@omgbase/core 0.11.0 → 0.15.0

package/dist/src/mcp/server.js

@@ -13,48 +13,34 @@ import { graphNeighborhood } from "./graph.js";
 import { textSearch } from "../search/text.js";
 import { EngineError, errorBody } from "./errors.js";
 import { argumentError, validateArguments } from "./arguments.js";
-import { apply } from "../mutate/apply.js";
-import { tasksComplete, sectionsAppend, docsAppend, linksRetarget, linksRepair, nodeSet } from "../mutate/macros.js";
-import { docsCreate, docsMove, docsDelete, docsSetMeta } from "../mutate/docs.js";
-import { docsUpdate } from "../mutate/plan-update.js";
-import { renderOpsetPlan } from "../mutate/opset.js";
+import { linksRetarget, linksRepair } from "../mutate/macros.js";
+import { canonicalDocPath } from "../mutate/docs.js";
+import { applyEffects, executeByDigest, executePlan, planEffects } from "../mutate/plan.js";
+import { appendEffects, applySugar, checkEffects, createEffects, deleteDocEffects, docsAppendEffects, insertEffects, mergeEffects, moveBlocksEffects, moveDocEffects, moveLinks, nodeSetEffects, removeBlocksEffects, requireAbsentPath, retargetEffects, setMetaEffects, splitEffects, updateBlockEffects, updateContentEffects, } from "../mutate/sugar.js";
 import { historyNode, diffBlocks, docDiffUnified, changesSince, docHistory } from "../graph/history.js";
 import { linksStale, linksStaleSummary } from "../graph/link-health.js";
 import { resolve as resolveThing } from "../search/resolve.js";
 import { reposStatus, syncStatus, reposList } from "../sync/admin.js";
 import { observeFile, observeMany, observeDelete } from "../sync/observe.js";
+import { withWriterLockAsync } from "../sync/writer-lock.js";
 import { QUERY_SYNTAX } from "./reference.js";
 import { versionInfo } from "../version.js";
 import { storagePath, referencePath } from "../core/paths.js";
 import { isContainerBlock } from "../format/index.js";
-import { surfaceApplyResult, surfaceDocOpResult, surfaceDocMoveResult, surfaceObserveResult, surfaceObserveDeleteResult, surfaceTextSearch, surfaceResolveHits, surfaceRetargetHits, surfaceDocsUpdate, } from "../surface-paths.js";
-// Kernel-op schemas (04 §1) published as the `apply` tool's op grammar. Giving
-// each op a real schema (rather than z.any()) makes the required fields
-// discoverable in the tool's JSON schema and turns a malformed op — e.g. an
-// `update` missing its `block` id — into a boundary validation error naming the
-// field, instead of a downstream `block_missing` for "block undefined". The
-// grammar (`block`, `blocks`, `to`, `at`, `expect.content_hash`, `op`) is
-// spec/mutate's and is not renamed by the surface's argument rule.
+import { surfaceInboundLink, surfaceObserveResult, surfaceObserveDeleteResult, surfaceTextSearch, surfaceResolveHits, surfaceRetargetHits, surfacePlan, surfaceReceipt, } from "../surface-paths.js";
+// The placement and guard schemas the block-level sugar shares (spec/mutate
+// §1.1/§1.2; the effect vocabulary spells them the same way). blocks_insert /
+// blocks_move carry the op-level expectation of §1.2: only
+// `parent_children_hash` (the destination parent's live direct child ids joined
+// by "," and sha256-hexed) has a meaning there — there is no target block whose
+// content_hash could be checked — so their schema names that one key alone (an
+// accidental `content_hash` is dropped, not an error).
 const atSchema = z.union([
     z.literal("start"),
     z.literal("end"),
     z.object({ before: z.string() }),
     z.object({ after: z.string() }),
 ]);
-const toSchema = z.object({
-    parent: z.union([
-        z.string().describe("a block id to nest under"),
-        z.object({ doc: z.literal(true) }).describe("the document's top level"),
-        z.object({ heading: z.string(), scope: z.literal("section") }).describe("a heading's section range"),
-    ]),
-    at: atSchema,
-});
-// blocks_insert / blocks_move carry the op-level expectation of spec/mutate §1.2:
-// only `parent_children_hash` (the destination parent's live direct child ids
-// joined by "," and sha256-hexed) has a meaning there — there is no target block
-// whose content_hash could be checked — so the schema names that one key alone
-// (an accidental `content_hash` is dropped, not an error; the kernel would
-// ignore it anyway).
 const parentExpectSchema = z.object({
     parent_children_hash: z.string().optional(),
 });
@@ -62,14 +48,13 @@ const expectSchema = z.object({
     content_hash: z.string().optional(),
     parent_children_hash: z.string().optional(),
 });
-const opSchema = z.discriminatedUnion("op", [
-    z.object({ op: z.literal("insert"), doc: z.string().optional(), to: toSchema, markdown: z.string(), expect: expectSchema.optional() }),
-    z.object({ op: z.literal("update"), block: z.string(), markdown: z.string().optional(), attrs: z.record(z.string(), z.unknown()).optional(), expect: expectSchema.optional() }),
-    z.object({ op: z.literal("move"), blocks: z.array(z.string()), to: toSchema, expect: expectSchema.optional() }),
-    z.object({ op: z.literal("remove"), blocks: z.array(z.string()), expect: z.record(z.string(), expectSchema).optional() }),
-    z.object({ op: z.literal("split"), block: z.string(), at: z.array(z.number().int()), expect: expectSchema.optional() }),
-    z.object({ op: z.literal("merge"), blocks: z.array(z.string()), separator: z.string().optional(), expect: z.record(z.string(), expectSchema).optional() }),
-]);
+// The public Effect vocabulary (spec/mutate §11, 2.3) — the `plan` / `execute` /
+// `apply.effects` grammar. The boundary schema is deliberately loose (an
+// object whose `op` is one of the nine): the planner's own `validateEffects`
+// checks every key, target kind and field spelling and reports the failure as
+// the same `filter_invalid { hint: "arguments" }` envelope, naming `effects[i]`
+// and the offending key — a message both engines compose from the spec.
+const effectSchema = z.looseObject({ op: z.enum(["create", "insert", "set", "unset", "move", "remove", "split", "merge", "retarget"]) }).describe("one effect: { op: \"create\", path, markdown, frontmatter? } | { op: \"insert\", into: Target, at?, markdown, expect? } | { op: \"set\", target, field, value, expect? } | { op: \"unset\", target, field, expect? } | { op: \"move\", target: document, to, retarget_inbound? } | { op: \"move\", targets: [block…], into, at?, expect? } | { op: \"remove\", target: document } | { op: \"remove\", targets: [block…], expect? } | { op: \"split\", target: block, at: [byte…], expect? } | { op: \"merge\", targets: [block…], separator?, expect? } | { op: \"retarget\", repairs: [{ from, to }], path_glob? }; Target = { kind: \"document\", id? | path? } | { kind: \"block\", id } | { kind: \"node\", id } | { kind: \"section\", heading_id }; any id may be $new.<n> for an identity an earlier effect creates");
 function ok(payload) {
     return { content: [{ type: "text", text: JSON.stringify(payload) }] };
 }
@@ -80,18 +65,56 @@ function fail(err) {
 }
 /** The message every tool uses for a `semantic(...)` call the server cannot rank. */
 export const PROVIDER_UNAVAILABLE_MESSAGE = "semantic(...) needs an embedding provider; none is configured — set embedding.provider (omg config set embedding.provider <command|url>) and embed the repository (omg embed drain)";
+/**
+ * The tools that can commit — the host serializes these under the writer lock
+ * of spec/sync §7. The same list as the Rust catalog's `Surface::is_write_tool`
+ * (`crates/omgbase-surface/src/catalog.rs`). `plan` is listed too: it reads
+ * the documents a write would touch, so a preview waits for a writer exactly as
+ * the write would (through 3.x the sugar's `dry_run` played that role).
+ */
+export const WRITE_TOOLS = new Set([
+    "apply", "plan", "execute",
+    "blocks_insert", "blocks_update", "blocks_move", "blocks_remove", "blocks_split", "blocks_merge", "blocks_check",
+    "nodes_set", "blocks_append", "docs_append",
+    "links_retarget", "links_repair",
+    "docs_create", "docs_move", "docs_delete", "docs_set_meta", "docs_update",
+    "observe", "observe_many", "observe_delete",
+]);
 export function buildServer(ctx) {
     const server = new McpServer({ name: "omgbase", version: VERSION });
     const { store } = ctx;
+    // The kernel's share of the workspace dir: spread into every ApplyRequest /
+    // DocOpContext so the stat cache is recorded on the MCP path too.
+    const LOCK_DIR = ctx.omgbaseDir !== undefined ? { omgbaseDir: ctx.omgbaseDir } : {};
     // ---- registration: listing through the SDK, validation + dispatch ours ----
     // `server.registerTool` publishes the name, description and JSON schema on
     // `tools/list`; the `tools/call` handler is replaced below so the arguments
     // are validated by `validateArguments` (spec/surface §4 "Arguments") and a
     // failure is the engine's own `filter_invalid`, not the SDK's text.
+    //
+    // A write tool (`WRITE_TOOLS`) is wrapped at registration so its whole call —
+    // argument resolution, the kernel's file-CAS + commit, `docs_move`'s inbound
+    // retarget — runs under one writer-lock acquire when the host supplied the
+    // workspace dir (the kernel's own inner lock re-enters it). The handler
+    // catches its own errors; the only one escaping the wrapper is the lock's
+    // `WriterLockTimeout`, rendered through `fail` like every other failure — a
+    // plain Error, so `errorBody` maps it to the pinned catch-all `repo_not_found`
+    // (spec/surface §9), the code the Rust host emits (`SurfaceError::other`).
     const registry = new Map();
     function tool(name, def, handler) {
-        server.registerTool(name, def, handler);
-        registry.set(name, { shape: def.inputSchema, handler: handler });
+        const lockDir = ctx.omgbaseDir;
+        const run = WRITE_TOOLS.has(name) && lockDir !== undefined
+            ? async (args) => {
+                try {
+                    return await withWriterLockAsync(lockDir, () => handler(args), ctx.writerLock);
+                }
+                catch (e) {
+                    return fail(e);
+                }
+            }
+            : handler;
+        server.registerTool(name, def, run);
+        registry.set(name, { shape: def.inputSchema, handler: run });
     }
     // Multi-repo (ADR-014): every tool accepts an optional `repo` slug. Resolve it
     // to a repo id + its (derived) working-tree root per call; omitting it uses the
@@ -233,13 +256,6 @@ export function buildServer(ctx) {
         const row = store.db.prepare("SELECT doc_id FROM blocks WHERE block_id = ? AND deleted_commit IS NULL").get(blockId);
         return row?.doc_id;
     }
-    // Current raw-content hash (hex) of a block, for CAS `expect` pinning — mirrors
-    // the CLI's rawHashOf. Undefined for an unknown/deleted block (the op then runs
-    // unpinned, exactly as the CLI does when it can't read a hash).
-    function pinHash(blockId) {
-        const row = store.db.prepare("SELECT lower(hex(raw_hash)) h FROM blocks WHERE block_id = ? AND deleted_commit IS NULL").get(blockId);
-        return row?.h;
-    }
     function resolveAt(repoId, at) {
         if (!at || at === "start" || at === "end")
             return at ?? "end";
@@ -247,11 +263,30 @@ export function buildServer(ctx) {
             return { before: resolveBlockRef(repoId, at.before) };
         return { after: resolveBlockRef(repoId, at.after) };
     }
-    // Apply an already-built op list, honoring dry_run (preview, no drain) — the
-    // shared tail of every block-level tool below.
-    function applyOps(repoId, rootPath, ops, reason, dryRun) {
-        const res = surfaceApplyResult(apply(store, { repoId, rootPath, ops, origin: { actor: "agent:mcp", reason }, ...(dryRun !== undefined ? { dryRun } : {}) }));
-        return dryRun ? ok(res) : okMutated(res);
+    // The sugar tools are `apply { effects }` (spec/surface §4 "Sugar over
+    // effects", 4.0; ADR-021): each tool resolves its refs and runs its own
+    // pre-checks, hands the ids to the shared builder of `mutate/sugar.ts` (one
+    // builder per operation — the same table the `omg` verbs, the fixture runner
+    // and the Rust port use), and `applySugar` plans + executes the effects as one
+    // request under the tool's fixed `reason` with `actor: "agent:mcp"` — the
+    // planner's `effect_index` dropped from any error, so `data` stays as pinned.
+    // Every sugar tool returns the Receipt (paths rooted); the preview of any of
+    // them is `plan { effects }` — there is no `dry_run` since 4.0.
+    function runSugar(repoId, rootPath, sugar, reason) {
+        const { receipt } = applySugar(store, { repoId, rootPath, actor: "agent:mcp", ...(reason !== undefined ? { reason } : {}), ...LOCK_DIR }, sugar);
+        return { receipt: receipt };
+    }
+    function sugar(repoId, rootPath, built) {
+        return okMutated(surfaceReceipt(runSugar(repoId, rootPath, built).receipt));
+    }
+    const blockTarget = (id) => ({ kind: "block", id });
+    // A parent ref as an effect target: a document ref is the document's top level, a block ref the block.
