@ai-dev-methodologies/rlp-desk 0.15.3 → 0.15.5

package/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+# Changelog
+
+All notable changes to `@ai-dev-methodologies/rlp-desk` are documented here. Format follows [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/) and the project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/).
+
+For pre-v0.15.4 versions, refer to `git log` and individual GitHub release notes.
+
+## [Unreleased]
+
+### Planned (not yet shipped)
+- v0.15.5 candidate: flip `RLP_LIFECYCLE_METRICS=1` default to ON (gated on 3 consecutive nightly real-LLM SV passes per `docs/plans/v0.15.4-release-runbook.md` §7.5.2).
+- Post-v0.15.6: remove `RLP_LIFECYCLE_METRICS` flag entirely (per plan v3 ADR follow-ups).
+- Phase D.1 (handoff documents) + Phase D.2 (per-stage agent role specialization) — both deferred per `docs/plans/v0.15.4-release-runbook.md` §7.6.
+
+## [0.15.5] — 2026-06-17
+
+Patch: fixes surfaced by a fresh-context live dogfood of the tmux and agent run modes, plus packaging hygiene.
+
+### Fixed
+- **Curl-install (`install.sh`) produced a Node leader that could not start.** `src/node/MANIFEST.txt` was missing three runtime modules, so a curl-installed `--mode agent` / Node leader threw `ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND` at startup. MANIFEST regenerated. (npm installs were unaffected.)
+- **Tmux-mode leader could hang at startup.** A bare `> "$COST_LOG"` redirect runs zsh's `$NULLCMD` (`cat`), which blocks reading stdin when launched with an open TTY (interactive shell / tmux pane). Changed to `: > "$COST_LOG"`.
+- **Worker sometimes printed the iteration signal instead of writing it.** The per-iteration prompt now explicitly instructs the worker to WRITE the verify signal to the iter-signal file (resolved path in tmux mode).
+- **Clearer error for mis-leveled PRD user-story headings.** When user stories use `###` instead of `## US-NNN` (H2), the Node leader now hints at the correct heading level instead of a bare "No user stories found".
+
+### Added
+- **`clean <slug> [--kill-session]` for the Node CLI.** Resets a campaign — removes sentinels, signal/claim/verdict files, and runtime state, while preserving the PRD, test-spec, prompts, memory, and reports. Previously unimplemented in the Node rewrite, which left a blocked campaign with no recovery path.
+
+### Changed
+- **Smaller published package.** The tarball no longer ships internal research docs, dev planning handoffs, or example runtime state (73 → 53 files, ~364 → ~244 kB).
+
+## [0.15.4] — 2026-05-08
+
+Phase B: tmux/process lifecycle hardening + observability + real-LLM SV strengthening. 4 sequential PRs (B1, B2-FIX, B4, B3) merged to main, plus pre-release audit fix branch addressing 16 findings (3 CRITICAL, 6 HIGH, 5 MEDIUM, 2 LOW).
+
+### Added
+- `RLP_LIFECYCLE_METRICS=1` env flag enables structured tmux/process lifecycle telemetry. Five metrics emitted per iteration:
+  - `iter_signal_write_to_read_ms` — Worker FS write → leader poll resolve
+  - `verdict_write_to_read_ms` — Verifier FS write → leader poll resolve
+  - `pane_eof_to_cleanup_ms` — kill-start → `killPaneProcess` return
+  - `pane_reap_latency_ms` — done-claim observe → pane shell-idle
+  - `sentinel_lock_to_unlock_ms` — per-type, lock vs unlock pair
+  - Default OFF; zero overhead when unset.
+  - Lands in `debug.log` (LIFECYCLE category) and batched per iter into `campaign.jsonl.lifecycle_metrics`.
+- `RLP_DESK_NODE_PATH` env override for SV scenarios. Lets the operator point bug-05 / bug-07 at a source-tree leader (`<repo>/src/node/run.mjs`) for pre-merge AC3.1a sampling.
+- `B3_STAGE2_BLOCKING=1` env flag. Promotes B3 Stage 2 lifecycle-band assertions from non-blocking (informational) to release-blocking. Operator opts in after a 3-night PASS streak per release runbook §7.5.2.
+- `docs/rlp-desk/failure-modes.md` — FMEA-style consolidated failure modes atlas (origin: omc-team Gotchas pattern). 14 entries across 6 categories.
