@sabaiway/agent-workflow-kit 1.32.0 → 1.33.0

package/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -4,6 +4,45 @@ Semantically versioned ([semver](https://semver.org)), newest first. The `versio
 is the current release. `upgrade` mode reads a project's `docs/ai/.workflow-version` and applies
 every `migrations/<version>-<slug>.md` newer than it, in semver order.
 
+## 1.33.0 — The agent-rules lens region: render + reconcile from the engine canon (AD-041)
+
+A **feature** release (new shipped tool + wiring; deployment-lineage head stays `1.3.0` — the
+refresh is stamp-independent, no migration). The deployed `docs/ai/agent_rules.md` lens section
+is now a RENDER of the engine's canonical fragment, kept current by the kit:
+
+- **New `tools/lens-region.mjs`** — the lens reconcile: heading-anchored region (no markers; a
+  renamed heading is a natural preserve+advise), render with the file's OWN section number,
+  refresh IFF the body matches the engine fragment or a known-prior body (fragment + prior store
+  read LIVE from the installed engine — no kit-side prior constants), a customized region
+  preserved verbatim + a one-line advisory, cap-guard from the target's frontmatter `maxLines`
+  (loud non-fatal refusal; no frontmatter → stated skip), atomic write, document EOL preserved.
+  Lazy + fail-loud: an absent/invalid engine is a STOP with the install command; a valid engine
+  older than 1.13.0 (no lens pair) is a stated soft skip. CLI:
+  `node tools/lens-region.mjs reconcile <path/to/agent_rules.md>`; invariants pinned by
+  `tools/lens-region.test.mjs` incl. the canon-change simulation (v1 deploy + v2 engine →
+  refreshed; re-run → zero-diff).
+- **`Mode: upgrade` step 3** gains the SEVENTH stamp-independent reconcile (plain-language
+  outcomes: refreshed / already current / custom preserved + note / file absent / engine too
+  old / over the line cap), reported in both the step-4 and step-8 exit reports; the stale
+  "other three reconciles" phrasing went count-free.
+  `references/shared/composition-handoff.md` runs the same reconcile in BOTH bootstrap paths
+  (its own precondition: after `docs/ai/agent_rules.md` exists) — this is what converges a
+  stale-memory seed; `handoffPlan` names the lens region in `kitWrites` for both paths.
+- **`family-registry`**: a distinct plain-language `status` caveat for an engine that does not
+  ship the lens canon — keyed on the PAIR (fragment + prior store), so a half-shipped engine
+  never reports healthy.
+- **`test/lens-mirror.test.mjs` REWRITTEN** to render-parity vs the known-canonical set (each
+  template lens block byte-equals a render of the engine fragment or a prior-store entry; the
+  checkout additionally pins the CURRENT render; injected non-vacuity). The 22-token × 4-file
+  vocabulary mesh is deleted — token presence now lives in the ENGINE's own lens-fragment guard,
+  so a future lens wording change is an engine-only release (no forced kit/memory diffs).
+- `references/templates/agent_rules.md` §2.5 intro carries the provenance clause (the render);
+  `tools/engine-source.mjs` exports `LENS_FRAGMENT_REL` + `LENS_PRIORS_REL`. Tarball 115 → 116
+  (`lens-region.mjs` reverse-pinned). AD-039 byte budgets hold unchanged.
+- Repo-local release harness: `scripts/release/smoke-init.mjs` gains repeatable
+  `--expect-file <sandbox-HOME-relative path>=<substring>` (installed-file content assertions;
+  both path dialects fenced to the sandbox HOME).
+
 ## 1.32.0 — Approval-idle reduction: the opt-in `velocity --kit-tools` tier, an audited core extension, and the standing-consent advisory (AD-040)
 
 A **feature** release; packaging-only for deployments (lineage stays `1.3.0` — no `docs/ai`

package/SKILL.md

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ name: agent-workflow-kit
 description: Deploy or upgrade a portable AI-agent memory-and-workflow system in any project. Use when the user wants to bootstrap `docs/ai/` + an entry-point `AGENTS.md` (+ `CLAUDE.md` alias) + cap/archive/index enforcement in a new or existing repo, set up the Memory Map and session protocols, install the docs-rotation pre-commit hook, or run `/agent-workflow-kit` / `/agent-workflow-kit upgrade`. Triggers on phrases like "set up the memory system", "deploy the AI workflow here", "bootstrap docs/ai", "upgrade the workflow".
 disable-model-invocation: true
 metadata:
-  version: '1.32.0'
+  version: '1.33.0'
 ---
 
 # agent-workflow-kit
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ Before acting, read `docs/ai/.workflow-version` (the project's stamp) to decide
 
 - **absent** → bootstrap (a fresh deployment).
 - **stamp < `1.3.0`** (the deployment-lineage head) → `upgrade`.
-- **stamp == `1.3.0`** → already current; only the stamp-independent reconciles may run — the FULL set lives in `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/modes/upgrade.md` step 3 (pointer slots · hidden-mode footprint · both `.json` config ensures · the enforcement-script ensure · the placed-bridge refresh); run step 3 rather than enumerating from memory.
+- **stamp == `1.3.0`** → already current; only the stamp-independent reconciles may run — the FULL set lives in `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/modes/upgrade.md` step 3 (pointer slots · hidden-mode footprint · both `.json` config ensures · the enforcement-script ensure · the placed-bridge refresh · the agent-rules lens refresh); run step 3 rather than enumerating from memory.
 - **stamp > head / unparseable** → STOP — never-downgrade gate (see `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/modes/upgrade.md` step 2).
 
 **Two independent version axes — never conflate them:**

package/capability.json

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
   "schema": 1,
   "name": "agent-workflow-kit",
   "kind": "composition-root",
-  "version": "1.32.0",
+  "version": "1.33.0",
   "provides": [],
   "roles": {},
   "detect": {

package/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@sabaiway/agent-workflow-kit",
-  "version": "1.32.0",
+  "version": "1.33.0",
   "description": "Portable, cross-agent memory & workflow for AI coding agents — Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Devin Desktop. One command deploys an AGENTS.md entry point + docs/ai context with cap/archive/index enforcement into any repo.",
   "keywords": [
     "ai-agents",

package/references/modes/upgrade.md

@@ -32,15 +32,25 @@ Requires: ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/shared/report-footer.md · ${CLAUDE_SKI
    bundled copies and re-links its wrappers; an **absent** bridge is a stated skip, **never a first
    placement** (placement stays the opt-in `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/modes/setup.md` — AD-009/AD-011 honesty intact), and a
    placed bridge **newer** than the bundled copy is a stated skip naming the kit update (**never a
-   downgrade**). Like the other three reconciles it runs on **every** upgrade — including an
-   equal-head one — with no lineage-head bump. A *could not refresh* line is non-fatal: relay it
-   plainly with its recovery and continue the upgrade.
-4. **Equal-head exit — a real successful-exit report, not a bare stop.** If the stamp **equals** the head, the lineage is up to date — but step 3 (the methodology-slot **and** hidden-mode footprint reconciles) ran first and may have changed things, so this is a proper exit report, not a no-op:
-   - **Report step 3's outcome in plain language** — for **each** pointer (workflow-methodology and orchestration-recipes) whether it was *added*, was *already present* (nothing changed), or was *skipped because the entry point is over its line limit* (the cap-refusal soft-skip from step 3, with its reason); whether the `docs/ai/orchestration.json` config was *seeded* (created from the template), had its onboarding note *refreshed*, was *already current*, or carried a *customized note that was preserved* (a user edit is never clobbered); whether the `docs/ai/gates.json` gate declaration was *seeded* or was *already present* (preserved byte-for-byte); whether the enforcement-script ensure *added* the `archive-decisions` pair to `scripts/` or found it *already present*; the **placed-bridge refresh** outcome — paste the tool's per-bridge lines verbatim (they are already plain: *refreshed* / *already current* / *skipped — not placed* / *could not refresh* + recovery); and, for a hidden deployment, whether the hidden-mode footprint was *moved to project-local*, was *already project-local* (nothing changed), or needed a question (ambiguous visibility / a leftover machine-wide block). Plain wording only — never the reconcile/slot/anchor/marker terms (the never-leak-kit-internals Gotcha — `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/shared/deploy-tail.md`).
+   downgrade**). Like the other stamp-independent reconciles it runs on **every** upgrade —
+   including an equal-head one — with no lineage-head bump. A *could not refresh* line is
+   non-fatal: relay it plainly with its recovery and continue the upgrade.
+
+   **Agent-rules lens refresh — stamp-independent, same gate, BEFORE the equal-head short-circuit.**
+   Run `node ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/tools/lens-region.mjs reconcile <project>/docs/ai/agent_rules.md`
+   and relay its outcome in plain language: the planning/review lens section was **refreshed** to
+   the current canon · was **already current** · carries a **custom edit — preserved verbatim** (+
+   its one-line note) · the **file is absent — skipped** · the **engine is too old — skipped**
+   (refresh it with `npx @sabaiway/agent-workflow-engine@latest init`, then re-run) · **over the
+   file's line cap — refused** (trim the file, re-run). The section is found by its heading — no
+   markers; a renamed heading is preserved + noted. A fully absent/invalid engine is the same hard
+   STOP as (c). Exit 0 covers every soft outcome; only the STOP is non-zero.
+4. **Equal-head exit — a real successful-exit report, not a bare stop.** If the stamp **equals** the head, the lineage is up to date — but step 3 (the stamp-independent reconciles) ran first and may have changed things, so this is a proper exit report, not a no-op:
+   - **Report step 3's outcome in plain language** — for **each** pointer (workflow-methodology and orchestration-recipes) whether it was *added*, was *already present* (nothing changed), or was *skipped because the entry point is over its line limit* (the cap-refusal soft-skip from step 3, with its reason); whether the `docs/ai/orchestration.json` config was *seeded* (created from the template), had its onboarding note *refreshed*, was *already current*, or carried a *customized note that was preserved* (a user edit is never clobbered); whether the `docs/ai/gates.json` gate declaration was *seeded* or was *already present* (preserved byte-for-byte); whether the enforcement-script ensure *added* the `archive-decisions` pair to `scripts/` or found it *already present*; the **placed-bridge refresh** outcome — paste the tool's per-bridge lines verbatim (they are already plain: *refreshed* / *already current* / *skipped — not placed* / *could not refresh* + recovery); the **agent-rules lens** outcome (*refreshed* / *already current* / *custom edit preserved + note* / *file absent* / *engine too old* / *over the line cap*); and, for a hidden deployment, whether the hidden-mode footprint was *moved to project-local*, was *already project-local* (nothing changed), or needed a question (ambiguous visibility / a leftover machine-wide block). Plain wording only — never the reconcile/slot/anchor/marker terms (the never-leak-kit-internals Gotcha — `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/shared/deploy-tail.md`).
    - **Never surface the structure number on this exit.** Whatever step 3 did, do **not** recite the `docs/ai` structure version, the internal versioning vocabulary, or the two-axes note here — the number is inert on an equal-head exit; it belongs to *Version disclosure* in `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/shared/report-footer.md` (shown at the never-downgrade STOP, the explicit status view, or on an explicit ask). Frame the success itself per the final bullet: if step 3 changed anything, say **what changed** in plain human terms; only a pure zero-diff no-op is *settings already current — no update needed*.
    - **Print the report footer** in the canonical order (version block → one-line backend-status line → welcome mat — the shared contracts in `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/shared/report-footer.md`; rendered from the helpers, same host-can't-run skip-with-reason). The welcome mat closes on **one** caveat-aware next step (a behind member first, else `setup` / `recipes` / `velocity`).
    - **Then ask before committing — never auto-commit.** If step 3 added the slot (or anything else changed), report it and ask. If step 3 was a pure zero-diff no-op and nothing else changed, give the plain **settings already current — no update needed** message (the *Success state* contract in `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/shared/report-footer.md`) and still print the read-only version block (installed package versions) + backend line — but **no `docs/ai` structure version and no two-axes note** (nothing changed, so the number is inert here).
 5. Show the relevant `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/CHANGELOG.md` diff (entries newer than the project's stamp).
 6. Apply `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/migrations/<version>-<slug>.md` in **semver order**, only those newer than the project's stamp. Migrations are **idempotent** — safe to re-run.
 7. Reconcile drift: add any kernel files/scripts the project is missing; never clobber project-authored content (their `decisions.md`, `known_issues.md`, page specs stay). Any user question a migration raises follows the same rule as bootstrap — **structured multiple-choice where supported** (`AskUserQuestion` in Claude Code), otherwise prose. If `AGENTS.md` has no *Communication language* block (pre-1.1.0 deployment), **ask the user their conversational language** and insert the block — see `migrations/1.1.0-communication-language.md`. If it has no *Attribution* block (pre-1.2.0 deployment), **ask whether the agent may attribute work to itself / AI** and insert the block (defaulting to `off`) — see `migrations/1.2.0-agent-attribution.md`.
-8. Re-stamp `docs/ai/.workflow-version` to the **deployment-lineage head** (`1.3.0`, not the package version — mechanics unchanged: the atomic write to the stamp file). In the report, **describe what the upgrade changed in plain human terms** — which parts of their `docs/ai` are now different (the migrations that ran), plus the step-3 **placed-bridge refresh** lines (pasted verbatim) — rather than reciting a version number; **omit the raw structure number**, and do **not** print the two-axes note here (it belongs to *Version disclosure* in `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/shared/report-footer.md`, on demand only). Then **print the report footer** in the canonical order (version block → one-line backend-status line → welcome mat — the shared contracts in `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/shared/report-footer.md`; rendered from the helpers, same host-can't-run skip-with-reason; the welcome mat closes on one caveat-aware next step). Then **ask before committing**.
+8. Re-stamp `docs/ai/.workflow-version` to the **deployment-lineage head** (`1.3.0`, not the package version — mechanics unchanged: the atomic write to the stamp file). In the report, **describe what the upgrade changed in plain human terms** — which parts of their `docs/ai` are now different (the migrations that ran), plus the step-3 **placed-bridge refresh** lines (pasted verbatim) and the step-3 **agent-rules lens** outcome (same outcome set as step 4) — rather than reciting a version number; **omit the raw structure number**, and do **not** print the two-axes note here (it belongs to *Version disclosure* in `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/shared/report-footer.md`, on demand only). Then **print the report footer** in the canonical order (version block → one-line backend-status line → welcome mat — the shared contracts in `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/shared/report-footer.md`; rendered from the helpers, same host-can't-run skip-with-reason; the welcome mat closes on one caveat-aware next step). Then **ask before committing**.

package/references/shared/composition-handoff.md

@@ -37,3 +37,15 @@ ordered `start → end` pair; a malformed slot (single, reversed, nested, duplic
 duplicate anchor → **STOP with an error**, never edit (the file is left byte-for-byte unchanged). The
 **orchestration pointer is soft-skipped** (reported, never silent) when — and only when — adding it
 would exceed the 100-line cap: the methodology pointer still lands and the upgrade continues.
+
+**Agent-rules lens refresh (runs in BOTH paths).** Its precondition is its own target file — run it
+only after `<project>/docs/ai/agent_rules.md` exists: after the substrate deploy in the
+**delegated** path, after the fallback-template copy in the **kit** path (never anchored to the
+`AGENTS.md` step above). ONE command:
+`node ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/tools/lens-region.mjs reconcile <project>/docs/ai/agent_rules.md`.
+This is what converges a substrate seeded by an older memory — a lens section matching a known
+prior canonical body is refreshed from the installed engine; a current seed reports *already
+current* (zero-diff). Relay its outcome in plain language (*refreshed* / *already current* /
+*custom edit preserved + note* / *file absent — skipped* / *engine too old — skipped* / *over the
+line cap — refused*); a fully absent/invalid engine is the same loud STOP + one-line install
+command as the pointer reconcile.

package/references/templates/agent_rules.md

@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ Before proposing changes or committing, review against:
 - Always run type-checker, linter, and all tests before committing.
 
 ### 2.5. Planning, review & process-fidelity invariants
-Apply these when authoring a plan, reviewing, folding a finding, or editing code — the layer read **before any code change**. (Full canon: the project's planning / workflow-methodology + orchestration canon.)
+Apply these when authoring a plan, reviewing, folding a finding, or editing code — the layer read **before any code change**. (Full canon: the project's planning / workflow-methodology + orchestration canon. This section is rendered from that canon and refreshed on upgrade; a custom edit is preserved verbatim, but flagged.)
 - **Fold by code, not prose.** Before folding a code-touching finding into a plan or change, read the cited `file:line` and cite it — a prose fold drifts from the code and seeds the next bug.
 - **Right altitude.** Pin intent + invariants + acceptance criteria (named tests); leave fine code-mechanics to Execute, where prose cannot diverge from reality.
 - **No code-mechanics in the plan.** A Step still carries its exact paths + commands (the plan-structure / self-review canon) — checked syntax: the plan's own Verification runs them against an explicit expected outcome or gate; the only other syntax a plan may carry is a literal fixture/schema fragment a named test copies or validates. Un-run, logic-bearing syntax — control-flow, a regex, a glob, a grammar, an algorithm body, a mini-DSL — never lives in plan prose, however plausible or shell-verified it looks: a fold or draft that wants one is the trigger to write the test instead.

package/tools/delegation.mjs

@@ -83,7 +83,9 @@ export const handoffPlan = (delegate) =>
     ? {
         mode: 'delegate',
         memoryWrites: ['docs/ai/', 'AGENTS.md', 'docs/ai/.memory-version'],
-        kitWrites: ['AGENTS.md methodology slot', 'docs/ai/.workflow-version'],
+        // The lens region runs AFTER the substrate deploy (its own precondition: the file exists)
+        // — it converges a stale-memory seed to the installed engine's canon (AD-041).
+        kitWrites: ['AGENTS.md methodology slot', 'docs/ai/agent_rules.md lens region', 'docs/ai/.workflow-version'],
         stampsPresent: ['.memory-version', '.workflow-version'],
         memoryRaisesCommitGate: false,
         commitGate: 'kit-only-after-injection',
@@ -93,8 +95,9 @@ export const handoffPlan = (delegate) =>
         memoryWrites: [],
         // Fallback now ships the kit's OWN AGENTS.md carrying the EMPTY methodology slot (Plan 2);
         // the kit reconciles it (ensure-slot + inject-because-empty) exactly like the delegate
-        // path — so both paths end with a FILLED slot, not inline methodology.
-        kitWrites: ['docs/ai/', 'AGENTS.md', 'AGENTS.md methodology slot', 'docs/ai/.workflow-version'],
+        // path — so both paths end with a FILLED slot, not inline methodology. The lens region
+        // runs after the fallback-template copy of docs/ai (same reconcile, both paths — AD-041).
+        kitWrites: ['docs/ai/', 'AGENTS.md', 'AGENTS.md methodology slot', 'docs/ai/agent_rules.md lens region', 'docs/ai/.workflow-version'],
         stampsPresent: ['.workflow-version'],
         memoryRaisesCommitGate: false,
         commitGate: 'kit-only-after-injection',

package/tools/engine-source.mjs

@@ -31,6 +31,12 @@ export const ORCHESTRATION_FRAGMENT_REL = 'references/orchestration-slot.md';
 // CLI fail loudly on — an engine too old to ship it. readEngineFragment accepts an arbitrary `rel`
 // (no whitelist), so no further plumbing is needed beyond this constant.
 export const PROCEDURES_FRAGMENT_REL = 'references/procedures.md';
+// The agent-rules lens pair — the canonical lens block + its append-only prior store (engine
+// >= 1.13.0; an older engine ships neither). The kit's lens-region reconcile live-reads BOTH via
+// readEngineFragment({ rel }); detectEngine({ rel }) lets it soft-skip a too-old engine (and
+// `status` caveat it) instead of failing the whole reconcile.
+export const LENS_FRAGMENT_REL = 'references/agent-rules-lens.md';
+export const LENS_PRIORS_REL = 'references/agent-rules-lens-priors.md';
 const ENGINE_DEFAULT_REL = '.claude/skills/agent-workflow-engine';
 
 const defaultStatType = (path) => {

package/tools/family-registry.mjs

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ import { resolveDir, detectBackends, findOnPath } from './detect-backends.mjs';
 import { parseSemver, compareSemver } from './semver-lite.mjs';
 import { validateManifest, readAuthoritativeVersion, UNSUPPORTED, INVALID } from './manifest/validate.mjs';
 import { START_MARKER, excludePath, inferVisibility } from './hide-footprint.mjs';
-import { readEngineFragment, ORCHESTRATION_FRAGMENT_REL, PROCEDURES_FRAGMENT_REL } from './engine-source.mjs';
+import { readEngineFragment, ORCHESTRATION_FRAGMENT_REL, PROCEDURES_FRAGMENT_REL, LENS_FRAGMENT_REL, LENS_PRIORS_REL } from './engine-source.mjs';
 import { ACTIVITIES, resolveActivityRecipe } from './recipes.mjs';
 // The config reader lives in orchestration-config.mjs (the single config contract). The read-only status
 // settings-survey reuses THIS reader (one strict-JSON + loud-on-malformed contract), not a second copy.
@@ -171,9 +171,13 @@ export const classifyMember = (member, deps = {}) => {
 // the manifest AND reads the fragment — so an absent, non-file, OR present-but-unreadable fragment all
 // surface (status never claims "ok" for a fragment a reconcile / the procedures CLI would STOP on), and
 // a current, readable fragment never gets the caveat. Read-only, best-effort.
+// Each caveat names the rel(s) its consumer actually needs: the lens reconcile requires the
+// fragment AND its prior store as a PAIR (lens-region soft-skips when either is missing), so its
+// caveat keys on both — an engine missing only the prior store must never report healthy.
 const ENGINE_FRAGMENT_CAVEATS = [
-  { rel: ORCHESTRATION_FRAGMENT_REL, caveat: 'engine present but does not supply the recipes pointer (too old / incomplete) — run `npx @sabaiway/agent-workflow-engine@latest init`' },
-  { rel: PROCEDURES_FRAGMENT_REL, caveat: 'engine present but does not ship the activity-procedures canon (too old / incomplete) — run `npx @sabaiway/agent-workflow-engine@latest init`' },
+  { rels: [ORCHESTRATION_FRAGMENT_REL], caveat: 'engine present but does not supply the recipes pointer (too old / incomplete) — run `npx @sabaiway/agent-workflow-engine@latest init`' },
+  { rels: [PROCEDURES_FRAGMENT_REL], caveat: 'engine present but does not ship the activity-procedures canon (too old / incomplete) — run `npx @sabaiway/agent-workflow-engine@latest init`' },
+  { rels: [LENS_FRAGMENT_REL, LENS_PRIORS_REL], caveat: 'engine present but does not ship the agent-rules lens canon (the fragment + its prior store; too old / incomplete — engine >= 1.13.0) — run `npx @sabaiway/agent-workflow-engine@latest init`' },
 ];
 
 // The orchestration-config TEMPLATE a current memory ships (added in memory 1.2.0; absent in older
@@ -244,7 +248,7 @@ export const surveyFamily = (deps = {}) =>
           return false; // absent / non-file / unreadable fragment → the engine can't supply it
         }
       };
-      const caveats = ENGINE_FRAGMENT_CAVEATS.filter((f) => !fragmentUsable(f.rel)).map((f) => f.caveat);
+      const caveats = ENGINE_FRAGMENT_CAVEATS.filter((f) => !f.rels.every(fragmentUsable)).map((f) => f.caveat);
       if (caveats.length) row.caveats = caveats;
     }
     // Memory offline caveat (Step 2.2): a distinct probe — the orchestration TEMPLATE file's existence.

package/tools/lens-region.mjs

@@ -0,0 +1,251 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+// Heading-anchored lens-region reconcile — the composition root's only mutation of a deployed
+// `docs/ai/agent_rules.md`. The planning/review/process-fidelity lens block (`### 2.x. Planning,
+// review & process-fidelity invariants`) has ONE canonical home — the installed engine's
+// `references/agent-rules-lens.md` — and every deployed/template copy is a RENDER of it (the
+// file's own section number substituted into the number-neutral heading). This tool refreshes a
+// deployed region to the current canon under the AD-025 discipline: refresh IFF the region's
+// normalized body matches the current fragment (already current → zero-diff) or a KNOWN PRIOR
+// canonical body (the engine's append-only `references/agent-rules-lens-priors.md`, read live
+// beside the fragment — no kit-side prior constants, so a canon wording change is an engine-only
+// release). Anything else is preserved byte-for-byte + a one-line advisory.
+//
+// The region has NO markers (unlike the AGENTS.md pointer slots): it is located by the heading
+// through the next structural boundary (`---` / `##` / `###`) or EOF — the extraction rule the
+// lens-mirror guard pioneered, promoted here as the shipped implementation. A user-renamed
+// heading is therefore a natural preserve+advise; bytes outside the region are never touched.
+//
+// The live read is lazy + fail-loud: the engine is consulted only when a present region must be
+// classified; a fully absent/invalid engine is a loud STOP (never a silent fallback), a valid
+// engine that merely predates the lens pair (<1.13.0) is a stated soft skip. Cap-guard: a refresh
+// that would push the file over its own frontmatter `maxLines` is a loud, non-fatal refusal —
+// never a silent truncate; a file without frontmatter/`maxLines` skips the guard with a stated
+// note (such a file is outside the docs cap gate anyway).
+//
+// Pure string functions (fs only in the CLI); dependency-free, Node >= 18.
+
+import { normalizeCanonical } from './orchestration-config.mjs';
+
+// The deployed-heading matcher (prefix, like the historical extractLensBlock: robust to a future
+// heading-tail tweak) and the number-neutral form the engine fragment carries.
+export const LENS_HEADING_RE = /^### 2\.(\d+)\. Planning, review & process-fidelity/;
+const NEUTRAL_HEADING_RE = /^### 2\.x\. Planning, review & process-fidelity/;
+const HEADING_LABEL = '### 2.x. Planning, review & process-fidelity invariants';
+
+const stripCr = (line) => (line.endsWith('\r') ? line.slice(0, -1) : line);
+const isBoundary = (bareLine) => bareLine === '---' || /^#{2,3} /.test(bareLine);
+
+// Count lines independent of a trailing newline (the inject-methodology contract).
+const lineCount = (text) => text.split('\n').length - (text.endsWith('\n') ? 1 : 0);
+
+// ── the frozen prior-store format (documented in the store file's own header) ─────
+// A delimiter is a line that starts with `<!-- prior` and ends with `-->`; an entry body is
+// everything after it up to the next delimiter / EOF, trimmed. The pre-delimiter header is
+// ignored. APPEND-ONLY on the engine side — this parser must keep reading a newer engine's file.
+export const parseLensPriors = (text) => {
+  const entries = [];
+  let current = null;
+  for (const line of String(text).split('\n')) {
+    const bare = stripCr(line);
+    if (bare.startsWith('<!-- prior') && bare.endsWith('-->')) {
+      if (current) entries.push(current.join('\n'));
+      current = [];
+    } else if (current) current.push(line);
+  }
+  if (current) entries.push(current.join('\n'));
+  return entries.map((e) => normalizeCanonical(e)).filter((e) => e !== '');
+};
+
+// renderLens(fragment, number) → the number-neutral canonical block bound to the file's OWN
+// section number (memory-seeded files say 2.6, kit-fallback files 2.5 — the fragment never
+// hardcodes one). LF-canonical; the CLI converts to the document's EOL style on write.
+export const renderLens = (fragment, number) =>
+  normalizeCanonical(fragment).replace(NEUTRAL_HEADING_RE, (m) => m.replace('2.x', `2.${number}`));
+
+// normalizeLensBody(body) → the number-neutral, whitespace/EOL-normalized comparison form
+// (heading number → `2.x`, trim, CRLF→LF) every known-set match uses.
+export const normalizeLensBody = (body) =>
+  normalizeCanonical(String(body).replace(/^### 2\.\d+\./, '### 2.x.'));
+
+// extractLensRegion(text) → { found: false } | { found, start, end, number, body }.
+// `start`/`end` are line indices over text.split('\n') — heading line through (exclusive) the
+// next structural boundary; EOF is a valid region end (no following boundary required). `body`
+// is the CR-stripped block with trailing blank lines dropped (the comparison form); the raw
+// region lines (including trailing blanks) are what replaceLensRegion preserves around a render.
+export const extractLensRegion = (text) => {
+  const lines = String(text).split('\n');
+  const start = lines.findIndex((line) => LENS_HEADING_RE.test(stripCr(line)));
+  if (start === -1) return { found: false };
+  let end = lines.length;
+  for (let i = start + 1; i < lines.length; i += 1) {
+    if (isBoundary(stripCr(lines[i]))) {
+      end = i;
+      break;
+    }
+  }
+  const number = stripCr(lines[start]).match(LENS_HEADING_RE)[1];
+  const regionLines = lines.slice(start, end);
+  let bodyEnd = regionLines.length;
+  while (bodyEnd > 0 && stripCr(regionLines[bodyEnd - 1]).trim() === '') bodyEnd -= 1;
+  const body = regionLines.slice(0, bodyEnd).map(stripCr).join('\n');
+  return { found: true, start, end, number, body };
+};
+
+// replaceLensRegion(text, region, renderedBody) → the document with ONLY the region's block
+// lines replaced; trailing blank lines inside the region and every byte outside it are
+// preserved verbatim. Output keeps the document's EOL style (CRLF documents stay CRLF).
+export const replaceLensRegion = (text, region, renderedBody) => {
+  const lines = String(text).split('\n');
+  const crlf = String(text).includes('\r\n');
+  const regionLines = lines.slice(region.start, region.end);
+  let bodyEnd = regionLines.length;
+  while (bodyEnd > 0 && stripCr(regionLines[bodyEnd - 1]).trim() === '') bodyEnd -= 1;
+  const trailing = regionLines.slice(bodyEnd); // preserved verbatim (their own CR bytes intact)
+  const newBody = renderedBody.split('\n').map((l) => (crlf ? `${l}\r` : l));
+  const out = [...lines.slice(0, region.start), ...newBody, ...trailing, ...lines.slice(region.end)];
+  // In a CRLF document, only a line FOLLOWED by another line carries the CR byte; when the new
+  // body's last line is the final line of the whole document (EOF region, no trailing newline),
+  // strip the CR we just added so no stray byte lands at EOF.
+  if (crlf && trailing.length === 0 && region.end === lines.length) {
+    out[out.length - 1] = stripCr(out[out.length - 1]);
+  }
+  return out.join('\n');
+};
+
+// reconcileLensText(text, fragment, priors) — the PURE policy decision:
+//   { status: 'no-region' }  — heading absent/renamed → preserve + advise (caller words it).
+//   { status: 'current' }    — the region already renders the current canon → zero-diff.
+//   { status: 'refreshed', text } — the region matched the canon or a known prior → re-rendered
+//                                   with the file's OWN number (cap-guard is the caller's, so the
+//                                   decision stays pure).
+//   { status: 'custom' }     — anything else → preserved byte-for-byte + advisory.
+export const reconcileLensText = (text, fragment, priors) => {
+  const region = extractLensRegion(text);
+  if (!region.found) return { status: 'no-region', text };
+  const current = normalizeLensBody(region.body);
+  const canon = normalizeLensBody(fragment);
+  if (current === canon) return { status: 'current', text };
+  const known = priors.map((p) => normalizeLensBody(p));
+  if (!known.includes(current)) return { status: 'custom', text };
+  return { status: 'refreshed', text: replaceLensRegion(text, region, renderLens(fragment, region.number)) };
+};
+
+// frontmatterMaxLines(text) → the file's own `maxLines:` frontmatter value, or null when the
+// file has no frontmatter block or the block carries no maxLines (→ the cap-guard is skipped
+// with a stated note, never a throw — such a file is outside the docs cap gate anyway).
+export const frontmatterMaxLines = (text) => {
+  const lines = String(text).split('\n').map(stripCr);
+  if (lines[0] !== '---') return null;
+  for (let i = 1; i < lines.length; i += 1) {
+    if (lines[i] === '---') return null;
+    const m = lines[i].match(/^maxLines:\s*(\d+)\s*$/);
+    if (m) return Number(m[1]);
+  }
+  return null;
+};
+
+// ── CLI: `lens-region.mjs reconcile <path/to/agent_rules.md>` ─────────────────────
+// Outcome lines are the contract the upgrade/bootstrap prose relays in plain language; exit 0 on
+// every classified outcome (including the soft skips and the cap refusal), exit 1 ONLY on the
+// hard engine STOP or an unexpected fs error, exit 2 on usage.
+export const runCli = async (argv, deps = {}) => {
+  const log = deps.log ?? console.log;
+  const logError = deps.logError ?? console.error;
+  const env = deps.env ?? process.env;
+  const fs = deps.fs ?? (await import('node:fs/promises'));
+  const { dirname, basename, join, resolve } = await import('node:path');
+  const { homedir } = await import('node:os');
+  const { resolveEngineDir, detectEngine, readEngineFragment, LENS_FRAGMENT_REL, LENS_PRIORS_REL } = await import('./engine-source.mjs');
+
+  if (argv[0] !== 'reconcile' || !argv[1] || argv.length > 2) {
+    logError('usage: lens-region.mjs reconcile <path/to/agent_rules.md>');
+    return 2;
+  }
+  const targetPath = resolve(argv[1]);
+
+  // 1. Absent file → a stated skip (the memory substrate owns seeding; nothing to reconcile).
+  const text = await (async () => {
+    try {
+      return await fs.readFile(targetPath, 'utf8');
+    } catch (err) {
+      if (err.code === 'ENOENT') return null;
+      throw err;
+    }
+  })();
+  if (text === null) {
+    log(`[lens-region] ${argv[1]} is absent — skipped (nothing to reconcile; the substrate seeds it at bootstrap).`);
+    return 0;
+  }
+
+  // 2. No matching heading → preserve + advise, engine never consulted (the outcome is preserve
+  //    regardless, so the lazy contract holds).
+  if (!extractLensRegion(text).found) {
+    log(`[lens-region] no "${HEADING_LABEL}" section in ${argv[1]} — left untouched.`);
+    log('[lens-region] note: the planning/review lens section is missing or renamed — it cannot be auto-refreshed; restore the canonical heading to re-enable refresh.');
+    return 0;
+  }
+
+  // 3. A present region must be classified → live-read the engine's fragment + prior store.
+  //    Fully absent/invalid engine → loud STOP; valid-but-pre-lens engine → stated soft skip.
+  const { dir, source } = resolveEngineDir({ env, home: deps.home ?? homedir() });
+  const lensPairPresent =
+    detectEngine(dir, { source, rel: LENS_FRAGMENT_REL }).ok && detectEngine(dir, { source, rel: LENS_PRIORS_REL }).ok;
+  if (!lensPairPresent) {
+    if (detectEngine(dir, { source }).ok) {
+      log('[lens-region] skipped — the installed engine is too old (or incomplete) to supply the lens canon; refresh it with `npx @sabaiway/agent-workflow-engine@latest init`, then re-run.');
+      return 0;
+    }
+    try {
+      readEngineFragment(dir, { source, rel: LENS_FRAGMENT_REL }); // throws the canonical install-me error
+      return 1; // defensive: the pair is unusable — never proceed to a read
+    } catch (err) {
+      logError(`[lens-region] reconcile STOP — ${err.message}`);
+      return 1;
+    }
+  }
+  // TOCTOU guard: a fragment that vanishes between detect and read is a corruption STOP, never a
+  // silent proceed — readEngineFragment's own throw carries the install command.
+  let fragment;
+  let priors;
+  try {
+    fragment = readEngineFragment(dir, { source, rel: LENS_FRAGMENT_REL });
+    priors = parseLensPriors(readEngineFragment(dir, { source, rel: LENS_PRIORS_REL }));
+  } catch (err) {
+    logError(`[lens-region] reconcile STOP — ${err.message}`);
+    return 1;
+  }
+
+  // 4. The pure decision + the cap-guard + one atomic write.
+  const result = reconcileLensText(text, fragment, priors);
+  if (result.status === 'current') {
+    log('[lens-region] lens section already current — nothing to do (zero-diff).');
+    return 0;
+  }
+  if (result.status === 'custom') {
+    log('[lens-region] lens section carries a custom edit — preserved verbatim.');
+    log('[lens-region] note: the canonical planning/review lens has changed since this section was edited — compare it with the project methodology canon when convenient; your wording is never overwritten.');
+    return 0;
+  }
+  // refreshed → cap-guard from the TARGET's own frontmatter, then atomic write.
+  const maxLines = frontmatterMaxLines(text);
+  if (maxLines === null) {
+    log('[lens-region] note: no `maxLines` frontmatter on the target — the line-cap guard is skipped.');
+  } else if (lineCount(result.text) > maxLines) {
+    log(`[lens-region] refused — refreshing would push ${argv[1]} to ${lineCount(result.text)} lines (cap ${maxLines}); trim the file and re-run. Nothing was changed.`);
+    return 0;
+  }
+  const tmp = join(dirname(targetPath), `.${basename(targetPath)}.tmp-${process.pid}-${Date.now()}`);
+  try {
+    await fs.writeFile(tmp, result.text, 'utf8');
+    await fs.rename(tmp, targetPath);
+  } catch (err) {
+    await fs.rm(tmp, { force: true }).catch(() => {});
+    throw err;
+  }
+  log('[lens-region] refreshed the planning/review lens section to the current canon.');
+  return 0;
+};
+
+const { pathToFileURL } = await import('node:url');
+const isDirectRun = process.argv[1] && import.meta.url === pathToFileURL(process.argv[1]).href;
+if (isDirectRun) process.exitCode = await runCli(process.argv.slice(2));