The previous one-liner 'notify when done and nothing left to do'
left 'done' under-defined. Concrete failure mode (2026-05-12, this
session): test suite for an open milestone landed, I notified on
the user-specified stop trigger, but the milestone still had two
follow-up iters (DESIGN.md anchor + audit) plainly in scope. The
user's intent behind the trigger was 'wake me when there's
nothing else to do', not 'wake me at this checkpoint'.
The expanded section codes two states (done-state, problem-state),
explicitly names sub-goal completion as NOT a notify event, and
calibrates user-specified stop triggers: hit only if the trigger
leaves the queue truly empty.
Milestone-close audit found three drift items (architect) plus
two carry-on items; bench all-green.
Fixes (rt.tidy, boss-direct):
- 5th test parse_then_print_then_parse_is_idempotent_on_every_ailx_fixture
enforces Direction 2 of the Roundtrip Invariant directly. The
DESIGN.md enforcement list grows from four to five tests.
- docs/roadmap.md P1 'Round-trip completeness invariant' entry
retired with one-line journal mirror per roadmap convention.
- DESIGN.md wording sync: <16-hex> → <16-lowercase-hex> for the
Float-bits-hex spelling in the new section (matches §Data model).
Milestone closed clean; five workspace-wide tests anchor the
.ail.json ↔ .ailx bijection plus AST-variant coverage.
New top-level section '## Roundtrip Invariant' between Decision 11
and '## Mangling scheme'. States both directions of the .ail.json
↔ .ailx bijection, names Float-bits-hex encoding as the in-
invariant mechanism (not an exception), lists the four enforcement
tests by path, and explains why the property is top-level
(load-bearing on language identity, not on Decision 6's surface-
design rationale).
Decision 6 Constraint 2 rewritten as upward cross-reference to the
new section; the substantive content now lives at the anchor.
Direct boss edit (no planner/implement dispatch): spec Architecture
#1 fully specified the content, no design judgement deferred to
execution. The iter is a deterministic projection of the spec
onto DESIGN.md prose.
Three new reader-only tests pin the .ail.json / .ailx bijection
plus AST-variant coverage. All three passed first observation
across the current corpus — no roundtrip, schema-coverage, or
CLI-drift gaps surfaced.
- every_ailx_fixture_matches_its_json_counterpart (replaces the
3-pair handwritten exhibits): 57 paired .ailx fixtures pass.
- every_ast_variant_is_observed_in_the_fixture_corpus (new): 34/34
AST variants exercised across 136 fixtures; exhaustive matches
without _ wildcard so AST drift fails the build.
- cli_render_then_parse_preserves_canonical_bytes_on_every_fixture
(new): 136 fixtures round-trip through ail render → tempfile →
ail parse with BLAKE3 identity on canonical bytes.
No production code, no DESIGN.md changes (those follow in later
iterations). Tests are pure readers of the repo per spec
acceptance #7 — tempfile crate added as workspace dep for the CLI
roundtrip's intermediate file outside the repo.
Surfaced while scoping an empirical test of Decision 6 (.ailx as the
AI authoring projection). The cross-model test depends on a structural
.ail.json <-> .ailx bijection being established and prominently anchored
in DESIGN.md first; otherwise measured form-preference is contaminated
by expressive-power gaps rather than authoring ergonomics. P2 entry
carries the smoke-test evidence and full IONOS-endpoint addressing
notes so the test can be picked up without redoing the connection work.
Milestone-23 close audit. Architect clean on substance; one
pre-existing DESIGN.md grammar stub (line 1692, dangling 'The
original' from 2026-05-10 design-md-consolidation) caught and
fixed.
Bencher localised the compile_check.py regression to H2 (the 5 new
polymorphic prelude Def::Fns iter 23.5 added — each carries forall
+ class constraint + match/not body, all typechecked on every
workspace check). H1 (linearity workspace-visibility extension +
contains_rigid_var) is negligible at today's 2-module workspace.