+
+### Fixed
+- Bug #5/7 done-claim race window (PR-B2-FIX). Worker pane is now reaped (`_kill_pane_process`) and `done-claim.json` sentinel locked (`chmod 0o444`) at the moment leader observes done-claim. Previously the pane lingered 30-120s post-write and could revise the artifact.
+  - Four substrate sites fixed: `run_ralph_desk.zsh` codex-exit synth path / A4 fallback inline path / post iter-signal reaper, `campaign-main-loop.mjs` Node leader worker reap.
+- B3 Stage 2 jq false-PASS (audit C1). Pre-compute entry count via `jq flatten | length`; SKIP when zero entries instead of falsely matching `max=0` against the band.
+- B3 scenarios circular pre-merge gate (audit C2). bug-05 / bug-07 honor `RLP_DESK_NODE_PATH`; pre-merge AC3.1a sample is now achievable.
+- A2 dry-run placement (audit C3). Runbook splits into A2 (pre-bump: tolerate EPUBLISHCONFLICT, verify auth + tarball) and A2' (post-bump: strict exit-0 dry-run).
+- A5 trigger-file oracle anchor (audit H1). Uses runtime-derived commit SHA of the prior version-bump commit, not a non-existent `vX.Y.Z` git tag.
+- markLockStart timestamp inversion (audit H3). Moved BEFORE `lockSentinel` chmod in reapProducer so `sentinel_lock_to_unlock_ms` covers full lock duration including chmod execution.
+
+### Strengthened
+- Real-LLM SV scenarios bug-05 (worker-dead-on-reuse) and bug-07 (post-sentinel-race) now run two-stage assertions when invoked with `RLP_LIFECYCLE_METRICS=1`:
+  - Stage 1 (presence): `lifecycle_metrics` field non-null in `campaign.jsonl`.
+  - Stage 2 (value): observed metrics within tolerance bands. Default NON-BLOCKING; flip to BLOCKING via `B3_STAGE2_BLOCKING=1`.
+- bug-06 retains structural-only check ($0 cost; deterministic injection deferred to PR-B5 per ADR follow-ups).
+- New unit tests:
+  - `tests/node/test-sentinel-reaper-invariant.test.mjs` — 6 invariant cases including B2-FIX primary target (case 5: done-claim ALIVE pane → reap).
+  - `tests/node/test-lifecycle-metrics.test.mjs` — 10 LifecycleMetricsCollector cases.
+  - `tests/node/test-campaign-jsonl-shape.test.mjs` — 4 shape contract cases (flag-on/off + sentinel context).
+  - `tests/node/test-b3-band-revalidation.test.mjs` — 17 cases for revalidation harness pure helpers (audit L2).
+  - `tests/node/us006-campaign-main-loop.test.mjs` — Bug-7-C-negative case added (audit M1).
+  - `tests/test_b2fix_sentinel_lock.sh` — 9 zsh PART-A code-pattern + PART-B helper-behavior assertions.
+- sv-gate-fast: 48 → 71 (+23 guards across B2-FIX, B4, B3, audit fixes).
+- Node test suite: 339 → 377 (+38 cases).
+
+### Documentation
+- `docs/plans/v0.15-phase-b-lifecycle-audit.md` — B1 lifecycle audit (sentinel write-attribution, B4 metric proposal, ASCII diagrams). §4.5 appended with empirical revalidation update (audit H4).
+- `docs/plans/v0.15-phase-b-plan-v3.md` — APPROVED ralplan plan v3 (Planner→Architect→Critic).
+- `docs/plans/v0.15-phase-b3-revalidation-findings.md` — pre-merge band revalidation findings (synthetic vs empirical drift, refit table).
+- `docs/plans/v0.15.4-pre-release-audit.md` — operator audit found 16 issues + 4 false positives. §9 per-finding fix status added.
+- `docs/plans/v0.15.4-release-runbook.md` — release runbook with 7-phase pipeline (4 user gates), nightly schedule (§7.5), deferred follow-ups (§7.6 Phase D), failure-mode summary (§8).
+
+### Internal (packaging)
+- npm tarball no longer ships internal planning documents (`docs/plans/`). User-facing reference docs at `docs/rlp-desk/` continue to ship unchanged. `package.json` `files` glob narrowed from `"docs/"` to `"docs/rlp-desk/"`. Saves ~280KB per install.
