@garygentry/feature-forge 0.3.5 → 0.3.6

package/adapters/copilot/references/ralph-loop-contract.md

@@ -156,11 +156,13 @@ to today. Degradation is **silent, not an error**, keeping alternate (non-rauf)
 runners first-class. The gate condition is owned by
 `02-config-schema-and-gating.md`.
 
-Independently, the **version gate** floors at the runner version that ships the
-agent surface. For rauf that is **0.6.0** (`loopRunner.minRunnerVersion`): the
-`--agent` flag, the `agents` probe, and the preset agent registry are present in
-rauf source at 0.6.0. A successful gate therefore guarantees those surfaces
-exist before any run. See `## Version gating` and
+Independently, the **version gate** floors at the runner version the stage
+depends on. For rauf that is **0.14.0** (`loopRunner.minRunnerVersion`): the
+version the package pins and the floor for full needs-human recovery (0.14's
+`backlog answer`). The agent surface — the `--agent` flag, the `agents` probe,
+and the preset agent registry — has been present since rauf 0.6.0 and is
+subsumed by the higher floor, so a successful gate guarantees both the recovery
+and agent surfaces exist before any run. See `## Version gating` and
 `05-runner-discovery-version-gate.md`.
 
 **This document — the `## Agent selection` section, the `## Per-stage agent
@@ -210,9 +212,11 @@ belongs to execution only. If you find yourself adding `--agent` near a
 
 feature-forge requires a runner exposing `backlog validate` + backlog
 `schemaVersion`, and the unified exit-code/status contract it reads. The floor is
-now the **agent-surface floor**: the runner version that ships the `--agent`
-flag, the `agents` probe, and the preset agent registry. For rauf that is
-**0.6.0** (`loopRunner.minRunnerVersion`).
+now the **capability floor** the stage actually depends on: the version the
+package pins and the floor for full needs-human recovery (0.14's `backlog
+answer`). It subsumes the older agent-surface floor (the `--agent` flag, the
+`agents` probe, and the preset agent registry, present since 0.6.0). For rauf
+that is **0.14.0** (`loopRunner.minRunnerVersion`).
 `forge-5-loop` runs `{bin} version --json`, semver-compares the reported version
 against `minRunnerVersion`, and on a missing-or-too-old runner stops with
 `loopRunner.installHint` (the CLI install/upgrade command) — **before** invoking

package/adapters/copilot/references/shared-conventions.md

@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ If a `state-*` verb exits 2, surface the plain `Error:` line from stderr verbati
 
 ### `state-verify` — verification results and provenance
 
-`state-verify` writes exactly one `stages.forge-verify-{token}` entry — the verification result for the production stage named by `--stage` — plus the top-level `updatedAt`, and nothing else. `--stage` takes the **served production stage** (`forge-0-epic` through `forge-5-loop`; `forge-6-docs` has no verification token and is rejected). Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the member rule above. Result mode passes `--status` (`auto-verify-pending`, `passed`, `findings-reported`, `findings-applied`, or `skipped`) with whatever `--findings-file`, `--findings-count`, and `--verified-stage-version` that status requires; contradictory metadata is refused before any write. `passed` may additionally carry `--findings-file` + `--findings-count` together for an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only, per forge-verify's severity floor) — the stage resolves without a fix round and the report stays attached:
+`state-verify` writes exactly one `stages.forge-verify-{token}` entry — the verification result for the production stage named by `--stage` — plus the top-level `updatedAt`, and nothing else. `--stage` takes the **served production stage** (`forge-0-epic` through `forge-5-loop`; `forge-6-docs` has no verification token and is rejected). Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the member rule above. Result mode passes `--status` (`auto-verify-pending`, `passed`, `findings-reported`, `findings-applied`, or `skipped`) with whatever `--findings-file`, `--findings-count`, and `--verified-stage-version` that status requires; contradictory metadata is refused before any write. `passed` may carry `--findings-file` + `--findings-count` for a clean report (count `0`), an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only), or accepted residual findings. The stage resolves without a fix round and the report stays attached, making a completed verification round directly resumable if provenance recording is interrupted. A bare `passed` remains accepted for backward compatibility:
 
 **`auto-verify-pending` is not a skill-facing status.** It is written by `stage-exit`'s scheduling boundary, which records the debt automatically when auto-verify is effective for a stage. The value is accepted on this CLI so the entry stays inspectable and repairable, not so a skill can hand-schedule verification: no skill body and no reference passes it, and none should. Every other status in the list is the recorded *result* of a verification that ran (or was explicitly skipped); this one records that one was *owed*.
 

package/adapters/copilot/scripts/forge-session.py

@@ -461,8 +461,12 @@ TOPOLOGY_DEPTH_WARN_RATIO: Final[float] = 0.5
 #: The forge-side capability threshold for the runner's `backlog answer` apply
 #: surface: at or above this rauf version the recovery procedure applies answers
 #: via `rauf backlog answer`; below it, it degrades to `rauf backlog unblock`.
-#: It never hard-fails recovery, and it is NOT ``loopRunner.minRunnerVersion``
-#: (the install floor in references/forge-config-schema.json, which stays 0.6.0).
+#: It never hard-fails recovery. As of the 0.14.0 floor bump it now COINCIDES with
+#: ``loopRunner.minRunnerVersion`` (the install floor in
+#: references/forge-config-schema.json, also 0.14.0) — the launch gate was raised so
+#: it no longer green-lights a runner too old to inject a recovered answer — but the
+#: two remain conceptually distinct: this one selects the recovery apply surface and
+#: only degrades, while the install floor hard-stops the launch.
 RECOVERY_MIN_RUNNER_VERSION: Final[str] = "0.14.0"
 #: The fixed final line of the NEXT-STEPS block. The stamp instructs the skill
 #: to print the block verbatim as its absolute last output — nothing after this.
@@ -5694,8 +5698,9 @@ def _verify_result_entry(
     the one status that carries prior state forward — the report metadata — and it
     deliberately writes no ``verifiedStageVersion``: fixes landed, nothing
     re-verified them, so freshness stays unresolved until a later ``passed``.
-    ``passed`` may record NEW attached-report metadata of its own (the
-    advisory-only and escalation-acceptance rules in ``cmd_state_verify``).
+    ``passed`` may record NEW attached-report metadata of its own (a clean report,
+    an advisory-only report, or the escalation-acceptance rules in
+    ``cmd_state_verify``).
 