+    const parentTarget = (p) => typeof p.parent === "object" ? { kind: "document", id: p.docId } : { kind: "block", id: p.parent };
+    // An empty block list is an argument error (3.2, §9) — it used to reach the
+    // kernel as a malformed op (`block_missing "block undefined not found"`).
+    function requireSome(tool, arg, list) {
+        if (list.length === 0)
+            throw argumentError(tool, `\`${arg}\` must name at least one block`, registry.get(tool).shape);
     }
     // Guard shared by every mutating tool: a sourceless (headless-only) repo has no
     // working tree to write through, so mutation is disabled with a loud error.
@@ -474,7 +509,7 @@ export function buildServer(ctx) {
         inputSchema: {},
     }, async () => ok({ syntax: QUERY_SYNTAX }));
     tool("query", {
-        description: "OQX (omgbase Query eXpressions) — composable query in ONE expression. Two rules: DOT navigation belongs to the host object model (`doc.layer`, `section.blocks`, `dst.title`); WHITESPACE query directives belong to OQX — a nested query is `<receiver> collect|exists|count|first|single { <block> }` (a postfix directive + a `{ … }` block), never a method. `from E` selects a property/relation relative to the current source scope and flattens it (a typed flatMap): top-level `from docs|blocks|nodes|links` selects the repository's docs/blocks/nodes/links (the `links` target is the authored link graph as first-class rows — one row per link RELATION; the `md:link` node is a link's occurrence in the text, `via_id` points at it, and a frontmatter link has a row and no node — `id`/`path` plus the plain fields doc_id/block_id/via_id/dst_id/dst_path/uri/predicate/provenance/dst_kind/anchor/field, with path/doc.* reaching the SOURCE doc and `dst` the destination DOCUMENT row when the link points at one — `dst.title`, `dst.layer`, `dst_kind == \"document\"`; absent for an external or block destination and for a dangling target); `where`; `select`. Its distinctive power is receiver-constrained nested queries that correlate to the current row: `from docs where nodes exists { where kind == \"md:task\" }` returns only the docs that themselves contain a matching node (not a global scan). Directives: `exists { … }` / `count { … }` in where — with an optional count comparison `nodes count { where kind == \"md:task\" } >= 2`; `collect { … }` in select for hierarchical results, nestable (`select secs: nodes collect { select h: name, items: section.blocks collect { where type == \"list_item\" } where kind == \"md:section\" } from docs`). CLAUSE ORDER IS FIXED (ADR-020): within one body — the top level or any `{ block }` — clauses appear at most once each, in exactly this order: `select … from … where … follow … order by … limit N offset N`. Every clause is optional except a top-level `from`; an out-of-order clause is a parse error naming the order. ONLY `select` may drop its keyword, and only when it is the first clause written (`path, open from docs where …`; `nodes collect { attrs.text }` projects `attrs.text`). Every other clause carries its keyword, with one piece of sugar (oqx 0.17): a block's leading expression is its `where` when it is predicate-shaped (`nodes exists { kind == \"md:task\" }` ≡ `nodes exists { where kind == \"md:task\" }`); a bare name or dotted path is a projection, so filter on a bare field with `is active`, and `{ name where … }` is the projection + filter (`{ age >= 18, name }` is an error). A top-level predicate needs `where` (`where` follows `from`, so `age > 15 from people` is an error), a bare boolean property in leading position PROJECTS (`nodes collect { active }`), and `from docs count` is an error (write `docs count { … }` for the consumer, or `select count from docs` to project a field named count). More sugar, each desugaring in the parser to the explicit directive: a receiver block without a consumer is `collect` (`docs { type == \"x\" }`, `nodes { kind == \"md:task\" }`, `size(nodes { is checked })` — wherever a value stands, and after a `follow` destination too: `follow children { depth 2 }` is that destination's block; `x distinct { … }` is `x collect distinct { … }`); a tuple `(a, b)` (two or more expressions, concatenated one level flat) is a value and a receiver (`\"x\" in (tags, aliases)`, `follow (before, after) { depth 2 }`); brackets `x[p]` = `x first { where p }` (the first match or absent), `x[p]!` = `x single { where p }` required (exactly one, else filter_invalid), `x[n]` = `x first { offset n }` (positional; out of range is absent); postfix `x!` = required (the value, or a loud error naming the expression and the row — never a filter, never a coercion; tightest: `a!.b` vs `a.b!`); prefix `is x` / `not x` (truthiness); infix `x is y` / `x is not y` compares identity (`$key`: a store row's id, else the value — `x is null` is the absence test; for scalars `is` ≡ `==`); and a `select` item may use the items to its left (`boss: ^docs[slug == ^manager], name: boss.title`). `and` / `or` / `not` are the connectives; `&&` / `||` / `!` are accepted synonyms (the canonical printer writes the words). `where` may reference the same body's `select` aliases (`select path, old: era < 1000 from docs where old` — inlined at parse time; an alias shadows a same-named field there). On the nodes/blocks targets a bare identifier that is not a structural field (doc_id, block_id, kind/name/value; doc_id, type/text, ordinal/depth) or row attribute (id, path, raw, hash, updated_at) reads the flattened attrs bag — `checked` == `attrs.checked`, `level` == `attrs.level` — so the name you filter on matches the name a projection returns (`select attrs.checked` yields key `checked`); the `attrs.<key>` form still works and an absent key is silently false. Any consumer accepts `distinct` to dedup the rows it reduces by their projected value — `nodes count distinct { select kind }`, `nodes collect distinct { select kind }`, top-level `select distinct type` (empty projection dedups by identity). `values` after a projection of exactly ONE item returns the bare value instead of a `{name: value}` record: at the top level `select path values from docs where layer == \"canon\"` returns `values: [\"a.md\", …]` (paged like hits; `hits` is empty), and inside a block `select tags: tags collect { $it values }` yields a plain array. `$it` is the current item itself — the row, or the scalar element when the receiver is a list property (`where tags exists { where $it == \"pricing\" }`); inside a block `^$it` is the enclosing row. `none { … }` is the zero-cardinality test — true iff the block yields no rows (≡ `!… exists { … }`), and how \"every\" is spelled: `nodes none { where kind == \"md:task\" and not checked }` = no open tasks; also a whole-query directive (`docs none { … }` returns `none`). `limit N` / `offset N` bound a row set AFTER where/order/distinct and BEFORE the consumer reduces it, so they mean the same under every consumer: at the top level (`order by era desc limit 3` — the tool's `limit`/`cursor` then page within that bounded set) or inside any block (`nodes collect { … order by ordinal limit 1 }`; `nodes exists { offset 1 }` = at least two). `entries(x)` turns a record into a collection of entries — inside the block `$key` is the property key and `$it` (and bare names) the value: `select fm: entries(frontmatter) collect { k: $key, v: $it }`, `from nodes where kind == \"md:task\" and entries(attrs) exists { where $key == \"checked\" and $it }`; works on `data` (the merged authored bag: frontmatter + inline) / `frontmatter` / `inline` (nested dotted keys folded back — an authored `$`-prefixed key such as `$version` is reached as `frontmatter.$version` and listed by `entries(frontmatter)`; a bare `$version` is an unknown OQX name and reads nothing), `attrs`, a nested frontmatter map, or a list (numeric index keys). Plain objects never auto-iterate; `entries()` is the explicit bridge. The where clause is a boolean tree: compose scalar predicates and consumer directives with `and`, `or`, `not`, and grouping (`layer == \"canon\" or nodes exists { where kind == \"md:task\" }`). Relative source: `from E` inside a top-level consumer block re-projects the rows — `docs collect { from nodes where kind == \"md:task\" }` starts at docs, projects each doc through its `nodes` relation, and queries the resulting nodes (a scalar relation like `from doc` contributes one row; a missing/non-navigable relation is a loud error, never a global scan). One-scope lift: a `collect` in `where` with a `^name` both filters (non-empty) and binds the matching values into the parent select in one expression — `select path, open from docs where nodes collect { ^open: value where kind == \"md:task\" and not attrs.checked }` returns the docs with an open task, each carrying its open-task texts. Correlation / joins (the `^` sigil, symmetric with the lift): a nested query may READ a name bound one scope outward — bind it in the parent (a select value or a lift), then reference `^name` inside a nested query's where. Combined with the root row's collections `^docs` / `^nodes` / `^blocks` / `^links` (the repository is OQX's root row, one scope out from a top-level row — one caret per enclosing block, or the absolute `0^docs` from any depth; an UNBOUNDED repository scan, uncorrelated until you add a `^` predicate) this expresses lateral/dependent joins without a JOIN keyword: `^<t> exists { where … == ^k }` = semi-join, `not … exists { … }` = anti-join, `… collect { … }` in select = nested left-join, and the select-only lookups `first { … }` / `single { … }` (zero-or-one / one-to-one; `single` errors if it matches >1) — e.g. `select owner_id, owner: ^nodes single { where kind == \"person\" and attrs.id == ^owner_id } from docs`. Membership over a lifted set: `<value> in ^keys`. `^` reads exactly ONE scope out (no arbitrary-ancestor search), and a bare name reads the CURRENT row only — it never falls through to an enclosing row or the root, so reach outward explicitly with `^name` (the enclosing row) or `^docs` / `0^docs` (the root row's collections; `^id` / `0^id` is the repository id, `^$it` the root object). A bare `docs` INSIDE a block is an error (\"did you mean `^docs`\"), never an empty read; `$repo` (surface < 2.0) is refused with the replacement spelled out. PATHS are `/`-rooted on the surface (surface 2.0): every path returned — `path`, an edge's `dst_path`, a hit's `path` — is the reference form (`/a/b.md`), and a string literal compared with `path`/`dst_path` by `==`/`!=` or passed to their `startsWith` accepts both forms (`path == \"a.md\"` and `path == \"/a.md\"` both match); a property's value is the author's, so a reference held in frontmatter compares with `^path` directly (`^docs { ^path in list(after) }` = the documents whose `after` names me). `refs(field)` resolves the document REFERENCES a property holds (a string or a list of `/a.md`, `a.md` or `d_…` elements; dangling and non-string elements dropped) to live docs rows, so it is a source (`from refs(\"/a.md\")`), a receiver (`refs(before) collect { path, when }`, `refs(see_also)[0]`) or a `follow` destination (`follow refs(before), refs(after)` walks a timeline both ways); `follow before` over the strings fails — a hit must be a document, block, node or edge row. Top-level consumers: the whole query can be a consumer directive over a bare root receiver (a target name at the root scope) to change its result shape — `docs count { … }`, `docs exists { … }` and `docs none { … }` reduce to a scalar (returned as `count`/`exists`/`none`, no hits), `docs first { … }` / `docs single { … }` return zero-or-one hit (`single` errors if the query matches >1); a bare `from …` is the collect form. (A bare target at the root scope is the same collection `^<target>` reaches from inside where/select.) Scalar predicates follow the @omgbase/oqx semantics (strict typed equality with absence normalized so `!=` over an absent field matches; case-sensitive string ops with `.lower()`/`.upper()` and a regex `matches()`; absent sorts last; arithmetic supported), including doc.