The regression is the feature's measured cost. Ratified per audit
skill (--update-baseline + journal entry). 0/24 metrics regressed
post-update.
Milestone 23 (Eq/Ord prelude) is closed.
Five polymorphic prelude free fns (ne/lt/le/gt/ge) plus three E2E
fixtures: positive composition over Int/Bool/Str, user-ADT with
user-written Eq/Ord on IntBox, and Float-NoInstance with a
Float-aware diagnostic addendum cross-referencing DESIGN.md §"Float
semantics".
Two checker-side fixes were needed alongside the prelude additions,
both symmetric to the iter 23.4-prep visibility fix:
- linearity::check_module_with_visible — workspace-aware callee-mode
resolution so a Borrow-mode user fn forwarding into a prelude poly
fn (e.g. `at_most x y = not (gt x y)`) doesn't false-fire
consume-while-borrowed.
- mono::collect_mono_targets — distinguish rigid forall vars from
unbound metavars; rigid-bearing free-fn targets skip (they get
re-collected with concrete subst when the enclosing fn itself
monomorphises). Without this, a polymorphic body calling another
polymorphic free fn produced a spurious __Unit specialisation
whose body referenced compare at Unit.
Roadmap split: shipped Eq/Ord half checked, Show + print-rewire half
remains pending behind the heap-Str ABI prerequisite. DESIGN.md
§"Prelude classes" amended.
One pre-existing fixture (test_22b1_missing_method) renamed its
class method ne → tne to avoid collision with the new prelude `ne`.
Bench: check.py + cross_lang.py exit 0; compile_check.py exits 1
with one sub-ms check_ms.local_rec_capture at +26% (tolerance 25%) —
prelude-growth-related noise-band fluctuation, ratifiable per spec
§248-249 and journal Concerns.
Restructure ailang-check/src/mono.rs::monomorphise_workspace into a
single specialiser over every Type::Forall-quantified Def::Fn, covering
both class-method residuals AND polymorphic free-fn call sites in one
fixpoint pass. Remove the codegen-time specialiser (lower_polymorphic_call,
module_polymorphic_fns, mono_queue, mono_emitted, emit_specialised_fn,
plus the now-dead helpers apply_subst_to_term, descriptor_for_subst,
type_descriptor) entirely. Codegen sees only monomorphic Def::Fns after
this iter — no polymorphic call sites, no codegen-time queue.
Architecture changes:
- MonoTarget: struct → enum with ClassMethod / FreeFn variants; dedup
keys are guaranteed-disjoint via 'class'/'free' first component.
- collect_mono_targets: new FreeFnCall channel through synth (cleaner
than the plan's separate-walker proposal — one less data flow,
substitution tracking comes 'for free' via fresh metavars +
post-synth subst.apply). Plan Step 4.4 (polymorphic_free_fns env
field) consequently obsolete.
- synthesise_mono_fn_for_free_fn: new free-fn entry point; substitutes
rigid vars in BOTH the type AND the body (body substitution required
because free-fn bodies carry inner Lams whose param_tys reference
outer Forall vars — adapted from plan's 'body unchanged' sketch).
- mono_symbol_n: N-ary extension of mono_symbol; bit-stable for the
single-type-var case (hash-stability pin Task 1 fires zero times
through all eight refactor tasks).
- rewrite_class_method_calls → rewrite_mono_calls; interleaved-slot
collector preserves the positional-cursor invariant across both
channels.
- workspace_has_typeclasses → workspace_has_specialisable_targets
(principled correctness; old predicate happened to already be true
for every user workspace because the prelude is auto-injected).
Codegen cleanup:
- Two call sites of lower_polymorphic_call deleted (codegen/src/lib.rs
lines ~1939-1945, ~1965-1973).
- lower_polymorphic_call body, module_polymorphic_fns field +
population + Emitter wiring, mono_queue / mono_emitted, drain loop,
emit_specialised_fn — all removed.
- is_static_callee collapsed to module_user_fns-only.
- subst.rs apply_subst_to_term + descriptor_for_subst removed; synth.rs
type_descriptor removed (all dead post-removal).
- ail emit-ir command pipeline gains lift_letrecs + monomorphise_workspace
pre-passes (pre-iter-23.4 the codegen-time poly path was masking
this dependency — emit-ir is now consistent with build).
- Net codegen reduction: -285 lines lib.rs, -93 lines subst.rs.
Tests:
- mono_hash_stability.rs (new): regression pin for six primitive Eq/Ord
mono-symbol body hashes; stayed bit-stable through all eight refactor
tasks.
- mono_unification.rs (new): six tests covering variant-key disjointness,
free-fn target emission, free-fn synthesis with rigid substitution,
rewrite walker on free fns, identity for poly-free-fn-only workspaces,
end-to-end cmp_max_smoke runtime correctness.
- typeclass_22b3.rs: three test sites updated to MonoTarget::ClassMethod
enum form.
- 73 e2e + 18 typeclass + 81 codegen tests all green workspace-wide.
DESIGN.md §'Monomorphisation (post-typecheck, pre-codegen)' amended:
two-arm fixpoint described, disjoint-keyed dedup, cursor-aligned
walker, removed codegen-time path.
Bench check (all exit 0, 112 metrics stable): bench/check.py +
compile_check.py + cross_lang.py.
Plan parent: docs/plans/2026-05-11-iter-23.4.md (fab1685).
Spec parent: docs/specs/2026-05-11-23-eq-ord-prelude.md (841d65d).
Per-iter journal documents two adapted deviations from the plan
(synth-channel vs separate walker; body substitution; emit-ir fix);
no spec defects.
Plan for the corrected iter 23.4: restructure mono.rs into a single
specialiser for every Type::Forall-quantified Def::Fn (class methods
+ polymorphic free fns) in one fixpoint pass, and remove the codegen-
time specialiser (lower_polymorphic_call + module_polymorphic_fns +
mono_queue) entirely.
11 tasks, 4-step TDD template per task (write-failing-test →
verify-fail → write-impl → verify-pass), no per-task commit step
under the new disc.1 discipline.
Parent spec: docs/specs/2026-05-11-23-eq-ord-prelude.md (re-grounded
2026-05-11 against main HEAD 51da9fa, PASS, 10 load-bearing
assumptions verified).
Open commitments resolved:
- N-ary mono-symbol naming: spec default <name>__<t1>__<t2>__...
- Target-collector: extension of existing collect_mono_targets
(lockstep with collect_residuals_ordered)
- Original poly Def::Fn retention: kept parallel to Def::Class/
Def::Instance
Float-NoInstance diagnostic wording remains deferred to iter 23.5.
Two project-wide rules are now explicit across every skill:
1. Only the Boss commits. No skill agent (implementer,
brainstormer, planner, debugger, fieldtester, docwriter,
architect, bencher) runs `git commit`. Agents write their
artefacts to the working tree as unstaged changes; the Boss
inspects, decides commit shape, and commits.
2. main HEAD is sacrosanct. No actor runs `git reset` or
`git revert` on main. Bad work stays in the working tree
where it is still discardable via `git checkout -- <paths>`.
Implement loses the `iter/<iter_id>` branch mechanic entirely;
Phase 0 of the orchestrator-agent now does a clean-tree check
and refuses to start on a dirty tree. Per-task agent commits
are removed everywhere; reviewers operate against
`git diff HEAD` instead of `pre_task_sha..head_sha`.
Motivation: 2026-05-11 iter 23.4 stranded prep2/prep3 commits on
an iter-branch that never integrated to main, then a corrected
spec falsely claimed those commits had shipped. Branch-per-iter
+ manual-Boss-merge + iter-stacking made the strand structurally
possible. See docs/journals/2026-05-11-iter-disc.1.md for the
full per-task notes and motivation.
Brainstorm assumed all four 23.4-prep commits had shipped to main.
Branch verification (post-iter/23.4 deletion) showed only prep1
(linearity + check bare-name) is on main; prep2 + prep3 were
attempted on the stranded iter/23.4 branch and never landed.