+
+### Migration notes
+- No breaking changes. Existing 0.15.3 installations should upgrade smoothly via `npm install -g @ai-dev-methodologies/rlp-desk@0.15.4`. The postinstall script unlocks 0o444-protected files before overwriting (per CLAUDE.md upgrade-path EACCES guard).
+- New `RLP_LIFECYCLE_METRICS` env flag defaults OFF — no behavior change for existing pipelines.
+- Real-LLM SV scenarios accept new `RLP_DESK_NODE_PATH` env override but default to installed leader (backwards-compatible).
+
+## [0.15.3] — earlier release
+
+See git log: `git log e0efaba` (chore: bump version to 0.15.3) for the 0.15.3 history.
+
+## Older versions
+
+For changelog-style notes prior to 0.15.4, refer to:
+- `git log <version-bump-commit>` for each `chore: bump version to X.Y.Z` commit
+- GitHub Releases at https://github.com/ai-dev-methodologies/rlp-desk/releases
+- `docs/plans/v0.15-stabilization-plan.md` for v0.15.x stabilization track context
+
+[Unreleased]: https://github.com/ai-dev-methodologies/rlp-desk/compare/v0.15.4...HEAD
+[0.15.4]: https://github.com/ai-dev-methodologies/rlp-desk/compare/v0.15.3...v0.15.4

package/README.md

@@ -524,12 +524,42 @@ mkdir my-calc && cd my-calc
 /rlp-desk run loop-test
 ```
 
+## Lifecycle Observability (v0.15.4+)
+
+Set `RLP_LIFECYCLE_METRICS=1` before invoking the runner to enable structured tmux/process lifecycle telemetry. Default: OFF (zero overhead when unset).
+
+```bash
+RLP_LIFECYCLE_METRICS=1 node ~/.claude/ralph-desk/node/run.mjs run my-slug --mode tmux
+```
+
+When enabled, five metrics are emitted per iteration:
+
+| Metric | Meaning |
+|---|---|
+| `iter_signal_write_to_read_ms` | Worker FS write → leader poll resolve |
+| `verdict_write_to_read_ms` | Verifier FS write → leader poll resolve |
+| `pane_eof_to_cleanup_ms` | Kill-start → `killPaneProcess` return |
+| `pane_reap_latency_ms` | done-claim observe → pane shell-idle |
+| `sentinel_lock_to_unlock_ms` | per sentinel type, lock vs unlock pair |
+
+**Where they land:**
+- `debug.log` — `[LIFECYCLE]` tagged lines (per emission)
+- `campaign.jsonl` — batched `lifecycle_metrics` object per iteration record (canonical authoritative source)
+
+**When to enable:**
+- Investigating tmux race windows or leader-poll latency
+- Pre-merge real-LLM SV scenarios (`bug-05` / `bug-07` two-stage assertions consume this telemetry)
+- Long-running campaigns where lifecycle SLO tracking matters
+
+**See also:** `docs/rlp-desk/failure-modes.md` for known race patterns the metrics catch.
+
 ## Documentation
 
-- [Architecture](docs/architecture.md) — Design philosophy, Agent() and tmux execution modes
-- [Getting Started](docs/getting-started.md) — Step-by-step tutorial with the calculator example
-- [Protocol Reference](docs/protocol-reference.md) — Full protocol specification
-- [Future Plans](docs/TODO-verification-next.md) — P3 items and upcoming features
+- [Architecture](docs/rlp-desk/architecture.md) — Design philosophy, Agent() and tmux execution modes
+- [Getting Started](docs/rlp-desk/getting-started.md) — Step-by-step tutorial with the calculator example
+- [Protocol Reference](docs/rlp-desk/protocol-reference.md) — Full protocol specification
+- [Failure Modes Atlas](docs/rlp-desk/failure-modes.md) — known failure patterns + recovery procedures
+- [Future Plans](docs/rlp-desk/TODO-verification-next.md) — P3 items and upcoming features
 
 ## Contributing
 

package/docs/rlp-desk/failure-modes.md

@@ -0,0 +1,191 @@
+# rlp-desk Failure Modes Atlas
+
+> Origin: 2026-05-08 (audit B-NEW-1, derived from omc-team's "Gotchas" pattern). Single canonical reference for known failure modes across the rlp-desk substrate. Each entry is FMEA-style: cause → symptom → detection → recovery.