<key> reach-through and `text(\"terms\")` — a full-text (FTS5) PRUNING predicate that, because it is an ordinary predicate, composes inside correlated subqueries and collects (e.g. `nodes exists { where kind == \"md:task\" and text(\"ship\") }`), which the flat `query` tool cannot express. (`text` prunes; relevance ranking is separate.) And `semantic(\"phrase\")` — an embedding cosine SCORE (docs/blocks only) usable as a threshold prune (`semantic(\"the great work\") > 0.6`) or a projection (`select score: semantic(\"…\")`); it needs an embedding provider that has embedded this repository (else `provider_unavailable`, naming what to configure — never a silent unranked result) and, like `text`, composes inside nested scopes. Ranking: `order by <expr> [asc|desc], …` sorts the result (`order by semantic(\"the great work\") desc` = semantic top-K; also orders by any frontmatter field / `path`), always tie-broken by (path, id) for a total order — this is how score functions become a ranking. A custom order disables the keyset cursor (you still get the top `limit` with `truncated`). Recursion (`follow`): make the query recursive over a TYPE-PRESERVING relation (the relation's successor type must equal the query target). `from blocks where id == \"b_x\" follow block.children` walks the block subtree from a seed; the `where` picks the SEED rows and `follow <relation>` expands them. A bare `follow <relation>` carries no sub-clauses; a brace after any destination opens that destination's block (oqx 0.20 — there is no options block), an ordinary block with two clauses of its own after `where`: `follow <rel> { where <pred> }` filters which successors keep participating at each hop (running out ⇒ a leaf), `{ frontier <pred> }` cuts a relation that could otherwise continue (⇒ a frontier; only occurrences this destination reached), `{ depth <n> }` bounds the walk through this destination (1..8, default 8). `follow distinct` dedups reached rows by identity (the default keeps one occurrence per distinct walk path). Identity is `$key` — a store row's id; a block may project `$key: <expr>` to rekey the rows it yields (a destination block's `$key:` is not a column) — e.g. `follow out_links collect { $key: group from dst }` treats same-`group` documents as one node. Each reached row carries recursion metadata: `$depth` (seed = 1), the categorical `$stop` (interior | leaf | frontier | depth | cycle) with `$leaf`/`$frontier` boolean sugar, and `$ordinal` (a deterministic 1..N rank over the walk, ordered by depth then path — `order by $ordinal` for walk order, `where $ordinal <= N` for a deterministic budget cut). It is queryable in select / order by AND filterable post-walk in the top-level `where` (a `where` conjunct referencing a recursion intrinsic filters the walk's RESULT — `from blocks where type == \"list_item\" and $leaf follow block.children` = the leaves; the non-recursion conjuncts remain the seed predicate). Recursion intrinsics are NOT valid in a destination block's `where` or `frontier` (those run mid-walk, before the metadata exists), nor inside a consumer directive. Cyclic graphs are safe: a revisited node is admitted once as a `$stop == \"cycle\"` occurrence and never re-expanded. Type-preserving relations today: `block.children` (blocks→blocks, immediate child blocks), `section.children` (nodes→nodes, immediate child sections — a true outline depth ladder) and `section.subsections` (nodes→nodes, the whole transitive sub-tree — flattens to depth 2). The authored citation graph is walked through the LINK ROWS with a destination block (docs→docs): `follow out_links collect { from dst }` reaches the documents a doc links TO (`dst` is a link's destination document; an external or dangling link has none and contributes no successor), `follow in_links collect { from doc }` its backlinks (`doc` is the link's source); `depth`/`frontier` are clauses of the block — `follow out_links collect { from dst depth 2 }`; filter the rows first for a predicate-restricted walk (`follow out_links collect { from dst where predicate == \"depends_on\" }`). There is no `out`/`in` relation (surface 3.0 — a doc's `out`/`in` is an ordinary absent property). Consumers compose over the walk (`blocks count { where … follow block.children }`). A `follow` may also nest inside a select-position `collect` for a per-row recursive subtree: `select outline: nodes collect { select n: name, d: $depth where kind == \"md:section\" and name == \"Overview\" follow section.children } from docs` (the collect's `where` seeds, correlated to the row; `follow` recurses; the collect's `select` projects each occurrence). Receivers: from docs — `nodes`, `blocks`, `doc.out_links`/`doc.in_links` (a doc's outgoing/incoming links as rows; the documents at their other end are `out_links collect distinct { from dst }` / `in_links collect distinct { from doc }`); from links — `doc` (the source document) and `dst` (the destination document, when there is one); from nodes — `section.blocks` (content under an `md:section` node's heading, transitively including deeper headings), `section.children` (immediate child sections), and `section.subsections` (all contained sections); from blocks — `section` (enclosing `md:section` node(s)), `block.children` (child blocks), `block.nodes` (the projected nodes anchored to this block — links/tasks/anchors/…), and `block.out_links` (this block's outgoing links as rows — body links + inline fields; frontmatter links are doc-grain, use `doc.out_links`); from any row — `^docs` / `^nodes` / `^blocks` / `^links` (the root row's collections; `0^docs` from any depth). Returns lean hits {id, path, ...projections} — the envelope keys are the attributes, so a hit's `id` pastes into the next `where id == …` unchanged, and is the value a tool's `id` argument takes (the name rule, surface 3.0: omgbase adds no `$` names — `$` belongs to OQX's `$it`/`$key`/`$depth`…; every engine attribute is bare snake_case and WINS on collision — id/path everywhere, raw/hash/updated_at on docs and blocks, title/tags/format on docs — and an authored key of the same name is reached through `data.<k>` / `frontmatter.<k>` / `inline.<k>`; `select id, path` is simply the envelope and any other projection whose key would be id/path must be aliased (`p: data.path`); every tool result spells a row with the same names) — with truncated + cursor (or a `count`/`exists` scalar for those consumers). Covers structural + section navigation + ad-hoc correlation + bounded recursive traversal (`follow`).",
+        description: "OQX (omgbase Query eXpressions) — composable query in ONE expression. Clause order is fixed: select, from, where, frontier, follow, order by, limit, offset — `select` first (`select path, era from docs where era > 1600 order by era desc limit 3`), its keyword optional only there; `from docs where … select …` is a parse error naming the order. Two rules: DOT navigation belongs to the host object model (`doc.layer`, `section.blocks`, `dst.title`); WHITESPACE query directives belong to OQX — a nested query is `<receiver> collect|exists|count|first|single { <block> }` (a postfix directive + a `{ … }` block), never a method. The clauses, in writing order: `select` projects the hit's columns (`select path, title`; an alias per computed item, `n: size(tags)`; no `select` = the bare envelope); `from E` selects a property/relation relative to the current source scope and flattens it (a typed flatMap): top-level `from docs|blocks|nodes|links` selects the repository's docs/blocks/nodes/links (the `links` target is the authored link graph as first-class rows — one row per link RELATION; the `md:link` node is a link's occurrence in the text, `via_id` points at it, and a frontmatter link has a row and no node — `id`/`path` plus the plain fields doc_id/block_id/via_id/dst_id/dst_path/uri/predicate/provenance/dst_kind/anchor/field, with path/doc.* reaching the SOURCE doc and `dst` the destination DOCUMENT row when the link points at one — `dst.title`, `dst.layer`, `dst_kind == \"document\"`; absent for an external or block destination and for a dangling target); `where` filters the rows; then `frontier`, `follow`, `order by`, `limit`/`offset` (each below). Its distinctive power is receiver-constrained nested queries that correlate to the current row: `from docs where nodes exists { where kind == \"md:task\" }` returns only the docs that themselves contain a matching node (not a global scan). Directives: `exists { … }` / `count { … }` in where — with an optional count comparison `nodes count { where kind == \"md:task\" } >= 2`; `collect { … }` in select for hierarchical results, nestable (`select secs: nodes collect { select h: name, items: section.blocks collect { where type == \"list_item\" } where kind == \"md:section\" } from docs`). CLAUSE ORDER IS FIXED (ADR-020): within one body — the top level or any `{ block }` — clauses appear at most once each, in exactly this order: `select … from … where … frontier … follow … order by … limit N offset N` (`frontier <pred>` is a clause of a body that has a `follow` — it marks the body's SEEDS, oqx 0.20). Every clause is optional except a top-level `from`; an out-of-order clause is a parse error naming the order. ONLY `select` may drop its keyword, and only when it is the first clause written (`path, open from docs where …`; `nodes collect { attrs.text }` projects `attrs.text`). Every other clause carries its keyword, with one piece of sugar (oqx 0.17): a block's leading expression is its `where` when it is predicate-shaped (`nodes exists { kind == \"md:task\" }` ≡ `nodes exists { where kind == \"md:task\" }`); a bare name or dotted path is a projection, so filter on a bare field with `is active`, and `{ name where … }` is the projection + filter (`{ age >= 18, name }` is an error). A top-level predicate needs `where` (`where` follows `from`, so `age > 15 from people` is an error), a bare boolean property in leading position PROJECTS (`nodes collect { active }`), and `from docs count` is an error (write `docs count { … }` for the consumer, or `select count from docs` to project a field named count). More sugar, each desugaring in the parser to the explicit directive: a receiver block without a consumer is `collect` (`docs { type == \"x\" }`, `nodes { kind == \"md:task\" }`, `size(nodes { is checked })` — wherever a value stands, and after a `follow` destination too: `follow children { depth 2 }` is that destination's block; `x distinct { … }` is `x collect distinct { … }`); a tuple `(a, b)` (two or more expressions, concatenated one level flat) is a value and a receiver (`\"x\" in (tags, aliases)`, `follow (before, after) { depth 2 }`); brackets `x[p]` = `x first { where p }` (the first match or absent), `x[p]!` = `x single { where p }` required (exactly one, else filter_invalid), `x[n]` = `x first { offset n }` (positional; out of range is absent); postfix `x!` = required (the value, or a loud error naming the expression and the row — never a filter, never a coercion; tightest: `a!.b` vs `a.b!`); prefix `is x` / `not x` (truthiness); infix `x is y` / `x is not y` compares identity (`$key`: a store row's id, else the value — `x is null` is the absence test; for scalars `is` ≡ `==`); and a `select` item may use the items to its left (`boss: ^docs[slug == ^manager], name: boss.title`). `and` / `or` / `not` are the connectives; `&&` / `||` / `!` are accepted synonyms (the canonical printer writes the words). `where` may reference the same body's `select` aliases (`select path, old: era < 1000 from docs where old` — inlined at parse time; an alias shadows a same-named field there). On the nodes/blocks targets a bare identifier that is not a structural field (doc_id, block_id, kind/name/value; doc_id, type/text, ordinal/depth) or row attribute (id, path, raw, hash, updated_at) reads the flattened attrs bag — `checked` == `attrs.checked`, `level` == `attrs.level` — so the name you filter on matches the name a projection returns (`select attrs.checked` yields key `checked`); the `attrs.<key>` form still works and an absent key is silently false. Any consumer accepts `distinct` to dedup the rows it reduces by their projected value — `nodes count distinct { select kind }`, `nodes collect distinct { select kind }`, top-level `select distinct type` (empty projection dedups by identity). `values` after a projection of exactly ONE item returns the bare value instead of a `{name: value}` record: at the top level `select path values from docs where layer == \"canon\"` returns `values: [\"a.md\", …]` (paged like hits; `hits` is empty), and inside a block `select tags: tags collect { $it values }` yields a plain array. `$it` is the current item itself — the row, or the scalar element when the receiver is a list property (`where tags exists { where $it == \"pricing\" }`); inside a block `^$it` is the enclosing row. `none { … }` is the zero-cardinality test — true iff the block yields no rows (≡ `!… exists { … }`), and how \"every\" is spelled: `nodes none { where kind == \"md:task\" and not checked }` = no open tasks; also a whole-query directive (`docs none { … }` returns `none`). `limit N` / `offset N` bound a row set AFTER where/order/distinct and BEFORE the consumer reduces it, so they mean the same under every consumer: at the top level (`order by era desc limit 3` — the tool's `limit`/`cursor` then page within that bounded set) or inside any block (`nodes collect { … order by ordinal limit 1 }`; `nodes exists { offset 1 }` = at least two). `entries(x)` turns a record into a collection of entries — inside the block `$key` is the property key and `$it` (and bare names) the value: `select fm: entries(frontmatter) collect { k: $key, v: $it }`, `from nodes where kind == \"md:task\" and entries(attrs) exists { where $key == \"checked\" and $it }`; works on `data` (the merged authored bag: frontmatter + inline) / `frontmatter` / `inline` (nested dotted keys folded back — an authored `$`-prefixed key such as `$version` is reached as `frontmatter.$version` and listed by `entries(frontmatter)`; a bare `$version` is an unknown OQX name and reads nothing), `attrs`, a nested frontmatter map, or a list (numeric index keys). Plain objects never auto-iterate; `entries()` is the explicit bridge. The where clause is a boolean tree: compose scalar predicates and consumer directives with `and`, `or`, `not`, and grouping (`layer == \"canon\" or nodes exists { where kind == \"md:task\" }`). Relative source: `from E` inside a top-level consumer block re-projects the rows — `docs collect { from nodes where kind == \"md:task\" }` starts at docs, projects each doc through its `nodes` relation, and queries the resulting nodes (a scalar relation like `from doc` contributes one row; a missing/non-navigable relation is a loud error, never a global scan). One-scope lift: a `collect` in `where` with a `^name` both filters (non-empty) and binds the matching values into the parent select in one expression — `select path, open from docs where nodes collect { ^open: value where kind == \"md:task\" and not attrs.checked }` returns the docs with an open task, each carrying its open-task texts. Correlation / joins (the `^` sigil, symmetric with the lift): a nested query may READ a name bound one scope outward — bind it in the parent (a select value or a lift), then reference `^name` inside a nested query's where. Combined with the root row's collections `^docs` / `^nodes` / `^blocks` / `^links` (the repository is OQX's root row, one scope out from a top-level row — one caret per enclosing block, or the absolute `0^docs` from any depth; an UNBOUNDED repository scan, uncorrelated until you add a `^` predicate) this expresses lateral/dependent joins without a JOIN keyword: `^<t> exists { where … == ^k }` = semi-join, `not … exists { … }` = anti-join, `… collect { … }` in select = nested left-join, and the select-only lookups `first { … }` / `single { … }` (zero-or-one / one-to-one; `single` errors if it matches >1) — e.g. `select owner_id, owner: ^nodes single { where kind == \"person\" and attrs.id == ^owner_id } from docs`. Membership over a lifted set: `<value> in ^keys`. `^` reads exactly ONE scope out (no arbitrary-ancestor search), and a bare name reads the CURRENT row only — it never falls through to an enclosing row or the root, so reach outward explicitly with `^name` (the enclosing row) or `^docs` / `0^docs` (the root row's collections; `^id` / `0^id` is the repository id, `^$it` the root object). A bare `docs` INSIDE a block is an error (\"did you mean `^docs`\"), never an empty read; `$repo` (surface < 2.0) is refused with the replacement spelled out. PATHS are `/`-rooted on the surface (surface 2.0): every path returned — `path`, an edge's `dst_path`, a hit's `path` — is the reference form (`/a/b.md`), and a string literal compared with `path`/`dst_path` by `==`/`!