refactor: drop cross-project spec-validation parser machinery

The fence-label -> parser fact, the specify/grounding-check/planner
parse gates, the parse-trace attestation, and all their cross-references
served a single real user (ailang). Convention over configuration: the
generic machinery is removed plugin-wide; the one consumer carries an
equivalent project-local directive in its own CLAUDE.md.

Archive under docs/plans and docs/specs left intact as time documents.
This commit is contained in:
2026-06-15 10:13:13 +02:00
parent 26e9630496
commit 82cd9eafb2
9 changed files with 26 additions and 110 deletions
+2 -5
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@@ -92,9 +92,6 @@ project's own `CLAUDE.md` under `## Skills plugin: project facts`:
- Regression scripts; architect sweeps
- Design ledger / glossary / contracts / models / bench / public
interface / fieldtest-examples paths
- Spec-validation parsers (fence label → `{ext, cmd}`, `cmd` carrying
the `{file}` placeholder; a label with no entry is a documented
skip, never a silent pass)
- Per-role standing reading
- Issue-tracker repo slug + list / show commands
- Spec auto-sign (off by default)
@@ -115,8 +112,8 @@ auto-sign in its CLAUDE.md project facts.
With it on, the orchestrator may sign a spec in the user's place, but
never on its own confidence. Signing requires two stages to clear:
- **Objective gates** — the precondition gate, the parse-every-block
gate, and a `grounding-check` `PASS` with no human override.
- **Objective gates** — the precondition gate and a `grounding-check`
`PASS` with no human override.
- **A unanimous adversarial panel** — the `spec-skeptic` agent
dispatched five times in parallel, one per lens (`criterion`,
`grounding`, `scope-fork`, `ambiguity`, `plan-readiness`), each
+2 -3
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@@ -112,7 +112,6 @@ Under `## Skills plugin: project facts`, where applicable:
| **doc-build command** | docwriter | Optional; prints warnings on stderr. |
| **regression scripts** | audit (bencher) | Optional list; non-zero exit = regress. |
| **architect sweeps** | audit (architect) | Optional list; non-zero exit = drift suspicion. |
| **spec-validation parsers** | specify, grounding-check | Optional; fence-label → `{ext, cmd}` table. `cmd` MUST contain `{file}`. Absent label → documented skip, never silent pass. |
| **design ledger** | architect, most agents | Optional path (e.g. `design/INDEX.md`). |
| **glossary** | every role | Optional path; implicitly standing reading. |
| **design contracts / models** | docwriter, specify | Optional dirs. Aspirational-source frontmatter marker recommended (see below). |
@@ -140,5 +139,5 @@ validated-against: <commit-sha | "no validation">
When the marker is absent the signal is simply absent — `specify`
degrades to treating the content as unmarked, never hard-failing.
Content lifted from an aspirational source is flagged and must clear
the parse-every-block gate before it ships in a spec.
Content lifted from an aspirational source is flagged as a target,
not verified fact, before it ships in a spec.
+2 -2
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@@ -80,8 +80,8 @@ project's `CLAUDE.md` under `## Skills plugin: project facts`:
code roots, build / test / lint / doc-build commands, regression
scripts, architect sweeps, design-ledger / glossary / contracts /
models / bench / public-interface / fieldtest-examples paths,
spec-validation parsers, by-role standing reading, the issue-tracker
repo slug and commands, and spec auto-sign. The template is in
by-role standing reading, the issue-tracker repo slug and commands,
and spec auto-sign. The template is in
`../templates/CLAUDE.md.fragment`; the per-fact reference is the
table in `conventions.md`.
+2 -3
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@@ -98,9 +98,8 @@ Hard-gate before plan — the spec-production core and the carrier of the
"no plan without an approved spec" invariant. Takes a settled design
(directly from sources, or a ratified design handed over by
`brainstorm`), applies the feature-acceptance criterion, writes the
spec to `docs/specs`, runs the parse-every-block and
`grounding-check` gates, and takes user sign-off — with review but no
interview. Bounces to `brainstorm` the moment the sources do not
spec to `docs/specs`, runs the `grounding-check` gate, and takes user
sign-off — with review but no interview. Bounces to `brainstorm` the moment the sources do not
resolve a load-bearing design decision. A core node — the
spec-production gate before `planner` on every design path.