+
+This atlas consolidates Bug #5/6/7/8/10 + lifecycle race + sentinel contention failure patterns. New failure modes are added here once verified, with a back-link to the originating bug report or audit doc.
+
+---
+
+## §1 — Subprocess lifecycle (tmux + Worker/Verifier panes)
+
+### F1.1 — Worker pane idle false-positive (Bug #6)
+| Field | Value |
+|---|---|
+| Symptom | Leader marks worker as "no progress" while iter-signal.json was already written |
+| Root cause | Worker TUI returns to idle prompt after writing sentinel; capture-pane shows stasis byte-equality without observing the FS write |
+| Detection | `tests/test-bug6-worker-idle-false-positive.sh`; `_worker_pane_has_signal` short-circuit in `check_no_progress` |
+| Recovery | Existing fix-M short-circuits BLOCKED escalation when iter-signal.json is present. No operator action required |
+| Reference | `src/scripts/run_ralph_desk.zsh` `_worker_pane_has_signal` helper |
+
+### F1.2 — Post-sentinel pane race (Bug #7)
+| Field | Value |
+|---|---|
+| Symptom | Verify-verdict.json mtime drifts 30-120s after leader observes it; iter-N+1 worker dispatched while iter-N verifier's pane is still alive |
+| Root cause | Without explicit teardown, claude/codex TUI continues self-reviewing after sentinel write |
+| Detection | `tests/sv-real-llm/scenarios/bug-07-post-sentinel-race.test.sh` (real-LLM), `tests/node/test-sentinel-reaper-invariant.test.mjs` (unit) |
+| Recovery | `_kill_pane_process` (Bug #7 Fix-Q) at zsh `lib_ralph_desk.zsh:257-272` and Node `pane-manager.mjs:91-116`. `_lock_sentinel` (Fix-R) freezes the file mtime |
+| Reference | Bug #7 PR-A; v0.15.4 PR-B2-FIX extends to done-claim sentinel |
+
+### F1.3 — done-claim race (v0.15.4 PR-B2-FIX target)
+| Field | Value |
+|---|---|
+| Symptom | Worker writes done-claim.json then idles 30-120s before iter-signal.json. Worker may revise done-claim mid-flight; A4 fallback synthesizes signal from a stale done-claim |
+| Root cause | Original Bug #7 Fix-Q only reaped at iter-signal observation. Done-claim was unguarded |
+| Detection | `tests/node/test-sentinel-reaper-invariant.test.mjs` case 5 (done-claim ALIVE pane → kill) |
+| Recovery | `_kill_pane_process` + `_lock_sentinel "$DONE_CLAIM_FILE"` at 4 substrate sites (3 zsh + 1 Node). See `docs/plans/v0.15-phase-b-plan-v3.md` §B2-FIX |
+| Reference | v0.15.4 commit `2b5af6c`; audit `docs/plans/v0.15.4-pre-release-audit.md` §1 C2 |
+
+### F1.4 — Worker dead on reuse (Bug #5)
+| Field | Value |
+|---|---|
+| Symptom | At iter-N+1 entry, leader dispatches into a previously-killed worker pane; tmux returns "can't find pane" |
+| Root cause | `_r12_check_lifecycle` not enforced strictly enough between iters |
+| Detection | `tests/sv-real-llm/scenarios/bug-05-worker-dead-on-reuse.test.sh`; `[r12]` log markers |
+| Recovery | R12 lifecycle monitor at iter-entry: detect dead pane within 5s budget → either replace pane OR write BLOCKED with infra_failure (no silent advance) |
+| Reference | Bug #5 BOS 2026-05-05 |
+
+### F1.5 — Worker incomplete with leader fallback (Bug #8)
+| Field | Value |
+|---|---|
+| Symptom | Codex worker exits without writing iter-signal.json; leader synthesizes one from done-claim, but tree may be dirty |
+| Root cause | Pre-Bug-#8: leader synthesized verify signal whenever done-claim existed, regardless of git state. Caused false PASSes when worker bailed mid-write |
+| Detection | `_bug8_check_synth_allowed` 3-gate (done-claim present + git OK + tree clean); 4 BLOCK_TAGS variants |
+| Recovery | Refuse synthesis on Gate 1/2/3 fail; write BLOCKED sentinel with appropriate failure_category (infra_failure / metric_failure) |
+| Reference | Bug #8 PR-B; src/scripts/run_ralph_desk.zsh L644-695 |
+
+### F1.6 — Operator-recovery artifact mismatch (Bug #10)
+| Field | Value |
+|---|---|
+| Symptom | Operator manually clears BLOCKED sentinel + writes iter-signal/done-claim, but artifacts mismatch status.json or have stale mtime |