=` or passed to their `startsWith` accepts both forms (`path == \"a.md\"` and `path == \"/a.md\"` both match); a property's value is the author's, so a reference held in frontmatter compares with `^path` directly (`^docs { ^path in list(after) }` = the documents whose `after` names me). `refs(field)` resolves the document REFERENCES a property holds (a string or a list of `/a.md`, `a.md` or `d_…` elements; dangling and non-string elements dropped) to live docs rows, so it is a source (`from refs(\"/a.md\")`), a receiver (`refs(before) collect { path, when }`, `refs(see_also)[0]`) or a `follow` destination (`follow refs(before), refs(after)` walks a timeline both ways); `follow before` over the strings fails — a hit must be a document, block, node or edge row. Top-level consumers: the whole query can be a consumer directive over a bare root receiver (a target name at the root scope) to change its result shape — `docs count { … }`, `docs exists { … }` and `docs none { … }` reduce to a scalar (returned as `count`/`exists`/`none`, no hits), `docs first { … }` / `docs single { … }` return zero-or-one hit (`single` errors if the query matches >1); a bare `from …` is the collect form. (A bare target at the root scope is the same collection `^<target>` reaches from inside where/select.) Scalar predicates follow the @omgbase/oqx semantics (strict typed equality with absence normalized so `!=` over an absent field matches; case-sensitive string ops with `.lower()`/`.upper()` and a regex `matches()`; absent sorts last; arithmetic supported), including doc.<key> reach-through and `text(\"terms\")` — a full-text (FTS5) PRUNING predicate that, because it is an ordinary predicate, composes inside correlated subqueries and collects (e.g. `nodes exists { where kind == \"md:task\" and text(\"ship\") }`), which the flat `query` tool cannot express. (`text` prunes; relevance ranking is separate.) And `semantic(\"phrase\")` — an embedding cosine SCORE (docs/blocks only) usable as a threshold prune (`semantic(\"the great work\") > 0.6`) or a projection (`select score: semantic(\"…\")`); it needs an embedding provider that has embedded this repository (else `provider_unavailable`, naming what to configure — never a silent unranked result) and, like `text`, composes inside nested scopes. Ranking: `order by <expr> [asc|desc], …` sorts the result (`order by semantic(\"the great work\") desc` = semantic top-K; also orders by any frontmatter field / `path`), always tie-broken by (path, id) for a total order — this is how score functions become a ranking. A custom order disables the keyset cursor (you still get the top `limit` with `truncated`). Recursion (`follow`): make the query recursive over a TYPE-PRESERVING relation (the relation's successor type must equal the query target). `from blocks where id == \"b_x\" follow block.children` walks the block subtree from a seed; the `where` picks the SEED rows and `follow <relation>` expands them. A bare `follow <relation>` carries no sub-clauses; a brace after any destination opens that destination's block (oqx 0.20 — there is no options block), an ordinary block with two clauses of its own after `where`: `follow <rel> { where <pred> }` filters which successors keep participating at each hop (running out ⇒ a leaf), `{ frontier <pred> }` cuts a relation that could otherwise continue (⇒ a frontier; only occurrences this destination reached), `{ depth <n> }` bounds the walk through this destination (1..8, default 8). `follow distinct` dedups reached rows by identity (the default keeps one occurrence per distinct walk path). Identity is `$key` — a store row's id; a block may project `$key: <expr>` to rekey the rows it yields (a destination block's `$key:` is not a column) — e.g. `follow out_links collect { $key: group from dst }` treats same-`group` documents as one node. Each reached row carries recursion metadata: `$depth` (seed = 1), the categorical `$stop` (interior | leaf | frontier | depth | cycle) with `$leaf`/`$frontier` boolean sugar, and `$ordinal` (a deterministic 1..N rank over the walk, ordered by depth then path — `order by $ordinal` for walk order, `where $ordinal <= N` for a deterministic budget cut). It is queryable in select / order by AND filterable post-walk in the top-level `where` (a `where` conjunct referencing a recursion intrinsic filters the walk's RESULT — `from blocks where type == \"list_item\" and $leaf follow block.children` = the leaves; the non-recursion conjuncts remain the seed predicate). Recursion intrinsics are NOT valid in a destination block's `where` or `frontier` (those run mid-walk, before the metadata exists), nor inside a consumer directive. Cyclic graphs are safe: a revisited node is admitted once as a `$stop == \"cycle\"` occurrence and never re-expanded. Type-preserving relations today: `block.children` (blocks→blocks, immediate child blocks), `section.children` (nodes→nodes, immediate child sections — a true outline depth ladder) and `section.subsections` (nodes→nodes, the whole transitive sub-tree — flattens to depth 2). The authored citation graph is walked through the LINK ROWS with a destination block (docs→docs): `follow out_links collect { from dst }` reaches the documents a doc links TO (`dst` is a link's destination document; an external or dangling link has none and contributes no successor), `follow in_links collect { from doc }` its backlinks (`doc` is the link's source); `depth`/`frontier` are clauses of the block — `follow out_links collect { from dst depth 2 }`; filter the rows first for a predicate-restricted walk (`follow out_links collect { from dst where predicate == \"depends_on\" }`). There is no `out`/`in` relation (surface 3.0 — a doc's `out`/`in` is an ordinary absent property). Consumers compose over the walk (`blocks count { where … follow block.children }`). A `follow` may also nest inside a select-position `collect` for a per-row recursive subtree: `select outline: nodes collect { select n: name, d: $depth where kind == \"md:section\" and name == \"Overview\" follow section.children } from docs` (the collect's `where` seeds, correlated to the row; `follow` recurses; the collect's `select` projects each occurrence). Receivers: from docs — `nodes`, `blocks`, `doc.out_links`/`doc.in_links` (a doc's outgoing/incoming links as rows; the documents at their other end are `out_links collect distinct { from dst }` / `in_links collect distinct { from doc }`); from links — `doc` (the source document) and `dst` (the destination document, when there is one); from nodes — `section.blocks` (content under an `md:section` node's heading, transitively including deeper headings), `section.children` (immediate child sections), and `section.subsections` (all contained sections); from blocks — `section` (enclosing `md:section` node(s)), `block.children` (child blocks), `block.nodes` (the projected nodes anchored to this block — links/tasks/anchors/…), and `block.out_links` (this block's outgoing links as rows — body links + inline fields; frontmatter links are doc-grain, use `doc.out_links`); from any row — `^docs` / `^nodes` / `^blocks` / `^links` (the root row's collections; `0^docs` from any depth). Returns lean hits {id, path, ...projections} — the envelope keys are the attributes, so a hit's `id` pastes into the next `where id == …` unchanged, and is the value a tool's `id` argument takes (the name rule, surface 3.0: omgbase adds no `$` names — `$` belongs to OQX's `$it`/`$key`/`$depth`…; every engine attribute is bare snake_case and WINS on collision — id/path everywhere, raw/hash/updated_at on docs and blocks, title/tags/format on docs — and an authored key of the same name is reached through `data.<k>` / `frontmatter.<k>` / `inline.<k>`; `select id, path` is simply the envelope and any other projection whose key would be id/path must be aliased (`p: data.path`); every tool result spells a row with the same names) — with truncated + cursor (or a `count`/`exists` scalar for those consumers). Covers structural + section navigation + ad-hoc correlation + bounded recursive traversal (`follow`).",
         inputSchema: {
             query: z.string(),
             limit: z.number().int().optional(),
@@ -551,11 +586,10 @@ export function buildServer(ctx) {
         }
     });
     tool("apply", {
-        description: "The only real writer. Applies a changeset of kernel ops (insert/update/move/remove/split/merge) atomically — all apply or none. Each op is a tagged object keyed by \"op\"; the block an op targets is named by its `block` (update/split) or `blocks` (move/remove/merge) field, never `id`/`target` (the op grammar is spec/mutate's, unchanged by the surface's `id`/`path` argument rule). Ops apply in order; later ops see earlier effects; minted ids are referenceable via \"$n.ids[i]\". Pass dry_run:true first for multi-doc changes to preview diffs. The result is `{ results: [{ ids, … }], revisions: [{ id, path, hash }], diffs?, committed }` — one revision per touched document with its hash after the change (the same shape a changes_since revision has). update/split/merge/remove take a CAS `expect.content_hash` — get it from docs_read include_ids (its `hashes` map) in the same read that gave you the ids, or use the ref-accepting block_* sugar (blocks_update/blocks_split/…) which pins it server-side. Conflicts carry current truth (`data.current.hash` + `markdown`) — including a missing/omitted expect.content_hash, whose error returns the current hash — so retry from the error, don't re-read.",
+        description: "The only real writer: an ORDERED list of `effects` — the intentional-write vocabulary `create insert set unset move remove split merge retarget` over documents, blocks, nodes and sections (the vocabulary `plan` documents, spec/mutate §11) — planned and committed as ONE transaction with one commit. Returns the Receipt `{ plan_id, commit, revisions: [{ id, path, hash }], new_ids: { \"$new.n\": id }, committed: true }` — one revision per touched document with its hash after the change (the same shape a changes_since revision has), `new_ids` the ids minted for the plan's symbolic identities, `commit` null when there was nothing to commit. To PREVIEW, call `plan` with the same `effects`: it returns the frozen Plan (diffs, results, the identity consequences) and burns no id; `execute` then commits exactly that plan. Every mutating tool is sugar over this one and returns the same Receipt. Guards: `expect.content_hash` on a block effect is the CAS of spec/mutate §1.2 (get it from docs_read include_ids' `hashes`, or omit it — effects pin the live hash for you); `expect.parent_children_hash` is the destination-parent CAS of insert/move; `expect.revision` pins a document. Conflicts carry current truth (`data.current.hash` + `markdown`) so retry from the error, don't re-read. Through surface 3.x this tool also took the six kernel ops as `ops` and a `dry_run`; both are retired (the kernel ops are a library/fixture contract since spec/mutate 3.0; the preview is `plan`) and refused by name.",
         inputSchema: {
-            ops: z.array(opSchema),
+            effects: z.array(effectSchema),
             reason: z.string().optional(),
-            dry_run: z.boolean().optional(),
             ...REPO_ARG,
         },
     }, async (args) => {
@@ -563,14 +597,52 @@ export function buildServer(ctx) {
             const { repoId, rootPath } = repoScope(args.repo);
             if (!rootPath)
                 throw new EngineError("repo_not_found", "repo has no filesystem source; mutation disabled");
-            const res = surfaceApplyResult(apply(store, {
-                repoId, rootPath,
-                ops: args.ops,
-                origin: { actor: "agent:mcp", ...(args.reason ? { reason: args.reason } : {}) },
-                ...(args.dry_run !== undefined ? { dryRun: args.dry_run } : {}),
-            }));
-            // A dry run previews without writing — don't schedule a drain for it.
-            return args.dry_run ? ok(res) : okMutated(res);
+            const origin = { actor: "agent:mcp", ...(args.reason ? { reason: args.reason } : {}) };
+            // Plan + execute under one lock and one transaction → the Receipt (spec/mutate §11.7).
+            return okMutated(surfaceReceipt(applyEffects(store, { repoId, rootPath, effects: args.effects, origin, ...LOCK_DIR })));
+        }
+        catch (e) {
+            return fail(e);
+        }
+    });
+    // ---- the Effect layer's verbs (spec/mutate §11, spec/surface §4 — 3.1) ----
+    // `plan` reads only and returns the frozen Plan with its preview; `execute`
+    // commits exactly a plan (the plan form, or the digest form `plan_id` +
+    // `effects`); `apply { effects }` above is plan + execute in one call.