     Args:
         status: The validated result status.
@@ -5719,11 +5724,11 @@ def _verify_result_entry(
     if status == "passed":
         entry: dict = {"status": status}
         if findings_file is not None:
-            # An attached report — advisory-only, or residual findings the user
-            # explicitly accepted at the escalation gate — resolves as `passed`
-            # so it never routes to forge-fix, while the report stays attached
-            # for later pickup. A bare zero count records no report keys, keeping
-            # the plain "verified clean" shape byte-identical to before.
+            # An attached clean/advisory report, or residual findings the user
+            # explicitly accepted at the escalation gate, resolves as `passed`
+            # so it never routes to forge-fix while the audit artifact stays
+            # attached. A bare zero count records no report keys, preserving the
+            # legacy plain "verified clean" shape.
             entry["findingsFile"] = findings_file
             entry["findingsCount"] = findings_count
         entry["verifiedAt"] = now
@@ -5779,15 +5784,19 @@ def cmd_state_verify(
             write, so a contradictory call never lands a partial entry:
 
             - `passed` — REQUIRES `verified_stage_version`. MAY carry an attached
-              report (`findings_file` + `findings_count` together, count >= 1) in
-              two protocol cases: an ADVISORY-ONLY report (no blocking
-              `error`/`gap` findings), and residual findings the user explicitly
-              ACCEPTED at the round-ledger escalation (recorded first as a
-              `state-decision`; see "Escalation" in stage-exit-protocol.md).
-              Either way the stage resolves without routing to forge-fix and the
-              report stays attached. Half a pairing is refused: a file without a
-              count, a positive count without a file, or a file with a zero
-              count. Unaccepted blocking findings belong to `findings-reported`.
+              report (`findings_file` + `findings_count` together, count >= 0) in
+              three protocol cases: a CLEAN zero-finding round report (a fix
+              pass's re-verify — valid audit evidence that lets the stage advance
+              instead of stranding at `findings-applied`, #237), an ADVISORY-ONLY
+              report (no blocking `error`/`gap` findings, count >= 1), and
+              residual findings the user explicitly ACCEPTED at the round-ledger
+              escalation (recorded first as a `state-decision`; see "Escalation"
+              in stage-exit-protocol.md). In every case the stage resolves
+              without routing to forge-fix and the report stays attached. Half a
+              pairing is refused: a file without a count, or a positive count
+              without a file. A bare `passed` (neither flag) is also accepted and
+              records the report-free clean shape. Unaccepted blocking findings
+              belong to `findings-reported`.
             - `findings-reported` — REQUIRES all three of `verified_stage_version`,
               `findings_file`, and a non-negative `findings_count`.
             - `findings-applied` — REFUSES `verified_stage_version`. Applying fixes
@@ -5914,8 +5923,9 @@ def cmd_state_verify(
     elif status == "passed":
         if findings_file is not None and findings_count is None:
             raise UsageError(
-                "--status passed with an advisory --findings-file requires "
-                "--findings-count N (the number of advisory findings it lists)"
+                "--status passed with --findings-file requires --findings-count N "
+                "(zero for a clean report, or the number of advisory/residual "
+                "findings it lists)"
             )
         if findings_count is not None:
             if findings_count < 0:
@@ -5929,12 +5939,6 @@ def cmd_state_verify(
                     f"report to read is unrecoverable. Blocking findings belong to "
                     f"--status findings-reported instead."
                 )
-            if findings_count == 0 and findings_file is not None:
-                raise UsageError(
-                    "--status passed with --findings-file requires --findings-count "
-                    ">= 1: an attached report claiming zero findings is "
-                    "self-contradictory — omit both for a clean pass"
-                )
         if verified_stage_version is None:
             raise UsageError(
                 "--status passed requires --verified-stage-version <current version>"

package/adapters/copilot/skills/forge/references/shared-conventions.md

@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ If a `state-*` verb exits 2, surface the plain `Error:` line from stderr verbati
 
 ### `state-verify` — verification results and provenance
 
-`state-verify` writes exactly one `stages.forge-verify-{token}` entry — the verification result for the production stage named by `--stage` — plus the top-level `updatedAt`, and nothing else. `--stage` takes the **served production stage** (`forge-0-epic` through `forge-5-loop`; `forge-6-docs` has no verification token and is rejected). Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the member rule above. Result mode passes `--status` (`auto-verify-pending`, `passed`, `findings-reported`, `findings-applied`, or `skipped`) with whatever `--findings-file`, `--findings-count`, and `--verified-stage-version` that status requires; contradictory metadata is refused before any write. `passed` may additionally carry `--findings-file` + `--findings-count` together for an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only, per forge-verify's severity floor) — the stage resolves without a fix round and the report stays attached:
+`state-verify` writes exactly one `stages.forge-verify-{token}` entry — the verification result for the production stage named by `--stage` — plus the top-level `updatedAt`, and nothing else. `--stage` takes the **served production stage** (`forge-0-epic` through `forge-5-loop`; `forge-6-docs` has no verification token and is rejected). Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the member rule above. Result mode passes `--status` (`auto-verify-pending`, `passed`, `findings-reported`, `findings-applied`, or `skipped`) with whatever `--findings-file`, `--findings-count`, and `--verified-stage-version` that status requires; contradictory metadata is refused before any write. `passed` may carry `--findings-file` + `--findings-count` for a clean report (count `0`), an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only), or accepted residual findings. The stage resolves without a fix round and the report stays attached, making a completed verification round directly resumable if provenance recording is interrupted. A bare `passed` remains accepted for backward compatibility:
 
 **`auto-verify-pending` is not a skill-facing status.** It is written by `stage-exit`'s scheduling boundary, which records the debt automatically when auto-verify is effective for a stage. The value is accepted on this CLI so the entry stays inspectable and repairable, not so a skill can hand-schedule verification: no skill body and no reference passes it, and none should. Every other status in the list is the recorded *result* of a verification that ran (or was explicitly skipped); this one records that one was *owed*.
 

package/adapters/copilot/skills/forge-0-epic/references/shared-conventions.md

@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ If a `state-*` verb exits 2, surface the plain `Error:` line from stderr verbati
 
 ### `state-verify` — verification results and provenance
 
-`state-verify` writes exactly one `stages.forge-verify-{token}` entry — the verification result for the production stage named by `--stage` — plus the top-level `updatedAt`, and nothing else. `--stage` takes the **served production stage** (`forge-0-epic` through `forge-5-loop`; `forge-6-docs` has no verification token and is rejected). Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the member rule above. Result mode passes `--status` (`auto-verify-pending`, `passed`, `findings-reported`, `findings-applied`, or `skipped`) with whatever `--findings-file`, `--findings-count`, and `--verified-stage-version` that status requires; contradictory metadata is refused before any write. `passed` may additionally carry `--findings-file` + `--findings-count` together for an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only, per forge-verify's severity floor) — the stage resolves without a fix round and the report stays attached:
+`state-verify` writes exactly one `stages.forge-verify-{token}` entry — the verification result for the production stage named by `--stage` — plus the top-level `updatedAt`, and nothing else. `--stage` takes the **served production stage** (`forge-0-epic` through `forge-5-loop`; `forge-6-docs` has no verification token and is rejected). Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the member rule above. Result mode passes `--status` (`auto-verify-pending`, `passed`, `findings-reported`, `findings-applied`, or `skipped`) with whatever `--findings-file`, `--findings-count`, and `--verified-stage-version` that status requires; contradictory metadata is refused before any write. `passed` may carry `--findings-file` + `--findings-count` for a clean report (count `0`), an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only), or accepted residual findings. The stage resolves without a fix round and the report stays attached, making a completed verification round directly resumable if provenance recording is interrupted. A bare `passed` remains accepted for backward compatibility:
 
 **`auto-verify-pending` is not a skill-facing status.** It is written by `stage-exit`'s scheduling boundary, which records the debt automatically when auto-verify is effective for a stage. The value is accepted on this CLI so the entry stays inspectable and repairable, not so a skill can hand-schedule verification: no skill body and no reference passes it, and none should. Every other status in the list is the recorded *result* of a verification that ran (or was explicitly skipped); this one records that one was *owed*.
 

package/adapters/copilot/skills/forge-1-prd/references/shared-conventions.md

@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ If a `state-*` verb exits 2, surface the plain `Error:` line from stderr verbati
 