+| Root cause | No validation pass when leader resumes from operator-cleared BLOCKED state |
+| Detection | `_validate_operator_recovery_artifacts` 5-gate (file exists, parses, us_id matches, iteration matches, mtime > prompt mtime); `tests/node/test-blocked-recovery-hygiene.test.mjs` |
+| Recovery | Pre-resume validator returns 0 only when all 5 gates pass; sets `RECOVERY_FAIL_REASON` for caller logging on failure |
+| Reference | PR-A Bug #10; lib_ralph_desk.zsh L298-380 |
+
+---
+
+## §2 — Sentinel file contention
+
+### F2.1 — Concurrent write-during-read window
+| Field | Value |
+|---|---|
+| Symptom | Leader's `jq` parse on iter-signal.json fails with "unexpected EOF" when polled mid-write |
+| Root cause | Worker writes sentinel non-atomically; leader's poll catches a partial state |
+| Detection | "JSON not yet valid — continue polling" log entry; `tests/node/test-sentinel-exclusive.mjs` |
+| Recovery | `writeSentinelExclusive` uses O_EXCL; `_lock_sentinel` chmod 0o444 prevents post-observe rewrite; jq -e parse retried on next poll tick |
+| Reference | v5.7 §4.24 file-guarantee contract; sv-gate-fast §4.24 checks |
+
+### F2.2 — Locked sentinel blocks next iter's writer
+| Field | Value |
+|---|---|
+| Symptom | Iter-N+1 worker EACCES on iter-signal.json write because iter-N lock (chmod 0o444) was never released |
+| Root cause | `_unlock_sentinel` not invoked at iter-start |
+| Detection | "Permission denied" in worker stderr; `lib_ralph_desk.zsh` lifecycle test |
+| Recovery | `unlockSentinelFile(paths.signalFile)` + `unlockSentinelFile(paths.verdictFile)` called defensively at every iter start (campaign-main-loop.mjs L1552-1555) |
+| Reference | v5.7 §4.25; campaign-main-loop.mjs unlockSentinelFile call sites |
+
+### F2.3 — Locked file orphans across upgrades
+| Field | Value |
+|---|---|
+| Symptom | npm install of new rlp-desk version EACCES on previously-locked installed files |
+| Root cause | Installed files chmod 0o444 from prior version; postinstall.js attempts straight overwrite |
+| Detection | "EACCES: permission denied" during `npm install` |
+| Recovery | `scripts/postinstall.js:163-167` walks installed dir, chmod 0o644 BEFORE copy; user-facing fallback documented in S1 runbook (`npm uninstall -g` first) |
+| Reference | scripts/postinstall.js unlock-walk; v0.15.4 S1 rollback runbook |
+
+---
+
+## §3 — Telemetry & observability (v0.15.4+)
+
+### F3.1 — lifecycle_metrics field absent (B4 telemetry regression)
+| Field | Value |
+|---|---|
+| Symptom | `campaign.jsonl.lifecycle_metrics` is null even when `RLP_LIFECYCLE_METRICS=1` |
+| Root cause | `LifecycleMetricsCollector` instantiated with wrong env (e.g. options.env shadows process.env) |
+| Detection | `tests/node/test-campaign-jsonl-shape.test.mjs` AC4.3 (flag-set populated case); B3 Stage 1 presence assertion |
+| Recovery | Inject explicit collector via `options.lifecycleMetrics`, OR set `env: { RLP_LIFECYCLE_METRICS: '1' }` in run() options |
+| Reference | v0.15.4 PR-B4 + audit fix C2 |
+
+### F3.2 — Stage 2 false-PASS on absent metric
+| Field | Value |
+|---|---|
+| Symptom | B3 Stage 2 assertion PASSes on band check even when telemetry never emitted |
+| Root cause | jq query collapsed `null|empty` to `max=0`; band check `0 ≤ band` always true |
+| Detection | `tests/node/test-b3-band-revalidation.test.mjs` percentile + bucket cases |
+| Recovery | Pre-compute `entry_count` via flatten\|length; SKIP when 0; only run band check on non-empty data |
+| Reference | v0.15.4 audit C1 fix; commit `21e12ed` |
+
+### F3.3 — sentinel_lock_to_unlock_ms unmeasurable for done-claim
+| Field | Value |
+|---|---|
+| Symptom | Metric never emits for done-claim sentinel even though lock IS applied |
+| Root cause | Production happy-path never calls `unlockSentinelFile(doneClaimFile)`; only signalFile + verdictFile are unlocked at iter start |
+| Detection | Inspection: `lifecycle_metrics.sentinel_lock_to_unlock_ms` array contains iter-signal.json + verify-verdict.json entries but never done-claim.json |