+    tool("plan", {
+        description: "Plan a write without writing: lower an ORDERED list of `effects` — the intentional-write vocabulary `create insert set unset move remove split merge retarget` over documents, blocks, nodes and sections (spec/mutate §11) — to the kernel ops and document operations they mean, check their preconditions now (a stale `expect` fails here as it would at commit), reject contradictory effects (`conflicting_effects`: two writes to one scalar with different values, an effect addressing a target an earlier one removed — an identical duplicate is dropped with a diagnostic), and return the frozen Plan: `{ version: 1, planner_v, effects (targets resolved; `$new.n` kept symbolic), opset, preconditions: { docs, blocks, parents, absent_paths }, new_ids: [{ symbol, kind }], plan_id, diagnostics, preview: { results, revisions, diffs } }`. `plan_id` is the sha256 of the plan's executable core, so an identical plan over identical state has the same id and a plan burns no real id (new identities are `$new.0, $new.1, …` — a created document AND each of its blocks, in pre-order, so later effects may insert into / move into / edit a document the same request creates — minted at execute and mapped in the receipt). `preview` also carries `identity` (per `set content` document: the whole-document planner's `{ matcher_v, summary, ops: [{ op_index, disposition, blocks, confidence, reason }], diagnostics }`) and `retarget` (per `retarget` effect: `{ effect_index, hits, pairs }`) when the plan has such effects. Hand the whole Plan to `execute` (or just its `plan_id` with the same `effects`); nothing has expiry — the preconditions decide. Effect shapes: { op: \"create\", path, markdown, frontmatter? }, { op: \"insert\", into: Target, at? = \"end\", markdown, expect? }, { op: \"set\", target, field, value, expect? } (fields: a document's `frontmatter.<key>` or `content`, a block's `markdown` or `attrs.checked`, a node's editable property), { op: \"unset\", target: document, field: \"frontmatter.<key>\" }, { op: \"move\", target: document, to, retarget_inbound? = true }, { op: \"move\", targets: [block…], into, at?, expect? }, { op: \"remove\", target: document } | { targets: [block…], expect? }, { op: \"split\", target: block, at: [byte…] }, { op: \"merge\", targets: [block…], separator? }, { op: \"retarget\", repairs: [{ from, to }], path_glob? }; Target = { kind: \"document\", id? | path? } | { kind: \"block\", id } | { kind: \"node\", id } | { kind: \"section\", heading_id }; `expect` carries `content_hash`, `parent_children_hash` and/or the document's `revision`. Block content hashes you omit are pinned from the live rows. The plan's core keeps paths in the storage form (they are digested); only `preview` is rooted.",
+        inputSchema: { effects: z.array(effectSchema), ...REPO_ARG },
+    }, async (args) => {
+        try {
+            const { repoId, rootPath } = repoScope(args.repo);
+            if (!rootPath)
+                throw new EngineError("repo_not_found", "repo has no filesystem source; mutation disabled");
+            return ok(surfacePlan(planEffects(store, { repoId, rootPath, effects: args.effects, ...LOCK_DIR })));
+        }
+        catch (e) {
+            return fail(e);
+        }
+    });
+    tool("execute", {
+        description: "Commit exactly a plan made by `plan`, as one transaction with one commit. Two forms, exactly one of them: `plan` — the Plan object as returned (`preview` may be dropped; `version` other than 1 → `unsupported_plan_version`, an edited core whose digest no longer equals its `plan_id` → `plan_mismatch`); or `plan_id` + `effects` — the engine re-plans the effects and commits only when the new plan's digest equals `plan_id` (else `plan_mismatch { expected, actual }`: the effects or the documents they target changed). Every precondition the plan froze is re-validated inside the transaction; a document that moved on fails `stale_plan` (retriable: re-plan) with nothing written, and replaying an already executed plan fails the same way. Returns the Receipt `{ plan_id, commit, revisions: [{ id, path, hash }], new_ids: { \"$new.0\": \"b_…\", … }, committed: true }` — `new_ids` maps the plan's symbolic identities to the ids minted. The commit records the plan as its intent (`commits.ops`).",
+        inputSchema: { plan: z.record(z.string(), z.unknown()).optional(), plan_id: z.string().optional(), effects: z.array(effectSchema).optional(), reason: z.string().optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
+    }, async (args) => {
+        try {
+            const { repoId, rootPath } = repoScope(args.repo);
+            if (!rootPath)
+                throw new EngineError("repo_not_found", "repo has no filesystem source; mutation disabled");
+            const shape = registry.get("execute").shape;
+            const planForm = args.plan !== undefined;
+            const digestForm = args.plan_id !== undefined || args.effects !== undefined;
+            if (planForm === digestForm)
+                throw argumentError("execute", "pass exactly one of `plan` or `plan_id` + `effects`", shape);
+            if (digestForm && (args.plan_id === undefined || args.effects === undefined))
+                throw argumentError("execute", "the digest form needs both `plan_id` and `effects`", shape);
+            const origin = { actor: "agent:mcp", ...(args.reason ? { reason: args.reason } : {}) };
+            const receipt = planForm
+                ? executePlan(store, { repoId, rootPath, plan: args.plan, origin, ...LOCK_DIR })
+                : executeByDigest(store, { repoId, rootPath, planId: args.plan_id, effects: args.effects, origin, ...LOCK_DIR });
+            return okMutated(surfaceReceipt(receipt));
         }
         catch (e) {
             return fail(e);
@@ -579,143 +651,132 @@ export function buildServer(ctx) {
     // ---- block-level sugar (ref-accepting peers of the `apply` primitive) -------
     // These mirror the CLI verbs `insert`/`update`/`move`/`rm`/`split`/`merge`
     // 1:1. Each takes human REFS (a block id or anything resolveRef accepts),
-    // resolves them + pins CAS server-side, builds exactly the op the CLI would,
-    // and applies it. This is what lets `omg <verb> --server` feel identical to
-    // local: the resolution that used to live in the CLI now lives next to the
-    // store, so a remote client needs no local database.
+    // resolves them + pins CAS server-side, builds exactly the effects the CLI
+    // would (the shared builders), and applies them. This is what lets
+    // `omg <verb> --server` feel identical to local: the resolution that used to
+    // live in the CLI now lives next to the store, so a remote client needs no
+    // local database.
     tool("blocks_insert", {
-        description: "Insert new block(s) parsed from `markdown` under a parent, at a position. `to` names the parent: a BLOCK ref (id or locator) nests the new blocks under that block — it must be a CONTAINER (a list, list item, task, blockquote or table); a leaf such as a heading or paragraph fails `type_mismatch` (spec/mutate §1.1) — use blocks_append for \"into this heading's section / this container\" or `at: {after: <ref>}` for \"right after this block\"; or a DOCUMENT ref (doc id or path) places them at the document's top level — so appending a new section to a document is `{ to: \"<path>\", markdown: \"## New\\n\\n…\" }` (the positional generalization of docs_append). `at` places among the parent's children: \"end\" (default) / \"start\" / {before|after: <block ref>}. Optional `expect.parent_children_hash` is the destination-parent CAS: the parent's CURRENT direct child ids (the document's top-level ids for a document `to`) joined by \",\" and sha256-hexed — compute it from docs_read include_ids (`ids` filtered by `parents`) — and the insert fails `stale_expectation` (with `data.current.parent_children_hash`) if the siblings changed under you; `content_hash` has no meaning here (there is no target block) and is not accepted. Expands to one insert op through the kernel writer.",
-        inputSchema: { to: z.string(), markdown: z.string(), at: atSchema.optional(), expect: parentExpectSchema.optional(), dry_run: z.boolean().optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
+        description: "Insert new block(s) parsed from `markdown` under a parent, at a position. `to` names the parent: a BLOCK ref (id or locator) nests the new blocks under that block — it must be a CONTAINER (a list, list item, task, blockquote or table); a leaf such as a heading or paragraph fails `type_mismatch` (spec/mutate §1.1) — use blocks_append for \"into this heading's section / this container\" or `at: {after: <ref>}` for \"right after this block\"; or a DOCUMENT ref (doc id or path) places them at the document's top level — so appending a new section to a document is `{ to: \"<path>\", markdown: \"## New\\n\\n…\" }` (the positional generalization of docs_append). `at` places among the parent's children: \"end\" (default) / \"start\" / {before|after: <block ref>}. Optional `expect.parent_children_hash` is the destination-parent CAS: the parent's CURRENT direct child ids (the document's top-level ids for a document `to`) joined by \",\" and sha256-hexed — compute it from docs_read include_ids (`ids` filtered by `parents`) — and the insert fails `stale_expectation` (with `data.current.parent_children_hash`) if the siblings changed under you; `content_hash` has no meaning here (there is no target block) and is not accepted. Sugar for `apply { effects: [{ op: \"insert\", into, at, markdown, expect? }] }` — returns the Receipt (`new_ids` holds the inserted blocks' ids, `$new.0` first); preview with `plan` over that effect.",
+        inputSchema: { to: z.string(), markdown: z.string(), at: atSchema.optional(), expect: parentExpectSchema.optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
     }, async (args) => {
         try {
             const { repoId, rootPath } = repoScope(args.repo);
             const root = requireRoot(rootPath);
-            const { parent, docId } = resolveParentRef(repoId, args.to);
-            const to = { parent, at: resolveAt(repoId, args.at) };
-            // A document parent carries no block to infer the doc from; pin it. The
-            // caller's expect rides through as the op-level expectation (spec/mutate
-            // §1.2: checked against the destination parent before the op mutates).
-            const ops = [{ op: "insert", ...(typeof parent === "object" ? { doc: docId } : {}), to, markdown: args.markdown, ...(args.expect ? { expect: args.expect } : {}) }];
-            return applyOps(repoId, root, ops, "blocks_insert", args.dry_run);
+            // `insert into document|block at …`: a document parent is the top level
+            // (the planner pins the op to it). The caller's expect rides through as
+            // the destination-parent expectation (spec/mutate §1.2).
+            const into = parentTarget(resolveParentRef(repoId, args.to));
+            return sugar(repoId, root, insertEffects(into, resolveAt(repoId, args.at), args.markdown, args.expect));
         }
         catch (e) {
             return fail(e);
         }
     });
     tool("blocks_update", {
-        description: "Replace a block's markdown (and/or set attrs) with compare-and-swap. `id` is the block's id (or any ref resolve accepts); `expect.content_hash` is pinned to the block's current bytes server-side when omitted (protects against a concurrent edit). One update op through the kernel writer. `markdown` may parse to SEVERAL sibling blocks (e.g. a paragraph followed by a list): the target keeps its id and takes the first, the rest are inserted right after it with fresh ids — the response carries `id` (the target) and `ids` (all resulting blocks, in order). A list item may likewise be replaced by a multi-item list (`- a\\n- b`), yielding sibling items. Task state is settable flat as `checked` (the same name reads flatten to — `from blocks where checked`), folded into attrs and synced to the `[ ]`/`[x]` in the raw. The general `attrs` bag is still accepted; note every OTHER block attr (heading `level`, code `lang`, list `ordered`) is derived from the markdown, so set those by editing `markdown`, not attrs.",
-        inputSchema: { id: z.string(), markdown: z.string().optional(), checked: z.boolean().optional(), attrs: z.record(z.string(), z.unknown()).optional(), expect: expectSchema.optional(), dry_run: z.boolean().optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
+        description: "Replace a block's markdown and/or set a task's `checked` state, with compare-and-swap. `id` is the block's id (or any ref resolve accepts); `expect.content_hash` is pinned to the block's current bytes server-side when omitted (protects against a concurrent edit). `markdown` may parse to SEVERAL sibling blocks (e.g. a paragraph followed by a list): the target keeps its id and takes the first, the rest are inserted right after it with fresh ids — the Receipt's `new_ids` lists them (`$new.0`, …). A list item may likewise be replaced by a multi-item list (`- a\\n- b`), yielding sibling items. Task state is settable flat as `checked` (the same name reads flatten to — `from blocks where checked`), synced to the `[ ]`/`[x]` in the raw; every OTHER block attr (heading `level`, code `lang`, list `ordered`) is derived from the markdown, so set those by editing `markdown` (the 3.x `attrs` bag is retired and refused by name). Sugar for `apply { effects: [{ op: \"set\", target: { kind: \"block\", id }, field: \"markdown\" | \"attrs.checked\", value, expect? }] }` (both when both are given) — returns the Receipt; preview with `plan`.",
+        inputSchema: { id: z.string(), markdown: z.string().optional(), checked: z.boolean().optional(), expect: expectSchema.optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
     }, async (args) => {
         try {
             const { repoId, rootPath } = repoScope(args.repo);
             const root = requireRoot(rootPath);
             const block = resolveBlockRef(repoId, args.id);
-            const expect = args.expect ?? (() => { const h = pinHash(block); return h ? { content_hash: h } : undefined; })();
-            // Flat `checked` sugar folds into the attrs bag (explicit attrs wins on
-            // collision), so a task reads and writes under the same bare name.
-            const attrs = (args.checked !== undefined || args.attrs)
-                ? { ...(args.checked !== undefined ? { checked: args.checked } : {}), ...(args.attrs ?? {}) }
-                : undefined;
-            const ops = [{ op: "update", block, ...(args.markdown !== undefined ? { markdown: args.markdown } : {}), ...(attrs ? { attrs } : {}), ...(expect ? { expect } : {}) }];
-            const res = surfaceApplyResult(apply(store, { repoId, rootPath: root, ops, origin: { actor: "agent:mcp", reason: "blocks_update" }, ...(args.dry_run !== undefined ? { dryRun: args.dry_run } : {}) }));
-            // `ids` lists every resulting block (the target first, then any siblings
-            // minted from multi-block content); `id` keeps the target for convenience.
-            const ids = res.results[0]?.ids ?? [block];
-            const payload = { id: ids[0] ?? block, ids, ...res };
-            return args.dry_run ? ok(payload) : okMutated(payload);
+            const built = updateBlockEffects(block, { markdown: args.markdown, checked: args.checked, expect: args.expect });
+            // Nothing to set is an argument error (4.0): there is no effect for "touch".