-21
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@@ -221,22 +221,6 @@ Before handing the plan off, run this checklist inline:
so "nothing ran" cannot masquerade as "nothing
regressed". This is a recurring defect family — scrub
every Run step whose assertion lives in a filter string.
9. **Parse-the-bytes-you-inline gate.** Every verbatim code body
the plan inlines into a task step must be run through the
spec-validation parsers the project declares in its CLAUDE.md
project facts, following the parser-invocation protocol in
`docs/conventions.md` (which owns the no-parser skip, the
malformed-entry failure, and the no-op when the project
declares no spec-validation parsers) before
hand-off. The target is the surface-language snippets the plan
lifts verbatim (example programs, fixtures); the project's
source-language test / implementation bodies are NOT the
target — the `implement` compile gate catches those. A parse
failure is a plan failure — the plan would hand the
implementer bytes that do not parse, the last defensive line
before dispatch — fix the plan, do not hand off. The
parse-trace goes into the planner's self-review activity (the
session) as the attestation the gate fired.
Fix issues inline.
@@ -268,7 +252,6 @@ The planner skill does not perform the commit itself.
| "Step 5 'implement the parser' is fine, I'll detail it at execution time" | Then it's not a step, it's a wish. Steps are bite-sized OR the plan isn't done. |
| "Task 7 is similar to Task 4, just say so" | The executor may read tasks out of order. Repeat the code. |
| "The spec has a TBD too, I can pass it through" | Bounce back to `specify`. Plans inherit spec gaps; spec gaps are not plan placeholders. |
| "The example program came straight from the spec, it must be valid" | The spec's code blocks are hypotheses, not verified bytes — specify's parse gate can be skipped and a post-spec edit can break them. Re-parse every surface-language body you inline against the spec-validation parsers the project declares in its CLAUDE.md project facts; this is the last line before the implementer hits it (issue #1 Fix 4). |
## Red Flags — STOP
@@ -279,10 +262,6 @@ The planner skill does not perform the commit itself.
- Step descriptions longer than the code they describe
- Header missing parent spec reference
- Self-review skipped because "the plan looks fine"
- A task step inlining a surface-language code body whose fence
label has a project-declared spec-validation parser (its
CLAUDE.md project facts), handed off without a parse-trace in
the planner session
## Cross-references
+9 -25
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@@ -17,8 +17,7 @@ planner consumes: with review, but **without an interview**.
It is the **sole home of the spec-production gates**: the
feature-acceptance criterion, the write-spec step, the
parse-every-block self-review, the `grounding-check` hard-gate, and
the user-review gate. Whichever way design work enters — fresh
`grounding-check` hard-gate, and the user-review gate. Whichever way design work enters — fresh
through `brainstorm`'s discovery, or directly from sources that
already resolve the design — it passes through `specify` to become a
spec. `specify` carries the universal invariant **no plan without an
@@ -62,7 +61,7 @@ Triggers:
**Skipping a gate is never permitted.** The interview is `brainstorm`'s,
and its absence here is the whole point — but the *production gates*
(criterion, parse-every-block, grounding-check, user-review) are
(criterion, grounding-check, user-review) are
non-negotiable regardless of how the work entered. "The issue looks
exhaustive, skip the grounding-check" is the reactive-deference failure
this skill must not reintroduce.
@@ -73,7 +72,7 @@ this skill must not reintroduce.
THE SOURCES MUST RESOLVE EVERY LOAD-BEARING DESIGN DECISION BEFORE THE SPEC IS WRITTEN.
IF WRITING THE SPEC FORCES A CHOICE BETWEEN PLAUSIBLE DESIGNS THE SOURCES DO NOT RESOLVE,
STOP AND BOUNCE TO brainstorm. DO NOT SILENTLY PICK ONE.
THE PRODUCTION GATES — ACCEPTANCE CRITERION, PARSE-EVERY-BLOCK, GROUNDING-CHECK, USER-REVIEW —
THE PRODUCTION GATES — ACCEPTANCE CRITERION, GROUNDING-CHECK, USER-REVIEW —
ARE NON-NEGOTIABLE REGARDLESS OF ENTRY PATH.
