Milestone fieldtest — Triage harvest 2026-07 (surface honesty & authoring ergonomics)
Binary under test: ./target/debug/aura, built from HEAD 29bf601 via `cargo build --workspace`.
Data: real GER40, 2025 window --from 1735689600000 --to 1767225599000.
Project: throwaway_proj/ scaffolded by `aura new` (cdylib `cargo build`'t once).
Public interface only: README, authoring-guide, glossary, design INDEX, --help, examples/*.json.

================================================================================
TASK 1 — author a ganged strategy from scratch (#61, #28)
================================================================================

Op-script authored: triage_1_ganged_midchannel.ops.json
  A mid-channel breakout: bias = price - (RollingMax(N)+RollingMin(N))/2, with the
  two Donchian window lengths ganged into ONE public knob `channel_length`.
  mid.factor bound 0.5, bias.scale bound 1.0 → the gang is the sole open axis.

First attempt (feed grouped near the sources, referencing dev before it was added):
  $ aura graph build < triage_1_ganged_midchannel.ops.json
  aura: op 3 (feed): unknown node identifier "dev"     [exit 1]
  -> CLEAN diagnostic: names the op index (3) AND the missing identifier ("dev").
     My authoring-order mistake; reordered so all `add`s precede the `feed`.

Second attempt (all nodes declared first):
  $ aura graph build < triage_1_ganged_midchannel.ops.json > triage_1_ganged_midchannel.bp.json   [exit 0]

  $ aura graph introspect --params triage_1_ganged_midchannel.bp.json
  channel_length:I64                    <- ONE axis (two lengths collapsed)

  $ aura sweep triage_1_ganged_midchannel.bp.json --list-axes
  graph.channel_length:I64              <- ONE wrapped axis

  blueprint carries the relation:
  "gangs":[{"name":"channel_length","kind":"I64",
            "members":[{"node":0,"pos":0,"name":"length"},{"node":1,"pos":0,"name":"length"}]}]

  $ aura graph triage_1_ganged_midchannel.bp.json > render.html   [exit 0]
  Embedded model carries: "gangs":[{"name":"channel_length","kind":"I64",
                                    "members":[[0,0,"length"],[1,0,"length"]]}]
  Embedded viewer JS annotates the ganged node:
     const label = txt(n, k) + (gang ? `<font color="#9399b2"> (gang: ${gang.name})</font>` ...
  -> render shows the node labelled "(gang: channel_length)". WORKING.

================================================================================
TASK 2 — project bootstrap + tunable starter (#183, #218)
================================================================================

  $ aura new throwaway_proj
  created project `throwaway_proj` (namespace `throwaway_proj`)      [exit 0]
  files: Aura.toml, Cargo.toml, CLAUDE.md, .gitignore, src/lib.rs, blueprints/signal.json

#183 — scaffolded starter node carries a tunable param (WORKING):
  src/lib.rs: `throwaway_proj::Scale` declares
     params: vec![ParamSpec { name: "factor".into(), kind: ScalarKind::F64 }]
     builder closure |p| Box::new(Scale::new(p[0].f64()))
     doc comment: "One-input scalar gain: emits `input * factor`."
  blueprints/signal.json binds it: {"type":"throwaway_proj::Scale","bound":[{"pos":0,"name":"factor",...,"value":{"F64":1.0}}]}
  -> a copyable, self-documenting parameterized template.
  NOTE: the enumerated public docs (authoring-guide) teach the three DATA artifacts
  (op-script/process/campaign); Rust NODE authoring (the ParamSpec pattern) is taught
  only by the scaffolded node itself + docs/project-layout.md (referenced by the
  project's CLAUDE.md, not in the guide). See spec finding.

#218 — dissolved verb OUTSIDE any project refuses cleanly (WORKING):
  cwd = clean empty dir (no Aura.toml up-tree)
  $ aura sweep <ganged.bp.json> --real GER40 --from ... --to ... --axis graph.channel_length=10,20
  aura: sweep needs a project: strategies resolve against the project store and vocabulary
        (no Aura.toml found up from /.../noproj)                     [exit 1]
  cwd after: still empty — NO runs/ store written. WORKING.

================================================================================
TASK 3 — sweep + walkforward the ganged blueprint end to end (#61, #215, #217)
================================================================================

Inside throwaway_proj/, blueprint copied to blueprints/ganged_midchannel.json.

Sweep over the single gang axis, default stops (WORKING):
  $ aura sweep blueprints/ganged_midchannel.json --real GER40 --from ... --to ... \
        --axis graph.channel_length=10,20,40 --name triage_gang_sweep     [exit 0]
  3 members; params per member = [graph.channel_length, stop_length=3, stop_k=2.0]
  (default stops applied without --stop-length/--stop-k — #217).

Walkforward, --select plateau (bare form the task names) (SURFACE MISMATCH):
  $ aura walkforward ... --select plateau ...
  aura: Usage: ... [--select <argmax|plateau:mean|plateau:worst>] ...   [exit 2]
  -> bare `plateau` refused; usage error DOES list the valid forms. friction/spec_gap.

Walkforward, --select plateau:mean, NO gate preceding, default stops (#215 WORKING):
  $ aura walkforward blueprints/ganged_midchannel.json --real GER40 --from ... --to ... \
        --axis graph.channel_length=10,20,40 --select plateau:mean --name triage_gang_wf   [exit 0]
  ACCEPTED. 9 OOS windows; each `selection` block: "mode":"PlateauMean",
  neighbourhood_score + n_neighbours reported. Stitched OOS verdict + param_stability.
  -> plateau selection without a preceding gate is legal (decision-4 relaxation). WORKING.

Families persist + list (WORKING):
  $ aura runs families
  {"family_id":"753e2fd5-0-GER40-w0-r0-s0-0","kind":"Sweep","members":3}
  {"family_id":"de77bc72-0-GER40-w0-r0-s0-0","kind":"Sweep","members":3}       (WF internal IS-refit sweep)
  {"family_id":"de77bc72-0-GER40-w0-r0-s1-0","kind":"WalkForward","members":9}

reproduce — BUG A (DIVERGED, systematic):
  $ aura reproduce 753e2fd5-0-GER40-w0-r0-s0-0
  753e2fd5-...  member graph.channel_length=10 ... reproduced: DIVERGED
  753e2fd5-...  member graph.channel_length=20 ... reproduced: DIVERGED
  753e2fd5-...  member graph.channel_length=40 ... reproduced: DIVERGED
  reproduced 0/3 members bit-identically                              [exit 1]
  (stable across two runs; the WF-internal sweep family de77bc72-...-s0-0 also 0/3 DIVERGED)
  README: "aura reproduce <family-id> ... check it is bit-identical (the C18/C1 determinism guarantee)."
  Localization: a FRESH identical sweep reproduces the persisted metrics BIT-FOR-BIT
    fresh expectancy_r: 0.009163633325930131 / 0.009069046610003514 / 0.009568962981603747
    persisted        : 0.009163633325930131 / 0.009069046610003514 / 0.009568962981603747
  => the run is deterministic (C1 holds); `aura reproduce`'s re-derivation path
     diverges from how the dissolved-sweep (campaign-generated) family was persisted.

reproduce — BUG B (PANIC on a WalkForward family):
  $ aura reproduce de77bc72-0-GER40-w0-r0-s1-0
  thread 'main' panicked at crates/aura-cli/src/main.rs:1123:39: non-empty OOS window   [exit 101]
  (missing-id path by contrast is clean: `aura reproduce no-such-family-id`
   -> "aura: no such family 'no-such-family-id'"  exit 1)

================================================================================
TASK 4 — surface honesty spot-checks (#168, #28)
================================================================================

#168 — --trace refuses honestly (WORKING):
  $ aura sweep <bp> --real GER40 --axis graph.channel_length=10 --trace mytrace
  aura: --trace is not yet available on sweep; see #224          [exit 2]
  $ aura walkforward <bp> ... --trace mytrace
  aura: --trace is not yet available on walkforward; see #224    [exit 2]
  -> honest forward-pointer, not a silent no-op. WORKING.

#28 — bad blueprint arg to `aura graph` is a usage fault, not a silent sample (WORKING):
  $ aura graph does_not_exist.json
  aura: Usage: aura graph [<blueprint.json>] [build|introspect|register];
        does_not_exist.json is not a readable .json blueprint     [exit 2, 0 bytes stdout]
  $ aura graph notabp.txt
  aura: ... notabp.txt is not a readable .json blueprint          [exit 2, 0 bytes stdout]
  $ aura graph                    (no arg)
  -> renders the built-in sample HTML                             [exit 0, ~1.43MB]

  #28-adjacent friction — op-script (valid JSON, wrong schema) rendered:
  $ aura graph triage_1_ganged_midchannel.ops.json
  aura: ...ops.json: blueprint document is not valid JSON:
        invalid type: map, expected u32 at line 2 column 2        [exit 2, 0 bytes stdout]
  -> exit 2 correct (no silent sample), BUT the file IS valid JSON; the message
     "not valid JSON" misdescribes a schema mismatch. And the render positional does
     NOT shape-discriminate an op-script array the way sibling introspect verbs do
     (--params/--content-id/--identity-id/register accept EITHER shape; render does not).