Spec corrections:
- Goal section: prep-commit status block reflects actual main state.
- Architecture: drop §2 (prep2/prep3 rollback) — no rollback exists
on main; section count drops from four to three artefacts.
- Components table: prep2/prep3 row now reads 'abandoned 2026-05-11
with iter/23.4 deletion', not 'shipped, rolled back in 23.4'.
- Acceptance criterion 1: drop the 'prep2 + prep3 are rolled back'
clause.
- Load-bearing assumption 5: now states prep2/prep3 never reached
main (fixes the silent-assumption pattern this spec exists to
prevent — same failure mode the original Spec-23 had).
- Load-bearing assumption 6: cite the cherry-picked main SHAs
(0caaced, 923dd8c) alongside the stranded-branch originals
(8d39f13, aef4ab8).
- Known costs: drop the '23.4 rollback' line item.
The 23.4 mono-unification plan (ea0285b) assumed prep1 + prep2 +
prep3 were on main. They never were — they sit only on iter/23.4.
Spec component table was factually wrong. Plan Task 10 (revert prep
commits) was impossible on main. Discarding the plan; the spec is
next revised against the actual main state.
Plan-recon for iter 23.4 surfaced that poly_box_proj.ail.json does
not exist in examples/. The three load-bearing regression fixtures
are poly_id, poly_apply, and poly_rec_capture (the latter at
examples/poly_rec_capture.ail.json, driven by e2e.rs::poly_rec_capture_demo).
Three references in the spec corrected. Substantive intent (three
existing polymorphic fixtures regress unchanged under unified mono)
unchanged.
Note 3: agent output format leaked internal-thinking preamble before
the structured report block — Iron Law should forbid preamble.
Note 4: Boss-requested behaviour change for impending-BLOCK paths —
on miss, agent attempts to write missing GREEN test (test code only,
never src/) before falling to BLOCK; requires tool + Iron Law update.
Both notes are for the future skillsystem-postmortem entry; out of
gc.1 scope.
Re-brainstorm of milestone 23 after the original spec retired in
iter gc.1. The original silently assumed polymorphic free fns are
mono-specialised parallel to class methods; iter 23.4 BLOCKED three
times on that seam. Revised spec corrects the architecture by
committing to a unified typecheck-time mono pass (B1) — one
specialiser for all Type::Forall Defs, codegen-time
lower_polymorphic_call retired in same iter. First real run of the
grounding-check agent (Step 7.5) shipped in gc.1: PASS, 15
assumptions ratified.
The orchestrator-agent ends its run with the worktree on
iter/<iter_id>. Step 3 previously listed 'append INDEX line' as
item 3 and 'switch+merge' as item 4 — natural reading order is
top-to-bottom, so the INDEX append (and any other Boss edit) was
landing on the iter branch by mistake. Observed three times on
2026-05-11 during the iter 23.4 family's prep iters.
Fix: explicit warning at the top of Step 3, plus reorder so the
'git switch main && git merge --ff-only' happens before any
Boss-side edit. Summary rewrites (step 2's decision) now defer to
step 5, which runs after the switch, so they also land on main.
Discussion-draft, not an approved spec. Captures today's findings:
- Repeated BLOCKEDs on iter 23.4 family were a spec-defect signal,
not a plan-defect signal.
- Today's spec-verification (brainstorm Step 7 + 8) is purely
linguistic — no code-grounded check of load-bearing assumptions.
- Spec-23's 'work the same way as 22b.3' half-sentence was the
exact load-bearing assumption that broke. Three preps spent
patching what should have been caught pre-approval.
Proposes a new agent that, with fresh context between brainstorm
Step 6 and Step 7, extracts load-bearing assumptions from the spec
draft and searches for an existing green fixture ratifying each.
Default on miss: spec discarded, blocked idea moved to roadmap with
'depends on: <missing prerequisite>'.
Eight open design questions left for the next session's brainstorm
to answer.
Brummel