NO PLAN, SCAFFOLDING, OR DOWNSTREAM SKILL UNTIL THE SPEC IS APPROVED — BY THE USER, OR
(ONLY UNDER /boss WITH spec_auto_sign ENABLED) BY THE AUTO-SIGN GATE: ALL OBJECTIVE GATES GREEN
@@ -100,8 +99,7 @@ Before producing anything, establish what the sources actually say:
files the design touches — rather than re-deriving it.
- If the project has a design ledger (its CLAUDE.md project facts),
walk to the contracts the work touches. Note any `status:
aspirational` source: its code is a target, not verified fact
track it for the Step-4 parse gate.
aspirational` source: its code is a target, not verified fact.
### Step 1.5 — Precondition gate (bounce-back)
@@ -203,8 +201,8 @@ surface so no code to show" is the rationalisation to refuse.
**Code lifted from an aspirational source is a hypothesis, not
evidence.** If the concrete code here is lifted from a design-models
file (or any `status: aspirational` source, per Step 1), it carries no
validation by default. Treat it as the spec's most suspect bytes: it
must clear the Step-4 parse-every-block gate before PASS.
validation by default. Treat it as the spec's most suspect bytes: flag
it as a target, not verified fact.
### Step 3 — Write the spec
@@ -258,15 +256,6 @@ Inline checklist (not a subagent dispatch):
carry before → after code for every load-bearing change (plus the
worked user-facing example for a surface cycle)? A load-bearing
change described only in prose is a self-review failure to fix.
6. **Parse-every-block gate.** Extract every fenced code block and run
it through the spec-validation parsers the project declares in its
CLAUDE.md project facts (a fence label with no parser is a documented
skip, never a silent pass; a malformed entry fails closed; the whole
gate is a no-op when the project declares no parsers). A parse
failure is a self-review failure — fix the spec; do not pass
unparsed bytes downstream. Paste the parse-trace into the chat: a
visible trace attests the gate fired; its absence means it was
skipped.
Fix issues inline.
@@ -363,8 +352,7 @@ CLAUDE.md project facts):
fork was silently picked (if one had been, `specify` would have
bounced, so reaching here is the evidence; do not re-decide it).
- Step 4 self-review clean, **including the placeholder scan** (no
`TBD` / `TODO` / incomplete section) and a pasted parse-trace
for every configured-label block.
`TBD` / `TODO` / incomplete section).
- Step 5 `grounding-check` returned **`PASS`** — *not* an
overridden `BLOCK`. An override needs a human; with no human in
the loop a `BLOCK` can never be overridden, so any non-`PASS`
@@ -480,9 +468,8 @@ discipline `tdd` applies when behaviour is not test-specifiable.
| "There's a small open fork but the sources mostly decide it — I'll pick the rest" | "Mostly decided" with one real fork left is an unresolved design, and a guessed design baked into a spec is harder to dislodge than an open question. That is the bounce-back trigger — stop and go to `brainstorm`. |
| "Genuine doubt whether the sources resolve this — but bouncing feels like overkill" | Doubt about whether the sources resolve a decision *is* the fork signal. It resolves to a bounce, not a guess. The bounce is cheap (nothing is written yet); a wrong guess in a ratified spec is not. |
| "The shape is clear from the prose, I don't need to paste the code" | If it's clear, pasting it is free; if pasting it is hard, it wasn't clear. The acceptance criterion is unjudgeable without the worked code. |
| "The block obviously parses — I wrote it carefully" | Careful authoring is not a parse. A spec's code blocks are hypotheses until the live tool accepts them. If a parser is configured for the fence label, run it and paste the trace. |
| "Just polishing a wording after PASS, no need to re-dispatch" | The grounding-check report attests to specific bytes. A polish edit changes the bytes; the attestation no longer covers them. Re-dispatch is cheap. |
| "It's in a model doc / the design ledger, so it's canonical" | A `models` / RFC / proposal doc holds aspirational code — a target, not verified fact. Code lifted from a `status: aspirational` source must clear the Step-4 parse gate like any other block. |
| "It's in a model doc / the design ledger, so it's canonical" | A `models` / RFC / proposal doc holds aspirational code — a target, not verified fact. Flag code lifted from a `status: aspirational` source as such; it is not ratified contract. |
| "In `/boss` with auto-sign on, this spec looks solid — I'll sign and move on" | Your sense that it looks solid is the exact signal the auto-sign gate refuses to trust. Signing requires all objective gates green AND a unanimous `spec-skeptic` panel. If you find yourself wanting to sign on confidence, that is the cue to run the gate, not to skip it. |
| "One lens blocked on something minor — I'll sign anyway since the rest passed" | The panel is unanimous-or-nothing by design. You never *sign over* a `BLOCK`. An editorial `BLOCK` you may *repair* (within the ≤ 2-round budget, with a full re-panel after); a design `BLOCK` routes to the human. Neither is overruling a juror — that is the whole point of replacing your eye with five independent ones. |
@@ -492,11 +479,8 @@ discipline `tdd` applies when behaviour is not test-specifiable.
- "The sources are thorough, skip a gate" thoughts (any flavour)
- A load-bearing change described in prose with no before → after code
block; a surface cycle with no worked user-facing example
- A spec carrying a code block whose fence label has a spec-validation
parser (the project's CLAUDE.md project facts), committed without a
parse-trace in the chat
- Lifting code verbatim from a `status: aspirational` source without
flagging it for the Step-4 parse gate
flagging it as a target, not verified fact
- Editing the spec file after a Step 5 PASS without re-dispatching
- (auto-sign) About to sign a spec in the user's place on confidence —
without all objective gates green AND a unanimous `spec-skeptic`
+7 -38
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@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
---
name: grounding-check
description: Read-only grounding-check reviewer for spec drafts. Dispatched by the specify skill in Step 5, between linguistic self-review and user-approval. Reads the draft with fresh context, extracts its load-bearing assumptions about current codebase behaviour, and for each one searches the workspace for a currently-green test that ratifies it; also validates the spec's own fenced code blocks against the spec-validation parsers the project declares in its CLAUDE.md project facts. Reports PASS or BLOCK. Does NOT propose fixes, does NOT edit files.
description: Read-only grounding-check reviewer for spec drafts. Dispatched by the specify skill in Step 5, between linguistic self-review and user-approval. Reads the draft with fresh context, extracts its load-bearing assumptions about current codebase behaviour, and for each one searches the workspace for a currently-green test that ratifies it. Reports PASS or BLOCK. Does NOT propose fixes, does NOT edit files.
tools: Read, Glob, Grep, Bash
---
@@ -138,9 +138,8 @@ mechanism strongly.
EXTRACT ASSUMPTIONS FROM THE SPEC, NOT FROM YOUR MEMORY.
RATIFICATION REQUIRES A NAMED, CURRENTLY-GREEN TEST. NOT CODE PRESENCE. NOT RECALL.
ONE UNRATIFIED LOAD-BEARING ASSUMPTION = BLOCK. NO PARTIAL CREDIT.
ONE SPEC CODE BLOCK THAT FAILS ITS PROJECT-DECLARED PARSER = BLOCK.
YOU DO NOT EDIT FILES. YOU DO NOT PROPOSE FIXES.
YOU DO NOT RUN THE FULL TEST SUITE. (TEST LIST, TYPE-CHECK, AND PER-BLOCK PARSER RUNS ARE OK.)
YOU DO NOT RUN THE FULL TEST SUITE. (TEST LIST AND TYPE-CHECK ARE OK.)
```
## The Process
@@ -167,30 +166,12 @@ YOU DO NOT RUN THE FULL TEST SUITE. (TEST LIST, TYPE-CHECK, AND PER-BLOCK PARSER
4. Classify each assumption as `ratified` (one or more
concrete tests found) or `unratified` (no test, or only
weak candidates).
5. **Code-block parse pass.** If the project declares
spec-validation parsers (its CLAUDE.md project facts),
extract every fenced code block
from the spec. For each block whose fence label has a
declared parser: write it to a temp file with the parser's
`ext`, run the parser's `cmd` with `{file}` substituted, and
require exit 0. A non-zero exit marks the block unparseable.
A block whose fence label has no parser is skipped and noted
("no parser for fence label X"); never a silent pass. If the
project declares no spec-validation parsers, this pass is a
documented no-op. This pass is complementary to the
assumption search: it checks the spec's own bytes against the
live tool, not the codebase's behaviour — and it is
independent of the orchestrator's own Step-7 parse gate, the
fresh-context second line of the same defense.
6. Compute aggregate status:
- All assumptions ratified AND every block whose fence label
has a declared parser parsed clean → `PASS`.
- One or more unratified assumptions, OR one or more
unparseable code blocks → `BLOCK`.
