# Walk-forward param plane: space on the family, tag-free `chosen_params`, schema-checked `param_stability` — Design Spec

**Date:** 2026-06-16
**Status:** Draft — awaiting user spec review
**Authors:** orchestrator + Claude

> Seeding issue: `Brummel/Aura#75`. Overturns the "Fork A" out-of-scope note from
> cycle 0047 (`refactor(aura-core): Scalar as a native tagged enum …`, 86746e3).

## Goal

Make the walk-forward param plane C7-clean and symmetric with the sweep param plane:
the param **kinds** live once on the family (`space: Vec<ParamSpec>`), the per-window
chosen points are tag-free (`Vec<Cell>`), and `param_stability` does its one numeric
coercion against the **schema** (once per slot) instead of against the **value** (once
per window-value, guarded by a per-value `unreachable!`).

This is a single, indivisible, behaviour-preserving (C1) cut. It removes a redundancy
(the param kind, constant per slot, was carried N×M times at the value) and a latent
unsafety (the per-value `unreachable!` re-asserting an invariant the schema already
fixes).

### Why now / why this is not still Fork A

Cycle 0047 kept `WindowRun.chosen_params` as `Vec<Scalar>`, justified by "Scalar is now
serializable, so a `WindowRun` is a self-describing record." That defense does not hold:
`WalkForwardResult` and `WindowRun` carry **no serde derives** — they are never
serialized. Only the embedded `oos_report` (a `RunReport`, already typed via the 0047
`RunManifest.params` lift) is. So `chosen_params` is a **pure in-memory substrate** for
`param_stability`, and the substantive case (C7 purity, `SweepFamily` symmetry, per-value
`unreachable!` elimination) wins over a moot serialization defense — the same
argument-form that retired the `{kind, cell}` Scalar struct in 0047: "it works" does not
beat "it fits structurally."

## Architecture

`SweepFamily` already shows the C7-clean shape in the same crate (`sweep.rs`): the family
owns `space: Vec<ParamSpec>`; each point's coordinate is a tag-free `Vec<Cell>`; the named
view is recombined on demand via `zip_params(&space, point)`. Walk-forward is the lone
asymmetry — it dissolves the point to `Scalar` early and discards the space. This cycle
makes walk-forward share that **idiom** (`space` + tag-free `Cell` points + `zip_params`),
while the two stay **distinct types**: Sweep's axis *is* the param-space (`points[i].params`
is an enumerated **input** coordinate); walk-forward's axis is **time** (C12 axis 3),
`chosen_params` is the inner optimizer's **output**, and the walk-forward family
additionally carries `bounds`, per-window `oos_equity`, and `stitched_oos_equity` — none of
which Sweep has. No unified container, no shared trait: the shared substance is the
convention plus the free function `zip_params`, not the struct.

Three coupled parts, indivisible (β1's `Vec<Cell>` forces [A]'s space-threading, which is
what lets [C]/[D] read kinds from the schema):

- **β1 — data shape.** `WalkForwardResult` gains `space: Vec<ParamSpec>`;
  `WindowRun.chosen_params: Vec<Scalar>` → `Vec<Cell>`.
- **[A] — the `walk_forward` seam.** The `space` is threaded as an explicit by-value
  parameter, *beside* the run-window closure; the `Fn` generic is untouched.
- **[C]/[D] — schema-checked reduction.** `param_stability` builds a per-slot coercer from
  `result.space` *before* a type-blind reduction loop; `scalar_as_f64` and its per-value
  `unreachable!` are deleted.

## Concrete code shapes

### What the cycle delivers (the consuming code, after)

`param_stability` is the one real consumer of `chosen_params`. Its public signature is
**unchanged** (the space is on the result now); its body becomes schema-checked and
type-blind:

```rust
// crates/aura-engine/src/walkforward.rs — param_stability, AFTER
pub fn param_stability(result: &WalkForwardResult) -> Vec<MetricStats> {
    // [C] ONE schema pass, before any reduction: resolve a coercer per slot.
    //     Kind is touched here only — nslots-many times, never per window-value.
    let coerce: Vec<fn(Cell) -> f64> = result
        .space
        .iter()
        .map(|ps| match ps.kind {
            ScalarKind::I64 => (|c: Cell| c.i64() as f64) as fn(Cell) -> f64,
            ScalarKind::F64 => |c: Cell| c.f64(),
            // [D] Bool -> 0/1 keeps the coercer TOTAL over the knob kinds
            //     (mean = fraction "on"). Timestamp is never a knob (C20) -> a
            //     single schema-level unreachable, not a per-value one.
            ScalarKind::Bool => |c: Cell| c.bool() as i64 as f64,
            ScalarKind::Timestamp => unreachable!("timestamp is a structural axis (C20), never a param knob"),
        })
        .collect();

    // The reduction loop is now type-blind: no kind, no match, no per-value unreachable.
    coerce
        .iter()
        .enumerate()
        .map(|(slot, f)| {
            let vals: Vec<f64> =
                result.windows.iter().map(|w| f(w.run.chosen_params[slot])).collect();
            MetricStats::from_values(&vals)
        })
        .collect()
}
```

### North-star slice — the one production caller, after

`walkforward_family` (in `aura-cli`) is the real walk-forward author surface. With β1 +
[A] its closure gets *simpler* — it no longer reconstructs `Scalar`s, and the space is
computed once:

```rust
// crates/aura-cli/src/main.rs — walkforward_family, AFTER
fn walkforward_family() -> WalkForwardResult {
    // ... sources, span, roller ...
    let space = sample_blueprint_with_sinks().0.param_space(); // ONCE; same blueprint every window
    walk_forward(roller, space, |w: WindowBounds| {
        let is_family = sweep_over(w.is.0, w.is.1);
        let best = optimize(&is_family, "total_pips").expect("total_pips is a known metric");
        let (oos_equity, oos_report) = run_oos(&best.params, w.oos.0, w.oos.1);
        WindowRun {
            chosen_params: best.params, // already Vec<Cell>; the from_cell+zip map is gone
            oos_equity,
            oos_report,
        }
    })
}
```

The typed-but-tag-free shape is what a downstream walk-forward consumer reads: the named
view is `zip_params(&result.space, &result.windows[i].run.chosen_params)` — exactly the
`SweepFamily::named_params` idiom. (An inherent `WalkForwardResult::named_params` mirroring
it is a natural follow-on, **out of scope** for this cycle.)

### Before → after, per load-bearing change

**1. The two structs (β1).**

```rust
// walkforward.rs — BEFORE
pub struct WindowRun {
    pub chosen_params: Vec<Scalar>,
    pub oos_equity: Vec<(Timestamp, f64)>,
    pub oos_report: RunReport,
}
pub struct WalkForwardResult {
    pub windows: Vec<WindowOutcome>,
    pub stitched_oos_equity: Vec<(Timestamp, f64)>,
}

// AFTER
pub struct WindowRun {
    pub chosen_params: Vec<Cell>,          // tag-free coordinate (kind lives on the family)
    pub oos_equity: Vec<(Timestamp, f64)>,
    pub oos_report: RunReport,
}
pub struct WalkForwardResult {
    pub space: Vec<ParamSpec>,             // the kinds, once (mirrors SweepFamily.space)
    pub windows: Vec<WindowOutcome>,
    pub stitched_oos_equity: Vec<(Timestamp, f64)>,
}
```

`WindowOutcome` (`{ bounds, run }`) is unchanged. The derives on both structs
(`Clone, Debug, PartialEq`) are unchanged — no serde is added (the structs are not
serialized; `ParamSpec` already derives `PartialEq`/`Eq`).

**2. The `walk_forward` seam ([A]).**

```rust
// walkforward.rs — BEFORE
pub fn walk_forward<F>(roller: WindowRoller, run_window: F) -> WalkForwardResult
where F: Fn(WindowBounds) -> WindowRun + Sync { /* … */ }

fn walk_forward_with_threads<F>(roller: WindowRoller, nthreads: usize, run_window: F) -> WalkForwardResult
where F: Fn(WindowBounds) -> WindowRun + Sync { /* … */ }

// AFTER — space is a sibling parameter; the Fn bound is IDENTICAL
pub fn walk_forward<F>(roller: WindowRoller, space: Vec<ParamSpec>, run_window: F) -> WalkForwardResult
where F: Fn(WindowBounds) -> WindowRun + Sync { /* … */ }

fn walk_forward_with_threads<F>(roller: WindowRoller, space: Vec<ParamSpec>, nthreads: usize, run_window: F) -> WalkForwardResult
where F: Fn(WindowBounds) -> WindowRun + Sync {
    // … collect bounds, run_indexed (UNCHANGED — space is never captured by the Sync closure) …
    debug_assert!(
        runs.iter().all(|r| r.chosen_params.len() == space.len()),
        "every window's chosen point must match the param-space arity (same blueprint)"
    );
    WalkForwardResult { space, windows, stitched_oos_equity } // space moved in at the end
}
```

The space is schema metadata, passed by value and moved onto the result; it is never
captured by the `Sync` run-window closure, so `run_indexed` (the parallelism core,
`sweep.rs`) needs **zero** change. The `debug_assert` guards the one new caller contract:
the externally-supplied `space` must match the closure-produced points' arity — guaranteed
because every window runs the same blueprint, so its param-space (arity + kinds) is
identical (the bootstrap invariant the current code already relies on when it reads
`nslots` from the first window).

**3. `scalar_as_f64` is deleted.** The per-value coercion + `unreachable!`
(`walkforward.rs` ~`:254`) is removed entirely; the schema-pass coercer in `param_stability`
replaces it.