 ### `state-verify` — verification results and provenance
 
-`state-verify` writes exactly one `stages.forge-verify-{token}` entry — the verification result for the production stage named by `--stage` — plus the top-level `updatedAt`, and nothing else. `--stage` takes the **served production stage** (`forge-0-epic` through `forge-5-loop`; `forge-6-docs` has no verification token and is rejected). Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the member rule above. Result mode passes `--status` (`auto-verify-pending`, `passed`, `findings-reported`, `findings-applied`, or `skipped`) with whatever `--findings-file`, `--findings-count`, and `--verified-stage-version` that status requires; contradictory metadata is refused before any write. `passed` may additionally carry `--findings-file` + `--findings-count` together for an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only, per forge-verify's severity floor) — the stage resolves without a fix round and the report stays attached:
+`state-verify` writes exactly one `stages.forge-verify-{token}` entry — the verification result for the production stage named by `--stage` — plus the top-level `updatedAt`, and nothing else. `--stage` takes the **served production stage** (`forge-0-epic` through `forge-5-loop`; `forge-6-docs` has no verification token and is rejected). Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the member rule above. Result mode passes `--status` (`auto-verify-pending`, `passed`, `findings-reported`, `findings-applied`, or `skipped`) with whatever `--findings-file`, `--findings-count`, and `--verified-stage-version` that status requires; contradictory metadata is refused before any write. `passed` may carry `--findings-file` + `--findings-count` for a clean report (count `0`), an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only), or accepted residual findings. The stage resolves without a fix round and the report stays attached, making a completed verification round directly resumable if provenance recording is interrupted. A bare `passed` remains accepted for backward compatibility:
 
 **`auto-verify-pending` is not a skill-facing status.** It is written by `stage-exit`'s scheduling boundary, which records the debt automatically when auto-verify is effective for a stage. The value is accepted on this CLI so the entry stays inspectable and repairable, not so a skill can hand-schedule verification: no skill body and no reference passes it, and none should. Every other status in the list is the recorded *result* of a verification that ran (or was explicitly skipped); this one records that one was *owed*.
 

package/adapters/copilot/skills/forge-2-tech/references/shared-conventions.md

@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ If a `state-*` verb exits 2, surface the plain `Error:` line from stderr verbati
 
 ### `state-verify` — verification results and provenance
 
-`state-verify` writes exactly one `stages.forge-verify-{token}` entry — the verification result for the production stage named by `--stage` — plus the top-level `updatedAt`, and nothing else. `--stage` takes the **served production stage** (`forge-0-epic` through `forge-5-loop`; `forge-6-docs` has no verification token and is rejected). Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the member rule above. Result mode passes `--status` (`auto-verify-pending`, `passed`, `findings-reported`, `findings-applied`, or `skipped`) with whatever `--findings-file`, `--findings-count`, and `--verified-stage-version` that status requires; contradictory metadata is refused before any write. `passed` may additionally carry `--findings-file` + `--findings-count` together for an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only, per forge-verify's severity floor) — the stage resolves without a fix round and the report stays attached:
+`state-verify` writes exactly one `stages.forge-verify-{token}` entry — the verification result for the production stage named by `--stage` — plus the top-level `updatedAt`, and nothing else. `--stage` takes the **served production stage** (`forge-0-epic` through `forge-5-loop`; `forge-6-docs` has no verification token and is rejected). Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the member rule above. Result mode passes `--status` (`auto-verify-pending`, `passed`, `findings-reported`, `findings-applied`, or `skipped`) with whatever `--findings-file`, `--findings-count`, and `--verified-stage-version` that status requires; contradictory metadata is refused before any write. `passed` may carry `--findings-file` + `--findings-count` for a clean report (count `0`), an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only), or accepted residual findings. The stage resolves without a fix round and the report stays attached, making a completed verification round directly resumable if provenance recording is interrupted. A bare `passed` remains accepted for backward compatibility:
 
 **`auto-verify-pending` is not a skill-facing status.** It is written by `stage-exit`'s scheduling boundary, which records the debt automatically when auto-verify is effective for a stage. The value is accepted on this CLI so the entry stays inspectable and repairable, not so a skill can hand-schedule verification: no skill body and no reference passes it, and none should. Every other status in the list is the recorded *result* of a verification that ran (or was explicitly skipped); this one records that one was *owed*.
 

package/adapters/copilot/skills/forge-3-specs/references/shared-conventions.md

@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ If a `state-*` verb exits 2, surface the plain `Error:` line from stderr verbati
 
 ### `state-verify` — verification results and provenance
 
-`state-verify` writes exactly one `stages.forge-verify-{token}` entry — the verification result for the production stage named by `--stage` — plus the top-level `updatedAt`, and nothing else. `--stage` takes the **served production stage** (`forge-0-epic` through `forge-5-loop`; `forge-6-docs` has no verification token and is rejected). Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the member rule above. Result mode passes `--status` (`auto-verify-pending`, `passed`, `findings-reported`, `findings-applied`, or `skipped`) with whatever `--findings-file`, `--findings-count`, and `--verified-stage-version` that status requires; contradictory metadata is refused before any write. `passed` may additionally carry `--findings-file` + `--findings-count` together for an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only, per forge-verify's severity floor) — the stage resolves without a fix round and the report stays attached:
+`state-verify` writes exactly one `stages.forge-verify-{token}` entry — the verification result for the production stage named by `--stage` — plus the top-level `updatedAt`, and nothing else. `--stage` takes the **served production stage** (`forge-0-epic` through `forge-5-loop`; `forge-6-docs` has no verification token and is rejected). Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the member rule above. Result mode passes `--status` (`auto-verify-pending`, `passed`, `findings-reported`, `findings-applied`, or `skipped`) with whatever `--findings-file`, `--findings-count`, and `--verified-stage-version` that status requires; contradictory metadata is refused before any write. `passed` may carry `--findings-file` + `--findings-count` for a clean report (count `0`), an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only), or accepted residual findings. The stage resolves without a fix round and the report stays attached, making a completed verification round directly resumable if provenance recording is interrupted. A bare `passed` remains accepted for backward compatibility:
 
 **`auto-verify-pending` is not a skill-facing status.** It is written by `stage-exit`'s scheduling boundary, which records the debt automatically when auto-verify is effective for a stage. The value is accepted on this CLI so the entry stays inspectable and repairable, not so a skill can hand-schedule verification: no skill body and no reference passes it, and none should. Every other status in the list is the recorded *result* of a verification that ran (or was explicitly skipped); this one records that one was *owed*.
 

package/adapters/copilot/skills/forge-4-backlog/references/shared-conventions.md

@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ If a `state-*` verb exits 2, surface the plain `Error:` line from stderr verbati
 
