ranges and both execute real prefill/decode work.
+- [ ] Whole-model parity, 32-token greedy decode, four-session isolation, cancellation, and cleanup pass.
+- [ ] Record TTFT, prefill/decode rates, seam bytes/latency, RSS/VRAM, KV, queue, and failure metrics.
+- [ ] Killing one worker returns a bounded structured failure rather than hanging.
+- [ ] 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-039/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/04-create-the-reproducible-pinned-llama-cpp-patch-stack.md

@@ -1,61 +0,0 @@
-# 04 — Create the reproducible pinned llama.cpp patch stack
-
-Status: ready-for-agent
-
-## Mandatory fresh-session context
-
-- Read [RALPH-CONTEXT.md](../RALPH-CONTEXT.md) completely before changing code.
-- This issue is `DGR-004` in [prd.json](../prd.json).
-- Read the evidence README for every dependency listed below.
-- Inspect current code and `git status`; historical text and previous agent claims are not evidence.
-
-## Description
-
-As a maintainer, I need a small auditable fork boundary so that upstream updates do not turn the runtime into an unmaintainable stitched codebase.
-
-## Expected durable outputs
-
-- Exact llama.cpp upstream pin
-- Numbered minimal patch stack
-- Reproducible fetch/apply/build smoke
-- evidence/DGR-004/README.md
-
-## Acceptance criteria
-
-- [ ] Pin one exact llama.cpp commit through a reproducible source dependency mechanism.
-- [ ] Store a numbered minimal patch stack separately from Meshnet networking code.
-- [ ] Add a build script that applies/checks patches and builds the standalone worker without manual source copying.
-- [ ] Record upstream file/ABI assumptions and fail clearly when the pin changes.
-- [ ] Preserve upstream license and attribution notices.
-- [ ] Add a clean rebuild smoke test that does not download a model.
-- [ ] Targeted pytest tests pass
-- [ ] python -m compileall packages tests passes for Python changes
-- [ ] git diff --check passes
-- [ ] Default tests remain deterministic, model-download-free, API-credit-free, and GPU-free
-- [ ] Full deterministic pytest -q passes, or the exact pre-existing unrelated failure is recorded with a clean-tree reproduction
-- [ ] Pinned native C++ target builds and focused CTest/protocol tests pass where native code is touched
-- [ ] llama.cpp patch stack applies cleanly to the exact pinned commit where patch code is touched
-- [ ] Read .scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md and this story issue completely before changing code
-- [ ] Read and verify every dependency evidence README before relying on dependency behavior
-- [ ] Preserve all pre-existing working-tree changes and stage only files belonging to this story
-- [ ] Write .scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/evidence/DGR-004/README.md with files changed, exact commands and real results, limitations, compatibility notes, and dependent-story handoff
-- [ ] Update only this story issue to Status: done after every acceptance criterion and quality gate passes
-
-## Dependency handoff
-
-- `DGR-001` must have `passes: true`; read `../evidence/DGR-001/README.md` and verify its referenced files/commands.
-
-## Finish contract
-
-- Create the task evidence directory and durable handoff required above.
-- Preserve real failures and blockers; never fabricate benchmark, model, test or hardware output.
-- Change this issue to `Status: done` only after all criteria pass.
-- Emit `<promise>COMPLETE</promise>` only after the evidence handoff exists.
-
-## References
-
-- [Ralph execution context](../RALPH-CONTEXT.md)
-- [PRD](../PRD.md)
-- [Implementation strategy](../implementation-strategy.md)
-- [Current architecture](../architecture.md)
-- [Architecture decision](../ADR-0020-distributed-gguf-runtime.md)

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/040-add-node-side-native-worker-supervision.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-040: Add node-side native worker supervision
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M2`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-033`, `DGR-037`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-041`, `DGR-042`, `DGR-055`, `DGR-058`
+- **Labels:** `area:node`, `area:supervision`, `type:integration`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `fixture`
+- **Hardware:** `none`
+- **Model:** `generic`
+- **Upstream:** `no`
+
+## Objective / description
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/040-add-node-side-native-worker-supervision.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-033, DGR-037) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Let the existing node service safely start, probe, stop, and restart the standalone worker.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Supervision owns process startup, readiness, log capture, graceful shutdown, and bounded forced termination.
+- [ ] Startup verifies worker binary, artifact identity, recipe, and range before registration.
+- [ ] Crashes or health loss make the capability unavailable without corrupting the Transformers backend.
+- [ ] Tests use the fake worker and deterministic crash injection.
+- [ ] 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-040/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/041-register-native-shard-capabilities-without-redesigning-meshnet.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-041: Register native Shard capabilities without redesigning Meshnet
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M2`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-025`, `DGR-040`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-043`
+- **Labels:** `area:meshnet`, `area:admission`, `type:integration`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `model-free`
+- **Hardware:** `none`
+- **Model:** `generic`
+- **Upstream:** `no`
+
+## Objective / description
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/041-register-native-shard-capabilities-without-redesigning-meshnet.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-025, DGR-040) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Adapt native worker identity and capacity to existing backend-agnostic capability admission.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Registration carries exact recipe fingerprint, authoritative range, backend, memory/KV capacity, concurrency, and certification status.
+- [ ] Existing tracker, billing, routing, telemetry, and provider semantics remain backend-agnostic.
+- [ ] Uncertified backend/model/recipe combinations are visible but unroutable.
+- [ ] Existing Transformers registration and route tests remain unchanged in behavior.
+- [ ] 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-041/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/042-carry-native-frames-through-direct-and-existing-relay-seams.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-042: Carry native frames through direct and existing relay seams
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M2`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-024`, `DGR-040`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-054`, `DGR-058`
+- **Labels:** `area:meshnet`, `area:relay`, `area:grpc`, `type:integration`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `fixture`
+- **Hardware:** `none`
+- **Model:** `generic`
+- **Upstream:** `no`
+
+## Objective / description
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/042-carry-native-frames-through-direct-and-existing-relay-seams.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-024, DGR-040) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Use direct gRPC where available and the existing relay as opaque protobuf transport without redesigning relay behavior.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Direct paths use the long-lived gRPC activation stream.
+- [ ] Relayed paths carry byte-identical versioned protobuf frames through the existing relay contract.
+- [ ] Request/work identity, cancellation, deadlines, telemetry, billing correlation, and per-node attribution survive both paths.
+- [ ] Fake-worker tests cover direct, relay, disconnect, cancellation, and bounded buffering.
+- [ ] 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-042/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/043-expose-gguf-compatibility-and-measured-cost-inputs-to-existing-routing.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-043: Expose GGUF compatibility and measured cost inputs to existing routing
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M2`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-041`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-053`, `DGR-054`, `DGR-059`, `DGR-061`
+- **Labels:** `area:tracker`, `area:routing`, `type:integration`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `model-free`
+- **Hardware:** `none`
+- **Model:** `generic`
+- **Upstream:** `no`
+
+## Objective / description
+
+Fresh Ralph session: read `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md`, source issue `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/043-expose-gguf-compatibility-and-measured-cost-inputs-to-existing-routing.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-041) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Adapt exact GGUF recipe/range compatibility and measured capacity, queue, seam-cost, health, and reliability data into the existing backend-agnostic routing inputs without redesigning routing or load balancing.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Expose exact recipe, range coverage, capacity, queue/load, seam-cost, health, reliability, backend, and certification measurements through existing tracker input contracts.
+- [ ] Prove existing routing forms complete compatible coverage and excludes dark or mismatched candidates using its current backend-agnostic mechanisms.
+- [ ] Regression-test unchanged Transformers behavior and unchanged tracker routing, load-balancing, billing, relay, and provider semantics.
+- [ ] Regression-test that no quant, stage count, fixed split, architecture, backend sequence, or DeepSeek-specific policy is hardcoded.
+- [ ] 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-043/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/044-pin-the-deepseek-v4-flash-target-contract.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-044: Pin the DeepSeek V4 Flash target contract
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M3`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-019`, `DGR-025`, `DGR-026`, `DGR-027`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-045`
+- **Labels:** `area:deepseek-v4`, `area:provenance`, `type:contract`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `model-free`
+- **Hardware:** `none`
+- **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/044-pin-the-deepseek-v4-flash-target-contract.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-019, DGR-025, DGR-026, DGR-027) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Fix the alpha/beta model identity and upstream maturity assumptions before implementing the adapter.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Pin Hugging Face target SHA `60d8d70770c6776ff598c94bb586a859a38244f1`.
+- [ ] Record the selected GGUF provenance and exact source binding without assuming one quant.
+- [ ] Record that llama.cpp support began with PR 24162/commit `8c146a8` and remains maturing; the build manifest still pins one exact validated upstream commit.
+- [ ] Record 43 main layers plus MTP and all known architecture-specific state obligations.
+- [ ] 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-044/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/045-inventory-v4-gguf-tensors-and-layer-ownership.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-045: Inventory V4 GGUF tensors and layer ownership
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M3`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-026`, `DGR-044`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-046`, `DGR-047`, `DGR-050`
+- **Labels:** `area:deepseek-v4`, `area:weights`, `type:research-spike`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `real-model`
+- **Hardware:** `none`
+- **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/045-inventory-v4-gguf-tensors-and-layer-ownership.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-026, DGR-044) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Derive exact head, repeated-layer, tail, expert, auxiliary-state, and MTP ownership from the pinned artifact.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Produce a machine-readable inventory tied to the target SHA and exact GGUF artifact.
+- [ ] Classify embeddings, 43 main layers, final head, MTP, mHC, attention variants, indexer/compressor, and MoE tensors.
+- [ ] Validate half-open range ownership and fail on unclassified required tensors.
+- [ ] Inventory tooling works across quants without embedding quant names in architecture logic.
+- [ ] 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-045/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/046-define-the-v4-typed-architecture-boundary-schema.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-046: Define the V4 typed architecture boundary schema
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M3`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-021`, `DGR-045`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-047`, `DGR-048`, `DGR-049`
+- **Labels:** `area:deepseek-v4`, `area:boundary`, `type:protocol`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `model-free`
+- **Hardware:** `none`
+- **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/046-define-the-v4-typed-architecture-boundary-schema.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-021, DGR-045) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Define the exact cross-stage V4 architecture boundary while keeping per-layer attention and auxiliary caches shard-local.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Define a versioned named bundle for the mHC 4×4096 residual boundary, positions, token-ID sideband where required, and schema/cache expectations.
+- [ ] Explicitly exclude per-layer CSA, HCA, SWA, indexer, compressor, KV, and MTP caches/state from the WAN boundary; those remain local to the owning shard and session/epoch.
+- [ ] Reserve typed MTP boundary fields but mark MTP execution unsupported and unroutable for alpha.
+- [ ] Fingerprint independently of quant/topology and fail closed on missing, incompatible, incorrectly shaped, or stale boundary/cache expectations.
+- [ ] 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-046/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/047-adapt-the-upstream-v4-mhc-boundary-for-ranged-ownership.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-047: Adapt the upstream V4 mHC boundary for ranged ownership
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M3`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-045`, `DGR-046`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-048`, `DGR-049`, `DGR-050`, `DGR-051`
+- **Labels:** `area:deepseek-v4`, `area:mhc`, `type:runtime`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `real-model`
+- **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/047-adapt-the-upstream-v4-mhc-boundary-for-ranged-ownership.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-045, DGR-046) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Add range-boundary adapters around upstream llama.cpp V4 mHC execution without reimplementing the V4 graph or kernels.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Represent and validate the upstream V4 4×4096 mHC boundary without flattening semantic axes.
+- [ ] Add only head/intermediate/tail range ownership and boundary conversion hooks around the pinned upstream llama.cpp graph.
+- [ ] Compare deterministic fixture vectors and single-process ranged outputs with upstream whole-model execution.
+- [ ] Document that llama.cpp owns V4 mHC graph/kernels and that quantized storage does not alter the logical boundary schema.
+- [ ] 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-047/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/048-carry-token-id-sideband-through-the-first-three-hash-routed-layers.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-048: Carry token-ID sideband through the first three hash-routed layers
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M3`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-046`, `DGR-047`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-051`
+- **Labels:** `area:deepseek-v4`, `area:routing-state`, `type:runtime`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `real-model`
+- **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/048-carry-token-id-sideband-through-the-first-three-hash-routed-layers.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-046, DGR-047) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Ensure any stage containing the first three hash-routed layers receives exact token identities.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Head emits token IDs in the typed sideband for boundaries that require them.
+- [ ] Intermediate stages preserve or consume the sideband according to their layer range.
+- [ ] Routes splitting before, within, and after the first three layers pass deterministic partition tests.
+- [ ] Missing or mismatched token IDs fail closed rather than silently selecting incorrect experts.
+- [ ] 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-048/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/049-keep-v4-attention-and-auxiliary-state-shard-local.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-049: Keep V4 attention and auxiliary state shard-local
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M3`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-046`, `DGR-047`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-051`
+- **Labels:** `area:deepseek-v4`, `area:attention`, `type:runtime`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `real-model`
+- **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/049-keep-v4-attention-and-auxiliary-state-shard-local.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-046, DGR-047) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Bind V4 CSA/HCA/SWA/indexer/compressor and KV state to the owning shard session/epoch rather than transferring caches over the WAN.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Map CSA, HCA, SWA, indexer, compressor, and KV ownership from the pinned upstream graph to each owned layer range.
+- [ ] Key all such caches/state by route session and epoch with bounded lifecycle, memory accounting, stale-epoch rejection, release, and eviction.
+- [ ] Prove cross-stage messages carry only the typed architecture boundary and cache expectations, never per-layer cache contents.
+- [ ] On route change or state loss, use explicit cache miss and re-prefill/restart; do not migrate V4 caches across workers.
+- [ ] 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-049/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/05-implement-dense-llama-range-aware-gguf-ownership.md

@@ -1,61 +0,0 @@
-# 05 — Implement dense-Llama range-aware GGUF ownership
-
-Status: ready-for-agent
-
-## Mandatory fresh-session context
-
-- Read [RALPH-CONTEXT.md](../RALPH-CONTEXT.md) completely before changing code.
-- This issue is `DGR-005` in [prd.json](../prd.json).
-- Read the evidence README for every dependency listed below.
-- Inspect current code and `git status`; historical text and previous agent claims are not evidence.
-
-## Description
-
-As a node, I need to map only my assigned dense-Llama Shard so that aggregate consumer memory can hold a model larger than one node.
-
-## Expected durable outputs
-
-- Dense-Llama range-aware ownership implementation
-- Authoritative loaded-range introspection
-- Mapped/resident memory evidence
-- evidence/DGR-005/README.md
-
-## Acceptance criteria
-
-- [ ] Register and allocate only `blk.N.*` tensors in the assigned range.
-- [ ] Load embeddings only for the head and final norm/LM head only for the tail, including tied embeddings.
-- [ ] Prefer range-aware mapping from one exact source GGUF; if derivative sub-GGUFs are used temporarily, verify source/slice hashes and avoid claiming final artifact semantics.
-- [ ] Report authoritative loaded range and endpoint ownership from the model, not operator CLI claims.
-- [ ] Demonstrate mapped/resident memory scales with owned tensors rather than full model size.
-- [ ] Targeted pytest tests pass
-- [ ] python -m compileall packages tests passes for Python changes
-- [ ] git diff --check passes
-- [ ] Default tests remain deterministic, model-download-free, API-credit-free, and GPU-free
-- [ ] Full deterministic pytest -q passes, or the exact pre-existing unrelated failure is recorded with a clean-tree reproduction
-- [ ] Pinned native C++ target builds and focused CTest/protocol tests pass where native code is touched
-- [ ] llama.cpp patch stack applies cleanly to the exact pinned commit where patch code is touched
-- [ ] Read .scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/RALPH-CONTEXT.md and this story issue completely before changing code
-- [ ] Read and verify every dependency evidence README before relying on dependency behavior
-- [ ] Preserve all pre-existing working-tree changes and stage only files belonging to this story
-- [ ] Write .scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/evidence/DGR-005/README.md with files changed, exact commands and real results, limitations, compatibility notes, and dependent-story handoff
-- [ ] Update only this story issue to Status: done after every acceptance criterion and quality gate passes
-
-## Dependency handoff
-
-- `DGR-003` must have `passes: true`; read `../evidence/DGR-003/README.md` and verify its referenced files/commands.
-- `DGR-004` must have `passes: true`; read `../evidence/DGR-004/README.md` and verify its referenced files/commands.
-
-## Finish contract
-
-- Create the task evidence directory and durable handoff required above.
-- Preserve real failures and blockers; never fabricate benchmark, model, test or hardware output.
-- Change this issue to `Status: done` only after all criteria pass.
-- Emit `<promise>COMPLETE</promise>` only after the evidence handoff exists.
-
-## References
-
-- [Ralph execution context](../RALPH-CONTEXT.md)
-- [PRD](../PRD.md)
-- [Implementation strategy](../implementation-strategy.md)
-- [Current architecture](../architecture.md)
-- [Architecture decision](../ADR-0020-distributed-gguf-runtime.md)

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/050-validate-upstream-v4-moe-and-hash-routing-execution-under-ranged-ownership.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-050: Validate upstream V4 MoE and hash-routing execution under ranged ownership
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M3`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-045`, `DGR-047`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-051`
+- **Labels:** `area:deepseek-v4`, `area:moe`, `type:runtime`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `real-model`
+- **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/050-validate-upstream-v4-moe-and-hash-routing-execution-under-ranged-ownership.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-045, DGR-047) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Validate the pinned upstream llama.cpp V4 MoE and hash-routing graph when layers are range-owned, without reimplementing routing or expert kernels in Meshnet.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Load range-owned tensors for 256 routed plus one shared expert and validate upstream execution activates six routed experts where specified.
+- [ ] Validate the first three upstream hash-routed layers receive exact token-ID sideband across splits before, within, and after them.
+- [ ] Compare upstream whole-model and ranged router/expert outputs, shared-expert contribution, and malformed sideband failures.
+- [ ] Document that llama.cpp owns V4 MoE, attention, hash routing, graph, and kernels; no expert-parallel WAN collective or Meshnet reimplementation is introduced.
+- [ ] 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-050/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.

.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/051-assemble-the-deepseek-v4-flash-shardengine-adapter.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- GENERATED FROM prd.json — DO NOT EDIT AS AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE. prd.json IS AUTHORITATIVE. -->
+# DGR-051: Assemble the DeepSeek V4 Flash `ShardEngine` adapter
+
+- **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-agent`; `passes: false`
+- **Execution mode:** `AFK`
+- **Milestone:** `M3`
+- **Dependencies:** `DGR-034`, `DGR-037`, `DGR-047`, `DGR-048`, `DGR-049`, `DGR-050`
+- **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-052`, `DGR-060`, `DGR-065`, `DGR-069`
+- **Labels:** `area:deepseek-v4`, `area:engine`, `type:vertical-slice`, `priority:p0`, `ready-for-agent`
+- **Evidence class:** `real-model`
+- **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/051-assemble-the-deepseek-v4-flash-shardengine-adapter.md`, and evidence READMEs for dependencies (DGR-034, DGR-037, DGR-047, DGR-048, DGR-049, DGR-050) before changing code. Inspect live source/tests rather than trusting legacy pass states. Objective: Assemble range ownership hooks and boundary/local-state adapters around upstream llama.cpp V4 execution behind the stable ShardEngine interface.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Support valid head, middle, tail, and whole-model ranges over all 43 main layers using the pinned upstream llama.cpp V4 graph/kernels.
+- [ ] Integrate exact range ownership, mHC boundary, positions, required token-ID sideband, and shard-local session/epoch state adapters.
+- [ ] Report MTP reserved-but-not-executable for alpha and reject unsupported split points or cache expectations.
+- [ ] Include exact adapter/schema/runtime/artifact identity and valid split restrictions without reimplementing V4 MoE, attention, mHC, or hash routing.
+- [ ] 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-051/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.