+| Recovery | Documented in `lifecycle-metrics.mjs` markLockStart() — done-claim intentionally excluded from this metric. Future: emit at lib_ralph_desk.zsh:602 archival site if needed |
+| Reference | v0.15.4 audit H2; commit `feb1701` |
+
+### F3.4 — Synthetic baseline drift from production
+| Field | Value |
+|---|---|
+| Symptom | B1 §4.2 synthetic numbers differ from B3 empirical p95 by >25% |
+| Root cause | Synthetic anchored to zsh leader's POLL_INTERVAL=5s; production scenarios run via Node leader (100ms poll). Different leader, different floor |
+| Detection | `tests/sv-real-llm/lib/b3-band-revalidation.mjs` runs 5-iter sandbox + compares |
+| Recovery | Refit `B3_BAND_*_MS` constants in `tests/sv-real-llm/lib/b3-lifecycle-assertions.sh`. See revalidation findings doc |
+| Reference | v0.15.4 audit H4; revalidation doc `docs/plans/v0.15-phase-b3-revalidation-findings.md` |
+
+---
+
+## §4 — Release / packaging
+
+### F4.1 — A2 dry-run before version bump
+| Field | Value |
+|---|---|
+| Symptom | `npm publish --dry-run` exits non-zero with EPUBLISHCONFLICT |
+| Root cause | Plan v6 placed A2 in preflight before Step 2 (version bump). With package.json still at prior version, dry-run targets registry-existing version |
+| Detection | First-time observed in 2026-05-07 release attempt; documented as plan defect |
+| Recovery | Split into A2 (pre-bump: tolerate EPUBLISHCONFLICT exit; verify tarball assembled) + A2' (post-bump: strict exit-0 dry-run) |
+| Reference | v0.15.4 audit C3; runbook §1 + §2 step 2.5 |
+
+### F4.2 — Internal docs leak in npm tarball
+| Field | Value |
+|---|---|
+| Symptom | npm-published tarball ships `docs/plans/*` (internal audit + planning) totaling ~280KB |
+| Root cause | package.json `files` glob entry `"docs/"` was overly broad |
+| Detection | `npm pack --dry-run \| grep "docs/plans"` (M5 verification command) |
+| Recovery | Narrow glob to `"docs/rlp-desk/"`. postinstall.js syncs only from `docs/rlp-desk/`, so this is safe |
+| Reference | v0.15.4 audit M5; commit `d26421e` |
+
+---
+
+## §5 — Add new entries
+
+When a new failure mode is identified:
+1. Pick the smallest existing §N category that fits (or §6 if none)
+2. Use the same field schema (Symptom / Root cause / Detection / Recovery / Reference)
+3. Cross-link to the originating bug doc, audit, or test
+4. Optional: add a sv-gate-fast grep guard to enforce the recovery contract
+
+When a failure mode is permanently retired:
+1. Move to §7 "Retired" (do NOT delete — historical reference)
+2. Note retirement reason (e.g., "design changed in v0.16; replaced by ...")
+
+---
+
+## §6 — Open issues (no recovery yet)
+
+### F6.1 — us006 real-tmux boundary test flakiness
+| Field | Value |
+|---|---|
+| Symptom | `tests/node/us006-campaign-main-loop.test.mjs` AC6.1 boundary case (real tmux session w/ 4 panes) intermittently fails 2-5 of 377 Node suite tests on first run; passes cleanly on retry |
+| Root cause | Real tmux session creation + pane process spawn race: `tmux send-keys` may fire before pane's shell is fully ready, causing `can't find pane` warnings (which are non-fatal but timing-sensitive assertions occasionally trip) |
+| Detection | Observed 2026-05-07 + 2026-05-08 in v0.15.4 release pipeline preflight; first-run fail-count varies 2-5 of 377 |
+| Recovery | Runbook §2 S2 retry-once policy: re-run `npm run test:node`. Second run consistently 377/377 PASS |
+| Reference | v0.15.4 release pipeline observation; runbook §7.5.3 Stage 2 INFO-band-exceeded path is unrelated but uses same retry-once mental model |
+
+**Why "open"**: the flake is in the test, not in production code. Adding retry-once to npm test:node script would mask actual regressions. Better fix: redesign the AC6.1 boundary test to use `wait-for-pane-ready` synchronization before sending keys. Deferred to a future v0.15.x patch — not release-blocking.