 ### `state-verify` — verification results and provenance
 
-`state-verify` writes exactly one `stages.forge-verify-{token}` entry — the verification result for the production stage named by `--stage` — plus the top-level `updatedAt`, and nothing else. `--stage` takes the **served production stage** (`forge-0-epic` through `forge-5-loop`; `forge-6-docs` has no verification token and is rejected). Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the member rule above. Result mode passes `--status` (`auto-verify-pending`, `passed`, `findings-reported`, `findings-applied`, or `skipped`) with whatever `--findings-file`, `--findings-count`, and `--verified-stage-version` that status requires; contradictory metadata is refused before any write. `passed` may additionally carry `--findings-file` + `--findings-count` together for an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only, per forge-verify's severity floor) — the stage resolves without a fix round and the report stays attached:
+`state-verify` writes exactly one `stages.forge-verify-{token}` entry — the verification result for the production stage named by `--stage` — plus the top-level `updatedAt`, and nothing else. `--stage` takes the **served production stage** (`forge-0-epic` through `forge-5-loop`; `forge-6-docs` has no verification token and is rejected). Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the member rule above. Result mode passes `--status` (`auto-verify-pending`, `passed`, `findings-reported`, `findings-applied`, or `skipped`) with whatever `--findings-file`, `--findings-count`, and `--verified-stage-version` that status requires; contradictory metadata is refused before any write. `passed` may carry `--findings-file` + `--findings-count` for a clean report (count `0`), an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only), or accepted residual findings. The stage resolves without a fix round and the report stays attached, making a completed verification round directly resumable if provenance recording is interrupted. A bare `passed` remains accepted for backward compatibility:
 
 **`auto-verify-pending` is not a skill-facing status.** It is written by `stage-exit`'s scheduling boundary, which records the debt automatically when auto-verify is effective for a stage. The value is accepted on this CLI so the entry stays inspectable and repairable, not so a skill can hand-schedule verification: no skill body and no reference passes it, and none should. Every other status in the list is the recorded *result* of a verification that ran (or was explicitly skipped); this one records that one was *owed*.
 

package/adapters/copilot/skills/forge-5-loop/forge-5-loop.md

@@ -83,8 +83,8 @@ This gate runs **before** the runner version/setup gates (1c/1d) so a blocked fe
 Enforce `loopRunner.minRunnerVersion` **before** doing anything else with the runner. This is what turns "the runner is missing or too old" into a clear, actionable stop instead of a cryptic mid-run failure.
 
 1. Run the **version command** (`loopRunner.versionCommand`, default `rauf version --json`) via Bash.
-2. Parse `{ "version": "<semver>" }` from stdout. Do NOT use plain `rauf version` (its human output is `rauf v0.6.0` with a `v` prefix) — always the `--json` form.
-3. **Semver-compare** (NOT string-compare) the reported version against `loopRunner.minRunnerVersion` (default `0.6.0`), numerically by major, then minor, then patch.
+2. Parse `{ "version": "<semver>" }` from stdout. Do NOT use plain `rauf version` (its human output is `rauf v0.14.0` with a `v` prefix) — always the `--json` form.
+3. **Semver-compare** (NOT string-compare) the reported version against `loopRunner.minRunnerVersion` (default `0.14.0`), numerically by major, then minor, then patch.
 
 **Any of the following is a HARD GATE FAILURE — do NOT proceed to run the loop.** STOP, show `loopRunner.installHint`, and include the raw command output for diagnosis:
 
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ Enforce `loopRunner.minRunnerVersion` **before** doing anything else with the ru
 - Its stdout is not valid JSON, has no `version` field, or `version` is not a valid semver string.
 - The reported version is **< `minRunnerVersion`**.
 
-For the version-too-old case, phrase it concretely, e.g.: "Your rauf is {reported}, but feature-forge needs ≥ {minRunnerVersion} — 0.6.0 is the floor that ships the agent-selection surface (`--agent` / `rauf agents`) the loop relies on. {installHint}". When the gate fails because the output couldn't be parsed, say so and show what the command printed before the `installHint`.
+For the version-too-old case, phrase it concretely, e.g.: "Your rauf is {reported}, but feature-forge needs ≥ {minRunnerVersion} — 0.14.0 is the version the package pins and the floor for full needs-human recovery. {installHint}". When the gate fails because the output couldn't be parsed, say so and show what the command printed before the `installHint`.
 
 > `installHint` points at the runner **CLI** install/upgrade — distinct from
 > `setupHint` (1d), which installs the runner's per-project artifacts.

package/adapters/copilot/skills/forge-5-loop/references/ralph-loop-contract.md

@@ -156,11 +156,13 @@ to today. Degradation is **silent, not an error**, keeping alternate (non-rauf)
 runners first-class. The gate condition is owned by
 `02-config-schema-and-gating.md`.
 
-Independently, the **version gate** floors at the runner version that ships the
-agent surface. For rauf that is **0.6.0** (`loopRunner.minRunnerVersion`): the
-`--agent` flag, the `agents` probe, and the preset agent registry are present in
-rauf source at 0.6.0. A successful gate therefore guarantees those surfaces
-exist before any run. See `## Version gating` and
+Independently, the **version gate** floors at the runner version the stage
+depends on. For rauf that is **0.14.0** (`loopRunner.minRunnerVersion`): the
+version the package pins and the floor for full needs-human recovery (0.14's
+`backlog answer`). The agent surface — the `--agent` flag, the `agents` probe,
+and the preset agent registry — has been present since rauf 0.6.0 and is
+subsumed by the higher floor, so a successful gate guarantees both the recovery
+and agent surfaces exist before any run. See `## Version gating` and
 `05-runner-discovery-version-gate.md`.
 
 **This document — the `## Agent selection` section, the `## Per-stage agent
@@ -210,9 +212,11 @@ belongs to execution only. If you find yourself adding `--agent` near a
 
 feature-forge requires a runner exposing `backlog validate` + backlog
 `schemaVersion`, and the unified exit-code/status contract it reads. The floor is
-now the **agent-surface floor**: the runner version that ships the `--agent`
-flag, the `agents` probe, and the preset agent registry. For rauf that is
-**0.6.0** (`loopRunner.minRunnerVersion`).
+now the **capability floor** the stage actually depends on: the version the
+package pins and the floor for full needs-human recovery (0.14's `backlog
+answer`). It subsumes the older agent-surface floor (the `--agent` flag, the
+`agents` probe, and the preset agent registry, present since 0.6.0). For rauf
+that is **0.14.0** (`loopRunner.minRunnerVersion`).
 `forge-5-loop` runs `{bin} version --json`, semver-compares the reported version
 against `minRunnerVersion`, and on a missing-or-too-old runner stops with
 `loopRunner.installHint` (the CLI install/upgrade command) — **before** invoking

package/adapters/copilot/skills/forge-5-loop/references/runner-contract.md

@@ -70,8 +70,8 @@ Notes:
   separate open-ended option for that.
 - **Option 3 is conditional.** Include it only when the Step 2a tally has `blocked
   > 0`; otherwise present options 1 and 2 only.
-- **Version floor.** rauf's explicit `review` signal ships in 0.5.0, below the
-  `minRunnerVersion` floor (0.6.0) enforced at gate 1c — so `--review` is always
+- **Version floor.** rauf's explicit `review` signal ships in 0.5.0, well below the
+  `minRunnerVersion` floor (0.14.0) enforced at gate 1c — so `--review` is always
   available once the loop is cleared to launch. No extra version check is needed.
 - **Non-rauf runners.** When `loopRunner.name != "rauf"`, add **no** Run-mode
   question — present the bare rendered command and let the user adjust via "Other",

package/adapters/copilot/skills/forge-5-loop/references/shared-conventions.md

@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ If a `state-*` verb exits 2, surface the plain `Error:` line from stderr verbati
 