+            if (built.effects.length === 0)
+                throw argumentError("blocks_update", "pass `markdown` and/or `checked`", registry.get("blocks_update").shape);
+            return sugar(repoId, root, built);
         }
         catch (e) {
             return fail(e);
         }
     });
     tool("blocks_move", {
-        description: "Move block(s) under a new parent at a position. `blocks` are block refs; `to` (the parent) is a block ref (a container — a leaf parent is `type_mismatch`, as for blocks_insert), or the blocks' OWN document (id or path) to move them to its top level — moving to ANOTHER document's root is not expressible (target_missing): anchor on a block in that document with `at` {before|after} instead. `at` is \"end\"/\"start\"/{before|after: <ref>}. Optional `expect.parent_children_hash` is the destination-parent CAS (as blocks_insert: the destination parent's CURRENT direct child ids joined by \",\", sha256 hex), checked once for the whole run before anything moves — `stale_expectation` with `data.current.parent_children_hash` if the destination's children changed; `content_hash` is meaningless here and not accepted. One move op through the kernel writer.",
-        inputSchema: { blocks: z.array(z.string()), to: z.string(), at: atSchema.optional(), expect: parentExpectSchema.optional(), dry_run: z.boolean().optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
+        description: "Move block(s) under a new parent at a position. `blocks` are block refs; `to` (the parent) is a block ref (a container — a leaf parent is `type_mismatch`, as for blocks_insert), or the blocks' OWN document (id or path) to move them to its top level — moving to ANOTHER document's root is not expressible (target_missing): anchor on a block in that document with `at` {before|after} instead. `at` is \"end\"/\"start\"/{before|after: <ref>}. Optional `expect.parent_children_hash` is the destination-parent CAS (as blocks_insert: the destination parent's CURRENT direct child ids joined by \",\", sha256 hex), checked once for the whole run before anything moves — `stale_expectation` with `data.current.parent_children_hash` if the destination's children changed; `content_hash` is meaningless here and not accepted. Sugar for `apply { effects: [{ op: \"move\", targets, into, at, expect? }] }` — returns the Receipt; preview with `plan`.",
+        inputSchema: { blocks: z.array(z.string()), to: z.string(), at: atSchema.optional(), expect: parentExpectSchema.optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
     }, async (args) => {
         try {
             const { repoId, rootPath } = repoScope(args.repo);
             const root = requireRoot(rootPath);
+            requireSome("blocks_move", "blocks", args.blocks);
             const blocks = args.blocks.map((b) => resolveBlockRef(repoId, b));
-            const { parent, docId } = resolveParentRef(repoId, args.to);
+            const parentRef = resolveParentRef(repoId, args.to);
             // The kernel reads `{ doc: true }` + start/end as "the SOURCE doc's top
             // level", so a document parent is only honest when it IS the source doc.
-            if (typeof parent === "object" && blocks[0] !== undefined && docIdOfBlock(blocks[0]) !== docId) {
+            if (typeof parentRef.parent === "object" && blocks[0] !== undefined && docIdOfBlock(blocks[0]) !== parentRef.docId) {
                 throw new EngineError("target_missing", `blocks_move cannot target another document's root (${args.to}); anchor on a block in that document with at.before/at.after`, { data: { to: args.to } });
             }
-            const to = { parent, at: resolveAt(repoId, args.at) };
-            const ops = [{ op: "move", blocks, to, ...(args.expect ? { expect: args.expect } : {}) }];
-            return applyOps(repoId, root, ops, "blocks_move", args.dry_run);
+            return sugar(repoId, root, moveBlocksEffects(blocks, parentTarget(parentRef), resolveAt(repoId, args.at), args.expect));
         }
         catch (e) {
             return fail(e);
         }
     });
     tool("blocks_remove", {
-        description: "Remove block(s) (the resurrection pool catches regret). `blocks` are refs; removing a block removes its whole subtree, and a set that names both a container and some of its descendants (e.g. every id of a section straight from docs_read include_ids) is fine — it collapses to the top-most blocks and `removed` lists everything that left. One remove op through the kernel writer. To delete a whole document use docs_delete.",
-        inputSchema: { blocks: z.array(z.string()), dry_run: z.boolean().optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
+        description: "Remove block(s) (the resurrection pool catches regret). `blocks` are refs; removing a block removes its whole subtree, and a set that names both a container and some of its descendants (e.g. every id of a section straight from docs_read include_ids) is fine — it collapses to the top-most blocks. Sugar for `apply { effects: [{ op: \"remove\", targets }] }` — returns the Receipt; preview with `plan` (its `preview.results[0].removed` lists everything that would leave). To delete a whole document use docs_delete.",
+        inputSchema: { blocks: z.array(z.string()), ...REPO_ARG },
     }, async (args) => {
         try {
             const { repoId, rootPath } = repoScope(args.repo);
             const root = requireRoot(rootPath);
+            requireSome("blocks_remove", "blocks", args.blocks);
             const blocks = args.blocks.map((b) => resolveBlockRef(repoId, b));
-            const ops = [{ op: "remove", blocks }];
-            return applyOps(repoId, root, ops, "blocks_remove", args.dry_run);
+            return sugar(repoId, root, removeBlocksEffects(blocks));
         }
         catch (e) {
             return fail(e);
         }
     });
     tool("blocks_split", {
-        description: "Split a block at UTF-8 byte offset(s) into consecutive blocks. `id` is the block's id (or a ref); `at` is a list of integer byte offsets into the block's raw bytes (spec/mutate §2.5; an offset inside a multi-byte character rounds down to its start). CAS is pinned to the block's current bytes server-side. One split op through the kernel writer.",
-        inputSchema: { id: z.string(), at: z.array(z.number().int()), dry_run: z.boolean().optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
+        description: "Split a block at UTF-8 byte offset(s) into consecutive blocks. `id` is the block's id (or a ref); `at` is a list of integer byte offsets into the block's raw bytes (spec/mutate §2.5; an offset inside a multi-byte character rounds down to its start). CAS is pinned to the block's current bytes server-side. Sugar for `apply { effects: [{ op: \"split\", target, at }] }` — returns the Receipt (`new_ids` holds the new siblings); preview with `plan`.",
+        inputSchema: { id: z.string(), at: z.array(z.number().int()), ...REPO_ARG },
     }, async (args) => {
         try {
             const { repoId, rootPath } = repoScope(args.repo);
             const root = requireRoot(rootPath);
             const block = resolveBlockRef(repoId, args.id);
-            const ops = [{ op: "split", block, at: args.at, expect: { content_hash: pinHash(block) ?? "" } }];
-            return applyOps(repoId, root, ops, "blocks_split", args.dry_run);
+            // The planner pins the content CAS from the live row (the block is live: it resolved).
+            return sugar(repoId, root, splitEffects(block, args.at));
         }
         catch (e) {
             return fail(e);
         }
     });
     tool("blocks_merge", {
-        description: "Merge adjacent blocks into the first, joined by `separator` (default a blank line). `blocks` are refs (≥2). One merge op through the kernel writer.",
-        inputSchema: { blocks: z.array(z.string()), separator: z.string().optional(), dry_run: z.boolean().optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
+        description: "Merge adjacent blocks into the first, joined by `separator` (default a blank line). `blocks` are refs (≥2). Sugar for `apply { effects: [{ op: \"merge\", targets, separator? }] }` — returns the Receipt; preview with `plan`.",
+        inputSchema: { blocks: z.array(z.string()), separator: z.string().optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
     }, async (args) => {
         try {
             const { repoId, rootPath } = repoScope(args.repo);
             const root = requireRoot(rootPath);
+            requireSome("blocks_merge", "blocks", args.blocks);
             const blocks = args.blocks.map((b) => resolveBlockRef(repoId, b));
-            const ops = [{ op: "merge", blocks, ...(args.separator !== undefined ? { separator: args.separator } : {}) }];
-            return applyOps(repoId, root, ops, "blocks_merge", args.dry_run);
+            return sugar(repoId, root, mergeEffects(blocks, args.separator));
         }
         catch (e) {
             return fail(e);
         }
     });
     tool("blocks_check", {
-        description: "Macro: check (or uncheck with checked:false) the given task blocks. `ids` are the blocks' ids (or refs). Expands to update(attrs:{checked}) per block, CAS-pinned, applied via the same changeset machinery (tasks_complete { blocks } before surface 3.0).",
-        inputSchema: { ids: z.array(z.string()), checked: z.boolean().optional(), dry_run: z.boolean().optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
+        description: "Macro: check (or uncheck with checked:false) the given task blocks. `ids` are the blocks' ids (or refs). Sugar for `apply { effects: [{ op: \"set\", target: { kind: \"block\", id }, field: \"attrs.checked\", value }, …] }`, one per block, each CAS-pinned — returns the Receipt; preview with `plan` (tasks_complete { blocks } before surface 3.0).",
+        inputSchema: { ids: z.array(z.string()), checked: z.boolean().optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
     }, async (args) => {
         try {
             const { repoId, rootPath } = repoScope(args.repo);
             const root = requireRoot(rootPath);
+            requireSome("blocks_check", "ids", args.ids);
             const blocks = args.ids.map((b) => resolveBlockRef(repoId, b));
-            const checked = args.checked ?? true;
-            const ops = checked
-                ? tasksComplete(store, blocks)
-                : blocks.map((block) => ({ op: "update", block, attrs: { checked: false }, ...(() => { const h = pinHash(block); return h ? { expect: { content_hash: h } } : {}; })() }));
-            return applyOps(repoId, root, ops, "blocks_check", args.dry_run);
+            // N × `set attrs.checked`, each CAS-pinned by the planner; a block named
+            // twice is one write (the planner drops the identical duplicate, 3.2).
+            return sugar(repoId, root, checkEffects(blocks, args.checked ?? true));
         }
         catch (e) {
             return fail(e);
         }
     });
     tool("nodes_set", {
-        description: "Macro: surgically set one editable property of a projected node (e.g. a link's `name` text or `value` target, a task's `checked`). `id` is the node's id (from `query` over `from nodes` — the one tool that addresses `nodes` rows), `prop` the property, `value` its new value. Resolves the node to its block and rewrites only that node's span, applying one update op. Nodes are read-only projections — this is the affordance to edit what a node represents without hand-rewriting the block. Errors node_not_editable (with the editable prop list) when the kind/prop has no editor. (node_set before surface 3.0.)",
-        inputSchema: { id: z.string(), prop: z.string(), value: z.string(), dry_run: z.boolean().optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
+        description: "Macro: surgically set one editable property of a projected node (e.g. a link's `name` text or `value` target, a task's `checked`). `id` is the node's id (from `query` over `from nodes` — the one tool that addresses `nodes` rows), `prop` the property, `value` its new value. Resolves the node to its block and rewrites only that node's span. Nodes are read-only projections — this is the affordance to edit what a node represents without hand-rewriting the block. Errors node_not_editable (with the editable prop list) when the kind/prop has no editor. Sugar for `apply { effects: [{ op: \"set\", target: { kind: \"node\", id }, field: prop, value }] }` — returns the Receipt; preview with `plan` (node_set before surface 3.0).",
+        inputSchema: { id: z.string(), prop: z.string(), value: z.string(), ...REPO_ARG },
     }, async (args) => {
         try {
             const { repoId, rootPath } = repoScope(args.repo);
@@ -723,16 +784,15 @@ export function buildServer(ctx) {
             const known = store.db.prepare("SELECT 1 FROM nodes WHERE node_id = ? AND repo_id = ?").get(args.id, repoId);
             if (!known)
                 throw new EngineError("block_missing", `no node with id ${JSON.stringify(args.id)}`, { data: { id: args.id } });
-            const ops = nodeSet(store, args.id, args.prop, args.value);
-            return applyOps(repoId, root, ops, "nodes_set", args.dry_run);
+            return sugar(repoId, root, nodeSetEffects(args.id, args.prop, args.value));
         }
         catch (e) {
             return fail(e);
         }
     });
     tool("blocks_append", {
-        description: "Macro: append markdown INTO a block, by what the block is. `id` is a block's id (or a ref). A HEADING: the `text` is inserted at the end of its section range (before the next heading of equal or higher level) — the former sections_append. A CONTAINER (a list, list item, task, blockquote or table — anything the kernel accepts as a parent): inserted at the end of its children (`blocks_insert { to: <id>, at: \"end\" }`). A LEAF (a paragraph, code fence, …) is `block_not_container` — append means \"into\", never a sibling insert; place after it with `blocks_insert { to: <its parent>, at: { after: <id> } }`. Expands to one insert op; to append at a whole document's end, or inside a section named by its heading TEXT, use docs_append.",
-        inputSchema: { id: z.string(), text: z.string(), dry_run: z.boolean().optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
+        description: "Macro: append markdown INTO a block, by what the block is. `id` is a block's id (or a ref). A HEADING: the `text` is inserted at the end of its section range (before the next heading of equal or higher level) — `insert into { kind: \"section\", heading_id }`. A CONTAINER (a list, list item, task, blockquote or table — anything the kernel accepts as a parent): inserted at the end of its children (`insert into { kind: \"block\", id } at end`). A LEAF (a paragraph, code fence, …) is `block_not_container` — append means \"into\", never a sibling insert; place after it with `blocks_insert { to: <its parent>, at: { after: <id> } }`. Sugar for that one `insert` effect — returns the Receipt; preview with `plan`. To append at a whole document's end, or inside a section named by its heading TEXT, use docs_append.",
+        inputSchema: { id: z.string(), text: z.string(), ...REPO_ARG },
     }, async (args) => {
         try {
             const { repoId, rootPath } = repoScope(args.repo);
@@ -743,65 +803,64 @@ export function buildServer(ctx) {
                 .get(block);
             if (!row)
                 throw blockMissing(args.id);
-            let ops;
+            let into;
             if (row.type === "heading") {
-                ops = sectionsAppend(block, args.text);
+                into = { kind: "section", heading_id: block };
             }
             else if (isContainerBlock(row.format ?? "markdown", { type: row.type, children: new Array(row.children) })) {
-                ops = [{ op: "insert", to: { parent: block, at: "end" }, markdown: args.text }];
+                into = blockTarget(block);
             }
             else {
                 throw new EngineError("block_not_container", `block ${block} is a ${row.type}, not a heading or a container; append means into — insert after it with blocks_insert { to: <its parent>, at: { after: ${JSON.stringify(block)} } }`, {
                     data: { id: block, type: row.type },
                 });
             }
-            return applyOps(repoId, root, ops, "blocks_append", args.dry_run);
+            return sugar(repoId, root, appendEffects(into, args.text));
         }
         catch (e) {
             return fail(e);
         }
     });
     tool("docs_append", {
-        description: "Macro: append markdown to a document — at its END, or at the end of one of its sections when `section` names a heading by its TEXT (`\"Setup\"`; an ATX spelling `\"## Setup\"` is accepted). The journal/log/running-note primitive. ADDITIVE and identity-preserving, NOT a whole-body replace: the `text` is parsed into blocks and inserted as NEW blocks after the existing ones (at the document's top level, or inside the section's range), so every existing block keeps its stable `b_` id (omgbase deliberately has no whole-body `docs_put` — see mcp-api). Expands to a single insert op; commits atomically through the same kernel path as `apply`, returning the new revision(s) and the inserted block ids. Address the document by `id` or `path` (at least one). The document must already exist — a missing doc errors `doc_missing` (creating one is docs_create's job, never this); a `section` matching no heading in it is `parent_missing`, one matching several is `ambiguous_heading` with `candidates[{ id, doc_id }]` — pass that heading's id to blocks_append, which appends into a block by its id.",
-        inputSchema: { ...DOC_ARGS, text: z.string(), section: z.string().optional(), dry_run: z.boolean().optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
+        description: "Macro: append markdown to a document — at its END, or at the end of one of its sections when `section` names a heading by its TEXT (`\"Setup\"`; an ATX spelling `\"## Setup\"` is accepted). The journal/log/running-note primitive. ADDITIVE and identity-preserving, NOT a whole-body replace: the `text` is parsed into blocks and inserted as NEW blocks after the existing ones (at the document's top level, or inside the section's range), so every existing block keeps its stable `b_` id (omgbase deliberately has no whole-body `docs_put` — see mcp-api). Sugar for one `insert at end` effect into the document or the resolved section — returns the Receipt (`new_ids` the appended blocks); preview with `plan`. Address the document by `id` or `path` (at least one). The document must already exist — a missing doc errors `doc_missing` (creating one is docs_create's job, never this); a `section` matching no heading in it is `parent_missing`, one matching several is `ambiguous_heading` with `candidates[{ id, doc_id }]` — pass that heading's id to blocks_append, which appends into a block by its id.",
+        inputSchema: { ...DOC_ARGS, text: z.string(), section: z.string().optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
     }, async (args) => {
         try {
             const { repoId, rootPath } = repoScope(args.repo);
             const root = requireRoot(rootPath);
             // Resolve the locator to a live doc id FIRST — a missing doc is doc_missing
             // (locateDoc throws it), never an auto-create. Then expand to the single
-            // insert-at-end op (document top level, or the named section) and apply
-            // it (existing blocks keep their ids; only the appended blocks are minted).
