# 14 — Enforce the GGUF-versus-safetensors release gate

Status: ready-for-agent

## Mandatory fresh-session context

- Read [RALPH-CONTEXT.md](../RALPH-CONTEXT.md) completely before changing code.
- This issue is `DGR-014` 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 product owner, I need an end-to-end comparison so that the native runtime ships only if it advances model access or performance.

## Expected durable outputs

- Immutable comparison against DGR-001 thresholds
- Machine-readable final report
- Ship/optimize/stop recommendation
- evidence/DGR-014/README.md

## Acceptance criteria

- [ ] 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.
- [ ] 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
- [ ] 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-014/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.
- `DGR-011` must have `passes: true`; read `../evidence/DGR-011/README.md` and verify its referenced files/commands.
- `DGR-012` must have `passes: true`; read `../evidence/DGR-012/README.md` and verify its referenced files/commands.
- `DGR-013` must have `passes: true`; read `../evidence/DGR-013/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)