 ### `state-verify` — verification results and provenance
 
-`state-verify` writes exactly one `stages.forge-verify-{token}` entry — the verification result for the production stage named by `--stage` — plus the top-level `updatedAt`, and nothing else. `--stage` takes the **served production stage** (`forge-0-epic` through `forge-5-loop`; `forge-6-docs` has no verification token and is rejected). Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the member rule above. Result mode passes `--status` (`auto-verify-pending`, `passed`, `findings-reported`, `findings-applied`, or `skipped`) with whatever `--findings-file`, `--findings-count`, and `--verified-stage-version` that status requires; contradictory metadata is refused before any write. `passed` may additionally carry `--findings-file` + `--findings-count` together for an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only, per forge-verify's severity floor) — the stage resolves without a fix round and the report stays attached:
+`state-verify` writes exactly one `stages.forge-verify-{token}` entry — the verification result for the production stage named by `--stage` — plus the top-level `updatedAt`, and nothing else. `--stage` takes the **served production stage** (`forge-0-epic` through `forge-5-loop`; `forge-6-docs` has no verification token and is rejected). Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the member rule above. Result mode passes `--status` (`auto-verify-pending`, `passed`, `findings-reported`, `findings-applied`, or `skipped`) with whatever `--findings-file`, `--findings-count`, and `--verified-stage-version` that status requires; contradictory metadata is refused before any write. `passed` may carry `--findings-file` + `--findings-count` for a clean report (count `0`), an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only), or accepted residual findings. The stage resolves without a fix round and the report stays attached, making a completed verification round directly resumable if provenance recording is interrupted. A bare `passed` remains accepted for backward compatibility:
 
 **`auto-verify-pending` is not a skill-facing status.** It is written by `stage-exit`'s scheduling boundary, which records the debt automatically when auto-verify is effective for a stage. The value is accepted on this CLI so the entry stays inspectable and repairable, not so a skill can hand-schedule verification: no skill body and no reference passes it, and none should. Every other status in the list is the recorded *result* of a verification that ran (or was explicitly skipped); this one records that one was *owed*.
 

package/adapters/copilot/skills/forge-6-docs/references/shared-conventions.md

@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ If a `state-*` verb exits 2, surface the plain `Error:` line from stderr verbati
 
 ### `state-verify` — verification results and provenance
 
-`state-verify` writes exactly one `stages.forge-verify-{token}` entry — the verification result for the production stage named by `--stage` — plus the top-level `updatedAt`, and nothing else. `--stage` takes the **served production stage** (`forge-0-epic` through `forge-5-loop`; `forge-6-docs` has no verification token and is rejected). Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the member rule above. Result mode passes `--status` (`auto-verify-pending`, `passed`, `findings-reported`, `findings-applied`, or `skipped`) with whatever `--findings-file`, `--findings-count`, and `--verified-stage-version` that status requires; contradictory metadata is refused before any write. `passed` may additionally carry `--findings-file` + `--findings-count` together for an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only, per forge-verify's severity floor) — the stage resolves without a fix round and the report stays attached:
+`state-verify` writes exactly one `stages.forge-verify-{token}` entry — the verification result for the production stage named by `--stage` — plus the top-level `updatedAt`, and nothing else. `--stage` takes the **served production stage** (`forge-0-epic` through `forge-5-loop`; `forge-6-docs` has no verification token and is rejected). Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the member rule above. Result mode passes `--status` (`auto-verify-pending`, `passed`, `findings-reported`, `findings-applied`, or `skipped`) with whatever `--findings-file`, `--findings-count`, and `--verified-stage-version` that status requires; contradictory metadata is refused before any write. `passed` may carry `--findings-file` + `--findings-count` for a clean report (count `0`), an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only), or accepted residual findings. The stage resolves without a fix round and the report stays attached, making a completed verification round directly resumable if provenance recording is interrupted. A bare `passed` remains accepted for backward compatibility:
 
 **`auto-verify-pending` is not a skill-facing status.** It is written by `stage-exit`'s scheduling boundary, which records the debt automatically when auto-verify is effective for a stage. The value is accepted on this CLI so the entry stays inspectable and repairable, not so a skill can hand-schedule verification: no skill body and no reference passes it, and none should. Every other status in the list is the recorded *result* of a verification that ran (or was explicitly skipped); this one records that one was *owed*.
 

package/adapters/copilot/skills/forge-fix/references/shared-conventions.md

@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ If a `state-*` verb exits 2, surface the plain `Error:` line from stderr verbati
 
 ### `state-verify` — verification results and provenance
 
-`state-verify` writes exactly one `stages.forge-verify-{token}` entry — the verification result for the production stage named by `--stage` — plus the top-level `updatedAt`, and nothing else. `--stage` takes the **served production stage** (`forge-0-epic` through `forge-5-loop`; `forge-6-docs` has no verification token and is rejected). Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the member rule above. Result mode passes `--status` (`auto-verify-pending`, `passed`, `findings-reported`, `findings-applied`, or `skipped`) with whatever `--findings-file`, `--findings-count`, and `--verified-stage-version` that status requires; contradictory metadata is refused before any write. `passed` may additionally carry `--findings-file` + `--findings-count` together for an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only, per forge-verify's severity floor) — the stage resolves without a fix round and the report stays attached:
+`state-verify` writes exactly one `stages.forge-verify-{token}` entry — the verification result for the production stage named by `--stage` — plus the top-level `updatedAt`, and nothing else. `--stage` takes the **served production stage** (`forge-0-epic` through `forge-5-loop`; `forge-6-docs` has no verification token and is rejected). Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the member rule above. Result mode passes `--status` (`auto-verify-pending`, `passed`, `findings-reported`, `findings-applied`, or `skipped`) with whatever `--findings-file`, `--findings-count`, and `--verified-stage-version` that status requires; contradictory metadata is refused before any write. `passed` may carry `--findings-file` + `--findings-count` for a clean report (count `0`), an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only), or accepted residual findings. The stage resolves without a fix round and the report stays attached, making a completed verification round directly resumable if provenance recording is interrupted. A bare `passed` remains accepted for backward compatibility:
 
 **`auto-verify-pending` is not a skill-facing status.** It is written by `stage-exit`'s scheduling boundary, which records the debt automatically when auto-verify is effective for a stage. The value is accepted on this CLI so the entry stays inspectable and repairable, not so a skill can hand-schedule verification: no skill body and no reference passes it, and none should. Every other status in the list is the recorded *result* of a verification that ran (or was explicitly skipped); this one records that one was *owed*.
 

package/adapters/copilot/skills/forge-guide/references/forge-config-schema.json

@@ -235,8 +235,8 @@
         },
         "installHint": {
           "type": "string",
-          "default": "Provision rauf for a multi-agent setup with the cross-agent installer: `npx @garygentry/feature-forge install` (records the pinned @garygentry/rauf@0.14.0 default). Or install/upgrade just the rauf CLI: `npx @garygentry/rauf@0.14.0 --version`, or `curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/garygentry/rauf/main/scripts/install-binary.sh | bash`.",
-          "description": "Shown when the runner BINARY is missing or too old (version gate fails, minRunnerVersion floor) — how to obtain/upgrade the CLI itself. Names two distinct binary-provisioning paths: (1) the cross-agent installer (`npx @garygentry/feature-forge install`, the multi-agent provisioning path that pins @garygentry/rauf@0.14.0), and (2) the direct rauf-CLI install/upgrade one-liner. Distinct from setupHint (which installs per-project artifacts); a version-gate failure is ALWAYS this hint, never setupHint."
+          "default": "Provision rauf for a multi-agent setup with the cross-agent installer: `npx @garygentry/feature-forge install` (records the pinned @garygentry/rauf@0.15.0 default). Or install/upgrade just the rauf CLI: `npx @garygentry/rauf@0.15.0 --version`, or `curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/garygentry/rauf/main/scripts/install-binary.sh | bash`.",
+          "description": "Shown when the runner BINARY is missing or too old (version gate fails, minRunnerVersion floor) — how to obtain/upgrade the CLI itself. Names two distinct binary-provisioning paths: (1) the cross-agent installer (`npx @garygentry/feature-forge install`, the multi-agent provisioning path that pins @garygentry/rauf@0.15.0), and (2) the direct rauf-CLI install/upgrade one-liner. Distinct from setupHint (which installs per-project artifacts); a version-gate failure is ALWAYS this hint, never setupHint."
         },
         "schemaVersion": {
           "type": "string",
@@ -245,8 +245,8 @@
         },
         "minRunnerVersion": {
           "type": "string",
-          "default": "0.6.0",
-          "description": "Minimum runner version (semver). 0.6.0 is the AGENT-SURFACE FLOOR: the rauf version that ships the coding-agent selection surface (the --agent flag, the `agents` availability probe, and the preset agent registry) that this config's agentArgument/agentsProbeCommand consume. Flooring here guarantees a successful gate implies those surfaces exist. (0.5.0 was the prior grammar/contract-flip floor — unified exit codes, `loop run --detached`, explicit `review` signal, versioned events.ndjson — which predates the agent surface and so could not guarantee it.) forge-5 enforces this via versionCommand before any loop side-effects."
+          "default": "0.14.0",
+          "description": "Minimum runner version (semver). 0.14.0 is the CAPABILITY FLOOR the shipped stage actually depends on — it is the version needed for full post-run needs-human recovery: rauf 0.14's `backlog answer` injects a recorded answer into the next iteration (RECOVERY_MIN_RUNNER_VERSION in forge-session.py). Below it, recovery silently degrades to `backlog unblock` (answer not injected) and large Codex prompts retain the pre-0.14 argv-size (E2BIG) failure mode. Earlier surfaces are subsumed: 0.6.0 first shipped the coding-agent selection surface (--agent flag, `agents` availability probe, preset registry consumed by agentArgument/agentsProbeCommand); 0.5.0 added unified exit codes, `loop run --detached`, the explicit `review` signal, and versioned events.ndjson. Flooring at 0.14.0 guarantees a successful gate implies the recovery + agent surfaces both exist. The floor is distinct from the installer's `RAUF_PIN` (installHint) — the pin may sit ahead of the floor when a newer rauf ships nothing this floor's dependents need; it only rises when rauf ships a surface a shipped stage actually depends on. forge-5 enforces the floor via versionCommand before any loop side-effects."
         }
       }
     }

package/adapters/copilot/skills/forge-guide/references/ralph-loop-contract.md

@@ -156,11 +156,13 @@ to today. Degradation is **silent, not an error**, keeping alternate (non-rauf)
 runners first-class. The gate condition is owned by
 `02-config-schema-and-gating.md`.
 
-Independently, the **version gate** floors at the runner version that ships the
-agent surface. For rauf that is **0.6.0** (`loopRunner.minRunnerVersion`): the
-`--agent` flag, the `agents` probe, and the preset agent registry are present in
-rauf source at 0.6.0. A successful gate therefore guarantees those surfaces
-exist before any run. See `## Version gating` and
+Independently, the **version gate** floors at the runner version the stage
+depends on. For rauf that is **0.14.0** (`loopRunner.minRunnerVersion`): the
+version the package pins and the floor for full needs-human recovery (0.14's
+`backlog answer`). The agent surface — the `--agent` flag, the `agents` probe,
+and the preset agent registry — has been present since rauf 0.6.0 and is
+subsumed by the higher floor, so a successful gate guarantees both the recovery
+and agent surfaces exist before any run. See `## Version gating` and
 `05-runner-discovery-version-gate.md`.
 
 **This document — the `## Agent selection` section, the `## Per-stage agent
@@ -210,9 +212,11 @@ belongs to execution only. If you find yourself adding `--agent` near a
 
 feature-forge requires a runner exposing `backlog validate` + backlog
 `schemaVersion`, and the unified exit-code/status contract it reads. The floor is
-now the **agent-surface floor**: the runner version that ships the `--agent`
-flag, the `agents` probe, and the preset agent registry. For rauf that is
-**0.6.0** (`loopRunner.minRunnerVersion`).
+now the **capability floor** the stage actually depends on: the version the
+package pins and the floor for full needs-human recovery (0.14's `backlog
+answer`). It subsumes the older agent-surface floor (the `--agent` flag, the
+`agents` probe, and the preset agent registry, present since 0.6.0). For rauf
+that is **0.14.0** (`loopRunner.minRunnerVersion`).
 `forge-5-loop` runs `{bin} version --json`, semver-compares the reported version
 against `minRunnerVersion`, and on a missing-or-too-old runner stops with
 `loopRunner.installHint` (the CLI install/upgrade command) — **before** invoking

package/adapters/copilot/skills/forge-guide/references/shared-conventions.md

@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ If a `state-*` verb exits 2, surface the plain `Error:` line from stderr verbati
 
 ### `state-verify` — verification results and provenance
 
-`state-verify` writes exactly one `stages.forge-verify-{token}` entry — the verification result for the production stage named by `--stage` — plus the top-level `updatedAt`, and nothing else. `--stage` takes the **served production stage** (`forge-0-epic` through `forge-5-loop`; `forge-6-docs` has no verification token and is rejected). Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the member rule above. Result mode passes `--status` (`auto-verify-pending`, `passed`, `findings-reported`, `findings-applied`, or `skipped`) with whatever `--findings-file`, `--findings-count`, and `--verified-stage-version` that status requires; contradictory metadata is refused before any write. `passed` may additionally carry `--findings-file` + `--findings-count` together for an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only, per forge-verify's severity floor) — the stage resolves without a fix round and the report stays attached:
+`state-verify` writes exactly one `stages.forge-verify-{token}` entry — the verification result for the production stage named by `--stage` — plus the top-level `updatedAt`, and nothing else. `--stage` takes the **served production stage** (`forge-0-epic` through `forge-5-loop`; `forge-6-docs` has no verification token and is rejected). Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the member rule above. Result mode passes `--status` (`auto-verify-pending`, `passed`, `findings-reported`, `findings-applied`, or `skipped`) with whatever `--findings-file`, `--findings-count`, and `--verified-stage-version` that status requires; contradictory metadata is refused before any write. `passed` may carry `--findings-file` + `--findings-count` for a clean report (count `0`), an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only), or accepted residual findings. The stage resolves without a fix round and the report stays attached, making a completed verification round directly resumable if provenance recording is interrupted. A bare `passed` remains accepted for backward compatibility:
 
 **`auto-verify-pending` is not a skill-facing status.** It is written by `stage-exit`'s scheduling boundary, which records the debt automatically when auto-verify is effective for a stage. The value is accepted on this CLI so the entry stays inspectable and repairable, not so a skill can hand-schedule verification: no skill body and no reference passes it, and none should. Every other status in the list is the recorded *result* of a verification that ran (or was explicitly skipped); this one records that one was *owed*.
 

package/adapters/copilot/skills/forge-verify/forge-verify.md

@@ -227,14 +227,16 @@ Do NOT embed this question in your text output.
 
