# DGR-054: Enforce the DeepSeek V4 Flash alpha gate - **Status / triage:** specification only; `ready-for-human`; `passes: false` - **Execution mode:** `HITL` - **Milestone:** `M3` - **Dependencies:** `DGR-017`, `DGR-019`, `DGR-020`, `DGR-039`, `DGR-042`, `DGR-043`, `DGR-052`, `DGR-053` - **Blocks (derived):** `DGR-055`, `DGR-065`, `DGR-066`, `DGR-068` - **Labels:** `area:deepseek-v4`, `area:release`, `milestone:alpha`, `priority:p0`, `gate:hitl`, `ready-for-human` - **Evidence class:** `release` - **Hardware:** `required` - **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/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. ## Acceptance criteria - [ ] 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. ## 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-054/README.md`. Until every criterion and applicable gate has real evidence, this story remains `passes: false`. Legacy evidence is provenance only, not completion credit.