+
+---
+
+## §7 — Retired
+
+(none as of 2026-05-08)

package/package.json

@@ -1,10 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "@ai-dev-methodologies/rlp-desk",
-  "version": "0.15.3",
+  "version": "0.15.5",
   "description": "Fresh-context iterative loops for Claude Code — autonomous task completion with independent verification",
   "scripts": {
     "postinstall": "node scripts/postinstall.js",
     "uninstall": "node scripts/uninstall.js",
+    "manifest:check": "node scripts/build-node-manifest.js --check",
+    "prepublishOnly": "node scripts/build-node-manifest.js --check",
     "test:node": "node --test 'tests/node/*.mjs' 'tests/node/*.test.mjs'",
     "test:zsh": "for f in tests/test_*.sh; do echo \"=== $f ===\"; zsh \"$f\" || exit 1; done",
     "test:fast": "npm run test:node",
@@ -19,10 +21,15 @@
     "src/governance.md",
     "src/model-upgrade-table.md",
     "scripts/",
-    "docs/",
-    "examples/",
+    "docs/rlp-desk/*.md",
+    "docs/rlp-desk/blueprints/",
+    "examples/calculator/.claude/ralph-desk/context/",
+    "examples/calculator/.claude/ralph-desk/memos/",
+    "examples/calculator/.claude/ralph-desk/plans/",
+    "examples/calculator/.claude/ralph-desk/prompts/",
     "install.sh",
     "README.md",
+    "CHANGELOG.md",
     "LICENSE"
   ],
   "keywords": [

package/src/node/MANIFEST.txt

@@ -7,9 +7,12 @@ reporting/campaign-reporting.mjs
 run.mjs
 runner/campaign-main-loop.mjs
 runner/leader-registry.mjs
+runner/prompt-detector.mjs
 runner/prompt-dismisser.mjs
 shared/fs.mjs
 shared/paths.mjs
 tmux/pane-manager.mjs
 util/debug-log.mjs
+util/desk-root.mjs
+util/lifecycle-metrics.mjs
 util/shell-quote.mjs

package/src/node/prompts/prompt-assembler.mjs

@@ -150,8 +150,8 @@ export async function assembleWorkerPrompt({
       } else {
         promptLines.push(`- **Test Spec**: Read \`${fullTestSpecPath}\` (full — find ${nextUs} section)`);
       }
-      promptLines.push(`When done, signal verify with us_id="${nextUs}" (not "ALL").`);
-      promptLines.push(`Signal format: {"iteration": N, "status": "verify", "us_id": "${nextUs}", ...}`);
+      promptLines.push(`When done, you MUST WRITE (not just print) the verify signal to the iter-signal FILE — Path: \`memos/<slug>-iter-signal.json\` (see the MANDATORY signal-file instruction in the base prompt).`);
+      promptLines.push(`Write this exact JSON to that file (us_id="${nextUs}", not "ALL"): {"iteration": N, "status": "verify", "us_id": "${nextUs}", "summary": "what was done", "timestamp": "ISO"}`);
       promptLines.push('');
       promptLines.push(`**Update the campaign memory's 'Next Iteration Contract' to reflect ${nextUs}.**`);
     } else if (verifiedUs.length > 0) {

package/src/node/run.mjs

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import fs from 'node:fs';
 import os from 'node:os';
 import path from 'node:path';
-import { spawn } from 'node:child_process';
+import { spawn, spawnSync } from 'node:child_process';
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
 
 import { initCampaign } from './init/campaign-initializer.mjs';
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import { readStatus } from './reporting/campaign-reporting.mjs';
 import {
   run as runCampaignMain,
   detectLegacyDeskInRunMode,
+  buildPaths,
 } from './runner/campaign-main-loop.mjs';
 import { isClaudeEngine } from './cli/command-builder.mjs';
 
@@ -51,7 +52,7 @@ function buildHelpText() {
     '  run <slug> [options]         Run loop (tmux=zsh leader [production], agent=Node leader [deprecated alpha], native=slash-only error)',
     '  status <slug>                Show loop status',