 ## Step 6: Record the Result Through `state-verify`
 
-Never hand-author a verify entry. Every `stages.forge-verify-*` transition is written by the `state-verify` verb described in the **Pipeline State Protocol** in `references/shared-conventions.md`, which owns its full flag surface, its status matrix, and the exit-2 failure protocol. Write `findings-reported` when the report lists at least one **blocking** finding (`error`/`gap`); write `passed` when it lists none — including an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only), which records `passed` with the report still attached: pass `--findings-file` and `--findings-count` alongside `--status passed` so the advisories remain discoverable without blocking the stage. (One exception routes blocking findings to `passed`: residual findings the user explicitly accepted at the round-ledger escalation — recorded first as a `state-decision`, then `passed` with the report attached, per "Escalation" in `references/stage-exit-protocol.md`.) Never write `findings-applied` here — that belongs to the fix pass. `--stage` names the **served production stage** (Step 1's mode, mapped through the served-stage mapping in Step 7), `--findings-file` is the report path **relative to** the feature directory (the Step 4 filename, round discriminator included), and `--verified-stage-version` is that production stage entry's current `version`, so a later revision of the artifact makes this verification read stale and re-fires. Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the Pipeline State Protocol; omitting it for a member is an error and must never fall back to a same-named flat feature.
+Never hand-author a verify entry. Every `stages.forge-verify-*` transition is written by the `state-verify` verb described in the **Pipeline State Protocol** in `references/shared-conventions.md`, which owns its full flag surface, its status matrix, and the exit-2 failure protocol. Write `findings-reported` when the report lists at least one **blocking** finding (`error`/`gap`); otherwise write `passed`. **Always attach the Step 4 report**, including a clean report with count `0`, so the completed round remains resumable and auditable. Advisory-only reports (`inconsistency`/`improvement`) use `passed` with their positive count and advance without a fix round. (One exception routes blocking findings to `passed`: residual findings the user explicitly accepted at the round-ledger escalation — recorded first as a `state-decision`, then `passed` with the report attached, per "Escalation" in `references/stage-exit-protocol.md`.) Never write `findings-applied` here — that belongs to the fix pass. `--stage` names the **served production stage** (Step 1's mode, mapped through the served-stage mapping in Step 7), `--findings-file` is the report path **relative to** the feature directory (the Step 4 filename, round discriminator included), and `--verified-stage-version` is that production stage entry's current `version`, so a later revision of the artifact makes this verification read stale and re-fires. Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the Pipeline State Protocol; omitting it for a member is an error and must never fall back to a same-named flat feature.
+
+Choose result arguments from the report outcome, never a combined placeholder: clean uses `--status passed --findings-count 0`; advisory-only uses `--status passed` with its positive count; blocking uses `--status findings-reported` with its positive total count. All variants attach the Step 4 report:
 
 ```bash
 R="$(bash -c 'for d in "${FEATURE_FORGE_ROOT:-}" "$HOME"/.claude/skills/feature-forge "$HOME"/.claude/plugins/cache/*/feature-forge/* "$HOME"/.claude/plugins/*/feature-forge "$HOME"/.agents/skills/feature-forge ./.agents/skills/feature-forge; do [ -x "$d/scripts/forge-root.sh" ] && exec "$d/scripts/forge-root.sh"; done')"
 [ -n "$R" ] || { echo "feature-forge: cannot locate plugin root" >&2; exit 1; }
 python3 "$R/scripts/forge-session.py" state-verify \
-  --feature "{feature}" --stage "{servedStage}" --status "{passed|findings-reported}" \
-  --findings-file "{relative findings path}" --findings-count {n} \
+  --feature "{feature}" --stage "{servedStage}" --status "{outcome-specific status}" \
+  --findings-file "{relative findings path}" --findings-count {outcome-specific count} \
   --verified-stage-version {version} --specs-dir "{specsDir}"
 ```
 

package/adapters/copilot/skills/forge-verify/references/findings-template.md

@@ -131,10 +131,10 @@ violate REQ-STATE-02; per-feature status is always derived live from each member
 `.pipeline-state.json`).
 
 Set `stages.forge-verify-epic.status` to `findings-reported` when the report lists at
-least one **blocking** finding (`error`/`gap`), else `passed` — for an advisory-only
-report pass `--findings-file`/`--findings-count` alongside `--status passed`, exactly
-as in feature mode (the severity floor in `skills/forge-verify/SKILL.md`) — recording
-`findingsFile`, `findingsCount`, and `verifiedAt`.
+least one **blocking** finding (`error`/`gap`), else `passed`. Always attach the report
+and its total count, including count `0` for a clean report, exactly as in feature mode
+(the severity floor in `skills/forge-verify/SKILL.md`) — recording `findingsFile`,
+`findingsCount`, and `verifiedAt`.
 
 **Write it with `state-verify`, never by hand.** `--stage forge-0-epic` is the sanctioned
 epic writer: it creates the file lazily, mutates only `stages.forge-verify-epic` plus the
@@ -149,8 +149,8 @@ R="$(bash -c 'for d in "${FEATURE_FORGE_ROOT:-}" "$HOME"/.claude/skills/feature-
 [ -n "$R" ] || { echo "feature-forge: cannot locate plugin root" >&2; exit 1; }
 python3 "$R/scripts/forge-session.py" state-verify \
   --feature "{epic}" --stage forge-0-epic \
-  --status "{passed|findings-reported}" \
-  --findings-file "{relative findings path}" --findings-count {n} \
+  --status "{outcome-specific status}" \
+  --findings-file "{relative findings path}" --findings-count {outcome-specific count} \
   --verified-stage-version {manifest revision} --specs-dir "{specsDir}"
 ```
 

package/adapters/copilot/skills/forge-verify/references/shared-conventions.md

@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ If a `state-*` verb exits 2, surface the plain `Error:` line from stderr verbati
 
 ### `state-verify` — verification results and provenance
 
-`state-verify` writes exactly one `stages.forge-verify-{token}` entry — the verification result for the production stage named by `--stage` — plus the top-level `updatedAt`, and nothing else. `--stage` takes the **served production stage** (`forge-0-epic` through `forge-5-loop`; `forge-6-docs` has no verification token and is rejected). Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the member rule above. Result mode passes `--status` (`auto-verify-pending`, `passed`, `findings-reported`, `findings-applied`, or `skipped`) with whatever `--findings-file`, `--findings-count`, and `--verified-stage-version` that status requires; contradictory metadata is refused before any write. `passed` may additionally carry `--findings-file` + `--findings-count` together for an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only, per forge-verify's severity floor) — the stage resolves without a fix round and the report stays attached:
+`state-verify` writes exactly one `stages.forge-verify-{token}` entry — the verification result for the production stage named by `--stage` — plus the top-level `updatedAt`, and nothing else. `--stage` takes the **served production stage** (`forge-0-epic` through `forge-5-loop`; `forge-6-docs` has no verification token and is rejected). Add `--epic "{epic}"` when the feature is an epic member — required, per the member rule above. Result mode passes `--status` (`auto-verify-pending`, `passed`, `findings-reported`, `findings-applied`, or `skipped`) with whatever `--findings-file`, `--findings-count`, and `--verified-stage-version` that status requires; contradictory metadata is refused before any write. `passed` may carry `--findings-file` + `--findings-count` for a clean report (count `0`), an **advisory-only** report (`inconsistency`/`improvement` findings only), or accepted residual findings. The stage resolves without a fix round and the report stays attached, making a completed verification round directly resumable if provenance recording is interrupted. A bare `passed` remains accepted for backward compatibility:
 
 **`auto-verify-pending` is not a skill-facing status.** It is written by `stage-exit`'s scheduling boundary, which records the debt automatically when auto-verify is effective for a stage. The value is accepted on this CLI so the entry stays inspectable and repairable, not so a skill can hand-schedule verification: no skill body and no reference passes it, and none should. Every other status in the list is the recorded *result* of a verification that ran (or was explicitly skipped); this one records that one was *owed*.
 

package/adapters/cursor/.feature-forge-bundle.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "feature-forge",
-  "version": "0.18.0",
+  "version": "0.19.0",
   "agent": "cursor",
   "generatedBy": "python3 scripts/build-adapters.py"
 }

package/adapters/cursor/references/forge-config-schema.json

@@ -235,8 +235,8 @@
         },
         "installHint": {
           "type": "string",
-          "default": "Provision rauf for a multi-agent setup with the cross-agent installer: `npx @garygentry/feature-forge install` (records the pinned @garygentry/rauf@0.14.0 default). Or install/upgrade just the rauf CLI: `npx @garygentry/rauf@0.14.0 --version`, or `curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/garygentry/rauf/main/scripts/install-binary.sh | bash`.",
-          "description": "Shown when the runner BINARY is missing or too old (version gate fails, minRunnerVersion floor) — how to obtain/upgrade the CLI itself. Names two distinct binary-provisioning paths: (1) the cross-agent installer (`npx @garygentry/feature-forge install`, the multi-agent provisioning path that pins @garygentry/rauf@0.14.0), and (2) the direct rauf-CLI install/upgrade one-liner. Distinct from setupHint (which installs per-project artifacts); a version-gate failure is ALWAYS this hint, never setupHint."
+          "default": "Provision rauf for a multi-agent setup with the cross-agent installer: `npx @garygentry/feature-forge install` (records the pinned @garygentry/rauf@0.15.0 default). Or install/upgrade just the rauf CLI: `npx @garygentry/rauf@0.15.0 --version`, or `curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/garygentry/rauf/main/scripts/install-binary.sh | bash`.",
+          "description": "Shown when the runner BINARY is missing or too old (version gate fails, minRunnerVersion floor) — how to obtain/upgrade the CLI itself. Names two distinct binary-provisioning paths: (1) the cross-agent installer (`npx @garygentry/feature-forge install`, the multi-agent provisioning path that pins @garygentry/rauf@0.15.0), and (2) the direct rauf-CLI install/upgrade one-liner. Distinct from setupHint (which installs per-project artifacts); a version-gate failure is ALWAYS this hint, never setupHint."
         },
         "schemaVersion": {
           "type": "string",
@@ -245,8 +245,8 @@
         },
         "minRunnerVersion": {
           "type": "string",
-          "default": "0.6.0",
-          "description": "Minimum runner version (semver). 0.6.0 is the AGENT-SURFACE FLOOR: the rauf version that ships the coding-agent selection surface (the --agent flag, the `agents` availability probe, and the preset agent registry) that this config's agentArgument/agentsProbeCommand consume. Flooring here guarantees a successful gate implies those surfaces exist. (0.5.0 was the prior grammar/contract-flip floor — unified exit codes, `loop run --detached`, explicit `review` signal, versioned events.ndjson — which predates the agent surface and so could not guarantee it.) forge-5 enforces this via versionCommand before any loop side-effects."
+          "default": "0.14.0",
+          "description": "Minimum runner version (semver). 0.14.0 is the CAPABILITY FLOOR the shipped stage actually depends on — it is the version needed for full post-run needs-human recovery: rauf 0.14's `backlog answer` injects a recorded answer into the next iteration (RECOVERY_MIN_RUNNER_VERSION in forge-session.py). Below it, recovery silently degrades to `backlog unblock` (answer not injected) and large Codex prompts retain the pre-0.14 argv-size (E2BIG) failure mode. Earlier surfaces are subsumed: 0.6.0 first shipped the coding-agent selection surface (--agent flag, `agents` availability probe, preset registry consumed by agentArgument/agentsProbeCommand); 0.5.0 added unified exit codes, `loop run --detached`, the explicit `review` signal, and versioned events.ndjson. Flooring at 0.14.0 guarantees a successful gate implies the recovery + agent surfaces both exist. The floor is distinct from the installer's `RAUF_PIN` (installHint) — the pin may sit ahead of the floor when a newer rauf ships nothing this floor's dependents need; it only rises when rauf ships a surface a shipped stage actually depends on. forge-5 enforces the floor via versionCommand before any loop side-effects."
         }
       }
     }

package/adapters/cursor/references/ralph-loop-contract.md

@@ -156,11 +156,13 @@ to today. Degradation is **silent, not an error**, keeping alternate (non-rauf)
 runners first-class. The gate condition is owned by
 `02-config-schema-and-gating.md`.
 
-Independently, the **version gate** floors at the runner version that ships the
-agent surface. For rauf that is **0.6.0** (`loopRunner.minRunnerVersion`): the
-`--agent` flag, the `agents` probe, and the preset agent registry are present in
-rauf source at 0.6.0. A successful gate therefore guarantees those surfaces
-exist before any run. See `## Version gating` and
+Independently, the **version gate** floors at the runner version the stage
+depends on. For rauf that is **0.14.0** (`loopRunner.minRunnerVersion`): the
+version the package pins and the floor for full needs-human recovery (0.14's
+`backlog answer`). The agent surface — the `--agent` flag, the `agents` probe,
+and the preset agent registry — has been present since rauf 0.6.0 and is
+subsumed by the higher floor, so a successful gate guarantees both the recovery
+and agent surfaces exist before any run. See `## Version gating` and
 `05-runner-discovery-version-gate.md`.
 
 **This document — the `## Agent selection` section, the `## Per-stage agent
@@ -210,9 +212,11 @@ belongs to execution only. If you find yourself adding `--agent` near a
 
 feature-forge requires a runner exposing `backlog validate` + backlog
 `schemaVersion`, and the unified exit-code/status contract it reads. The floor is
-now the **agent-surface floor**: the runner version that ships the `--agent`
-flag, the `agents` probe, and the preset agent registry. For rauf that is
-**0.6.0** (`loopRunner.minRunnerVersion`).
+now the **capability floor** the stage actually depends on: the version the
+package pins and the floor for full needs-human recovery (0.14's `backlog
+answer`). It subsumes the older agent-surface floor (the `--agent` flag, the
+`agents` probe, and the preset agent registry, present since 0.6.0). For rauf
+that is **0.14.0** (`loopRunner.minRunnerVersion`).
 `forge-5-loop` runs `{bin} version --json`, semver-compares the reported version
 against `minRunnerVersion`, and on a missing-or-too-old runner stops with
 `loopRunner.installHint` (the CLI install/upgrade command) — **before** invoking