+            // insert-at-end effect (document top level, or the named section) and
+            // apply it (existing blocks keep their ids; only the appended blocks are minted).
             const docId = locateDoc(repoId, "docs_append", registry.get("docs_append").shape, args);
-            let ops;
+            let into;
             if (args.section !== undefined) {
                 const info = findDoc(store, { docId });
-                ops = sectionsAppend(resolveSectionHeading(docId, info.path, args.section), args.text);
+                into = { kind: "section", heading_id: resolveSectionHeading(docId, info.path, args.section) };
             }
             else {
-                ops = docsAppend(docId, args.text);
+                into = { kind: "document", id: docId };
             }
-            return applyOps(repoId, root, ops, "docs_append", args.dry_run);
+            return sugar(repoId, root, docsAppendEffects(into, args.text));
         }
         catch (e) {
             return fail(e);
         }
     });
     tool("links_retarget", {
-        description: "Macro: rewrite ONE link destination everywhere it is linked — the single-pair form of links_repair (same matching rules: whole link destinations only, leading `/` optional, fragments preserved; prose/inline code/code fences untouched). Scope source docs with `path_glob`. ALWAYS call with dry_run:true first to preview `hits` + `pairs` (the dry run plans through the kernel, so it fails exactly where the apply would), then dry_run:false to apply.",
-        inputSchema: { from_target: z.string(), to_target: z.string(), path_glob: z.string().optional(), dry_run: z.boolean().optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
+        description: "Macro: rewrite ONE link destination everywhere it is linked — the single-pair form of links_repair (same matching rules: whole link destinations only, leading `/` optional, fragments preserved; prose/inline code/code fences untouched). Scope source docs with `path_glob`. COMMITS: sugar for `apply { effects: [{ op: \"retarget\", repairs: [{ from, to }], path_glob? }] }`; returns `hits[{id,path,oldRaw,newRaw}]` (the rewritten block and its document) and `pairs[{from,to,hits}]` plus the Receipt (`commit` null when nothing matched). To PREVIEW first, call `plan` with that one effect: its `preview.retarget[0]` carries the same `hits` and `pairs` and `preview.diffs` the files, and it fails exactly where the commit would (through surface 3.x this tool was a dry run by default, with `applied`).",
+        inputSchema: { from_target: z.string(), to_target: z.string(), path_glob: z.string().optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
     }, async (args) => {
         try {
             const { repoId, rootPath } = repoScope(args.repo);
             if (!rootPath)
                 throw new EngineError("repo_not_found", "repo has no filesystem source; mutation disabled");
-            const { ops, hits: rawHits, pairs } = linksRetarget(store, repoId, args.from_target, args.to_target, args.path_glob ? { pathGlob: args.path_glob } : {});
+            // `hits`/`pairs` come from the macro's plan; the write is the `retarget`
+            // effect, whose lowering runs the same macro (same ops, same CAS pins).
+            const { hits: rawHits, pairs } = linksRetarget(store, repoId, args.from_target, args.to_target, args.path_glob ? { pathGlob: args.path_glob } : {});
             const hits = surfaceRetargetHits(rawHits);
-            const dryRun = args.dry_run !== false;
-            const res = surfaceApplyResult(apply(store, { repoId, rootPath, ops, origin: { actor: "agent:mcp", reason: "links_retarget" }, dryRun }));
-            if (dryRun)
-                return ok({ hits, pairs, applied: false, ...res });
-            return okMutated({ hits, pairs, applied: true, ...res });
+            const { receipt } = runSugar(repoId, rootPath, retargetEffects([{ from: args.from_target, to: args.to_target }], args.path_glob, "links_retarget"));
+            return okMutated({ hits, pairs, ...surfaceReceipt(receipt) });
         }
         catch (e) {
             return fail(e);
@@ -825,13 +884,12 @@ export function buildServer(ctx) {
         }
     });
     tool("links_repair", {
-        description: "Macro: BULK stale-link repair — rewrite one or MANY LINK DESTINATIONS in ONE changeset. Pass `repairs` (an array of {from,to}) to fix several dangling targets — e.g. those surfaced by links_stale — at once; a single {from_target,to_target} pair is also accepted. MATCHING: `from` must be the WHOLE destination of a Markdown link/image `[t](dest)`, a wikilink `[[dest]]`/`[[dest|alias]]`, or a bare-path inline field `key:: /dest` — a leading `/` is optional on either side (so links_stale's `target` or `authored` both work), and a trailing `#heading`/`^ref` fragment on the link is kept and re-appended to `to`. NOT rewritten: prose mentions, inline code, `code_fence` blocks, longer paths that merely contain `from`, and frontmatter values (use docs_set_meta). Scope source docs with `path_glob` (as in links_stale). Ops coalesce to one update per TOP-MOST block (a list and its items count once), so a batch never trips over its own re-minted children. Returns `hits[{id,path,oldRaw,newRaw}]` (the rewritten block and its document) and `pairs[{from,to,hits}]` (per-pair destination counts; 0 = nothing matched). ALWAYS call with dry_run:true first — the dry run plans through the kernel (returns `diffs`), so it fails exactly where the apply would — then dry_run:false to apply.",
+        description: "Macro: BULK stale-link repair — rewrite one or MANY LINK DESTINATIONS in ONE changeset. Pass `repairs` (an array of {from,to}) to fix several dangling targets — e.g. those surfaced by links_stale — at once; a single {from_target,to_target} pair is also accepted. MATCHING: `from` must be the WHOLE destination of a Markdown link/image `[t](dest)`, a wikilink `[[dest]]`/`[[dest|alias]]`, or a bare-path inline field `key:: /dest` — a leading `/` is optional on either side (so links_stale's `target` or `authored` both work), and a trailing `#heading`/`^ref` fragment on the link is kept and re-appended to `to`. NOT rewritten: prose mentions, inline code, `code_fence` blocks, longer paths that merely contain `from`, and frontmatter values (use docs_set_meta). Scope source docs with `path_glob` (as in links_stale). Ops coalesce to one update per TOP-MOST block (a list and its items count once), so a batch never trips over its own re-minted children. COMMITS: sugar for `apply { effects: [{ op: \"retarget\", repairs, path_glob? }] }`; returns `hits[{id,path,oldRaw,newRaw}]` (the rewritten block and its document) and `pairs[{from,to,hits}]` (per-pair destination counts; 0 = nothing matched) plus the Receipt (`commit` null when nothing matched). To PREVIEW first, call `plan` with that one effect — its `preview.retarget[0]` carries the same `hits`/`pairs`, `preview.diffs` the files — and it fails exactly where the commit would (through surface 3.x this tool was a dry run by default, with `applied`).",
         inputSchema: {
             repairs: z.array(z.object({ from: z.string(), to: z.string() })).optional(),
             from_target: z.string().optional(),
             to_target: z.string().optional(),
             path_glob: z.string().optional(),
-            dry_run: z.boolean().optional(),
             ...REPO_ARG,
         },
     }, async (args) => {
@@ -847,97 +905,116 @@ export function buildServer(ctx) {
             if (!repairs || repairs.length === 0) {
                 throw new EngineError("target_missing", "links_repair requires `repairs` (array of {from,to}) or a `from_target`+`to_target` pair");
             }
-            const { ops, hits: rawHits, pairs } = linksRepair(store, repoId, repairs, args.path_glob ? { pathGlob: args.path_glob } : {});
+            const { hits: rawHits, pairs } = linksRepair(store, repoId, repairs, args.path_glob ? { pathGlob: args.path_glob } : {});
             const hits = surfaceRetargetHits(rawHits);
-            // The dry run plans through the same kernel path (dryRun: no write, no
-            // drain) so a preview surfaces exactly the failure an apply would hit.
-            const dryRun = args.dry_run !== false;
-            const res = surfaceApplyResult(apply(store, { repoId, rootPath, ops, origin: { actor: "agent:mcp", reason: "links_repair" }, dryRun }));
-            if (dryRun)
-                return ok({ hits, pairs, applied: false, ...res });
-            return okMutated({ hits, pairs, applied: true, ...res });
+            const { receipt } = runSugar(repoId, rootPath, retargetEffects(repairs, args.path_glob, "links_repair"));
+            return okMutated({ hits, pairs, ...surfaceReceipt(receipt) });
         }
         catch (e) {
             return fail(e);
         }
     });
-    // Doc-level operations (06 §API). The MCP server serializes writes in-process,
-    // so these pass no omgbaseDir (the flock is for cross-process CLI writers);
-    // MCP-originated writes are actor agent:mcp.
-    // `dry_run` validates and returns the per-file `diffs` without writing
-    // (`DocOpContext.dryRun`), the docs-verb peer of `apply`'s preview.
-    const docCtx = (scope, dryRun) => {
-        if (!scope.rootPath)
-            throw new EngineError("repo_not_found", "repo has no filesystem source; mutation disabled");
-        return { repoId: scope.repoId, rootPath: scope.rootPath, actor: "agent:mcp", ...(dryRun ? { dryRun: true } : {}) };
-    };
-    const docResult = (res, dryRun) => (dryRun ? ok(res) : okMutated(res));
+    // ---- the document operations as effects (spec/surface §4 "The document operations", 3.3; 4.0) ----
+    // `docs_create` / `docs_delete` / `docs_move` / `docs_set_meta` are one document
+    // effect each — `create`, `remove { target: document }`, `move { target:
+    // document, to, retarget_inbound }`, one `set`/`unset frontmatter.<k>` per key —
+    // built by the shared builders (`mutate/sugar.ts`), planned and executed
+    // through the same seam as the block-level sugar under the `spec/mutate` §6
+    // reasons (`create <rel>`, `delete <path>`, `move <from> -> <to>`, `set_meta
+    // <path>`), each returning the Receipt (4.0). Each tool keeps its own
+    // pre-checks — `locateDoc`'s `doc_missing`, the create/move `path_taken` pair
+    // (no `data`, as pinned) — so the planner's own copies of them never fire and
+    // the error envelopes are unchanged. The workspace dir rides along (LOCK_DIR):
+    // the tool-boundary lock already holds the writer lock for the call, so the
+    // request's own lock re-enters it. MCP-originated writes are actor agent:mcp.