## Components

- **`crates/aura-engine/src/walkforward.rs`** — the bulk. Struct defs (`WindowRun`,
  `WalkForwardResult`); `walk_forward` / `walk_forward_with_threads` signatures + bodies
  (+ the arity `debug_assert`); `param_stability` rewrite (schema-pass + type-blind loop);
  delete `scalar_as_f64`. Imports gain `ParamSpec`; the `chosen_params` path no longer
  needs `Scalar`. The in-file test fixtures migrate (see Testing strategy).
- **`crates/aura-cli/src/main.rs`** — `walkforward_family`: compute `space` once at the top,
  pass it to `walk_forward`, simplify the closure to `chosen_params: best.params`. The other
  `WalkForwardResult` readers in this file (`result.windows` → `oos_report`,
  `result.stitched_oos_equity` → total pips) are **unaffected** — they never touch
  `chosen_params` or `space`.
- **`crates/aura-registry/src/lineage.rs`** — reads `result.windows[..].run.oos_report`
  only; **unaffected** (verified: no `chosen_params` / `space` reader). Listed so the
  planner confirms it during implement.

## Data flow

- **Kinds (schema):** caller `bp.param_space()` → `walk_forward(space, …)` → moved onto
  `WalkForwardResult.space`. Computed once; identical for every window (same blueprint).
- **Points (values):** run-window closure → `best.params` (`Vec<Cell>`, the sweep winner)
  → `WindowRun.chosen_params`. Tag-free; never carries a kind.
- **Reduction:** `param_stability` reads kinds from `result.space` (once per slot → coercer
  table) and values from `result.windows[*].run.chosen_params[slot]` (per window) →
  `MetricStats::from_values`.
- **Named view (existing idiom, on demand):** `zip_params(&result.space, &chosen_params)`
  recombines slot names with typed values — the same mechanism `SweepFamily::named_params`
  uses.

## Error handling

- **Arity coupling:** a `debug_assert` in `walk_forward_with_threads` checks every window's
  `chosen_params.len() == space.len()`. No release-mode runtime error variant is added — a
  mismatch is a wiring bug (caller passed the wrong blueprint's space), surfaced like the
  engine's other "checked at wiring" violations.
- **Non-numeric slot:** `Bool` is handled (→ 0/1), not an error. `Timestamp` in a param
  slot is structurally impossible (C20: a timestamp is a structural axis, never a numeric
  knob), so the schema pass carries a single `unreachable!` on that arm — reached once per
  slot at most, never per window-value. This replaces the old per-value `unreachable!`.
- No new `CompileError` / runtime-error variants; no change to any error type.

## Testing strategy

Behaviour-preserving (C1): the migration re-spells fixtures, not values.

- **Existing tests stay green, adapted to the new shapes:**
  - `walk_forward_runs_one_window_per_split_in_roll_order` and
    `walk_forward_is_deterministic_across_thread_counts` — thread the new `space` argument
    into the `walk_forward` / `walk_forward_with_threads` calls; the run-window fixture's
    `WindowRun` now yields `chosen_params: Vec<Cell>` (`Scalar::i64/f64(x)` →
    `Cell::from_i64/from_f64(x)`). Window bounds / determinism assertions are unchanged.
  - `param_stability_reduces_chosen_params_per_slot` — the `WindowRun` literals use `Cell`
    points and the `WalkForwardResult` literal gains a two-slot `space` fixture
    (`ParamSpec { name, kind: I64 }`, `ParamSpec { name, kind: F64 }`). The asserted
    `MetricStats` are **identical** (the `I64→f64` / `F64` coercions are value-identical to
    the deleted `scalar_as_f64`).
- **One genuinely new behaviour — the `Bool → 0/1` arm.** No built-in grid produces a
  `Bool` param, so add a focused `param_stability` test with a `Bool` slot in `space` and
  `Cell::from_bool` points across windows, asserting `mean` = the fraction of `true`
  windows. This keeps the new coercer arm non-dead and tested.
- **The four project gates:** `cargo build --workspace --all-targets`;
  `cargo test --workspace`; `cargo clippy --workspace --all-targets -- -D warnings`;
  `cargo doc --workspace --no-deps` — all clean.

## Acceptance criteria

1. `WindowRun.chosen_params` is `Vec<Cell>`; `WalkForwardResult` has `space: Vec<ParamSpec>`;
   neither struct gains a serde derive.
2. `walk_forward` and `walk_forward_with_threads` take `space: Vec<ParamSpec>` by value; the
   `Fn(WindowBounds) -> WindowRun + Sync` bound is unchanged; `run_indexed` is unchanged.
3. `walkforward_family` computes the space once and passes `chosen_params: best.params`
   (no `from_cell` reconstruction).
4. `param_stability` reads `result.space`, builds a per-slot coercer before a type-blind
   reduction loop, and contains no per-value `unreachable!`; `scalar_as_f64` is deleted.
   Its public signature is unchanged.
5. The arity `debug_assert` is present in `walk_forward_with_threads`.
6. The three existing walk-forward tests are green with **identical** `MetricStats`; the new
   `Bool`-slot `param_stability` test is green.
7. All four gates clean.
8. Spot-check greps: `scalar_as_f64` absent from `crates/`; no `unreachable!` in a per-value
   path in `walkforward.rs`; `WindowRun.chosen_params: Vec<Cell>`; `WalkForwardResult` has
   `space: Vec<ParamSpec>`.