5. Compute aggregate status:
- All assumptions ratified → `PASS`.
- One or more unratified assumptions → `BLOCK`.
- Any infra error (cannot read spec, type-check fails,
workspace does not build, a declared parser command is
missing from PATH) → `INFRA_ERROR`.
7. Emit the report in the format below.
workspace does not build) → `INFRA_ERROR`.
6. Emit the report in the format below.
The process is bounded by your dispatch context. If
extraction yields more than ~20 candidate assumptions, stop
@@ -237,15 +218,6 @@ Unratified assumptions:
would have>
(Repeat per unratified assumption. Omit this block entirely on PASS.)
Unparseable code blocks:
- Block: <fence label, §section / line ref>
Parser: <cmd run, with {file} resolved>
Failure: <exit code + first error line of the parser output>
(Repeat per unparseable block. Omit this block entirely when none
failed. A "no parser for fence label X" skip is noted here as a
single line, not a failure.)
```
On `INFRA_ERROR`, only the first two lines are required,
@@ -266,7 +238,6 @@ the assumption-extraction step yields an empty list, emit
| "I extracted too many assumptions, let me trim the report" | Don't trim. If a spec has too many assumptions to check, that is the finding — report it as BLOCK with reason "spec too broad". |
| "The orchestrator will override if I block, so I'll lean toward PASS" | The override is the orchestrator's job, not yours. Your job is to be the fresh-context check. Skewing toward PASS defeats the whole role. |
| "I'll run the full test suite to see which tests are actually green" | You may NOT run the full test suite. Use the project's test-list command to enumerate, then read test bodies. Running tests would mutate workspace state and is out of scope for a read-only review. |
| "The code block is just illustrative, not a claim about behaviour" | A spec code block whose fence label has a project-declared parser is a hypothesis the downstream plan will lift verbatim. Illustrative or not, if it does not parse it is a defect. Run the parser and report the failure. |
## Red Flags — STOP
@@ -278,8 +249,6 @@ the assumption-extraction step yields an empty list, emit
it
- About to mark an assumption ratified based on code
presence rather than test presence
- About to PASS a spec carrying a code block whose fence label
has a project-declared parser without having run that parser
- About to skip an assumption because "it would always be
true"
- Report exceeding ~500 tokens
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@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ YOUR DEFAULT POSTURE IS REFUTATION, NOT APPROVAL.
WHEN YOU CANNOT DECIDE AFTER A HONEST SEARCH, BLOCK. THERE IS NO PARTIAL CREDIT.
`grounding` RATIFICATION REQUIRES A NAMED, CURRENTLY-GREEN TEST. NOT CODE PRESENCE. NOT RECALL.
YOU DO NOT EDIT FILES. YOU DO NOT PROPOSE FIXES.
YOU DO NOT RUN THE FULL TEST SUITE. (TEST LIST, TYPE-CHECK, PER-BLOCK PARSER RUNS ARE OK.)
YOU DO NOT RUN THE FULL TEST SUITE. (TEST LIST, TYPE-CHECK ARE OK.)
```
## The Process
@@ -209,5 +209,5 @@ On `INFRA_ERROR`, the first three lines plus a brief `Detail:` line.
- About to lean toward `SOUND` because the orchestrator seems
confident or the spec reads smoothly
- About to run the project's full test suite (test-list / type-check
/ per-block parser only)
only)
- Report exceeding ~300 tokens
-11
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@@ -129,17 +129,6 @@ that does not apply.
bench, is forbidden to it). Example: `README.md, docs, examples`.
- **Fieldtest examples** — optional path where the `fieldtester` writes
fixtures. Example: `examples/fieldtest`.
- **Spec-validation parsers** — optional. A fence-label → parser table
the `specify` parse-gate and `grounding-check` use to validate spec
code blocks. A block whose label has no entry is a documented skip,
never a silent pass. `cmd` MUST contain the `{file}` placeholder.
Example:
| Fence label | Temp ext | Command |
|-------------|----------|---------|
| `ail` | `.ail` | `ail check {file}` |
| `ail-json` | `.ail.json`| `ail check {file}` |
- **By-role standing reading** — optional. Extra files/commands a
specific agent role reads on every dispatch, beyond the universal
`CLAUDE.md` + `git log -10`. Role names match agent slugs (`architect`,