+    /** The storage-form path of a document `locateDoc` just found. */
+    const pathOfDoc = (docId) => findDoc(store, { docId }).path;
+    /** `path_taken` exactly as the legacy document operations raised it: their message, no `data` (§9). */
+    const requireAbsent = (repoId, rootPath, rel, takenMessage) => requireAbsentPath(store, repoId, { rootPath }, rel, takenMessage);
     tool("docs_create", {
-        description: "Create a new document at `path` (the new document's path, either form) from complete file bytes (`markdown`), with optional structured `frontmatter`; returns `{ id, path, committed }`. Fails path_taken if it already exists. dry_run:true validates and returns the would-be file under `diffs` (committed:false) without writing.",
-        inputSchema: { path: z.string(), markdown: z.string(), frontmatter: z.record(z.string(), z.unknown()).optional(), dry_run: z.boolean().optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
+        description: "Create a new document at `path` (the new document's path, either form) from complete file bytes (`markdown`), with optional structured `frontmatter`. Sugar for `apply { effects: [{ op: \"create\", path, markdown, frontmatter? }] }` — returns the Receipt: `revisions[0]` is the created document (its `id`, rooted `path`, `hash`), `new_ids[\"$new.0\"]` the same id and `$new.1…` its blocks in pre-order. Fails path_taken if it already exists. Preview with `plan` over that effect (`preview.diffs[path]` is `\"\" → the bytes`).",
+        inputSchema: { path: z.string(), markdown: z.string(), frontmatter: z.record(z.string(), z.unknown()).optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
     }, async (args) => {
         try {
-            return docResult(surfaceDocOpResult(docsCreate(store, docCtx(repoScope(args.repo), args.dry_run), args.path, args.markdown, args.frontmatter)), args.dry_run);
+            const scope = repoScope(args.repo);
+            const rootPath = requireRoot(scope.rootPath);
+            const rel = canonicalDocPath(args.path);
+            requireAbsent(scope.repoId, rootPath, rel, `document already exists at ${rel}`);
+            return sugar(scope.repoId, rootPath, createEffects(rel, args.markdown, args.frontmatter));
         }
         catch (e) {
             return fail(e);
         }
     });
     tool("docs_move", {
-        description: "Rename a document to a new path (`to_path`, `/`-rooted or bare; the result `{ id, path, committed, retargeted, dangling }` reports the rooted form); the document is addressed by `id` or `path`. Block identity and history are preserved, and the inbound links FOLLOW it: every link written against the old path (Markdown links/images, wikilinks, bare-path inline fields — anchors, link text, titles and code spans preserved, absolute vs relative style kept) is rewritten to the new path in the same call as one CAS-checked changeset, so a move never leaves the graph broken. Fails path_taken if the destination exists. The result carries `retargeted` (the touched blocks/docs) and `dangling` — what could NOT be rewritten, i.e. frontmatter relations (block null; fix with docs_set_meta). Pass `retarget_inbound:false` to opt out for the rarer intent that the old path become unbound: the links are left as written, listed in `dangling` ({doc_id, path, block_id, target, anchor, field?} per occurrence — a link row under the `links` target's names) and reported by links_stale (their edges become `phantom:<old path>`); links already written against the new path start resolving to this doc either way. dry_run:true validates and returns the plan — `dangling`, `retargeted`, and the per-file `diffs` (the old path emptied, the new path filled, plus the rewritten sources) — without renaming or committing.",
-        inputSchema: { ...DOC_ARGS, to_path: z.string(), retarget_inbound: z.boolean().optional(), dry_run: z.boolean().optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
+        description: "Rename a document to a new path (`to_path`, `/`-rooted or bare); the document is addressed by `id` or `path`. Block identity and history are preserved, and the inbound links FOLLOW it: every link written against the old path (Markdown links/images, wikilinks, bare-path inline fields — anchors, link text, titles and code spans preserved, absolute vs relative style kept) is rewritten to the new path in the same call as one CAS-checked commit, so a move never leaves the graph broken. Fails path_taken if the destination exists. Sugar for `apply { effects: [{ op: \"move\", target: { kind: \"document\", id }, to, retarget_inbound? }] }` — returns the Receipt (one revision per rewritten source; the moved document's own revision does not advance unless it links to itself) plus `retargeted` (the touched blocks/docs) and `dangling` — what could NOT be rewritten, i.e. frontmatter relations (block null; fix with docs_set_meta). Pass `retarget_inbound:false` to opt out for the rarer intent that the old path become unbound: the links are left as written, listed in `dangling` ({doc_id, path, block_id, target, anchor, field?} per occurrence — a link row under the `links` target's names) and reported by links_stale (their edges become `phantom:<old path>`); links already written against the new path start resolving to this doc either way. Preview with `plan` over that effect: `preview.diffs` holds the old path emptied, the new path filled and the rewritten sources.",
+        inputSchema: { ...DOC_ARGS, to_path: z.string(), retarget_inbound: z.boolean().optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
     }, async (args) => {
         try {
             const scope = repoScope(args.repo);
             const docId = locateDoc(scope.repoId, "docs_move", registry.get("docs_move").shape, args);
-            return docResult(surfaceDocMoveResult(docsMove(store, docCtx(scope, args.dry_run), docId, args.to_path, { retargetInbound: args.retarget_inbound !== false })), args.dry_run);
+            const rootPath = requireRoot(scope.rootPath);
+            const doc = { id: docId, path: pathOfDoc(docId) };
+            const to = canonicalDocPath(args.to_path);
+            requireAbsent(scope.repoId, rootPath, to, `a document already exists at ${to}`);
+            const retargetInbound = args.retarget_inbound !== false;
+            // Who links here BY PATH, as written — read before the path changes — and
+            // the rewrite the move carries (`moveLinks` is pure over the current
+            // blocks, so computed here, before the commit, it equals what the planner
+            // lowered, `spec/mutate` §11.3) → `dangling`/`retargeted`.
+            const links = moveLinks(store, scope.repoId, doc, to, retargetInbound);
+            const { receipt } = runSugar(scope.repoId, rootPath, moveDocEffects(doc, to, retargetInbound));
+            return okMutated({ ...surfaceReceipt(receipt), retargeted: links.retargeted, dangling: links.dangling.map(surfaceInboundLink) });
         }
         catch (e) {
             return fail(e);
         }
     });
     tool("docs_delete", {
-        description: "Delete a document: tombstone it and its live blocks (resurrection-poolable) and remove the file. Address it by `id` or `path`. dry_run:true validates and returns the file's removal under `diffs` without deleting.",
-        inputSchema: { ...DOC_ARGS, dry_run: z.boolean().optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
+        description: "Delete a document: tombstone it and its live blocks (resurrection-poolable) and remove the file. Address it by `id` or `path`. Sugar for `apply { effects: [{ op: \"remove\", target: { kind: \"document\", id } }] }` — returns the Receipt (a tombstone advances no revision: `revisions` is empty, `commit` the one commit). Preview with `plan` over that effect (`preview.diffs[path]` is `the bytes → \"\"`).",
+        inputSchema: { ...DOC_ARGS, ...REPO_ARG },
     }, async (args) => {
         try {
             const scope = repoScope(args.repo);
             const docId = locateDoc(scope.repoId, "docs_delete", registry.get("docs_delete").shape, args);
-            return docResult(surfaceDocOpResult(docsDelete(store, docCtx(scope, args.dry_run), docId)), args.dry_run);
+            const rootPath = requireRoot(scope.rootPath);
+            return sugar(scope.repoId, rootPath, deleteDocEffects({ id: docId, path: pathOfDoc(docId) }));
         }
         catch (e) {
             return fail(e);
         }
     });
     tool("docs_set_meta", {
-        description: "Surgical frontmatter patch: set the given keys and/or unset named keys on the document addressed by `id` or `path`, re-ingesting it. Other frontmatter is preserved. dry_run:true validates and returns the rewritten file under `diffs` without writing.",
-        inputSchema: { ...DOC_ARGS, set: z.record(z.string(), z.unknown()).optional(), unset: z.array(z.string()).optional(), dry_run: z.boolean().optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
+        description: "Surgical frontmatter patch: set the given keys and/or unset named keys on the document addressed by `id` or `path`. Other frontmatter and the whole body are preserved (every block keeps its id). Sugar for `apply { effects: [{ op: \"set\", target: { kind: \"document\", id }, field: \"frontmatter.<key>\", value }, { op: \"unset\", …, field: \"frontmatter.<key>\" }, …] }`, one effect per key — returns the Receipt; at least one of `set`/`unset` is required. Preview with `plan` over those effects (`preview.diffs[path]` is the file before → after).",
+        inputSchema: { ...DOC_ARGS, set: z.record(z.string(), z.unknown()).optional(), unset: z.array(z.string()).optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
     }, async (args) => {
         try {
             const scope = repoScope(args.repo);
-            const docId = locateDoc(scope.repoId, "docs_set_meta", registry.get("docs_set_meta").shape, args);
-            return docResult(surfaceDocOpResult(docsSetMeta(store, docCtx(scope, args.dry_run), docId, {
-                ...(args.set ? { set: args.set } : {}),
-                ...(args.unset ? { unset: args.unset } : {}),
-            })), args.dry_run);
+            const shape = registry.get("docs_set_meta").shape;
+            const docId = locateDoc(scope.repoId, "docs_set_meta", shape, args);
+            const rootPath = requireRoot(scope.rootPath);
+            // One scalar effect per key, `unset` winning over `set` for a shared key;
+            // the planner drops a repeated `unset`. An empty patch is an argument
+            // error (3.3, §9) — it used to rewrite the frontmatter through the emitter for nothing.
+            const built = setMetaEffects({ id: docId, path: pathOfDoc(docId) }, args.set, args.unset);
+            if (built.effects.length === 0)
+                throw argumentError("docs_set_meta", "pass `set` and/or `unset`", shape);
+            return sugar(scope.repoId, rootPath, built);
         }
         catch (e) {
             return fail(e);
         }
     });
     tool("docs_update", {
-        description: "Whole-document update with smart identity preservation. Submit the complete proposed `content` for a document (`id` or `path`); the engine reconciles it against the current tree, preserving stable block ids for structure that is recognizably the same (edits, moves, reorders), minting for new structure, and tombstoning removals — then commits the derived opset through the kernel write path. Frontmatter changes are applied too. dry_run:true is the PLAN-ONLY call (docs_plan_update before surface 3.0): nothing is written and the result is `{ opset, plan, result: null }` — the exact kernel ops (insert/update/move/remove) it would run, each annotated with its identity consequence (disposition, confidence, reason), a summary (preserved/updated/moved/created/removed) and a human-readable plan; the opset carries `precondition: { id, path, baseRevision, hash }` (the document's revision and hash at plan time) and `converges`, verified by replaying the ops (a divergence names the first differing byte and the proposed block in `diagnostics[]`). Use the dry run to inspect identity effects before committing, then call again without it. Conflicts (the doc changed since planning) fail stale_plan — re-run. A plan whose replay cannot reproduce `content` byte-for-byte fails plan_not_convergent; the message names the first divergent byte and the proposed block (index/type) that failed to round-trip (full diagnostics in `data.diagnostics`). This is the dry run's opset + apply(opset).",
-        inputSchema: { ...DOC_ARGS, content: z.string(), reason: z.string().optional(), dry_run: z.boolean().optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
+        description: "Whole-document update with smart identity preservation — sugar for `apply { effects: [{ op: \"set\", target: { kind: \"document\", id }, field: \"content\", value: content }] }` (surface 4.0). Submit the complete proposed `content` for a document (`id` or `path`); the engine reconciles it against the current tree, preserving stable block ids for structure that is recognizably the same (edits, moves, reorders), minting for new structure, and tombstoning removals — frontmatter changes included — and commits the derived ops as ONE transaction. Returns the Receipt `{ plan_id, commit, revisions: [{ id, path, hash }], new_ids, committed: true }`; content that already equals the document is a plan with nothing to do — no commit (`commit: null`, no revision). To INSPECT the identity consequences before committing, call `plan { effects: [that set] }`: its `preview.identity[<doc id>]` is `{ matcher_v, summary: { preserved, updated, moved, created, removed, split, merged, ambiguous }, ops: [{ op_index, disposition, blocks, confidence, reason }], diagnostics }` — each planned kernel op (`preview`'s `op_index` into the plan's `opset.ops`) annotated with the disposition it realizes — and the plan's `preconditions.docs` pin the document's revision and hash; then `execute` that plan, or call this tool. A document that changed since planning fails stale_plan (re-plan). Content the planner cannot reproduce byte-for-byte fails plan_not_convergent; the message names the first divergent byte and the proposed block (index/type) that failed to round-trip (full diagnostics in `data.diagnostics`).",
+        inputSchema: { ...DOC_ARGS, content: z.string(), reason: z.string().optional(), ...REPO_ARG },
     }, async (args) => {
         try {
             const scope = repoScope(args.repo);
             const docId = locateDoc(scope.repoId, "docs_update", registry.get("docs_update").shape, args);
-            const { opset, result } = surfaceDocsUpdate(docsUpdate(store, docCtx(scope), docId, args.content, {
-                ...(args.dry_run !== undefined ? { dryRun: args.dry_run } : {}),
-                ...(args.reason !== undefined ? { reason: args.reason } : {}),
-            }));
-            const payload = { opset, plan: renderOpsetPlan(opset), result };
-            return args.dry_run ? ok(payload) : okMutated(payload);
+            const rootPath = requireRoot(scope.rootPath);
+            const { receipt } = runSugar(scope.repoId, rootPath, updateContentEffects({ id: docId }, args.content), args.reason);
+            return okMutated(surfaceReceipt(receipt));
         }
         catch (e) {
             return fail(e);