     '  logs <slug> [N]              Show iteration log (not implemented in the Node rewrite yet)',
-    '  clean <slug> [--kill-session] Reset for re-run (not implemented in the Node rewrite yet)',
+    '  clean <slug> [--kill-session] Reset for re-run (removes sentinels + runtime/; preserves PRD/prompts/memory)',
     '  resume <slug>                Resume loop (not implemented in the Node rewrite yet)',
     '',
     'Run Options:',
@@ -217,6 +218,71 @@ async function runStatusCommand(args, deps) {
   return 0;
 }
 
+// D-6 (dogfood): real `clean` for the Node leader. Previously "not implemented",
+// which left a blocked campaign with NO recovery path (a transient parse error
+// wrote a blocked sentinel that bricked re-runs). Removes the transient/terminal
+// state (sentinels, signal/claim/verdict, runtime/) while PRESERVING the durable
+// inputs (PRD, test-spec, prompts, context, memory) and the campaign report.
+async function runCleanCommand(args, deps) {
+  if (args.length === 0 || args[0] === '--help') {
+    write(deps.stdout, 'Usage: node src/node/run.mjs clean <slug> [--kill-session]');
+    return 0;
+  }
+  const slug = args[0];
+  const killSession = args.includes('--kill-session');
+  const paths = buildPaths(deps.cwd, slug);
+
+  // --kill-session: read the session name from runtime/session-config.json
+  // BEFORE removing runtime, then best-effort tmux teardown.
+  if (killSession) {
+    try {
+      const cfgPath = path.join(paths.runtimeDir, 'session-config.json');
+      if (deps.fileExists(cfgPath)) {
+        const cfg = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(cfgPath, 'utf8'));
+        if (cfg && cfg.session_name) {
+          spawnSync('tmux', ['kill-session', '-t', cfg.session_name], { stdio: 'ignore' });
+        }
+      }
+    } catch { /* best-effort */ }
+  }
+
+  const transient = [
+    paths.blockedSentinel,
+    paths.blockedSentinel.replace(/\.md$/, '.json'),
+    paths.completeSentinel,
+    paths.completeSentinel.replace(/\.md$/, '.json'),
+    paths.signalFile,
+    paths.doneClaimFile,
+    paths.verdictFile,
+    paths.flywheelSignalFile,
+    paths.flywheelGuardVerdictFile,
+  ];
+  let removed = 0;
+  for (const target of transient) {
+    try {
+      if (fs.existsSync(target)) {
+        // Sentinels may be chmod 0o444 (write-lock); relax before unlink.
+        try { fs.chmodSync(target, 0o644); } catch { /* ignore */ }
+        fs.rmSync(target, { force: true });
+        removed += 1;
+      }
+    } catch { /* best-effort per-file */ }
+  }
+  try {
+    if (fs.existsSync(paths.runtimeDir)) {
+      fs.rmSync(paths.runtimeDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+      removed += 1;
+    }
+  } catch { /* best-effort */ }
+
+  write(
+    deps.stdout,
+    `Cleaned ${slug}: removed ${removed} transient artifact(s) (sentinels, signal/claim/verdict, runtime/`
+      + `${killSession ? ', tmux session' : ''}). Preserved PRD, test-spec, prompts, context, memory, reports.`,
+  );
+  return 0;
+}
+
 // v0.14.0: Default location of the zsh runner installed by postinstall.js
 // (Phase 3 of the v0.14.0 plan re-enables this sync). Overridable via
 // RLP_DESK_ZSH_RUNNER for development checkouts that point to src/scripts.
@@ -466,9 +532,10 @@ export async function main(argv = process.argv.slice(2), overrides = {}) {
         return await runRunCommand(rest, deps);
       case 'status':
         return await runStatusCommand(rest, deps);
+      case 'clean':
+        return await runCleanCommand(rest, deps);
       case 'brainstorm':
       case 'logs':
-      case 'clean':
       case 'resume':
         throw new Error(`${command} is not implemented in the Node rewrite yet`);
       default: